Other items in this column include:
*Congress Passes Bill to Raise Status of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism
*Artenstein Documentary on Jews of the Southwest to Be Aired on KPBS Jan. 11
*Political bytes
SAN DIEGO — Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, has been busy writing letters to the heads of state in various European countries to protest the ban on kosher slaughter recently enacted by Belgium and upheld by the European Court of Justice.
The Jewish Agency released a copy of the letter he sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, which stated in part:
Today, my purpose is to alert you to a growing sense of discomfort and rejection among a number of Jewish communities, who feel that the Jewish traditions and religious observance are increasingly challenged by certain parts of European publics and legislators. I am referring to legislation, which bans Kosher slaughtering of animals and initiatives to ban by law religious circumcision. These are foundations of Jewish religious practice, and they are non-negotiable aspects of traditional observance. Forbidding them would be tantamount to outlawing Judaism as a whole, casting a shadow of discredit and suspicion on millennia-old traditions, which constitute the bodywork of Jewish rite.
My grandfather, the late Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland from 1921 to 1936. During his tenure, he succeed in blocking an initiative to ban Kosher slaughtering. I know what it had meant to him and to his community, and how they must have felt in these pre-War years in Europe. As the Chairman of the largest Jewish non-profit, which brings together communities from around the world, I feel it is my duty to alert you to the growing unease of ever more Jewish communities in Europe as they face these repeated efforts to restrict and curtail their way of life.
Will they feel accepted and welcome in countries, which truncate their freedom to lead a life of religious observance according to their ancient traditions? We all must ask ourselves that question with a sense of urgency. I am sharing these thoughts with you to beseech you to do everything in your power so that the answer to that question will not be negative.
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Congress Passes Bill to Raise Status of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism
Jewish organizations hailed congressional passage of a bill that would elevate the status of the U.S. Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism to the rank of ambassador. The position currently is held by Elan Carr.
“Today’s vote puts America one step closer to sending an unambiguous message to the world that the United States does not and will not tolerate antisemitism, ” Hadassah’s President Rhoda Smolow and CEO/Executive Director Janice Weinman said in a joint statement. “Passing this bill is a fitting conclusion to an historic 116th Congress, which also took unprecedented action to strengthen Holocaust education in the United States by passing the Never Again Education Act. These two bills were major priorities for Hadassah’s nearly 300,000 members nationwide. We attribute the robust bipartisan support for these priorities to their relentless advocacy.
Carly Gammill, Director of the StandWithUs Center for Combating Antisemitism, said: “We salute the U.S. Congress for making the fight against antisemitism a matter of priority as we enter 2021. By taking this very important step, Congress is recognizing that action must be taken to combat the rise of antisemitism and the devastation that this hatred can unleash. Making the position of Special Envoy to Monitor Antisemitism an ambassadorship shows the world that this nation is committed to standing against this form of bigotry.”
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Artenstein Documentary on Jews of the Southwest to Be Aired on KPBS Jan. 11
Isaac Artenstein, who has specialized in documentaries about Jews in the United States and Mexico, will have his latest work presented on KPBS at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 11. Titled A Long Journey: The Hidden Jews of the Southwest, it deals with the history of Conversos in New Mexico and elsewhere who, ever since the Spanish Inquisition, outwardly professed to be Catholics, while privately continuing to observe various Jewish rituals. An earlier Artenstein documentary, produced in association with the year-long exhibit at the San Diego History Center about the history of Jews in San Diego, was titled To the Ends of the Earth: A Portrait of Jewish San Diego.
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Political bytes
*Awaiting signature or veto by President Trump is a stand-alone bill directing the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to study sites associated with the life and legacy of Sears and Roebuck president and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, particularly in connection with his funding improved schools for African-Americans throughout the south. For those interested in more information on his contributions, we refer you to an article by Jerry Klinger, president of the Jewish-American Society for Historic Preservation, that was previously run on San Diego Jewish World
*Times of San Diego reports that former Congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar is considering running for the 79th Assembly District seat that Shirley Weber will vacate once she is approved by the state Legislature to succeed Alex Padilla as Secretary of State. Several things need to happen first. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris needs to resign her seat as a U.S. senator from California, so that Padilla can be officially appointed to the vacancy by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Then Newsom must formally appoint Weber as Padilla’s successor. Thereafter, Newsom must set a date for a special election to fill the vacancy. Meanwhile, Weber’s daughter, La Mesa City Councilwoman Akilah Weber, M.D., has stated she definitely plans to run to succeed her mother in the Assembly.
There’s no question on whose side Shirley Weber will be. When asked by Jade Hindman of KPBS about Akilah running, she responded: “Well, you know, as a parent, you become proud when you think that your children think enough of the work you’ve done to want to be involved in it. And I told someone initially that I thought ‘Wow, she’s been close enough to the fire, to know that it burns sometimes.’ She has always had a passion for trying to make a difference. And even in her practice in medicine and the things that she sees. When she sees injustices and she sees inequalities, she wants to address them. I’m very proud of the fact that she has taken the challenge in La Mesa as a city council person and now wants to take the challenge in Sacramento to kind of carry on the legacy, but also to develop her own legacy.”
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but remember the fictional story about the mother of the first Jewish President of the United States. Sitting in a special seat on the Inaugural platform, she nudged the person next to her, who happened to be the incoming U.S. Secretary of State. “Do you see that man there, taking his oath with his hand on the Bible?” she asked. “Yes, it’s your son, the soon-to-be President,” the Secretary of State replied. “All that is true,” the mother said, “but did I ever tell you that his brother is a doctor!”
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com