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Rebuilding the Jewish Brand in America
JNS.org – What is the central vibe in the Jewish world today? In a word, anxiety.
Justified anxiety, I might add.
It seems everywhere we turn, there are anti-Israel and anti-Jewish forces mobilizing for action. The hatred and chutzpah have reached new levels. There’s no fear, for example, about spray painting “Hamas is Coming” on a statue in Washington, DC, or assaulting Jews outside a synagogue in my Los Angeles neighborhood of Pico-Robertson.
The good news is that Jews have mobilized in response. We have our rights and we’re fighting to enforce them. Haters must pay a price. Lawsuits are being filed. Scores of organizations are on the case. We’re making noise.
All of this fighting is crucial and we must never relent. Indeed, we cover the fighting extensively in the Jewish Journal. But that’s not why I’m writing this column; you don’t need me to repeat the obvious.
I’m writing to bring attention to an unusual side effect in the fight against antisemitism; one that is not easy to see. This side effect, if we don’t take action, has the potential to severely weaken the Jewish brand in America.
Let me explain.
A brand is as valuable as a reputation. That applies to organizations, individuals and products as well to groups of people. The Jews in America have always been blessed with a strong brand, one that is marked, among other things, by our inclination to give back to our country.
How is the fight against antisemitism influencing that brand?
Branding is all about the noise we make. That noise helps shape the brand we become. Right now, the Jewish noise in America is very much about fighting those who hate us. Whether we like it or not, we’re becoming the group that cares mostly about protecting itself.
This is not a criticism. Fighting for safety is primordial. It does, however, hold a subtle trap: Safety is so important that it tends to drown out everything else, to suck up all the noise. As a result, Jews become associated with weakness; fear on one side; and seeking safety on the other.
This not only “shrinks” the Jewish brand, but it’s also not true to who we are.
The Jewish way, which promotes growth, goodness and renewal, has always treated safety as a beginning, not an end.
Perhaps the ultimate example is Israel. In its 76 years of existence, no country has been under more physical threat than the world’s only Jewish state. And yet, it is known not just for its strong military but for its vibrancy and creative spirit, not to mention its many contributions to the world.
As critical as safety is, Israel reminds us that there’s a lot more to the Jewish brand than seeking protection.
In America, no group has contributed more than the Jews. From comedy to science to academia to literature to Broadway to Hollywood to social justice to endless other fields, the Jewish reputation has sparkled because Jews are natural contributors. Antisemitism or no antisemitism, our brand has always been dominated by our giving gene.
I bumped into one of my favorite Jewish “givers” recently—Matisyahu. I mentioned that infamous concert in Spain where he sang the “Jerusalem” song in front of anti-Israel protestors. He remembered it well. What I loved, I told him, is that he didn’t use his position on stage to verbally push back on the haters who wanted to shut him down.
No, all he did was sing. And boy did he sing. While the haters hated, Matisyahu did what he does best. He performed. He gave of himself to the audience.
Giving of ourselves has been the American Jewish way since we landed on these shores.
Now that we’re feeling under siege, that Jewish way is being tested. Naturally, the noise is going to the act of fighting the haters, of seeking protection. It’s understandable.
But if we’re serious about revitalizing the Jewish brand—which is our most valuable asset—we must bring more noise to the Jewish act of bringing goodness, of bringing a positive spirit to the world around us.
How can we do that?
One way is if every Jewish event—whether for major groups like the ADL, AJC and Federations or smaller neighborhood groups—would feature one Jew who is giving back to the world and is not connected to that particular cause. Just a Jew doing good things.
This would offer hundreds of occasions each year to make some noise about Jews and goodness. I can envision Jewish organizations taking 10% of their “fighting antisemitism” budgets and allocating it to promoting Jews who share their contributions—from grade school kids to Holocaust survivors, from entertainers to scientists, from doctors and artists to architects and volunteers in soup kitchens.
The good thing, of course, is that these Jews are everywhere. They’re the easiest people to find.
The spreading of Jewish contributions, creativity and goodness won’t just revitalize the Jewish brand throughout America, it will also provide a welcome injection of positive energy into our anxious community.
Yes, we must never relent in fighting for the safety of Jews. But we must also never relent in honoring the Jewish way of never settling, of always aiming higher.
