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Remembering Dr. Ruth: An Unexpected Jewish Icon
Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Photo: Maxine Dovere.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. A dynamo, she was always full of energy, quick with a joke, and offered great advice.
When I was walking with a female friend who complained about going to too many parties, Dr. Ruth turned to her and said: “You’re not going to meet someone in your apartment.”
I interviewed Dr. Ruth a few times, and ran into her on occasion when I went to the theater. She was extremely proud of her documentary, Ask Dr. Ruth, which can be seen on Hulu. Westheimer died at the age of 96 on July 12.
The film includes old footage of her saying that what two consenting adults do in “the privacy of their bedroom, living room, [and] kitchen floor is all right.”
A licensed sex therapist who taught at Columbia University, she rose to fame with radio and TV shows in which she helped people discuss their personal sexual difficulties. She also maintained that short people were the best lovers. She was someone who said there was no such thing as “normal,” and said those who are gay deserve “all the respect” in the world — at a time when that was not a popular opinion. The film shows her saying she hoped for a cure for AIDS, and that it was wrong to blame any one group.
Born as Karola Siegel on June 4, 1928, she originally lived near Frankfurt, Germany. She was put on a Kindertransport — a program to save German children from the Holocaust — and lived in an orphanage in Switzerland during World War II. She got letters from her parents and grandmother, but when the letters stopped, she knew something was terribly wrong.
Dr. Ruth’s family was murdered by the Nazis, with her father dying in Auschwitz in 1942 and no exact record of her mother’s death.
She sailed to the British mandate of Palestine, and went to a kibbutz in 1945 at the war’s end. She changed her name from Karola, to her middle name of Ruth. She lost her virginity to a man named Kalman on a haystack, as she described in her film.
Signing the guest book at the Yad Vashem Museum in Israel, she held back tears, saying “German Jews don’t cry in public.”
Perhaps it was due to the loss of her parents that she wanted to spread love to so many and influence people to pursue happiness.
When I knew her, she was always running to the next event or appearance. When I asked her why she scheduled so many events, she told me: “As long as I’m alive, I am going to work and I love having things to do and talking to people.”
She was very much like the world’s cutest grandmother — but that also belies her past.
Westheimer was a sniper in the Haganah. Though an injury to her feet when a cannon fired on her building nearly resulted in the amputation of her legs, she healed and was able to ski and dance.
She was married three times, with her last husband, Fred, being the long-time marriage. She studied at the Sorbonne. In 1956, she came to America.
“Somebody who talks so much about sex has to stay away from politics,” she said in her film, though she said abortion should remain legal.
She read romance novels to learn English. She took great pride in her grandchildren — Leora, Ari, Ben, and Michal. At the age of 42, she got her doctorate from Columbia University’s Teachers College and would go on to write numerous books.
Dr. Ruth was a huge personality, and could make anyone laugh and appreciate her wisdom. Whenever I saw her, she was smiling, and you could tell she loved life and helping others.
Her blend of chutzpah, charm, and brute honesty made her a quotable and prominent celebrity. She was humble and didn’t move to a hugely expensive apartment, even though she could have, choosing to remain in Washington Heights. It was her decision to appear on WYNY, a New York City radio station that helped launch her career with a show first called “Sexually Speaking.” She also did some acting.
Despite her painful past, Dr. Ruth is a great example of a nice person achieving great things in life.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Remembering Dr. Ruth: An Unexpected Jewish Icon first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Anti-Israel Protesters Target Queens Synagogue Over Israel Real-Estate Sale Despite Venue Change
Anti-Israel protesters target a synagogue in Queens, New York on July 14, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Anti-Israel protesters descended on Congregation Charm Circle in Queens, New York on Sunday to protest a sale of Israeli real estate, despite the synagogue changing the location of the sale.
The protest, reminiscent of last month’s widely condemned violent demonstration outside of a synagogue in Los Angeles, was the latest example of demonstrators purportedly opposing Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza targeting Jewish sites in Western countries.
Last week, the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation and Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition announced that they were planning to protest a sale of Israeli real estate in Kew Garden Hills, a densely Jewish neighborhood of Queens. They did not name a specific synagogue to protest outside of, but there are over a dozen, mainly Orthodox, synagogues in the immediate vicinity of the location they provided.
Instagram post by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation and Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition for an anti-Israel protest. Photo: Screenshot
“Every time these illegal sales take place, we will give them no peace and a protest will follow each time, until liberation and return,” read the caption of the social media post announcing the demonstration. “Across the US and Canada realtors continue to sell stolen PALESTINIAN [sic] property on settlements that are illegal under International law.”
The post then included an inverted red triangle followed by the message: “As the genocide on Palestinians continues, we call for a complete end to the settler-colonial project of Israel and its goal of expansion.”
The inverted red triangle has become a common symbol at pro-Hamas rallies and anti-Israel protests that ravaged Western university campuses in recent months. Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules Gaza, has used inverted red triangles in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “the red triangle is now used to represent Hamas itself and glorify its use of violence.”
In the days leading up to the event, Queens Shmira – a Jewish neighborhood safety group – announced that the real-estate sale had been moved to a different venue. According to a statement from Queens Shmira, the venue “has since changed to accommodate a larger audience and will NOT be taking place at Congregation Charm Circle.”
“The protesters’ intention is to intimidate and we will not be intimidated,” the statement added.
Although the event had been moved to a different location, on Sunday anti-Israel protesters nonetheless descended on Congregation Charm Circle, where they were videoed calling for an intifada against Jews and waving Hezbollah flags. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Lebanon, has been launching rockets, drones, and missiles at northern Israel daily as Israeli forces simultaneously battle the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas to the south in Gaza.
