H EADLINES
NEWSBRIEFS Muslim Groups in Indonesia Want to Close
First Permanent Holocaust Exhibit
SOME INDONESIAN MUSLIM groups seek to close
the country’s fi rst permanent Holocaust exhibition,
saying it’s part of an eff ort to normalize Indonesia’s
relations with Israel, JTA reported.

Th e exhibit launch was timed to International
Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27 and is in
Indonesia’s only synagogue, Shaar HaShamayim. “Shoah:
How is it Humanly Possible?” was created by the Yad
Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel.

Shaar Hashamayim Rabbi Yaakov Baruch said he
had personal motivation to open the exhibit because
family members died in the Holocaust.

Although several conservative Muslim groups have
expressed opposition, representatives from Nahdlatul
Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization — and
the world’s largest Islamic organization — have said they
support the exhibition, as does the local government.

NFL Player Wishes He Could Dine With Hitler
Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen of the NFL’s
Washington Commanders said that if he had his
druthers he’d break bread with Adolf Hitler, then
later apologized, JTA reported.

In an “ask me anything” tweet, a fan asked Allen
who were the three people, dead or alive, he wanted
to dine with. He listed his grandfather, Hitler and
Michael Jackson.

When asked why Hitler, Allen said, “He’s a military
genius and I love military tactics but honestly I would
want to pick his brain as to why he did what he did.

I’m also assuming that the people I’ve chosen have to
answer all my questions honestly.”
Allen removed his off ending tweet aft er Twitter
blew up.

Later, he tweeted: “Early I tweeted something that
probably hurt people and I apologize about what I
said. I didn’t express properly what I was trying to say
and I realize it was dumb!”
British Jews Record Highest Antisemitic Tally
Across Europe in 2021
British Jews and authorities recorded 2,255 antise-
mitic incidents in the United Kingdom in 2021 — the
highest recent total in Europe, JTA reported.

It’s the highest total reported in a single calendar
year by the Community Security Trust, British Jewry’s
antisemitism watchdog.

Its report found an increase of antisemitic incidents of
34%, up from 1,684 incidents a year earlier. Th e 2021 tally
is 24% higher than the 2019 record of 1,813 incidents.

Of the 2021 tally, 871 incidents happened in May and
June, close to when Israel and Hamas were exchanging fi re.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the landscape of
UK-based antisemitism in 2021 is largely defi ned by
responses to confl ict in Israel and Palestine, as indeed
is the unprecedented annual fi gure,” CST wrote.

Th e UK’s Jewish population is 292,000. In France,
where the Jewish population is 446,000, a watchdog group
there recorded 589 hate crimes against Jews in 2021.

Convicted German Holocaust Denier Hides in Brazil
A far-right German extremist convicted of denying
the Holocaust is taking shelter in Brazil, JTA reported.

Nikolai Nerling, 41, told a Brazilian news site that
he fears he will be arrested if he returns to Germany.

Th e Berlin public prosecutor’s offi ce declined to say
whether Interpol was notifi ed of his presence in Brazil
or whether an extradition request would be fi led.

Nerling was fi red in May 2018 from a Berlin
elementary school where he taught from 2009 to 2018
aft er a local newspaper report showed that he was
disseminating neo-Nazi content.

In December, he was fi ned 6,000 euros for denying
the existence of the Holocaust in front of students
visiting the Dachau concentration camp.

Nerling arrived in Brazil on a tourist visa in
November and has spent the last few months touring
cities in and creating more content for his social
media channels. ●
In Memory of
Harold Goldman z”l
1942 – 2022
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mourns
the passing of Harold Goldman. Harold spent more than
20 years in leadership roles in the Greater Philadelphia
Jewish community, as Chief Executive Officer at Jewish
Family and Children’s Service and then the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Our hearts are full
as we reflect on the impact he had within the Jewish
community and the legacy he leaves behind.

May his memory be for a blessing, and his husband,
John Bonavita-Goldman, sister, and many nieces
and nephews be comforted among the mourners of
Zion and Jerusalem.

8 FEBRUARY 17, 2022
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H EADLINES
JEVS Expands Off erings Via Project EM Initiative
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
JEVS HUMAN SERVICES,
Philadelphia is expanding
its programming due to its
partnership with Project EM:
Empowering and Employing
Our Community, a consortium
of 19 members of the Network
of Jewish Human Service
Agencies. Th e Project EM initiative
off ers a large slate of workshops
— sometimes up to 10 off er-
ings per day — as well as
personalized support for those
recently unemployed or who
are looking to switch careers.

Workshops include
“Mindful Career Strategies,”
“How to Get Your Resume
and Cover Letter Noticed”
and “Using Age to Your
Advantage.” Th e partnership announced
Jan. 31 comes at nearly the
two-year mark of the onset of
the pandemic, which caused
unemployment numbers to
spike across the country.

“Th e ups and downs of the
pandemic have thrown a curve
ball into this jobs market,”
said John Colborn, JEVS chief
operating offi cer and vice-chair
of the NJHSA board of direc-
tors, in a press release. “Many
workers remain on the sideline,
fi nd themselves severely under-
employed, work multiple jobs,
or lack access to benefi ts.

Others, who have upskilled
during the pandemic, need help
breaking into new fi elds.”
In Philadelphia, in the
weeks following the fi rst wave
of COVID restrictions, Jewish
nonprofi ts were forced to lay
off employees, said Peggy
Truitt, program director of
JEVS Career Strategies and
Helping Hands. Many of those
nonprofi ts turned to JEVS to
give support to recently laid-off
workers. “Th at was a population that
we were very familiar with,
that we could provide services
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Peggy Truitt, program director of JEVS Career Strategies and Helping
Hands Courtesy of Peggy Truitt
A Project EM web banner
to,” Truitt said.

Th roughout the pandemic,
JEVS, with its Career Strategies
and Helping Hands programs,
was able to continue to provide
one-on-one support to those
unemployed or looking to
switch careers and guidance
on using social media to fi nd a
job, craft ing eff ective resumes
and interviewing well.

“We also lent a lot of
emotional and motivational
support, building confi dence
for people who have been
unemployed for a while and
need to get back into the job
force,” Truitt said.

Project EM allows JEVS to
further its impact by providing
additional services, such as
workshops and more person-
alized support and consulting.

“We are able to refer our
clients to resources that we do
not necessarily have an exper-
tise in,” Truitt said. “We’re
only able to do so many public
workshops due to the size of
our staff and other things that
we’re committed to.”
For example, if a veteran
Courtesy of Project EM
came to JEVS needing assis-
tance, the agency could refer
the individual to another
member of the network or a
specific workshop through
Project EM that wouldn’t
otherwise be available through
the Philadelphia agency.

Not only will the partner-
ship give more resources to
Philadelphians looking for
job resources, but it can reach
individuals not living in
metropolitan areas with robust
Jewish Federations and human
services. Project EM partners include
Career Connections of Palm
Beach County, Jewish Family
and Career Services Atlanta
and JVS SoCal, Los Angeles.

Th e programming through
Project EM is free of charge,
which Truitt hopes will be
instrumental in expanding the
reach of its resources.

“People come to us and, a lot
of times, they just don’t know
where to begin, how to start,
how to get the help,” Truitt
said. “So it just really just gives
us a lot more opportunities to
JEWISH EXPONENT
help our clients, and of course,
the more that we can help
them, the more they can be
successful in terms of reaching
their goals, whether it’s fi nding
a job, bettering their employ-
ment or learning something
new to make them more
employable.” To sign-up for personalized
support or workshops through
Project EM, visit jewishto-
gether.org/project-em. ●
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
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9