Israel's ever-changing coronavirus travel policies during the spread of the Omicron variant have wreaked havoc on Israelis, Jewish Americans and the Diaspora alike.

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Jerusalem barred travel from Dec. 22 to Jan. 7 to and from several "red countries," including the United States, despite America's open borders. Some exceptions were made for humanitarian cases, such as traveling for funerals, physical or mental-health emergencies, and parents traveling to their child's wedding. When travel recently reopened and the United States was removed from Israel's "red list," Israeli bureaucracy did not immediately catch up with the changes and transmit them to ground personnel worldwide, who were still struggling to process prior changes.

Israel's Ministry of Health, for example, took several days to open its entry forms, meaning that even after travel from the United States was legally available, the forms did not grant individuals permission to enter Israel until Jan. 9.

Former Knesset member Dov Lipman, who heads Yad L'Olim – an organization representing new olim, their families and the Diaspora in Knesset – called this recent period a "circus of confusion," noting "refusals at airports worldwide."

Samantha Wampold, an American Jewish exchange student at Tel Aviv University, was denied boarding to Israel last month despite having the proper documentation, a student visa, a valid coronavirus test and a letter from Tel Aviv University, and eventually missed her flight. "I felt hopeless. I didn't know how to get into the country even though I knew I met all the necessary criteria. When I was denied entry, it didn't make sense. … I was moving to Israel, not coming for a one-week vacation."

The next day, Wampold returned to the airport, updated Lipman about her new flight and within 10 minutes, she received a letter granting her permission to board. But still, she ended up having to pay for another flight, another coronavirus test and more baggage fees to move her belongings to Israel. The whole enterprise, Wampold said, "changed my view of Israel as my home."

Lipman also helped groom-to-be Mark Spiro, who was denied permission to leave Israel to attend his own upcoming wedding in New Jersey on Jan. 19. Spiro said that with a week left until his flight to the United States, there was a bug in the Israeli site where he would apply for permission to travel. After the site reopened and he submitted the application, his application was denied, with a request to upload a document that he was not able to receive until the wedding itself. "It was pretty nerve-wracking and frustrating – planning a wedding and not even being sure that I could get there. I really wanted to be at my own wedding," he quipped.

"The policies make no sense, and honestly, left me feeling like they don't like Americans and want to see us suffer. … I'm not saying this is the case, but it felt that way," he maintained.

'Widespread feelings in Diaspora of being an afterthought'

Citing suffering caused by family separations and major bureaucratic hoops to jump through that caused people to miss family celebrations and tragedies, Lipman called on the Knesset to open its borders to vaccinated tourists once the Omicron variant had already begun to spread in Israel.

The consequences of the decision to prevent travel to slow the spread of Omicron were "massive," he said, especially among new immigrants whose livelihood depends on commuting, as well as dual citizens visiting Israel who were not allowed to travel home without approval.

Yad L'Olim and Israel's population authority – a 10-person staff working in shifts – explained Lipman, were bombarded with requests, spending literally day and night trying to help tens of thousands of people requesting permissions to go and come. "The system was shutting down; it was mass pandemonium."

The changes also prevented tour groups from entering Israel, including gap-year programs, yeshivas and seminaries, Birthright and other delegations.

Lipman stands in agreement with the masses who have expressed that Israel should take the Diaspora and non-Jewish travelers to Israel in mind when making decisions that impact them.

"There are widespread negative feelings in the Diaspora of being an afterthought," said Lipman. "Repairing that relationship needs to take place."

Yad L'Olim, he emphasized, is working to make that happen by impacting Israeli policy through its work with Knesset members, ministers and their staff, as well as clarifying new rules related to the coronavirus and any other issues related to olim, their families and global Jewry.

Lipman isn't the only Israeli leader that has raised concerns over how the country's coronavirus policies affect its relationship with Israel. Israel's former Ambassador to the United Nations and chairman of World Likud Danny Danon also recently called on Israel's Ministry of Health to allow Jews to visit Israel under necessary restrictions, thus preventing further damage to the singular connection Israel has with Diaspora Jewry.

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He referred to a recent Israel-wide survey that found that more than half of Israelis feel that relations with the Diaspora were harmed by the now-amended government policy not to allow Diaspora Jews to enter Israel due to fear of the spread of coronavirus. Some 58 percent believe that the relationship was damaged, and more than 60 percent think that Jews living abroad should be allowed to come into Israel, and that the government should open Israel's doors under humanitarian circumstances and in conjunction with coronavirus requirements.

Danon noted that the 500-person survey, commissioned by World Likud and conducted by the Shiluv i2R Institute, emphasized that "many Israelis are expressing solidarity with Diaspora Jews and think that we need to establish special circumstances for Jews who wish to visit Israel, especially in humanitarian cases."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Former professional American-Israeli basketball player Tamir Goodman, known informally as "The Jewish Jordan,"' has made leaps and bounds on the court as a player, coach, and educator, and now, he has started a new sports-equipment innovation company called "Aviv." Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand was catalyzed by growing concerns around public health, leading the professional sports industry to make unprecedented changes to keep their communities and players safe.

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"During the lockdowns, basketball was shut down, and we didn't know when it would return, but were told that when it did, each player would need to bring their own ball. So I got into this mode. I love the game and the players, and I wanted to help," Goodman told JNS.

Aviv nets are antimicrobial and moisture-wicking, both to benefit the quality of performance for players, in addition to their well-being.

According to Goodman, who grew up in Maryland and was once ranked the 25th best high-school basketball player in the United States, sweaty, slippery basketballs have been a long-standing challenge to in-game shooting and dribbling. The Aviv net employs patent-pending technology developed by a high-end fabrics company based in the Israeli city of Ra'anana that dramatically dries the basketball from sweat and cleans bacteria from the ball's surface every time the ball goes through the hoop.

