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30 HASHALOM December
2016 / January 2017
December
2016 / January 2017
HASHALOM
31
COMMUNITY NEWS
Above Board
Mary Kluk,
President of SA Jewish Board of Deputies
A column of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies
In November, the Board hosted Jonathan Vick, Assistant Director:
Cyberhate Response at the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai B’rith
(ADL). Our purpose in having Jonathan come out was two-fold. We
wanted to get practical advice from him in terms of pursuing our own
specific work in combating online antisemitism and we wanted him to
share his experience and expertise with those – both in government
and in civil society – who are dealing with the similar online hate issues.
In dealing with cyberhate the ADL has made significant advances,
particularly when compared with most law enforcement agencies
around the world which have barely commenced trying to deal with
these types of crimes.
The Board arranged a full programme for Jonathan to engage with
government officials, law enforcement agencies and civil society
organisations, including the SA Human Rights Commission and
the Hate Crimes Working Group. Internally, he participated in a
‘confronting cyberhate’ workshop with Board and CSO staff and
addressed representatives of Jewish communal organisations in both
Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Cyber hatred contributed significantly to the recent US presidential
elections being so brutal and divisive. Public discourse around the
campaign frequently degenerated into ugly expressions of bigotry,
particularly in the social media, with civilized discourse being all but
drowned out by racist, sexist, antisemitic and xenophobic vitriol. The
targeting of Jewish journalists for online antisemitic abuse was so
widespread this year that the ADL issued a special report specifically
devoted to this issue.
Brittan Heller, the ADL’s Director of Technology and Society, believes
that eliminating cyberhate while respecting the internet’s norms of free
speech is achievable, but only through the international community
making a sustained, united effort to confront the problem and
devoting the necessary resources to resolving it. As she writes, “We
need designers and user experience specialists focused on enhancing
empathy and designing tools to eliminate hate.We need like-minded
coders, bloggers, and inventors to create solutions that permit free
speech but encourage tolerance, civil discourse, and inclusiveness.
Additionally, we need the major players - Twitter, Facebook, Google,
Microsoft, and Apple - to double down on their efforts to hack the
solution to this perennial problem”.
We are likewise seeing an unhappy tendency in South Africa for debate
over the issues of the day to degenerate into racist name-calling and
abuse. South Africans across the board need to take a firm, principled
stand against those who abuse social media and other platforms to
insult, demean or make threats against their fellow citizens.We urgently
need to recommit ourselves to a culture where people can express
their views freely and without fear, while at the same time respecting
the right of others to disagree with them.
SWEET
TREATS FOR
CHANUKAH
BANANA FRITTERS
.
2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1½ cups water 4 large bananas oil for deep frying
Place flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl
Add the water and mix to a smooth batter. Peel bananas, cut into three
pieces and roll in some extra flour Drop banana pieces into the batter -
drain off excess then deep fry in hot oil until golden brown
Remove – drain on kitchen towel. Serve hot with ice cream
CHOCOLATE RUGELACH
Cream Cheese Pastry
250g butter, room temperature 250g firm cream cheese ½ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
2 1/3 cups flour
Beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add the sugar,
and beat until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, gently beating to
combine after each addition. Now add the vanilla and salt, and beat to
combine. Reduce speed and add flour. Remove from bowl, and divide
into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic
wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Filling
100g walnuts (optional) ½ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 jar Nutella
Preheat the oven to 180degC - Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt until fine.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round.
Spread evenly with nutella then sprinkle with one-third of the walnut
mixture, gently pressing ingredients into dough with your fingers. Cut
the round into 16 equal-sized wedges (triangle shaped like pizza slices).
Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent
shapes. Pinch to seal.
Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling
ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Bake until golden brown,
25 minutes
APPLE LATKES
4 Granny Smith apples 2-3 tablespoons sugar 2eggs, separated
2 tablespoons oil pinch of salt
1 cup flour
200ml water
extra oil for frying latkes sifted icing sugar for dusting
Core and peel the apples and cut each into 4 thick slices
For the batter, beat the yolks with the oil and salt, then stir in the flour
and mix well
Gradually add the water, beating vigorously until smooth – leave for 1 hour
Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff – gently fold into batter
Heat some oil in a frying pan. Dip the apple slices into the batter and lower
into hot oil
Fry in batches until lightly brown – be careful that batter does not go dark
before apples are cooked
Remove from oil and drain on kitchen towel before serving. Dust with
icing sugar.
Serve with cinnamon and sugar mixture
Hashalom is not responsible for errors and omissions. Please submit your information in writing to
The Editor, PO Box 10797, Marine Parade 4056 or fax to (031) 3379600 or email hashalom@djc.co.za.
Date Time Event
Venue
2 9.30am
Friendship club - UJW
Beth Shalom
Date Time Event
Venue
The Sounds of Silence***
DHC
31 7.30am
UN Holocaust Remembrance Day
Event
DHC
December 2016
January 2017
Hashalom is not responsible for errors and omissions. Please submit your information in writing to
The Editor, PO Box 10797, Marine Parade 4056 or fax to (031) 3379600 or email hashalom@djc.co.za.
BAR/BAT MITZVAHS
Mazaltov to Paul and Nadine Gering on the Batmitzvah of their
daughter Megan and to Bernard and Marcia Saul on the Batmitzvah of
their granddaughter; to Leon and Edith Tuback on the Batmitzvah of
their granddaughter Talya.
CONDOLENCES
Our deepest condolences to Geraldine, Colin, Tubby and Selwyn on
the passing of their mother Bertha Bloch; to Mark, Jill and Pam on the
passing of Phillip Goldkorn.
Birthdays
Mazaltov to Issy Shevel on his 85th Birthday.
Ryan Saul Awarded:
“Innovative Project of the Year”
Ryan, son of Howard and Robyn Saul, has been recognized by the
International Legal Technology Association at its 2016 Peer Awards
held in Washington last month, where his project “Taskflow”,
was awarded
Innovative (client facing) Project of the Year.
Taskflow, developed in collaboration with lawyers, (a new matter
management solution) was recognized for delivering outstanding
business value and having a transformational impact for clients.
Ryan, 31, holds a Bsc Computer Science and Information
Technology degree from UKZN and a MBA in Strategy and
Leadership from Queensland University, Brisbane.
He left Durban for Australia five years ago to join Australian based
law firm MinterEllison as their Systems Analyst in Brisbane, and
now heads their Business Process Technical Team in Melbourne.
***Early in January, Durban Holocaust Centre will be having a
Photographic Exhibition, sponsored by the Lithuanian Embassy
entitled “The Sounds of Silence”. It is dedicated to the
annihilated Jewish communities of Lithuania.