Truth Telling Isn’t Popular
Watch the elucidating presentation by David Bernstein, author of Woke Antisemitism, How a Progressive ideology Harms Jews. Understand what it means to be “woke,” what are its manifestations, where and how has it become embedded in education, media, government, corporations. Know that being “woke” is the antithesis of being “liberal” in the classical sense of being free to express, think and believe diverse views, including “conservative” views.
CAEF presents "Does Radical Social Justice Ideology Fuel Antisemitism?" with David Bernstein
For a review of how we got here, read this article from Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) by Daniel Ben-Ami, November 29, 2022.
Read one listener’s personal response to David Bernstein’s presentation. Susanne (Sanne) Kalter DeWitt is an 88 year old Holocaust survivor, Chair of the Israel Action Committee of East Bay, and a Zionist activist. Below are excerpts from Sanne’s letter to CAEF.
“I want to thank David Bernstein on his excellent presentation. Wokeness is dreadful!
I want to remind David, and others, that there are no human races. Homo sapiens are the most genetically homogeneous group in the mammalian kingdom. Pigmentation is only skin deep and is a response to UV in sunlight. There is a gradient of melanin in the skin from the equator to the arctic in response to UV levels in order to protect the skin and to absorb UV absorption to make vitamin D.”
“Ethnic studies programs in public schools are a danger to Jewish kids. Here are some examples that my kids experienced:
A Black studies teacher, Sister MacKenya, called Jews “Christ Killers” in a Black studies class which was attended by one of my sons in a Berkeley public school classroom.
Another Black studies teacher, Brother Chaka, conducted a psychodrama in which “white” boys pretended to whip Black kids to illustrate what happened during slavery. After class my son was beaten up in the schoolyard and came home bruised and bloody.
I was purged from the Oakland/Berkely SNCC group, as were other Jews in the group, in the ’60’s.”
“When I immigrated to the USA in 1945 I went to a public school in Malden, Mass. I was in the 6th grade and a group of 8 boys, led by a kid named Whitey, used to urinate on me in the schoolyard. They also tore up my Hebrew School homework on a regular basis. When I complained to the homeroom teacher she replied (unsympathetically) that I should learn to “stand up for yourself.” She knew that I was Jewish.”
“I had public school classes where teachers would not call on me when I raised my hand and who then gave me a bad grade for not participating in class. The teachers knew that I was Jewish. My 9th grade teacher would not give me a recommendation to take the Bronx High School of Science entrance examination. A recommendation was required to take the entrance exam. I skipped school went to Bx. Science on the test day and was fortunately allowed to take the entrance examination, which I passed. Bx. Science was fantastic and I graduated in January, 1951 and then went to the CCNY and Cornell University. I did my graduate work in genetics and microbiology at UC Berkeley completing in 1961.
I was born in Munich, Germany, in 1934 during the Nazi period. My family and I were deported to Poland in 1938 but the train was sent back to Germany. We were detained and sent to Dachau, then a labor camp, on Kristallnacht. Children and old people were let go because we couldn’t work. I was smuggled into Holland by a friend of my mother’s who used false papers to get me across the border.
I am horrified and frightened by the current level of Antisemitism in the US that is rising to dangerous levels.”
“My memoir is titled I Was Born in an Old Age Home. It is available here.
Very Woke Example in Education
The Legal Director of The Deborah Project, Lori Lowenthal Marcus, wrote on February 10, 2023 in JNS, that staff have been added to fight the critical race theory being taught in what has been labelled the Liberated Ethnic Studies, developed in California, and rejected by all Jewish organizations. Canadians haven’t yet faced this woke challenge but it’s likely coming, so read on.
Modified Ethnic Studies courses are somewhat less antisemitic, and some version has been accepted by some Jewish groups, but one should question the overall intent as any humane purpose for which these programs were originally considered educationally beneficial seem to have been eroded.
The original writers of Liberated Ethnic Studies are lobbying behind the scenes for schools and school boards to use their controversial and antisemitic curriculum despite its been rejected by the Governor and much of the California system for which it was created.
“We have brought a legal challenge in federal court in California challenging ‘Liberated Ethnic Studies’—which adopts the full complement of Critical Race Theory’s attack on Zionism, the goal of which is to teach all American public school children the canard that such attacks are not antisemitic because ‘Zionism and Judaism are two separate things,’” noted Lowenthal Marcus, who points out that “Zionism has long been demonized on the far left—at least since the U.N.’s 1975 Zionism is Racism resolution, and then by the festival of antisemitism at the Durban conference in 2001 [Durban I].”
