December 2018:

We are all aware of the shooting at the Tree of Life at the end of October, as well as the recent escalation of hate crimes throughout the country. Whether we label these violent acts “hate crimes” or “domestic terrorism”, their intent is the same – to instill the public with fear and to bully their targets into giving up and disappearing. However, the people and groups who commit these acts have a 100% failure rate. (more…)

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IM Issue 128 – December 2018

While you may have been busy elsewhere For most of us, there is a reflexive tendency to think about anti-Semitism as something propagated by the Alt-right – white supremacy, the KKK, and neo-Nazi groups. That version of anti-Semitism was seen in its most ugly form most recently with the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue. For many of us, the horror in Pittsburgh just as with the violent protests that rocked Charlottesville last year was like muscle memory. We’ve seen it before and we know exactly what it means. click Israel Matters! 128 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

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November 2018:

Every year, as we head toward Thanksgiving, our thoughts often turn to giving back to our communities and to helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Giving back and contributing to our communities at this time of year can take a myriad of forms, like volunteering at a Soup Kitchen or donating to a Food Pantry, to donating winter clothes or unopened toys at drives for children who may not be able to afford them. (more…)

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What Do We Do When the Unspeakable Happens?

  Last Shabbat, we witnessed the deadliest act of anti-Semitism in North American history — the attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. This Shabbat, we are responding with our greatest show of solidarity: a community-wide Solidarity Shabbat with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh.This weekend, November 2-3, we are calling on Jews across Greater New Haven to #ShowUpForShabbat at local synagogues to honor the victims of the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh. Together, we will remember the 11 Jews who were killed  and show the world that love triumphs over hate.What do we do when the unspeakable happens? We stand together.Help us honor their memory and repudiate the poisonous legacy of anti-Semitism by filling our congregations during Shabbat this weekend as a proud and unified community.  

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IM Issue 127 – November 2018

Summer Musings – Israel, Iran, BDS At a public event early in Hassan Rouhani’s tenure as the Iranian president, he was widely reported to say, “Israel is an old wound that needed to be removed.” The AP sought to temper those remarks by reporting “they should be seen in the context of internal Iranian politics where softening the establishment’s anti-Israeli stand is not an option.” click Israel Matters! 127 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

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