"This means players will have a decreased risk of coming in contact with harmful bacteria and be able to play with a far less slippery ball than usual, ultimately improving ball-handling and shooting," said Goodman.

Though the former basketball player's career was cut short due to injuries and unforeseen challenges, Goodman shared that it is healing to still be involved in the game and helping others. "It is a blessing. I feel I am fulfilling my mission in this world."

His innovative and positive attitude is exceptionally Israeli and Jewish. "Israel is a forward-thinking country, always thinking of solutions, TikkunOlamm, and innovation, and to bring something to market you need the Israeli attributes of facing your fears, hustling, and networking," said Goodman.

The idea of turning a challenge into a blessing, he added, is a Jewish value that mirrors his own career story as well as the founding of Aviv, which means "spring" in Hebrew and is an homage to moving forward after the hard winter – a message of renewal.

'Impact lives through technology'

To bring the product to market, Goodman paired up with his friend David Warshawsky, who was on the coaching staff at his high school and who now owns a world-famous PR and marketing firm specializing in sports.

"Tamir's story is an inspiration to all, with the message that you can achieve your dreams with perseverance and hard work," Warshawsky told JNS. "It's the full-circle story of someone who had great talent, played at professional level, and turned his unique way of looking at things to become an entrepreneur with smart ideas. He is a go-getter and a mensch."

This month, the pair announced a strategic partnership with The Basketball League (TBL), a North American minor league professional basketball organization, in which Aviv will be the exclusive provider of basketball nets during the 2022 season across their 42 North American teams.

"As soon as we heard about it, we knew it was something special. This net is going to make such a positive impact on our organization and our players," commented TBL CEO, Evelyn Magley. "We believe in Tamir and what he stands for – namely, reaching out to communities and having a positive impact on their lives through basketball," she told JNS. "Tamir is sincere and genuinely wants to impact lives through technology."

According to Goodman and Warshawsky, TBL's commitment to make Aviv the official net of the league is the first of many to come. Dick's Sporting Goods will be carrying the net online and in its top 50 retail stores starting in the spring.

"We are in conversations with a number of college conferences, and beta tests are going on with a number of NBA teams," added Warshawsky. "Aviv also has two other groundbreaking, innovative products in development with relevance to basketball and many other sports as well."

Goodman echoed prospects for the future, saying "Aviv will continue to reimagine and revolutionize sports equipment to benefit professional and nonprofessional athletes alike, aiming to innovate and evolve sports."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Though Philadelphia native Steve Reich, 31, made aliyah just four months ago, he has already made meaningful friendships, and expressed feeling accepted and welcomed by Tel Aviv's community of international olim, new immigrants to Israel. Through his peers, he told JNS, "I have become connected to our indigenous homeland."

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Reich, who made aliyah due to "Zionism, love for the land, a sense of adventure, starting over, and seeking a life of meaning," was a former teacher in the United States and now works as a personal trainer in Tel Aviv. He attributes much of this sense of positive adjustment to events in Tel Aviv for young professionals that he has attended in the last few months.

He and hundreds of other Tel Aviv residents in their 20s and 30s regularly attend events hosted by Tribe Tel Aviv, an organization that brings together internationals with influential writers, thinkers, professionals, and decision-makers impacting Israel, Zionism, and Jewish life. Its "Sunset Series" events include happy hours with speakers, a brief Q&A session, and mingling over cocktails.

Reich, who has attended a handful of events and Shabbat lunches with Tribe Tel Aviv, maintained that he has gained a stronger appreciation of community and Jewish identity through the events. "I have become encouraged to engage and be more involved in Israeli society, and I better understand the needs of the country, economy, and what it means to be Israeli."

He added that he has already made a new friend – a Jaffa-based Arab who grew up in eastern Jerusalem, with whom he had a meaningful conversation at a recent event that featured Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who grew up in Gibraltar.

"It was an exciting and inspiring speech, and gave me a stronger sense of Zionism and a feeling that I have access to participate in political life," said Reich. "It's a really great feeling, as I am still new here and feel a little unsettled, and I am trying my hardest to feel connected. To know that someone who is also an oleh chadash ('new immigrant') can be so successful politically is pretty inspiring."

With a message of "pride for the miracle of what our people have achieved," Hassan-Nahoum imparted to the group that "they have someone who thinks like them in government."

She described the bravery it takes for those to uproot their lives by choice and move to Israel seeking a better, but often more challenging, life.

"Even people who have been in Israel for a while can feel like an immigrant. I feel that way, even after being in Israel for nearly 21 years and taking part in the establishment," the deputy mayor told JNS.

After another recent event featuring former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, Reich recalled feeling "energized, with a sense of hope and agency towards the future of Israel."

"Israel has a lot of needs to address," acknowledged Reich, "but we are part of that plan."

Rabbi Jonathan Feldman, who holds a PhD in Jewish thought, philosophy, and Kabbalah from New York University, heads Tribe Tel Aviv with the goal of offering new opportunities for young people to connect with Israel, and inspire them with Torah and Judaism. After running Jewish programming for young people in Manhattan for 17 years, he made aliyah with his family and is now the director of community engagement for the Am Yisrael Foundation, the larger umbrella foundation that runs Tribe Tel Aviv.

"I want people to be more engaged with Israel, understand its challenges, engage with Zionism, and help build the country and its future," Feldman told JNS. "I want to help them on a grassroots level in building community, networking for jobs, engaging them in idealism, and thinking about and contributing to Israel's future."

Speakers like Hassan-Nahoum, he said, help encourage new arrivals to do just that.

"She encouraged them to work on their Hebrew, but also showed that speaking another native language is not a barrier but an asset. She is a model for them as someone who has made it here and impacts Israel," he said.

Reich agreed, saying, "having events for people with a similar background, language, and culture to discuss the society they are becoming a part of – and their importance in that – gives us a support network and helps develop one's connection to Israel."

