Other items in today’s column include:
*Rep. Karen Bass on racial justice, Jewish fears of BLM anti-Semitism
*San Diego Jewish Academy will reopen full time at end of August
*Recommended reading
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO — The Anti-Defamation League, joined by such non-profit organizations as the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press, and Common Sense, has announced a “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign to encourage advertisers to “pause” their purchases on Facebook during the month of July.
“We have long seen how Facebook has allowed some of the worst elements of society into our homes and our lives. When this hate spreads online it causes tremendous harm and also becomes permissible offline,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League’s chief executive officer.
“Our organizations have tried individually and collectively to push Facebook to make their platforms safer, but they have repeatedly failed to take meaningful action. We hope this campaign finally shows Facebook how much their users and their advertisers want them to make serious changes for the better.”
In San Diego, ADL regional director Tammy Gillies commented: “Locally we will be working with corporate partners and asking them to consider not advertising on Facebook, as well as reaching out to other community partners with the same message. As you know, Facebook has failed to meaningfully address hate, incitement to violence, and disinformation on their platform. We are proud to be working in a coalition with our partners on this ‘Stop Hate for Profit’ campaign.
The campaign was inaugurated on Wednesday with an advertisement in The Los Angeles Times asserting that Facebook $70 billion in advertising per year, and urging corporate advertisers to “send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be woorth promoting hate, racism, antisemitism and violence.”
Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), commented in a joint news release with the ADL: “Facebook remains unwilling to take significant steps to remove political propaganda from its platform. It is clear that Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, are no longer simply negligent, but in fact, complacent in the spread of misinformation, despite the irreversible damage to our democracy. Such actions will upend the integrity of our elections as we head into 2020. We will not stand for this. While we recognize the value that Facebook provides in connecting people of color with one another, we call into question a platform that profits from the suppression of Black votes or Black voices.”
Messaged for comment, Facebook had no immediate response.
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Rep. Karen Bass on racial justice, Jewish fears of BLM anti-Semitism
Congresswoman Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, chairs the Congressional Black Caucus. Representing a district that includes the affluent, mainly White, West Side of Los Angeles, and the economically depressed, mainly Black South Central Los Angeles, she says that when police come to the West Side, “it’s to protect and to serve,” but when they go to South Central Los Angeles, “it’s to kick butt.”
Similarly, she said, when drugs are involved in an arrest, people on the West Side typically are diverted to drug rehabilitation programs, while those in South Central Los Angeles are incarcerated.
In comments during an Internet discussion on Tuesday with members of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Bass said that police should be required to learn first-hand about the communities to which they will be assigned before they come in from the outside to police them.
The Democratic congresswoman predicted quick passage in the House of Representatives of her”Justice in Policing Act,” but stiff opposition in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans are in the majority. After the bill gets to the Senate, she said, the negotiating will begin. While she may not get everything she hopes for in the 100-page bill, she said she anticipates that strides will be made. If former Vice President Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump in November, those strides can be built upon when the next administration takes office.
Asked about concerns in the Jewish community about anti-Israel sentiment in the Black Lives Matter movement, Bass said that BLM “started as a hashtag” and many of the people who are carrying signs supporting Black Lives Matter have no opinions whatsoever about Israel, or what others in BLM are saying. She recommended that the Jewish community separate the bulk of the protesters from those few who may harbor anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiments.
Asked if she thought it important for Biden to choose a Black woman as his vice presidential candidate, she said she would be delighted if he did, but believes that whoever Biden picks should have good working chemistry with him, just as Biden had with former President Barack Obama. She said the relationship between Obama and Biden was an especially good one, and Biden should find someone whom he similarly can work with closely.
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San Diego Jewish Academy will reopen full time at end of August
San Diego Jewish Academy has a 56-acre campus in Carmel Valley, plenty of room to create innovative and safe learning spaces for its K-12 students, the school’s board chair Heidi Gantwerk announced on Wednesday. “We know this will not look exactly like the school in past years,” she said, “but we are structuring our classrooms and other learning environments to be ready for this new normal.”
With the coronavirus pandemic in mind, said Gantwerk, “we are prepared for a range of scenarios and can offer high quality academics and meaningful community connections, whether online or in-person.”
Among SDJA plans, according to a new release, are “an array of changes to further enhance the safety of the SDJA students — from intensifying natural air flow in classrooms and building spaces, to instituting appropriate health screenings, and practicing and teaching healthy habits.
“SDJA’s outdoor courtyard spaces, large garden at the heart of the campus, sports fields, Innovation Center, and other campus spaces can serve as different learning environments,” according to the news release. “Any student who cannot be on campus for any reason will also be able to utilize the school’s remote learning platform.
Gantwerk said that “We’re able to offer significant tuition assistance, which we know is critical for many families during these challenging times.”
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Recommended reading
*Honest Reporting Canada reports that the Canadian government has been reversing its pro-Israel positions in an effort to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
*Jewish Insider tells of the growing movement in both houses of Congress to oppose Israel’s plans to extend Israeli civil law to portions of Judea and Samaria — a move opponents condemn as annexation likely to derail warming relations between Israel and its Sunni Muslim neighbor countries.
*Times of San Diego‘s Ken Stone reports that the gun control group Brady United has brought suit against a variety of parties involved in the Passover 2019 shooting at Chabad of Poway, in which Lori Gilbert Kaye was killed and three other congregants wounded. Defendants include the alleged shooter, John T. Earnest; his parents, the gun store where he purchased the weapon, and the weapon’s manufacturer, Smith & Wesson.
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In memoriam
Alfred W. Wieder, 97, died Sunday, June 14, Am Israel Mortuary announced. Rabbi/ Cantor Arlene Bernstein of Congregation Beth Israel was scheduled to conduct funeral services at 3 p.m. today at El Cmino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Free obituaries in memory of members of the San Diego County Jewish community are sponsored on San Diego Jewish World by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg.