JEWISH SENTINEL

JEWISH SENTINEL • JUNE 18 - 24, 2021 21 people sleeping in the streets, nor have to deal with disturbed indi- viduals on the subway. Certainly, increased housing units is a par- tial solution, but the creation of such units must take into the con- sideration the input of those who live in or near the areas where the housing is to be constructed or re-purposed. It’s a question of fairness, not entitlement. Hate Crimes F or the Jewish community, the need for improved safety and security includes a much stronger effort to identify and prosecute people guilty of committing hate crimes, mostly against “visible” Hassidic Jews – those who wear Hassidic clothing or yarmulkes. This effort must be augmented by the introduction of new curricula in our schools, which doesn’t incul- cate students with sanctioned pro- paganda against Israel that too often leads to violence against Jews, as the terrible events that followed the recent Gaza War made very clear. The same proactive effort must be made to protect Asian Amer- icans, who have been victimized by a staggering increase in hate crimes committed by ignorant peo- ple who, influenced by irresponsi- ble politicians, blame their victims for the pandemic. Law enforce- ment and the courts must play a large role, so that those who peddle hate and commit hate crimes know that they will be dealt with harshly. The Economy T he new city administration needs to make its Number One priority the resuscitation of the city’s economy and a return to near- full employment. Especially hard hit have been the tourism, restau- rant and real estate industries. The harm done to the tourism industry created a domino effect that severe- ly affected other industries whose success depends on vacationers and the countless people who ordinarily visit NewYork on business. Numerous families have fled the city during the pandemic, fearing both the possibility of infection and rising crime rates. Some of the businesses that have suffered as a result are prime sources of philan- thropic support for Jewish com- munal life, be they synagogues, day schools, Jewish community centers or a myriad of welfare or- ganizations that serve the needs of the less fortunate among us, Jews and non-Jews alike. The next ad- ministration of the city will have to find ways to spur economic devel- opment and job creation in ways never before contemplated. Education T he children of New York City, like those everywhere in the country – in the world - have been severely victimized by the pan- demic, especially when it comes to its impact on their education. Virtual learning has proven itself to have been no substitute for the classroom experience, and the damage done to children because of their isolation from their peers cannot yet be determined. Underprivileged children will find it more difficult than their more fortunate peers to “catch up,” but all kids face the task of re-ac- climating themselves to classroom study. Jewish children in yeshivas and day schools face the same difficulties. The city leaders de- termined by this year’s primaries, from the mayor on down, have a great task before them – and it is uncharted territory. All of the above means that it is incumbent on every eligible voter to educate him or herself on the issues and cast their bal- lots for the men and women best suited to bring the city back. We call on every one of our readers to exercise their right to vote in primaries whose results will have far-reaching implications for our future, and that of our children. As the virus recedes in New York, the task of re-energizing, reconstituting, rebuilding our city has perhaps never been great- er. So it is with extra emphasis that we say, as we do every year, “Vote!!” Vote continued from page 4 Vote to determine who will repair what’s been broken and replace what’s been lost during the pandemic. Allies continued from page 5 for the State of Israel is shared by only 12% of Evangelicals. K rauthammer’s assertions are given heft by those who believe that combating an- ti-Semitism is best achieved by con- sorting with detractors rather than aligning with friends. Congress- woman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michi- gan), a supporter of the Anti-Se- mitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was a featured panelist in December at a webinar on anti-Semitism that was hosted by left-wing Jewish groups. In a recently deleted tweet, Congress- man Jamaal Bowman (D-New York) alleged that the Netanyahu government was failing to vaccinate Palestinians. His tweet went on to state that “this cruelty is another reminder of why the occupation must end.” Bow- man was then invited to address hun- dreds of students at aNY Jewish high school and subsequent to his appear- ance, the congressman cosponsored House bill HR 2590 which seeks to restrict and condition US assistance to Israel. It bears mentioning that the latest incidents of vandalism in New York occurred in Bowman’s district. And last year, while speaking to an- other group of Jewish high school students, NYC mayoral candidate Dianne Morales referred