Need to Know for Nov. 28

#GivingTuesday, ‘House of Cards’ and Baltimore City field trips

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday, celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving for the last six years, is a global day of giving that kicks off the charitable season. Some of the local organizations that participate include Baltimore Community ToolBank, Baltimore Hunger Project, Baltimore School for the Arts, Creative Alliance, Cylburn Arboretum, House of Ruth Maryland and dozens more. Baltimore Humane Society must constantly raise money to continue its lifesaving work. For Giving Tuesday, donors of $50 or more will receive party favors, their choice of a stuffed animal, kitten or puppy lunch bags. Monthly donors of $25 or more will receive all three favors plus a 90th birthday commemorative T-shirt. Donors are being asked to make their gifts through the Baltimore Humane Society Facebook Donate Button. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Facebook will match every donation up to $1,000 per donation and $50,000 total, beginning at 8 a.m. (For information, go to bmorehumane.org/givingtuesday/.) Additionally, according to The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, more than 150 volunteers are expected to participate in #GivingTuesday in hopes of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Baltimore community. The group will participate in a phone-a-thon, calling on community members to participate. Since #GivingTuesday was introduced, The Associated has been one of the nation’s leading nonprofits and for several years raised more than any other nonprofit in the nation. (For information, go to associated.org/givingtuesday.)

Go to givingtuesday.org to find an organization near you to help.

‘House of Cards’ still in limbo

“House of Cards’” production company, Media Rights Capital, told crew members in an email Sunday that the show will remain on hiatus for the next two weeks. It is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Kevin Spacey, the star and an executive producer of the Netflix hit, CNN reported. “These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen,” wrote Pauline Micelli, MRC’s senior vice president of business and legal affairs for television. The email was provided to CNNMoney by a spokesperson for the company. Staffers will continue to be paid during the hiatus, according to the email. The show’s writers and a small group of office and accounting staff are working in the production office. Other cast and union members who aren’t actively working will be paid according to union guidelines. Production on the sixth and final season of “House of Cards” was halted after Spacey was first accused of sexual misconduct in October. The actor, Anthony Rapp, told BuzzFeed that Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance toward him in 1986 when Rapp was 14. CNNMoney later reported on allegations of sexual harassment and assault made by current and former “House of Cards” employees against Spacey. After that report was published, Netflix said it would not be involved with the show if Spacey had any part in its future. MRC suspended Spacey pending its investigation. Sources close to the production told CNNMoney earlier this month that it is unlikely the show will be canceled, and that writers are discussing how to rewrite the show without its biggest star. Killing the show could wipe out more than 2,000 jobs and hurt Baltimore, where the show has been filmed for the past five seasons. MRC told crew members that it will update them again by Dec. 8.

Schleifer lobbied for Shomrim patrol vehicle

Last week, Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer told The Baltimore Brew and other news organizations that he had nothing to do with the use of Pimlico Video Lottery Terminal money to buy a Chevy Tahoe command vehicle for Baltimore Shomrim, a private Jewish neighborhood watch group. The purchase caused an uproar on the Internet and on Nov. 27 at City Hall following the long Thanksgiving holiday. In a second Brew interview, Schleifer stuck to the same story, saying the award had “predated” his coming into office and was engineered by his predecessor, retired 5th District Councilwoman Rochelle “Rikki” Spector. “This was from three years, four years ago. I met with community leaders [after taking office last December] and asked them what’s outstanding and try to work through them. My main knowledge of [the vehicle] is not as a councilman, but as a community leader,” he said. On Nov. 27, following a public information request by The Brew, the mayor’s office released a March 6, 2017, letter from Schleifer that directly asked Mayor Catherine Pugh to redirect $100,000 of Pimlico slots money “toward purchasing an emergency patrol vehicle for Shomrim of Baltimore.” The command vehicle – whose black-and-blue color scheme and logo closely resemble that of the Baltimore Police Department – was purchased for $49,898. Mayor Pugh then “gifted” the mobile command center at a Nov. 11 fundraising event for Shomrim at the Somrei Emunah Banquet Hall. It is the only vehicle of its kind in Baltimore and will go to support a 40-odd-member group of volunteers who have no formal police training and will use the vehicle on emergency calls they receive in a limited zone of the far Northwest. The group says it fields about four or five calls a day.

