Tuesday, September 13, 2022

09/13 Links Pt2: Anti-Zionists advocate a global apartheid; Ken Burns has a Palestine problem; Rare, stolen 2,000-year-old silver coin returned to Israeli authorities in US

From Ian:

Anti-Zionists advocate a global apartheid
As I have recently written, the claim that Israel is an apartheid state has, in fact, little to do with the actual charge of apartheid. It is, first, little more than a cheap attempt to demonize the Jewish state. But more ominously, it is also a call for Israel to be dismantled, just as South Africa’s apartheid regime was, quite rightly, dismantled.

To destroy the Jewish state would, of course, be an injustice to the Jews quite as horrific as the injustice apartheid did to black South Africans. But it is worth pondering the nature of this injustice and following the dark logic of the apartheid libel to its inevitable end.

Its logic culminates in something hinted at many decades ago by Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. The struggle for the Jewish state, Ben-Gurion said, is not a question of the Jews and the Arabs; it is a question of the Jews and the world.

This simple but remarkably profound statement points out that injustice need not take place only in a community or a nation. Injustice can be global. It can rise higher than mere questions of territory and individual rights. It can be expressed in the nature of the international system itself.

In the case of the Jews, this global injustice was obvious: By leaving the Jews without a nation of their own, and thus denying the Jewish people its right to self-determination and self-defense, the world constructed a discriminatory regime that kept the Jews separate and unequal—second-class citizens of the world. It was, in effect, a global apartheid.

Implied in Ben-Gurion’s insight is not only that this global apartheid must end, but that it can only be ended by the creation and perpetuation of a Jewish state. Thus, in Ben-Gurion’s view, Zionism is not simply a territorial or nationalist movement. It is a global movement that seeks to correct a global injustice. It is a struggle to do nothing more—but also nothing less—than to make the Jews equal citizens of the world.

This has profound implications—and not only for the Jews—because it implies not simply a moral imperative but an assertion of certain responsibilities. The world, Ben-Gurion was saying, must remember that it is overwhelmingly not Jewish. As such, it has responsibilities towards one of its smallest and most beleaguered minorities, just as an overwhelmingly white nation has towards its black minority or a Muslim nation towards its non-Muslim minority.

The world’s responsibility is or ought to be fairly clear: It is to ensure that the Jewish people is not a second-class people, and that it enjoys the same rights and privileges as any other people via a state of its own.
Emily Schrader: BDS opposition to Project Nimbus will harm Arab-Israelis, too - opinion
Once again, the ugly BDS movement has reared its head over the landmark $1.2 billion (NIS 408 b.) Project Nimbus contract between Israel and tech giants Amazon and Google. Under the guise of civic action by employees, fringe anti-Israel groups, such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Linda Sarsour’s MPower group have led a campaign to demonize the two companies over their contribution to Israeli “apartheid.” In the process, they are politicizing an apolitical project that will benefit all of Israel’s citizens, including two million Arabs.

Project Nimbus, according to Google, focuses exclusively on upgrading cloud computing services at the government level for ministries, such as finance, healthcare, transportation, and education, in an effort that will create over 3,000 jobs for Israeli Arabs and Jews alike. The project has nothing to do with military or weapons technology. But that’s never stopped anti-Israel activists from, once again, hijacking the narrative to make every single issue somehow about Palestinians.

This past week, protests against Project Nimbus took place in four locations, intended to give the impression there is a tremendous pushback from within the companies involved. The reality, however, is quite different.

The protesters claimed that Project Nimbus could be misused to oppress and surveil Palestinians, despite the fact that Google and Amazon confirmed that’s not related to the project in any capacity. Google’s representative even stated, “Today’s protest group is misrepresenting the contract. Our work is not directed at highly sensitive or classified military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services.”


University of Vermont Faces Federal Investigation for Fostering ‘Severe Anti-Semitic Harassment’ on Campus
The Department of Education has opened a formal investigation into the University of Vermont over allegations several Jewish students have been "subjected to severe and persistent anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination."

