June 12, 2014 - 14 Sivan 5774

Mrs. Miriam Lowenbraun a'h
The Shabbos Project: Keeping It Together
AJOP Rabbis Conference Scottsdale, AZ

Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh: My Personal Account From the Rabbis Conference

OUTREACH

The Persistence of "Identity"

Guy Matalon, Ph.D: Providing Pathways for the Perplexed

Why Is It So Hard to Convert to Judaism?

PHILANTHROPY/FUNDRAISING

Jewish New Teacher Project Receives $1.8m From Two Foundations

NORTH AMERICA

12 Ways the US Administration Has Failed Its Ally Israel

Congressional Dealings

MBTA Approves Pro-Palestinian Ads in Boston Subways

South Carolina Drivers Can Wear Their Love for Israel on Their Car

A Wilkes-Barre Matron's Thwarted Gift to Polish City's 'Poor Jews'

Jewish Prisoner in Alabama Asks for Transfer Over Kosher Food Fight

ISRAEL

Israel Vows Big Investment in World Jewry Project, Though Details Remain Fuzzy
NY Times Says Something Reasonable About Israel
Happiness Comes Cheap in Israel, New Study Finds
'Ruby' Has Non-Orthodox Seeing Red
Government Establishes Independent Company for European Aliyah

INTERNATIONAL

Spain Approves Citizenship Plan for Sephardi Jews

Greek Nazis Go Public

Palestinian Lecturer Resigns Over Auschwitz Trip

Fury Over Jean-Marie Le Pen's 'Antisemitic' Remark

Moroccan Berbers Set Up Antisemitism Watchdog

Ukraine's Jewish Leaders Celebrate Electoral Defeat of Far Right

Global Summit for Russian-Jewish Community Initiators Opens Today

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Celebrating a Chattanooga Family's Pre-Shavuot Conversion

Common Core and Day Schools

The Rebbe, From a Personal Angle

Can New Number Crunchers Predict Upcoming Genocides?

To View Our Archives of Past Newsletters

AJOP Board

RABBINIC AUTHORITIES

HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky

HaRav Yaakov Perlow

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Rabbi Ilan Feldman

Atlanta, GA

Rabbi Yaacov Haber

Jerusalem, Israel

Mr. Richard Horowitz

Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh

Northbrook, IL

Dr. David Lieberman

Lakewood, NJ

Rabbi Yitzchok Lowenbraun

National Director

Rabbi Shlomo Porter

Baltimore, MD

Mr. Jeff Schachter Esq.

Passaic, NJ

Mr. Frank Storch

Baltimore, MD

HaRav Michel Twerski

Milwaukee, WI

Mr. Jerry Wolasky

Baltimore, MD

ADVISORY BOARD

Mr. Mark Bane

Lawrence, NY

Mr. Jonathan Beren

Denver, CO

Dr. Robert Edelman

Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Avraham Edelstein

Jerusalem, Israel

Dr. Michael J. Elman

Baltimore, MD
Rabbi David Felsenthal
New York, NY

Mr. Howard Tzvi Friedman

Baltimore, MD

Mr. Joseph Friedman

Olney, MD
Mr. Harvey Hecker*

Toronto, ONT

Mr. Stephen Rosedale

Cincinnati, OH

Rabbi Simcha Scholar

Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Dovid Refson

Jerusalem, Israel

Mr Gary Torgow

Detroit, MI

Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD

Teaneck, NJ

*Deceased

Mrs. Miriam Lowenbraun a'h

Mrs. Miriam Lowenbraun, wife of Rabbi Yitzchok Lowenbraun and daughter of HaRav Shloime Twerski passed away on Sunday June 1. Please find articles and links about this extraordinary woman who impacted the lives of hundreds of people. Yehi zichra baruch.

A Wondrous Woman

A Letter to the Lowenbraun Family

Video of Hespedim from Funeral

Join us as we remember and honor the Shloshim and memory of Mrs. Miriam Lowenbraun a'h.

