Republican Jewish Coalition Candidates Forum 9/20

The Pennsylvania/South Jersey Region of the Republican Jewish Coalition invites you to a Philadelphia Republican Candidate Forum. 
Some of the confirmed guests include: Karen Brown, Candidate for Mayor; Al Schmidt, Candidate for City Commissioner; David Oh, Candidate for City Council (At-Large) 
The event will be held on Tuesday, September 20 from 6:30-8:30 PM at Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Northeast 9461 Roosevelt Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19114
Desserts and refreshments will be provided.  The event is FREE for current members and $20 for e-Team and non-members. 
You must become an e-Team member to attend this event. The e-Team is the RJC e-mail list and is free to join. 
Please contact the RJC office to RSVP at 610-667-1263 or PASNJ@rjchq.org if you wish to attend or have any questions about joining the RJC. 
The RJC looks forward to seeing you at this event 
Leadership opportunities begin at $1000 Pennsylvania/South Jersey individual memberships are $100 Pennsylvania/South Jersey couple memberships are $150 Student memberships are $18 
A candidate's appearance at an RJC event does not constitute an endorsement by the RJC.

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Giordano To Receive Hecht Award; Tickets Available

A special announcement from the Philadelphia District of the Zionist Organization of American:

The Philadelphia District of the Zionist Organization of America, a non-profit group that concentrates on education, advocacy and outreach on behalf of Israel and a strong and mutually beneficial U.S.-Israel relationship, will honor 1210 AM WPHT talk-radio host Dom Giordano at Philadelphia ZOA’s first Tribute Gala in many years on Thursday, Sept. 8, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Hilton on City Avenue. Tickets are on sale now at http://zoaphiladelphia2011.eventbrite.com/

We are giving Dom the prestigious Ben Hecht Award – the first time this award has been presented beyond New York. For more on Hecht, who was a screenwriter, patriot and Zionist, see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372942/ See more at Wikipedia about Hecht’s patriotism, civil rights work and efforts to help Jews: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hecht#Civil_rights_activism

We will also honor Rabbi Fred Kazan with our Guardian of Israel Award. Rabbi Kazan is religious leader of Historic Congregation Kesher Israel in Society Hill, and Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Adath Israel in Merion.

The VIP reception will include a kosher dinner buffet and open bar. Following that will be the award presentations and speeches, plus keynote speaker Jonathan Tobin of Commentary magazine and remarks by ZOA National President Morton Klein. Gary Erlbaum will be the emcee. Following that there will be a dessert reception.

ZOA is a great organization and we strongly support this event. Tell your friends about it. Put a group together. Be sure to attend!

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Is Obama Losing Groud With Jewish Dems?

Could President Obama be losing ground with traditionally Democrat Jews?
For decades the Democrat Party has pretty much taken the Jewish vote for granted. And, why not? Jews have pretty much consistently supported the liberal line and voted Democrat. They were one of the keys to Obama's victory in 2008.
True, George W. Bush made some inroads with Jews in 2000 and 2004 and Karl Rove charted what appeared to be the first stages of a sound strategy to peel off thin slices of the Jewish vote -- just enough to begin to make a difference.
While many Jewish voters preferred Hillary in 2008, they fell in line behind Obama despite their doubts about his position on Israel. The economy played a key role in '08 and there was the ever-present factor of liberal guilt as Obama sought to be the first African-American president.
But now, some Jewish voters (enough to give Dems concern) are expressing misgivings and even threatening to bolt.
Here are some excerpts from a story at Politico:

“There’s an inclination in the community to not trust this president’s gut feel on Israel and every time he sets out on a path that’s troubling you do get this ‘ouch’ reaction from the Jewish Community because they’re distrustful of him,” said the president of a major national Jewish organization, who declined to be quoted by name to avoid endangering his ties to the White House. . .
When Obama was running, there was a lot of concern among the guys in my group at shul, who are all late-30s to mid-40s, who I hang out with and daven with and go to dinner with, about Obama,” recalled Scott Matasar, a Cleveland lawyer who’s active in Jewish organizations.Matasar remembers his friends’ worries over whether Obama was “going to be OK for Israel.”. . .
Now Matasar says he’s appalled by Obama’s “rookie mistakes and bumbling” and the reported marginalization of a veteran peace negotiator, Dennis Ross, in favor of aides who back a tougher line on Netanyahu.. . .
“He’d been very ham-handed in the way he presented [the 1967 border announcement] and the way he sprung this on Netanyahu,” Matasar said.

Click here to read more.

BTW: The president is in Philadelphia today for a Big Fundraiser and word is it's getting harder and harder to convince major Jewish allies to write big checks for Obama's campaign. Will any of this make a real difference in the end? Stay tuned.

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NMAJH In Philly Open On July 4

Normally closed on Mondays, the National Museum of American Jewish History will be open on July 4  to participate in the city of Philadelphia's Welcome America! programs and allow visitors to the Museum to explore how the Jewish experience is intertwined with American history.

Special self-guided tours exploring Revolutionary War-era artifacts, docent presentations of a letter written by George Washington, and spectacular views of Independence Mall are among the family-friendly activities on tap for that day. The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Visitors who join the Museum on July 4 will receive a Museum branded t-shirt in addition to other benefits members receive.

July 4 Museum activities and events include:

Showings throughout the day of the four-minute film,"We have the world to begin againe...," made for the Museum by Emmy-award winning director David Grubin.

In conjunction with the film, Museum docents will share the motivation behind a letter President Washington wrote to the Jewish community expressing his commitment to religious liberty in America.

All visitors will be given a booklet to assist them in exploring artifacts that help to tell the story of Jews and the American Revolution, along with questions to inspire family discussions. On the 5th floor, where families can sit and relax, children will be given crayons to color the illustrations and do the puzzles in the booklet.

Kosher hot dogs and other refreshments will be for sale on the Sidney and Caroline Kimmel Plaza.

Lunch and snacks will be for sale on the Museum's 5th floor. The floor includes the only view in the city of Independence Mall icons Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, the President's House and the National Constitution Center. They can be seen from the Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace which is generally closed to the public.

Customers who make purchases of $50 or more in the Museum Store will receive a free map of the United States, published in 1913, that has the names of the states in Yiddish and English,in the "Guide to the United States for the Jewish Immigrant."

More information about July 4 activities at the Museum will be posted shortly on the Museum's website.

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Video: The Truth About Israel's Borders

This excellent video, produced by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs explains why President Obama's ill-advised plan to return Israel to its "1967 borders" is a prescription for disaster.
Visit the JCPA and/or go to the video on You Tube and share it with friends.
The truth is more powerful than the wishful nonsense being propagated by liberals and other so-called "do-gooders" in the name of peace.

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Join Pro Israel Rally In Philly Friday!

BE THERE TO SUPPORT ISRAEL!

When: (Tomorrow) Friday, May 27, 12 noon-1 PM
Where: Across from Israeli Consulate, 19th and JFK Boulevard,
Philadelphia

Objective: Stand with Israel. Bring appropriate signs.

Sponsored by Philadelphia ZOA and co-sponsored by the Independence Hall Tea Party Association.

Free and open to all. Please let others know about this important event and encourage them to attend.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Israelis Demonstrate Against Obama

President Obama has been trying to backtrack from his controversial remarks regarding Israel and the Mideast peace process but it isn't working
It isn't working here in the US and it certainly isn't working in Israel.
This kind of thing seems to happen all the time with Obama -- he makes out-of-the-mainstream, provocative, even controversial remarks and then tries to back away.
But here's the bottom line: Many of his view really ARE rooted in radical beliefs and policies.
So, while he doesn't always want to reveal these fringe underpinnings, they eventually emerge. The funny thing about the latest go round is that it came on the heels of what was considered an Obama foreign policy triumph -- the killing of Osama bin Laden.
So, the big step forward in foreign policy was followed by two steps backward: The Israel inmbrogiio; the near-abandonment of one of our more fearless and most trusted allies.
Anyway, back in Israel, people are definately not amused.
Here's an excerpt from a report in YNet News:

While Barack Obama presented the mild version of his Mideast speech before a Jewish audience in Washington, hundreds of activists gathered across from the US embassy in Tel Aviv in protest of the American president's foreign policy.
Roughly 300 people took part in the demonstration, which was organized by My Israel, a national Zionist movement. They carried rope in their hands and around their necks, chanting: "Obama, Israel won't commit suicide." It was their response to the principles presented by Obama on Thursday, which lead to a reported rift between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It seems like Obama cannot differentiate between allies and enemies," said Rafi Trablesi, one of the movement's leaders. "I want to remind him that Israel is an ally of the United States, and that he should act like it."

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Obama's Pro-Palestine Leanings Evident Early On

The American Thinker has a great article pointing our that Barack Obama's pro-Palestinian tendecies were evident long before he became President.
In fact, Obama flirted with (and praised) radical PLO sympathizers.
But, for the most part the mainstream liberal media shielded the public from these alarming leanings. There were a few exceptions (as the article notes) but the media didn't want to alarm voters lest it derail the Obama juggernaut.
Here's an excerpt from the article:

When President Barack Obama publicly endorsed the Palestinian view of Israel's future this week, he took many Americans, including many of his Jewish-American supporters, by surprise.  Had the media been doing their job, he would not have surprised anyone.