A group of Jewish students who are remaining anonymous due to concerns for their safety say they have been targeted in a range of school settings merely for openly identifying themselves as Jewish. This includes Jewish students being kicked out of a support group for sexual assault victims, "online harassment against Jewish students by a Teaching Assistant," and attacks on the university's Hillel building, which supports Jewish life on campus.

The Education Department, which only investigates matters with substantial amounts of evidence, will review these incidents to determine if the University of Vermont "allowed a hostile environment to proliferate on its campus" in violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on race and religion.

"Jewish students have expressed fear about identifying publicly as Jewish, report hiding their Jewish identity and have considered transferring out of UVM due to the hostile environment toward Jews," according to the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a legal advocacy group that filed the complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

The University of Vermont investigation is one of several being handled by the Education Department as anti-Semitic incidents proliferate on America’s campuses, driven by an ever-growing cohort of anti-Israel student activists who target Jews. The University of Southern California is also being investigated over allegations it fomented "a hostile environment of anti-Semitism" on its campus that forced a Jewish student government official to resign from her position.

At Vermont, a number of Jewish students approached the Brandeis Center after they faced a series of anti-Semitic incidents. The complaint filed with the Education Department alleges that "an environment of harassment and intimidation has existed at UVM for years, but it intensified in 2021 when a UVM [teaching assistant] repeatedly instigated hate against Jewish students who express support for Zionism, even threatening to lower their grades." Separately, "two student groups deliberately excluded Jewish students who expressed support for Zionism from membership, and the [UVM] Hillel building was pelted for nearly 40 minutes and vandalized."

The complaint alleges that school administrators were aware of these incidents, but have "taken no steps to rectify the situation."


NGO Monitor: Abdel Shafi Community Health Association’s Ties to the PFLP Terror Group
Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA), formerly known as the Red Crescent Society for the Gaza Strip (RCS4GS)1, was founded in 1972 and “is a developmental NGO that seeks to contribute to improving the health, educational, cultural and social conditions of the community through comprehensive quality programs based on justice and equality.”

ACHA was founded and is directed by senior members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel. Other employees have demonstrated support for Palestinian terror groups and their actions. On multiple occasions, ACHA facilities were used by the PFLP to hold their formal events.

ACHA founder Haider Abdel Shafi was a member of the Arab Nationalist Movement, which was headed by PFLP founder George Habash and whose Palestine branch was eventually transformed to the PFLP. According to the Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi Center2, Abdel Shafi was arrested for “supporting the military activities” of the PFLP, and although “he always denied membership of the PFLP,” Abdul Shafi “expressed sympathy for its radical stand.”

ACHA Staff with Ties to the PFLP
Younis Ahmed Al-Jaro
According to ACHA, Younis Ahmed Al-Jaro chairs ACHA’s board of directors.3 Although reported to have resigned in 2013 from his leadership role in the PFLP, Al-Jaro has continued to participate in multiple PFLP events and was called by the terrorist group “a great [Popular] Front man comrade” in 2014.

Previously, in 2015–2020, Al-Jaro chaired Al-Dameer’s board of directors.4 For more information on Al-Dameer’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s reports “Al-Dameer’s Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
- Al-Jarro is described as a “former leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” in his bio for a 2017 conference commemorating the violent Palestinian uprising of 1987-1993.
- In May 2019, according to Quds Net News Agency, Al-Jaro spoke at the official PFLP memorial event for deceased PFLP Political Bureau member Rabah Muhanna.
- In July 2018, Al-Jaro attended an official PFLP event in honor of the 46th anniversary of the death of PFLP senior member Ghassan Kanafani. The event was held at ACHA’s hall.

