Avoiding Wild Goose Chases; Allan Goldstein: Great Guy, Great Story
AVOIDING WILD GOOSE CHASES
Okay, you've received an email from a friend, family member or business associate that's startled you or angered you about something dear to your heart. Your impulse is to forward it to others.
Sometimes, of course, such emails are legitimate but often times they are not. The challenge in today's e-world is how to know the difference. At The Birmingham Jewish Federation, we are asked frequently about the validity of such emails, specifically those that target Israel or describe anti-Semitic activity. Fortunately, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors and combats prejudice and hatred, provides a great resource for checking out Internet rumors pertaining to Israel, anti-Semitism and other Jewish issues. (See below link.) There one can find many of these questionable emails along with answers by ADL researchers regarding their validity. Many of these emails have been circulating for years. ADL is one of the 32 agencies and programs funded by The BJF and this is a great service that ADL provides. One example of an infamous Internet rumor is the report that the United Kingdom has "removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population." This information began circulating via email in April 2007 and seems to resurface each year at the time of Yom Hashoa, or Holocaust Commemoration Day. Like the popular children's game "telephone," the email appears in altered forms and sometimes UK is interpreted as the University of Kentucky. Either way, the information is totally false and, in fact, Holocaust education is mandatory in British schools and has not been omitted from instruction at the University of Kentucky. (So there is no need to contact Dr. Eli Capilouto, a longtime member of the Birmingham Jewish community, who recently became President of the University of Kentucky!) Again, we urge our readers to check out the validity of emails before forwarding them to others. The ADL website is a great place to start regarding upsetting email reports, and if more help is needed, Joyce Spielberger, The BJF's Director of Community Relations, is happy to provide assistance. Joyce can be reached at joyces@bjf.org.
Click for the ADL Internet rumor website.
TIP FOR CHINA
One of the 32 agencies and programs funded by The Birmingham Jewish Federation Annual Campaign is The Israel Project (TIP), an organization that educates the media and other opinion leaders about Israel. TIP's impact is spreading worldwide and it recently started an initiative in China.
Meanwhile, in what has been deemed a historic visit and a sign of growing ties between Israel and China, the Chief of Staff of China, Gen. Chen Bingde, met with Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and other military leaders in Israel on Sunday. In a report sent out today, TIP was upbeat about the visit, noting that it "ushers in a sense of cooperation and economic opportunity between the two countries, particularly as the Middle East becomes enveloped by the Arab Spring" and suggesting that "China may be reexamining its foreign policies towards the region" which could lead to stronger ties with Israel. Thanks to support it receives from The BJF Campaign and other funding sources, TIP is breaking new ground for Israel all over the world through its innovative initiatives and outreach efforts.
Photo is of China and Israel's Chiefs of Staff -- Gen. Chen Bingde (left) and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. (IDF Spokesperson)
Click for more on The Israel Project's activities regarding China.
ALLAN GOLDSTEIN: GREAT GUY, GREAT STORY
There is a great story on the Birmingham Medical News' website on Dr. Allan Goldstein, a member of our Jewish community. The story captures Allan's warmth, sincerity and devotion to the medical profession.
Allan (pictured here) and his wife, Sherron, who is President of Temple Emanu-El, have been generous supporters of The Birmingham Jewish Federation for decades. Here's an excerpt from writer Dale Short's story: When Allan Goldstein, MD was ten years old, he went to a doctor for allergy shots and came away with a career plan. "The gentleman was a general practitioner named Paul Seigel," Goldstein recalls, "and what impressed me was that he was having so much fun being a doctor. He was always smiling, and he took time to talk to every patient. He'd make jokes. It was so obvious that he was having a great time. And I thought, I'd like to have a job I enjoyed that much." A native of Cleveland, Goldstein had no doubt he'd study internal medicine. But when it came time to choose a specialty, he gave it more thought. "I realized that as an internist I knew some very good doctors who didn't know much about pulmonary," Goldstein says. "I decided I'd study it for one year, and if I liked it I'd go further. I loved it." Thirty-six years later, he practices at Pulmonary Associates on Montclair Road. He originally came to Alabama temporarily to help at a lung clinic treating coal miners. "But then I made the mistake of driving through Birmingham in the springtime," he says. "The azaleas were blooming, and it reminded me how tired I was of driving to work in the snow. "It was hard leaving our families, but we've raised three girls here and Birmingham's been very good to us. So, no regrets."