In April 2008, Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times wrote a lengthy article titled "Allies of Palestinians see a friend in Obama."  The article pulled some of its information from a video shot at a 2003 farewell dinner for Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian booster and a de facto spokesman for the PLO during his Beirut years.  Khalidi, who had spent several years at the University of Chicago, was leaving for New York.

Domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn reportedly attended the dinner as well.  This would make sense.  Khalidi begins the acknowledgment section of his 2004 book, Resurrecting Empire, with a tribute to the guy who lived -- and edited -- in their neighborhood.  "First, chronologically and in other ways," writes Khalidi, "comes Bill Ayers."  Unlike the calculating Obama, Khalidi had no reason to be coy about this relationship.

At the dinner, Obama thanked Khalidi and his wife for the many meals they had shared chez Khalidi and for reminding Obama of "my own blind spots and my own biases."  Obama hoped that "we continue that conversation -- a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table [...] [but around] this entire world."

Click here to read more.

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Isareli-Born Kiss Star: Obama 'Has No F _ _ king Idea'

When he was asked by CNBC's Jane Wells what he thought about President Obama's suggestion that Israel's borders be redrawn to pre-1967 levels, Kiss star Gene Simmons replied, "He has no f--king idea what the world is like because he doesn’t have to live there"
Simmons says he supported Obama for President because he "voted for an idea" but didn't realize he was voteing "for an idealist."

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Video: Bibi Brazenly Bitch Slaps Obama - Bravo!

Today. Live from the Oval Office. 

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Teaches Visit Jewish History Museum Free In May

The National Museum of American Jewish History is offering free admission to teachers and principals in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, which begins May 1. As the only institution exclusively exhibiting and educating about the American Jewish experience, the Museum is pleased to invite teachers and principals from public schools, Jewish day and supplementary schools, parochial schools and charter schools from around the region and across the nation to tour the Museum's core exhibition free of charge during the month.

JAHM is a national month of recognition of the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. JAHM acknowledges the achievements of American Jews in fields ranging from sports and arts and entertainment to medicine, business, science, government and military service.

For free admission, teachers and principals will be asked to provide their name, contact information, their institution and their subject.

"We are delighted to extend this invitation to teachers and principals," said Michael Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the Museum. "This is an opportunity for educators to learn more about the Museum as they make plans for student visits to cultural institutions in the coming school year, and to gain a better understanding of American Jewish history and the opportunities our freedoms create for all Americans."

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A Wonderful Passover To All!

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NJ: Beck, Kean Denounce 'Hate Rally'

New Jersey State Senators Sean Kean (R- Monmouth) and Jennifer Beck (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) will lead the Republican caucus in submitting a resolution honoring New Jersey's military service members killed in the line of duty while fighting Nazism in World War II. Their resolution comes in direct response to a rally planned for April 16, 2011 by a neo-Nazi group, which will take place next to New Jersey's World War II Memorial.

"New Jersey's World War II Memorial was dedicated in 2008 to honor the sacrifices of those who fought fascism overseas to preserve our freedoms at home," said Kean. "Their memory is being desecrated by a fringe group of morally repugnant individuals who are exploiting the very Constitutional rights for which those service members fought and died. This resolution will defend the honor of our fallen in the face of those who would disrespect their memory with bigotry and hate."

The hate rally, planned by an organization called the National Socialist Group, comes nearly 66 years to the day after the liberation of numerous Nazi concentration camps by American soldiers. Yom Hashoah, the official Holocaust Remembrance Day that commemorates the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, is May 2nd, 2011.

"The timing of this couldn't be any more offensive," Beck added.

New Jersey lost 30, 000 residents in World War II.

New Jersey's World War II Memorial particularly honors nine New Jerseyans who received the Congressional Medal of Honor fighting the Nazis, including six service members who were killed in action.

Bayonne's Nicholas Oresko, now of Cresskill, is the nation's oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor, earned for heroic actions at Tettingen, German on January 23, 1945.

"Though the law protects the right to free speech and assembly which this group so clearly takes for granted, that does not mean they are welcome in Trenton or anywhere else in New Jersey," Beck stated. "While this group of bigots attempts to resurrect a twisted set of beliefs long ago rejected by history, we in the Legislature will pay tribute to the memory of those who represent the best of America- our service men and women."

All Senators are invited to join in co-sponsorship of this resolution.