Al-Jaro (circled in red) participating in an official PFLP event held at ACHA in 2018, honoring PFLP senior member Ghassan Kanafani. Jaro is seated left to PFLP Central Committee member Jamil Mazhar.
- On June 11, 2014, the Fatah Movement published an interview with Al-Jaro on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of “The [Che] Guevara of Gaza [Muhammad] Al-Aswads’ martyrdom.” Al-Jaro praised Al-Aswad and detailed their joint “special combat operations that caused unrest to the occupation…his vanguard role and personality had a decisive impact on the fact that he was totally surrounded [by loving people], and he is the ultimate symbol for all the people of Gaza…”
- The [Che] Guevara of Gaza martyr organization is a subsidiary of the PFLP. “Guevara of Gaza,” Muhammad Al-Aswad, was a PFLP member who was killed in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers in Gaza in March 1973.
- In June 2014, Al-Jaro spoke at a PFLP event in which he explained that “vacating leadership centers at the Front is not something new…it is a chance to introduce new blood and strengthen the spirit of democracy…the Arab and national depth is the foundation of confronting the Zionist occupation and its global imperialism allies.”
- According to Palestinian media, in January 2014, al-Jarro spoke at a PFLP event honoring several members of the PFLP Central Committee on their retirement. During the event, Al-Jarro stressed the “need to reject differences and conflicts between the national and Islamic forces and unite within the vision and mechanism or program to achieve the desired goals.”
Jean-Luc Godard, renowned French director and pro-Palestinian activist, dies at 91
Jean-Luc Godard, the ingenious “enfant terrible” of the French New Wave who revolutionized popular cinema in 1960 with his debut feature “Breathless” and stood for years as one of the world’s most vital and provocative directors has died, French media reported. He was 91.

Multiple French media outlets confirmed that they had learned the news of his death from his relatives on Tuesday.

Godard defied convention over a long career that began in the 1950s as a film critic. He rewrote rules for camera, sound and narrative.

His films propelled Jean-Paul Belmondo to stardom and his controversial modern nativity play “Hail Mary” grabbed headlines when Pope John Paul II denounced it in 1985.

But Godard also made a string of films, often politically charged and experimental, which pleased few outside a small circle of fans and frustrated many critics through their purported overblown intellectualism.

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was “sad, sad. Immensely so” at the news of Godard’s death.
Controversy and Compassion: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s Relationship With the Jews
Despite Harry’s apparent propensity for gaffes, he was able to carefully skirt a potential controversy in his role as patron of the Invictus Games, the sporting charity he founded that aids wounded servicemen and women.

Although he is famously “woke,” the Duke refused to bow to pressure from supporters of the antisemitic (and self-proclaimed “progressive”) Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, who had criticized the Invictus Games for allowing former IDF soldiers to compete.

Nevertheless, unlike his brother William and father, King Charles III, Harry has never visited Israel.

Shortly after Harry became engaged to American actress Meghan Markle in 2017, rumors began swirling that his soon-to-be-wife was of Jewish lineage, following a peculiar statement from an official that was allegedly given to a British newspaper.

According to the story in the Express, a spokesman for Westminster Abbey, the historic London church where British royals marry, reportedly confirmed that “Meghan’s Jewish background would not prevent her from having an ‘interfaith’ marriage there.”

The piece was, however, later debunked when Duncan Jeffery, Westminster Abbey’s head of communications, said the church had only confirmed she could be married in spite of being previously divorced.

Another claim that circulated in the build-up to the wedding was that Meghan may have converted to Judaism when she was married to Jewish film producer Trevor Engelson in 2011 in a ceremony that is said to have incorporated Jewish traditions.

As a couple, Harry and Meghan have demonstrated their support for the Jewish community in a number of ways, including a March 2022 donation to HIAS, the largest Jewish nonprofit for refugee assistance in the world.

This followed an earlier £10,000 ($11,700) donation to a joint Muslim and Jewish kitchen in the UK that serves free meals to people in need.

As questions arise about whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may return to more prominent royal roles following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we can only hope the couple will continue supporting the Jewish community and giving generously to worthy causes.


Fetterman Says He’s a Friend of Israel. His Art Gallery Raises Questions.
On the campaign trail, Pennsylvania lieutenant governor John Fetterman touts his "unwavering" support for Israel. But the Senate hopeful operates a nonprofit that hosted an anti-Israel art exhibit that demonized Israel as an "apartheid state" and spread slanderous falsehoods about the Jewish State.

