Rabbis can serve in German military for the first time in 90 years

May 29, 2020 By Molly Boigon

The German parliament voted unanimously Thursday to allow rabbis to serve as military chaplains in the Bundeswher, Germany’s military.

Rabbis have not been able to serve as chaplains in the German military since Adolf Hitler expelled them in 1933. Jewish soldiers could only use Protestant or Catholic military chaplains.

The change was first put forward in December 2019 by Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who also said she would work to allow imams and Christian Orthodox priests to serve as chaplains.

Germany saw a spike in anti-Semitism last year, evidenced in part by an attack on a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur.

“This is a special sign of solidarity and recognition,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said to the parliament.

Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter at the Forward. Contact her at boigon@forward.com or follow her on Twitter @MollyBoigon

German military finally re-accepts rabbis

Maryland county’s corona guidelines put the kibosh on communion — and kiddush

May 28, 2020 By Irene Connelly

A Maryland county issued an executive order that permits synagogues to reopen but effectively prohibits kiddush receptions.

As of May 29, houses of worship in Howard County may hold services with up to 10 people inside and 250 people outside. However, most forms of physical contact, from shaking hands to sharing food, are prohibited.

“No consumption of food or beverage of any kind is permitted during, before, or after religious services. This includes food or beverage that would typically be consumed as part of religious practices,” said a guidance flyer distributed by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.

Beginning at 7am on May 29th, religious institutions may resume services assuming the following guidelines are met. The guidelines refer to churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, interfaith centers, and any other space where faith gatherings are held.https://t.co/XE0soDdV3l pic.twitter.com/NieG0MavCv— Calvin Ball (@HoCoGovExec) May 26, 2020

While the resumption of prayer will be welcomed by many, those who attend synagogue for the sake of kiddush — the post-Shabbat morning receptions that allow congregants to mingle, gossip, and nosh — will be disappointed.

There are eight synagogues in Howard County that will be affected by the ban.

Other states have discouraged, if not directly prohibited, the sharing of food and drink as well. Guidelines for the state of California, which allows services with up to 100 attendees, asked houses of worship to “consider modifying practices that are specific to particular faith traditions that might encourage the spread of COVID-19,” including the sharing of common cups.

In New York, where religious services of up to ten people are permitted, some religious leaders have independently suspended rituals that require sharing of drinks. Guidelines for Catholic churches released by Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that churches would not initially distribute Communion, a ritual that involves sharing a common cup of wine.

Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at connelly@forward.com.

Maryland county prohibits kiddush and communion

Germany reports highest number of anti-Semitic crimes since 2001

May 28, 2020 By Toby Axelrod

BERLIN (JTA) – Germany has recorded the highest number of anti-Semitic crimes nationwide since 2001. And a new wave linked to coronavirus conspiracy theories is expected, Jewish leaders say.

Police registered 2,032 anti-Semitic crimes, including two killings, in 2019, according to newly released figures published in the German news media. The total is up 13% from 2018.

The vast majority of the anti-Jewish crimes reported, 93.4%, were ascribed to far-right wing perpetrators, though there also was an increase in such crimes from the far left. The crimes range from propaganda incidents such as denying the Holocaust and displaying banned Nazi symbols, to vandalism to murder.

The most violent was the Yom Kippur attack on the Halle synagogue on Oct. 9. The perpetrator, a far-right extremist, shot and killed two passersby after being unable to shoot his way into the synagogue.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and Holger Munch, head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, presented the statistics on Wednesday in the annual report on politically motivated crimes, a category launched in 2001. In all, there were slightly more than 41,000 crimes reported, an increase of 14.2% over the 36,000 in 2018.

The report came out on the first anniversary of the politically motivated murder by neo-Nazis of politician Walter Lübcke, district head of the city of Kassel.

Given the likelihood that many anti-Semitic crimes go unreported, “the picture is gloomy,” Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said Wednesday. He said anti-Semitism on the internet, on the streets and in schools “has become commonplace for Jews in Germany.”

“Unfortunately, the corona crisis has had a reinforcing effect on this,” Schuster added. “Supporters of conspiracy myths and opponents of measures against the pandemic do not even shy away from relativizing the Holocaust.”

