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Columbia Jewish News Issue 6 | Volume XLI | December 2016 Hanukkah Happenings CJF Kicks off its see page 7 2017 Annual Campaign! photo by Laney Cohen see pages 10-11 Permit No. 48 No. Permit RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED SERVICE RETURN Columbia, SC Columbia, Columbia, SC 29223 SC Columbia, PAID US Postage US 306 Flora Drive Flora 306 Non Profit Org Profit Non Columbia Jewish Federation Jewish Columbia LEFT VS RIGHT THE BATTLE FOR ISRAEL’S SOUL A Post-election Debate Is Israel locked in a tragic Jonathan S. Tobin- dispute between two senior online editor peoples claiming the and chief political blogger of same land, or a global Commentary conflict between Western magazine. Tobin democracy and appears on CNN, Islamist terrorism? Fox News Channel, BBC, NPR and Jonathan Tobin more. Saturday, November 19 6 pm - “Meet & Greet” over J. J. Goldberg- cocktails and hors d’oeuvres editor-at-large of the Forward $36 - “Meet & Greet” tickets newspaper and (includes event) former U.S. Bureau chief of the Israeli ********** news magazine The 7 pm - Tobin & Goldberg Jerusalem Report. debate with Q&A J.J. Goldberg $10 - Debate event tickets ($15 at the door) Tobin and Goldberg will debate critical issues concerning the Seating is Limited! State of Israel. This event is made possible by the Sidney Krauss Location: Charitable Trust Fund and is sponsored by Beth Shalom Synagogue, Columbia Jewish Federation, Beth Shalom Synagogue and the Tenenbaum, Niestat, Swerling, Kahn, 5827 N. Trenholm Road Kulbersh and Poliakoff families. Columbia, SC 29206 As the umbrella agency for our local Jewish organizations, (803) 782-2500 the Columbia Jewish Federation is pleased to provide financial support for this event. The Columbia Jewish News is a bi-monthly publication of the Columbia Jewish Federation. Columbia Jewish Federation 306 Flora Drive Columbia, SC 29223 t (803) 787-2023 | f (803) 462-1337 www.jewishcolumbia.org Columbia Jewish Federation Staff Barry Abels, Executive Director [email protected], ext. 207 Elaine Cohen, Jewish Family Service Director [email protected], ext. 220 Cheryl Nail, Community Relations Director [email protected], ext. 211 Debby Mullen, Executive Assistant [email protected], ext. 202 Columbia Jewish Federation Executive Committee David Lovit, President Joshua McDuffie, Vice President Fred Seidenberg, Secretary Meridith Goldstein, Treasurer Dr. Naomi Farber, Immediate Past President Columbia Jewish News Editorial Staff Cheryl Nail, Managing Editor Shelley Kriegshaber, Editor Laurie Slack, Designer & Photographer Production Services by Florida Sun Printing December 2016, Volume 41, Issue 6 Contributing Writers Barry Abels, Katharine Allen, Laney Cohen, Lilly Filler, Rabbi Carolan Glatstein, Cheryl Nail, Shannon O’Lear, Robin Rudman, Risa Strauss The views and opinions expressed in the Columbia Jewish News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect endorsement by the Columbia Jewish Federation or the editorial staff of this publication. We welcome all voices from our community. If you would like to contribute an article, life cycle announcement, photos, or advertising, visit www.jewishcolumbia.org/cjn for submission guidelines and advertising rates. Columbia Jewish News | 3 hate speech against the Palestinian BDS, the Saga people. He was also accused of wanting to Continues execute an entire people, and the editor- Barry Abels, in-chief of the college paper ran a petition against Pessin, actively participating in a CJF and JCC Executive Director controversy that the paper was covering. There is more to the story, but one Dear Friends, important item to note is that most of the activity on campus against Pessin In our last issue I wrote about the ongoing is contrary to university policy, and yet activities and concerns regarding the the administration was not taking action. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Pessin has been on Sabbatical from the movement (BDS) that targets the economy, “Where there’s college but plans to return and continue as well as academic communities, within to support Israel. As he has traveled the a need, there’s Israel. The stated objective is to benefit country telling his story, he reports seeing the Palestinians by disrupting Israel’s other academics being singled out and FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM THE EXECUTIVE Federation.” economy, dissuading companies from ostracized for supporting Israel and to doing business with Israel and by making it some extent, action taken against faculty more difficult for Israel academics to teach members who do not actively condemn or do research outside of Israel. Israel’s policies towards Palestinians. Pessin firmly believes two things about As I continue to read and become more the BDS movement on campuses. The educated about this movement, more first is that the movement is as much anti- disturbing information comes to light. Semitic as