The overwhelming majority of post-World War II Soviet Jews were not observant and lacked access to religious objects, like mezuzahs, that mark Jewish spaces. So books — often secular ones — identified homes as Jewish, according to Marat Grinberg, professor of Russian and humanities, and comparative literature chair at Reed College in Portland, Ore.

“Certain books in their bookcases were codes and secret language which Soviet Jews shared with one another,” Grinberg told JNS. “While this is different from the American Jewish experience, there are certain books that are also central to American Jewish identity and how American Jews think — or at least used to think — of themselves.”

Grinberg is the author of the newly published book The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Jewish Culture and Identity Between the Lines.

Growing up in Ukraine, Grinberg was already “quite obsessed with everything Jewish” at age 12 or 13, he told JNS. It was a time when Jewish centers of learning were re-emerging, and he began learning Hebrew and reading on Jewish history, religion, philosophy, literature, politics and Zionism “voraciously.” He read many 20th-century classics of Jewish thought in Russian translation.

In 1993, when Grinberg was 16, his family emigrated to the United States. Their bookshelves were packed “into a few tight boxes and bundles,” he recalled. “When we came to the States, I desperately wanted more Jewish education.”

He studied in the joint Columbia University-Jewish Theological Seminary program, where he was surprised to learn Jewish classmates and German professors alike knew nothing about German Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger, whom Soviet Jews lionized.

That planted the seed for the book about Soviet Jewish bookshelves, which “reveal that Soviet Jewishness was much more than an empty sign or only the sign of victimhood and persecution,” Grinberg wrote in the book. (He earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago, where he wrote on Jewishness in Russian poetry.)

The book about Soviet Jewish bookshelves “is both an intellectual and academic project I’ve been working on for years and an outgrowth of my previous studies on Jewishness in Russian and Soviet literary contexts and the many meanings of Jewish literature,” he told JNS.

So what does a scholar who studies other people’s bookshelves have lining his own walls? Some “contain the ingredients of the Soviet Jewish bookshelf,” replied Grinberg. Others have Russian classics, 20th-century Russian and German poetry, Holocaust literature, Hebrew and Yiddish Jewish books, and volumes on cinema and scripture.

As Grinberg is working on a new book about Jewishness and the Holocaust in Soviet and Eastern European science fiction, many of his shelves are packed with books by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky —Soviet brothers who wrote science fiction — by the Polish sci-fi writer Stanislaw Lem and by U.S. science-fiction writer Philip Kindred Dick, or PKD.

It’s not only about books, for Grinberg, but about approaches to reading.

“We could learn something from it”

The key idea of the book is borrowed from the German-American Jewish thinker Leo Strauss, who wrote about “reading between the lines,” Ginberg told JNS. That kind of inventive and sophisticated reading was “necessitated by living in a totalitarian or authoritarian society like the Soviet Union,” said Grinberg.

Soviet Jewish bookshelves had explicitly Jewish books, such as commentaries on Sholem Aleichem or Feuchtwanger novels, while other volumes approached Judaism from an atheistic, anti-Zionist or antisemitic perspective.

“These required crossing out many lines and reading between the lines,” said Grinberg. That sort of reading, he writes in his book, at times “presented a subversive intellectual game and a hunt for knowledge. Some writers wanted to be read between the lines, and others might have resisted it.”

An example in his book of Soviet readers gleaning valuable information from anti-Jewish books is also a personal memory. In fifth or sixth grade, a Jewish classmate and friend showed him “in secret a slim paperback he found hidden in the bookcase at home.” The volume was a copy of Trofim Kychko’s 1963 book Judaism Unadorned. (It is sometimes referred to as Judaism Without Embellishment.)

Kychko was alleged to be a Nazi collaborator, and the book, published by the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, was antisemitic and anti-Zionist.

The friend loaned Grinberg the book, and from the start, he was “genuinely repulsed” by what he read.

“From what I recall, I did not question the accuracy of Kychko’s sources — what seemed to be bizarre Talmudic titles and Hebrew terms — but the hateful suppositions he drew from them,” he wrote in the book.

Grinberg tore it up and threw it out — “the only time in my life I have ever done anything like that with a book,” he wrote. When his friend asked for the book back, he told him what he had done, and the friend asked him in disbelief how he could have done such a thing. “It was still a Jewish book! We could learn something from it,” the friend said.

Indeed, the book had a map of biblical Israel and stories about “good” Jews like Spinoza and certain Yiddish writers, he realized.

“Kychko proclaimed, ‘Scientific criticism has long debunked the indisputability of the truths of Torah and Talmud. Yet, throughout centuries, religious Jews were educated according to Torah and Talmud, seeing in them the main sources of wisdom … all knowledge about the world and the main laws of living,’ ” Grinberg wrote in the book.

“Cross out the first sentence and what remains is a statement on the pivotal role of the written and oral Torah in Jewish history,” he added. “Thus, it is futile to appreciate my friend’s reaction outside of the context of Soviet Jewish paradoxes, when any printed material that had the word Jewish in it was not to be bypassed, at times guiltily, ironically or indignantly by the Jewish reader.”

Soviet Jews brought caution and inventiveness to the ways that they educated themselves as Jews, Grinberg told JNS: “It is these skills that they brought to the page as readers.”