Thursday June 19, 2014
7:30 pm Mincha
7:45 pm Divrei Hesped
Delivered by Rabbi Mordechai Twerski, Rabbi Yitzchok Lowenbraun, Dr. Nosson Westreich and Rabbi Yosi Lowenbraun.
Followed by Maariv
Bnos Yisroel of Baltimore 6300 Park Heights Ave. Baltimore, MD 21215

The Shabbos Project : Keeping It Together The Shabbos Project is going international! This year it will take place on the 24-25 October, Parshat Noach. To bring The Shabbos Project to your city go to theshabbosproject.com Click Here to watch the official video

AJOP Rabbis Conference Scottsdale, AZ

On Wednesday and Thursday, February 19-20, AJOP, in conjunction with Ahavas Torah: The Scottsdale Torah Center hosted a 2 day conference for Shul Rabbanim of kiruv oriented shuls.

Attracting over 30 Rabbanim from diverse locations throughout the US and Canada, the conference aimed to give these individuals some much needed chizuk, as well as sessions pertinent to their unique roles. Presenters included HaRav Yaakov Hopfer, noted posek and Mara D'asrah of Shearith Israel Cong. in Baltimore, MD, Rabbi Ilan Feldman of Cong. Beth Jacob in Atlanta, GA and Rabbi Yaakov Meyer of Aish Denver.

Click Here for the full article and for photos of the conference

Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh: My Personal Account From the Rabbis Conference


Username: ajop Password: ajop613

The Persistence of "Identity"

An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

In 1994 Leon Wieseltier declared in the New Republic that identity was "an idea whose time has gone." Twenty years later the Jewish identity industry is still going strong. Continue Reading

Guy Matalon, Ph.D: Providing Pathways for the Perplexed
An Article from Hamodia

"I had read Aristotle, Plato, Socrates-all the non-Jewish philosophers-and they were fairly comprehensible", says Professor Guy Matalon, "but when studying the Kuzari or Moreh Nevuchim, I noticed that I didn't understand a thing." Continue Reading

Why Is It So Hard to Convert to Judaism?
An Article from The Forward

In February 2013, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue, as fancy and important a place as its name suggests, floated an intriguing idea.
Continue Reading

Jewish New Teacher Project Receives $1.8m From Two Foundations
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

To further support Jewish day school teachers and to retain them in the field, the Jim Joseph Foundation and The AVI CHAI Foundation have announced combined grants of nearly $1.8 million to the New Teacher Center for its Jewish New Teacher Project, an initiative that offers teacher induction, ongoing support and training, and mentorship opportunities for day school teachers. Continue Reading

12 Ways the US Administration Has Failed Its Ally Israel
An Article from The Times of Israel

Mere hours after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a government backed by the Islamic extremist Hamas group, the US State Department legitimized the arrangement, declaring that it would work with the new government because it "does not include members affiliated with Hamas."Continue Reading

Congressional Dealings
An Article from The Baltimore Jewish Times

The killing of a major pro-Israel bill in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week has ignited another round of finger pointing between Democratic and Republican senators, with both sides accusing the other of playing politics. Continue Reading

MBTA Approves Pro-Palestinian Ads in Boston Subway
An Article from Ynet News

"Does Israel want peace... or land?" the ads ask, calling on the US to end its support of "Israeli apartheid." Continue Reading

South Carolina Drivers Can Wear Their Love for Israel on Their Car
An Article from The Jewish Press

By an Act signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley on June 2 and effective immediately, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is permitted to issue to car owners in South Carolina special license plates.
Continue Reading

A Wilkes-Barre Matron's Thwarted Gift to Polish City's 'Poor Jews'
An Article from JTA

Like many small cities in the United States, the economically depressed Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is home to a dwindling Jewish community, JTA reported this week. Continue Reading

Jewish Prisoner in Alabama Asks for Transfer Over Kosher Food Fight
An Article from The Jewish Week

A Venezuelan Jew imprisoned in Alabama who sued the federal government demanding to be served kosher food is seeking a transfer to another prison. Continue Reading

Israel Vows Big Investment in World Jewry Project, Though Details Remain Fuzzy
An Article from JTA

