RSS
Rebuilding the Jewish Brand in America
Shabbat candles. Photo: Olaf.herfurth via Wikimedia Commons.
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.
RSS
Twitter AI’s Spree of Antisemitic Answers Provokes European Union Meeting as US Military Signs Deal With Company
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman
Following an update earlier this month to xAI’s Grok chatbot which resulted in a wave of antisemitic and pro-Hitler responses to users on X/Twitter, the European Commission summoned representatives from billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company to a Tuesday meeting to explain themselves.
The move comes after Italian parliament member Sandro Gozi urged for the Commission to begin a formal inquiry, as “the case raises serious concerns about compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) as well as the governance of generative AI in the Union’s digital space.”
Poland’s Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski had also called for the Commission to take action and said that the Polish government would consider banning the app.
Due to the size of the X platform, the site falls under the European Union’s DSA which requires transparency about operations. Musk’s app already faces multiple investigations by the Commission.
On Wednesday, following the initial antisemitic statements from Grok, X’s Linda Yaccarino, the company’s CEO, announced her resignation.
On Monday, xAI announced a $200 million deal to provide Grok to the US military. The company stated that “under the umbrella of Grok For Government, we will be bringing all of our world-class AI tools to federal, local, state, and national security customers.” Customers in the plan could “use the Grok family of products to accelerate America – from making everyday government services faster and more efficient to using AI to address unsolved problems in fundamental science and technology.”
The Pentagon also announced on Monday other AI companies would receive contracts, including Anthropic, Google and OpenAI.
Douglas Matty, chief digital and AI officer at the Defense Department, said that “leveraging commercially available solutions into an integrated capabilities approach will accelerate the use of advanced AI as part of our Joint mission essential tasks in our warfighting domain as well as intelligence, business, and enterprise information systems.”
Also on Monday, Musk unveiled a new release to the AI capabilities on X. The Companions feature will allow users to interact with cartoon characters, including a mischievous fox and an anime-style goth girl named Ani.
On Tuesday, xAI put out a statement explaining that it had “spotted a couple of issues with Grok 4 recently that we immediately investigated & mitigated.” The company said it had “tweaked the prompts and have shared the details on GitHub for transparency. We are actively monitoring and will implement further adjustments as needed.”
The post Twitter AI’s Spree of Antisemitic Answers Provokes European Union Meeting as US Military Signs Deal With Company first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust
An antisemitic slur spray-painted on the ruins of a former synagogue in Dukla, Poland. Photo: World Jewish Restitution Organization
Two Jewish sites in Dukla, Poland, were vandalized over the weekend mere days after Polish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Grzegorz Braun claimed gas chambers at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were fake and repeated an antisemitic blood libel in a live radio interview.
Vandals spray-painted the word “F–k” followed by a Star of David on the ruins of a former synagogue that was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and a memorial commemorating Holocaust victims located at the entrance of the Jewish cemetery in Dukla was defaced with a swastika and the word “Palestine,” according to the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO). The memorial honors Jews of Dukla and the surrounding areas who were murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust.
The two Jewish sites in Dukla are cared for by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), which was established in 2002 by the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland and the WJRO to protect and commemorate Poland’s Jewish heritage sites.
“These hateful acts are not only antisemitic, but they are also attempts to erase Jewish history and desecrate memory,” said WJRO President Gideon Taylor in a released statement on Tuesday. “Polish authorities must take swift and serious action to identify the perpetrators and ensure the protection of Jewish heritage sites in Dukla and across the country.”
“The vandalism of Jewish sites in Dukla—with swastikas and anti-Israel slurs—is not an isolated act,” insisted Jack Simony, director general of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF), in a statement to The Algemeiner. The nonprofit focuses on preserving the memory of the Jewish community in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the last remaining synagogue in town.
