JEWISH SENTINEL

By MENDEL HOROWITZ S torytelling is a central fea- ture of the Passover holiday. The imperative for Jews to retell our history ensures that our children will never forget it. During the Holocaust, tradition- al Passover seder texts were hand- written in ghettos from memory. Survivors illustrated Holocaust- themed Haggadahs in displaced persons camps after the war. “In every generation, they stand above us to destroy us,” laments the tradi- tional narrator, “and the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hands.” On our Passover table, to accompany the familiar narrative, heirlooms link my children tangi- bly to their past. Incorporating our ancestors’ material objects into our rituals is both an homage to their determination and a prayer for the perpetuation of our children’s through their faith. Ideally, we can meet the bear- able challenges of our times by appreciating how our predecessors confronted the unbearable difficul- ties of theirs. In a time of uncer- tainty and inconvenient isolation, these relics can help to put social distancing in perspective and encourage us to maintain resilience and hope. A s the coronavirus spread in March 2020, my daughter and I transported an heirloom set of Rosenthal china in two overweight carry-ons and one bulging knap- sack on a flight to Israel from New York. Before escaping the carnage of Europe for the United States in 1949, Zaidy Victor and Bubby Bella had the presence of mind to purchase quality German china manufactured in the U.S. Zone. Traumatized in ways I could not imagine, these two refugees made their way to Philadelphia with two young children and enough plates and saucers for a family of 12. Wrapped snugly in bubble-wrap cocoons, the delicate gold-rimmed dishes were making their second transatlantic journey. In honor of the past, we were transporting the relics to a sovereign Jewish state after survivors of genocide salvaged them from a country that had sought their anni- hilation. Symbols of perseverance and desire, the dishes would adorn By ANDREW E. HARROD A ssistant Professor of Afri- cana studies Noura Erakat demands that self-professed progressives share her Israel-hatred, lest they become “Progressive Ex- cept for Palestine” (PEP). She made this point during a March 3 webinar with Marc La- mont Hill. who famously lost his job at CNN for approvingly reciting the BDS mantra “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea,” and Mitchell Plitnick, whose recent book Except Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics is dedicated to Erakat’s terrorist cousin Ahmed Erekat, killed last June by Israeli border security after committing a car-ramming attack that injured a guard. and Plitnick, former co-director of the radically anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and former vice president of the equally hostile Israel Foundation for Middle East Haymarket Books. Both invoked the tired canard that Israel “racial- ly” oppresses Arabs, both its own citizens and those living in the ter- ritories. Hill absurdly claimed that Erakat praised the infamous United Nations World Conference against Racism, held in Durban, Africa in 2001, which quickly degenerated into a hate-fest against Israel. She had a tangential connection to the con- ference, as a resear- cher for a paper deliv- ered there, titled, “The Forgotten ‘ism’: An A r a b - Am e r i c a n Woman’s Perspective on Zionism, Racism, and Sexism.” “Global, grassroots coalitions” went to Durban, she boasted, “intent on holding up the banner that Israel is an apartheid state.” The U.S. Durban delegation, led by America’s first Black Secretary of Are you “Progressive Except for Palestine”? CANDLE LIGHTING continued on page xx Passover, COVID, Memory Re ections on yet another restricted seder Ideally, we can meet the bearable challenges of our times by apprecia ing how our survivor predecessors confronted the unbearable dif culties of theirs. continued on page 24 Victor and Bella Rubinstein, identi ed in the story as “Bubby and Zaide,” emerged from the Holocaust strong and ready to face life in the United States. (Right) China bought by author’s survivor in-laws in Germany are at his seder, to inspire his family. A Sinister PEP Talk ANALYSIS FIRST PERSON Noura Erakat (bottom) and Israel bashers Professor Marc Lamont-Hill (top left) and Mitchell Plitnick, former co-director of the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Friday, March 26 Candles 6:56 pm Saturday, March 27 Candles 8:27 pm First Passover Seder Sunday, March 28 Candles 8:28 pm Second Passover Seder Friday, April 2 307 W. 37th Street New York, NY 10018 516-594-4000 Fax: 212/244-2257 Publisher & editor-in-chief Jerome Wm. Lippman Assistant Editor Jeff Helmreich Features Editor Barbara Weinblatt Travel Editor Tania Grossinger Contributors Douglas M. Bloomfield, Shira Dicker, Lawrence J. Epstein, Marcelle Sussman Fischler, Ezra Goldstein, William B. Helmreich, Sandy Portnoy, Joseph R. Rackman, Erica Rauzin, Walter Ruby, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Barbara Schultz, Jacob Stein, Carol Steinberg, Harold S. Steinberg, Andrew Wohlberg, Nora Yood Donald Pleasant, Michael Perry. Production Editor Laura Katz Account Executives Joyce Ehrlich, Enid Feldman, Dave Levin Lee Lichtman, Joyce Rudnick, Judy Schnelwar Art Director Deborah Gruenberger