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 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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German neo-Nazi and Holocaust-denier Henry Hafenmayer's remains were recently buried in a plot that once held the remains of Jewish musicologist Max Friedlaender and which still features his gravestone.

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Hafenmayer was convicted for incitement after sending Holocaust-denying letters to public institutions, gaining him notoriety among extremists before his death at 48 years old.

The neo-Nazi's burial at the Protestant Stahnsdorf Southwestern Cemetery in Brandenburg, just outside of Berlin, was attended by dozens of far-right extremists, including Holocaust-denier and founder of a German terror group, Horst Mahler.

Friedlaender, who died when Hitler was in power in Berlin in 1934, was from a Jewish family but identified as "Protestant" in the burial registration slip. His cremated remains were moved to another plot in 1980, though the headstone was left and declared as a monument, said the BBC.

According to The Guardian, Hafenmayer's lawyer initially requested a central plot for the remains of the neo-Nazi, but it was rejected over fear that extremists would rally there – and a second request for Friedlaender's plot was granted because, stated the church, "everyone has a right to a final resting place."

After photos from the burial show Hafenmayer's urn placed on Friedlaender's headstone – which the extremists covered with a black cloth displaying his name and a quotation from John 8:32: "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" – church authorities admitted that a "terrible mistake" was made that needs to be rectified.

Leah Floh, president of the Jewish community of Monchengladbach/Viersen in Western Germany, expressed to Jewish News Syndicate that such mistakes only exist in "antisemitic fairy tales," as the "Protestant church in Germany has big problems with Jews and especially Israel."

Likewise, German student Vanessa Maas, 22, who attends Maastricht University, told JNS that "the people who buried the ashes knew exactly what they were doing."

Originally from Trier, Germany, Maas is active in the Union of Jewish students in Germany and is currently undertaking an internship in Berlin, which involves monitoring and combating antisemitism in Germany.

"Above all," the student said, "this shows that antisemitism has arrived in the [mainstream] of society. … There must be more information about what antisemitism is, especially in official structures, and especially how it can be better prevented. It doesn't just come from the right, from the left and from elsewhere. No, antisemitism also comes from the middle and is often hidden," she maintained, suggesting that seminars and workshops about antisemitism are not being taken seriously enough in Germany.

Floh labeled the incident "a provocation of neo-Nazis" who believe "einmal Jude, immer Jude – once Jewish always Jewish" – and said that such a situation cannot be properly rectified.

"Is it possible to reanimate 6 million Jews and return them their lives?" she asked rhetorically. "Is it possible to return us our grandparents, who were killed in Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Babi Yar or even buried alive? Who knows and can understand Jewish heartache and tragedy? Of course, the church will check if the relocation of the ashes is possible and will try to find a dignified burial site. … But is it possible to solve it at all?"

The fact that the Protestant church allowed a neo-Nazi hero to be buried in the plot of a famous Jew is a "slap in the face and offense to all the Jewish people," she added, noting that antisemitism in Germany can very quickly become socially acceptable and even in fashion among all sectors of society.

"That is what we see and feel in Germany at the moment. It is dangerous, tragic and hard to stop," she said.

'It makes me angry and sad'

Indeed, in a recent survey initiated by the Action and Protection League, 22% of Germans were found to hold moderately antisemitic beliefs, while 6% were found to hold strongly antisemitic beliefs. One-quarter of Germans were found to believe that Jews exploit Holocaust victimhood for their own purposes.

According to the initiator of the European-wide antisemitism study, Rabbi Slomó Köves, while this represents a relatively low prejudice when viewed among other European countries, Germany has one of the highest rates of antisemitic attacks among the 16 European nations with large Jewish populations.

"I knew that the recent rise in antisemitism in Germany was dramatic, but I didn't expect to hear these high numbers," said Floh, who attended the presentation of the survey in Brussels on Oct. 12, together with other leaders of Jewish communities around Europe. "This makes the situation even more complicated and threatening."

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"It makes me angry and sad that something like that still happens in the 21st century," said Maas. "This is what is tolerated in Germany. In some ways, Germany does a lot in historical reappraisal; for instance, that it is part of the curriculum to learn about the Holocaust, but it is still far from being a champion in historical reappraisal, as it often claims."

Berlin's antisemitism official Samuel Salzborn reportedly filed a criminal complaint at the justice department, telling The Guardian: "It is obvious that right-wing extremists deliberately chose a Jewish grave in order to disturb the eternal peace through the internment of a Holocaust denier."

He added that "it must now be quickly examined how quickly the Holocaust-denier can be reburied to no longer disturb the dignified memory of Max Friedlaender."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Israel's Upper Galilee region is positioning itself to become a global leader in foodtech. Several food-tech and agritech accelerators and companies have established themselves in Israel's northern "periphery," where the Israeli government provides incentives for individuals and businesses to establish themselves there.

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The region boasts open and fertile land that brings forth some of Israel's top produce, as well as an ecosystem of budding infrastructure – public bodies and corporations, leading academic institutions, local and international philanthropic foundations, as well as startups and technology companies.

Recently, Israeli high-tech entrepreneur and investor Erel Margalit launched an international food-tech center in the Galilee that can serve as a magnet for other businesses, thereby bringing new talent and prosperity to the region.

"We are witnessing the next revolution in Israel. Food-tech is the next cyber, and I believe Israel is on its way to becoming a superpower in the field," said Margalit, founder and executive chairman of Jerusalem Venture Partners and Margalit Startup City Galil. "We are creating an economic growth engine that will change the lives of young people and families, with 30,000 high-paying technology jobs like in the center of the country, and another 70,000 ancillary positions."

Russell Robinson, CEO of the Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF USA) – a partner in these initiatives and which is helping develop land throughout Israel from the north to the south – said "From this day forward, Kiryat Shmona should never be called a 'development town.' No, Kiryat Shmona and the greater area of the Upper Eastern Galilee are part of the culinary and food-industry capital of Israel … this is no longer a dream, this is the reality."