In the book, Grinberg describes Soviet Jewish readers seizing upon any printed material with the word “Jewish,” with certain volumes only available on the black market or in specialty stores. There were even “book rations” that one could acquire with enough special tickets, which one would get, say, for turning paper goods in for recycling.

As a professor, Grinberg is aware of the ways the younger generation often responds differently to physical books and can prefer reading on mobile devices, which don’t tend to line bookshelves.

He writes in the book that his memories, “palpable and tactile, filled with the smells and textures of book spines and covers, shelves, bed stands, and suitcases that would be packed to the brim with the books during emigration,” inform the volume.

That, of course, is lost with the advent of e-readers.

“At this point, however, for me, it’s not crucial,” Grinberg told JNS. “As long as my students read, I don’t care if it’s an actual book or an e-one.”

To read more content visit www.jns.org

There was Shirel Aboukarat, a 19-year-old Border Police officer who immigrated from France and was killed by two terrorists during an attack at a bus station in Hadera.

There was Uriel Bar-Maimon Wolf, a 21-year-old Border Police officer who made aliyah from Argentina. He died during operational activities at the Erez checkpoint to the northern Gaza Strip, hours after visiting his mother who was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer at a Jerusalem hospital.

There was 2nd Lt. Carmi Elan, a Los Angeles-born pilot who died in a training accident aged 19.

Then there was Michael Ladygin, 36, a native of Russia who made aliyah and was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Ariel in 2022. He left behind a wife and two children.

There was Capt. Alexander (Sasha) Schwartzman, 23, an IDF officer from Ukraine. He was wounded in a battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon and refused evacuation to ensure that his fellow soldiers were treated first, only to be killed by enemy fire.

They were among the fallen honored in the largest English-language Israeli Memorial Day ceremony, held at the Yad La-Shiryon, the IDF Armored Corps Memorial Site and Museum in Latrun, west of Jerusalem.

The event, which was organized by the Masa Israel Journey organization, was attended by 7,000 people, including a 12-member U.S. congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and was viewed by hundreds of thousands of others around the world.

Held under the theme of “Forever Connected,” the 15th annual event brought together Masa students and alumni, bereaved families, politicians and Jewish community leaders from across the globe to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives for the defense of Israel.

The 90-minute ceremony in the outdoor amphitheater got underway after the siren opening Memorial Day pierced the night air. It included speeches; shorts clips about those slain; musical interludes in Hebrew and English; the reciting of the Yizkor memorial prayer and the Kaddish mourner’s prayer; the laying of wreaths; and the singing of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem.

“Without the courage of those who fought to defend our country we wouldn’t be standing here today to fulfill the dream of 2,000 years to build the national home of the Jewish people,” the Brooklyn-born Cabinet secretary Yossi Fuchs said in his address, speaking on behalf of the Israeli government.

“It is a spirit of unconditional love”

“The bond between the Jewish people and the State of Israel remains unbreakable,” said Ofer Gutman, CEO of Masa Israel Journey. “Your presence here is testament to a forever connected Jewish people.”

Since its founding in 2004, Masa has provided long-term educational programs to 190,000 young people from more than 60 countries aimed at immersing Diaspora Jews in Israeli society.

The speakers stressed the urgency of unity during a period of deep divisions within Israel and among Jewish communities around the world.

“One key message out from the sacrifice of the fallen is to remember our unity and to accept one another,” said Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel. “We are one Jewish nation with only one Jewish country—the State of Israel.”

Almog noted that his brother died during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The message of the fallen is one of unity, he said. “It is a spirit of total devotion, it is a spirit that the country is above us, it is a spirit of unconditional love.”

“The life they commanded us to live is one of togetherness with all world Jewry,” he said.

To read more content visit www.jns.org

En toda la ciudad migrantes que abruman los servicios sociales de la ciudad viven en estaciones de policía mientras esperan ser ubicados en refugios, lo que genera preocupaciones humanitarias y de salud entre la policía y las organizaciones comunitarias. Las personas que buscan asilo han sido ubicadas en más de una docena de distritos policiales de la ciudad, durmiendo en los vestíbulos y esperando, a menudo con niños, durante días.

En toda la ciudad, los migrantes que abruman los servicios sociales de la ciudad viven en estaciones de policía mientras esperan ser ubicados en refugios, lo que generó preocupaciones humanitarias y de salud entre la policía y las organizaciones comunitarias. Las personas que buscan asilo han sido ubicadas en más de una docena de distritos policiales de la ciudad, durmiendo en los vestíbulos y esperando, a menudo con niños, durante días.

El 1 de abril, el Tribune vio a más de una docena de personas, casi todas mujeres y niños, sentadas en el vestíbulo de la estación de policía del distrito 1 en South Loop. Estaban instalados a lo largo de la ventana delantera del edificio, visibles desde la calle mientras descansaban y esperaban.

En ese momento, los oficiales de policía no permitieron que el Tribune hablara con los migrantes dentro del edificio, pero expresaron frustración por su continua presencia. Los migrantes se han refugiado en las estaciones de policía por lo menos desde enero.

La Orden Fraternal de la Policía (FOP) presentó este mes una queja sobre la situación, indicó que ello representa posibles problemas de salud, seguridad y responsabilidad, y utiliza los recursos policiales para refugio que deberían proporcionar las agencias de servicios sociales.

