Pushback Against Anti-Semitism
Hundreds rally against anti-Jewish coverage by BBC
As many as 250 Britons stood outside of the headquarters of the publicly funded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London on Monday night to demand accountability for anti-Jewish news coverage. They chanted “BBC, where the proof? BBC, tell the truth!” in response to an on-air report during Chanukah about an attack on a bus full of Jewish teens in Central London. According to Campaign Against Antisemitism, the BBC reported that racial slurs against Muslims were made by young riders.
“This incident is one of many in which the BBC has victim-blamed Jewish people for anti-Semitism, downplayed racism towards Jews, platformed anti-Semites and fueled anti-Semitism in Britain,” the group said in announcing the event. (JNS)
11 BDS Measures Passed on Campuses this Year
In the last academic year, pro-Israel college students have felt vilified and ostracized as anti-Israel and anti-Zionism sentiment proliferates at schools nationwide, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League.
Findings included in “The Anti-Israel Movement on U.S. Campuses, 2020-2021,” identify the campus anti-Israel movement as being led by student groups and certain professors. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) continue to be two of the most influential anti-Israel campus groups, allied often with like-minded organizations such as Young Democratic Socialists of America, Palestinian Youth Movement and American Muslims for Palestine.
Seventeen colleges brought BDS measures up for a vote by the student government in 2020-21, and 11 have passed them. (JNS)
Statistic of the Week
How Many Eastern Jerusalem Arabs Prefer Israeli Rule? 93%
Ninety-three percent of the Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem prefer living under Israeli rule, according to a new poll by the Palestine News Network. The survey offered the choice between ongoing Israeli rule of the city or the transfer of rule to the Palestinian Authority. Of the 1,200 Arab residents queried, 1,116 said that they preferred the former, while 84 answered that they would prefer the latter, though also said that they would refuse to give up their Israeli identity cards. (JNS)
Kiddush Hashem of the Week
Gaza Boy Becomes 6,000th Child Saved by Israeli Group
Mazen, an 11-year-old boy from the Gaza Strip, this month became the 6,000th child saved by the Israeli humanitarian organization Save a Child’s Heart (SACH), with support from the German foundation Ein Herz für Kinder.
Shortly after Mazen was born, doctors in Gaza diagnosed him with a complicated congenital heart condition that would require multiple medical procedures. As Mazen grew older, he began having difficulty breathing. To survive, he needed emergency surgery. In Israel, Mazen was treated at the SACH International Pediatric Cardiac Care Center at the new Sylvan Adams Children’s Hospital at Wolfson Medical Center.
The mission of Save a Child’s Heart is to improve pediatric cardiac care in developing countries around the world through surgery, medical missions and medical training. SACH has saved the lives of 6,000 children from 63 countries – 50 percent of whom are Palestinian children from Gaza and the West Bank. (Israel HaYom)
Mitzvah of the Week
#TefillinAgainstTerror
>On November 21, Jewish tour guide Eli Kay, 25, grabbed his tefillin bag and headed to the Kotel to daven. He never made it – a Hamas affiliated terrorist shot him to death. In South Africa, where Kay lived before making aliyah, three people who knew him decided to do something about this tragedy. The #TefillinAgainstTerror campaign was launched by Michael Kransdorff, Rabbi Ari Shishler and Rabbi Eitan Ash. In Kay’s memory and as a stand against terrorism, the campaign is inviting Jews to put on tefillin and post the pic with the hashtag #TefillinAgainstTerror on:
Facebook: @TefillinAgainstTerror
Instagram: @TefillinAgainstTerror
Twitter: @TefillinforEli
Who We Are Davening For
The Great Neck and Five Towns Jewish communities were shocked by the car accident that occurred on Motzai Shabbos in Woodmere. A drunk driver struck the car of Miriam Meltser, who was driving her daughter and three friends home from their camp reunion. Tragically, one girl was killed, Liel Namdar a”h. May her family be comforted. Please be mispalel for Miriam bas Ina Pesya Yocheved who is in critical condition.