Startup City will work to address some of the world's most urgent problems, including food security and the battle against climate change, through food-tech innovation and Israel's well-established know-how in agricultural innovation and water technology.

Reinvent culinary education, leverage hybrid learning

According to Nisan Zeevi, CEO of Margalit Startup City Galil, considering projected global population growth, food production will need to increase by 70%, requiring agriculture to find a way to grow more with less, startup companies to create groundbreaking solutions and food corporations to change or die. Meat production, in particular, Zeevi told JNS, is depleting the planet, and coupled with the dairy and egg industry, is responsible for more than 18% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Fourteen Israeli companies have already joined the Startup City accelerator, including several that work towards innovating the global meat industry, which Margalit posed as a "danger to the environment we live in." For example, PlanTeam produces a versatile soybean-based protein that has a similar texture, mouthfeel and taste (with the help of some seasoning) as meat without additives and preservatives.

Another startup, Blue Huna, produces alternatives to disposable plastic, including biodegradable and reusable straws from wheat stalks and cane.

According to Zeevi, these startups will result in more jobs and higher salaries in the Upper Galilee. The current reality, he told JNS, is that for every hour drive a worker lives from Israel's center, the average monthly salary plummets about 2,000 shekels ($620). Kiryat Shmona, about a three-hour drive from Israel's center, has an average salary of 8,100 shekels ($2,500), whereas Tel Aviv residents enjoy a salary of 13,200 shekels ($4,050).

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Another local culinary initiative with an international approach, the new Galilee Culinary Institute (GCI), aims to reinvent culinary education with integrated, immersive systems and community-based educational experiences that leverage technology and hybrid learning. In collaboration with JNF-USA, the campus is preparing to open for its inaugural class in the fall of 2022 or early 2023. The 12-month accelerated program boasts impressive infrastructure, including multiple kitchens and a multimedia lab for content creation and food operations where students will apply the conceptual lenses of activism, storytelling and entrepreneurship to their experiential learning and technical training.

GCI will become the first international culinary school in Israel and afford students the opportunity to explore the region's rich diversity. The region is home to more than 80 cultures, it noted, as did Robinson – an ecosystem of industries, academia, entrepreneurship, startups and community – all while supporting local businesses and regional growth.

Through a certificate program and courses, CEO of GCI Nathan Hoffman shared his hope that the culinary school will "re-envision the north as the food capital of Israel and help students develop a personal and professional path – one that might empower students to be able to graduate and work in Michelin star restaurants."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is one of the candidates to head the Jewish Agency, the largest Jewish nonprofit organization in the world. If elected, she would become the first woman to head the agency.

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Established in 1929, the Jewish Agency predates the state itself and acted as a central player in its establishment and development. Today, it facilitates aliyah to Israel, in addition to the absorption of immigrants and funds programs in Israel and around the Jewish Diaspora. "Its history and impact are immeasurable on the state of Israel," Hassan-Nahoum told JNS.

Former chairman Isaac Herzog recently vacated the position when he became Israel's 11th president this summer, following the seven-year term of Reuven Rivlin.

For now, Yaakov Hagoel is serving as acting chairman of the Jewish Agency. Traditionally, the prime minister suggests a candidate, who must be approved by nine of 10 members on the selection committee (including Hagoel and other representatives of the World Zionist Organization, Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Federations of North America), and with unanimous confirmation from the board of governors. The chosen successor will serve a four-year term.

The committee is set to meet with all candidates, passing the name of an approved candidate to the board of governors by mid-October. It is not required to vote for the prime minister's choice, though it has only rejected such a selection – when the committee rejected then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's choice of Likud Party minister Yuval Steinitz in 2018.

JNS sat down with Hassan-Nahoum to speak about why she believes she is the best person for the job.

Q: What do you bring to the table that makes you the best fit for the job?

"First, I was a Diaspora Jew until 20 years ago, so I understand the mentality of the Diaspora and have complete empathy for and a unique understanding of their challenges.

Second, I'm an immigrant, and the Jewish Agency is still the organization bringing immigrants to the State of Israel, an ongoing enterprise and even our raison d'être. Jerusalem absorbs the largest number of immigrants on a yearly basis, many of whom I end up helping in one way or another. I understand new immigrants, their challenges and what could help them make their aliyah more successful. When working with Diaspora and aliyah, it also helps that I speak several languages – a package that can take the agency to the next level in its development.

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Last, as well as being a fundraiser for 12 years and a lawyer before then, I became a consultant to organizations wanting to be more successful in fundraising and engagement. This is exactly the skill set that the Jewish Agency is looking for – someone who can attract a new audience, who can bring in young engagement and help them do the work they do."

Q: In this next phase of the Jewish Agency's development that you refer to, what would you do differently or keep the same if awarded the position?

"One thing I'd keep the same is the organization's prioritization of Diaspora engagement with Israel, which the Jewish Agency shifted towards years ago in a very wise evolution. That focus was needed then and is still needed today.

"However, to take the agency to the next level, we need to understand how to engage the new generation effectively, young people who are mainly impacted digitally. We need to communicate with them to bring them in, to inspire and excite them.

"I would also engage the government for better absorption programs for olim; we are not thinking creatively enough about how to make the immigrant life better, helping them find good jobs, schools, etc. and we need to be much more engaged and sensitive to the absorption process."

Q: How do you view the gap between Israel and Diaspora Jewry? What do you believe can be done to bridge that gap?

"As a now-Israeli for 20 years, I understand the importance of the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. I don't buy into the whole "us vs. them" mentality; we are one people. Yes, we are one people living in different places, with different mentalities and challenges, but ultimately, we are one. And if we absorb this fact, then disagreements can be viewed as something between any normal family. We need to ensure that the Diaspora understands that we see them as one people with us and do our utmost to embrace all our communities, whether we agree with them or not.

