Marine Creature Attacks Japan!

Disaster Averted: You might have missed this. It's been a really tough week for us New MexiJews - indeed, for Jews all over the country - what with the "US Representative Ilhan Omar said this but US Representative Ilhan Omar meant that" controversy and the many repercussions thereof.

Which is not to mention the shocking (but not surprising) news of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's a) impending indictment; and b) cozying up to the Kahanists to get re-elected. And the attack on the Women of The Wall.

But Abq Jew digresses. CNN on Shabbat Pekudei reported:

Boat's collision with 'marine creature' leaves 87 injured
By Junko Ogura, CNN Updated 11:04 AM ET, Sat March 9, 2019 

Tokyo (CNN) More than 80 people were injured after a high-speed boat collided with a "marine creature" off the northwest coast of Japan, the country's Coast Guard told CNN. 

The boat was carrying 121 passengers during the collision, injuring 87 people traveling on the vessel, according to the Coast Guard from the Niigata prefecture. 

Five passengers had to be airlifted to hospital but they remained conscious. The crew of the high-speed vessel told officials that "it hit the object [which appeared] to be a marine creature." 

The Coast Guard dispatched vessels and helicopters to investigate the cause of the collision, but they have yet to find the alleged animal or any other cause of the crash. 

The incident occurred between Niigata and Sado Island, off Japan's northwest coast.

This nearly-tragic occurrence immediately brought to what, after all these years, is left of Abq Jew's mind - the second tragic event that occurred on November 22, 1963.

The first event - we of a certain age will never forget.

The second event - we of a certain age may not even remember, since its tragedy was drowned in the tragedy of the first event.

Abq Jew speaks, of course, of

The Staten Island Ferry Octopus Disaster

About which Abq Jew blogged in November 2016 (see Another Disaster, Another Memorial). Don't remember? Here is the story:

It was close to 4am on the quiet morning of November 22, 1963 when the Steam Ferry Cornelius G. Kolff vanished without a trace. 

On its way with nearly 400 hundred people, mostly on their way to work, the disappearance of the Cornelius G. Kolff remains both one of New York’s most horrific maritime tragedies and perhaps its most intriguing mystery. 

Eye witness accounts describe “large tentacles” which “pulled” the ferry beneath the surface only a short distance from its destination at Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan. Nobody on board survived and only small pieces of wreckage have been found … strangely, with large “suction cup-shaped” marks on them. 

The only logical conclusion scientists and officials could point to was that the boat had been attacked by a massive octopus, roughly half the size of the ship. 

Adding to the tragedy, is that this disaster went almost completely unnoticed by the public as later that day another, more “newsworthy” tragedy would befall the nation when beloved President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. 

Artist Joe Reginella has taken it upon himself to spread awareness of this maritime tragedy - via a website, a Facebook page, a documentary, and the Staten Island Ferry Octopus Disaster Memorial Museum.

The Staten Island Ferry Disaster Museum
hopes to preserve the memory of those lost
in this tragedy, and to educate the public
about the only known giant octopus-ferry
attack in the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area.

You can learn more about the Staten Island Ferry Octopus Disaster here and here.

Let us never forget.

Enjoy this blog post?

Hate in NM: March 2019

Great News! For our beloved Land of Enchantment, which regularly comes in last, next-to-last, or elsewhere near the bottom of state rankings for such things as education, poverty, and child well-being (as well as overall state rankings), there is (at last!) some truly great news:

New Mexico Has Hit Zero (0)!

It's true! On its latest Hate Map, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reports that

In 2018, SPLC tracked 0 hate groups in New Mexico.

Meanwhile, back in the [rest of the] US of A, the SPLC reports that

In 2018, SPLC tracked 1,020 hate groups across the US.

Now, Abq Jew (like anyone else who grew up in the '60s) always knew about Jew- and anybody else-hatred in general.

But he was not all that concerned about Jew- or anybody else-hatred coming up and biting him in the proverbial tuchus until that incident more than two(!) years ago, on Friday the 13th of January 2017 (see You've Got Hate Mail!).