Traffic Manager Karen Chasen For Israel Advertising Information International Media Placement P.O.B. 7195. Jerusalem, Israel 91071 (02) 6252933 Fax (02) 6249240 Counsel Steven D. Cohn All material in this paper has been copyrighted, is the exclusive property of this newspaper, and cannot be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed by our columnists do not necessarily reflect the editor’s point of view. Composition responsibility: This newspaper will not be liable for errors appearing in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Advertiser assumes responsibility for errors in telephone orders. We are not responsible for the Kashruth of any product or establishment advertised in this newspaper. All advertisements designed and prepared by the Jewish World are the sole property of the newspaper and can not be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. Published weekly by World Jewish Media, Inc. Jerome Wm. Lippman, President. Manhattan’s largest Jewish Newspaper Circulation 40,000 CANDLE LIGHTING 4 JEWISH SENTINEL • NOVEMBER 18-24, 2022 Friday, November 18 Candles 4:16pm Shabbat ends 5:17pm Frid , November 25 Candles 4:12pm Shabbat ends 5:14pm some of our most important civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, the Leadership Confer- ence on Civil and Human Rights and the Student Nonviolent Coor- dinating Committee (SNCC). When, between 1910 and 1940, more than 2,000 Black primary and secondary schools and 20 col- leges were established in whole or in part by the Jewish philanthro- pist Julius Rosenwald – that’s Jew- ish power. When Jews comprised half of the northern young people who participated in the Mississip- pi Freedom Summer in 1964, and Jewish leaders were arrested with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he protested Southern racism – that was Jewish power. Jewish wisdom as applied to the civil rights movement was perhaps most eloquently described when continued on page 25 By ALYZA LEWIN The following was adapted from the keynote address delivered by Lewin at the Installation Dinner of the Brandeis Association, a Jew- ish bar association, in Great Neck, New York, on Oct. 24, 2022. J ustice Louis D. Brandeis taught A ericans that it was possible to be both American and Zionist. He explained that Zi- onist ideals were synonymous with American values. As he once said, “I began gradu- ally to realize that th se 20th-c n- tury ideals of America, of democ- racy, of social justic , of longing for righteousness, were ancient Jewish id als. … That that which united as one. Today, however, some seek to divide them and falsely claim that they can’t coexist together. They categorize Zionism as evil. It is increasingly common today to hear people say: I’m not an- I was striving for, as a thing es- sentially American, as th ideals for our country, were the Jewish ideals of thousands of years.” For Justice Brandeis, Jewish, Zionist and American ideals were ti-Jewish, I’m only anti-Zionist. But is that even possible? Is it possible to support Jews but oppose Zionists? The answer is no. Why? Be- cause Zionism is an integral part of Jewish identity. Judaism is more than a religion. Jews share not only a faith and re- ligious traditions, but also a deep sense of Jewish peoplehood. The Jews’ history, ancestry, theology and culture are inextricably inter- twined with the Land of Israel. Jus- tice Brandeis embraced the right of the Jewish people to self-determi- nation in their ancestral homeland. Yet today, on campus and be- yond, Jewish students who demon- strate pride in their Jewi h ethnic heritage by expressing identifica- tion with Isr el are hunned, mar- ginalized and excluded from stu- dent clubs, support groups, social Jew-Baiti g College Kids “Anti-Zionists” torment Jewish students It is increasingly common today to hear people say, “I’m not anti-Jewish, I’m only anti-Zionist.” But Zionism is an integral part of Jewish identity. For too many Jewish students, it’s just another day on campus. ANTI-SEMITISM conti ued on p g 18 By DAVID SUISSA W hat is the Jew-hating notion of “Jewish pow- er?” When superstars with millions of followers on so- cial media like Kanye West and Kyrie Irving promote anti-Semitism, more often than not the hostility revolves around a sinister view of Jewish power. Jews are the boss- es. They own the record labels, the movie studios and the sports teams. They run the world. These stereotypes are not just sinister and anti-Semitic, but ig- nore genuine Jewish power, one that has nothing to with conspir- acy-based anti-Semitism and ev- erything to do with Jewish wis- dom and universal values. The Judaic teachings, “What power, the kind that moves hearts and souls. Practical expressions of “Je ish power” were implem n ed by those Jews who helped found is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor” and that all of God’s chil- dren are “created in His image,” are manifestations of the faith’s ethical On Jewish Pow r I ’s all about ethics, not “con rol” When Kany West and Kyrie Irving promote anti-Semitis with hurtful words, the hostility mostly revolves around a sinister view of Jewish power over Black people. ANALYSIS Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld of Cleveland was beaten with tire irons by two white segrega- tionists while canvassing for voter registration, July 10, 1964.