"To bridge the gap, the Diaspora must understand Israel's richness, pluralism and diversity. In the current toxic intersectionality culture, many Diaspora Jews feel for the embodiment of white colonialism, and that is because there's a lack of understanding of our history and our diversity. To inspire the new generation with our incredible heritage and bridge that gap, we must communicate the best of all we have to offer in our incredible diversity of backgrounds, opinions and creativity in this county.

In my work, I speak to a lot of students, and the most important thing I want them to take away is pride in our incredible history and achievements. We are the only people who managed to solve our own refugee crisis after a genocide. We are a special people. To bridge the gap, I hope to imbue others with the same passion I have for our people, notwithstanding the issues we must fix."

Q: You have said previously that you understand the sensitivities of living as a Jewish minority, with its difficulties and dilemmas. What are the main issues facing worldwide Jewry today?

"Just as the Diaspora doesn't fully understand Israel, Israel doesn't understand the Diaspora, its community life and what it means to be a minority. Over the last few years, and especially in America and Europe, there has been a rise in antisemitism. Jews are being attacked in synagogues, on the streets for wearing a kippa, and it's been a shock for many.

"In July, I led an Israeli mission of solidarity to the Diaspora communities with Gesher to New York. We went to learn what the challenges were and how we could help. The fact we are seeing a resurgence of antisemitism in America – the land of the free and the melting pot of society – that is very disturbing, and we need to help these communities feel safer again.

"Another main challenge for the Jewish people is not the various streams of Judaism and how everyone prays, it's the unaffiliated who are our greatest challenge—the disconnected, the apathetic, the disengaged, young Jewish people totally disinterested in their heritage and Israel.

Q: How can you promote unity and cohesion, and why are you the right person to do that?

"With my skill set, passion, energy and creativity. I straddle many worlds that need to be brought together. I am a Sephardi, a Latin, an Anglo, a woman, a liberal, a feminist, and I speak a few languages.

"I understand the sensitivities of many groups, and I believe that everyone who wants to strengthen the Jewish people is welcome in the Jewish tent. Diversity is part of the beauty of the Jewish people, and I am proud that we have so many different types of people, languages and cultures; but at the same time, we share the same heritage."

Q: We have spoken several times together about the importance of women in political leadership positions. You have shared your belief that being a woman is a strength – that women have qualities and skills infused with emotional intelligence, empathy and the ability to dedicate themselves to a higher cause. How are these traits vital for the head of the Jewish Agency?

"The Jewish Agency is the largest Jewish agency in the world, representing all the Jews. Women are natural consensus-builders, and to be an empathizer, thinking about so many different people with so many needs, would be an asset to the role. Women are uniters by nature – we do it every day – and this could be applied to uniting the entire Jewish people.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Thousands of people took part in the Sixth Hungarian 'Cholent Festival' ("Sólet" in Hungarian) at the Újbuda outdoor theater in Budapest before the start of the High Holidays, organized by the Chabad Lubavitch organization Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (EMIH).

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Jews and non-Jews alike gathered for the Aug. 29 festival, which was first held in 2015 and has since come back after a hiatus last summer due to restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Cholent is a slow-cooked meat stew that simmers overnight, often made by observant Jews in accordance with the laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath. It is traditionally served for Shabbat lunch and contains whole eggs in their shell, meat, beans, potatoes, barley and spices.

"We love this food," said festival-goer and Budapest resident Lili Erdos, who brought her family to the event. Erdos, whose Hungarian father's side of the family was Jewish, does not identify as such but "loves to learn about and is interested in Jewish traditions."

Anna Harmath and Balazs Haragh, each 25, also came to the festival because they "love the food." Two years ago, Harmath, a then-horticulture student at a nearby university, attended with her parents to try the dish and returned this year to take her boyfriend to sample the hearty stew.

Haragh, who is studying law at a local university, noted that the dish has a Hungarian taste to it. Until he first came to Budapest at age 19, he said that he had never seen a Jewish person; recently, he has learned more about Hungary's "interesting Jewish past."

Last summer, the couple visited the former Jewish synagogue in Mád. "It was wonderful," said Haragh. "We learned that before the Second World War, there was an enormous Jewish community in Hungary."

"I wish I knew more about Jewish culture," Harmath said. "In my [current setting], there are some Jews, and I learn from them. I find it sad that I don't know them enough, and that here in Hungary and Europe there are not a lot of Jewish people. I wish there were more," she said.

Though Haragh's town in the Hungarian countryside has an old synagogue and Jewish cemetery, he said was abandoned "and nobody cares about it … it disappeared like the Jewish people in Hungary, sadly."

According to a 1941 census, Hungary had a Jewish population of 825,000, less than 6% of the total population. Nearly two-thirds – as many as 568,000 – perished during the years of World War II and the Holocaust, the majority in the final year of the war, one of the last major European Jewish populations to be rounded up by Nazi Germans.

Between December 1944 and the end of January 1945, the fascist Arrow Cross Party installed in Hungary at the time took as many as 20,000 Jews from the ghetto in Budapest, shot them along the banks of the Danube and threw their bodies into the river. A monument called "Shoes on the Danube Bank" pays homage to the victims.

'A great way to build a bridge'

Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Eliezer Nogradi, who invited Jewish festival-goers to wrap tefillin, estimated that 30% to 40% of the festival participants were Jewish. The non-Jews among the crowd have nevertheless shown "respect and interest," he related. The Jews, he said, are still "careful about being Jewish outside, some are even scared to tell their children … they have fear after the Holocaust and communism."

However, Nogradi urged, "Be proud about your Judaism and be brave. It's getting better, and we are building it back like before the war."

This was precisely the message that EMIH head Rabbi Shlomó Köves wished the festival to express. "Because of the cholent festival, we have made Jews feel at home and safer," he said. "Twenty years ago, 'Jewish' was a word you'd say quietly and at home."

