The Ocean Avenue News - oceanavenuenews.comThe post ‘I Have Nothing’: Ethnic Armenians Face Dire Conditions Amid Mass … – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
The post After Armenian Exodus, Azerbaijanis Hope To Return To Nagorno-Karabakh – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
The post Против политика Дмитрия Гудкова возбудили уголовное дело о «фейках» об армии first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
Events tied to Muslim communities and Palestinian causes are being canceled due to security concerns and pressure from supporters of Israel.
In some cases, even events unrelated to the Israel-Gaza war are being scrapped if speakers don’t pass pro-Israel litmus tests — like a talk by the renowned writer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, about his memoir of growing up as a Vietnamese refugee in the U.S. That event was called off by 92NY (formerly the 92nd St. Y in Manhattan) because Nguyen was one of 750 people who signed a letter, published in The London Review of Books, calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and condemning both sides for killing civilians.
Meanwhile, signatures are being collected online to pressure a Sheraton hotel in Arizona to cancel a Nov. 18 meeting of the Council on American-Islamic Relations featuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan and a vocal critic of Israel. A Hilton hotel in Houston, Texas, has already canceled a conference planned there for Oct. 27-29 by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. The conference was apparently canceled in response to a campaign mounted by the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce.
The Palestinian rights group, on its website, accused the Hilton Houston Post Oak Hotel of “capitulating to external pressure from hate groups,” and labeled it “an act of ethnic, racial and religious discrimination” that violates the organization’s First Amendment rights.
Hilton and Sheraton did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Among those scheduled to speak at the Houston conference was author Nathan Thrall, who just published a book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, about the ordinary lives of Palestinians. The canceled talk in Houston is just one of a number of events on his book tour canceled since the Oct. 7 massacres by Hamas and Israel’s retributive attacks in Gaza.
Police in London canceled Thrall’s appearance there, citing security concerns; the literary nonprofit Writers Bloc canceled his Los Angeles talk, and B’nai Jeshurun, a progressive synagogue in Manhattan, also canceled his talk.“The thing that makes this especially outrageous is that this is a book of narrative nonfiction that sympathetically portrays both Jews and Palestinians living under Israeli rule,” Thrall said in an email to the Forward.
In explaining why Nguyen’s talk was scrapped, 92NY described itself as “a Jewish institution that has always welcomed people with diverse viewpoints to our stage.” But, the statement added: “Given the public comments by the invited author on Israel and this moment, we felt the responsible course of action was to postpone the event.” A 92NY spokeswoman, Carrie Oman, said in an email to the Forward that the event was postponed, not canceled.
Nguyen, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel, The Sympathizer, said on Instagram that he has “no regrets about anything I have said or done in regards to Palestine, Israel, or the occupation and war.” His talk was hastily moved to an independent bookstore, McNally Jackson, in Lower Manhattan.
The Frankfurt Book Fair, which ended Sunday in Germany, canceled an awards ceremony for Palestinian author Adania Shibli for her novel Minor Detail. The fair issued a statement that condemned Hamas, saying organizers wanted to “make Jewish and Israeli voices especially visible.” Other cancellations of arts events with Palestinian themes included a play in Paris, a concert in London, and film festivals in Boston and Rochester, New York.
But not every venue is shutting down potentially controversial events. Thrall’s schedule still includes talks at Harvard, Bard College, Yale Law School, the San Francisco JCC, the IKAR Jewish community in Los Angeles and Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn. In carefully worded online posts promoting Thrall’s talk there, Beth Elohim noted: “In the past weeks, we have grieved as Israelis and Palestinians continue to suffer incalculable losses.” This book, the shul added, “humanizes the struggle for Israel/Palestine.”
The post Conferences and cultural events with Palestinian ties are being canceled around the US and abroad appeared first on The Forward.
The post Conferences and cultural events with Palestinian ties are being canceled around the US and abroad first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, founded by an American Jew who hoped to prove that music could build bridges between feuding peoples, postponed its American tour this month on account of war.
But the chorus managed to perform for a U.S. audience anyway on Sunday, when The Kennedy Center, a stop on the planned tour, presented the group in a virtual concert. Arab Israeli singer and actress Mira Awad, a longtime supporter of the chorus, hosted the Zoom event, and interviewed Israeli singer Noa, who said she has been singing at the funerals of victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
“These days, when I cry, I cry for both of us,” said Noa, referring to Israelis and Palestinians. A recorded version of her song “There Must Be Another Way” played for viewers, as did the chorus’ “Reason to Love,” which calls for peace in Arabic, Hebrew and English.