Fetterman’s gallery, UnSmoke Systems, hosted an exhibit in 2012 titled "I Am Palestine," featuring a so-called apartheid wall that condemns the 440-mile Israeli-built barrier separating Israel from the West Bank following a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings launched from the territory that left roughly 700 Israeli civilians dead.

The artists featured in the exhibit claimed in a statement accompanying the project that Israel built the wall "under the guise of security while stealing more Palestinian land and resources."

Fetterman’s support for the exhibit calls into question his claim, on the campaign trail in a purple state, to support "strengthening and enhancing the security of Israel." The former mayor has also touted an endorsement from Peace Action, an anti-war group that has promoted boycotts of Israel and urged diplomatic ties with Iran. Fetterman’s opponent Mehmet Oz said the endorsement shows Fetterman is "no friend of Israel."

Fetterman’s campaign defended the gallery exhibit and his views on Israel, telling the Washington Free Beacon that Fetterman "is and always has been a pro-Israel Democrat."

"He strongly believes that Israel has the right to defend itself and has pledged to always lean in and support Israel’s security," said Fetterman campaign communications director Joe Calvello. "John is also proud to have helped turn an abandoned convent into a space that brings art and artists to Braddock, creating economic development."

Fetterman’s gallery, which is supported by his nonprofit Braddock Redux, also commissioned a mural in 2008 entitled "Three Boys Living in the Shadow of the Separation Wall" from an artist, Swoon, who is a prominent anti-Israel activist and has called for a cultural boycott of the Jewish state.

One of the artists featured in the 2012 exhibit, Karina Goulordava, served at the time as vice president of the University of Pittsburgh chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that "disseminates anti-Israel propaganda often laced with inflammatory and at times combative rhetoric," according to the Anti-Defamation League. The student group often uses apartheid walls at its anti-Israel rallies "depicting Israel alone as responsible for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the ADL says.
Illinois GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Makes Campaign Stop at Palestinian Club That Erases Israel From Map
State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Il55), the Republican candidate for Illinois governor, made a campaign stop Saturday at the Palestinian American Club of Bridgeview, Illinois where he spoke in front of a map that erased the state of Israel, depicting the entire region as “Palestine.” The map labeled Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, included Yafo but not Tel Aviv, and restored the Golan Heights to Syria.

In an interview with Palestine TV at the event, Bailey also questioned the constitutionality of legislative measures backed by his opponent Governor JB Pritzker to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

“I’ll always stand on the constitution and it sounds like some of those values are being stepped on right now,” Bailey said in his interview with Palestine TV. “And that makes sense, that’s what’s taking place in every aspect of government with this governor of ours. He doesn’t follow the law, he doesn’t follow the constitution. So the constitution will always be front and center. The Muslim community, the Arab community will always have a seat with me as we learn together, work together, and live together.”

The Bailey campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Bailey has previously garnered criticism for comments he made in 2017 comparing abortion to the Holocaust. “I believe that abortion is one of the greatest atrocities of our day and I believe it’s one of the greatest atrocities probably forever. The attempted extermination of the Jews of World War II doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the life that has been lost with abortion since its legalization,” he said.


Hill Times Commentator Accuses Israel of Islamophobia & Suggests Support for Israel Based in “Antipathy Toward Arabs & Muslims”
In his recent September 12 opinion column in The Hill Times, “Canada’s foreign policy is at odds with Trudeau’s promise to fight Islamophobia,” Taha Ghayyur praises Prime Minister Trudeau’s opposition to anti-Muslim hate crimes in Canada, but argues that the Canadian government has “remained silent on the international stage in condemning Islamophobia around the world.”

Ghayyur accuses the Canadian government of being complicit in alleged crimes against Muslims, including in Israel, which he accuses of being “defined by decades of occupation and settler colonialism.”

