Wednesday, July 27, 2022

07/27 Links Pt2: Israel as a Precious Gift to Shabby Regimes and Conditions; Hating With the Hadids; How the Largest Labor Union in the United States Is Pushing an Anti-Israel Agenda

From Ian:

Israel as a Precious Gift to Shabby Regimes and Conditions
The fact is that terms like traitor, spy, and collaborator have long been outdated. They now indicate nothing but the existence of a project for crude domination and that this project is in crisis and has no choice but to say things it should not in the hope that this extends its lifespan.

However, what Freud called sublimation is at play here. This concept, which was originally formulated by Fredrich Nietzsche, denotes a process through which socially unacceptable desires and instincts are redirected to ends that are not only socially acceptable, but also noble ends glorified by society. Creative works, for example, replace taboo cravings, and impeccable moral behavior that invokes veneration replace belligerent desires.

In our case, the crude instinct to hold on to power turns into a conflict with Israel or striving to liberate Palestine. The instinct is condemned, no one defends it, and not even those acting on it dare to speak about it openly; as for the conflict, a broad segment of society sees it as a glorious endeavor.

However, the major difference is that with the authoritarians, the desire merely hides, while the noble end is a pure lie that brings neither innovation nor moral excellence.

“Israel’s conspiracies” alone can justify “filling our squares with the corpses of traitors and spies,” as Salah Omar Al-Ali once put it. (h/t Zvi)
Both UK Conservative leadership candidates have pro-Israel records
With the Conservative Party leadership contest in the UK down to two candidates, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak, whoever wins will move into 10 Downing Street in September with a pro-Israel record.

As one British political insider said this week, from an Israeli perspective, the two finalists were probably the best candidates of all those who announced they were running earlier this month.

Lord Stuart Polak, honorary president of Conservative Friends of Israel, said: “I have worked for 30 years on the UK-Israel political relationship and I am very confident that the golden era that we have will continue under either leadership.”

“[Prime Minister] Boris Johnson is an outstanding friend of Israel and has been for a long period, but these two will continue that tradition,” he added.
Are social media algorithms to blame for rise in antisemitic hate speech?
What can be done about it?

To combat antisemitism on social media, strategies need to be evidence based. But neither social media companies nor researchers have devoted enough time and resources to this issue so far.

The study of antisemitism on social media poses unique challenges to researchers: They need access to the data and funding to be able to help develop effective counterstrategies. So far, scholars depend on the cooperation of the social media companies to access the data, which is mostly unregulated.

Social media companies have implemented guidelines on reporting antisemitism on social media, and civil society organizations have been demanding action against algorithmic antisemitism. However, the measures taken so far are woefully inadequate, if not dangerous. For example, counterspeech, which is often promoted as a possible strategy, tends to amplify hateful content.

To meaningfully address antisemitic hate speech, social media companies would need to change the algorithms that collect and curate user data for advertisement companies, which make up a large part of their revenue.

There is a global, borderless spread of antisemitic posts on social media happening on an unprecedented scale. We believe it will require the collective efforts of social media companies, researchers and civil society to combat this problem.


Hating With the Hadids: How a Family of Social Media Titans Is Using Their Might Against Israel
Collectively, the family boasts 135 million Instagram followers, which is roughly the population of Israel 15 times over. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that the reach of the Hadid family is so immense, that a social media post from one of them has the power to influence countless people.

To paraphrase the French writer Voltaire, with great power comes great responsibility. Yet considering their propensity for spreading misinformation about Israel, Voltaire’s maxim is one that the Hadids have no conception of.

For example, Nazareth-born real estate magnate Mohamed Hadid seems to have no qualms about smearing the Jewish state, such as when he recently claimed the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was a “proud Palestinian.”

Just this week, supermodel Bella Hadid took a page out of her father’s book when she shared on her Instagram stories a post written by her cousin Lina that suggested Israel was occupying land that had been Palestinian for “4,000 years,” in addition to the claim that “Jesus was a Palestinian.”

With regards to the assertion that the land has been Palestinian for 4,000 years, HonestReporting has previously addressed this fantastic example of historical revisionism:
Palestine, or officially “Provincia Syria Palaestina,” was a name invented by the Romans in 135 CE as a replacement for “Judea,” in an effort to eliminate all expressions of Jewry in the region following the defeat of Bar Kohba in the Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire. Similarly, Jerusalem was officially renamed Aelia Capitolina.”

