by Danya [➚] · Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
The NYT reports,
The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said on Tuesday that it planned to conduct a detailed review of Brandeis University’s surprise decision to sell off the entire holdings of its Rose Art Museum, one of the most important collections of postwar art in New England.
“I was shocked. I’m still shocked,” Michael Rush, director of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, said about the decision to close the museum.
The decision to close the 48-year-old museum in Waltham, Mass., and disperse the collection as a way to shore up the university’s struggling finances was denounced by the museum’s board, its director and a wide range of art experts, who warned that the university was cannibalizing its cultural heritage to pay its bills.
“This is one of the artistic and cultural legacies of American Jewry,” said Jonathan Lee, the chairman of the museum’s board of overseers, who said that “nobody at the museum — neither the director nor myself nor anyone else — was informed of this or had any idea what was going on.”
Jehuda Reinharz, the university’s president, said in a statement that the decision, made on Monday by the university’s trustees, was agonizing but necessary as Brandeis faces a deepening financial crisis, with its endowment, once $700 million, significantly diminished. “Choosing between and among important and valued university assets is terrible, but our priority in the face of hard choices will always be the university’s core teaching and research mission,” he wrote.
The museum’s collection includes some 6,000 works — among them seminal paintings by artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein — that are believed to be worth $350 million to $400 million, although they could bring less in the current ailing art market.
“It couldn’t be a worse time to sell expensive art,” said Robert Storr, the prominent curator and art historian. “It is not only unprincipled, but bad economics.”
He added: “This sets a terrible precedent. The Rose Art Museum has been known for four decades as a hospitable place to show serious and challenging art in an academic context. They are throwing away one of their prime assets.”
Full story here.
Some of Brandeis’ biggest donors were hit hard by the Madoff scandal. It’s interesting to note that despite all this, though, Brandeis seems to be continuing forward with plans for a $154 million-dollar science center.
by Milta Agav Orchei [➚] · Friday, December 26th, 2008
I’ve been hearing stories of people losing jobs, having trouble finding jobs, stealing massive amounts of money from Jewish institutions, and generally getting very worried. It’s troubling, painful, and can be hard to listen to.
But during the great depression one Jewish man, calling himself B. Virdot to conceal his true identity, placed an advertisement offering to pay people to share their stories with him. The people who wrote to him had no idea who he was, and his grandson, who had heard the story, had no idea it was his own grandfather until this past summer, when he found a suitcase of their letters in the attic.
His grandson, Ted Gup, wrote an article in the NY Times about his grandfather and the letters he found. Searching for an explanation for this act of kindness- he comes up with this one:
So why had my grandfather done this? Because he had known what it was to be down and out. In 1902, when he was 15, he and his family had fled Romania, where they had been persecuted and stripped of the right to work because they were Jews. They settled into an immigrant ghetto in Pittsburgh. His father forced him to roll cigars with his six other siblings in the attic, hiding his shoes so he could not go to school.
My grandfather later worked on a barge and in a coal mine, swabbed out dirty soda bottles until the acid ate at his fingers and was even duped into being a strike breaker, an episode that left him bloodied by nightsticks. He had been robbed at night and swindled in daylight. Midlife, he had been driven to the brink of bankruptcy, almost losing his clothing store and his home.
By the time the Depression hit, he had worked his way out of poverty, owning a small chain of clothing stores and living in comfort. But his good fortune carried with it a weight when so many around him had so little.
If his grandson is right, Samuel Stone (a.k.a. B. Virdot) was able to listen to all these stories because he had not forgotten his own. Perhaps our daily obligation, as Jews, to remember our own story- of slavery and oppression, can help us listen to the stories of others, however painful and troubling they might be, and reach out in times of need.
by Justin [➚] · Friday, December 26th, 2008
Over 500 Jews, from across the country, all walks of life, all types of observance, all interested in food. We are convened at the beautiful Alisomar Conference Center near Monterey, CA, for sessions ranging from pickle making to informational sessions on Jewish Farm School education.
I just got out of a premier showing of Food Stamped (website under construction). The short film was made by the husband/wife team of Shira and Yoav Potash. She is a nutrition educator, he is a film maker, they joined forces to make a film on food. The basic premise: Live on food stamps for one week, and eat healthfully. And they did! In doing so, they learned a little bit about the struggles of budget eating, and illuminate many of the problems with our subsidized economy. for some “off the cuff” thoughts about the film, click below
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by dlevy [➚] · Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
Neil Swaab, the cartoonist behind the wickedly funny (and often simply wicked) comic strip Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles offers his take on the intersection of the holiday season and worldwide economic meltdown:
(click on the image to view full size)
If you’re not familiar with the misadventures of Swaab and his teddy bear sidekick, Mr. Wiggles, enjoy diving into the strip’s archives. Beware: Mr. Wiggles is no Teddy Ruxpin. Wiggles is known for extreme sexual deviance and violence, pushing boundaries that you probably don’t even realize exist (and might wish you still didn’t after reading). Through his explicit humor, Swaab explores the nature of taboo in a world that seems increasingly devoid of any remaining taboos, to great effect. His extreme situations offer a way in to explore everything from the position of the weakest in society (such as in a hilarious and disturbing series in which Wiggles enslaved a senior citizen) to the loneliness and alienation of a single artist in the city. His take on religion is pretty cynical, but his strip on atheism will surely strike a chord with at least a few Jewschoolers (as it did with the editors of The Humanist, who reprinted it in this month’s issue).
