“Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur,” a 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb via Wikimedia Commons
Have an easy and meaningful fast this Yom Kippur and G’mar Hatimah Tovah, which means “may you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for good.”
Archive for the tag 'judaism'
The following is a press release from the offices City Councilmember David Greenfield. The above is a video provided by Yeshiva World News:
Mayor Ed Koch labeled divisive City Councilman Charles Barron as a “viper” and a “snake” who is an enemy to the State of Israel at a press conference outside the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan this morning organized by Councilman David G. Greenfield and attended by numerous elected officials and community leaders. Specifically, Mayor Koch and the rest of the speakers denounced Barron’s long track record of hateful rhetoric against people of various backgrounds and his antagonistic stance towards Israel.
Mayor Koch and Councilman Greenfield were joined by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Councilman Mike Nelson and a number of community leaders to call attention to Barron’s divisive tactics and hate displayed towards many groups. Councilman Greenfield began by highlighting some of Barron’s most notorious and hateful comments, including his questioning of Israel’s right to exist, his comparisons of Gaza to concentration death camps, his proclamation in 2002 that he wanted to “slap the closest white person” and his labeling of Muammar Gaddafi and Robert Mugabe as heroes. The coalition of officials and community members also expressed concern for the role of this type of behavior in politics and the impact it can have on neighborhoods that become marginalized as a result.
“One thing about Charles Barron is, he can be very charming, but so can a snake. We have learned to live together in this city despite our different backgrounds, and his vile, vicious assailing of Israel is simply not acceptable. I can tell you this without hesitation because I know him,” said Mayor Koch.
“We can all agree that Charles Barron is a hate monger and an anti-Semite. A lot of people like to dismiss him as crazy, but this is someone who knows exactly what he is doing when he makes these incendiary remarks and has a very specific, hateful agenda. This is not an individual who is fit to hold any office in this land,” said Greenfield.
“We need representatives who will focus on uniting communities, not dividing them. Charles Barron’s support of dictators and terrorists such as Muammar Gaddafi, and support for delegitimizing Israel and comparing Israelis to Nazis is dangerous and abhorrent rhetoric that makes him unfit to serve in Congress,” said Nadler.
“It has been made very clear that Charles Barron is unrelentingly racist and hateful. From his rabid attacks on whites and refusal to salute the American flag to his endless rhetoric about Jews and Israel, Barron proves again and again that his is a voice of divisiveness, a dying breed that sane New Yorkers no longer care to hear from,” said Hikind.
“It is quite appropriate to be standing in front of the Museum of Jewish Heritage as a second generation Holocaust survivor. Charles Barron is saying that what my parents went through did not occur, and that the Holocaust did not occur. It is outrageous for anyone, especially an elected official here in America, to deny these events. He is someone who hates and is a disgrace to all elected officials,” said Cymbrowitz.
“Regardless of background, all residents should stand up, siding with truth and for right, and repudiate the hateful stances of Charles Barron,” said Weinstein.
“It’s time to move New York City forward together in a unified manner, and Charles Barron represents everything that is wrong with our society,” said Chaskel Bennett, a Flatbush community activist.
Led by Mayor Koch, today’s speakers were united in their call for the public to reject this toxic style of politics and to demand that all citizens are represented and respected on all levels of government. Many noted that the press conference’s location is a stark reminder of the danger of allowing this type of rhetoric and hate to continue unchecked in politics.
"When Worlds Collide" by periwinklekog via Flickr
With Passover beginning tonight at sundown, and Easter this Sunday, all of us here at Bensonhurst Bean want to wish our readers a happy and safe holiday weekend!
A family Passover Seder will be offered at the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst on Friday, April 6, from 6:00p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Registration for the event, which is required, will continue from now until April 6.
According to the Marks JCH website, the holiday event will feature a “lively celebration filled with songs, games and a delicious meal, of course. The seder will be led in Russian by Alex Tansky. Plus a special Haggadah activity for children.”
To reserve a place for yourself and up to three others, the cost is $25. To register, or for more information, please call (718) 331-6800 or visit JCHB.org.
Marks JCH is located at 7802 Bay Parkway, between 78th Street and 79th Street.
The vandalized phone
by Steven Volynets and Shamar Hill
When we started our literary project about being Jewish in Brooklyn almost a year ago, it was a venture of introspection – a search for the meaning of self in communities as diverse as New York City. As we set out to interview Jewish men and women from all walks of life, we asked what common thread connected a Holocaust survivor, a female Rabbi, a gunned down rapper, a prominent politician and others to us – two writers, one a Soviet-Jewish immigrant, the other Jewish and African American.
But when, by sheer accident, we witnessed a man paint swastikas across a payphone booth in Midwood, just days after a string of Anti-Semitic vandalism, our work gained a new sense of urgency.
On Saturday, November 19, we got together in Brooklyn, as we often do, to write and share ideas. Around 11:30 p.m. we took a break and walked to a local ShopRite. As we walked back, at the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Avenue I, we noticed a man in his late 30s, early 40s, wearing dark sunglasses in the middle of the night and tearing down NYPD posters asking for information about recent anti-Semitic hate crimes in the neighborhood. The man gave us a sharp stare and walked off, knocking over a newspaper vending machine.
We decided to follow him. In some unspoken way, we were protecting the neighborhood of our youth. As we shadowed him, we called the police. After walking several blocks, the man stopped in front of a payphone on 18th Avenue and Ocean Parkway. He banged the receiver and we could see he was doing something to the booth. Fifteen minutes later, the police had not yet come to the scene and we headed towards the local precinct. On our way back, we passed the phone. And there it was: Swastikas and ‘Kill Jews’ written in gray marker.
19th Century Menorah from the Jewish Museum's collection (Source: Katie Chao via Flickr)
Everyone here at Bensonhurst Bean would like to wish all of our readers a happy and safe Hanukkah. Chanuka Sameach!