In response, counter-protesters waved Israeli flags and called for the release of the roughly 120 hostages still being held by terrorists in Gaza since Oct. 7.
The protest spilled over to a nearby basketball court, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators could be seen shoving the counter-protesters. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) attempted to de-escalate the situation, but there were no reports of arrests being made.
Local politicians took to X/Twitter to express outrage over the anti-Israel protests targeting a synagogue.
“The event changed venues but the protesters didn’t care, harassing Jews for the crime of going to pray,” New York State Assemblymember Sam Berger, who represents Kew Garden Hills, wrote on X/Twitter.
US Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), who also represents Kew Garden Hills, condemned the demonstration on social media.
“The events that took place outside of Congregation Charm Circle in Kew Gardens Hills are deeply concerning,” she posted. “Harassing people outside of their house of worship is unacceptable. While everyone in the US has the right to protest, there is no place for hate, violence, & antisemitism.”
The protest at Congregation Charm Circle come only four weeks after the violent anti-Israel demonstration outside of Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily-Jewish Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles.
Anti-Israel demonstrators outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily-Jewish Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, June 23, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Demonstrators swarmed the synagogue to protest the sale of Israeli real estate taking place inside the building, blocking people from entering and leaving. The protests quickly descended into violence as anti-Israel protesters were caught on video shoving, punching, and screaming at those attempting to defend the synagogue.
The skirmishes spilled out into the greater community as anti-Israel protesters targeted and in some cases vandalized Jewish-owned businesses.
The violence received widespread condemnation.
“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on the chaos. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship — and engaging in violence — is never acceptable.”
Since Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, antisemitism has skyrocketed globally to record levels amid the ensuing war in Gaza. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report in April showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Hamas’ atrocities across southern Israel last October.
The post Anti-Israel Protesters Target Queens Synagogue Over Israel Real-Estate Sale Despite Venue Change first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Anti-Israel ‘Squad’ at Risk of Another Big Election Loss as Poll Finds Cori Bush Trailing Opponent by 23 Points
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), one of the fiercest critics of Israel in Congress, is trailing her Democratic primary opponent by a staggering 23 points, according to a new poll.
The findings come as Bush faces an uphill battle to avoid becoming the second member of the so-called “Squad” of far-left US lawmakers outspoken against Israel to lose to a more moderate Democrat this election cycle.
St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell leads Bush by a margin of 56 percent to 33 percent in the Aug. 6 primary for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, according to a survey conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the CCA Action Fund and first reported by the New York Post.
Among Democrats, Bush holds a favorability rating of 50 percent and an unfavorability rating of 47 percent, the poll found. Meanwhile, Bell touts a favorability rating of 70 percent and an unfavorability rating of just 18 percent.
The numbers suggest that Bush’s support within her district has crumbled at a rapid rate. A poll conducted by The Mellman Group from June 18-22 showed a much tighter race, with 43 percent of respondents indicating support for Bell and 42 percent indicating support for Bush. In January, Bush enjoyed a commanding lead of 45 percent to 29 percent lead among Democratic primary voters.
Bush has been vocally critical of Israel in the months following the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 slaughter of more than 1,200 people throughout southern Israel. The congresswoman called for an “immediate ceasefire” only nine days following the atrocities of Oct. 7, dismissing Israel’s military response to terrorism as “retaliatory violence.”
In late October, Bush penned an op-ed for the left-wing publication Jacobin accusing Israel of exacting “collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza” and categorized the Jewish state’s defensive military operations as a “war crime.” In December, Bush accused Israel of deliberately “targeting civilians” and committing a so-called “genocide” in Gaza. Bush has also repeatedly denigrated Israel as an “apartheid state.”
In contrast, Bell has declared his support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas’ terrorism.
“We want to see a peaceful resolution. I want to be part of the coalition that brings a peaceful resolution to that region,” Bell said, according to St. Louis Public Radio. “But it is a tough situation. But in the meantime, we do have to stand by our allies.”
The poll came on the heels of the resounding Democratic primary defeat of US Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) last month to George Latimer, a moderate, pro-Israel candidate. Bowman repeatedly lambasted Israel and its war effort against Hamas in Gaza throughout his campaign, earning widespread criticism among Jewish and centrist voters in the primary.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, has announced that it will throw its weight behind Bell, further compounding problems for the progressive firebrand’s struggling campaign. AIPAC, which played an integral role in helping secure Bowman’s defeat by spending a record-shattering $14.5 million in the New York Democratic primary, has called on its supporters to help oust Bush.
“On Tuesday night, the pro-Israel community helped ensure anti-Israel Rep. Jamaal Bowman won’t be returning to Congress next year,” AIPAC texted its supporters following Bowman’s June defeat. “With your support, we can also help defeat Rep. Cori Bush, another member of the anti-Israel Squad.”
The post Anti-Israel ‘Squad’ at Risk of Another Big Election Loss as Poll Finds Cori Bush Trailing Opponent by 23 Points first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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RIP shtick: Phoebe Maltz Bovy remembers Dr. Ruth and Richard Simmons—and the 1980s sensibilities that defined their identities
Had July 13, 2024, been the slow-news day it first seemed, it would have been the moment to remember two greats whose deaths were announced on that date: celebrity sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer (who passed away on Friday) and fitness impresario Richard Simmons (whose body was found by his housekeeper Saturday morning). Instead, someone […]
The post RIP shtick: Phoebe Maltz Bovy remembers Dr. Ruth and Richard Simmons—and the 1980s sensibilities that defined their identities appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.