We are determined fighters when we are forced to be, but we are givers always. And giving, from what I hear, helps reduce anxiety.
Originally published by Jewish Journal.
The post Rebuilding the Jewish Brand in America first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Free Palestine’ Activist in Arizona Wearing ‘Israel Kills Children’ T-Shirt Gets Arrested After Refusing to Leave Gym
A pro-Palestinian activist wearing an offensive T-shirt critical of Israel was kicked out of a gym in Gilbert, Arizona, and arrested this week after he ignored requests by gym management to leave the premises.
The man, who goes by the social media handle Resistance is Beautiful, posted videos of the incident on Wednesday on Instagram. It began when he was exercising at a Life Time gym in Gilbert while wearing a black short-sleeve T-shirt that said “Israel Kills Children.” He said that when he arrived at the gym and was checked in, a gym employee told him that he needed to take off the shirt, whose message was an apparent commentary on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war falsely accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. He refused to take off the shirt.
Shortly afterward, the gym’s manager approached the activist and told him that he must leave the premises for not having “an active membership, or the gym would call the police. When the activist refused to leave the facility, police were called to escort him out of the building.
“You don’t have an active membership so I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the gym’s manager, Mike Esposito, said to the anti-Israel activist in a video shared on Instagram.
“I just paid for my membership, what do you mean?” the activist replied. “I pay for my membership … I’ve been a member here for three years. Payment goes through every month.”
“Someone from corporate … the cops are on their way,” Esposito said. “Your membership is not active so we called the police because you’re trespassing here in the club.”
The activist then asked Esposito, “Is the problem the shirt? Or is it the skin color?” He also told the manager: “You know where there are no more gyms left? In Palestine. Because you guys bombed it all. Are you offended by the shirt or the fact that you guys kill all the Palestinians in the gyms over there [in Gaza]. Is the problem the shirt?”
Esposito, who is reportedly not Jewish or Israeli but of Italian descent, ignored the man’s questions about the T-shirt and his remarks about Palestinians. Instead, the manager repeatedly said that the activist does not have an active membership at the facility. “You just don’t have an active membership, so right now you’re trespassing because you’re in the club without an active membership,” he said. “We have to ask you to leave.”
Two Gilbert police officers arrived not long afterward and arrested the anti-Israel activist for trespassing. Before they escorted him out of the gym, he told police, “There’s a Holocaust going on in Palestine … there are no more gyms left in Palestine, you guys bombed all of them. Free Palestine.” He also shared that he wore the “Israel Kills Children” T-shirt previously at the gym, and staff members told him in the past that it was offensive. “They’ve always said, ‘Oh that shirt is offensive.’ You know, typical Gilbert white supremacy stuff,” he said.
The founder, CEO, chairman, and president of Life Time is Bahram Akradi, who was born in Tehran, Iran, and emigrated to the US months before the 1979 Iranian revolution. He founded the chain of gyms in 1992.
The activist was released from the Gilbert police station shortly after the incident at the gym. “There is no greater honor in the world than to sit in a jail cell for Palestine,” he said in an Instagram video posted on Wednesday after his release. “And we’ll do it over and over and over again until we break this enemy and we get Palestine back. That’s my word.”
The man has shared other photos and videos on social media of him clashing with police officers in Gilbert, trespassing while carrying a Palestinian flag and getting arrested for his anti-Israel activism. He also shared clips of himself wearing other anti-Israel shirts, including one that read “Israel is a terrorist project, Free Palestine,” and another that said, “Israel KILLS and America covers it up.”
The post ‘Free Palestine’ Activist in Arizona Wearing ‘Israel Kills Children’ T-Shirt Gets Arrested After Refusing to Leave Gym first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Gal Gadot Addresses Controversy Over Not Wearing Hostage Pin to the Golden Globes
Israeli actress Gal Gadot took to social media on Wednesday to explain why she did not wear to the 82nd Golden Globes this past weekend a pin in solidarity with the 100 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip for more than 450 days.
In a message shared on her Instagram Story, the “Wonder Woman” star, 39, started by clarifying that contrary to Israeli media reports, she was “never forbidden” by Golden Globes organizers from wearing to the award ceremony on Sunday night in Beverly Hills a pin that featured a yellow ribbon, which is a symbol that calls for the return of hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“Some people chose to tell a story that never happened, and I prefer to focus on what’s real and truly important — our hostages,” she wrote. She then detailed her conscious decision not to wear a pin with a yellow ribbon to the Golden Globes — a move for which she was widely criticized by many pro-Israel supporters on social media. The “Red Notice” star explained that she instead chose to show solidarity with the hostages by wearing a yellow sapphire ring to the award show, where she was a presenter.