In fact, the Muslim conquest of the Levant did not occur until the early part of the seventh century when Muslim armies began to take over large swathes of the Middle East.

Furthermore, the suggestion that Jesus was a Palestinian is also incorrect: Jesus was born in Judea and was identified as Jew. Indeed, the cross upon which Jesus is said to have been crucified was inscribed with INRI’ – Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm, which means ‘Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews’ in Latin.
Welcome to Pallywood
Just a clip show of recent lies, omissions and yes, Pallywood, from the usual suspects.

From the Quds News Network, which apparently doesnt have the budget to employ fact-checkers, a beatific smiling woman, with the claim the photo was taken in 1920, and that she is Palestinian.
Missed it by that much.... only 35 years. The photo was taken in 1955, and is captioned "Jordanian Woman". In 1955 the Jordanians were in control of the West Bank, and the Palestinians hadn't quite been created yet.
Unhealthy Fixation: How the Largest Labor Union in the United States Is Pushing an Anti-Israel Agenda
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. With approximately three million members and affiliate organizations in more than 14,000 scholastic communities across the country, the NEA functions as a lobbying group and significantly influences education policy on both national and state levels.

While the NEA primarily lobbies on topics that one might expect of an education-focused labor union, such as increasing funding for public schools and raising starting salaries for teachers, in recent years the organization has sought to promote an anti-Israel agenda in American public schools. Members have proposed several New Business Items (NBIs), motions that influence what the union will focus on each year, which have taken a decidedly anti-Israel stance.

By contrast, The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the country’s second-largest labor union, has a history of support for the Jewish state. AFT President Randi Weingarten is a self-proclaimed Zionist who is married to a rabbi, and the union she leads has promoted a progressive Zionist message over the years.

But the NEA has moved in the opposite direction, increasingly promoting a pro-Palestinian agenda that seeks to ostracize and demonize Israel. For example, just this month at the NEA’s annual conference, three anti-Israel NBIs were proposed and voted on by union members, resulting in the approval of one item that calls for the education of students in “Palestinian history and affairs.”

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the NEA’s animus toward Israel. The union has proposed numerous NBIs that seek to radically shape how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is discussed in public schools across the United States. As a result, the Middle East’s only democracy is regularly vilified.


Mehdi Hasan, Tokenism, and the Alleged Jewish Threat to Democracy
Hasan found time to try to connect AIPAC to the violence that occurred at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 because AIPAC endorsed Republican candidates who, Hasan asserts, “voted to overturn the election on January the 6th.” Repeatedly, Hasan and Levin tried to depict AIPAC as “right-wing,” as being a front for “Republican billionaires,” and “back[ing] Republican insurrectionists.”

The fact that AIPAC endorses those Levin describes as “Republican insurrectionists” has nothing to do with January 6, 2021. If AIPAC was focused on endorsing “Republican insurrectionists,” then questions would arise about the very lengthy list of outspoken Democratic critics of the Republican Party’s handling of January 6 that AIPAC has also endorsed. Both Adam Schiff and Elaine Luria – Democratic members of the “House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack” – are endorsed by AIPAC.

AIPAC is focused on endorsing those candidates who support AIPAC’s mission: “policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.” Inevitably, the bipartisan list of candidates AIPAC supports will include individuals who strongly disagree with each other on many unrelated topics.

That AIPAC remains focused on its original mission, setting aside the many other ideological battles painting the American political scene these days, is of course open to criticism. Yet Hasan and Levin twist reality to turn AIPAC’s focused mission into a nefarious conspiracy of an organization perceived as “Jewish” and evil billionaires “poisoning American politics.”

It’s a depiction that flies in the face of the facts, but increasingly that has become Mehdi Hasan’s style, which focuses on creating dubious narratives through a thousand omissions, both big and small.

At a certain point, when a discussion throws important facts aside in favor of a narrative that points at a perceived Jewish organization as “corrupting,” “poisoning,” and “dominating” a country’s politics, it begins to reek of a certain phenomenon known as “antisemitism.” No amount of tokenizing a “really Jewish” congressman can paper over that.
After Eli Stokols’ AIPAC Fabrication, Will LA Times Dust Off Its Ethics Guidelines?
“The goal of the Los Angeles Times is to publish news and information of the highest quality,” says the paper’s Ethics Guidelines. “The standards outlined here apply to all editorial employees and to the work they produce for The Times, whether it appears in print, on the Web, on social media, on television or on any other platform.”