“La ciudad dijo ‘Somos una ciudad acogedora, te recibimos’, pero no tiene planes para hacerlo”, indicó el presidente de la FOP de Chicago, John Catanzara Jr. “No es contra ellos, pero estas personas viven en los vestíbulos de las estaciones de policía, lo cual es ridículo”.

Más de 6,000 inmigrantes han llegado a la ciudad desde el otoño pasado, cuando el gobernador de Texas, Greg Abbott, comenzó a enviar autobuses llenos de inmigrantes a Chicago para protestar por la afluencia en su estado. La alcaldesa Lori Lightfoot criticó a Abbott por maltratar a los inmigrantes y dijo que la ciudad se ocuparía de ellos.

Desde entonces, los migrantes, algunos de los cuales llegaron solos, han superado la capacidad de la ciudad para ubicarlos en 11 refugios para migrantes o para encontrar una ubicación permanente. Algunos han sido protegidos por el Ejército de Salvación, iglesias, residentes y grupos comunitarios, otros durmieron en autobuses y refugios para personas sin hogar, mientras que algunos fueron transportados en autobuses a hoteles en los suburbios.

Los migrantes más recientes llegaron en avión al O’Hare, dijo Catanzara, y fueron transportados a estaciones de policía, en algunos casos en autobuses escolares.

Y llegan más casi todos los días sin un lugar donde quedarse, comentó Luisette Kraal, coordinadora de Nuevos Vecinos, un grupo religioso afiliado a Park Community Church que ayuda a proporcionar alimentos, ropa y servicios de apoyo a los migrantes.

“Necesitamos que la ciudad actúe en conjunto”, agregó. “Estamos abrumados”.

Los funcionarios de la ciudad no respondieron específicamente a las preguntas sobre cómo están manejando la llegada de los migrantes, sino que emitieron un comunicado de la alcaldesa saliente sobre que la ciudad “está trabajando para coordinar un camino seguro para todos los recién llegados”.

Cuando los migrantes llegan a las instalaciones de la ciudad, como las estaciones de policía, se realiza de inmediato una solicitud de ubicación en un refugio a través del 311, según el comunicado. Una vez que se realiza la solicitud, la ciudad trabaja con socios comunitarios para transportar a las personas y familias a un refugio una vez que haya espacio disponible.

Además, la ciudad ha contratado a organizaciones comunitarias para ayudar con alojamiento temporal y otros servicios. “Esta crisis humanitaria sigue siendo fluida, hemos estado trabajando incansablemente para conectar a los recién llegados con la asistencia y el apoyo que tanto necesitan. Continuaremos trabajando con nuestros líderes locales y comunitarios para apoyar a los necesitados”.

Pero tal vez como una señal de la creciente urgencia de la situación, la ciudad programó el miércoles una audiencia conjunta sobre el presupuesto y los derechos de inmigrantes y refugiados para el viernes para discutir la operación y los costos asociados con los inmigrantes recién llegados.

A fines del año pasado, Lightfoot había solicitado $54 millones del estado para ayudar a financiar los servicios de emergencia para quienes buscan asilo, y advirtió que los fondos se estaban agotando rápidamente. El estado aprobó solo $20 millones el mes siguiente.

Lightfoot dijo en ese momento que esperaba más fondos federales para ayudar a abordar la afluencia.

Brandon Lee, portavoz de la Coalición por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes y Refugiados de Illinois, dijo que la ciudad cerró su centro de admisión para inmigrantes, así como algunos de sus refugios. Calificó el envío de migrantes a las comisarías como una “solución insuficiente”.

La concejal Maria Hadden, del Distrito 49 en Rogers Park, dijo que la ciudad necesita una gran ubicación central para albergar y procesar a un gran número de migrantes, que no son examinados hasta que salen de las estaciones de policía y entran en un refugio.

La situación, dijo, es “abrumadora”, con trabajadores de la ciudad “bebiendo de una manguera contra incendios”.

Hadden dijo que en su barrio, la casa de campo de Leone Beach Park, que anteriormente se había utilizado para almacenamiento, se abrió para los migrantes y luego se cerró, antes de reabrirse esta semana.

Ella dijo que los gobiernos estatal y federal y otras ciudades necesitan ofrecer más ayuda.

“Chicago no puede hacer esto por sí solo”, dijo Hadden.

Kraal dijo que su grupo ayuda a los inmigrantes a encontrar refugio e identificación de la ciudad y solicitar asilo. El grupo no recibe ayuda ni financiamiento de los funcionarios de la ciudad, dijo, recaudan sus propios fondos.

“Los están volando por todo el país”, dijo Kraal. “Tantos (migrantes) que llegan, las ciudades simplemente no pueden manejarlo. Estamos luchando”.

El potencial de crisis está creciendo, dicen la policía y los defensores.

Según una fuente de la FOP, uno de los migrantes alojados en la estación del distrito 14 de Logan Square fue llevado al hospital por varicela el sábado, pero fue dado de alta y devuelto a la estación ese mismo día. El domingo, sus síntomas empeoraron y lo ingresaron nuevamente en el hospital y, nuevamente, lo llevaron de regreso a la estación del distrito.

En respuesta, el portavoz de la alcaldía, Ryan Johnson, dijo: “Cualquiera que busque tratamiento tendría acceso a un proveedor de atención médica local y aquellos con una emergencia deberían buscar atención de emergencia”.