by Justin [➚] · Sunday, December 21st, 2008
The Forward has published a partial list of the losses in the Jewish communal world thanks to uber-douchebag Bernard Madoff and his massive pyramid scheme.
to take a look click here
by Shalom Rav [➚] · Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
With every passing day it becomes abundantly clear that the Madoff scandal is having seismic financial reverberations for the Jewish community at large. The Jerusalem Report recently reported that at least $600 million in Jewish charitable funds has been lost by the collapse of Madoff’s investment firm. However, this doesn’t include billions of dollars in losses to individual and family investors who have been the primary donors to Jewish institutions.
For the Jewish community the scale of this financial crisis is staggering and almost incomprehensible to contemplate. Though it is much to early to predict what the long term implications will be, it is clear the impact will be significant. The JPost article included an interesting analysis by American Jewish historian Jonathan Sarna, from Brandeis, who suggests that the era of the “big macher” may now be officially over:
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by Ari Hart [➚] · Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
From yesterday’s JTA, see full article here:
In New York, Uri L’Tzedek, a social justice group founded last year by rabbinical students at the liberal Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, is set to launch its Tav HaYosher, or ethical seal. The seal will be awarded to kosher restaurants in New York City that treat their workers fairly. “Yosher” is a Hebrew word meaning honesty or straightness.
On the other side of the country, in Los Angeles, three Orthodox rabbis are putting the final touches on Peulat Sachir, or the Ethical Labor Initiative. The term comes from a verse in Leviticus 19 demanding that workers be paid the same day they complete their work.
The New York and Los Angeles efforts are modeled closely after the Tav Chevrati, or social seal, a similar initiative run by the 4-year-old Israeli nonprofit Bema’aglei Tzedek, or Circles of Justice. The Bema’aglei Tzedek seal is granted free to restaurants that are seen as respecting workers’ rights and being accessible to those with disabilities. More than 300 restaurants in Israel, including 130 in Jerusalem, display the seal in their windows.
The founders of the two new Orthodox seals believe that as Orthodox Jews, they bear a special responsibility for the actions of businesses that cater to their community. If Jews are to take Torah seriously, the founders of these two initiatives say, they should ensure that businesses serving their needs adhere to Jewish ethical values.
For Uri L’Tzedek, that means the kosher food industry. “We have an extra ethical imperative on issues of kashrut,” said Yanklowitz, speaking of Orthodox Jews, who comprise the majority of those who patronize kosher restaurants. “First, it’s our system, one we think has a certain level of sanctity, so we have a certain responsibility for it. And not only is it something we care about, but being that it’s our dollars and cents that keep it going, it’s an industry where we can have the greatest impact…”
The Tav HaYosher seal will be given free to kosher restaurants in New York City that guarantee three basic rights to their workers: fair pay; regular time off; and a safe and healthy work environment. Restaurants that opt into the system will be vetted by a team of volunteers and then display a certificate showing their adherence to these standards.
Uri L’Tzedek held its first volunteer training in early December and has quietly collected a handful of Manhattan restaurants interested in the project. The group expects to award its first seals in late January.”
The Tav needs you! The Tav HaYosher is a local, grassroots initiative to bring workers, restaurant owners and community members together to create just workplaces in kosher restaurants. If you are a consumer of kosher food and interested in addressing issues of social justice on a grassroots level, sign the letter of support here and indicate that you are interested in being a part of the Tav HaYosher team. This project needs people who can:
- Serve as compliance officers
- Speak Spanish
- Speak in synagogues and community centers
- Host informational sessions
- Engage restaurants
Get involved here.
by Justin [➚] · Sunday, December 14th, 2008
Two major stories have broken recently regarding the effects of the financial, market and credit crises on the world of Jewish philanthropy and its effect on charities.
click below to read more
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by BZ [➚] · Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
The shemitah year ended a couple months ago, but thanks to the financial crisis, it’s still making the headlines. A recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Robert B. Schonberger draws a parallel between the rabbinic economy of 2000 years ago and our modern economy.
Two thousand years ago, Rabbi Hillel the Elder, the head of the rabbinic court during the reign of King Herod, faced a liquidity crisis in the debt markets of his day. Hillel saw that the rich were refusing to lend money to the poor because biblical law mandated debt forgiveness during the Sabbatical year. Deuteronomy 15 declares: “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release.” With this dictate in mind, lenders would refuse to do business with debtors as the Sabbatical year approached.
In response, Hillel inaugurated a controversial legal construct known as a “prozbul,” which effectively nationalized private debts. In so doing, he allowed lenders to bypass the dictates of Deuteronomy, which demanded debt forgiveness only between individuals — debts owed by a person to the community at large were exempt. This sweeping transformation of privately held debts into publicly held obligations is recounted in the Mishnah, the great codification of Jewish law from Hillel’s time.
