For me, the most meaningful experience of my time in that city was the morning that we visited the campus of Humboldt University.

That was the location of the infamous book burnings by the Nazis in 1933.

We spent a few moments at the memorial for those burnt books, meditating silently on the meaning of intellectual repression, mindful of Heinrich Heine's eerily prescient warning in 1820: "Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people as well."

We then moved on.

We strolled to the site of the Rosenstrasse protest.

That was where, in the winter of 1943, a group of non-Jewish women protested the arrests of their Jewish husbands. Their protests were successful; the men were released.

Then, close to that site, we encountered a sculpture — of a man sitting on a bench, blithely looking away, averting his gaze from what is going on around him.

These memories crashed into my soul this week, with the news that the Keller Independent School District school district in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, has ordered its librarians to remove a graphic novel adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank from their shelves and digital libraries, along with the Bible and dozens of other books that were challenged by parents last year.

OK, I can understand removing the Bible.

• Sons sexually violating a father.
• A patriarch sells his wife into temporary sexual slavery in order to get a few camels; that same patriarch has sexual relations with the "help" in order to father a child.
• A man offering his daughters to an unruly mob for sexual abuse
• The aforementioned patriarch almost killed his own son.
• A man having sex with his daughter-in-law, thinking that it had been a prostitute (that would be Judah. our ancestor and namesake!).
• The attempted seduction of a Hebrew man…

That's just the book of Genesis!

And, to think: For the last forty-five years, I have been earning my living teaching this text — to children!

What could I have been thinking?!?

OK, that's the Bible.

But, Anne Frank? What could possibly have been the problem?

Ah.

The graphic novel makes explicit that which readers of the original diary might have missed — that Anne had lesbian fantasies and desires.

So, for those of you who happen to live in the Keller school district, here it is:

Thursday, January 6, 1944

But I had these feelings even before my period… I remember particularly one time when I spent the night at Jacque's.

"Um…Jacque…could we show each other our breasts?"

"Why?"

"As proof of our friendship."

"Absolutely not!"

If only she had known of my terrible desire to kiss her… I must admit, every time I see a female nude, I go into ecstasy. If only I had a girlfriend!

This is an accurate re-statement of Anne's entry in the "original" diary, dated January 5, 1944; it might have been expunged in some earlier versions. This, notwithstanding her simultaneous attraction to her annex-mate, Peter.

The censorious acts of this school district in Texas offend me.

They should offend all people who believe in intellectual freedom.

Let it not be lost on us: this happened days after the attempted assassination of Salman Rushdie, whose books also contain "forbidden" ideas.

The actions of the would-be assassin and those of the school district only differ in intensity. The would-be assassin and the members of that school board are fellow soldiers in the war against words and ideas.

This has been the right wing's playbook all along.

This has been their strategy.

They have started small and local offices — with library boards and school boards, contenting themselves with the stifling of young minds and their imaginations.

They might have been content to see Anne Frank as one of the great tragic, moral heroines of our time.

But, that she might have been a lesbian, or bi-sexual — this was far too much for them.

News flash folks: The Nazis also vigorously persecuted homosexuals.

As for me, as a rabbi and educator of teens, I can tell you this.

Several years ago, at a different synagogue, my confirmation class read that graphic adaptation of Anne Frank's diary. They came to that passage in the text, that revealed Anne's desires.

We spent a lot of time talking about that.

The students found that aspect of her life to be not salacious, but interesting.

It made her more human.

One girl included that aspect of our learning in her confirmation speech to the congregation.

For the past sixty years, Jewish educators (and not only Jewish educators) have "used" the story of Anne Frank as a window into the teaching of the Shoah.

For Jewish kids, the story of Anne Frank contributes to their sense of Jewish pride and solidarity.

For non-Jewish kids, it is a story of heroism. Years ago, I heard a Vietnamese refugee talk about how the story of Anne Frank had given her strength when her family was in dire straits, victimized by pirates in the China Sea.

Imagine, then, how the revelation of Anne's private desires might inspire and strengthen LGBTQ kids who are looking for role models. In fact, that has been the case, as this article will make clear.

Back to that statue in Berlin.

We can choose to sit on the metaphorical park bench. We can choose to look away,

But, the other choice is a much more powerful choice — and that is the choice of activism, of screaming in the face of those who would destroy the intellectual and spiritual lives of our young people — all in the name of some imagined purity.

Yes, I said scream.

If the combined forces of anti-intellectualism, small-mindedness, and intolerance want to continue their culture war, then let's have it.

I will be in the front lines on the other side.

