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Why This Year’s Shavuot Is One of the Most Important Ever
Shavuot. Ruth in Boaz’s Field by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, oil on canvas, 1828; National Gallery, London. Photo: Wikipedia.
Beginning Tuesday evening, June 11, Jews all over the world celebrate Shavuot and commemorate the day they received the Torah and its commandments at Sinai.
The Talmudic Sages, apparently familiar with Alan King’s classic summary of the Jewish holiday — they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat — recognized that some may not consider the reams of obligations placed on the Jewish people as cause for celebration. The Sages were especially insistent that Jews demonstrate otherwise and eat really well on this day.
Particularly now, this celebration is essential for two reasons. First, this year has headlined the experience of Jewish suffering, reviving the harsh reality that for millennia, the Jewish people have been despised, harassed, and persecuted. Still, rather than drive Jews away, the disorienting isolation that American Jews are experiencing has brought them closer together and awakened their desire for connection to Judaism and Jewish community. Jews are craving to celebrate their Jewishness, not just their survival.
Second, the Jewish people are a nation, a religion, and a family — but most significantly, they are a community of values. Their mission since Abraham has been to teach and to model both faith in God and loving kindness towards others. That story continues to this day, as despite the centuries of persecution, the Holocaust, and the constant existential threats that Israel has faced since its rebirth, the Jewish people refuse to turn bitterly inward and remain committed to being a source of blessing to the world.
Nevertheless, the twisted narrative promoted in academia, the media, progressive and far-right spaces, and international forums, has cast the Jewish people everywhere as genocidal, oppressive, and hateful, radically increasing the physical threats of antisemitic violence facing Jews everywhere. But — even more perniciously — this also makes Jews embarrassed of their Jewish identity. The celebration of Shavuot is an opportunity to proudly reaffirm the Jewish people’s core identity and mission as a community of values dedicated to faith and goodness.
The current nightmare began on October 7, Simchat Torah — a holiday when Jews everywhere gather in synagogues in joyous celebration of the completion of the annual cycle of Torah reading. Carrying their children on their shoulders and Torah scrolls in their arms, participants sing and dance in a joyous celebration of family and faith, and — most of all — the values that define them as a community.
The words — the value statements — sung repeatedly on that day express deep appreciation for the blessings of true Jewish identity, and for the good fortune to continue the mission of Abraham and the Jewish people to do good, to be good, to study, to live by God’s word, and to bring light to the world. They sing, they dance, they conclude the reading of the Torah, and then they immediately begin studying it again, demonstrating their true character as the People of the Book.
Eight months ago, that day was shattered as darkness was brought upon the world by the Hamas terrorists and their supporters, who continue to seek to physically destroy the Jewish people. That darkness has since significantly intensified thanks to those defending and even celebrating the attacks, and has been further deepened by those who speak in the name of justice, humanitarianism, and civil rights while denying the morality of Jews and of the very existence of Israel. Antisemitism is alive and well.
But so are the Jewish people — committed as ever to their values, to their goodness, to their faith, to their purpose, to each other, and to the light that they will never stop working to bring to the world.
Happy Shavuot. Let’s eat.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is the Executive Vice President at the Orthodox Union.
The post Why This Year’s Shavuot Is One of the Most Important Ever first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid
Some rises after an Israeli strike as Israeli forces launch a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
i24 News – Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area at the same time as fighting in the Rafah area and in the center of the Gaza Strip, the army said.
In the Shejaiya area, forces of the 98th Division attacked dozens of terrorist sites with the help of airstrikes from the Israel Air Force.
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers raided a UN school in Shejaiya, where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades and valuable intelligence documents
This is yet another example of how Gazan terrorists use civilian structures to carry out attacks against Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/9oA9KLJehC
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
A UN school was raided where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades, and sensitive documents. In addition, a Hamas command center was discovered in a clinic.
Since Saturday, division forces located weapons, raided and captured terrorist compounds, and eliminated a number of terrorists.
IDF strikes Hamas target in Gaza
Israeli forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area while continuing to push in Rafah and in central Gaza
The IDF attacked and destroyed a mortar launch position located within a tunnel shaft in Rafah pic.twitter.com/JqTACvuMys
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
The 162nd Division meanwhile continues in the Rafah area, eliminating a number of terrorists in various encounters and destroying tunnel shafts in the area.
The 99th Division 99 the center of the Gaza Strip carried out raids and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Also on Saturday, an airstrikes destroyed a mortar launch position located inside a tunnel shaft in Rafah.
The post Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Government Approves Danny Danon as UN Ambassador
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon at a briefing on Iranian aggression on May 6, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
i24 News – The Israeli government unanimously agreed on Sunday to appoint Likud lawmaker Danny Danon as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, succeeding the current ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
Danon, who previously held this position, will soon serve a second term. Danon’s appointment to this important position comes at a particularly crucial time, as he is expected to represent Israel on the international stage as the country faces challenges at home and abroad.
“I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period,” he said on Twitter.
“As Israel faces battles on numerous fronts, each and every one of us must do his utmost within his skills and experiences,” he said in an earlier statement. “This is how I have behaved in the past, and this is how I will continue to behave in the future.”
I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period.
With Israel confronting challenges on multiple fronts, it is imperative for each of us to contribute to the best of our abilities and experiences. This…
— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) June 30, 2024
“In the face of the diplomatic terrorism that is rearing its head these days, I am forced to present the truth and hold my head high for the people of Israel and our common future here,” he concluded.
It is expected that Avihai Boaron, a former member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, will enter in place of Danon.
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‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister
Governor Newsom speaking at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Photo Credit: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
i24 News – Amichai Shikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora and Antisemitism, has urgently called upon California’s governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles’s mayor Karen Bass to address a concerning escalation of antisemitic incidents in the city.
In a strongly worded letter sent following a surge in antisemitic activities since October 7, 2023, Shikli expressed deep apprehension about the safety of Jewish residents in Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles is becoming more and more unsafe for its Jewish residents,” Shikli stated, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive measures to combat the rising tide of antisemitism.
He highlighted recent violent demonstrations on campuses that endangered Jewish students, alongside two serious incidents that he believes were mishandled by authorities.
One incident he pointed to was the tragic murder of Paul Kessler in November 2023 during a pro-Israel demonstration. Shikli criticized the court’s failure to classify the attack as a hate crime, stating, “It is shocking to see that the court did not recognize this as a hate crime. Paul was attacked for the sole reason that he was a Jew and a Zionist.”
Additionally, Shikli referenced an incident earlier in the week where an anti-Israel group disrupted an event at Adat Torah synagogue, resulting in an attack on Jewish attendees. Despite prior knowledge of the demonstration, law enforcement allegedly failed to take preventive actions to ensure the safety of Jewish residents.
Concerned about the city’s largest Jewish community in North America, Shikli urged immediate steps to enhance security around Jewish institutions and to ensure law enforcement is adequately trained to handle antisemitic crimes effectively. “At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, I urge you to implement measures to combat it,” he asserted.
The minister concluded his letter by proposing collaboration with local authorities and inviting the Los Angeles Police Department to participate in an international training program aimed at equipping security forces worldwide to combat antisemitism effectively.
The post ‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.