En la estación de Jefferson Park, Chirino, de 31 años, dijo que ha estado enferma con fiebre y dolor de garganta, pero que no ha tenido más remedio que dormir en el piso de baldosas duras. Ella y su esposo, Johnny Caicado, tienen unas cobijas delgadas que extienden y enrollan para usarlas como almohadas.

Chirino, su esposo y sus dos hijas abandonaron Venezuela debido a la hiperinflación, la amenaza del hambre y el crimen en su país de origen.

“Tengo hambre”, dijo Charlotte Falcon, de 5 años, mientras se subía a los brazos de su madre.

Charlotte vestía el mismo pijama rojo que había estado usando durante la última semana. Chirino meció a su hijo y le susurró al oído palabras tranquilizadoras.

Ivo Brandelli, de 33 años, y su esposa, Karen Malavé, de 26, quienes también se refugian en la estación de policía, dijeron al Tribune que les preocupa el futuro de su familia.

“Más que nada, queremos ayudar a nuestros hijos”, dijo Brandelli en español, mirando a su hija de 7 años, Avril, jugar con una muñeca junto al radiador de la comisaría.

“Sabemos que su educación es lo más importante para su desarrollo”, agregó Malavé. “Si estudia y va a la escuela, puede hacer cualquier cosa. Las escuelas aquí son mejores, por eso luchamos en los cuatro meses que nos tomó llegar aquí”.

Las dos familias habían pasado por centros de detención en México y San Antonio, Texas, antes de ser trasladadas en avión a Chicago por agencias de servicios sociales.

Ambas familias esperan pedir asilo. Tienen pocas posesiones pero guardan sus documentos de inmigración cuidadosamente envueltos en carpetas. Sus citas en la corte son en unas pocas semanas, pero no saben cómo encontrar un abogado o cómo conectarse con los servicios de apoyo.

Contribuyeron A.D. Quig, Gregory Pratt, Jake Sheridan y Sam Charles del Chicago Tribune.

To read this story in English, please click here

Este texto fue traducido por Leticia Espinosa/TCA

At Hanley Foundation, we focus on alcohol prevention because it is the most widely accessible substance to youth. Delaying a child’s first use of alcohol can help reduce the risk of alcohol-related problems and promote healthy development and decision-making.

It starts with education. My team and I take great pride in teaching tomorrow’s leaders about the importance of delaying their use of alcohol. The impact that makes is tremendous. First, it protects the developing brain. Early alcohol use has been linked to brain development problems, including structure and function changes. It is associated with an increased risk of developing disorders like alcohol use disorder later in life.

We are making a difference through our hard work in school districts throughout the state. We are raising awareness and positively influencing attitudes. This is more important than ever, realizing that today’s young people deal with harmful social media, bullying and peer pressure daily. We remind them that alcohol is not an escape. We empower them through age-appropriate and evidence-based programs such as our Alcohol Literacy Challenge.

We crafted prevention activity workbooks with local educators. Our customized workbooks allow elementary, middle and high schoolers to discover potential challenges and learn how to work through them. These workbooks inspire conversations with their parents so that together, they can navigate societal pressures.

Last year alone, Hanley Foundation provided direct services to over 70,000 children to prevent and delay using alcohol and other drugs. Through the hands-on work, nearly 9 out of 10 students in Palm Beach County have not had a drink in the past 30 days. That’s a big win for our community and our kids.

Children and teens who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol addicted than those who do not drink before age 21. Our team knows that the longer we can delay the age of first use, the less likely individuals will suffer from addiction.

We are changing the conversation and seeing powerful outcomes. I encourage you to join us and learn more about our worthwhile programs.

Ryan Wertepny is the chief program officer at the Hanley Foundation. Visit hanleyfoundation.org.

Team Israel Olympian Tal Erel and director Daniel A. Miller will be in person opening weekend to meet fans and sign autographs. Tal Erel will be joined by his teammate, former Major League Baseball player Ryan Lavarnway during the screenings. Tal Erel and Ryan Lavarnway will be at all the screenings May 6 and 7 and May 13 and 14 in Delray Beach except for the last showing on Sunday evening.

Directors Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger, creators of the award-winning documentary “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel,” present the next chapter of the story in “Israel Swings For Gold,” which tells the story of Israel’s baseball team competing in the Tokyo Olympics for the first time in 2021. With no media allowed in the Olympic Village due to COVID restrictions, the players have no choice but to record their own experiences. Mostly newly minted Israelis, they log unexpected battles against global anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Victory came on the playing field, even if not on the podium.

“Israel Swings for Gold” follows the hit 2018 documentary film “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel,” which told the story of Israel’s Cinderella run in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, seen as a testament to the Jewish Will, to persevere against all odds. “Heading Home” won eight film festival awards, was a hit in theaters and is now available on all digital platforms. The Los Angeles Times called the film “a winning David vs. Goliath baseball documentary that covers all the crowd-pleasing bases.”

Menemsha Films is currently screening “Israel Swings For Gold” on the North American film festival circuit, with the intention of releasing it in cinemas around the country throughout 2023 and beyond, following the premiere in South Florida this spring.

Neil Friedman of Menemsha Films says: “One has to stop and think about the against-all-odds chances of Team Israel being only one of six countries qualifying for the Summer Olympic Games. The Jamaican bobsled team qualifying for the 1988 Winter Olympics is the best frame of reference for comprehending this incredible feat.”