Read the full article here.
Judicial Reform in Israel and Railing Against Change
So many words have been written or uttered on webinars, and so many protests over proposed changes to the Israeli judiciary that reform its powers over the Knesset, the selection of justices, and the volume of inappropriate cases that it deals with and more. One loses sight of what this is all about. Sadly, what is also lost sight of is the harm that the protesters are causing in place of the discourse they should be seeking.
Calling the new Israeli Government “extremist”, is itself a defiant act that avoids the truth. Members of the new right of center government vary in many views, and while some members might be seen as more “right” than others, the left is ignoring its own extremism, including having included an anti-Zionist, Islamist party in the last government in which it held power.
The Left is ignoring the fact that the majority of Israelis are right of center and want solutions not polemics, a recognition of the reality of the very real every day threats and terrorist attacks they experience, and solutions rather than an irrational fairy tale vision of peace with Arabs who want their death. Not all Arabs are terrorists of course. Many not only recognize the Jewish state but are upstanding citizens and even Zionists, serve in the IDF and live their lives as proud Israelis. The truth that must be told is that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, both want the eradication of Israel, and that is a call for genocide, which one can’t deny, and it is being attempted by so-called “lone terrorists” in a steady onslaught of terror against Jewish civilians as well as armed IDF soldiers. The so-called lone terrorists are encouraged to kill and rewarded if jailed, and if killed, their families receive funds. Why is the Left not demanding an end to pay-for-slay and protesting on the streets when Arabs are rewarded for terrorism?
The left lost power. They aren’t happy about that. Will protests bring them back to power? Will they cause another election, after having had 5? Will they take the time to actually understand why and what reforms are proposed, and will they support the democratic processes in place, or continue to rant and rage?
Canadian-Israeli, Michal Cotler-Wunsh has written a very rational piece for the Times of Israel, February 10, 2023, taking issue with American-Israelis who are very well respected intellectuals, Daniel Gordis, Matti Friedman and Yossi Klein Halevi.
Cotler-Wunsh suggests that the “Letter to Israel’s Friends” from these three “influencers” lacks information, “they minimized several critical points many have underscored: the current judicial situation is improper; the court ruled to take its own authority; and the attorney general holds exaggerated power.”
Flash—As revealed by IsraelUnwired.com on February 9, 2023, Yair Lapid once supported judicial reform, so why the about face? Is he causing all this distress in Israel, threatening general strikes and upheaval because he lost the election? What other reason for such irrational behavior?
Read here and watch a video in which Yair Lapid expressed support for judicial reforms.
Murdering Jews is Rewarded by Canadians, Americans, Europeans
Isn’t it time that ALL of the Jewish community, and all sane, rational, justice-oriented, humanity-concerned people stood against the murder on demand program of the Palestinian Authority? The recent increase in attacks deemed lone-wolf in Israel, perpetrated by young adults, children as young as 13, teachers (one from a community adjacent to Jerusalem), and other Arabs cannot be explained simply by an increase in IDF activities aimed at rooting out terrorists. That is a circular nonsensical argument. The increase of shooting, car ramming and knife attacks is a direct result of the narcissistic, Holocaust denying, venomous calls from President Abbas to kill Jews, and by law, receive a financial reward. Such rewards come from funds to the PA, funds increased by Western governments over the years and again this year, specifically from the US government. Canada claims it only funds direct programs, but the funding of over $25million to the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, is funding the PA and training terrorists. The curriculum includes bigotry and hate and violence against Jews.
The PA media adulate the terrorists. The Arab street celebrates each murder and treats the murders, dead or alive as heroes. Streets and schools are named after each terrorist, inspiring more young people to emulate this madness.
Every Canadian should be appalled. Every person of faith should be incensed. Every Jew should speak up, but few do.
CAEF is calling on every Canadian of conscience to tell the Federal government that tax dollars should not be allocated to UNRWA.
Watch this excellent webinar presented on February 8, 2023 by EMET featuring Itamar Marcus, Founder and Director of Palestine Media Watch, with evidence of the corruption, vilification of Israel and slaughter of Jews that is promoted by the Palestinian Authority, and then perpetrated by Palestinian Arabs at the behest of their government.
Read the call to action by United with Israel—then tell your government to fight Palestinian pay-for-slay murders by withholding funding of UNRWA and any funding to the PA.
Advocacy and Action
CAEF letter to the National Post re article, Feb 11th titled, “Car rams crowd in Jerusalem, two killed”.