Need to Know for Sept. 18

A day of atonement, Henry Winkler’s Emmy and a Jewish NFL kicker

French chief rabbi suggests special prayer for terrorist victims on Yom Kippur

France’s chief rabbi asked his congregants to recite a special prayer for victims of terrorism during Yom Kippur, which this year falls on the country’s national day of commemoration for them. Haim Korsia wrote and sent the letter last week to several other rabbis, informing them that this year will be the last that the Sept. 19 National Commemoration for Victims of Terrorism occurs during the Jewish month of Tishrei, in which Jews celebrate the High Holidays and Yom Kippur, the Jewish main day of atonement. But this year, the ceremony does collide with Yom Kippur, he wrote, and so “I ask you to hold on Yom Kippur during the Yizkor prayer a special prayer for all the victims of the terrorist attacks that have hit our country for too many years now and to make congregants aware of this,” Korsia wrote. “It is a deeply Jewish way of taking part in the National Commemoration.” Sept. 19 is the 20th consecutive National Commemoration for Victims of Terrorism, an event which several nonprofit organizations started in 1998 and which is attended by the French president. Yom Kippur is recognized as a holiday for Jews in the official French government calendar. This means major exams and other national activities are not held on Yom Kippur whenever possible. However, the government is not the organizer of the event honoring terror victims. This date was selected because that was the day that in 1989, terrorists linked to the late dictator of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, blew up a Paris-bound flight in Africa, killing 170 people, including 54 French nationals.—JTA

Yom Kippur begins on the evening of Sept. 18 and concludes on the evening of Sept. 19.

Yankees and Red Sox have midweek day game due to Yom Kippur

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will meet in a rare midweek day game in the Bronx on the eve of Yom Kippur. The game was scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 18 in order to avoid conflicting with Judaism’s holiest day of the year, The New York Times reported. A Red Sox win would clinch the American League East Division championship. The Yankees are likely to receive a wild card berth in the postseason. The clubs will meet again later in the month at the end of the regular season in another three-game series. The Red Sox and Yankees have been fierce rivals for nearly a century, since Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth’s contract to the Yankees. —JTA

Also see:

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Yom Kippur
Who’s Sorry Now: The Top 10 Apologies of the Jewish Year

Groups offer help to synagogues affected by Boston-area gas explosions

Jewish communal and religious organizations are offering assistance to synagogues and Jewish residents in three Boston-area communities affected by a massive series of gas explosions and fires that has killed at least one man. The explosions on Sept. 13 also resulted in at least a dozen injuries and widespread evacuations overnight. On Sept. 14, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, the impacted communities some 25 to 30 miles north of Boston. The area is home to several synagogues including Temple Emanuel, a large Reform congregation in Andover; Congregation Beth Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Lawrence; Chabad Lubavitch of Merrimack Valley, also in Andover; and the unaffiliated Congregation Ansha Sholum in Lawrence. Residents were Sept. 13 when electrical power to residences and businesses was shut off to prevent a spark from igniting any stray gas. As of Sept. 14, some 18,000 electrical customers were still without power, the Boston Globe reported. In addition to local and state safety officials, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are also involved in investigating the cause.

Rabbi Moshe Schwartz, head of school at KSDS: “The liturgy of the High Holidays — particularly the well-known line in the Unetanah Tokef which states, ‘Who shall perish by water and who by fire’ — comes to mind during a time like this.” (Photo by Steve Ruark)

KSDS helps hurricane refugees

When 9-year-old Ryan Bailey and his little brother, Caleb, 6 came to visit family in Baltimore last week for Rosh Hashanah, little did they know they would stay longer than anticipated. Because of Hurricane Florence, Ryan and Caleb — who live in Norfolk, Va., and attend the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater in Virginia Beach — were still in Charm City when the holiday ended and most Jewish day schools resumed. As planned, they returned to school the day after the Jewish new year. Just not to their school. “Krieger Schechter Day School welcomed my kids right in,” says Robyn Bailey, whose sister, Jodi Wahlberg, is a KSDS middle school teacher. “They treated them as part of the community, made them feel really special and helped make them feel like the situation was normal.”

Read the complete story: Krieger Schechter Comes to the Aid of Young Hurricane Refugees

U.S. cuts number of refugees for 2019

The United States will cut the number of refugees that it will accept for 2019, to the lowest level set since the Refugee Act became law in 1980. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Sept. 17 that up to 30,000 refugees will be resettled in the United States in 2019 under the new refugee ceiling, down from 45,000 this year. Global humanitarian groups have called the 2018 ceiling of 45,000 too low. Since 1980, the average annual ceiling has been set at 96,229 refugees. In addition, more than 280,000 asylum seekers will be processed. There are over 800,000 asylum seekers who are already inside the United States and who are awaiting adjudication of their claims, Pompeo said. “These expansive figures continue the United States’ longstanding record of the most generous nation in the world when it comes to protection-based immigration and assistance,” he told reporters Sept. 17. The Jewish refugee aid organization HIAS condemned the proposed refugee resettlement ceiling.

Henry Winkler wins his 1st Emmy

Actor Henry Winkler, 72, won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Gene Cousineau on HBO’s dark comedy “Barry.” Winkler was nominated three times for his work on “Happy Days,” in 1976, 1977 and 1978. His character Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli spawned a cultural craze and made him one of the biggest stars on TV, according to Fox News. Winkler also was nominated for an Emmy in 1979 for an informational program and most recently in 2000 as a guest actor in “The Practice.” The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards aired Sept. 17.

See the full list of Emmy Award winners.

Also see: ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Wins 8 Emmy Awards

Cleveland Browns sign Jewish kicker Greg Joseph

The Cleveland Browns have signed kicker Greg Joseph, who played football and soccer at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, Fla. Joseph, a rookie, was a kicker in the Miami Dolphins training camp this summer. He signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent after a collegiate career at Florida Atlantic University. Joseph was cut by the Dolphins at the end of training camp after he lost a camp-long competition with fellow rookie kicker Jason Sanders, a seventh-round pick. Joseph made all three field goal attempts with the Dolphins during the preseason, including a field goal of 54 yards. Joseph left FAU as its all-time field goal leader and shares the school record for most extra points. Prior to playing in college, he was a member of a number of teams, including the football and soccer teams at Donna Klein Jewish Academy from 2000 to 2009. He also kicked at American Heritage School in Delray Beach, Fla. The Boca Raton native has been praised for his off-the-field charity word, and Joseph previously credited his mother, who is a teacher and head of the math department at a Jewish day school, for teaching him the values of giving back to the community. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report Joseph was signing with the Browns. “Obviously, we have to find someone that can put the ball through the uprights,” coach Hue Jackson said after Joseph signed. “We have had this situation happen now for a couple of weeks. We have to keep searching and keep looking.”—JTA

See more football coverage at PressBox.

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