Are US millenials turning away from Israel?
By Niall Stanage – 08/09/14 12:50 PM EDT
Young Americans are showing far less fervent support for Israel than older generations, but almost no-one can agree on why the change is happening, how permanent it is likely to be, or what it all means.
Observers offer a laundry list of possibilities
They say millenials are more likely than their elders to be liberal and Israel’s actions — particularly in the current offensive in Gaza — increasingly meet with vigorous criticism in left-of-center circles.
Millenials are also much more avid consumers of social media, on which different narratives explaining the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are more readily available — as are especially gruesome images of the human toll extracted by Israeli missile strikes.
These young people also don’t have the same memories as their parents.
Many older Americans can still recall the Six-Day War in 1967 or the Yom Kippur War in 1973, during which Israel’s very existence seemed to be threatened by its Arab neighbors.
By contrast, “young Americans have grown up with Israel as an incredible superpower in the region, and with occupation and intifada,” said Ira Stup of J Street, the liberal-leaning pro-Israel lobby group. “Young Americans often have a vision of Israel vis-a-vis Palestine that is more in line with what is going on now.”
There is no mistaking the depth of the generational split.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/international/214756-are-us-millenials-turning-away-from-israel#ixzz39v5cS6cm
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Cory Booker may be the most puzzling man in the Senate. We don’t know where he lives. We don’t know whom, if anyone, he lives with. And he’s been caught in lie after lie about his heroics. Yet, this enigma of a man has emerged as the king of odd-couple bromance, using selfies and Instagram posts to burnish his stardom even as he appears surprisingly vulnerable in his upcoming bid for reelection.
But Booker is less popular in New Jersey than he is in Washington. He is polling below 50 percent in his matchup against Bell, a policy wonk and virtual unknown in the state who has received little support from the national party. Though he was expected to breeze to reelection, a Quinnipiac poll released on Wednesday has Booker ahead by just ten points, 47 to 37 percent.
Many of Booker’s fiercest ideological opponents, however, are riding the Booker juggernaut rather than going in for the kill. Cory Booker can be beaten, at least the polls suggest so. So why are they so eager to cozy up to him, so hesitant to take him on?
Take Rand Paul, with whom Booker appeared last week on PBS, CNN, and MSNBC. They were touting their proposal for reforming the country’s criminal-justice system. Paul was one of the few Republican stars who campaigned energetically against Booker last year, but at a cocktail party hosted by Politico’s Mike Allen, they discussed the origins of their “bromance” and joked about co-starring in a reality show. This is the same Rand Paul who has knocked leaders of his own party for being insufficiently conservative, but there he was, arm-in-arm with a man who represents the blue-state liberalism he spends most of his time denouncing.
New Jersey’s junior senator is popular in Washington. His Republican opponent, former Reagan official Jeff Bell, even got a chilly reception from Ted Cruz, according to a source who attended the meeting the two had – the same Ted Cruz who precipitated the confrontation over the government shutdown last year. Cruz, according to the source, grilled the staunchly conservative Bell about why he hasn’t raised more money and asked him, pointedly, “How do you think you can win?” (Cruz’s office describes the conversation as a “fairly standard” one that it has with lots of candidates, and it is true that the latest Federal Election Commission filings show that Booker has nearly $3.5 million cash on hand while Bell has $0.) Cruz was spotted breaking bread with Booker in March, and Booker later gushed about their “great intellectual discussion.”Booker has spent much of his nine months in office charming his colleagues, partly by photographing himself with them. He’s in the midst of a campaign to take selifies with each of his fellow senators. In the pictures he’s posted to his Instagram account, he’s praised Senate majority leader Harry Reid as a “profoundly kind, caring, compassionate, and decent man” and South Dakota Republican John Thune as a “valued colleague and friend who challenges me on issues in constructive ways.” You get the idea.
It’s Booker’s second statewide race in a year, and it’s the second time polls have shown him unexpectedly vulnerable. “It’s been surprising both times,” says John Weingart, associate director of Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics. Last year, Booker was expected to trounce long-shot candidate Steve Lonegan in October’s special election, but after national media began for the first time to scrutinize his record, he stumbled on the campaign trail.
The New Jersey Republican party didn’t put up much of a fight. “The refusal to expose Cory Booker is frustrating,” says a Republican operative who has worked on campaigns both nationally and in New Jersey. “In 2013 the state GOP appeared to be on lockdown, refusing to go after both Cory Booker and Bob Menendez.” Even without that sort of institutional opposition, Booker saw a 30-point lead narrow to an 11-point win on Election Day.