Oh, and another thing.

I am so done with being polite about this.

• Jeffrey K. Salkin is the spiritual leader of Temple Solel in Hollywood, Fla., and the author of numerous books on Jewish spirituality and ethics.
• First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

The Prime Minister's claim that people of the Pacific are "family" to New Zealanders is a remarkably powerful one.

This is not only because family is the most important priority in collectivist Pacific cultures, but also because in making this claim, Jacinda Ardern herself is describing the standard that New Zealand's foreign policy in the Pacific should meet.

And now with weeks to go until the election, when it looks like our political parties are once again forgetting about pressing issues in the Pacific, New Zealand's actions (or moreover inactions) in the Pacific need to be judged against this "family" standard now more than ever.

Climate change

To start with, it must be said that even in April 2018, it was clear that the Government did not see Pacific peoples as "family" when it came to climate change.

This was evident with the decision of the New Zealand courts to deport a Pacific man, Ioane Teitiota, facing displacement due to climate change in 2015.

The courts insisted Teitiota and his family could return to lives of dignity in Kiribati, despite compelling expert evidence and heart-breaking testimonies from the family making it clear their particular homes were uninhabitable.

This decision, backed up by the United Nation's Human Rights Committee in January, means that New Zealand does not offer protection to Pacific peoples facing displacement due to climate change.

But us Pacific peoples have come to learn that we are only seen as "family" by the government and wider society when we win rugby tournaments, or when we receive praise and acclaim on the international stage, or when politicians are seeking clout and political power here or overseas.

Indeed, many Pacific peoples in Kiribati and other low lying Pacific nations wish to live in their homelands for as long as possible.

This explains why many Pacific peoples and governments have rejected mass relocation schemes that have put forward as quick-fix alternatives to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

However, this complete lack of protection in New Zealand means that the small but rising number of individuals and families already being displaced are being forced to endure living conditions that no New Zealand judge would ever deem acceptable for themselves and their families.

Therefore, as leading climate change law experts have urged, the Government must find ways to build on existing immigration frameworks to protect Pacific families like the Teitiota's.

It must do this alongside providing stronger support for adaptation measures in the Pacific and making more meaningful strides to reduce carbon emissions (which it is still failing to do despite its obligations under the Paris Agreement).

West Papua

Another reason why Ardern's "family" claim should be treated with deep suspicion is the consistent refusal to take action against abuses and murders of indigenous peoples in West Papua by the Indonesian government.

In summarising the current situation in West Papua, Dr Mark Busse and Sophie Faber note an estimated 100,000 West Papuans have been killed since 1969 in their ongoing struggle for self-determination and independence from Indonesia.

But, despite decades of evidence and graphic images showing the Indonesian government's abusive treatment of West Papuans, New Zealand has declined to comment on the situation.

In fact, in 2018, Prime Minister Ardern told Indonesian President Joko Widodo during his state visit that New Zealand supported Indonesian control of West Papua.

One of the most painful injustices of New Zealand's politics of disposability and racial capitalism comes from knowing that if white people from Australia, Europe, North America or anywhere in the world were facing displacement due to climate change or being routinely brutalised and murdered by armed forces - New Zealand would never remain silent because these white people would be seen and treated as "family".

In August 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement explaining that New Zealand "continues to support the position [on West Papua] taken by the Pacific Islands Forum" that took place that month.

This "position" looked to be a strong one by involving a call for the UN Human Rights Commissioner to go to West Papua within the next year. However, the New Zealand Government has still done nothing to push for this visit and remains silent on the ongoing atrocities.

Activist and author of See No Evil: New Zealand's Betrayal of the People of West Papua, Maire Leadbeater, notes this inaction is part of a long history of New Zealand's complicity, where officials have always been "aware of how badly indigenous Papuans were faring under the Indonesian regime..."

But, according to lawyer Cat McLennan, the New Zealand Government is actually very capable of taking action, as seen when they stood up against the Indonesian government to help the people of Timor-Leste gain independence in 2002.

The racism behind the inaction

All this inaction begs the question - why is the New Zealand Government doing nothing in the face of these major human rights crises in the Pacific? In other words, why is it failing to help "family" clearly in need of assistance? Continue reading

No more office parties. Someone might be offended.

Over recent years "politically correct" (PC) nervousness has seen the word "Christmas" disappearing.

The season has morphed into "winter holidays" instead.

The Christmas festival has been saved being thrown into in the PC archive by UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chairman David Isaac.

He's told employers not to worry about offending other faiths by acknowledging Christmas.

