Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,

Philadelphia public schools will be embracing the “Black Lives Matter” movement beginning Monday in an ad-hoc campaign organized by a group of teachers affiliated with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. ZOA has written to School Reform Commission members, other state and local school officials, Gov. Wolf and Mayor Kenney asking that “Black Lives Matter Action Week” be cancelled because it violates School District policies that require that course content and teaching methods in the classroom be controlled by the SRC/Board of Education; that “Black Lives Matter” is a political movement and therefore has no place in the classroom; and because “Black Lives Matter” is affiliated with the “Movement 4 Black Lives,” which has adopted a platform replete with lies about Israel and is both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.

Teachers and administrators have been encouraged to wear “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts and buttons, and to use a “Black Lives Matter” curriculum and materials in classrooms during the week. We are concerned that the school could become a hostile environment for Jewish students and teachers because of the “Movement 4 Black Lives” positions on Israel. The group claims that Israel is committing “genocide” against Palestinian Arabs, and it is demanding an end to U.S. aid for Israel.

Please see our letter to the School Reform Commission elsewhere in this newsletter. Our letter is also the subject of a Jewish Exponent article below. Greater Philadelphia ZOA Executive Director Steve Feldman was a guest on “The Dom Giordano Show” on 1210 AM WPHT yesterday to discuss our objections.

 

We congratulate President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on their inauguration today.

ZOA and PJTN Action Alert: Please Call Your Senator To Support Trump’s Pro-Israel Nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem

Dear Friends of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN):

Please call your U.S. Senator today (or as soon as you can) at 202 224-3121 and urge him or her: (1) to confirm President-elect Trump’s pro-Israel nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and (2) to support moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem!

Please also share this with your friends and ask them to call!

We need a strong pro-Israel U.S. Ambassador to Israel to repair the damage done to U.S.-Israel relations in recent years.David Friedman is the right choice!

Your calls are very important!  Anti-Israel groups are mounting major telephone campaigns to stop President-elect Trump’s nominee David Friedman from being confirmed by the Senate!

We need a strong pro-Israel U.S. Ambassador to Israel to repair the damage done to U.S.-Israel relations in recent years.   David Friedman is the right choice!   Mr. Friedman is one of America’s leading attorneys, speaks fluent Hebrew, has made a life-long extensive study of Middle East issues, and shares the pro-Israel views of the American public.  Mr. Friedman understands the tragic Arab/radical Islamic war against Israel, Israel’s defense needs, the dangers Israel faces and how Israel is on the front lines of our joint efforts to stop radical Islamist terrorism.  He appreciates the political, historic, legal, and religious rights of the Jewish people to Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem – and Israel’s record of protecting religious freedom and the rights to people of every faith to access their holy sites, which is unique in the Middle East.  Mr. Friedman will restore and strengthen the vital U.S.-Israel alliance, benefitting all of us, and the cause of real peace.   Please tell your Senator to vote to confirm President-elect Trump’s nominee, David Friedman as U.S. Ambassador to Israel!

Please also ask your Senator to support moving the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s 3,000-year-old capital, Jerusalem!  Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel.  Israel’s Knesset and government offices are in Jerusalem.  The U.S. Embassy is in the capital of every other nation with which we have diplomatic ties – except our dear ally Israel.  That’s discrimination!  Jerusalem is mentioned 700 times in the Torah/Bible.  (Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Koran.)  It’s time to move the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s capital!

Thank you for taking the time to call your Senator and for all your help and dedication!

ZOA Calls on Philadelphia School Officials to Prohibit “Black Lives Matter Action Week”

Our Letter to School District, Education Officials:

 

Please Participate

Time Is Running Out to Get Us Your Letters!

Note: We have 15 schools from throughout our region (from as far away as York, PA and Scranton as well as South Jersey) that have agreed to participate in this project. Is your school participating? Please ask your school to participate if they are not already. We are also looking for letters and cards from individual Jewish youth.

