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Israel’s Diaspora minister calls J Street ‘hostile’ after group tweets negatively about him
(JTA) — Amichai Chikli, the Israeli Diaspora minister who has antagonized some liberal segments of American Jewry, called J Street “hostile” to Israel after it retweeted a photo of the minister from New York City’s Celebrate Israel Parade.
Chikli was photographed at the June 4 parade making what appeared to many to be an obscene gesture toward a group protesting the Israeli government. He and his staff said he was gesturing to the protesters to smile and did not intend to make the obscene gesture.
Either way, the picture, taken last week by Forward reporter Jacob Kornbluh, has become fodder for Chikli’s critics, who have circulated it widely online as evidence of his disdain for protesters who oppose Israel’s government and its efforts to weaken the judiciary. Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, tweeted the photo and wrote, “This government never ceases to embarrass us internationally.” And J Street shared a tweet by UnXeptable, a protest movement led by expatriate Israelis, that included the photo of Chikli below the word “SHAME,” which is a frequent chant at Israeli antigovernment protests.
Chikli, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, has pushed back. Speaking Monday evening on Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, Chikli responded to the viral photo by attacking organizations and individuals that had shared it on social media, saying that it was “fake news.”
J Street is a liberal Jewish Middle East lobbying group that calls itself “pro-Israel and pro-peace” and has become a target for pro-Israel conservatives in the United States and Israel. The anchors challenged Chikli, saying that J Street is an “important” group in the Diaspora and asking why he didn’t explain to J Street that the photo was misconstrued. (Chikli did reply to Lapid’s tweet with his explanation, writing that on the occasion of Israel’s 75th birthday, “we’re allowed to celebrate and be happy.”)
“It’s not an important organization, it’s hostile,” he said in his Kan appearance, citing J Street’s advocacy for the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which Israeli governments have reviled. “It’s a hostile organization that harms the interests of the state of Israel.”
Chikli also criticized J Street for receiving funding from George Soros, the liberal Jewish billionaire megadonor who has become a bogeyman for political conservatives. He said, “I have no expectation of J Street, which George Soros funded with $1 million, there’s no turning to him.”
Soros has funded J Street and his charity, the Open Society Foundations, has in the past funded groups that are critical of and in some cases averse to Israel. Last month, Chikli tweeted, “Criticism of Soros – who finances the most hostile organizations to the Jewish people and the state of Israel is anything but anti-Semitism, quite the opposite!”
J Street said Chikli’s tenure has been “disastrous.” Chikli has drawn criticism since he was appointed late last year because of previous comments deriding the Reform movement and LGBTQ Jews.
“Comments like this show how deeply contemptuous this Israeli government is of the vast majority of American Jews, who reject their far-right, anti-democratic agenda,” J Street spokesman Logan Bayroff told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It’s hard to imagine anyone doing a more disastrous job of ‘building ties with the diaspora’ than Amichai Chikli — who resorts to petty attacks and insults against anyone who has the backbone to stand up for fundamental Jewish and democratic values.”
Chikli’s spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
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Phyllis Pollock died at home Sunday September 3, 2023 in Winnipeg, after a courageous lifetime battle with cancer.
Phyllis was a mother of four: Gary (Laura), daughter Randi, Steven (deceased in 2010) (Karen), and Robert. Phyllis also had two grandchildren: Lauren and Quinn.
Born in Fort Frances, Ontario on February 7, 1939, Phyllis was an only child to Ruby and Alex Lerman. After graduating high school, Phyllis moved to Winnipeg where she married and later divorced Danny Pollock, the father of her children. She moved to Beverly Hills in 1971, where she raised her children.
Phyllis had a busy social life and lucrative real estate career that spanned over 50 years, including new home sales with CoastCo. Phyllis was the original sales agent for three buildings in Santa Monica, oceanfront: Sea Colony I, Sea Colony II, and Sea Colony. She was known as the Sea Colony Queen. She worked side by side with her daughter Randi for about 25 years – handling over 600 transactions, including sales and leases within the three phases of Sea Colony alone.