Celebrity promotion of charities is ineffective at raising awareness but can make the stars more popular with the public, a study says.
A survey of more than 2,000 people found two thirds could not link any celebrity with a list of seven well-known charities and aid organisations that they worked for.
Stars did not support charities for self promotion, but this was the unintended outcome of their work, researchers concluded.
The seven organisations mentioned in the survey were Action Aid, Amnesty International, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Save the Children and the Red Cross.
Speaking about their study which also used focus groups, Professor Dan Brockington, of the University of Manchester, and Professor Spencer Henson, of the University of Sussex, said: “Our survey found that while awareness of major NGOs (non-governmental organisations) brands was high, awareness of celebrity advocates for those brands was low.
The same judge and prosecutor who let professional football star Ray Rice avoid a trial after beating his wife unconscious are pushing forward with the prosecution of Shaneen Allen, a single mother who carried a gun into New Jersey without realizing her Pennsylvania permit didn’t apply there.
Allen, a mother of two from Philadelphia, was driving in New Jersey last fall when she was pulled over by a police officer. She informed the officer she had a handgun in her purse and a Pennsylvania license-to-carry permit, at which point the officer arrested her and charged her with a felony for unlawful possession of a weapon, because New Jersey does not recognize out-of-state gun permits.
Allen tried to avoid a trial and jail time by applying to a pre-trial intervention program in New Jersey for first-time offenders. Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens running back who knocked his then-fiancée unconscious during an altercation in Atlantic City in February, was accepted into the program in May.
But Superior Court Judge Michael Donio and New Jersey District Attorney Jim McClain, the same judge and prosecutor who allowed Rice to avoid prosecution, denied Allen’s application to the program on Wednesday.
Allen has no criminal record, and she claims she bought the gun for self-defense after being robbed. Her trial is scheduled for October.
AUGUST 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014, 12:31 AM BY LAURA HERZOG STAFF WRITER
“I’m tired…”
“No, you’re not,” said my patient Graydon Pool swim instructor Ryan Martin. “It’s all in your head.”
I tried to calm down, but my facial muscles were tense, and my treading arms were moving in frantic circles. As the water moved closer to my mouth, an irrational thought started to circle through my head.
I’m going to drown. I’m going to drown.
I’m not one to give up on things, but put me in a body of water over 6 feet and watch me freak out in five minutes.
I’m 24 years old, and I can’t really swim – but thanks to my recent adult swim lessons at Graydon Pool, at least I’m now on the right track.
So, how did I get to this point?
I took lessons at the YMCA as a kid, but I abruptly stopped, for unknown reasons, after mastering “airplane, chicken, soldier” floating. I’ve since mostly avoided swimming. Thanks to friends, I learned the basics of freestyle, but I never became skilled enough to truly enjoy swimming.
I know I’m not alone, but it often feels like it: In my experience, people who can’t swim generally are too embarrassed to liberally share that information, even if, like me, they want to swim.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/lessons-go-beyond-swimming-1.1064506#sthash.f1bFQztT.dpuf
Back-To-School Information: Parents and guardians are asked to update emergency contact information and also are required to review various district policies and grant certain permissions. This Mandatory Annual Online Re-registration process takes place through Skyward Family Access between August 11 and September 12. Detailed instructions will be mailed to homes on or about August 11. For more information in advance of the letter, please click here for the press release.
8.06.14: Back-To-School Night Schedule SCHOOL DATE GRADES TIME
Hawes September 11
September 18K-2
3-57 p.m.
7 p.m.
Orchard September 11 All 6:30 p.m.
Ridge September 16
September 23K-2
3-57:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
Somerville September 11All7 p.m.
Travell September 10All6 p.m.
WillardSeptember 16
September 183-5
K-26:45 p.m.
6:45 p.m.
BFMS September 9 All 7 p.m.
GWMS September 18 All 7:30 p.m.
RHS September 17 All 7:30 p.m.
Community Emergency Response Team ( CERT )Application and Fall Schedule
Community Emergency Response Team – All residents are invited to participate in the training. Ridgewood has recently formed a CERT group to help respond to emergencies.
BOARD BIDS AMERICA A HAPPY BIRTHDAY: (from left): Board members Jim Morgan, Sheila Brogan, Christina Krauss and Vince Loncto join Superintendent Dan Fishbein (center) for the Ridgewood Fourth of July Parade.
Reader asks Was there any publication that the BOE elections were coming up and any potential candidate packets were available ?
Any Notification ? Any Publication ? Candidate Packets ?