We have already received letters from students from Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy; Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom in Wyomissing, PA; Temple Beth Israel in York, PA; Adath Jeshurun/Beth Sholom in Elkins Park, PA; Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, PA; and Foxman Torah Institute-Mesivta Bais Dovid in Cherry Hill, N.J.; and several other schools  – thank you!

Greater Philadelphia ZOA needs volunteers to do Internet research and/or make calls.

These tasks can be done from your home or office. These are not fundraising calls.

If you have some time and talent you can lend us, please call our Office. Thank you.

It is our volunteers who make all of our activities successful.

If you are already a member, please make sure your annual dues are up-to-date. If you are not sure, contact us and we will check and let you know. It may be time to renew your membership. Please resolve to become more active in Greater Philadelphia ZOA. This is your organization.
You can also invite your friends or relatives to join Philadelphia ZOA, and additionally, you can purchase a gift membership for a loved one.
You can join or renew online by clicking the donate/join tab at the top of the page. Or you can call us at: 610-660-9466.
We value each and every member!

 

Upcoming Events of Interest:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ZOA Opposes Black Lives Matter Week in Philly Schools

ByLiz Spikol

On Jan. 18, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) announced, via press release, that it was calling on the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC) to prohibit a proposed Black Lives Matter (BLM) week that is being organized by the Racial Justice Committee of the Caucus of Working Educators — a Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union caucus.

Each day of the planned week, which is slated to start Jan. 23, takes on different themes from the 13 principles of the Black Lives Matter movement: diversity, restorative justice, black women, black villages, globalism, empathy, loving engagement, queer affirming, intergenerational, collective value, transgender affirming, unapologetically black and black families.

“The lessons that teachers are planning are grounded in these topics, which focus on lifting up the experience of the black community and dialogue and conversation about current events related to the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Shira Cohen, a Jewish math teacher at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences, and one of the week’s organizers. “We are really looking forward to the fact that these 13 principles are empowering of communities in and beyond Philadelphia, and that our students will have the opportunity to think deeply about social justice and social movements.”

Though the programming is not mandatory, ZOA believes it violates several Philadelphia School District policies.

According to a ZOA letter sent to the SRC — which was signed by ZOA National President Mort Klein, ZOA Center for Law and Justice Director Susan B. Tuchman, Greater Philadelphia ZOA Executive Director Steve Feldman and ZOA Greater Philadelphia Co-President Lee Bender — there are three major reasons that the SRC should prohibit schools from participating in the BLM week.

First, ZOA contends that by recommending this curriculum, the Caucus is “usurping your authority to regulate, supervise, and approve what is taught and how it is taught” and “violate[s] District policies requiring the SRC to develop, evaluate and approve all curriculum materials.”

Secondly, ZOA contends that the materials violate school district policies by bringing politics into the classroom.

“Because the Black Lives Matter movement is political,” the letter writers say, “its principles, curriculum resources, and lesson plans cannot be used in the school district’s classrooms … District policies specially prohibit political activities on school property and on school time.”

ZOA’s third objection pertains to the Invest-Divest section of the platform of the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition affiliated with the BLM movement.

The section of the platform, which endorses BDS, reads, in part: “The US justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people. The US requires Israel to use 75 percent of all the military aid it receives to buy US-made arms. … The results of this policy are twofold: it not only diverts much needed funding from domestic education and social programs, but it makes US citizens complicit in the abuses committed by the Israeli government. Israel is an apartheid state with over 50 laws on the books that sanction discrimination against the Palestinian people.”

That platform, ZOA says, “falsely and outrageously claims that the Israeli government is committing ‘genocide’ against the Palestinian Arab people, with the complicity of the U.S.” and “falsely and outrageously identifies Israel — where all people have equal rights — as an apartheid state.”

In response to the ZOA letter, Lee Whack, spokesman for the School District of Philadelphia, said, “Black Lives Matter Week, an effort by the Caucus of Working Educators, is not sponsored by the School District of Philadelphia, nor is it part of our curriculum. However, the District encourages teachers to responsibly engage students around pertinent issues to develop critical thinking skills and a respect for the exchange of ideas.

“The District regularly encourages schools to look to current event topics for appropriate teaching content that is also aligned with grade-appropriate standards.”

