ADL: Roof verdict underscores need for anti-hate crime law in South Carolina
NEW YORK (Press Release) –The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday, Jan. 11, welcomed closure of the federal trial in the Charleston massacre case, which resulted in hate crime convictions against white supremacist Dylann Storm Roof for the murders of parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The June 2015 murder spree, which killed nine people, was one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism of the past 50 years, and one of the deadliest hate crimes in modern U.S. history.
“While we are thankful that justice is being served to this murderer, his trial underscores the need for South Carolina to join 45 other states in passing a hate crimes law,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO.
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Part of Itzhak Perlman’s Genesis Prize to go to Yiddish Book Center
AMHERST, Massachusetts (Press Release) – When world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman recently received a $1 million Genesis Prize, he opted to defer the award to organizations devoted to causes that are important to him—among them, the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Center received $50,000 from Perlman’s prize to support its work on Yiddish language instruction and oral history.
Perlman is the third Genesis Prize Laureate. Each year, the Genesis Prize Foundation awards the $1 million prize to an individual who has “attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and/or the State of Israel.”
“Itzhak has achieved unparalleled professional success, and through his music brings joy to millions of people around the world,” Stan Polovets, chair and cofounder of the Genesis Prize, said in announcing the honor. “A 16-time Grammy award winner, he has been an incredible source of inspiration for individuals with special needs by overcoming tremendous personal challenges.”
Perlman is using his Genesis Prize award to support programs in the fields of music and culture and to projects that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society. A portion of the money directed to the Yiddish Book Center will support its flagship Steiner Summer Yiddish Program, an intensive Yiddish language and culture program for college and graduate students. The remainder will go to the Center’s Wexler Oral History Project, a growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.
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ZOA praises anti two- state resolution offered by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)
NEW YORK — The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) enthusiastically praises pending House Resolution 27, introduced by Congressman Steve King (R-IA). H. Res. 27 rejects a PA State (the so-called Two-state solution) as the United States’ diplomatic policy objective and calls for the Administration to advocate for a new approach that prioritizes the State of Israel’s sovereignty, security, and borders.
“Two-state solution” is a misnomer and euphemism for creating a Hamas-Iran-Fatah-Palestinian-Arab terrorist state on Jewish land that would endanger Israel’s existence, by, among other things, subjecting all of Israel, including its airport and major cities, to constant rocket attack, said Morton A. Klein, ZOA President. A Palestinian-Arab Hamas terrorist state in Judea/Samaria would be another Gaza-type terrorist enclave and missile-launching pad, he added.
Res. 27 also states that:A Palestinian-Arab state is certain to be run by Hamas, Iran and other terrorist groups. There is virtually no prospect that a Palestinian-Arab Hamas state would be demilitarized, democratic or peaceful in the foreseeable future. Arab polls show that if an election were held in the PA today, terrorist group Hamas would win. (“Poll: Hamas will win the Palestinian Elections,” Israel Nat’l News, Aug. 28, 2016.) Hamas and other designated foreign terrorist organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are currently part of the Palestinian Authority government. The PA pays terrorists to murder Jews, sentences Arabs to death for selling land to Jews, and promotes terrorism and murder of Jews in their schools, media, sermons, speeches, and children’s camps. They also name schools, streets, sports teams and tournaments after Jew-killing terrorists.
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Preceding provided by the following organizations: Anti-Defamation League, Yiddish Book Center, and Zionist Organization of America