Claiming that Israel’s alleged crimes against the Palestinians are a symptom of anti-Muslim discrimination, Ghayyur, therefore, takes issue with the Trudeau government’s support for trade with Israel, in particular the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

There is simply no evidence to buttress Ghayyur’s statement that Israel is imbued with Islamophobia.

Muslims in Israel can vote, be elected, live wherever they want, and pursue any educational and workplace opportunities they so choose. And the Muslim population in Israel is growing at a rapid pace, jumping on average of two percent per year.

In fact, the Muslim population of Israel has jumped about 10-fold since the country’s independence in 1948. Today, there are over 400 mosques in Israel, including well over 70 just in Jerusalem. Islam in Israel is far from persecuted; it is recognized and a protected part of Israeli society, with hundreds of imams receiving their salaries from the Israeli government, and the Israeli government even funds many Islamic schools throughout the country. In sharp contrast, much of the Arab and Muslim world has been ethnically cleansed of its Jewish populations, rendering the region largely “Judenrein” (Jew-free).

Bizarrely, nowhere in his opinion column does Ghayyur articulate Israel’s alleged crimes which he defines Islamophobic, but he nevertheless states that “growing global indifference to the plight of the Palestinians can be attributed to antipathy towards Arabs and Islam.”

If this is the case, clearly this factoid is complete news to the rest of the Arab world, which is increasingly embracing Israel, a far cry from its erstwhile hostility only a few decades ago.


The failed mission to convince Nazi Germany to release one million Jews - opinion
This summer we commemorated the 78th anniversary of the murder of the Jews of Hungary in the summer of 1944. Between May 15 and July 9 that year, 435,000 Jews from the provincial districts of Hungary were sent to their deaths, mainly to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

I am not a historian, and do not presume to be one. But as a survivor, I feel a moral obligation to publicly discuss the forgotten mission of Joel Brand and his associates.

My brother Avram and I, born in the township of Karcag in central Hungary, are among the few hundred Jewish children from the Hungarian provinces who survived the deadly summer of 1944; none of the children who arrived at the same time at the gates of Auschwitz escaped.

The question that keeps running through my mind throughout the years is: To what extent do I owe my survival to the action of some brave people and their exceptional efforts during the Holocaust, and did these people receive the credit they deserve?

We survived because we happened to be on one of the six trains, out of 147, that left the ghettos of rural Hungary in 1944 that did not go to the extermination camps in Poland. These six trains, carrying around 15,000 Jews, were headed to the Strasshof transit camp in Austria and subsequently distributed in small working groups among the villages of Austria.

The formal explanation for this diversion from Auschwitz was that the Nazi regime complied with the request of Vienna’s district commander for working hands in agriculture during the summer of 1944.

Only 30% of the 15,000 deportees were fit for labor. The rest were children and seniors who had not been separated from their families. This was an indication that the Germans wished to preserve some sort of a family structure among a small group of Jews that could be used for negotiations with the West concerning their fate.
Zeldin: Antisemitism 'has to be found, confronted and crushed'
Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for New York governor, said on Monday he was very concerned about the possibility that the US would reenter the Iran nuclear deal.

“The sunset clause is now seven years closer to expiring and the administration isn’t talking about changing that,” he said at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York. He said there were issues with the verification system that also weren’t going to be addressed.

“They’re also talking about taking the IRGC off the terror watch list,” said Zeldin, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “So, I have concerns with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA. This is actually worse than the original agreement and a bad deal is worse than no deal at all. I’d rather have them walk away from the table rather than enter a fatally flawed nuclear deal.”

Speaking about the Taylor Force Act, Zeldin said he was honored to be one of the sponsors of the legislation. “I don’t believe that a dollar of US tax dollars should go to the Palestinian Authority if they continue to go to rewarding terrorism,” he said. “The stream should be cut off. “The US’ strongest ally in the world is Israel”

“The US’ strongest ally in the world is Israel,” Zeldin said, “a beacon of hope and freedom in the darkest region in the world. We should be doing everything to strengthen that bond. One of that is calling out the Palestinian Authority at every opportunity. We cannot be silent. We as a nation must be proudly and unapologetically defending the strongest and most powerful alliance we have on the planet.”

Zeldin also addressed the rise of antisemitism in New York, saying, “We have to combat antisemitism on our streets, in our schools, wherever you find it. It has to be found, confronted and crushed.
A filmmaker’s perspective on America and the Holocaust
For The U.S. and the Holocaust, Ken has worked with writer Geoffrey Ward, his longtime collaborator. I hope they have examined the historical research published in the years since my film came out. And that they have made room in their expansive documentary for some of the uncomfortable truths about FDR, such as remarks about Jews behind closed doors. That information may help us better understand Roosevelt's decisions concerning Jewish refugees.

Inevitably, portions of The U.S. and the Holocaust will echo the social, political, economic story we told in 1994 about what America was like during the Roosevelt years and how that impacted the U.S. government’s response to events overseas. The racism, antisemitism, and isolationism of those years— found in both political camps—is by now a well-known story.

But what merits special scrutiny in the new Ken Burns film is how he presents the key controversies:
-Does he attempt to blame “American society” — as if the president was a helpless captive of public opinion?
- Does he attempt to blame everything on the State Department -- as if that branch made its own foreign policy?
-Does he make it seem as if the immigration quotas in themselves were the problem, instead of acknowledging how FDR’s policies kept the quotas vastly unfilled?
-Does he convey the impression that bombing the railways leading to Auschwitz was too difficult to accomplish, when we know that U.S. planes bombed railroad lines throughout Europe—with multiple bombing raids on German oil factories in the vicinity of Auschwitz, some less than five miles from the gas chambers…?

Like many other Americans, I will be watching closely to see if The U.S. and the Holocaust honestly portrays these issues or fails to confront the difficult truths that need to be faced.
American filmmaker Ken Burns has a Palestine problem - opinion
For the past five months, in interviews and press releases about his upcoming documentary, filmmaker Ken Burns has been claiming that the Roosevelt administration accepted more refugees than any other sovereign nation during the Nazi era.

The phrase “sovereign nation” struck us as odd. Ordinarily, one would say, “than any other country.” Why emphasize the word “sovereign?”

Now Burns has let the cat out of the bag. Apparently responding to criticism of his handling of the immigration statistics, Burns admitted to an interviewer from The Daily Beast on September 4 that he has been using the term sovereign nation to distinguish from the fact that people escaped to other places, like Palestine.

Why is Burns trying to disqualify Palestine from the conversation? Why resort to a technicality about sovereignty in order to try to push Palestine out of the discussion?

A sovereign Palestine?
Even though Palestine was not sovereign, the ruling authorities there – the British – certainly were a sovereign power and they had to make a decision about how many Jews to admit either to the United Kingdom or to the territories under its control. Likewise, president Franklin D. Roosevelt had to make a decision about how many Jews he would admit either to the mainland United States or to the non-sovereign territories it controlled, such as the US Virgin Islands.

Sadly, Roosevelt chose to keep Jews out of the Virgin Islands, despite the offer by the governor and legislative assembly of that territory to open their doors to Jews fleeing Hitler. Treasury secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. specifically raised the possibility of admitting the 930 refugees aboard the infamous ship, the St. Louis, to the Virgin Islands, in June 1939. But Roosevelt said No and the refugees were forced to return to Europe; many of them were murdered in the Holocaust.


Paris Saint-Germain, Messi, in Israel for soccer match against Maccabi Haifa
French League winners Paris Saint-Germain, together with superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar, are scheduled to arrive in Israel on Tuesday, a day ahead of their game against Israeli Premier League champions Maccabi Haifa at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, as part of the UEFA Champions League competition.

As excitement grows in Israel among soccer fans, some have reportedly agreed to pay high sums to attend the event.

According to a report by Ynetnews on Monday, one fan said he paid 2,500 shekels (750 dollars) for a single ticket.

“I was looking for a ticket at all costs, and I was willing to pay any price to see Lionel Messi at Sammy Ofer, and I’m not even a Maccabi Haifa fan. I know this is an outrageous price, but I couldn’t miss such an opportunity,” the fan reportedly said.