There is no wiggle room in this June 2014 document: Los Angeles Times‘ employees social media activity must be “above reproach.”

Furthermore, the guidelines state: “A fair-minded reader of Times news coverage should not be able to discern the private opinions of those who contributed to that coverage, or to infer that the organization is promoting any agenda.”

A recent tweet by Times’ White House correspondent puts that eight-year-old document to the test.

In a blatantly false tweet yesterday, Times reporter Eli Stokols exposed both his bias and his ignorance: “AIPAC trying to take out Jewish Dem ⁦@Andy_Levin in primary because he backs a two-state solution — while supporting pro-Israel Rs who wouldn’t certify the 2020 election.” The notion that AIPAC opposes Cong. Levin “because he backs a two-state solution” is sheer fabrication. After all, the very same Politico article which Stokols tweeted explicitly noted that Levin’s opponent, Rep. Hayley Stevens, who did receive AIPAC backing, also supports the two-state solution.
The empty shell of BBC social media use guidance
One BBC journalist who appears to have little regard for that guidance (see ‘related articles’ below) is the former BBC Jerusalem bureau reporter Wyre Davies who recently found fit to award ‘likes’ to two Tweets which can most definitely be categorised as “reflecting a particular point of view” that were put out by the political NGO B’Tselem and one of its employees.
The last Tweet in that thread from B’Tselem’s international advocacy officer, Sarit Michaeli, promotes the falsehood that Israel deliberately targets journalists:
That falsehood has also been amplified and promoted in the exceptional (both in amount and duration) media coverage of the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, including by the BBC.

The same libel has been employed by political NGOs such as B’Tselem which have a record of campaigns aimed to delegitimise Israel.
Indy promotes Labour antisemitism denialism
In December 2019, the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn suffered the party’s worst defeat in over 80 years, with the Tories winning 365 seats compared the Labour’s 202, as Labour’s “red wall” across the Midlands and the north of England – the the Party’s base for generations – crumbled.

So, what was the cause of their historic defeat, according to Indy contributor Ryan Coogan in a July 26 op-ed?

The incompetence of both the campaign and the Party’s leader, which caused it to be continually incapacitated by crisis and indecision, as highlighted in the definitive book on the subject: Left Out by Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire? No.

Corbyn’s extremist positions on both economic and national security issues? No.

The personal antisemitism of the MP from Islington North, and the tsunami of anti-Jewish racism in the Party under his leadership, as documented in the EHRC report? Also, No.

According to Coogan, the fatal problem was the “right-wing” of the party.

First, what does he mean by Labour’s “right-wing”? Well, he doesn’t really say.

However, the term “right-wing”, within Labour, is sometimes used as a pejorative by the hard left to refer to “Blairites”, a term of abuse for those who supported the centre-left politics of former prime minister Tony Blair. Alternately, it’s often used to demonise anyone not in line with whatever diktats are decided by Corbyn and his followers.

But, the following passage from Coogan’s op-ed, referencing the Forde Report, commissioned by Keir Starmer early in his leadership in the wake of the leak of a documents containing private WhatsApp messages exposing deep factionalism in Labour’s efforts to combat antisemitism, is telling:
“Antisemitism is actually a Jewish creation” Ofcom puts Ahlebait TV on notice following breach of hate speech regulations
Ofcom has put the television channel Ahlebait TV on notice following its breach of hate speech regulations.

The media watchdog made the ruling against Ahlebait TV, which offers “current affairs and entertainment programming with an Islamic perspective”, following a complaint from CST.

The breach occurred on an edition of the programme 20th Hour entitled Money Power, Islam and a Just Order in March of last year when David Pidcock, one of the guests on the programme, said: “This is why the Jews have been expelled from 47 different countries and city-states in the last 1,000 years and as they recognise…their antisemitism comes from their actions of impoverishing people and they then respond and then they call it antisemitism but we know that it’s because they do and they get punished and as Allah says, you know, he will expel [sentence incomplete] – send them to all corners of the world to be an excoriation and a hissing and a booing to wherever he had sent them.”

