Chabad merges San Diego memorial gathering with community service at Beth Israel
Rabbi Rafi Andrusier of Chabad of East County sent the following message: “After such a terrible tragedy, I sent an email on Saturday night about increasing Jewish unity. Chabad jumped into action and immediately setup an event to honor those holy souls who passed away and invited hundreds including local representatives and law enforcement personnel. Chabad is about Ahavat Yisrael. And at the end of the day this is what it’s all about.
It later came to our attention about a simultaneous Jewish vigil for the victims of Pittsburgh organized by the ADL. Because we need to stand together, tonight’s event at Chabad of University City is canceled and we are inviting and encouraging everyone to come together with the rest of the S. Diego Jewish community to remember those that passed in Pittsburgh and to have a call for action to add light to the world by doing mitzvot, spreading goodness and kindness to the world. See you at the Vigil scheduled for today (Monday) night at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel. We apologize for the confusion.
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Congressman calls for hearings on white supremacist terrorism
Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA) again sent a letter to House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul urging a hearing on the prevalence of white supremacist terrorism in the United States. Last year—immediately following the attack in Charlottesville, Virginia—Congressman Correa asked Chairman McCaul to hold hearings. Following this weekend’s attack at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Congressman Correa is renewing his call for immediate action by the committee to protect Americans and prevent terrorism.
Rep. Correa said, “Our country has a homegrown terrorism problem and innocent Americans are dying. That must end now. We must hold hearings and finally address that terrorism inflicted by white supremacy extremists is destroying our country.”
In his letter to McCaul, Correa wrote:
I write regarding the tragedy that transpired this past weekend at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is yet another white supremacist attack on our communities. Over a year ago, after Charlottesville, I asked that a hearing be held on white supremacist terrorism in the United States. Once again, I ask that you hold a full Homeland Security Committee hearing to address and prevent future attacks by white supremacists.
As you know, a man opened fire at people attending a worship service at a local synagogue, killing 11 people and wounding six others, including four police officers. During the shooting rampage, he yelled out “all Jews must die.” Those were the last words heard by the innocent lives claimed this weekend.
Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigations indicated that the threat of white nationalist violence in the United States is at least as big of a threat as that posed by the Islamic State (ISIS) and similar groups. Reported in The Hill newspaper, government data suggests that attacks by white supremacists are double the number of those carried out by radical Islamist groups.
As a committee, we have not had a single hearing focusing on white supremacist terrorism. Our committee’s responsibility is to ensure that we do all we can to protect our citizens. It is imperative to hold a committee hearing to address the rise of white supremacist terrorism in the United States and what we can do to prevent such heinous attacks from happening in the future. — From Congressman Correa
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Commentaries continue in wake of Pittsburgh’s Sabbath Massacre
Since Saturday’s massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, statements of concern and support for the Jewish community continue to come into San Diego Jewish World. Following are eight statements that arrived on Monday, Oct. 29, in order of their receipt.
Jewish Policy Center — In the wake of the horrible attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Jewish Policy Center offers condolences and gratitude. Condolences to the families of the murdered – may their memories be a blessing to you, the community, and our country. Gratitude to American law enforcement officers who laid down their lives in defense of Jews at prayer. Gratitude also to the people of Pittsburgh – Jews and non-Jews – who filled the blood banks and held a Havdalah service last night outside the shul. These are our people; this is our country.
To those who have already begun the nasty and divisive “blame game” – including blaming victims for being Jewish, Jews for being pro-Israel, Israel for being there, the President, or the media – shut up. This is not your place.
The United States has been the “Goldene Medina,” the Golden Land, to Jewish people for centuries. It remains that. This is the place Jews can freely live, work, pray, rise, commune, prosper, aid others and take aid when necessary. That didn’t change on Saturday; there have always been haters and haters will remain. What is clear at this sad time is that along with the blessings of freedom we enjoy in this country comes the responsibility to secure it for ourselves and our children.
Rabbi Hillel said, “Im ayn ani li, mi li?” “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?”
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East — There are not enough words to express our shock and sadness at the evil committed against innocents at prayer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this past Saturday morning.