Read: Councilman lobbied the mayor to steer slots money to Shomrim patrol vehicle

Also see: City Council Member Isaac ‘Yitzy’ Schleifer has a Hands-On Approach

Carroll County kids not coming to Charm City

Carroll County school officials are limiting field trips to Baltimore City due to safety concerns stemming from recent violence, officials said Monday. The Carroll County School System said it plans to review all student field trips to Baltimore City on a case-by-case basis from now until the beginning of the next semester in January 2018, according to WBAL-TV. Officials said the decision was made on the recommendation of Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees out of the concerns of parents who were worried about student safety amid escalating violence in Baltimore City. A response from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office stated: ” In light of recent violence in the traditional tourist areas of the city, the sheriff agrees that the best course of action is to temporarily suspend travel to Baltimore City venues. This recommendation is expected to be reevaluated early next year.” School system officials said field trips that have already been planned in Baltimore City will remain scheduled, as long as they are determined to be safe for students. Meanwhile, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz issued the following statement: “Carroll County’s decision to cancel all field trips to Baltimore City is a disservice to its students, Baltimore’s cultural and arts institutions, and to the citizens of the City of Baltimore. This is a very challenging time for our region, when neighbors need to support each other. I am proud that Baltimore County public school students visited these institutions 172,000 times last year and continue to benefit each year from the educational enrichment offered by Baltimore’s venerable cultural and arts institutions. These visits continue to take place without incident.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Photo by Peter Arnold)

Bernie for Ben

Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is coming back to Baltimore next week to campaign for Ben Jealous and push his mission of universal health care, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. Sanders and Jealous will hold a rally together on Dec. 6 at Notre Dame University Maryland in North Baltimore. The theme is “Medicare for All,” a plan that both the Vermont senator and the former NAACP president have pitched for their respective national and statewide audiences. Jealous, who’s running for governor as a progressive Democrat, has made statewide Medicare a top issue in his platform. “As healthcare premiums continue to rise and burden families and small businesses, Maryland cannot afford to leave our health care in the hands of extremist Republicans in Washington, or with a governor who believes his chances at re-election are better if he simply pretends the problem doesn’t exist,” he said in a statement. “We need courageous leadership at the state level to protect Marylanders and create a system where everyone has quality, affordable healthcare no matter what happens in Washington.” Jealous’ campaign has aligned closely with Sanders, an independent who made a solid run for president two years ago while challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Sanders officially endorsed Jealous in July, showing up with the civil rights leader and tech investor at a rally in Silver Spring.

Also see: At Rally, Sen. Bernie Sanders Endorses Benjamin Jealous for Gov.

Jewish wrestler calls Hasidic costume ‘the equivalent of black face’

Jewish professional wrestler David Starr, whose given name is Max Barsky, in a post on Facebook complained about his non-Jewish colleague Mathias Glass, who calls himself “The Most Jewish Man Alive.” Glass dresses in an oversized fur hat called a shtreiml and a black suit with the fringes of his tzitzit hanging out. He has sidecurls, or payos, and often breaks into Hasidic dancing. “I want everyone to know that Mathias Glass is not Jewish,” Starr wrote Thursday on Facebook. “The stereotype driven character he portrays is offensive and distasteful. It is the equivalent of black face. Imagine me painting my face black and acting as a black character that was completely stereotypically driven. How would you react? How would the public react?” Starr, 26, said he has messaged Glass previously about his gimmick, and knows other Jews in wrestling who have urged him to stop. “Prior to finding out that he wasn’t Jewish, I thought the schtick was entertaining,” Starr also wrote. “I don’t necessarily like stereotype driven gimmicks in general, but this was clearly a self-deprecating (at least I thought it self-deprecating) comedic style. I am not a no fun sensitive snowflake type. I can make fun of myself and my people, but someone from outside the community has no right.” Reaction to Starr’s post was mixed, with some agreeing that it is offensive and others calling on the wrestler to lighten up. Others pointed out that wrestling has always been about exaggerated and offensive stereotypes. On Friday, Starr posted: “I guess black face in wrestling would be ok. Good to know. Sad state of affairs we are in. My faith in humanity has been pretty much torn to bits.” He later posted a photo of himself flashing his middle finger with the message “hashtagUnapologetic.” Glass on Friday said in a tweet: “Wrestling is real and I’m Jewish. Oy.” — JTA