Following this comment, fellow guest Clive Menzies remarked that “It’s worth just noting that antisemitism was created by Theodor Herzl at the back end of the nineteenth century in order to frighten and create the circumstances that would encourage Jews to migrate to Israel so antisemitism is actually a Jewish creation”.
Four arrested on suspicion of crimes targeting Jews in New York
Four individuals were arrested on suspicion of carrying out attacks against Jews in the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. The alleged perpetrators, all aged between 17 to 19 years old, face charges for crimes carried out in the heavily ultra-Orthodox Jewish area of Monsey.

On July 17, Ramapo Police Department (RPD) received reports of people in cars striking ultra-Orthodox pedestrians in Monsey with projectiles.

After investigating the incident, police arrested four individuals on charges of attempted assault as a hate crime, reckless endangerment as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon, conspiracy, aggravated harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Of the arrested individuals, two were released from custody on bail, one was sent to the Rockland County jail, and one was “released from custody to a parent, pending a family court division appearance due to a qualifying juvenile status,” RPD’s Chief of Police Martin Reilly said in a press conference regarding the arrests.

“Ramapo is a diverse community,” he said. “All people have the basic right to live in our community without fear… We strive to provide that sense of safety and security to all members of the Town of Ramapo.”

Several County Legislators released statements regarding the attacks.

“Every time an attack like this occurs, we condemn it and hope there will not be a repeat incident,” Rockland County Legislator Philip Soskin wrote in a statement. “Yet, here we are again, with the arrests of people who allegedly threw eggs or objects or even shot a BB gun at passersby, all of whom happen to be – and to look like – Orthodox Jews. It is wrong and it is unacceptable.”


German man jailed for Holocaust comment about Jewish singer who claimed antisemitism
A German man has been sentenced to seven months in prison for leaving a hateful comment on a Facebook post about the case of Gil Ofarim, a German-Israeli singer who was charged with lying about an antisemitism incident at a hotel last year.

“In Buchenwald he would have liked to be seen with his Star of David,” the 38-year-old man from the German city of Niesky wrote on the account of TAG24, a German news website, according to a report by Radio Lausitz, a German news radio channel.

Buchenwald is the site of the largest Nazi concentration camp within Germany’s borders. The comment ran afoul of Germany’s strict laws prohibiting antisemitic speech, and the man’s previous criminal record also played a role in his sentencing, according to the report, which said an appeal was likely.

Pop singer Ofarim said a clerk had denied him a room at a Leipzig hotel because he was wearing a Star of David necklace.

Hundreds protested the hotel before Ofarim’s account was discredited when security video showed that he was not wearing a visible Jewish symbol at the time.

He was later charged with crimes related to making a false allegation, although he has not yet been prosecuted.
Scottish auction house selling replica Nazi memorabilia
McTear's Auction House in Glasgow, Scotland, is offering “A group of reproduction Third Reich badges and medals” at its Friday, July 29 “Antiques and Interiors” auction.

“We are horrified to see an auction house out of Glasgow, Scotland, selling Nazi (replica) memorabilia,” tweeted Stop Antisemitism on Tuesday.

“These items symbolize the murder of millions killed during the Holocaust by the SS Nazi regime and should not be monetized,” the non-profit wrote. Nazi memorabilia offered at auctions have drawn disdain from antisemitism watchdogs in the past. O’Gallerie Auctions in Portland, Oregon, offered Heinrich Himmler’s dagger and sheath for an estimated value of between $8,000 and $12,000 in 2021 before removing the item from the auction


Israel Tourism Bounces Back, Hotel Occupancy Approaches 2019 Levels
The Israel Hotel Association announced that occupancy in June was at levels near those of 2019, before the start of COVID-19.

Domestic tourism is booming, working on a comeback after foreign tourists were barred from entering the country for almost two years during the pandemic.

It will take time for international tourists to catch up to 2019 levels, according to an examination of overnight stays from last month, reported the Israeli business daily Globes on Tuesday.

In total, the month of June saw 2.1 million hotel overnights — a 5 percent decrease from June 2019.

Israelis were responsible for 1.5 million of them — an increase of 18 percent from June 2019 but a decrease of 8 percent from 2021. Foreign tourists accounted for 643,000 overnights in June, down 36 percent from 2019.

Eilat’s hotels led the pack with an occupancy rate of 81 percent, which was 5 percent higher than June 2019.