Our hearts, and prayers are with the Squirrel Hill Jewish community and the families of the victims of the horrific anti-Semitic attack that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue.This heinous act of hate represents one of the community’s greatest fears, undermining the sense of security of American Jews at our houses of worship. Now more than ever it is our prayer that the love and unity of our people, will bring us together. It is incumbent upon us that we increase our efforts to combat these malevolent acts that go against all the values of freedom, tolerance, and human dignity upon which our great country was founded. May we unite and strengthen our communities to stand up and combat anti-Semitism and all forms of racism.
We remember the victims: Joyce Feinberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil Rosenthal, 59; David Rosenthal, 54; Bernice Simon, 84; Sylvan Simon, 86; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69. May their memory be a blessing.
Beit Hafutsot, Tel Aviv –“From its founding, Pittsburgh was a city that was open to Jews, and a place where they could prosper. Jewish achievements are wound into the literal fabric of the city; Frankstown Road, which runs through the city, was named after David Franks, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and a prosperous merchant who sent so many pack trains through Pittsburgh that the route became known from then on as ‘Frankstown Road.’
“For hundreds of years the Jewish community of Pittsburgh has been home to inspiring individuals, creative communities, and Jewish innovation. As we reach out in support during its time of tragedy, we can also look to it and see what a strong, vibrant Jewish community looks like…”
ADL Israel and The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot will hold a memorial and solidarity gathering in honor of the Jewish community of Pittsburgh following the “Tree of Live” synagogue massacre.
Jewish National Fund — “Jewish National Fund-USA mourns together with the City of Pittsburgh, the city’s Jewish community, and the members of the Tree of Life Synagogue who suffered a tragic and horrific act of terrorism Saturday morning during Shabbat services. Our grief is especially personal as congregants of Tree of Life Synagogue are part of the Jewish National Fund-USA family, and we join them in deep sorrow. This latest episode of mass violence leaves us empty and heartbroken. For those who lost loved ones, the Jewish National Fund-USA family extends its arms to embrace you with much love and prayer through these trying days. To forever memorialize the names of those lost, we are planting a Circle of Trees in Israel for each victim so that their roots will live on and grow for generations to come.
“We cannot express enough our deep respect and gratitude to the responding law enforcement personnel who ran into harms’ way to save lives and were themselves seriously injured. Our hope is for a speedy recovery to each of them and the wounded congregants. This weekend at our national conference in Phoenix, AZ, more than 1,000 participants from across the nation stood in solidarity with those in Pittsburgh and all victims of terror and anti-Semitism. With loud voices in complete unison we say once again, never again.”
March for the Living — “The International March of the Living teaches the lessons of the Holocaust, one of which is the ongoing reoccurrence of hatred which we have seen rear its ugly head all too often. Today we witnessed a horrific and tragic act of antisemitism inflicted upon the Jewish community of Pittsburgh, proving that we must stand strong in our commitment to educate the next generation as we strive to end all forms of hatred, prejudice, antisemitism and intolerance wherever they occur. Our hearts and souls stand together with the families of each of the innocent individuals murdered and maimed, even as we regret the necessity to call for stronger and more vigilant law enforcement protection for all Jewish institutions wherever they are located. We must stop talking around this issue and address the rampant antisemitism facing the Jewish People in communities around the world. Let us face the issue and take action today as we mourn the senseless and heartbreaking loss of life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the holy day of Sabbath. May the memories of those murdered be for a blessing and we pray for a speedy recovery for those who were injured in this deadly attack. May their families be comforted among the mourners of Zion.”
The Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies — “The Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies is devastated by the unspeakable loss of eleven lives in this weekend’s hate filled shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue. Our colleagues at JFCS in Pittsburgh have asked us to reach out to the global community to write letters of support to the bereaved and injured victims and their families. Please share the attached link to write a letter with your communities: jfcspgh.org/communitysupport. The Network joins with its member agencies throughout the US, in Canada and in Israel in support of our colleagues at JFCS Pittsburgh. Our hearts are with them as they work to support, to strengthen and to mourn with their community. This senseless tragedy has shaken those who work each day in care of the human service needs of communities world-wide. We offer our hope that those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries resulting from the shooting will be comforted in their grief. In times of great tragedy, people want to help. Join us in donating to JFCS Pittsburgh https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/jfcspgh/, write a letter of support, and join a local vigil in memory of those lost. The Pittsburgh community is facing tough times in the days, weeks and months ahead. We must be here with them to support them as they rebuild their community.”