Now, Abq Jew is a big fan of
the ADL, the SPLC, and the ACLU.

Abq Jew got the Hate Map numbers shown above from the Spring 2019 issue of the SPLC's Intelligence Report. Which also reported (in the entire US) -

• 51 Ku Klux Klan groups
• 112 Neo-Nazi groups
• 148 White Nationalist groups
• 63 Racist Skinhead groups
• 36 Neo-Confederate groups
• 17 Christian Identity groups
• 17 Anti-Immigrant groups
• 49 Anti-LGBT groups
• 100 Anti-Muslim groups
• 163 General Hate groups

None of them in New Mexico.

However -

The Intelligence Project identified 612 extreme

anti-government groups that were active in 2018.

Including four (4) in New Mexico (Google, if you must):

1. American Patriots (Albuquerque)
2. Constitution Party (Los Lunas)
3. Reign of Heaven Society (Statewide)
4. The Three Percenters - IIIers (Statewide)

And furthermore, in a letter to The New York Times, anthropologist Lyla Yastion states:

Members of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest
neo-Nazi groups in the United States, lighted a swastika last year
in Draketown, Ga. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Re “Rising Far-Right Extremism in America,” by Thomas T. Cullen (Op-Ed, Feb. 23), in which he cites statistics showing an alarming increase in hate crimes by far-right and white supremacist groups: 

Not enough attention has been paid to President Trump’s rallies as a breeding ground for inflaming the passions of such extremism. 

These rallies are dismissed as circus acts, but their power is insidious — dramas that agitate the hatred, anger and bigotry of a dictator’s followers. It is a parasitic relationship: Supporters of President Trump feed off his fame and wealth, which they know they will never have; he feeds off their adulation to validate the artifice of his presidency. 

Eric Hoffer, in his classic “The True Believer,” attributes mass movements to discontent fueled by frustration. The resurgence of overt white supremacist sympathies is evidence of deep-seated frustration released into action by a president whose only motive in life seems to be self-glorification.

And JTA just reported:

White supremacists exchange insults with counterprotesters as they
attempt to guard the entrance to Emancipation Park in
Charlottesville, Va., Aug. 12, 2017. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

White supremacists targeting message to neighborhoods and campuses like never before, ADL says 

White supremacists dramatically stepped up their propaganda efforts targeting neighborhoods and campuses in 2018 to never-before seen levels. 

Such efforts increased by 182 percent, to 1,187 distributions across the U.S., up from 421 total incidents reported in 2017, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday. 

The number of racist rallies and demonstrations also rose last year, with 91 white supremacist rallies or other public events attended by white supremacists held in 2018, up from 76 the previous year.  

In addition, hate groups increasingly used so-called “flash mob” tactics to avoid advance publicity and scrutiny. 

In most cases the identities of individual members were hidden, according to the ADL.

you think this whole hate business

happened long ago and far away

Please allow Abq Jew to introduce you to Simon Romero.

Simon Romero is a national correspondent for The New York Times, covering immigration and other issues.

Mr. Romero, born and raised in New Mexico, graduated cum laude with a degree in history and literature from Harvard College and studied history at the University of São Paulo. 

In 2000, he held a Ford Fellowship in business journalism at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. 

He lives in Albuquerque with his wife and their two children. 

A historical marker to commemorate the massacre at Porvenir. Jessica Lutz

Mr Romero has just contributed an outstanding article to The Times. Which begins:

Lynch Mobs Killed Latinos Across the West. The Fight to Remember These Atrocities is Just Starting. 

Arlinda Valencia was at a funeral when an uncle told her a bewildering family secret: An Anglo lynch mob had killed her great-grandfather. 

“A mixture of grief and shock overwhelmed me since this was the first I heard of this,” said Ms. Valencia, 66, the leader of a teachers’ union in El Paso. “The more I looked into it, the more stunned I was at how many Mexicans were lynched in this country.” 

Ms. Valencia and other descendants of lynching victims are now casting attention on one of the grimmest campaigns of racist terror in the American West: the lynching of thousands of men, women and children of Mexican descent from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century.