To this end, the community has also run a billboard campaign in Budapest declaring, "It's good to be a Jew," with Köves seeing "a huge change in the public over the last 20 years, back when we couldn't have made such a festival."

The cholent festival, he continued, "Gives Jews strength and chance to connect" in a space where it is easier to "take the first step" into the Jewish community without sticking out, all while "softening the connection with the larger [non-Jewish] society – a great way to build a bridge."

And while Köves maintained that the pandemic has impacted the organization's funding and activities, the cholent festival was an auspicious way to "welcome people into the community, and build connection and awareness before the High Holidays."

By mid-day, more than half of the 6,000 portions of kosher cholent were sold. The festival offered hundreds of pounds and several varieties of it – vegan, Hungarian, Israeli, Tunisian. The festival also featured live performances by Chassidic rapper Nissim Black, an American who made aliyah, and English singer/songwriter Alex Clare, who also lives in Israel.

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As one of the highlights of the cultural festival, the new Torah scroll for the Bocskai Street Synagogue was also completed. Hundreds accompanied the Torah early in the evening to the nearby synagogue, which was officially inaugurated. The last time so many people gathered there, say locals, was perhaps only 85 years ago when the synagogue was first inaugurated.

At the synagogue, Köves emphasized that it is uplifting that, as the event showed, "we can live freely and proudly as Jews in other districts of Budapest as well."

Dr. Imre Laszlo, mayor of Budapest's 11th district, which includes the Újbuda outdoor theater and synagogue, added: "There is no Hungarian history without Jewish traditions."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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On the week ahead of Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year 5782 – the Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary (MAOIH) and the Chabad-Lubavitch Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (EMIH) restored several Jewish communal institutions in Budapest to their original glory.

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The cooperation represented a series of events to restore religious Jewish life in Hungary.

On Aug. 27, the community celebrated the bicentennial of the Óbuda Synagogue, which was recently restored after the Communist regime used it as a television station. "For 200 years, the synagogue had no Jewish star on the synagogue, and now, Star of David will return," Rabbi Shmuel Glitsenstein, an Israel native and Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Budapest, told JNS.

That same day, residents of nearby apartment buildings watched from above as several hundred Orthodox men danced in streets of Budapest carrying a Torah into the 50-seat Vörösmarty Street Prayer House after affixing a mezuzah to the door. Together with some nonobservant Hungarian Jews, and led by EMIH head Rabbi Shlomó Köves, the community prayed at the newly minted shul as Shabbat came in – a first in nearly four decades.

Rabbi Shlomó Köves at the newly renovated Újbuda synagogue, Aug. 27, 2021. Photo by Eliana Rudee.

Before World War II, the Vörösmarty synagogue, Köves told JNS, was a representation of "vivid Jewish life," with two minyanim taking place every morning and on Shabbat, symbolizing the "strong Jewish life" in Budapest at the time. Opened in 1908 as a family synagogue, it was closed in 1983 due to lack of activity.

The Vörösmarty synagogue is now owned by MAOIH but operated by EMIH, as MAOIH's community is very small. "Opening this synagogue will bring more congregants who are looking to become more involved in Jewish life," said Glitsenstein.

Likewise, expressed Köves, saying "with every shul we reopen, there are new people coming. Rededicating historical synagogues [represents] the Jewish value and obligation of honoring and respecting our heritage. Every place like this is a sign of 'Am Yisrael Chai' ('the Jewish people live')."

Two days later, on Aug. 29, the traditional Sólet (Hungarian cholent) Festival, including a concert featuring international stars Alex Clare and Nissim Black, also took place at the Újbuda Park outdoor theater. In addition to the gastronomic experiences, there were children's and cultural programs, including a klezmer music production. From the festival, celebrants carried a newly dedicated Torah scroll to the nearby Újbuda shul, which was reopened to the public after more than 70 years. The Bauhaus-style building, with 200 seats, is also owned and operated by EMIH.

"It is a [testament] to the human spirit to rebuild it … the past came back so this could be a synagogue again," Dr. Imre Laszlo, mayor of Budapest's 11th district (which includes Újbuda), told JNS.

Another speaker noted, "This synagogue is evidence of the Jewish community that is now being revived. We admire its beauty and hardships, representing the Budapest Jewish community's past, present and future."

The same day, EMIH also returned the Bocskai Street Synagogue to the community. The synagogue, able to accommodate 1,000 people, opened its doors in 1936; before the war, it was the last opened synagogue in the capital. In 1944, the Germans converted it into a warehouse and used it as a stable during the siege of Budapest.

In addition to the shuls that have been restored, a massive renovation of the ZSILIP community center near Budapest's Danube River has been completed in Újlipótváros, opening for Rosh Hashanah, with a play area for children, space for learning and gathering for young adults, and a Sunday school built for 150 children.

'Reclaiming of Jewish history in Hungary'

Over that last weekend in August, several speakers compared the communal resurrection to the prophetic vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, described in Ezekiel 37. In his vision, Ezekiel sees himself standing in a valley full of dry human bones, and before his eyes, the bones are resurrected into flesh – a prophecy that the bones of Israel will be revived.

As such, Businessman Robert Deutsch, who was elected as president of MAOIH this year, told reporters that when he entered his office space, the building was collapsing and the books in disarray, much like the community itself.

Through the collaboration with Chabad, however, MAOIH is rebuilding its offices – Deutsch was especially proud of their newly refurbished antique clocks that began to ring again as if "time started again" – a "reclaiming of Jewish history in Hungary."

Until today, Köves explained, much of Jewish identity in Hungary was Holocaust-related with so much "deep trauma of betrayal from local society," that most Hungarian Jews decided to "cut ties with Jewishness" – a cut that has taken three generations to heal.