“While we cannot say definitively that it [the vandalism] was sparked by Grzegorz Braun’s Holocaust denial, his rhetoric contributes to an atmosphere where hatred is emboldened and truth is under assault,” added Simony. “Braun’s lies are not harmless — they are dangerous. Holocaust denial fuels antisemitism and, too often, violence. This is why Holocaust education matters … because when we fail to confront lies, we invite their consequences. Memory must be defended, not only for the sake of the past, but for the safety of our future.”
On July 10, a ceremony was held commemorating the 84th anniversary of the 1941 Jedwabne massacre, when hundreds of Polish Jews were massacred – mostly by their neighbors – in the northeastern town in German-occupied Poland. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries and faith leaders including Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and Israeli Deputy Ambassador Bosmat Baruch. Groups of anti-Israel and far-right activists — including MEP Braun and his supporters – tried to disrupt the event by holding banners with antisemitic slogans and blocking the vehicles of the attendees, according to Polish radio.
Hours later, during a live radio broadcast, Braun falsely claimed the Auschwitz gas chambers were “a lie” and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum was promoting “pseudo-history.” He also claimed that Jewish “ritual murder is a fact.” Polish prosecutors launched an investigation into Braun’s comments, they announced that same day. Under Article 55 of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in Poland.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum issued a swift condemnation of Braun’s remarks and said it intents to pursue legal action. The Institute of National Remembrance — which is the largest research, educational and archival institution in Poland – also denounced Braun’s remarks, saying there is “well-documented” evidence supporting the existence of gas chambers. His comments were also condemned by the Embassy of Israel in Poland, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and the US Embassy in Warsaw, which said that his actions “distort history, desecrate memory, or spread antisemitism.” AJCF called on the European Parliament to consider disciplinary measures against Braun, including potential censure or expulsion.
Auschwitz Jewish Center Director Tomek Kuncewicz said Braun’s comments are “an act of violence against truth, against survivors, and against the legacy of our shared humanity.” AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson called the politician’s remarks “blatant and baseless lies,” while Simony described them as “a calculated act of antisemitic incitement” that “must be met with legal consequences and universal moral condemnation.”
The post Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Photo Credit: ADL.
Following a vote by the National Education Association (NEA) on July 6 to end its relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 400 Jewish communal groups, education organizations, and religious institutions have come together to call for the influential teachers union to change course.
“We are writing to express our deep concerns about the growing level of antisemitic activity within teachers’ unions, particularly since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023,” the letter to NEA President Becky Pringle stated. “Passage of New Business Item (NBI) 39 at the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly this past weekend, which shockingly calls for the boycott of the Anti-Defamation League, is just the latest example of open hostility toward Jewish educators, students and families coming from national and local teachers’ unions and their members.”
In addition to the ADL, signatories of the letter included American Jewish Committee (AJC), Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish Federations of North America, #EndJewHatred, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith International, CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis), Combat Antisemitism Movement, Democratic Majority for Israel, StandWithUs, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Zioness Movement, and Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
The group told Pringle that “we have heard directly from NEA members who have shared their experiences ranging from explicit and implicit antisemitism within the union to a broader pattern of insensitivity toward legitimate concerns of Jewish members – including at the recently concluded Representative Assembly. We are also deeply troubled by a broader pattern of union activity over the past 20 months that has targeted or alienated Jewish members and the wider Jewish community.”
The letter to Pringle included an addendum providing examples of objectionable rhetoric. These named such incidents as the Oakland Education Association (OEA) putting out a statement calling for “an end to the occupation of Palestine” and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) accusing Israel of genocide.
The coalition of 400 organizations urged the NEA to “take immediate action” and suggested such steps as rejecting NBI 39, issuing a “strong condemnation” of antisemitism within the union, drafting a plan to counter ongoing antisemitism in affiliate chapters, and opposing “any effort to use an educator’s support for the existence of Israel as a means to attack their identity.”
ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X that “Excluding @ADL’s educational resources from schools is not just an attack on our org, but on the entire Jewish community. We urge the @NEAToday Executive Committee to reverse this biased, fringe effort and reaffirm its commitment to supporting all Jewish students and educators.”
The post Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL first appeared on Algemeiner.com.