South Carolina codifies anti-Semitism; wins plaudits from StandWithUs
StandWithUs has applauded South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster, who signed into law on July 6 a Proviso which codifies the definition of Anti-Semitism.
It offered special thanks to Representative Alan Clemmons (R), who spearheaded the measure which provides South Carolina colleges with a new rubric to use when deciding if an on-campus crime was motivated by Anti-Semitism. The passing of the proviso, included in the state’s budget, makes South Carolina the first state in the Union to adopt a uniform definition of Anti-Semitism. It is aimed at addressing the alarming spike in Anti-Semitic incidents during the past year.
Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWIthUs, an Israel education organization that operates on campuses across the nation, lauded this landmark legislation. “We have seen a marked increase in Anti-Semitic incidents in 2017, according to the ADL. We have not seen a comparable increase in prosecutions for these crimes. Law enforcement and administrators are often left powerless to act because of an unclear definition of what Anti-Semitism is.” The new legislation references the definition of Anti-Semitism as drafted by the U.S. State Department. “We need to define Anti-Semitism in order to defeat it. Thankfully, South Carolina is leading the way,” concludes Rothstein.
The Anti-Semitism proviso doesn’t target speech, only unprotected conduct such as harassment, assault, and vandalism. — From StandWithUs
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Death of Mathematician Kurt Eisemann reported
Eva Ilyes-Eiseman provided us with this sad news:
“Kurt Eisemann (my father) passed away today (July 7, 2018). Albert Einstein , after receiving a personal letter from my father, invited Kurt to his office in Princeton.
“Professor Einstein wrote letters to department heads at universities, asking for their help in accepting my father, who came to this country (via Nuremberg, Germany, France, Palestine, and Great Britain) without a high school diploma. (My father was referred to ‘Embryo Einstein’ in the media).
“Professor Einstein secured entrance for my father to university and had a friend support my father with a living stipend while he attended university. Einstein and my father maintained a correspondence with letters as well. Kurt taught at universities in the United States, including having served as Director of Computing Services at San Diego State University.
“He enjoyed mathematics-based card tricks, logic puzzles, chess, and spending time with his family. He will surely be missed.” –From Eva Ilyes-Eiseman
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Love Hatzalah Style — Three life saving calls in 2 days
Miri Shvimmer and Lior Eskenasy are an engaged couple who both live in Holon and are both United Hatzalah volunteer responders. In fact, they often ride to emergencies together on Lior’s ambucycle. “Whenever there are calls that need Advanced Life Saving equipment we go out together,” Shvimmer said as she smiled. “I keep the equipment from my bag in his ambucycle, so that wherever we go we have a full complement of medical supplies with us.”
Last Thursday, Shvimmer, a paramedic, was returning from vacation with her mother and had just arrived home from the airport when Lior picked her up. As soon as the two were together, they were notified about a medical emergency occurring in their vicinity. A man had suffered a heart attack and collapsed in the middle of the street in Holon. The pair rushed over, began CPR and administered 3 shocks from a defibrillator. After a lengthy process, they succeeded at regaining the man’s pulse. They then assisted the ambulance team in loading the patient for transport to Wolfson hospital.
On Friday, the couple was called on again to assist in two more emergencies. An 80-year-old man had drowned in a pool at the country club in Holon. Eskenasy and Shvimmer again raced to the scene and succeeded in reviving the man and helping him expunge the pool of water that had settled in his lungs. He too was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition.
From that emergency, they rushed to another emergency in Holon, in which a man was suffering from a severe case of hypoglycemia and had fallen unconscious. After administering glucose and assisting the ambulance team to transport the patient, the couple finally got some time to spend with each other, before having to return to their other responsibilities.
“Going out to calls with a life partner gives us a sense of completion. We work together in creating a relationship and we build on that together when we save lives as a unit. If we go out on a really hard call, such as saving a child who was hit by a car or a family that was caught in a fire, we share it together and we can have each other’s backs at the scene. We are also there to support each other emotionally when we need it after tough calls,” Shvimmer said.
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Preceding culled from news releases and correspondence sent to editor@sdjewishworld.com