Micah Hendler, 34, who lives in Washington, D.C. but makes frequent trips to Israel, founded the chorus 11 years ago. It now counts 30 singers and 75 alumni. Their voices, he said, are all the more important during war.
“What is happening right now is so deafening and so heart shattering, that we’re trying to harness music as a way for us to sustain our own abilities to not tear each other apart,” he said.
Hendler, who lives in Washington, D.C., has taken the chorus abroad several times — to the U.S., Switzerland, Japan and other countries. The New York Times has written about it. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert invited the chorus to perform.
He got the idea for the group when he was a camper at Seeds for Peace, which brings Jews and Palestinians to Maine each summer. If these Middle Easterners could befriend each other in New England, he thought, why not in Jerusalem?
“Singing in groups naturally creates community and builds trust, even on a psychological and neurological level,” he said. “We’re hardwired to trust people more when we sing together.”
The group, which last performed in the U.S. in January 2020, a few months before the pandemic hit, is now led by executive director Amer Abu Arqub, 27, a Palestinian who is also a chorus alumni.
Amer remembers the day when, at 14, he decided to audition and told Hendler: “Before I open my mouth and sing to you and you hear my horrible voice, I just want to tell you that I have no musical talents, no musical backgrounds. I’m not gifted with a good voice, but I’m a good man.” Hendler told him he was in.
Amer’s work with the chorus brings him immense joy, he said, and has taken him to places he never expected to visit. But he also said that, except for his parents, his Palestinian community has not accepted his work with the chorus and these days especially, it’s hard to talk about building bridges without courting intense criticism. The chorus doesn’t change his or anyone’s identity, he continued, “but it opens them up” to new ways of thinking.
Yaara, 23, an Israeli alumna of the chorus, played Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” on the harp during Sunday’s event. Raised in Sderot, a city which has sustained intense rocket fire, she declined to give her last name because she said she feared for her security. An art teacher who lost a childhood friend during the Oct. 7 attack, Yaara was in Jerusalem that morning, but left for the Dead Sea to support Israeli citizens evacuated there from the south.
Sunday’s virtual concert was a place for people to see “a side that is not taking sides,” she said.
Hendler said that chorus members tend to strengthen their commitment to it when violence flares and war looms. When the conflict flared in Jerusalem in 2014, he remembered, chorus kids would come to rehearsals and risk flouting curfews so they could sing together.
“There’s no world in which the Jerusalem Youth Chorus single handedly will end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — that’s like absurd,” he said. But he thinks it can help point the way for Israelis and Palestinians to think differently about each other.
As Yaara put it: “No matter what happens, I don’t see one side or the other. I see my friends.”
The post ‘I cry for both of us’: For a mixed Jewish-Palestinian Jerusalem choir, a canceled tour and shared grief appeared first on The Forward.
The post ‘I cry for both of us’: For a mixed Jewish-Palestinian Jerusalem choir, a canceled tour and shared grief first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
(JTA) — Michigan State University apologized after an image of Adolf Hitler was displayed on the school’s video board at its football game against the University of Michigan on Saturday.
The photo was shown during a pregame trivia quiz at Spartan Stadium that came from the YouTube page The Quiz Channel. The question asked where Hitler was born.
The incident comes at a time of heightened fear and tension in the American Jewish community, which is reeling from the violence in Israel and the shocking murder of a Jewish community leader in Detroit on Saturday.
“I am deeply sorry for the offensive image we displayed on the Spartan Stadium video boards Saturday night,” the university’s athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement on Sunday. “I apologize for the pain it has caused our community. Ultimately, it is my responsibility to make sure all those who interact with Spartan Athletics feel safe, valued and respected. The image was harmful to our communities, especially our Jewish community which is currently experiencing a rise in antisemitism, including acts of violence.”
Haller said an employee was suspended with pay while the department investigates the incident, and added that his staff did not fully review the video before it was shown on Saturday, “exposing a failure in our process.”
Michigan State spokesman Matt Larson told the Associated Press that “MSU will not be using the third-party source going forward and will implement stronger screening and approval procedures for all videoboard content in the future.”
After Michigan State’s use of the image circulated online, the owner of the YouTube page responded in a comment on the original video, saying that the school did not seek permission for its use.
“To be clear, I was unaware Michigan State University is using my content for stadium entertainment and this was unsolicited and unauthorised use,” Floris van Pallandt wrote. “A random history trivia question in an inappropriate setting.”