Americans for Peace Now — We join fellow members of the American Jewish community in grief and shock over the horrific attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Our hearts are with Pittsburgh’s Jewish community during this time of mourning. The surge in anti-Semitism we are witnessing in the United States is extremely disturbing and dangerous. Not only is ancient hatred against Jews being stirred up, it is being legitimized. We are being attacked for our tikkun olam, the work we do to repair our world. We and our colleagues at Israel’s Peace Now movement are committed to confronting political violence and the hate speech that incites it and to making the world a better place. We have our work cut out for us, but thankfully, we are in this together. And we will emerge stronger from this tragedy. Olam chesed yibaneh. We will build this world with lovingkindness.”
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee — “The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) offers its sincerest condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA, this past Saturday, and strongly condemns the hatefully-motivated attack. The murder of the innocent worshipers during morning services shocks the conscience and is a reminder that if left unchecked, white nationalism will continue to spread deadly violence across America. ADC calls on the Trump administration to immediately disavow white nationalism/supremacy, and to stop the assault and targeting of immigrants and refugees. The administration of Donald Trump has provided an opportunity for the ideology of hate to fester into the open, and as a result we have seen a wave of violence targeting minority communities. White nationalism and supremacy threatens the safety of minority communities across the country. It is the duty of our elected officials, including the President, to stand up against this ideology and demonstrate that such hate crimes will not be forgotten. ADC stands against all hate crimes and pledges to continue fighting them. ADC denounces hate in all its forms, and will continue working with all communities, including the Jewish community, to combat the hate and discrimination that affects us all.”
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Protest blocks supply crossing into Gaza
Early this morning (Monday) a group of residents from the south of Israel together with activists from the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu blocked the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. The activists blocked dozens of trucks from delivering supplies into Gaza in protest of the continuous rocket fire on the south.
“Enough is enough, we are sick and tired of this,” said Liana Peretz, one of the protest’s organizers who lives in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom. “It is inconceivable that my kids need to wake up in the middle of the night and run to bomb shelters, or need to be afraid of balloons and kites. The time has come for the government to wake up and do something.”
Alon Schvartzer, Director of Policy for Im Tirtzu, said that they arrived to show solidarity with the people of the south. “We cannot tolerate a situation in which residents in our country are subject to unrelenting acts of terrorism,” said Schvartzer. “Decision makers must allow the IDF to achieve a decisive victory and restore quiet to the south. This is not only a struggle of the residents of the south, but a struggle of all the residents of Israel.” — From Im Tirzu
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A new way to target cells to change their gene expression
Delivering an effective therapeutic payload to specific target cells with few adverse effects is considered by many to be the holy grail of medical research. A new Tel Aviv University study explores a biological approach to directing nanocarriers loaded with protein “game changers” to specific cells. The groundbreaking method may prove useful in treating myriad malignancies, inflammatory diseases and rare genetic disorders.
Prof. Dan Peer, director of the Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine at the School of Molecular Cell Biology at TAU’s Faculty of Life Sciences, led the research for the new study, which was conducted by TAU graduate student Nuphar Veiga and lab colleagues Meir Goldsmith, Yasmin Granot, Daniel Rosenblum, Niels Dammes, Ranit Kedmi and Srinivas Ramishetti. The research was published in Nature Communications.
Over the past few years, lipid carriers encapsulating messenger RNAs (mRNAs) have been shown to be extremely useful in altering the protein expressions for a host of diseases. But directing this information to specific cells has remained a major challenge.