Amazon in Israel

Amazon is planning to set up a retail shipping center in Israel. The company is in talks to lease at least 270,000 square feet of warehouses in the country, the Israeli business daily Calcalist reported Sunday. If Amazon succeeds then it also plans to launch a targeted website for Israeli consumers, according to Calcalist. The new warehouses could lower Amazon’s prices for Israeli consumers and drastically reduce the company’s delivery times. Amazon’s deliveries to Israel are supplied mainly through shipping centers in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Israelis are doing a growing amount of their shopping online, according to Calcalist. This is in part because of high retail prices in the country, fueled by higher taxes on items. – JTA

Israeli Universities rank in top 100

Three Israeli universities were ranked in the top 100 of the most innovative universities in the world in Reuters’ annual list. Hebrew University came in at 82, climbing 12 spots from last year. Tel Aviv University was ranked at 88 and The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology was 89. The Reuters analysis identifies the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and power new markets and industries. The ranking is based on a number of indicators, including patent filings and research paper citations. Reuters cited the Hebrew University’s technology transfer company, Yissum Research Development Company, as bringing students’ and researchers’ technologies and discoveries to market, with 10,000 registered patents covering 2,800 inventions, more than 900 licensed technologies, and the launch of 125 startups. Stanford University came in first place for the third year in a row. MIT was ranked second and Harvard University third. Overall, the top 100 consists of 51 universities based in North America, 26 in Europe, 20 in Asia and 3 in the Middle East. — JTA

Facebook still discriminating

A year after Facebook vowed to stamp out discriminatory advertising, landlords can still exclude specific races, minorities and other categories of people from seeing rental ads on the social media site. ProPublica bought dozens of rental housing ads in November and had no issue filtering out Jews, African-Americans, Spanish speakers and many more groups from viewing them, the news site reported last week. One ad excluded Facebook users with “interests” such as “Judaism,” “Hasidic Judaism,” “Orthodox Judaism” and “Reform Judaism.” “This was a failure in our enforcement and we’re disappointed that we fell short of our commitments,” Ami Vora, Facebook’s vice president of product management, said in a statement to ProPublica. “The rental housing ads purchased by ProPublica should have but did not trigger the extra review and certifications we put in place due to a technical failure.” Under the Fair Housing Act, it is illegal to publish housing advertisements that indicate “any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.” In September, ProPublica reported that Facebook’s ad buyers could reach “Jew haters” and other anti-Semitic categories of people. Facebook said it would hire thousands of more employees to improve its anti-discrimination monitoring. — JTA

Doctor who treated Aly Raisman pleads guilty to molesting gymnasts

The team doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, accused of molesting gymnasts who sought treatment from him including Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, pleaded guilty to sexual assault against seven girls. Larry Nassar entered his guilty plea on Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court in Michigan. Nassar also has been accused of various levels of inappropriate or abusive sexual behavior by more than 130 women and girls, nearly all at Michigan State University. His accusers include Olympic gold medalists Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas. He resigned from USA Gymnastics in the summer of 2015. Nassar, 54, faces up to 25 years in prison under a plea deal, though the judge could set the minimum sentence as high as 40 years, according to the Associated Press. Sentencing was set for Jan. 12, when the victims will be invited to speak. Nassar pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in July 2017, and is currently in jail awaiting sentencing in December 2017 Nassar, who admitted that his conduct had no legitimate medical purpose and that he did not have the girls’ consent, said in a statement Wednesday that he made the plea “to move the community forward and stop the hurting.” “I pray every day for forgiveness,” he also said. The girls said some of the incidents occurred when a parent was in the room when they sought help for gymnastics injuries. Nasser also pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in July 2017, and is scheduled to be sentenced next month. His medical license also has been revoked. Raisman, 23, was 15 when she was first treated by Nassar. In a CBS “60 Minutes” interview earlier this month, Raisman said she spoke to FBI investigators about Nassar following the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, after an investigation by the Indianapolis Star revealed that USA Gymnastics had a policy of not disclosing sexual abuse reports unless they were filed by the victims or a parent. She won three medals at the Brazil games, including gold in the team overall. Raisman is pushing for change at USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport. — JTA

Also see:

Aly Raisman Says Olympic Team Doctor Molested Her

Aly Raisman Only Jewish Athlete in 100 Most Famous Sports Stars List

J-Word of the Day
Sheket Bavakashah (Hebrew)
Meaning: Quiet, please
Usage: “Everyone, it’s nap time! Shecket bavakashah!”

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Above image: #GivingTuesday (Screen shot from GivingTuesday.org)