The university’s interim president, Teresa Woodruff, also apologized Sunday.
“I am deeply sorry for the image displayed at Spartan Stadium, which made many of our community feel alienated and unsafe,” she said, according to the AP. “It was unacceptable. I asked last evening for a full review of this university event and will take all necessary steps to align our messages and actions to our values.”
Haller added that he would reach out to local Jewish community groups so they can “hear directly from me regarding our failed responsibilities as well as our promise to do better.” He denounced antisemitism and said it was important that he work to re-earn the community’s trust.
Matthew Berry, a Jewish NBC Sports analyst with a wide social media following, was one of many to react to the incident over the weekend.
“In a world where Jewish people are being killed and tortured every single day Michigan State puts a picture of Hitler on its massive scoreboard as a wacky trivia answer like he’s a movie star or something. Unbelievable,” Berry wrote to his 1.1 million followers on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In a later post, Berry also noted that the employee allegedly behind the video was suspended with pay. “In almost any other job, posting a photo of Hitler in a lighthearted way would get you immediately fired. At Michigan State you get a paid vacation. Unreal,” Berry wrote.
Michigan State lost the game 49-0.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Michigan State University says it is ‘deeply sorry’ for showing Hitler on screen at football game appeared first on The Forward.
The post Michigan State University says it is ‘deeply sorry’ for showing Hitler on screen at football game first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
The U.S. State Department approved three potential arms sales to the United Kingdom, Finland and Lithuania, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The State Department backed a potential sale of 3,000 joint air-to-ground missiles to the United Kingdom worth $957.4 million, according to a statement. Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) would be the principal contractor for the sale.
The department approved a potential sale to Finland of 150 advanced anti-radiation guided missiles worth $500 million, according to separate Pentagon statement on Monday. Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) would be the principal contractor for the transaction with Finland.
The Pentagon also announced on Monday that the State Department has approved a potential sale of 36 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles to Lithuania with Raytheon as the principal contractor.
The post US State Department approves potential missiles sales to UK, Finland, Lithuania – Pentagon first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met on Monday in Iran, their first talks since Azerbaijan secured control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Russia saying the main issue had been resolved pending further work on a peace treaty.
The meeting in the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive into the disputed territory also took place against the background of rising tensions in the Middle East.
“The conflict has, on the whole, been settled. Both sides agree that Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan and that was the main issue to be settled,” Russia’s Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying in Tehran.
“Of course, practical steps remain for a full normalisation of relations, particularly preparations for a peace treaty, the demarcation of borders and the establishment of economic transport links without impediment.”
Ministers from Iran and Turkey, a key ally of Azerbaijan, also attended. A joint statement said participants agreed to respect the territorial integrity of countries in the region.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said before the meeting that the talks represented a “historic opportunity…. The war in South Caucasus has ended, and it is time for peace and cooperation.”
“The presence of outsiders in the region will not only not solve any problems but will also complicate the situation further,” he added, without elaborating.
That was an implicit reference to the United States and the European Union, whose involvement in the search for a peace agreement has particularly annoyed Russia.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, quoted by state media, said Tehran “was ready to assist in resolving the existing disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia”.
Russia regards itself as the security guarantor between Azerbaijan and Armenia – both former Soviet republics – but the demands and distractions of its war in Ukraine have led to a weakening of its influence in the South Caucasus.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a statement posted on the X social media platform, said Ankara hoped the talks would “give impetus to normalisation and peace processes”.
In Paris, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France was helping improve Armenia’s air defence capacity with the sale of three radars and an agreement on the future delivery of Mistral anti-air missiles.
Nagorno-Karabakh is viewed internationally as part of Azerbaijan but had been controlled by breakaway ethnic Armenians since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Azerbaijan’s recapture of Karabakh has prompted the exodus of most of the region’s 120,000 ethnic Armenians. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing, while Azerbaijan said the Armenians were welcome to return.
Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan have fought two wars over three decades and have failed to seal a peace deal despite long-running efforts by the United States, EU and Russia.
The post Iran hosts Armenia-Azerbaijan talks, Russia says main issue resolved in Nagorno-Karabakh first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.
The scheme could expand access to education by reaching students who otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t apply. Universities benefit, too, by admitting more students as the number of applications drops nationwide.
Jessica Dickler has more for CNBC. (October 2023)
The post ‘Guaranteed Admission’ Could Expand College Access first appeared on The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com.