It's not the first time Isaac has argued against PC interfering with religious views.

Last year Isaac argued an advert, with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and others reading lines from the Lord's Prayer, should be allowed to be played before "Star Wars. The Force Awakens".

Nonetheless, the UKs three largest cinema chains, the Odeon, Cineworld and Vue, refused to air the advert.

"Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right and it shouldn't be suppressed through fear of offending", Isaac said.

An upcoming EHRC report comments citizens in the UK don't have a "right" not to be offended.

It continues: "in our view, respect for people's right to express beliefs with which others might disagree, is the mark of a democratic society.

"We are concerned that a single supplier is effectively able to control a very large proportion of the market and effectively impose a blanket ban on advertising of a religious nature."

The cinemas attract about 60% of the UK cinema customers.

Isaac is firmly of the opinion that corporations should not suppress religion.

"Lots of employers have now become really worried about doing anything discriminatory regarding their Muslim or Jewish staff."

He notes many employers don't understand the law. This makes them unsure how much support to provide staff to accommodate specific cultural or religious practices.

It's a matter of balance, he says.

Source

• Express
• Breitbart
• Image: BBC.com

Cardinal Donald Wuerl celebrated Mass at Epiphany Church in Washington, a few blocks from Georgetown.

This was one day after the university hosted a lecture by Cecile Richards, the CEO of Planned Parenthood.

Ms Richards was invited to speak university by the Lecture Fund, a student organisation.

Previous lectures have been given by President Barack Obama, PayPal cofounder Peter Theil, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, and conservative commentator Ann Coulter.

Ms Richards reportedly received a standing ovation after her lecture.

Her speech focused on expanding access to abortion and artificial contraception, saying that this is necessary for the advancement of gender and racial equality.

She also referenced past civil rights struggles in her April 20 speech and also emphasised the idea that women need contraception to be successful.

At the Mass for Life, attended by about 100 students and Georgetown alumni, Cardinal Wuerl said: "Do not let anyone reduce for you the greatness of the American dream to the level of free contraceptives."

The cardinal also denounced the "political correctness movement" and the twisting of the meaning of words like "choice".

"The word ‘choice' is a smokescreen behind which those killing unborn children take refuge. Every chance you get, blow that smoke away," Cardinal Wuerl told the students.

"But the Word of God comes to us to say, ‘do not conform yourself to this age'," the cardinal added.

Priests who minister to several college campuses in Washington archdiocese concelebrated the Mass with Cardinal Wuerl.

A Georgetown statement said the university is committed to "the free exchange of ideas, even when those ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable to some".

The university said that it does not endorse every speaker and some speakers represent views that are contrary to its "Catholic and Jesuit identity".

Georgetown is the oldest Catholic higher education institution in the US.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Cardinal's blog

The Auckland Regional Migrant Services (Arms) says it has taken the move so non-Christians and those who do not celebrate Christmas do not feel excluded.

To be multiculturally sensitive, instead of calling its year-end get-together a Christmas lunch, it's a "festive lunch".

Arms spokeswoman Chinwe Akomah said the agency recognised that not all migrants and ethnic communities celebrate Christmas.

"As an inclusive organisation that respects and welcomes people from all backgrounds and faiths, we use terms such as 'festive', 'happy holidays' and 'seasons greetings'," she said.

AUT Professor of Diversity Edwina Pio said expunging Christmas by New Zealand organisations "is a bridge too far".

"I would strongly urge organisations to display their respect, not by erasing the word Christmas, but by being more inclusive so that they keep Happy Christmas, but then also remember to wish individuals for Diwali, Eid Mubarak, Buddha Purnima, Happy Hanukkah and other faith-based festivals," she said.

"I think New Zealand often bends over backwards in their aim not to offend minorities in terms of terminology.

The agency has the backing of Human Rights Commissioner Susan Devoy.

Dame Susan, who is also the agency's patron, said references to Christmas were not banned at the agency but the terminology it used aimed at being inclusive.

"The lunch you refer to has always been called a festive lunch."

Dame Susan wouldn't say if she thought we should use generic terms and greetings rather than refer to Christmas by name.

"New Zealanders don't like being told what to do and we are mature enough to decide how to celebrate our special days in our own ways."

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: scrapbookoftruthdotnet.files.wordpress.com

He said Pope Francis clearly knows how to communicate and his effectiveness comes from his authenticity. "It's not charm. It's Christian charity, which is a whole lot more attractive than charm." continue reading

The Corporation has replaced the familiar Anno Domini (the year of Our Lord) and Before Christ with the obscure terms Common Era and Before Common Era.