Its leaders call it a "historic development," a "paradigm shift" and a "change in the relationship" between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
Continue Reading

NY Times Has Something Reasonable to Say About Israel
An Article from The New York Times

The recent collapse of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has sharpened tensions and put the two sides on a collision course. Continue Reading

Happiness Comes Cheap in Israel, New Study Finds
An Article from Israel Hayom

It costs less in Israel to be happy than anywhere else in the world, and Israelis are happier with their lives than people in other Western countries, according to a new tool from the Bloomberg news agency that measures the "price" of happiness. Continue Reading

Israel4

'Ruby' Has Non-Orthodox Seeing Red
An Article from The Jewish Week

The front-runner in Israel's presidential election has equated Reform Judaism with "idol worship" and refused to refer to Reform rabbis by their title. Continue Reading

Government Establishes Independent Company for European Aliyah
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

In an unprecedented move, the Government of Israel and the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption have established an independent company to encourage aliyah from Europe. Continue Reading

Spain Approves Citizenship Plan for Sephardic Jews
An Article from Israel Hayom

Spain's cabinet on Friday approved a bill allowing descendants of Jews forced into exile centuries ago the right to dual citizenship, but said applicants will have to take a Spanish culture test in addition to having their ancient ties to the nation vetted by experts. Continue Reading

Greek Nazis Go Public
An Article from The Guardian

t has been a bad week for democracy in Athens. All around this great Greek city, the politics of hate now lurk.

Palestinian Lecturer Resigns Over Auschwitz Trip
An Article from i24 News

Al-Quds University's professor Mohammed Dajani, who earlier this year organized the first group of Palestinian university students to Auschwitz death camp, has resigned from the university, Israel's daily Haaretz reported Sunday.

Fury Over Jean-Marie Le Pen's Antisemitic Remark
An Article from The Telegraph

An alleged anti-semitic outburst by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the far-right Front National, sparked widespread outrage on Sunday, even among leaders of his own party. Continue Reading

Pope Francis Leads Catholic Church in Pro-Jewish Direction

An Article from The Jerusalem Post

I strongly disagree with Caroline Glick's conclusion in her May 27 article that Pope Francis "is leading the Catholic Church in a distressingly anti-Jewish direction." Continue Reading

Moroccan Berbers Set Up Antisemitism Watchdog
An Article from JTA

A group of Moroccan Berbers launched an organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and to strengthening cultural ties with Israel.

Ukraine's Jewish Leaders Celebrate Electoral Defeat of Far Right
An Article from The Jewish Week

Jewish leaders in Ukraine expressed satisfaction with the poor showing of ultranationalist candidates in the country's presidential elections and the victory by oligarch Viktor Poroshenko. Continue Reading

Global Summit for Russian-Jewish Community Initiators Opens Today
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

Some 60 young Russian Jewish professionals from around the world will gather in suburban New York today for "Platforma-International Summit for RSJ Community Initiators," a three-day global meeting of Russian-Jewish community activists. Continue Reading

Celebrating a Chattanooga Family's Pre-Shavuot Conversion
An Article from JTA

Just in time for Shavuot, with its reading of the Book of Ruth about Judaism's first convert, a Tennessee family of 12's conversion to Judaism has prompted an outpouring of support from Brooklyn's haredi Orthodox community.

Common Core and Day Schools
An Article from The Baltimore Jewish Times

With the federally backed Common Core State Standards making waves in Maryland's public schools, local day schools - although private - may not be totally immune to the controversial changes.

The Rebbe, From a Personal Angle
An Article from The Jewish Week

Calling someone "larger than life" risks raising that person from the realm of the human to that of myth.

Can New Number Crunchers Predict Upcoming Genocides?

An Article from The Forward

Where will the world's next genocide take place? Up until now, the idea of predicting such an event with near certainty seemed like a grim pipe dream of somber policy wonks.

Please note: The views expressed in the articles featured in this newsletter reflect the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the thinking of the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals. AJOP serves to disseminate pertinent news to its subscribers.

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