“Israelis continue to express confidence in the local hotel industry, and thanks to this, there is a continuing upward trend in hotel overnights,” stated the association, according to the report.
Yahoo to Expand Its R&D Centers in Israel
Yahoo will expand its research and development centers in Israel, the company announced on Monday.

The company also appointed Neetai Eshel as managing director for its Israel R&D centers in Tel Aviv and Haifa, reported the Israeli business daily Globes.

Verizon acquired Yahoo and merged it with AOL in 2017. Yahoo has operated in Israel for almost 20 years.

The Tel Aviv office focuses on its adtech, video and data products, while the Haifa center is comprised of researchers with advanced degrees in computer science and algorithmics.

The company’s center in Tel Aviv has been a growth engine for Yahoo in recent years.
Apple to open new development center in Jerusalem
US tech giant Apple is expanding its operations in Israel, adding a new development center in Jerusalem alongside its existing sites in Herzliya and Haifa.

The announcement was made on LinkedIn on Wednesday in a Hebrew-language post by an Apple talent recruiter looking to hire Israeli engineers.

According to the post, the Jerusalem center will focus on processor developments for Mac computers. Apple has been relying on Intel chips but has been preparing to swap the remaining Intel parts with custom-made in-house processors.

In late 2020, The Times of Israel reported that Apple’s Israeli teams were behind the M1 chips, Apple’s first chip developed and built in-house for desktops and laptops. Earlier in 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook officially announced the company would be producing its own processors for its desktops and laptops, as part of the tech giant’s penchant for controlling as many parts as possible of the hardware in its products. The company had already been using in-house designs for its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and is now using its knowledge for its line of computers.

Apple opened its first Israeli site in Herzliya in 2015, after acquiring Israeli startup Anobit for some $390 million in 2012. Apple also bought Israeli 3D sensing company PrimeSense in 2013.
AI Device Tells You Why Your Baby Is Crying
It learns little one’s behavior patterns and messages parent’s smartphone with updates

Parents will soon be able to track their baby’s activity 24/7 using an AI (artificial intelligence) device that clips onto their clothes and connects to a smartphone.

It uses deep learning algorithms to learn each baby’s individual habits, noises, and daily routine . . . and to tell parents WHY their baby is crying. Is he or she hungry, in pain, or tired? The device can tell the difference.

It also provides a real-time lifesaving alert if something is seriously wrong, and records the baby’s long-term emotional and developmental story.

The device fits in the palm of an adult hand and is powered by a narrow neural network – algorithms that identify behavior patterns – personalized to each baby, which processes data from sound and motion sensors.

“Most people are surprised to hear the neural network is so small because when they think of neural networks they think of big computers,” Ami Meoded, Chief Marketing Office at LittleOne.Care, tells NoCamels.

“But this neural network can also recognize a baby’s reason for crying through various algorithms that are built into the system.
Israeli Medical Center, Intel Develop AI-Powered Tool to Catch Crohn’s Disease Earlier
Israel’s largest medical center has teamed up with US tech giant Intel Corp. for an artificial intelligence-based algorithm that can help physicians more quickly diagnose Crohn’s disease.

The new application, developed by Sheba Medical Center using Intel hardware and software, takes two minutes to scan up to 12,000 images from capsule videos of patients’ digestive systems.

“Predicting the course of the disease in Crohn’s patients is one of the most important clinical challenges in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease,” said Prof. Uri Kopylov, Director of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at Sheba’s Department of Gastroenterology. “However, currently available tools are limited and insufficiently accurate.”

In recent years, gastroenterologists have mainly used an endoscopic capsule, or camera pill — such as the swallowable PillCam, also developed by an Israeli company — that takes thousands of images as it moves through a patient’s body. But the vast amount of images in each video still need to be analyzed by physicians, making fast, accurate detection and treatment of the inflammatory disease more difficult, Sheba said.

In the US alone, there are over 1.6 million people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and more than 65,000 new patients diagnosed each year, according to a 2019 report.
Have scientists discovered a cure for blood cancer?
A team of Israeli and Spanish researchers have found a groundbreaking mechanism to revert leukemia (blood cancer) cells back to normal cells that no longer multiply at an abnormal rate.

Israel continues to be at the forefront of medical research and innovation. What an incredible find!


How a Tottenham Hotspur soccer player saved my father-in-law’s life
Israeli immigrants from the UK will likely turn out in force on Saturday night to see English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur play a pre-season exhibition match against A.S. Roma at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa in northern Israel.