I’m not sure this characterization of the prozbul is entirely apt. The primary function of the prozbul is simply to allow creditors to continue to collect debts after the shemitah year (and therefore make it less risky for them to lend in the first place) — i.e. to let the economy function the same way it would if shemitah didn’t exist, while paying lip service to the praiseworthy yet unattainable ideal of living without long-term debt. The beit din signs off on the prozbul in order to effectuate the legal construct, but no public funds are involved. The beit din isn’t buying out the loans, or providing any guarantee to the lender if the borrower fails to pay back the loan.
But in any case, Schonberger concludes that something is seriously backwards with the contemporary bailout:
Perhaps Maimonides was right that some day in the future we would return to the system of Deuteronomy, but in America today we are returning with a historical irony that is hard to miss. Mr. Paulson’s plan is, after all, a rejection of the morals of modern finance in favor of the morals of Deuteronomy, but with a perverse role reversal between rich and poor, lenders and debtors.
Full story.
by Danya [➚] · Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
This is a couple of days late, but still worth sharing. Evidently, some Christian folks worried about the state of the economy decided to declare October 29th “A Day of Prayer for the World’s Economies”. Cindy Jacobs, the woman to whom, according to the 700 Club, the Lord spoke on this matter, said that cause of the current economic crisis is clear–and, of course, it has nothing to do with deregulation, the last 8 or 25 years of economic policy, or anything of the sort. Rather, she tells us,
This is so severe in the economic area because we are facing judgment from the actions, not only for our stance towards Israel, but our blatant sin against Him in passing laws such as the one allowing homosexual marriages.
And how to cleanse ourselves of these sins? Jacobs said,
We are going to intercede at the site of the statue of the bull on Wall Street to ask God to begin a shift from the bull and bear markets to what we feel will be the ‘Lion’s Market,’ or God’s control over the economic systems,” she said. “While we do not have the full revelation of all this will entail, we do know that without intercession, economies will crumble.”
Um. Exodus 32, anyone? Lest you argue that at least they’re praying to God at the site of the ba’al bull, well, the Israelites did that, too: “And when Aaron saw it [the golden calf], he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” Didn’t make it OK then, that’s for sure.
Here’s a picture of a woman blowing a big ol’ shofar as part of the event, no doubt getting her Biblical state of mind on.
More photos from the Wall Street thing (with seriously snarky commentary) can be found here.
by Justin [➚] · Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Ross Perot is back. He still has very large ears, he still has a playful, thick Texas accent and he still has charts. His charts are not surprising, but shocking nonetheless.
Ross Perot, business leader and former presidential candidate, announced today the launch of “PerotCharts.com,†a public information website that contains objective, factual information about the current economic crisis in America. The site is being launched as an alert and appeal for American citizens to inform themselves about federal government spending. Perot said, “The U.S. national debt reached $9.4 TRILLION on April 30, and it is increasing by more than $1 billion every day. We are leaving our children and grandchildren with debt they cannot possibly pay.â€
Perot’s website, PerotCharts.com, is essentially a PSA. He really has not changed his message since his runs in 1992 and 1996. It leads one to wonder why he did not have charts in 2004 when we had a federal deficit of more than $400 billion, and why he has waited so late in the 2008 election to release his message. It also leads one to wonder if he has established a PAC.
In my opinion, people like Ross Perot, maybe even people like Ralph Nader, represent something exciting and special to many people–the chance to not vote for a politician. I believe it is why Obama got such a boost from his “celebrity” status; people didn’t know him.
According to a recent poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org, the citizens of the world distrust the leaders of the world (Bush and Ahmedinijad top amongst them, nearly universally).
Interestingly, one of the clear messages this poll shows is that people around the world trust their leader more than other nations leaders. The Palestinians, who are in the poll, trust no one except Nasrallah and Abbas. Israel is not featured in the poll, and I presume it would have been the exception to the “Bush rule,” Mr. Bush being the least trusted leader in the world, by far; I presume Israel would have expressed no trust for their leaders, and little for the world’s and none for the region’s.
As America’s economy tanks, we may need to rethink our financial support of the Jewish State (and others). If the Israeli population finds their government hopelessly corrupt, why do we trust them with multi-billion dollar cash transfers? The USAid website’s Israel page has not been updated since 2005 and does not reflect the full implications of the aid package, but rather just the cash transfer. The package reflected there does not reflect the renegotiated $30 billion decade long deal from 2007.
According to Perot’s charts, in 2007 our defense budget alone had a deficit of $542 billion (20% of our total deficit), and Israel’s aid is earmarked so it might not all fall into the defense budget. Another chart shows that following the Cold War, we experienced what Perot calls a “Peace Dividend”, our spending markedly decreased. While still remarkably lower (by percentage), than at the height of the Cold War, in our own day, there has been a marked increase in US spending post-2001.
I’m certainly not knowledgeable enough to understand the ramifications of these numbers, what the practical impacts of outlandishly large spending and aid packages are, what the ramifications of suspending those packages would be, and so forth. But I think one need not be too clever to look at this and see something clearly isn’t working right.
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