“As directors, we jumped into another opportunity to capture history in the making. Little did we know how much more complicated their journey would be,” says directors Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger. Their company, Ironbound Films, creates award-winning documentaries for theaters, television and the web.

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But when JNS interviewed nearly 30 veterans of the 1948 War of Independence in Israel from October 2022 to January 2023, all of the octogenarians, nonagenarians and centenarians said that 3,000 years of Jewish history — and not the Shoah — drove them to help reclaim the Jewish historic homeland.

JNS found the interviewees by visiting nursing homes, kibbutzim and other sites in Israel and abroad, often asking to speak with the oldest people present. The roughly 30 who agreed to talk about their experiences spoke with JNS — the majority in English with some Yiddish — for more than 60 hours collectively.

The veterans spanned Israeli-born sabras who were active in the Jewish militias Irgun, Lehi and the Haganah, as well as foreign fighters who came to assist what would become the Israel Defense Forces in Machal units. Both sabras and foreign volunteers knew a great deal about the Holocaust, and many had lost relatives and friends. They met survivors who recounted their experiences. But invariably, the veterans told JNS that they were motivated in their service by a long cultural and historical memory rather than World War II itself.

JNS shares a few of those stories.

Haganah messenger

JNS spent some eight hours at kibbutz Gan Shmuel with Itzik Mizrachi, 90, who shared his story, gave a tour of the kibbutz where he lives and invited JNS to lunch at its dining hall. The Jerusalem-born Mizrachi said he was a messenger in Haganah’s youth wing, Gadna.

During the outbreak of the war in May 1948, Itzik and his family were in the Mount Scopus area, and Arabs blocked them from taking roads to other safe areas. A mob mobilized to try to kill them, he said, but the patriarch of an Arab family, Abu Mustafa, who shared their home stood guard at the door and told the mob it would have to kill him first.

Soon thereafter, Haganah members came in an armored truck and told the family it had half an hour to gather its things and come to safety.

Mizrachi, who remains in good health, and walks and drives on his own, told JNS that he is the seventh generation in his family to live in Israel, after his ancestors, Sephardic Jews, left Spain during the expulsion.

As a Haganah message runner, he studied KAPAP — an acronym for krav panim el panim, or close-quarter fighting — which Haganah used to disguise its weapons training. Mizrachi later studied with Imi Lichtenfeld, founder of krav maga, and his son Rhon Mizrachi is now one of the recognized experts in that area.

Mizrachi told JNS that the Holocaust was only one chapter in Jewish history. “Why would we allow that moment alone to define us as Jews?” he said. “Long before the Holocaust, we said, ‘Next year in Jerusalem’ every year during the Passover seder.”

The Holocaust was a motivator, but not the main one. “For generations, we yearned for our independence. There were many pogroms, massacres and expulsions in our history. We never let any of these define us either,” he said.

South African Zionism

“The South African Jewish community was very Zionist long before the Holocaust,” Ruth Stern, 97, a South African nurse who now lives in Jerusalem, told JNS.

The 800 South African volunteers in 1948 paled in number only to Americans (1,000). Due to the representation from these two nations in particular, English became the most spoken language among machalniks, and most foreign volunteers, who were likelier to know Yiddish than Hebrew, first spoke in Yiddish with Israelis.

Stern, who went to Israel to volunteer over her parents’ objections — “Why can’t you be like your sisters and not go?” — said that she and her peers knew about the Holocaust and that many South African Jews of Lithuanian heritage lost relatives back home.

“The Holocaust wasn’t why I volunteered or why most other Jews did,” she insisted.

In 1948, she treated many patients who had survived the Holocaust before their injuries in the war. They experienced trauma on top of trauma, she said.

She accounted for her choice to go to Israel despite pressure from her parents with her spirit of adventurousness. It’s not every 2,000 that one can see the Jewish state rebuilt, she said. She didn’t want to wait another two millennia.

High-flying graphic designer

Asked whether the Holocaust motivated him, the late Alex Zilony, who died at age 107 on March 3, replied: “No. What a question!”

Zilony, who was born in Poland and grew up in Israel, studied in the United Kingdom before becoming a Haganah pilot. He was one of the founders of the Israeli Air Force, and speaking from his home in Tel Aviv, he told JNS that he designed the IAF emblem, which remains in use today.

“We have wanted a state for over 3,000 years,” he said. “Maybe the possibility of building a state was higher after the Holocaust because we got many new immigrants and war veterans, but Jews had been migrating since the 1920s and even before this,” he said.

Zilony’s daughter, Ruth, who was present during the interview, was as surprised as JNS was at her father’s response. “This was not the answer I expected,” she said, highlighting generational differences in Israel today.

Despite the tendency of American South African and British volunteer pilots to pride themselves on the proclamation that they helped solidify a victory in 1948, Zilony was adamant that Israel would have prevailed without that help.

Stay alive!

“They say three Jews, five opinions,” the late Tom Tugend told JNS in a phone call from his California home late last year. “This time, it was half a million of us, one opinion — stay alive! Pretty much the whole Diaspora or every Jew who could hold a gun sent someone to represent their community.”

Despite having fled Nazi Germany to the United States and later returned to Europe as a U.S. soldier, Tugend insisted that his desire to help create a Jewish state was a more significant motivator than the Holocaust.