The north London club has long been associated with its Jewish supporters, as the Jewish Chronicle has detailed, to the extent that its fans — both Jewish and non-Jewish — eventually adopted the insulting epithet Yid thrown at them by rivals, and became known as “the Yids” and the “Yid Army.”

But for our family, Tottenham has a special significance. One of its players saved my father-in-law’s life.

Ralph Freeman (then Rolf Friedland) was born in Berlin in 1920 and was an ardent soccer player and fan from an early age.

By the late 1930s, stranded and alone, he was desperate to leave Germany.

His younger brother had been sent to the US in 1936 with a relief organization.

His parents had obtained visas and gone to England, presumably to try, without success, to arrange for Rolf to follow.

The Kindertransport — the rescue effort to get children under 17 out of Nazi-controlled territory to Britain — had not yet begun and Rolf would have been too old to qualify, anyway.


Families of 1972 Olympic attack victims reject ‘insulting’ German compensation offer
Eleven Israelis and a West German police officer were killed during the attack, including during a botched rescue attempt.

Immediately after the attack, Germany made payments to the relatives of the victims amounting to about 4.19 million marks (about 2 million euros or $2.09 million), according to the Interior Ministry. In 2002, the surviving relatives received another 3 million euros, dpa reported.

A claim for compensation payments amounting to around 40 million marks cited massive errors in the police operation, but it was dismissed because of the statute of limitations.

In Israel, Ilana Romano, the widow of Yossef Romano, a weightlifter who was one of the first Israelis killed, told public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday that Germany’s current reparations offer was “degrading” and the victims’ survivors rejected it.

“The offer is degrading, and we are standing by our stance that we are boycotting the (anniversary) ceremony,” she said, adding that Germany “threw us to the dogs. They mistreated us for 50 years.”

“They decided to take responsibility — very nice after 50 years,” Romano said, calling for proper compensation for the families, “not pennies.”

Ankie Spitzer, the widow of Andre Spitzer, a fencing coach with the Israeli Olympic team who was killed in the attack, also rejected the sum offered by Germany.

“The sum we have been offered is insulting,” Spitzer told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland newspaper group on Wednesday. “We are angry and disappointed.”
Twenty years after Ben and Marla and the Hebrew University bombing
Epilogue

Every year, as the “Three Weeks” commence, I dream dreams of Marla and Ben. This year seems to be the same. I have a dream of leaving the school’s building and Marla running up to me from a table with her multicolored Talmud, saying with anticipation, “I think I can correct such-and-such a reading you gave us in shiur (class),” and we return to the Study Hall, but now the door is stuck. With Ben, it’s also always a variation of the same – we are dancing at a simchah (joyous event) with Ben’s eyes shut, singing rapturously – I shout out over the music: “Is this your wedding?” He opens his eyes, gives me his Ben “you can’t be serious look,” mouths the word, “No,” and then closes them and we continue dancing.

These dreams no longer frighten me, but they cause me to connect to a deep sense of guilt. A “guilt,” I hasten to add, that I would dismiss if coming from staff or faculty. I am feeling guilty for bringing them into a dangerous situation. There was real opposition to allowing Ben into our Educators Program due to his rough nature. I saw something that was gold for his future students and overruled the nays. And Marla, I vigorously wooed her to learn with us, dismissing the offers of other institutions for superior “educational training” as “mere training like you do with a puppy… here, we learn.” It worked, but the result was tragic. I think: “What leaders they would have made!”

I have long wondered what pathology or at least quirk has led me to embrace this guilt, which I know, deep down, really does not belong to me. But if you have been my student, then you know this: learning is not the real thing unless it brings understanding and it is not worth anything if the understanding does not lead to commitment; and commitment has a price for those who learn and for those who teach.

Ben and Marla, each in their own unique way, certainly had understanding and fulfilled commitment. Remembering each of them is a blessing.

And me? I’m surrounded by a wife who keeps me existentially and morally focused, love from my children, nachas (happiness) from old students, and real challenges from the new. And I’m still pushing peshat (plain textual understanding) and projects; and sometimes plotzin (collapsing in defeat); nonetheless giving it, I hope, my all. But during the “Three Weeks” I return to the Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, as they sing:

“People say I’m the life of the party
‘Cause I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hard
Deep inside I’m blue
So take a good look…”




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