November 6 Panel Discussion: Israel and American Jews

Professor Dov Waxman 

The 20th Author’s Cafe of the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills will feature a panel discussion on one of the most controversial issues within the American Jewish community.  For over a generation, solidarity with Israel was one of the bonds that brought American Jews together across their differences.  Now, in a fundamental shift in recent years, American Jews are sharply divided on the topic of support for Israel.  

On Sunday, November 6 panelists Professors Dov Waxman and Steven M. Cohen will discuss the complex reasons for this shift.  

The panel discussion, Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, at 106-06 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills.  Advance tickets are $16 and can be purchased online at www.cqy.org/tickets or at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151 or pkurtz@cqy.org.  Group & student discounts are available.

In some communities, Prof. Waxman writes in his new book, the debate about support for Israel has become so heated, that a moratorium on these discussions has been put in place.  Professors Dov Waxman and Steven M. Cohen will discuss the underlying reasons for this divide, including important changes in the makeup of the American Jewish community itself and increasing disagreement over Israel’s policies, among other factors.  Professors Waxman and Cohen will discuss the impact this fractious debate is having on Jewish communities and organizations and what this means for the future of the American Jewish community.  

Author of several books on Israel, Prof. Waxman teaches Israel studies at Northeastern University. Prof. Steven M. Cohen is Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at HUC-JIR and has participated in leading demographic studies of how the American Jewish community is being reshaped today.  The 20th Annual Author’s Cafe, which includes kosher dessert and coffeee, is a benefit for the Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage Programs

This program is the headline event in the Fall Speaker Series of the Central Queens Y.  More information is available online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org. 

Journalist to Speak on Culture Clash Within Israeli Society

This spring and summer,  Israel has seen dramatic confrontations among Jews, between the ultra-Orthodox haredi population and others, over issues such as the exemption from military service for this religious community and over women’s rights.   On Monday, October 28, veteran foreign correspondent Lawrence Malkin will discuss his new book, The War Within, at 1:30 p.m. at the Central Queens YM & YWHA.  

Co-authors Yuval Elizur & Lawrence Malkin have taken a hard look at the growing conflict between Israel’s secular to modern Orthodox citizens, on the one hand  -  and its growing community of ultra-Orthodox, on the other.   With roughly ten percent of Israel’s population, the high birth rate of the ultra-Orthodox has increased their numbers so that they now form a separate society within Israel, whose leaders can make and unmake governments.   

The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Sherri Fink’s talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

Last spring mass protests by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community drew thousands of men opposed to eliminating the long-standing exemption of the ultra-Orthodox from military service.  In recent years, a growing movement within Israel has protested the segregation of  - and other restrictions on - women within the ultra-Orthodox community.  Elizur and Malkin looked at these controversial issues and others such as welfare dependency, and private education among this rapidly growing segment of the religious population.   

Lawrence Malkin is an award-winning journalist, formerly foreign correspondent for Time magazine and The Associated Press.   Co-author Yuval Elizur is a sixth generation Israeli, former deputy editor for Israel’s largest daily newspaper, Ma’ariv, and Jerusalem correspondent for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. 

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.

Romney Doing Darn Best to Start Intifada No. 3

Laughable! Moronic! This is an insult to stupid people.... Oh, I can go on and on... What a moronic bunch of crap....

The Caucus: Romney Comments on Palestinians Draw Criticism

Mitt Romney's remarks at a fund-raiser suggesting cultural differences accounted for disparities between the per capita incomes of Israel and the Palestinians, have drawn criticism.

And Mr. Erekat is correct in what he is quoted as saying in this article. The comments are racist——putrid, racist filth. Disgraceful coming from a person who wants to be President of the United States. It's an insult to every American. What is this man even doing there?? It's fuckn' embarrassing!

Israeli Singer Rita Wins Iranian Fans

This is so cool....