Jews came from a variety of backgrounds, noted Tugend, from Jewish IRA (Irish Republican Army) arms smugglers to Indian Jews. Some, like Tugend, had served in the U.S. military, or in the British or French armies in World War II. Some were officers, while others lacked any military experience, he said, and a few even came from Kenya.

“The South Africans were among the most dedicated fighters,” he pointed out. “There was a Jewish Texan cowboy with a Southern accent. There was a Jew with a Scottish accent, and I recall one from Yorkshire whom nobody could understand! They all wanted to defend the new nation of Israel.”

To read more content visit www.jns.org

My visit began with a speaking engagement at the Jewish Book Week Festival at Kings Place. It was an impressive production with 100 speakers over the day and 3,000+ audience members.

I also had the privilege to address Members of Parliament as legislation is circulating that could gut the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement there. Fingers crossed.

My last visit to London was in 2015, just two months before Jeremy Corbyn, a radical left-wing anti-Israel politician, was elected Labour Party leader and BDS was in full swing.

Well-known for his association with and praise for Hamas, Corbyn attracted a new and manifestly antisemitic crowd to the party. Labour, like our Democratic Party, had been the political home for Jews for centuries. With Corbyn’s ascent, members charged that it harassed and discriminated against Jews and failed to punish perpetrators.

The Jewish community was deeply concerned. Young professionals felt forced to choose between their connection to Israel and/or Jewish identity and their careers and social circles – a dilemma that took several more years to ripen in the US. Some of my British friends were purchasing a second home in or moving to Israel, afraid that if Corbyn won the general election for Prime Minister in 2019, they “wouldn’t be able to get their money out.”

I took my concerns about the BDS campaign and the Jew-hatred it was fomenting to the Israeli Consulate office in London but left unassured that the tide would turn.

Unlike in the US, where Jewish institutions were up in arms against the threat, the primary Jewish advocacy group in the UK, the Board of Deputies (BOD), had a nuanced, if not downright muted, response. According to several friends, the approach had always been to plead their case privately to government officials and not make a public fuss.

Frankly, I was dumbfounded by the low-key response.

Long ago, when I learned about the Holocaust, I understood that my destiny is entwined with the fate of Jews everywhere. Now, I more fully understand how the Jewish experience can vary depending on our numbers and the history and culture in which we live.

Size matters. There are 7.6 million Jews in the US representing 2% of the population. In the UK, there are approximately 270,000 Jews, representing a mere .5%. If there is strength in numbers, the Jews in the UK have a far weaker hand.

History matters. England was home to some of the worse Jewish demonization in Medieval Europe. Residents believed false tales of Jews murdering Christian children for their blood. Antisemitic lies about evil, greedy Jews were and are replete in English literature (e.g., The Merchant of Venice) and baked into the culture.

In addition to prejudice and exclusion, British Jews, like other European Jews, have also suffered expulsion. In 1290, the Jews were kicked out of England and were not allowed to return for almost 400 years. Anxiety around their permanency continues to this day.

Culture matters. English Jews do not publicly embrace their Jewishness in the same manner as their American cousins. According to journalist Nicole Lampert, the general population probably could not name five famous English Jews. Compare that to the American awareness of the Jewish ethnicity of individuals like Mark Zuckerberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Albert Einstein, Seth Rogen, Steven Spielberg, Larry David, Bernie Sanders and Barbra Streisand. If you are reluctant to identify as a Jew, it is harder to fight for your rights as a Jew.

However, in 2019, when Jeremy Corbyn ran for prime minister, this chapter of Jewish history had a remarkable ending. British Jews found their voices.

A slew of Jewish lawmakers quit the party. A human rights commission launched an investigation. On a single day, the headlines in all three major Jewish publications declared Corbyn an existential threat to Jews. The BOD took the unprecedented step of organizing a large protest in front of Parliament. The BBC aired an expose, Is Labour Antisemitic, by broadcaster John Ware who I had the pleasure to meet.

Jeremy Corbyn suffered a devastating defeat. He lost 16% of typical Labour voters who said antisemitism was one of the reasons they decided not to vote for him.

Did that end antisemitism across the pond? Of course not. Anti-Jewish hate crimes have risen there like everywhere else and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories thrive. However, Corbyn inadvertently raised the consciousness of non-Jews and, unlike in the US, Diversity, Equity and Inclusions (DEI) training includes Jews as a minority.

The biggest takeaway of all, however, is that we can move mountains when we raise our voices.

Lana Melman is an entertainment industry veteran, author and CEO of Liberate Art, Inc. Her book “Artists Under Fire: The BDS War Against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel” is an Amazon Best Seller. Contact and learn more at www.LiberateArt.net

El área estaba abarrotada de los fans más devotos de la superestrella puertorriqueña en Coachella, dispuestos a soportar dos horas de empujones y apretones desde el final del acto anterior hasta el comienzo de su actuación para ver de cerca a Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. Tenía mis dudas sobre si valía la pena tal sacrificio físico, pero estábamos tan apretados que habría sido imposible escapar.

Era mi primera vez en Coachella. Siempre había visto el festival como un evento demasiado costoso y corporativo. Pero esta programación me parecía interesante, el más diverso en sus dos décadas de historia, encabezado por un icono político de la isla de mi madre. Había venido con dos de mis mejores amigos; esa mañana nos despertamos en el camping con una mujer que traducía mal las letras de Bad Bunny.