Charlotte Knobloch, a former Central Council president, said Wednesday that the May 20 verbal attack on Maccabi athletic trainer Max Brym in a Munich park showed how the pandemic is “providing a new surface for projection of anti-Jewish hate.”

Brym, wearing a blue Maccabi jacket with a Star of David logo, was verbally assaulted by a coronavirus denier and anti-vaccine activist who shouted, “You Jewish pigs are to blame! You Jews did this with Corona! You Jewish bastard!” The attacker then rode off on his bicycle and has not been apprehended.

Annette Seidel-Arpaci, head of the Bavarian branch of RIAS (Anti-Semitism Research and Information Centre), said the assault showed how conspiracy theories are not just visible at public demonstrations against coronavirus prevention measures but are “also directed against people in everyday life.”

The post Germany reports highest number of anti-Semitic crimes since 2001 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Germany reports highest number of anti-Semitic crimes since 2001

US ambassador to Israel says Jewish illiteracy is greatest threat to diaspora

May 28, 2020 By Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA) — U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told a virtual conference that Jewish illiteracy is the greatest threat to Diaspora Jewry.

“The Jewish state, while not without issues, is growing: both religious and secular institutions are thriving, basic Jewish education is available to all and there is little risk of assimilation. The same cannot be said for the Diaspora,” Friedman told Haaretz’s “Judaism, Israel and Diaspora conference,” which took place on Wednesday.

Being “fluent in Judaism” is “an imperative for the future of the Jewish people, especially outside the State of Israel,” said Friedman, who is an Orthodox Jew.

“Regardless of how we believe or worship or observe our Judaism, what makes that practice uniquely Jewish and likely to continue and grow is our ability to place ourselves on an unbroken chain beginning in ancient times, that remains not just relevant – but even more critical today than ever before, as we struggle to find meaning in a complicated world,” the ambassador added.

Friedman said that doing things that are “morally just or helpful to others” is not enough because “Let’s face it: Jews do not have a monopoly on acts of kindness, charity or social justice.”

Friedman has criticized liberal Jews in the past. In a June 2016 op-ed on the website of Israel National News, also known as Arutz-7, a right-wing media outlet, Friedman wrote of J Street supporters: “They are far worse than kapos – Jews who turned in their fellow Jews in the Nazi death camps. The kapos faced extraordinary cruelty and who knows what any of us would have done under those circumstances to save a loved one? But J Street? They are just smug advocates of Israel’s destruction delivered from the comfort of their secure American sofas – it’s hard to imagine anyone worse.”

The post US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman says Jewish illiteracy is greatest threat to Diaspora Jewry appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

US ambassador to Israel says Jewish illiteracy is greatest threat to diaspora

Trump to sign bill granting $10 million for Holocaust education

May 28, 2020 By Aiden Pink

President Trump is set to sign a bill on Thursday providing millions of dollars in grants for Holocaust education, Jewish Insider reported.

The bill, called the Never Again Education Act, was passed by the House of Representatives in January and by the Senate earlier this month. It will provide $10 million over five years in grants for middle and high schools to incorporate lessons about the Holocaust into their curricula.

Holocaust education is currently mandatory in 12 states, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Some of the country’s largest states, including California, Illinois and New York, have required public schools to teach about the Holocaust for at least 25 years.

According to Jewish Insider, several Jewish leaders are expected to attend the signing ceremony, which will take place with pandemic-related spacing requirements.

One of the bill’s Senate sponsors, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, said in a webcast sponsored by the Jewish Democratic Council of America that the bill is a “first step in centralizing a good quality and authentic curriculum to teach the Holocaust to future generations.”

Despite this, surveys have repeatedly shown that much of the American public is not knowledgeable about some of the basic historical facts of the Holocaust. A Pew survey in January found that two-thirds of Americans knew that the term “Holocaust” referred to the annihilation of Jews, but less than half knew that the number of Jews killed was approximately six million.

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at pink@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

Trump signs law granting millions for Holocaust classes

Recommend this article

Thank you!