The curricular suggestions are divided by age group. Some of the lesson plans are based on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project, while others highlight featured organizations, such as the Museum of African Diaspora, or introduce students to historical figures, such as gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.

“There is nothing in the curriculum that is propelling anti-Semitism at all,” said Cohen, who added that there were many Jewish people involved in putting the week’s activities together. “What we’re really focusing on is … empowerment and liberation for all of the diverse communities of African-American people, including for Jewish people who are African-American. I am sure there is not anybody teaching anti-Semitism in our process. We want Black Lives Matter to include people of all religious and ethnic identities, including Jews of color.”

Still, Greater Philadelphia ZOA Executive Director Steve Feldman worries that students could see a teacher wearing a BLM t-shirt and then go online and find the anti-Israel information on the Movement for Black Lives website.

“Is it possible for a teacher or student who has been told about Black Lives Matter to go exploring and get to this website and see this stuff and be told terrible lies about Israel?” Feldman asked rhetorically over the phone yesterday. “Could a teacher go a little beyond the suggested curriculum and introduce these things to students? There’s nothing to stop a teacher from looking a little further and coming across this other stuff.”

“No one is denigrating any of the positive elements or aspects of Black Lives Matter,” Feldman added.

A different local Jewish group — the pro-BDS Jewish Voice for Peace-Philadelphia — endorses the Caucus’ initiative.

“Jewish Voice for Peace-Philadelphia joins the majority of progressive American Jews, and particularly the younger generation, in supporting Black Lives Matter and calling for an end to political and economic systems that disproportionately harm people of color,” JVP’s Matt Berkman said. “We … support the efforts of Philadelphia public school teachers to educate students about the inequalities that affect their communities and their city.”

The week’s programming also includes activities that take place after the school day ends.

On Jan. 25, for instance, there will be a citywide community meeting at City Hall to discuss fostering better communication between families and schools. The conversation will be co-facilitated by Parents United, the organization co-founded by City Council member Helen Gym.

On Jan. 27, there will be a panel discussion titled “Demystify Black Women and Black Girls: Misogyny, Stigma and Power.”

“The events happening at night highlight several of these [BLM] principles,” said Cohen, “The vision for Collective Value specifically highlights this: ‘We are guided by the fact all black lives, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status or location.’”

Asked, via email, if ZOA would oppose these events that take place outside of school, Feldman responded, “ZOA does not object to the two examples that you cited in your email.”

Contact: lspikol@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0747

“Occupied” Territories?: Hebrew Origins of Palestinian Arab Towns in Judea-Samaria