Nunca fui fan del reggaeton hasta que escuché las canciones políticas de Bad Bunny. Sus temas “El Apagón”, sobre los continuos apagones y el estatus colonial de Puerto Rico y sobre cómo todo el mundo quiere ser latino pero les falta sazón, encendieron en mí un orgullo boricua que puede ser difícil de mantener en California, donde sólo el 0,6% de la gente es puertorriqueña y la mayoría sabe poco sobre la colonia estadounidense.

Como muchos fans, tenía curiosidad por ver hasta qué punto hablaba de política en su actuación. Ha habido rumores de que está saliendo con Kendall Jenner, a quien algunos consideran la reina de la apropiación cultural. Eso alimentó la especulación de que podría abandonar el activismo anticolonial y perder el contacto con Puerto Rico ahora que posee una mansión en Los Ángeles y es una megacelebridad.

Mientras esperaba su actuación, charlé con otros asistentes. Una de ellas, Vivian Gómez, mexicoamericana de 37 años residente en Orange County, me contó que Bad Bunny le había abierto los ojos a la difícil situación de Puerto Rico. “No sabía que había colonizadores que se apoderaban de Puerto Rico y expulsaban a los puertorriqueños”, me dijo.

Ella ve paralelismos entre el desplazamiento mostrado en el documental “El Apagón: Aquí vive gente” y el aburguesamiento de México, donde nació. Espera que el arte de Bad Bunny inspire al público a respetar a Latinoamérica y a su gente. “Tenemos mucho más que ofrecer que botanitas, tacos y tequila”, afirma.

Otros a nuestro alrededor no estaban muy interesados en la política. Detrás de mí, Isaac Guerra, mexicoamericano de 20 años, con una camiseta de Bad Bunny, me dijo que a él lo que le gusta es su ritmo. “Te dan ganas de ponerte a bailar”. También le gusta la moda del cantante, que desafía las normas de género. “Normalmente no me vestiría como él, pero me gusta mucho como se viste”.

Bad Bunny se ha convertido en el artista más seguido del mundo, adorado incluso por los no hispanohablantes por sus ritmos pegadizos, su autenticidad que borra fronteras y mucho más.

Otro fan con el que hablé fue Quincie Onyejekwe, nigeriano de 34 años. “No tengo ni idea de lo que dice, pero me encanta”, me dijo. “Cuando canta, sientes lo que está diciendo”. Le da esperanzas a otros grandes artistas no anglosajones de todo el mundo. “Demuestra que puedes cantar en tu propio idioma y que la gente sigue vibrando”.

Hacia las 23.30, la voz de Benito inundó al público, que estalló en éxtasis. En un tono sensual, hizo una oda a Coachella como lugar de primeros besos, de las primeras escapadas, de encontrarnos a nosotros mismos y de respuestas a nuestras preguntas. Se deleitó con la importancia del momento: es la primera vez que un artista en español actúa como cabeza de cartel. “De tantos y tantos, nunca antes hubo uno como yo”, dijo entre gritos.

De repente apareció, con su lujoso y colorido vestuario que dejaba al descubierto su pecho tatuado. Todo el público se puso a bailar, electrizado y cantando al ritmo de “Tití me preguntó”. La mayoría de la gente parecía saberse cada palabra. Se me hizo un nudo en la garganta al recordar mi infancia en pleno auge del nativismo anglosajón y mi asistencia a una escuela primaria que prohibía hablar español, mi lengua materna.

Brevemente, habló en inglés. “Quiero saber algo antes de seguir con mi programa… con mi programa”. Hizo una pausa. “¿Qué prefieren? ¿Que hable en inglés o que hable en español?” La gente gritó: “¡en español!”

Más tarde, las enormes pantallas de Coachella mostraron las leyendas de la salsa y el reggaetón, nacidas de la resistencia de los negros a la opresión en el Caribe. El equipo consultó a Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, autora de “Remixing Reggaetón”, sobre la historia del reggaetón. “He ido a muchos conciertos de reggaetón en mi vida y nunca había visto un vídeo así”, me dijo.

Vanessa Díaz, que imparte un curso sobre Bad Bunny en la Universidad Loyola Marymount y creó un “Bad Bunny Syllabus” con Rivera-Rideau, dice que los vídeos demuestran que se mantiene fiel a sus raíces. “Lo hizo por Puerto Rico”, afirma. “Quería que la actuación se retransmitiera por streaming en toda la isla y que cada persona de Puerto Rico que lo viera se sintiera orgullosa y emocionada y se sintiera representada”.

Finalmente, durante el espectáculo, Bad Bunny se mostró vulnerable, diciendo que estaba desconcertado por cosas que había leído en Internet. Nos aseguró que sabía exactamente quién era y cuál era su propósito. “Sé cuál es mi propósito en la tierra y se los juro que lo voy a cumplir”.

¿Cuál cree el astro boricua que es su propósito? No lo dijo. En cambio, presentó “El Apagón” como la canción que más le llena de orgullo. La interpretó, y los que la entendimos como su respuesta a esa pregunta, enloquecimos.

Culled mostly from the 2023 edition of The Year in Pictures 2022:

“May You Always Live in Interesting Times,” the acclaimed annual movie produced by the founder of ZUMA Wire Service, Scott Mc Kiernan, who curated this exhibition of award-winning photography by ZUMA Press photojournalists from around the world — winning the prestigious Lucie Award for Photography Content of the Year, Print or Online. This new exhibition will present “Pictures That Need to be Seen” and “Stories That Need to be Told” over a 12-month period capturing the Good, Bad, and Hopeful.