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Köves' father, he explained, entered a synagogue for the first time on the holiday of Simchat Torah, when he found himself shocked to witness Jews dancing with a Torah and expressing joy. Many Jews, like Köves' grandparents who originally "had strong convictions that their children should marry non-Jews," felt it would be better that the Jews "complete their assimilation" into Hungarian culture. "To say you were a Jew in public or ask someone if they were a Jew was not accepted 20 years ago," said Köves, who became observant after studying under Hungary's Rabbi Baruch Oberlander, and later, at a Pittsburgh yeshivah.

Today, many of the 80,000 to 140,000 Jews in Hungary are just now learning of their Jewish past, previously hidden after years of extermination and then Communist oppression.

"In 1998, 70 percent of Jews were found to be less religious than their parents, and today, we see the exact opposite, where 70 percent are more religious than their parents," maintained Köves, who acknowledged that 96 percent to 97 percent of Hungarian Jews are not affiliated at all. "We must give opportunities for people to reconnect. There is no other country with so many unaffiliated Jews."

Where there were once 150 synagogues in Budapest, according to Köves, there are fewer than two dozen, owned by several organizations including EMIH, MAOIH, Mazsihisz (a neolog community, similar to Conservative Judaism), as well as progressive organizations Szim Salom and Bet Orim. Each has its own ideologies and funding, resulting in an often-tense relationship that has involved lawsuits over allocation of government reparations from properties lost during the Holocaust and destroyed by the Communists.

"Competition is good in business; companies will sleep otherwise, which hurts consumers. The important thing is that Jews are coming back to Yiddishkeit," quipped Glitsenstein.

"If there are 100,000 Jews here today, we must have at least 70 synagogues," added Köves. "Having the opportunity to allow people to connect to their heritage is a zchut ('merit'). I feel this is something that is a life mission for me … and I am very excited to fulfill this mission."

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Jewish identity is invariably related to food, as witnessed through Jewish dietary laws, holiday traditions and consciousness. Retaining this identity is a matter of pride for many, and in our globalized, modern world, the Jewish people have also begun to use food as a diplomatic tool.

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Chef Elli Kriel has lived in the United Arab Emirates just shy of a decade and opened Dubai's first restaurant and kosher catering business out of necessity, being the only observant Jewish family in the area. Kriel and her husband have served as the anchor of the Jewish community, starting a minyan and hosting what has become the Jewish Council of the Emirates, the umbrella body for the Jewish communities in the area.

Hailing from a family of entrepreneurs in the food business in South Africa (her father owned a bakery on the east coast of South Africa, near Durban), Kriel started offering kosher meals to Jews in the area and to visitors who required kosher fare.

While she serves Jewish classics like babka, rugelach and matzah-ball soup, she has deemed her food style "Kosherati" – kosher with an Emirati twist, a diplomatic nod to the country in which she resides. Kriel hires Arab chefs to help her develop Emirati recipes in a kosher way; for example, her challah uses the flavors from one of the local types of bread, with date syrup and saffron in the mixture, and black and white sesame seeds on top. Her date-and-cinnamon rugelach uses date paste for the filling, as well as orange blossom water made into a syrup glazed on top. She has also created her version of chebab (an Emirati pancake) blintzes, a saffron and cardamom pancake with an Emirati flare, adding cream cheese, date syrup and rose water, and folding them like blintzes.

Kriel has also become close friends with an Emirati woman, and they often compare their native foods, finding that her friend's balalit is, other than the spices, nearly identical to Kriel's Yerushalmi kugel.

"I love experiencing different cultures, and you can do that through food," Kriel explained to JNS. In Dubai, she said, she loves playing with the mix of cultures – the international and globalized environment with the Emirati and Jewish cultures. "I am always thumbing through Arabic recipe books as a way to become more familiar with the environment and to understand its influences."

In 2019, when Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, proclaimed the year to be the "Year of Tolerance" in the Gulf state, Kriel catered for Jewish delegates who came for the Interfaith Global Conference for Human Fraternity, which was attended by none other than Pope Francis. It was that year when "the UAE began to speak about diversity and inclusion, and minority religions" that she officially launched her business.

Of course, it has proven to be even more vital in the context of the Abraham Accords, which has seen thousands of Jewish visitors flocking to the Arab country. "It has opened the doors to everything, not just for business and travel but also for culture. Food in this realm is very important," she said, adding that access to kosher food is a necessity and a way of allowing observant Jews "to travel here and spend a longer time getting to know the UAE and region."

As a sociologist who studied religious exclusion and inclusion in multicultural contexts, Kriel related that "food is an expression of one's identity and culture, and when you present your food to another person, everything is presented on that plate – your history, background, social status. You are actually offering yourself. Presenting your food is a way to make yourself available to the other person and an opportunity to get to know each other."

"Breaking bread builds relationships," she continued, "as eating is a very essential and primal thing; we all need it to survive, so partaking together in something so life-giving builds bridges. It is different than just shaking someone's hand or sitting in a room and talking together. Eating is a physical way of getting a glimpse into cultures, and sometimes, similarities."

The power of cooking

Across the ocean, Chef Uri "Buri" Jeremias, has operated his Uri Buri seafood restaurant in the Old City of Acre for nearly three decades, and has a mandatory staffing structure in his restaurant and his nearby Efendi Hotel, where he employs a mix of Jews and Muslims (and often Christians as well) at all times. In his restaurant, he explained, there is no hierarchy between his employees; they have all worked in the kitchen.

Jeremias works almost exclusively with Arab vendors in the local Acre shuk in an effort to continuing the Mediterranean coastal city's legacy of peaceful coexistence. His longtime sous chef, Ali, is an Arab-Muslim born in Acre who, until Jeremias brought him to accompany during the 2016 Food Network & Cooking Channel's South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami, had never left Israel.

"I am dedicated to finding the best way to live together," the chef told JNS, which he believes can be achieved through mutual respect. Jeremias learned to cook as a youngster, roasting, boiling and braising his way through various countries, including India, as he traveled in a van and learned "the power of cooking."