“In our new research, we utilized mRNA-loaded carriers — nanovehicles carrying a set of genetic instructions via a biological platform called ASSET — to target the genetic instructions of an anti-inflammatory protein in immune cells,” says Prof. Peer. “We were able to demonstrate that selective anti-inflammatory protein in the target cells resulted in reduced symptoms and disease severity in colitis.
“This research is revolutionary. It paves the way for the introduction of an mRNA that could encode any protein lacking in cells, with direct applications for genetic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases — not to mention cancer, in which certain genes overexpress themselves.”
ASSET (Anchored Secondary scFv Enabling Targeting) uses a biological approach to direct nanocarriers into specific cells to promote gene manipulation. — From Tel Aviv University
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Seven immigrants from North America win Israel’s Bonei Zion Prize.
A pioneer of Israel’s “Start-Up Nation” culture, one of the Jewish world’s top educators, and a founder of the medical field of women’s imaging were among the seven recipients of the 2018 Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize on Sunday, October 28. The ceremony was held at the Knesset in the presence of Minister of Regional Cooperation, Tzachi Hanegbi, Chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel, Isaac Herzog and Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Sofa Landver.
The Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize recognizes Olim (immigrants) from English-speaking countries who have made a major impact on the State of Israel. Over 350 people attended the Knesset ceremony. Minister Hanegbi, Sylvan Adams and Co-Founders of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Tony Gelbart and Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, presented the honorees with their awards. These awards represent the indelible impact that English-speaking Olim have made in Israel during the past seven decades.
“Israel’s development over the past seven decades has been shaped by the remarkable contributions, ingenuity, and talents of Olim,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “They have transformed the landscape of virtually every professional field and community in Israel. I am humbled each year by the trailblazing achievements of the Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Bonei Zion Prize recipients.”
The 2018 Bonei Zion recipients include:
· Dr. Marcia Javitt, chairman of Radiology at Rambam Hospital in the field of Science and Medicine
· Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, Founder of Ohr Torah Stone and Founding Rabbi of Efrat in the field of Education
· Linda Streit, Founder of the Daniel Amichai Centre for Rowing and Nautical Studies in the field of Culture, Art & Sports
· Kalman Samuels, Founder and Chairman of Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the field of Community and Non-Profit
· Arsen Ostrovsky, Executive Director of The Israeli-Jewish Congress in the field of Israel Advocacy
· Morris Kahn, Co-Founder of Amdocs with the Lifetime Achievement Award
· Major Keren Hajioff, Head of Public Diplomacy in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit for Young Leadership — From Nefesh B’Nefesh
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Germany honors Israeli organization for helping Arab refugees
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has presented IsraAID with the German Federal Government’s Integration Prize today, Monday, October 29th, in recognition of the Israeli humanitarian NGO’s work with refugees in Germany. The German government’s highest honor for integration was given to IsraAID Germany’s Brückenbau (“Bridge Building”) project, which provides psychological support in Arabic for at-risk refugee women and victims of gender-based violence living in shelters and training and counselling for shelter staff. The program empowers women living in refugee shelters to build better self-help structures, improve interactions with shelter staff and strengthen personal and child safety. The Brückenbau program is run in partnership with ZWST, the Welfare Board of Jews in Germany.
Commenting on the award, Yotam Polizer, IsraAID Co-CEO, said: “The global refugee crisis is among the most pressing humanitarian challenges of our generation. We pay tribute to our fantastic, multicultural and multinational team in Germany whose work is being recognized today, and to our partnership with ZWST which makes this program possible. At IsraAID, we aim to utilize our professional expertise to support the needs, rights, and integration of refugees wherever we can. Today, we have teams working with refugees and displaced people around the world, from Germany to Kenya to Bangladesh. The IsraAID Germany program being honored today – Bridge Building, which works with mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugee women – is a striking testament to the power of our common humanity, as we support communities on the journey towards a better future.”
Navonel Glick, IsraAID Co-CEO, added: “Many members of the IsraAID community are still reeling after the horrifying attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh this weekend. The values of tolerance and compassion promoted by this prize are the antithesis of violence and hate, and a powerful reminder of our humanitarian mission to help those in need, regardless of religion, race, or gender.” — From IsraAID
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Preceding culled from news releases. Send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com