GOOD: The BIG wave family spirit, honoring “Eddie Would Go!” aka The Eddie; widely considered to be “the Super Bowl of Surfing.” The legend of Eddie Aikau is an important part of Hawaiian Culture. He was a championship athlete, a waterman, and a family man who truly cared for others. Eddie was not just the first lifeguard for the entire North Shore, he saved over 500 people throughout his career, occasionally braving waves that reached 30 feet or higher when no one else would go out. “Spectacular images from the most recent event will open this exhibition because it’s important to keep Eddie’s legacy alive and inspire the next generation to live like he did,” says Mc Kiernan.

BAD: Mother Nature’s power was unleashed on Turkey and Syria through “the earthquake of the century,” while Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine was riddled with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The impact of both events — natural and man-made — can still be felt globally, economically, and emotionally.

HOPE: What the victims of both earthquakes and war share is eternal hope, rising from miracle rescue stories and inspirational tales of human resilience — stunning, soul-searing images captured by ZUMA Press photographers.

“As the world’s dreaded pandemic continues to wane, people need to come out and experience images that need to be seen, spanning the planet,” invites Fatima NeJame, president and chief executive officer of the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. “These are moments in time that will stop you in your tracks and stay with you forever, as the photographers’ unique talent and skills bring you to the heart of the matter at hand, with grace, respect and chilling honesty.”

“This new exhibition captures humanity at its darkest hours and witnesses others rise above and beyond, showing that hope never dies,” adds Mc Kiernan. “Thanks to these courageous photographers on the frontlines of history, we can see and share the good, bad and beautiful of it all at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre — with a very special thank you to those who trusted ZUMA Press photojournalists to tell their stories.”

The BIG Picture: It’s Been a Minute! will feature award-winning images by photojournalists worldwide, including this year’s White House News Photographers Association’s Still Photographer of the Year Carol Guzy. WHNPA is a century-old non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Washington’s professional photojournalists. Also on display is the beauty in nature as only seen by Robin Loznak, as well as stellar portraits and moments from the historical 95th Oscars by Kevin Sullivan. The exhibition also includes winners of such leading photojournalist contests as POYi, BoP, WHNPA, plus award-winning images from Communication Arts Magazine Photography Competition 2022 and 2023.

Free Guest Lecture – Thursday, May 18, 5 to 7 p.m. Education Evening at the Photo Centre will be a “Ted Talk”-style presentation by photographers featured in the exhibition, moderated by Mc Kiernan, ZUMA’s Director of Photography. Free Opening Reception – Friday, May 19, 6-8 p.m. This is the perfect opportunity for photo fans to experience the exhibition and mingle with some of the featured photojournalists. Free Closing Reception – Saturday, July 30, 6-8 p.m.

The Photo Centre is located at the downtown City Center municipal complex at 415 Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, call 561.253.2600 or visit www.workshop.org or www.fotofusion.org

Some maintain that because the prohibition against drinking is found in the sentences that follow their deaths, the fire alludes to the possibility that Aaron’s sons served in the sanctuary while intoxicated (Leviticus 10:9; Vayikra Rabbah 12:5).

Others insist that the fire relates to their being “hot” in deciding halachic matters themselves without consulting Moses. Note that the preceding sentence stresses the leadership role of Moses and Aaron (Leviticus 9:23; Eruvin 63a).

It may be that offering many answers indicates that none are sufficiently compelling. That is, we cannot comprehend the reason Nadav and Avihu’s actions mandated death. Only God can grasp the unfathomable; we cannot.

This perplexity may explain why the Torah tells us that the Lord spoke to Moses immediately after the death of Aaron’s two sons (Leviticus 16:1), which teaches that, despite the suffering of sufferings, the horror of untimely ghastly deaths, dialogue continues. God tells Moses to speak to Aaron, detailing the laws of the high priest on Yom Kippur (16:2–28). In fact, this may be the central point of the Nadav and Avihu narrative. Although Aaron does not understand why his sons died, he and the priesthood continue to serve God.

In other words, in times of challenge, rather than ask “Why?” a better question is “What now?” “Why” relates to the past, which cannot be undone; it is philosophical, concerning which God understands and we do not. “What now” is a future-oriented, pragmatic query that we, on some level, can control.

Not only should we ask, “What can we do about it?” but we should ask, “What will God do about it?” God gives us inner strength to overcome, to do things we never thought we could.

Sometimes I think there are no great people in this world – only great challenges. Faced with these challenges, God from above helps us to do the impossible. And as God is limitless, so are we, created in the image of God, given the strength to reach toward limitlessness.

And perhaps, just perhaps, if we gain a sense of what God does for us in helping us move forward, we will then be emotionally better equipped to ponder – if we wish – the insoluble question of why: Why did it happen in the first place?

When confronted with inexplicable suffering, we all ought to remember the words of Esther Wachsman, mother of Nachshon, the young Israeli soldier murdered by Arab terrorists in the early 1990s. Asked how she continued on, Esther, paraphrasing Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, said, “I had to ask myself, will I be a victim of my fate, or will I initiate a new destiny?”

This idea has helped me face many challenges in my life. The motto I strive to live by is never allow what you cannot do to control what you can do.

Candle lighting:

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim parsha

April 28 at 7:33 p.m.