“Everyone expresses their support in a way that suits them. I chose to share a post with global reach and wear a yellow ring as a symbol of solidarity,” she wrote in the Instagram Story. “What truly matters is that the hostages come home now. My heart is with the families waiting for them. May we experience quieter and safer days.”
The message on her Instagram Story was written in both English and Hebrew, and was accompanied by an image of a yellow ribbon.
Before the Golden Globes took place on Sunday night, Gadot uploaded a post on Instagram that featured a statement and photos about the remaining 100 hostages with a focus on 20-year-old Israeli hostage Liri Albag, who was featured in a video that Hamas released on Saturday. Albag was taken hostage along with six other female soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces at the Nahal Oz army base on the Israel-Gaza border during the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel in October 2023. The five women are still held hostage by Hamas.
Gadot wrote in her Instagram post on Sunday afternoon that while she prepared to attend the Golden Globes, “my heart is heavy, and my soul aches knowing the hostages are still there [in Gaza].” She added: “Every day that passes without an agreement puts their lives in greater danger. I can’t stop thinking about the families, waiting for them, counting the hours, the minutes, clinging to hope. They must come home. We all deserve to see them return, alive. Bring them home now.”
Gadot presented at the 82nd Golden Globes wearing a custom black silk Giorgio Armani Privé long sleeve gown that she styled with Tiffany & Co. jewelry and a yellow sapphire ring.
The post Gal Gadot Addresses Controversy Over Not Wearing Hostage Pin to the Golden Globes first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Polish President Wants Netanyahu to Be Able to Go to Auschwitz Anniversary Despite ICC Arrest Warrant: Aide
Poland’s president asked the government to ensure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can choose to attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp without fear of arrest under an ICC warrant, a senior aide said on Thursday.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his ex-defense minister, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group.
Israel has condemned the warrants for Netanyahu and former defense chief Yoav Gallant, saying that it has acted in self-defense in its air and ground war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that President Andrzej Duda had written Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying Poland should ensure Netanyahu can be “unhindered” in attending the Jan. 27 Auschwitz commemoration given the event’s exceptional nature.
Malgorzata Paprocka, the head of Duda’s office, confirmed to state news agency PAP on Thursday that such a letter had been sent.
“In the opinion of the president, there is one issue — precisely because it is the Auschwitz camp, every person from Israel, every representative of the authorities of this country should have the opportunity to take part in this exceptional event.”
She said Duda was waiting for a response. Tusk’s office did not reply to an emailed request for comment.
Duda is a right-wing nationalist who has had tense relations with Tusk’s centrist, pro-European government since it took office in December 2023.
Asked by state-run news channel TVP Info whether Netanyahu could count on a guarantee from Poland that he would not be arrested, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said: “There is no such topic, because Mr. Netanyahu is not coming to Europe.”
Meanwhile, the Polish Foreign Ministry denied reports on Thursday that the country had threatened to arrest Netanyahu should he choose to attend the Jan. 27 ceremony marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
“We are aware that this fake news is being spread in the US media, as if Polish Secretary of State Władysław T. Bartoszewski had stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu would be arrested upon his arrival in Poland, based on a ruling by the International Criminal Court,” the Foreign Ministry told JNS in a statement.
“Such a statement has never been made,” the ministry added. “Poland is a safe country and any leader visiting Poland is entitled to protection granted by the Ministry of the Interior.”
A spokesperson for Netanyahu declined to comment. Netanyahu has not said whether he would attend the Auschwitz commemoration. He has attended previous anniversary events at Auschwitz.
Over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, perished in gas chambers or from starvation, cold, and disease at Auschwitz, which Nazi Germany set up in occupied Poland during World War Two.
More than three million of Poland’s 3.2 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, accounting for about half of the Jews killed in the Holocaust.
The post Polish President Wants Netanyahu to Be Able to Go to Auschwitz Anniversary Despite ICC Arrest Warrant: Aide first appeared on Algemeiner.com.