Meanwhile, the Israel Police has issued a warning to fans to avoid ticket scalpers, who have been known to sell the same ticket to different fans, creating a no-entry risk for unlucky purchasers.
Anne Hathaway and Anthony Hopkins Star in ‘Armageddon Time’ About Jewish Family, Racism in America
Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong are starring in a new film about a Jewish family in Queens, New York, whose youngest member sparks a friendship with a black schoolmate that gets strained by racism in America.

“Armageddon Time” is a semi-autobiographical drama from writer, producer and director James Gray that follows his upbringing in the 1980s in Queens. Hathaway and “Succession” actor Strong play Irving and Esther Graff, versions of Gray’s parents, while Hopkins stars as Aaron Graff, who is based on Gray’s grandfather.

Irving and Esther’s young son Paul Graff, played by actor Banks Repeta, forms a bond with Johnny Crocker, who is Black, in public school in Queens after both are repeatedly picked on by a teacher. The youngsters also both suffer from ADHD. Gray told Deadline that Crocker, who in the film is portrayed by Jaylin Webb, was his closest friend in public school.

Paul’s parents later send him to Kew-Forest, a private school in Queens full of bigots and racists who make offensive remarks about Blacks and make him feel insecure about his friendship with Crocker. The school exists in real life and Gray said the students were “actually worse” than how he depicted them in the film.

Repeta’s character gets contrasting advice from his grandfather, who urges him to be a “mensch” and stand up for Crocker when people talk badly about him, and from his mother, who tells him to stay away from Crocker.

Hopkins’ character also talks to his grandson about the antisemitism his family faced in Europe for being Jewish and how it continues on in the United States.
Counting Crows frontman calls Israel ‘a heady liquor’ for Jews
Adam Duritz has waited decades to play in Israel, a place that he “loves,” the Counting Crows frontman has told The Times of Israel.

“I have pretty powerful memories in Israel,” says Duritz, 58, who landed Sunday morning in Tel Aviv, ahead of the band’s September 14 performance in Ra’anana.

Duritz’s full comments will air on Times Will Tell, a weekly ToI podcast that comes out Wednesday for Community members and Friday for all Times of Israel readers.

Duritz visited Israel several times in his teens, hiking through Sinai, working on a kibbutz and later learning Torah in Jerusalem, a “powerful place” for him, he says.

The lead singer of the California-founded band, known for hits such as “Mr. Jones,” “Round Here,” and “Accidentally In Love,” credited the physical work he learned on the kibbutz as the foundation for the landscaping and construction jobs that he later did to support himself while building his musical career.

He also spoke about his own struggles with religion and faith, and how those issues showed up in his music.

While religious issues don’t play a role in Duritz’s music any longer, there are things about Israel “that tug at me a lot,” he said. “Being here is intoxicating in that way, it’s a very heady liquor.”

“It’s a country full of Jews as opposed to being one of a crowd,” says Duritz. “In the rest of the world, you’re one in a crowd and here you’re part of the crowd, and that’s a unique thing.”


Gal Gadot Cast as Evil Queen in ‘Snow White’ Remake: ‘She’s Different Than Anything I’ve Played Before’
Israeli actress Gal Gadot has been cast to play the Evil Queen in Disney’s live-action remake of the animated 1937 classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” it was announced over the weekend at the D23 Expo in California.

“She’s so much different than anything that I’ve ever played before,” Gadot told The Hollywood Reporter about her role in the new film, simply called “Snow White,” while on the red carpet at the bi-annual exposition. She added, “it was great to explore all of those differences and to sing and to dance. It was just delicious and I enjoyed every moment of it.”

Gadot also told Deadline that playing an evil character for a change has been refreshing. She explained, “That was so delightful and so enjoyable to be able to play the other side of the coin. I feel like so grateful to have the opportunity to play this iconic villain. The first villain ever made.”