Much of the article deals with the Porvenir Massacre of 1918. Of which Abq Jew had never, ever, heard. And about which he intends (Billy Nader) to write in the future.

And then there was this historical nugget:

In Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza, where gift shops and restaurants now cater to tourists, three men identified as Escolastico Perea, Miguel Barrera and California Joe were hanged by a mob of about 200 local residents in 1881 in connection with the murder of a geological surveyor, Col. Charles Potter. 

“Though lynching in general is to be condemned, yet to every case there is an exception,” The Santa Fe New Mexican reported at the time. “In the instance of the dastardly murder of Charles Potter, it is very doubtful whether justice can be too swiftly meted out.”

Abq Jew intends (Billy Nader) to write about this, too. Simon Romero's source?

Marc Simmons, who wrote a weekly Santa Fe New Mexican history column for more than 35 years. A few years ago, The New Mexican published reprints from among the more than 1,800 columns he produced during his career.

1880s murder in Sandias led to lynchings, shootout 

By Marc Simmons Apr 22, 2016 

In the fall of 1880, all of New Mexico was shocked to learn of the sudden disappearance of a prominent visitor, Col. Charles Potter. That he had become a victim of foul play, everyone believed.

A parade float at the Aalst Carnaval in Belgium featuring caricatures of
Orthodox Jews atop money bags, March 3, 2019. (Courtesy of FJO, via JTA)

All of which adds up to

More than enough hate to go around.

Let's try something different.

How Jewish-Americans Changed

Popular American Music: Abq Jew is happy to announce that noted composer, lecturer, and recording artist Jane Ellen will be teaching a class in March at Congregation B'nai Israel in Albuquerque.

Yes, this is a "D.S. Al Fine" (Abq Jew actually knew Al Fine in Aberdeen, New Jersey; but he digresses) of the three (3)-part class that Jane taught at OASIS Albuquerque in Fall 2017 - Spring 2018 - Summer 2018.

Which Abq Jew was fortunate enough to catch in situ. But if you were not - for lack of Senior ID or because, for example, you work[ed] during the day -

Here is your chance.

This three-part series will focus on the invaluable contribution of Jewish-American composers, musicians, and entertainers to the tapestry of popular music in the United States since the late 19th century.

Part 1: Broadway to the Big Bands & Beyond

Sunday March 17 @ 1:00 pm

Part 1 will trace the earliest roots from Tin Pan Alley to the Yiddish Theatre and finally on to the Great White Way, where Jewish-Americans almost single-handedly invented America's most valuable artistic export: the Broadway musical. Future installments will include jazz, pop, and rock

Part 2: Moving Music Forward Through Jazz and Pop

Sunday March 24 @ 1:00 pm

This lecture, Part 2, begins with entertainers in vaudeville and on Broadway; then on to the rise of the Big Band era and popular bandleaders during the 1930s-40s. Finally we look at those composers who brought life to our favorite films on the silver screen.

Part 3: Moving Music Into the 21st Century

Sunday March 31 @ 1:00 pm

The series concludes with a look towards the future in a myriad of styles including the diverse contributions of such artists as Stan Getz, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Laura Nyro, Janis Ian, Paul Simon, Bette Midler, Joey and Tommy Ramone, Billy Joel, Béla Fleck, Beastie Boys, Drake, Pink, and many more.

About Jane Ellen

Jane Ellen is an active composer, lecturer, and recording artist, with multiple CDs and over 60 print publications to her credit.

Currently living in the southwestern US, she considers herself a citizen of the world and travels at every opportunity.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of New Mexico and received permanent Professional Masters certification from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in Washington, DC after completing 15 hours towards a Masters degree in composition.

And the Angels Sing

Visions of the Hispanic World

Through March 31: Although it's been a while (see 2013's Western Landscapes) since he blogged about it, Abq Jew is a big fan of the Albuquerque Museum.

The Museum's current exhibition is

Visions of the Hispanic World

Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library

November 10, 2018 to March 31, 2019

The exhibition includes over 200 of the most exceptional works spanning over 3,000 years in the collections of the Hispanic Society of America. A significant number of these works have not been exhibited outside of the Hispanic Society, and some have never before been exhibited.