Like Kriel, Jeremias maintained, "people smell [good food] and want to join. It's like a magnet; it's unbelievable, [breeding] openness. … I open my kitchen to many influences, just like my life. I like to be open."

His culinary style is local and simple, creating balanced meals often with less than 10 ingredients. His restaurant and hotel offer solely Israeli wines, sourced from local winemakers. "You do not need to look far to find exotic things," he emphasized.

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The chef's diplomatic tendencies between Jews and Muslims began as a result of his family, who adopted an Arab girl when Jeremias was 3 years old in 1947, which was considered very unusual by most. She became the first Arab nurse in Nahariya, north of Acre on the Mediterranean Coast, where they grew up. Jeremias himself has also adopted two Arab Israelis from underprivileged backgrounds and raised them along with his Jewish, biological children.

Walking through the culinary and spice market, he is greeted by residents from all walks of life and backgrounds. Indeed, Acre is an ancient city that has been inhabited by each of the major empires of civilization and yet has retained its essence as a city where religion and civil society go hand in hand. Unlike the preconceived notions about Israel and its treatment of Arabs, Acre, like Dubai, serves as a beacon of gastronomic diplomacy for coexistence in the Mideast.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Argentinian journalist Julio López recently discovered a Spanish-speaking hate network by creating a computer program that scans websites for hate speech. A journalist and hacker by trade, López originally sought to search for groups like QAnon, wondering if there were similar groups in Argentina. His study unexpectedly uncovered a secret network of alt-right, Nazi groups in Latin America that perpetuate conspiracy theories related to Jews.

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"I found out there are groups like QAnon in Argentina – there are many – and they're large and have done a tremendous job" infiltrating the web, López told Jewish News Syndicate. After creating computer code utilizing terminology that is considered hate speech, his program scanned thousands of sites, exposing a "breeding ground" for hate that he says is experiencing a "boom."

"The first one I found had a YouTube channel with 220,000 subscribers, 3,000 hours of video and over 24 million views," he explained. "They were recording on a TV studio to replicate regular media content." The channel, named "TLV1" posed as a legitimate Israel-based news site with the same name, violated YouTube community standards and was eventually taken down for inciting hate.

Conspiracy theories perpetuated, according to López, such as "theories like the Andean plan for Jews to merge a nation into Patagonia, and the idea of a new order governed by key positions that are occupied by Jews;" ideas about "a superior race and the male man as the center of the family;" as well as portraying Jews as "immigrants who steal jobs."

This particular YouTube channel, he explained, spanned multiple countries including Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Spain, and had linked Facebook groups in order to reach the maximum number of people. It operated for three years before López's advocacy got YouTube to shut it down. "However, Facebook allowed their groups to stay open while YouTube banned them; therefore they still had the power to regroup," he said.

A second group that López found was "more militarized and had more than 80,000 subscribers, wore black and used Nazi fonts and icons … recruiting young people and nurturing them with these ideals. We also found hundreds and hundreds of Telegram channels and satellite groups on Facebook, just waiting to regroup and take action."

According to López, a self-proclaimed "tech geek who loves media and happened to end up with a microphone in front of me," his algorithm also uncovered hate speech in the network towards the LGBTQ community, women and reproductive rights, and other minorities, and calls to disobey the state.

López, who hosts the most-listened-to radio show in the country, "Lanata Sin Filtro," said Argentine media originally refused to broadcast his findings (which López said occurred out of fear of the sites losing financial partnerships with Facebook and Google) until pro-Israel NGO Fuente Latina secured him an interview on CNN Español and other major news networks.

'Hate is country-specific'

According to the founder of Fuente Latina, Leah Soibel, only after the story received international press did Argentinian media organizations begin to cover the story.

What López's network uncovered, said Soibel, is an "incredibly dangerous" trend that exists in the context of fatal antisemitic attacks within the Jewish communities of Latin America. Referring to the anniversary of the March 17, 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed 29 people and injured more than 250, Soibel told JNS that "the scars are still real and fresh, and no one has been brought to justice."

"The proliferation of hate speech in Spanish is very real and needs to quickly be addressed," she said. "We know too well that what is published on these sites inevitably leads to someone acting on it."

Soibel commended López for his interest, which intrigued many, as López is not Jewish and even Jewish professionals were not aware of the "tightly knit network that expands to Spanish media in America" that he has exposed.

Uncovering the antisemitic "dark web," said Soibel, is vitally important in what she views as an "information gap" that has occurred during the pandemic, as journalists are not working from their normal production studios, and extremist outlets have sought to fill that void.

Once his study was disseminated in the media, López reported receiving death threats by the extremists that he exposed, with his picture circulating and being called a "Zionist pig."

He has also spoken out against inadequate responses by tech giants. "Facebook and Google don't have the adequate personnel to work on hate speech as compared to [those companies in] the United States," said López, whose efforts to flag content as racist and antisemitic proved unsuccessful on social-media websites.

His long-term goal is to educate social-media platforms such as Facebook that they must approach hate speech differently – not grouping all Spanish-speaking countries together, but understanding that hate speech is a separate phenomenon occurring in countries with different histories and cultures supporting it.

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"Facebook needs to recognize that Holocaust denial, while it is a serious European and American issue, is not the No. 1 form of verbal antisemitism in Latin America," said Soibel. "Each country has its own form of expressing hate. Hate groups are cultural; there is no one linguistic standard. Rather, hate is country-specific, and Facebook should assign a representative for each country to deal with such challenges."

López added that he hopes his study will help to uncover "one more piece in the puzzle that clears the confusion between freedom of expression and  hate crimes," as well as empower Jewish organizations to fight hate and collect enough evidence to "take these groups to court and generate a ruling."

"Hate is not simply stopped," he said. "Hate must be taken to court."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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