anti-Israel. The second and also Recently we welcomed Andrew Pessin, very disturbing belief is that even though a philosophy professor at Connecticut the BDS movement is less effective in College, to our community. He spoke doing current economic damage to Israel, to a group of professors and graduate the constant anti-Israel messaging on students at USC and later to an audience campuses is creating a generation of future at the Kahn JCC. He has been traveling voters who will have a jaded view of Israel, and speaking about not only the rise of thus creating a wave of Americans who will campus BDS activities, but also a rise in no longer see Israel as a valued American what he characterizes as an increase in partner, endangering Israel’s traditional anti-Semitism on a number of campuses. political into the future. The link to Pessin’s story as it appeared in the Jerusalem Post is www.jpost.com/Opinion/Pessin- affair-exposes-Connecticut-College-anti- Semitism-443747. Another interesting source of information on this issue is Canary Mission, https:// canarymission.org. They are a group of students and others concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses, and they have created a database and blog documenting people and groups promoting bias and hatred of Jews and Israel. In a recent post on November 3 to their subscribers, they sent out the following about BDS: His experience is a case in point. “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) was As a person who supports Israel, he posted launched in 2005. But who launched it? And comments on his personal Facebook page who is really behind it? Since its inception, criticizing Hamas in August of 2014. This BDS proponents have purported that it led to being ostracized by other faculty was initiated by a ‘call’ from “Palestinian and was followed by death threats. The civil society.” But the claim is dubious at following March he was the target of three best and a downright lie at worst. “ editorials in the college newspaper where he was accused of racism and peddling (continued on next page) 4 | Columbia Jewish News An example of this appears later in the posting: “BDS We will not only continue to monitor these activities, but (CJF) JEWISH FEDERATION COLUMBIA activists are fighting to destroy the State of Israel even also actively work with our local faculty and students at the expense of the ‘Palestinian civil society,’ who they to stay abreast of any activity at USC. I personally have claim to represent. So when hundreds of Palestinians lost attended a presentation on Islamophobia, a legitimate decent jobs (that gave them the same wages and benefits concern, only to hear rhetoric about Zionist Colonialism as its Jewish employees) because the BDS movement and next to nothing about Islamophobia. We are also succeeded in getting a Soda Stream factory shut down, working with local professors to bring a very informative BDS leaders rejoiced.” workshop about BDS from an Israel/Jewish perspective to our students and all of us near the end of February 2017. They go on to assert that many of these professors continually make false statements just to smear Israel In the meantime, we watch, we learn and we inform, and without regard to any professional integrity. These folks it is one of the many ways our Community Relations staff come from all walks of academic life, professors not only and committee fulfill the mission of your Federation. This from countries typically hostile to Israel, but also from the year our Annual Campaign theme is: “Where there’s a United States and elsewhere. This includes some Jewish need, there’s Federation.” Well, this is a critical need that and Israeli academics as well. we must all be concerned about and, rest assured, we will be there. This, too, feeds back in to Andrew Pessin’s concerns about future political and societal support for Israel. PJ Library Kicks off 5777 Cheryl Nail, Community Relations Director PJ Library of the Columbia Jewish Federation kicked off 5777 with several fun-filled family events: • We enjoyed gathering as a community at the Kahn JCC Sukkah to shake our bodies and our lulavs with ShirLaLa at our first Lulav Luau. • You may have noticed an addition to the JCC lobby: a new PJ Library reading corner that families can enjoy in between lessons/classes, basketball games, and other activities. • Our PJ Library WOW (WithOut Walls) group enjoyed spending Sukkot together in Irmo. • And finally, PJ Library Our Way books are now available to Columbia children ages 9-11 (see the ad on page 3 for Columbia Jewish News | 5 details). The Season of Giving Laney Cohen, LMSW, JFS Director Celebrate Hanukkah at the Ronald McDonald House! Jewish Family Service once again will be staffing the Ronald McDonald House during the Christmas holiday. Come celebrate Hannukah at the new House! Shifts will begin at 9 am December 24th and will go through 10 pm on December 26th. If you are interested in volunteering, please call Laney at 787-2023 ext 220.