THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION Promoting Classical Judaism
November 2010
Vol. 24 • No. 3
Kislev 5771
UNESCO Recognizes Rachel’s Tomb as…a Mosque; New US Congressional Leadership Says It’s Time to Leave UNESCO
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t the end of October, the executive committee of the Paris-based UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared that it will henceforth recognize the Tomb of the Biblical matriarch Rachel, which is located between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, not as a Jewish holy site, but rather as the Mosque of Bilel Ibn-Rabach. The recognition was approved by 44 of the 58 members of UNESCO’s board. Despite Israel’s bitter opposition, 12 countries from Europe and Africa abstained. Only the US voted against the proposal. Four other UNESCO measures passed by similar margins, all calling on Israel to refrain from archeological activities in several
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Rachel’s Tomb, Judaism’s third-holiest site, has been the scene of prayer and pilgrimage for more than three thousand years. Biblical sites, including the Temple Mount, where Muslims have systematically destroyed priceless artifacts, sometimes burying them under layers of limestone and other times simply discarding them haphazardly.
UNESCO also demanded that Israel remove from its list of Jewish heritage sites the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where, according to Jewish tradition, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and matriarchs, Sarah, Rivka, and Leah, were buried 4,000 years ago. In Hebron, a Jewish community spokesman, Noam Arnon, noted that the Cave of Patriarchs “was a Jewish site thousands of years before Islam ever existed.” Muslim Cemetery While there is a Muslim cemetery surrounding Rachel Tomb, the facility itself was never used as a mosque. In fact, according to most scholars, local Muslims
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ZOA Campaign Leads to US Dept. of Ed Announcement: Jewish Students Now Protected from Antisemitic Harassment
fter a six-year campaign by the Zionist Organization of America, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced last month that it will enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in order to protect Jewish students from harassment, intimidation, and discrimination at federally funded schools. “This is a breakthrough,” said Mort Klein, president of ZOA. “Until this announcement, OCR wouldn’t enforce Title VI to protect Jewish students, leaving them without the same civil rights protections that have been afforded to other ethnic and racial groups since Title VI’s enactment in 1964.”
Jewish High School for $5,000/Yr.... 3 Kol Ami:One Divergence?.............. 4 The Current Crisis.......................... 5 A Must-See “Wallenberg” ............. 11 EMUNAH Dinner........................ 16 News from Touro ........................ 18 Warm Up With Kosherica.............. 21 Careers for Potential Olim........... 24
Virtually all antisemitic incidents on US campuses stem from activities undertaken by anti-Israel, usually Muslim groups whose animus for the Jewish state rapidly degenerates into what can only be called hate speech and worse against Jews. Including Jews Title VI, a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires schools that receive federal funding to ensure that their programs and activities are free from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. Violation of the law can cost a school its federal funding.
Inside the Voice Toffler Watch: Jewish Votes......... 28 Remembering Martin Kraar, z”l... 30 School and Camp Open Houses... 30 Holiday Boutiques....................... 31 The Log........................................ 32 New Classes................................. 43 Mazal Tov ................................... 45
Because religion is not mentioned in the act per se, hostility against Jews was not considered a violation. The new decision by OCR changes that position. Now under Title VI, a school is expected to do more than simply punish the perpetrators of antisemitic harassment. Other remedial steps, such as counseling the perpetrators about their hurtful conduct, reaffirming the school’s antidiscrimination policy, publicizing how students may report harassment, training teachers to recognize and address antisemitic incidents, and creating age-appropriate pro-
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Ess Gezint: For Chanukah .......... 50 Was It More Offensive?............... 52 Gov. Huckabee at Bet El Dinner .56 Symphonia Music........................ 56 Honor the Professional ............... 57 Index of Advertisers . .................. 59 Letters to the Editor .................... 60 Walk To Shul . ............................. 63