Lou Altman Receives 2012 Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award

The Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) presented the 2012 Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award to Louis Altman of Bradenton, FL, and Northbrook, IL, immediate past president of the SHJ and member of the board of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Sarasota, FL.

Lou Altman has been a committed member of the SHJ for more than 30 years and has served as president for the past six years. "Lou has never met a humanist organization he wouldn't join," quipped SHJ Executive Director Bonnie Cousens who, in addition to their relationship through the Society, has served with him on the Board of Directors of the Secular Coalition for America. She continued, "The Society and Humanistic Judaism can always count on his support." Rabbi Miriam Jerris, in presenting the award, asserted, "Lou's clear rational thinking, coupled with his quiet caring and compassion, generosity and conscious ethical behavior has made him a role model worthy of significant emulation."

Altman, in receiving the award said, "I am very pleased to be honored by my friends in the Society, but also a little embarrassed by all the attention. I only did what seemed called for in order to promote Humanistic Judaism, and I know that many others have done likewise and will continue to do so."

The award, established by SHJ past president and Kol Hadash, California, member Bert Steinberg in 2003 in honor of Wine's 75th birthday, represents Steinberg's heartfelt gratitude at finding a Humanistic Jewish community that reflected his lifelong philosophy and unfulfilled need.　When the award was first established in his name Wine said, "I feel very honored that it not only is connected to what is most meaningful in my life, but it is an award recognizing other people's work."

Recipients of the award are individuals who have "over the years exemplified extraordinary dedication, devotion, adherence to and activity in the Secular Humanistic Judaism Movement and the philosophical doctrines enunciated by the Movement's founder, Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine."

Petition for a Minute of Silence in Memory of the Munich 11

Tell the International Olympic Committee: 40 Years is Enough!
At the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, eleven members of the Israeli team were murdered. For forty years their families have asked the International Olympic Committee to observe a minute of silence, in their memory.  They have worked for four decades to obtain recognition of the Munich massacre from the International Olympic Committee. Repeatedly, their requests for a minute of silence during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, starting with the ’76 Montreal Games, have been turned down. The 11 murdered athletes were members of the Olympic family; they should be remembered within the framework of the Olympic Games.

Please go  to https://www.change.org/petitions/international-olympic-committee-minute-of-silence-at-the-2012-london-olympics to sign the petition.

Summer Camp For Children of Humanists: $80 Early Bird Discount

Sunday, August 5, 12:00 pm – Saturday, August 11, 12:00 pm
Ages 7-16
Camp Seven Hills
Holland, NY 

The Center for Inquiry recently announced its 2012 summer program for children ages seven to sixteen.  In its seventh year, Camp Inquiry will take place from August 5 through August 11 at Camp Seven Hills in Holland, New York.  The site boasts 620 acres of woodland paths, meadows, streams, and hills perfect for outdoor exploration.  Camp Seven Hills is fully insured and accredited with the American Camp Association.  With its impressive 5 to 1 camper to counselor ratio, Camp Inquiry is run by a staff of fully screened, trained, and experienced teacher-counselors, including a trained medical professional.

To register, click here.

 

The National Day of Reason—May 3

For decades, the National Day of Prayer has been observed—unconstitutionally—by officials at all levels of government, most notably proclaimed by every president since Truman. When elected leaders conduct religious ceremonies and events, they endorse and favor a particular religious belief, using taxpayers’ money while doing so.  When they call upon all Americans to join them in this particularly sectarian exercise, they defy our Constitution.

In response, the National Day of Reason was established in 2003 to coincide with the National Day of Prayer, observed annually on the first Thursday of May. This was not done merely to express opposition but also to give an alternative view, a positive vision for tackling the country’s problems: reason over faith and good works over wishful thinking.

The crises and challenges facing our nation can seem staggering at times, and it’s only natural that Americans would want to turn to a higher power for solutions. But we know that human beings have it within themselves to make their world a better place, by applying the tools of science and reason, by living the values of compassion and charity, by taking action in this world rather than asking for favors from the next.

Official observance of the National Day of Prayer is a violation of our basic constitutional principles, essentially classifying the nonreligious as “less American” than those who subscribe to a specific faith. But even worse, by insisting that we must submit to a deity to solve our problems, it robs Americans of our ability to find our own strength and take responsibility for our country and our fellow citizens.

On the National Day of Reason, we affirm that it is within each of us to make this country as prosperous, as secure, and as good as we want it to be. 

"Women in Secularism" Conference, May 18-20

The Center for Inquiry is sponoring a "Women in Secularism" conference on May 18-20 in Arlington, Virginia.  For more info, visit http://www.womeninsecularism.org/.

The Jews Who Sell Rope To Their Hangmen

Lenin once said,  “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.”

As reported by the New York Post, Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, who runs Alfa Bank, his nation’s largest private finance house (one that the Sunday Times of London called “one of the most controversial business empires on the planet”  in 2007), teamed up with developer Jack Rosen of Rosen Partners in December to invest $1 billion in US real estate from New York to Miami.  It could be a highly profitable agreement for everyone involved, especially Fridman, whose net worth is already $13 billion.  The two are eyeing a condo project at 56 Pine St. in Manhattan and a New Jersey townhouse development, but the deals have yet to be finalized, according to reports.

The New York Post revealed to Rosen that Fridman has a connection to the construction of Iran’s nuclear- power plant in Bushehr, which went online in September. Rosen says that he then reached out to Fridman — and that Fridman’s explanation was good enough for him.  “If [Fridman] knew he directly funded a nuclear facility in Iran, I would express my disappointment,” Rosen told The Post. “He told me that Alfa never directly funded nuclear projects.”
According to reports, Fridman’s Alfa Bank provided financing throughout the 2000s to Atomstroyexport, the state-owned Russian nuclear vendor that installed the reactors at Bushehr.  Rosen, who heads the American Jewish Congress and the Council of the World’s Jewry, said Fridman never disclosed the connection to him.

Many banks, Rosen said, have no idea how the money they lend is used.  He insisted that Fridman told him “he wasn’t aware how their money was used.”