By LEE BENDER

With the approval of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which declares as illegal any Israeli presence beyond the 1967 “Green Line” — including the Old City of Jerusalem and its Temple Mount (Judaism’s holiest site) and the Mount of Olives  cemetery where Jews have been burying their dead for more than 3,000 years– and an earlier UNESCO resolution disassociating the Jewish People from Jerusalem and other holy sites, one wonders how the U.N. and UNESCO ambassadors involved in these decisions can keep a straight face.
Given the recorded history of that land from the Bible and other recognized sources, a well-known phrase from Shakespeare is instructive: “What’s in a name?” When it comes to Eretz Israel, plenty. The place-names verify the absurdity of accusations that Jews are colonizers, strangers to this land and “occupiers of” these areas.
It is equally absurd to claim that the Arabs are the indigenous peoples of Israel, because virtually all the place-names used by local Arabs are non-Arabic in origin, and derived either from biblical Hebrew names or from later Greek or Roman names.
The Romans renamed the entire region Syria-Palestina (named for the Philistines and Assyrians) after they destroyed the Second Temple so as to erase its Jewish roots. This was later shortened to Palestina and it eventually became known as Palestine. As noted scholar Daniel Pipes points out: “Palestine (Arabic: Filastin) as a political unit only came into use as a Zionist triumph when imposed by the British occupiers following the issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1917. Palestinians (Arabic: Filastiniyun) also came into use only in the twentieth century.” (“Is There A Palestinian People? Can It Be Defeated?” 1-10-17, Middle East Forum blog).
The region that the international community commonly and reflexively refers to as the “West Bank” was known for three millennia as Judea and Samaria (in Hebrew, Yehuda and Shomron). Indeed, Jews derive the very name of their religion and peoplehood from the name Yehuda, who was the fourth son of Jacob and whose tribe settled in that region. Yet, these ancient names have not been exclusively used by Jewish “settlers.” In fact, the U.N. itself, in General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947), referred to the region as Judea and Samaria, as do all maps published before 1948.
It was only in 1950 that Jordan renamed it “West Bank” after illegally occupying the territory in the armistice following Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. The Jordanian name change distinguished the area from the rest of Jordan and “West Bank” also hid the Jewish connection. The Israelis drove the attacking Jordanians out of the territory in 1967.
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Israel’s second president, was a scholar who wrote the book The Peoples of Our Land in 1932. In the book he stated that west of the Jordan River, 277 villages and sites- almost two-thirds of all sites-  had names that were similar to or the same as Jewish villages on the same sites during Second Temple times.
Moreover, one-quarter of the 584 Arab localities in Israel and beyond the Green Line have ancient Biblical names. For example, Sakhnin was a Jewish town during the Talmudic era, and Beit Lehem is the Hebrew name for the biblical city of Bethlehem. (“Ancient Place Names in Israel,” by Daniela Santus, in Proceedings of the Conference, The Cultural Turn in Geography, 18-20th of September 2003 – Gorizia Campus, Part II: Landscape Construction and Cultural Identity)
Hebron (Arabic: al-Khalil; Hebrew: Chevron, which means friend), located in the Judean Mountains, is the second largest city under Palestinian Arab control after Gaza and it is one of the four Jewish holy cities (the others: Jerusalem, Sefat, Tiberius). Most significantly it contains Judaism’s second most holy site, the Cave of Machpelah, purchased by Abraham. It is here that Judaism’s Patriarchs and three of its Matriarchs are buried. (JewishVirtuallibrary.org). Another large Palestinian Arab city, Nablus, whose  Hebrew name is Shechem, is derived from the Greek, Neopolis.
Other examples of Arab towns with names derived from the Hebrew Bible: Beit Jalla is the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, Jenin was Ein Ganim, Silwan was Shiloach, Selum was Shilo (one of the first capitals of ancient Israel), Tequa is Tekoa (the Prophet Amos’s hometown), Anata was Anatot (the Prophet Jeremiah’s hometown), Batir was Beitar,  Beitin was Beit El (as named by Jacob himself), Jaba was Geva, Mukhmas is Michmash (King Saul’s fortress), and El-Jib was Giv’on (where the sun stood still).
According to Tsvi Misinai, author of Brother Shall Not Lift Sword Against Brother, many of the Arab villages and towns in the area have names that are not only not Arabic, but also rarely appear in other Arab lands. Among such names are Kafr Yasif, Kafr Kana, Kafr yatta, Kafr Manda, Kaft Samia and others.
A closer examination reveals an additional irony: Most Arab countries bordering Israel derive their names from the Hebrew Bible.  Lebanon: Levanon, means white in Hebrew, referring to the snow cover of the surrounding mountains. Syria: Siryon, in the Bible, is the alternate name for Mount Hermon. Jordan/River Jordan (Yarden in Hebrew) takes its name from the Israelite tribe of Dan, and means “descends from Dan.”  Gaza, Azza in Hebrew, is mentioned in Genesis and the Book of Judges with the Samson narrative.
So, who is occupying whose territory, who has historical gravitas? Just remember: If you forfeit the language, you forfeit our heritage and history. Make the media, academia and politicians be honest, accurate and accountable.

Lee Bender is the co-author of Pressing Israel: Media Bias Exposed From A-Z (Pavilion Press, 2012) and co-developer of the website and mobile app, www.factsonIsrael.com. He is co-president of the Zionist Organization of America- Philadelphia. Steve Feldman, who is Executive Director of Greater Philadelphia ZOA, contributed to this article.