to Israel as an apartheid state. While promoting kindness and tolerance is a noble endeavor, would these establishments welcome for- mer pro-Israel secretary of state Mike Pompeo who consistently af- firms his “Evangelical faith informs him about the way he thinks about the world?” What about Sen. Lind- sey Graham (R-South Carolina)? Would these institutions open their doors for a senator whose decades of service include fighting for passage of the Taylor Force Act, and whose efforts are now dedicated to stopping its subversion by the Biden adminis- tration? As a parent of children who attend Jewish day schools, I can tell you the answer is not clear. Incidentally, strengthening the Judeo-Christian alliance begins in school. Jewish and Christian par- ents should work on cultivating new opportunities for our youth to learn together both inside and out- side of the classroom. A poll conducted by the Ameri- can Jewish Committee reveals that 43% of Jewish 18-29-year-olds personally experienced anti-Semi- tism on campus or know someone who has. Comprising a minority percentage relative to the overall university population, Jewish stu- dents remain better equipped to combat campus anti-Semitism by partnering with Christian class- mates rather than with the woke and trendy Left, where Jewish ha- tred has gained a foothold and is growing in popularity. That anti-Semitic events in New York should coincide with a French court’s decision not to hold the mur- derer of 65-year-old Sarah Halimi criminally responsible for her death is a frightening irony. While thousands of French citizens have protested the ruling, their efforts may prove futile in quelling the permeation of their country’s anti-Semitism. In the United States, Evangel- ical Christians are indispensable allies to the Jewish people. Their uninhibited support is routinely displayed at their conferences, in their churches, and in the halls of Congress. The time has arrived for all of us to stand and applaud them. Irit Tratt is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Algemeiner, and Israel Hayom. Jewish and Christian parents should work on cultivating new opportunities for our youth. the red heifer is the means. Indeed, there is even a halacha which states that if the whole community is ritu- ally impure and a red heifer can’t be found, the people are permitted nev- ertheless to participate in the paschal sacrifice, as a symbol to the nation that our national unity and well-be- ing transcends individual purity. Consequently, we see how one’s own spiritual development is only a means to the communal experience of the nation. Klal Yisrael comes first. If we look at prayer, we see how its observance in Jewish prac- tice teaches us something unique about our priorities. In other faiths, prayer is an occasion when an indi- vidual trembles before God, an individual beseeches, an individual hopes. But for Jews, prayer is ideally a public affair. In- dividual prayer is consigned to a lower spiritual potential than when a group of at least ten, a minyan, pray together, because the minyan is representative and symbolic of the Jewish nation. Indeed, even when we pray alone, our prayer is always expressed in plural, for the entire nation: “Heal us, O God, so that we may be healed; see our af- fliction; restore Jerusalem to us.” Individuals praying alone cannot say many of the most important prayers. This doesn’t mean that in Judaism an individual’s self-reali- zation is always sacrificed for the greater good of the whole. Rather, a dialectic and a tension exists be- tween being a we-oriented people and an I-oriented people. At times, one must zealously, and even self- ishly, prepare oneself for ultimate greater service to the Jewish com- munity by shutting out the needs of the world, but the overriding goal of the individual must be to con- tribute to the needs of the nation. Shlomo Riskin is chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel. Dvar continued from page 7 RESERVE YOUR AD FOR OUR JULY 4th ISSUE! 516-818-1733 as the two foundational elements of our identity – the Jewish and demo- cratic nature of the state – are placed in increasing tension. Once, not so long ago, most Israelis agreed that there could be no Israel that didn’t represent the Jewish people and the continuity of Jewish history and that didn’t, at the same time, aspire to fulfill the promise of our Declara- tion of Independence for full equal- ity for every citizen. Today, thanks in no small mea- sure to the previous government, that basic assumption of Israeli- ness can no longer be taken for granted. The task of this govern- ment is, above all, to restore our sense of commonality, by affirm- ing and defending Israel’s Jewish and democratic identities. The last years of Netanyahu’s reign were a glimpse into the pos- sible unraveling of Israeli society. This government’s contradictions are the source of its hope. Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman In- stitute. His latest book, “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor,” is a New York Times bestseller. Hope continued from page 9