Have you seen this exhibition yet? If you haven't (or if you have), here is our own Metalhead Mayor Tim Keller sitting down with Albuquerque Museum’s Director Andrew Connors to discuss 'Visions of the Hispanic World'.

It's been a few weeks since Abq Jew visited the exhibition. And he certainly agrees with the Albuquerque Journal that

‘Visions of Hispanic World’ a must-see ABQ experience 

On the heels of the resounding success of “Da Vinci – The Genius” at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, another Albuquerque museum is making a big splash with an exhibition celebrating 3,000 years of Spanish art and culture. 

The Albuquerque Museum is the first stop in the U.S. for “Visions of the Hispanic World.” The historic collection features 200 items from the Iberian Peninsula such as paintings, sculpture and illuminated manuscripts – including a letter from Queen Elizabeth I to King Philip II of Spain, a Hebrew bible, ceramics, fiber and jewelry. 

Highlights include everything from the romantic images of Francisco de Goya to prehistoric vessels, works by El Greco and the works of Spanish Golden Age painter Diego Velásquez.

The collection is, indeed, magnificent. It is, most definitely and without a doubt, worth your visit. But Abq Jew (just like you, he is sure) wanted to know -

How About the Jews in Sefarad?

Abq Jew spent a lot of time looking around the exhibition (and examining the Gallery Guide), and here is the singular object that he found.

43

Hebrew Bible

Spain and Portugal ca. 1450–1497

illuminated manuscript on vellum

B241

This illuminated Hebrew Bible is remarkable in many aspects and is considered one of the most impressive examples of this distinguished cultural tradition. 

We can trace the history of this Bible and its whereabouts almost from the moment of creation up to the modern day. 

The Bible was written and decorated in Spain, probably after 1450, and subsequently made its way to Portugal around 1492 upon the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Eight illuminated folios were added in Portugal between 1492 and 1497. 

The manuscript left Portugal following the expulsion of the Jews in 1497, eventually ending up in the possession of the Rossilho family who presumably fled Portugal after the decree issued by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1496. 

From a manuscript note written on one of the flyleaves, we know that the Rossilho family had arrived in Pisa from Fez. 

Finding themselves in financial hardship, the Rossilhos sold the manuscript in 1618 to Jacob Curiel (Duarte Nunes da Costa, 1585–1664), a Marrano (Christianized Jew) born in Lisbon, whose family left Portugal in 1609 to avoid persecution. 

Jacob Curiel, a wealthy merchant and the author of the note in the manuscript, first settled in Florence, then Amsterdam, and finally Hamburg where he later served as the agent of the Portuguese crown until his death in 1664. 

The lavishly gilt-stamped, red leather binding was executed in Rome in the early 17th century around the time of its purchase.

The illuminations and decorated initials are what truly set this manuscript apart from other Hebrew Bibles. 

The text is preceded by ten decorative folios which list the verses in the books of the Bible, all surrounded by filigree decoration in mauve and gold, within a filigree gold frame. The last prefatory folio bears a depiction of a menorah. 

The text itself is decorated throughout with resplendent gold initials or initial words. 

The eight full-page Renaissance-style illuminations executed in Portugal interspersed throughout the Bible all have the same basic layout: two wide painted borders enclosed around the outer edge by lace-like filigree, all creating a central focus of space for the Biblical text. 

The exterior borders are filled with leafy branches and are inhabited by all manner of animals, both real and imaginary: snails, owls, a parakeet and other exotic birds, a lion, dragons, and, most frequently, a peacock.

The Good News here is that
seeing this Hebrew Bible IRL is way much better than seeing it in the photo that Abq Jew surreptitiously took at the Museum.

The Bad News here is that
either way, you only get to see one page of this Hebrew Bible. It's a really beautiful page; but it's only one page.

Nevertheless; by all means, go.

The Duchess of Alba will thank you.

As will master santero Charlie Carrillo (see 2016's Santos and the Jews), who here shares centuries of cultural connections.

“What history books lose is that personal
connection people have to a personal past.”