The original “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” from 1937 was Disney’s first feature film and the world’s first full-length animated movie. Based on the famous Brothers Grimm fairytale, the story follows a princess named Snow White who is orphaned as a child and raised by her stepmother the Evil Queen, who is obsessed with her own beauty. When the Queen’s magic mirror foreshadows that Snow White will surpass her in beauty, the Evil Queens attempted to murder the child. Snow White then flees their castle and ultimately finds refuge with seven dwarfs who live in the woods.
Move Over Gal Gadot, There’s a New Israeli Superhero in Town
Meanwhile, a noteworthy critique of Marvel’s announcement was made by Benny Stein in an article he wrote for entertainment site The Direct. After citing Marvel fans who are opposed to the inclusion of Sabra in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stein claimed that “Sabra has an extremely troubling history. Past depictions of the character show clear biases that distort the issue in favor of racist and arbitrary attitudes…”

Further on, Stein quips that “Sabra’s ties to the Israeli government in the comics effectively sanction a whole host of grim behaviors.”

Near the end of his piece, he comments “Additionally, this kind of representation is also complicated for those who share Sabra’s Jewish identity. Inherently linking perhaps the most prominent example of Judaism within the MCU…to the Israeli government may solidify beliefs about Judaism and Zionism that have proven hard to disentangle.”

Unsurprisingly, social media was also divided on the inclusion of an Israeli superhero in the Marvel universe.

Marvel’s announcement was warmly received by pro-Israel voices on Twitter (see here, here, and here), with one post even quipping that “Sabra’s powers include super-strength, speed agility, and if I had to guess, the ability to make excellent hummus.”

On the lighter side of Israeli criticism, the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz snarkily tweeted “Just to dispel rumors, the character’s name will not be Captain Occupation” while later clarifying that “Haaretz’s Twitter account is genuinely happy for Shira Haas and wishes her mazel tov for her role as Sabra.”

For anti-Israel Twitter users, the news was most unwelcome, with the anti-Israel publication Mondoweiss tweeting “No. No no no no. No” while the Palestine Online account queried “What do you think her superpowers are? Massacring Palestinians or destroying their homes leaving them homeless?”

Some anti-Israel tweeters even went so far as to claim that the name “Sabra” was a reference to the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre — committed by Lebanese Phalangists but blamed on Israel — even though the comic predated the events by two years. In fact, the name “Sabra” actually refers to native-born Israelis.


Rare, stolen 2,000-year-old silver coin returned to Israeli authorities in US
A very rare ancient silver coin, minted as an act of defiance by Jewish rebels against the Roman Empire over 2,000 years ago and plundered from Israel in 2002, was returned to Israeli authorities in New York on Monday following an international recovery effort.

The quarter-shekel coin is from the fourth year of the Jewish Great Revolt against the Romans, which took place in 66-73 CE, the Israel Antiques Authority said in a Tuesday statement. It was minted in 69 CE, a year before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by Roman authorities seeking to suppress the Jewish revolt against their rule.

A handover ceremony was held at the office of the Manhattan district attorney. Among those who attended were Israel Antiquities Authority director Eli Eskosido, Consul General of Israel in New York Asaf Zamir, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“This is a historic achievement for the State of Israel and for the preservation of its cultural heritage assets, as this is only the second time they were ever looted and smuggled out of Israel [and then] were returned to the state,” Eskosido said. “This is the beginning of a very positive and important trend for the restoration of cultural heritage assets.”

Zamir called the coin “a stark reminder of the Jewish people’s millennia-old connection to the land of Israel.”

The repatriated coin was among a hoard found by Palestinian looters in 2002 in the Elah Valley area. It was smuggled out of the country, passing through illicit antiquities markets in Israel, Jordan and the UK. In London, false paperwork was used to export the coin to the US, where in 2017 it was offered for sale at the Heritage Auction’s World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction, in Denver, Colorado.

The IAA spent two decades trying to track down the coin and earlier this year, by working together with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, was able to gather enough evidence to execute a seizure warrant, and a court order for it to be returned to the State of Israel.




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