Other than the headline over this editorial, we do not believe that any of the following news items that crossed our desk this week require further comment, as they speak for themselves.
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According to Israel Hayom, published by Dr. Miriam Adelson, she wondered why Donald Trump has not enjoyed higher support among American Jews than he has. Then she went on to say:
“Scholars of the Bible will no doubt note the heroes, sages and prophets of antiquity who were similarly spurned by the very people they came to raise up. . . . Would it be too much to pray for a day when the Bible gets a ‘Book of Trump,’ much like it has a ‘Book of Esther’ . . . ?”
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Richard Zimler wrote a bestseller, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, in 1996. He was born in the US, lives in Portugal, and says he has no ties to Israel. His new novel, however, is set 2,000 years ago in ancient Israel, and is entitled, The Gospel According to Lazarus. It was published in the the United Kingdom last April.
Two British cultural organizations strongly considered hosting literary events with Zimler. His publicist reports that the two organizations showed enthusiasm for hosting the events. However, the publicist reports, “They asked me if you [Zimler] were Jewish, and the moment I said you were, they lost all interest.”
Zimler wrote in the Guardian: “Are there Jews — scientists, engineers and professors, for example — who are denied jobs in the UK or lose contracts because of prejudice? Five or 10 years ago, I’d have said it was highly improbable. After my recent experience…I’d say it was entirely possible.
“If you fail to be welcoming to Jewish writers and artists because you fear a backlash, then your cowardice makes it possible for the haters to have their way — to spread their irrational dislike of Jews and making shunning them seem acceptable.”
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The Whiteville Central School District school district in New York has recalled its yearbook. The district is 98.9% white. A history teacher wrote in the yearbook, in response to a question as to who his favorite person in history is:
“Adolf Hitler, who did many great things for Germany and their youth before the infamous Holocaust . . . Adolf was outed and faced many hardships early in life which a lot of people can relate to. Adolf is arguably the greatest public speaker in the history of the world. Adolf made many great strides to make Germany a world super power.”
This was the reaction of Superintendent Laurie Sanders to the teacher’s answer in the yearbook:
“ . . . after the yearbooks were distributed several errors and oversights were found, including our discovery that a statement from one of our new teachers was incomplete, resulting in the description of a historical figure being mistakenly taken out of context. . . . ”
Reportedly, no action will be taken against the teacher.
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In Holland, a rapper named Anne van der Does chose the stage name, “Anne Frank.” Earlier, she wrote: “Anne Frank died of typhus so she was never murdered,” and, “I’m Anne Frank and I just rapped about freeing Palestine. It can be done.”
Copyright © 2019 by the Intermountain Jewish News