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Israel: An Astounding, Inspiring Success Story!

Israel is the 100th smallest country, and has about 1/1000th of the world's population.
One of the smallest countries on earth, with 1/1000th of the world's population.
Only 62 years old, 7 million people strong (less than Virginia), and smaller in size than New Jersey, surrounded by enemies, under constant threat and possessing almost no natural resources, and yet...

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Museum Visitors Make Videos Of Their Own Stories

On the the National Museum of American Jewish History's second floor, "Choices & Challenges of Freedom" (1945-Today), visitors have the opportunity to use video recording booths and tell their stories, share their traditions, or talk about their ancestors. Among the stories which visitors have recorded in the "It's Your Story" booths are those about Sephardic heritage, mitzvahs, holiday customs and family dinners.
These stories are added to the Museum's archives and become a part of the only national museum dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the American Jewish experience.
Participants can also sign up to receive the video at their email address, which they can then email to others or post on their Facebook page or other social media sites.
The stories are also posted online at the Museum's microsite, also called "It's Your Story."
"At its heart, the Museum is dedicated to the millions of people whose lives make up the American Jewish experience as well as the broader history of the nation. We invite all those who come to the Museum to share their own story with us and make it a lasting part of the Museum," said Josh Perelman, the Museum's deputy director of exhibitions, programs and collections.
"These stories allow the Museum to continue the process of collecting the stories of all those for whom the Museum's themes ring true," he said.

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Huckabee: Let Israelis Build In East Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Post reports that "during a visit to the Mount of Olives for a cornerstone-laying ceremony in a Jewish east Jerusalem neighborhood, likely US presidential candidate Mike Huckabee asserted that Israelis should be able to live "anywhere in Israel they wished to live."
"It is inconceivable in many ways that we would have to even argue and debate whether or not Israelis could live in Israel, not just in parts of Israel but anywhere in Israel they wished to live," Huckabee added. 
Click here to read more on this story.

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New Museum Accepting Founding Members

While the new National Museum of American Jewish History  (NMAJH) in Philadelphia has now officially been open for two months, the opportunity to become a Founding Member is still available.Founding Memberships may be purchased for you or others with a gift of $54. 

Founding Members who make a gift of $180 or more will receive the two-DVD set of "The Jewish Americans," the PBS documentary from Emmy-winning director David Grubin, who made a number of new films for the Museum's core exhibition. 

Founding Members will also have unlimited opportunities to visit NMAJH throughout the 12-month membership term. The names of all Founding Members are also permanently listed in an interactive database in the Museum.

For information on the Museum's fundraising activities, including named-gift opportunities, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement, at 215.923.3811 x 133 or via email at ihurwitz@nmajh.or

To sign up as a Founding Member today, visit www.nmajh.org/join.

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A Jewish View Of The 'Holiday', And More

Christmas isn't for everyone - despite what the recent Christmas Village brouhaha seemed to show. And I say that out of respect to all Christians for whom the holiday is a very dear, and very religious, event. To make Christmas a holiday for everyone is to take Christ out of Christmas, and I have no doubt that, to devout Christians, that's offensive.
I'm not a Christian, and I don't celebrate Christmas. But that doesn't mean I take no pleasure from the celebration of Christmas by Christians. I love to drive around after dark and marvel at the beautifully lighted houses and yards.
I listen to Christmas music on the radio, and truly enjoy some of the moving and deeply religious words and music. "O Holy Night" is a favorite, and I especially like and am truly moved when I hear the chorus sing "fall on your knees."
The opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Gian Carlo Menotti never fails to bring a tear to my eye. And John Rutter's "Brother Heinrich's Christmas" chokes me up. (If you've never heard it, you really should, regardless of your religion.)
Click here to read the rest of Howard Lurie's column from today's Philadelphia Daily News.

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Adam Sandler Sings Original Hanukkah Song

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Happy Hanukkah To All!

Let the candles be lit.

Let the glow burn brightly in all our hearts.

And let us continue to believe in miracles!

The Jewish holiday Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century B.C.
Hanukkah, which means "dedication" in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in  November or December. The celebration lasts for eight nights to commemorate a miracle that Jews believe occurred in the temple:
When the Jews first returned to the Holy Temple after defeating Hellenist Syrians who had made it illegal for Jews to worship, they found only enough oil to light the temple's menorah for one day. Miraculously, flame remained lit for eight days and nights, giving them enough time to find more oil to sustain the fire.
Often called the "Festival of Lights," Hanukkah festivities include games, gifts, eating traditional foods and lighting a new candle on the menorah each night.

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