Need to Know for Aug. 29

KKK in Maryland, Hurricane Harvey, Joe Arpaio and Conan’s excellent adventure

KKK in Rosedale

A Baltimore resident who leads Rosedale’s Ku Klux Klan chapter was arrested on Aug. 19 after the release of a video that appears to show him shooting at a black counter-protester at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., according to Baltimore Fishbowl. Richard Preston, 52, was charged in Virginia with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, according to a release shared by Charlottesville TV news station NBC29. He’s been at the Baltimore County Detention Center since Aug. 19, facing an additional count of being a fugitive in Virginia, court records show. He resides in Northeast Baltimore’s Cedmont neighborhood. Preston has identified himself for years as the imperial wizard of the Confederate White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan chapter in Rosedale. Rosedale’s KKK chapter is one of 18 hate groups in Maryland today, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Annapolis also has a chapter, and Rising Sun is rumored to have a known Klan presence.

Read: KKK Imperial Wizard from Baltimore Charged with Firing Gun at Violent Charlottesville Rally

Also see: The Ku Klux Klan Is Apparently Still Alive and Well in Maryland

Maryland, Whose Maryland?

The University of Maryland is suspending playing “Maryland, My Maryland” at sporting events, citing the need to evaluate the state song’s pro-Confederate lyrics, a spokeswoman for the school said, according to The Washington Post. The Civil War-era “Maryland, My Maryland,” with lyrics that mention “Northern scum,” has previously been the subject of debate. The Mighty Sound of Maryland, the university’s marching band, has played “Maryland, My Maryland” during its pregame performance at football games, athletic department spokesman Zack Bolno said. It is not played at basketball games.

Read: Maryland’s state song has pro-Confederate lyrics. Now U-Md.’s marching band isn’t playing it.

Disaster Relief

In response to Hurricane Harvey, The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore has set up a relief fund to help storm victims. The Associated will donate 100 percent of the money collected by the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund to help storm victims. The Jewish Federation of Howard County is encouraging donors to contribute to the Jewish Federation of North America’s relief fund campaign for hurricane victims (jewishfederations.org). To donate to the Associated’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, visit Associated.org/texasrelief, call 410-369-9300 or send a check to The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, 101 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore, MD 21201.

Those Affected …

Dozens of Jewish families in Houston were either evacuated or moved to the second floors of their homes due to flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, the local Jewish Family Service said. Some 150 neighborhood blocks in the city that are home to members of the Jewish community have been damaged in floods as part of the hurricane. The Evelyn Rubenstein JCC reported suffering flood damage. Prior to the hurricane it had collected emergency supplies and will serve as a distribution center for the community. The Jewish Family Service also reported flood damage, as did at least three Houston synagogues.

Read: Dozens of Houston Jewish Families Displaced in ‘Catastrophic’ Flooding

Joe Arpaio Pardoned

Jewish groups condemned President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. The White House announced the Arpaio’s pardon on Aug. 25. Arpaio, 85, was sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona for 24 years, losing a reelection bid in November 2016. He was found guilty in a Justice Department investigation for racially profiling Latinos and convicted on July 31 of criminal contempt for disobeying a federal judge’s order on detaining individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. At the time of the pardon he had not yet been sentenced, but had faced up to six months in jail. “President Trump’s pardon of Sheriff Arpaio is shameful,” said American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris in a statement. “It undermines our judicial system and, ignoring the rule of law, endorses the egregious maltreatment and racial profiling of individuals in our country. Public humiliation of detainees was an Arpaio specialty.” Arpaio proudly compared his open-air tent city jails for suspected illegal immigrants to concentration camps, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Read: Jewish groups condemn Trump’s pardon of Joe Arpaio

Neo-Nazi Site Goes Offline

Stormfront was no longer available online after its host put a hold on the neo-Nazi and white supremacist website. The hold issued on Aug. 25 by Network Solutions is “uncommon” and “usually enacted during legal disputes, non-payment, or when your domain is subject to deletion,” said the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, according to Salon. Earlier this month, Google and GoDaddy booted the Daily Stormer, another neo-Nazi and white supremacist site. Stormfront, founded in 1995 by a former Ku Klux Klan member, was the first major hate site on the internet, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The site hosted online messaging boards that served as a virtual community for anti-Semites and racists and claimed more than 300,000 members as of May 2015, according to the SPLC. — JTA

Anti-Semitism Envoy Position to be Filled, Finally

The State Department will hire a special envoy for the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, but will do away with or combine dozens of other diplomatic positions. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the announcement in a letter sent on Aug. 28 to Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The special envoy post, which was mandated in the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, has remained unfilled since Trump’s inauguration in late January, as have many other such posts. The special anti-Semitism envoy monitors acts of anti-Semitism abroad, documents the cases in State Department reports, and consults with domestic and international nongovernmental organizations. The Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism has been unstaffed since July 1. Congressmen, Jewish groups and Jewish leaders have been urging Tillerson to keep the office open and name an envoy. According to the Tillerson letter, the office will be returned to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, with two positions and $130,000 in funding. Other envoys that will be retained include the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations; Israel and the Palestinian Authority, U.S. Security Coordinator; Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS; the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom; and the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues. Of 66 current special envoys or representatives, 30 will remain. Nine positions will be eliminated; 21 will be integrated into other offices, five merged with other positions, and one transferred to the US Agency for International Development. — JTA

Jewish Pride on Display

Two Jewish celebrities showed their Jewish pride at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 27. Jack Antonoff, pop music’s new “it” producer and songwriter wore his Star of David in necklace form. Meanwhile, Nev Schulman, star of MTV’s “Catfish,” wore a yellow Star of David on his suit jacket to protest the hatred on display at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month.

Also see: Billy Joel Wears Yellow Star of David During Concert Encore

Conan O’Brien’s Israeli Adventure

Conan O’Brien arrived in Israel on Aug. 25 to a warm welcome, according to The Washington Post. The U.S. comedian and late-night talk show host is in Israel to film an episode of his show “Conan Without Borders.” He said he plans to spend time in both Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, but for now he is in Tel Aviv and the ancient port city of Jaffa. And he has been spotted soaking up the sunshine on the beach, enjoying the cuisine and checking out the “beautiful” Israeli women and their “buff” male folk. On Aug. 26, O’Brien posted a video on Facebook summing up his impressions. Standing at an overlook in Jaffa with Tel Aviv in the background, he describes tasting “shakshuka,” the popular egg-and-tomato breakfast dish, and drinking a Goldstar beer.

Read: Conan O’ Brien is in Tel Aviv, and Israelis are loving it

J-Word of the Day:

Shtarker (Yiddish)

Meaning: A strong person, someone who is stout or solid, powerful

Usage: “Don’t tell him I said so, but I think he’s a real shtarker in his field.”

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Top image: Conan O’Brien overlooking the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 26, 2017. (Screenshot from Twitter)