Phyllis had more energy than most people half her age. She loved entertaining, working in the real estate field, meeting new and interesting people everyday no matter where she went, and thrived on making new lifelong friends. Phyllis eventually moved to the Sea Colony in Santa Monica where she lived for many years before moving to Palm Desert, then Winnipeg.
After battling breast cancer four times in approximately 20 years, she developed metastatic Stage 4 lung cancer. Her long-time domestic partner of 27 years, Joseph Wilder, K.C., was the love of her life. They were never far apart. They traveled the world and went on many adventures during their relationship. During her treatment, Phyllis would say how much she missed work and seeing her clients. Joey demonstrated amazing strength, love, care, and compassion for Phyllis as her condition progressed. He was her rock and was by her side 24/7, making sure she had the best possible care. Joey’s son David was always there to support Phyllis and to make her smile. Joey’s other children, Sheri, Kenny, Joshua and wife Davina, were also a part of her life. His kids would Facetime Phyllis and include her during any of their important functions. Phyllis loved Joey’s children as if they were her own.
Thank you to all of her friends and family who were there to support her during these difficult times. Phyllis is now, finally, pain free and in a better place. She was loved dearly and will be greatly missed. Interment took place in Los Angeles.
By BERNIE BELLAN Over 100 individuals gathered at the Gwen Secter Centre on Tuesday evening, July 18 – under the big top that serves as the venue for the summer series of outdoor concerts that is now in its third year at the centre.
The occasion was the celebration of the Gwen Secter Centre’s 35th anniversary. It was also an opportunity to honour the memory of Sophie Shinewald, who passed away at the age of 106 in 2019, but who, as recently as 2018, was still a regular attendee at the Gwen Secter Centre.
As Gwen Secter Executive Director Becky Chisick noted in her remarks to the audience, Sophie had been volunteering at the Gwen Secter Centre for years – answering the phone among other duties. Becky remarked that Sophie’s son, Ed Shinewald, had the phone number for the Gwen Secter Centre stored in his phone as “Mum’s work.”
Remarks were also delivered by Raquel Dancho, Member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul, who was the only representative of any level of government in attendance. (How times have changed: I remember well the steadfast support the former Member of the Legislature for St. John’s, Gord Mackintosh, showed the Gwen Secter Centre when it was perilously close to being closed down. And, of course, for years, the area in which the Gwen Secter Centre is situated was represented by the late Saul Cherniack.)
Sophie Shinewald’s granddaughter, Alix (who flew in from Chicago), represented the Shinewald family at the event. (Her brother, Benjamin, who lives in Ottawa, wasn’t able to attend, but he sent a pre-recorded audio message that was played for the audience.)
Musical entertainment for the evening was provided by a group of talented singers, led by Julia Kroft. Following the concert, attendees headed inside to partake of a sumptuous assortment of pastries, all prepared by the Gwen Secter culinary staff. (And, despite my asking whether I could take a doggy bag home, I was turned down.)
This is a developing story.
(JTA) — Palestinian gunmen killed four people and wounded four in a terror attack at a gas station near the West Bank settlement of Eli, the Israeli army reported.
An Israeli civilian returning fire at the scene of the attack on Tuesday killed one of the attackers, who emerged from a vehicle, and two others fled.
Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, said one of those wounded was in serious condition. The gunmen, while in the vehicle, shot at a guard post at the entry to the settlement, and then continued to the gas station which is also the site of a snack bar. A nearby yeshiva went into lockdown.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced plans to convene a briefing with top security officials within hours of the attack. Kan reported that there were celebrations of the killing in major West Bank cities and in the Gaza Strip, initiated by terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hamas said the shooting attack Tuesday was triggered by the Jenin raid.
The shooting comes as tensions intensify in the West Bank. A day earlier, Israeli troops raiding the city of Jenin to arrest accused terrorists killed five people.
The Biden administration spoke out over the weekend against Israel’s plans to build 4,000 new housing units for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also finalized plans to transfer West Bank building decisions to Bezalel Smotrich, the extremist who is the finance minister. Smotrich has said he wants to limit Palestinian building and expand settlement building.
Kan reported that the dead terrorist was a resident of a village, Urif, close to Huwara, the Palestinian town where terrorists killed two Israeli brothers driving through in February. Settlers retaliated by raiding the village and burning cars and buildings.
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