Joshua Lookstein

Associate Head of School, the Ramaz School

[Joshua Lookstein @JoshLookstein]

LGK

[Rabbi Avi Weiss @RabbiAviWeiss]

My wife Toby and I are in @Israel becoming citizens. At the Interior Ministry, the official reviewing our papers - a Jew who came from Ethiopia in 1991 - asked me for proof that I was Jewish.

I showed him letters from our rabbi. As I did so, tears began to flow.

I told him: “I remember the 1970s and ’80s, when we marched and protested so Ethiopian Jews could come home to Israel. Back then, many questioned whether Ethiopian Jews were Jewish at all. We insisted our Black brothers and sisters were as Jewish as any of us.”

And now, 35 years later, here was a holy Ethiopian Jew confirming my Judaism.

We had come full circle.

Holding his hand, I sang: “Zeh hayom asah Hashem, nagilah ve’nismechah bo” - This is the day God has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Jews from East and West have returned home together.

Am Yisrael chai v’yichyeh.

[Zohar Atkins @ZoharAtkins]

12 million Germans were expelled after WWII. Up to 2 million died.

There is no German right of return, no inherited refugee status, no movement built on this.

700,000 Arabs were displaced in 1948. Four generations later it’s a fake “refugee” population of 6 million.

The difference isn’t scale. Germany’s expulsion was an order of magnitude bigger and far deadlier. The difference is that Germany’s neighbors integrated the expellees and postwar Germany refused to weaponize the grievance — because the war was Germany’s fault.

Israel absorbed 850,000 Jews expelled from Arab lands: absorbed in a generation, gone as a political claim.

The Arab world did the opposite. UNRWA exists to make the wound permanent and heritable, the only refugee status on earth that is.

Palestinian refugee status didn’t survive because 1948 was uniquely terrible. Only max 15,000 Arabs died in Israel’s War of Independence. A war the Arab states started. For comparison, 200k-2M died during partition of India and Pakistan. No tears for them.

Palestinian refugees “survived” because the losers decided their status should never end.

The Mayor believes identity is whatever you want it to be. If you identify as a refugee you are. Almost everyone on earth can trace their ancestry back to a forced migration. Most find a way to move forward. But “no Jews, no Jews.”

[Bill Maher @billmaher]

People say the left and the right can’t agree on anything these days. But there is this one thing:

[Zohar Atkins @ZoharAtkins]

https://t.co/9FY4UbGAc3

[The Persian Jewess @persianjewess]

Somewhere in a cold dark basement Spike Lee is crying in his keffiyeh….

While Deni Avdija reminds the world WE ARE NOT JEWS WITH TREMBLING KNEES
🔥🔥☄️☄️

[Joshua Lookstein @JoshLookstein]

Anyone know where I can find a late Mussaf minyan? A Mincha/Mussaf minyan perhaps?

[Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn 👩‍🎓 @SaraHirschhorn1]

What a time to be alive...
And really too bad for everyone who was murdered on October 7:

[UJA-Federation of New York @UJAfedNY]

New Yorkers have spoken, electing Zohran Mamdani as the next Mayor of New York City. We recognize that voters are animated by a range of issues, but we cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values.

As we have done for over a century, we will continue to work across every level of government to ensure that our city remains a place where our Jewish community, and all communities, feel safe and respected. We call on Mayor-elect Mamdani and all elected officials to govern with humility, inclusivity, and a deep respect for the diversity of views and experiences that define our city.

Our agenda remains clear. We will hold all elected officials, including Mayor-elect Mamdani, fully accountable for ensuring that New York remains a place where Jewish life and support for Israel are protected and can thrive. We will continue to confront, without hesitation, the alarming rise in antisemitism and hate crimes, and loudly call out any rhetoric or actions that delegitimize Israel or excuse antisemitism.

New York’s Jewish community — the largest and most important outside the State of Israel — has always been integral to New York City.  We are strong and resilient. And we will continue, as we have for generations, to live proud and public Jewish lives and make vital contributions to the future of our beloved city.