Well two BOED trustees are running unopposed. So its the same old song. Was there even any publication that the elections were coming up and any potential candidate can pick their packets up at the BOED. Snuck that one through.
BOE MEETS MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014
The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, August 25, 2014 at 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website atwww.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the July 21, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the webcast of the July 21, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
Village puts out Fact Sheet of Information on Rodent Activity
Due to the recent reports of rodent activity in the Village, the Health Department is providing the following educational information to its residents.
CNN Poll: Trust in government at all-time low Posted by CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser
Washington (CNN) – Four decades after President Richard Nixon resigned, a slight majority of Americans still consider Watergate a very serious matter, a new national survey shows. But how serious depends on when you were born.
The CNN/ORC International poll’s release comes one day before the 40th anniversary of Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974. With the Watergate scandal escalating, the second-term Republican president had lost much of his political backing, and he faced almost certain impeachment and the prospects of being removed from office by a Democratic-dominated House and Senate.
There’s a big generational divide over the significance of the scandal, with a majority of those older than 40 describing Watergate as a very serious problem and those under 40 saying it was just politics.
The poll also indicates that the public’s trust in government is at an all-time low.
Just 13% of Americans say the government can be trusted to do what is right always or most of the time, with just over three-quarters saying only some of the time and one in 10 saying they never trust the government, according to the poll.
“The number who trust the government all or most of the time has sunk so low that it is hard to remember that there was ever a time when Americans routinely trusted the government,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said
In Senate race to watch, Jeffrey Bell is running against Janet Yellen
Why isn’t the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee coming in for Jeffrey Bell in New Jersey? He’s in a remarkable political fight, running surprisingly close to the incumbent, Cory Booker, despite having zilch in his campaign account. Yet he can’t get his phone calls returned by the national GOP. This is all the more amazing because Mr. Bell is framing a national issue — the failure of the Federal Reserve to create jobs. It’s almost as if Bell’s real opponent were not the glad-handing Booker but Janet Yellen, the Fed chairman. (Lipsky/The New York Post)
What You Should Know About the National Do Not Call Registry
The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at the below website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.
Scammers have been making phone calls claiming to represent the National Do Not Call Registry. The calls claim to provide an opportunity to sign up for the Registry. These calls are not coming from the Registry or the Federal Trade Commission, and you should not respond to these calls.
To register your phone number or a complaint click on the link below.
U.S. Senate candidate Bell says his focus is economy
With less than 100 days until the November election, recent polls have shown Republican candidates coming on strong. U.S. Senate Republican candidate Jeff Bell told NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams that he has been a man for big ideas and that his campaign is focusing on the economy. (Williams/NJTV)
AUGUST 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014, 12:31 AM BY GAIL KISLEVITZ CORRESPONDENT
Nicole Torielli and her husband Joel watched their six-year-old twin boys, Dante and Carlo, complete their first triathlon at Pequannock Park in Morris County on July 20.
“They loved it,” said Nicole. “They felt like they accomplished something huge in their lives. And then they fell asleep on the car ride home.”
The Toriellis, active parents who are runners, enrolled Dante and Carlo in the Ridgewood Tri Athlete Club’s (RTA) youth division’s 10-week program to introduce their kids to the multisport event and have already signed up for the next 10-week session that will conclude with another kids’ triathlon in September.
The sport of triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the United States, especially in the women’s and youth division. Triathlon distances range from a sprint, usually a half-mile swim, followed by a 12-to-16 mile cycle course and a 5K run, 3.1 miles. Then there is the granddaddy of triathlon, the Ironman, a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile cycle course and a full marathon, 26.2 miles. Ridgewood and its surrounding towns have been a draw for triathletes for years. There are numerous triathlon events in the area and clubs geared towards the fast growing sport.
Ridgewood Library hosts art exhibit featuring scenes in Ridgewood
AUGUST 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014, 12:31 AM BY EILEEN LA FORGIA STAFF WRITER
Adele Grodstein’s exhibit at the Ridgewood Public Library features oil paintings of scenes in Ridgewood as well as landscapes from travels, still lifes and even a portrait. The show is full of life and vivid color.
“Movement is always there – the struggle to keep everything in position for the brushstroke balancing the knowledge that when I look up again, the whole view will have changed slightly,” said Grodstein.
“Big Sky (Going to the Sun Road)” is a large painting from a family trip to Glacier National Park.
“I was very excited about the photo I took and wanted it to be a painting. Glacier National Park is so beautiful, a disappearing landscape,” she noted.
Ridgewood’s Duck Pond scene was painted in February and is called “No Skating.”