Link to our full statement with @JCRCNY, @ADL and @ADL_NYNJ, @AJCGlobal, and the New York Board of Rabbis: https://t.co/2sA3rzwnSo

[Rebecca Massel @rebeccamassel]

BREAKING: 2 Barnard students expelled for History of Modern Israel disruption, CUAD says
@preslrosenbury: "Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but so too is our commitment to respect, inclusion, and the integrity of the academic experience."

https://t.co/RY1pYHrGR9

[Israel ישראל @Israel]

Hersh, we will never forget you ❤️.

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

“Never before in history has a side claimed that they suffered a genocide and at the same time that they won the war they had started.”
— @HillelNeuer on @FoxNews with @MariaBartiromo

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

2024 UN General Assembly resolutions on:
🇦🇫 Afghanistan 0
🇰🇵 North Korea 1
🇻🇪 Venezuela 0
🇲🇲 Myanmar 1
🇱🇧 Lebanon 0
🇵🇰 Pakistan 0
🏴‍☠️ Hamas 0
🇩🇿 Algeria 0
🇹🇷 Turkey 0
🇷🇺 Russia 1
🇨🇳 China 0
🇶🇦 Qatar 0
🇸🇦 Saudi 0
🇮🇱 Israel 17
🇨🇺 Cuba 0
🇸🇾 Syria 1
🇮🇶 Iraq 0
🇮🇷 Iran 1
🇺🇸 US 1

[𝔼𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟 @ElliotMalin]

Recap:

AZ: Harris (D) loses, pro-Israel Gallego (D) wins
MI: Harris (D) loses, pro-Israel Slotkin (D) wins
NV: Harris (D) loses, pro-Israel Rosen (D) wins
NC: Harris (D) loses, pro-Israel Stein (D) wins
WI: Harris (D) loses, pro-Israel Baldwin (D) wins

Wrong lesson, @MouinRabbani

[Maria Shriver @mariashriver]

As @KamalaHarris reminded us all today when I joined her in Michigan with @Liz_Cheney, do not despair. Yes, we are all feeling anxious, stressed, unsure. But this is a moment for us all to decide how we want to move forward. To recognize that we all have a decision to make, and while we might disagree, that is part of the process. The American people have the power in their hands to choose the next president by exercising their right to vote. Let’s rise to this moment, but not give in to the hate and division. We can disagree on many issues, yet still come together in the end. In fact, today, I bore witness to what coming together for the good of the country looks like — country over party. That’s a decision only you can make, and only you get to decide. But in the end, do not despair. #vote

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

Just Now: When asked whether he would support Israel striking the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear facilities, Canadian opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, responds:

“It would be a gift by the Jewish state to humanity.”

[Patricia Heaton @PatriciaHeaton]

As we head toward the one year anniversary of October 7th, I ask that you please join me in the #MyzuzahYourzuzah campaign to show solidarity with your Jewish friends and neighbors, fight antisemitism and bless your household. Here’s how you can participate:

1. Purchase a Mezuzah from https://t.co/q6IUf79I5d.
2. Capture a video of you affixing your Mezuzah and saying “Myzuzah, Yourzuzah”.
3. Post your video to your social media profiles with a message of support and hashtag #MyzuzahYourzuzah.
4. Post anytime from now until October 7th.

I’ll be liking and sharing videos throughout the campaign. Let’s show our Jewish friends we stand with them! 💙🇮🇱 @TheOfficialO7C @myzuzahorg

[Joshua Lookstein @JoshLookstein]

And again #livingthemission I Went to My First Harvard Class Wondering if I Was a Victim of a Hate Crime | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson https://t.co/LNv5ftXXxG

[Joshua Lookstein @JoshLookstein]

Ramaz graduate #livingthemission On being a non-token Jew at Columbia https://t.co/3mjXdSCBtb