On Saturday, November 10 the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) will host a free, open-to-the-public lecture called "Basic First Aid and Emergency Preparedness for Your Pet" at the Dog Training Club of Chester Co. in Exton, PA.
Beginning at 10:00 AM, Dr. Dana Clarke, lecturer of critical care and interventional radiology, will talk about basic first aid that can be performed on a pet in the event of an emergency. She will discuss what to look for as signs of an emergency and teach the owner safe restraint of their pet. Safe restraint is important so that the pet does not injure the owner or itself further. Dr. Clarke will also discuss basic patient assessment, CPR, and common emergencies.
In an op-ed published by JTA, Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act — or Obamacare — is in lockstep with Jewish values and traditions. Emanuel wrote:
The duty to heal the sick and provide for the poor are deep moral imperatives in the Jewish tradition. Combined with the biblical command to treat the stranger as yourself because you were once a stranger in a strange land, this duty transforms our obligations beyond the worthy interest in promoting the health and well-being of our own community. Our mothers can't just want their children to be doctors to Jewish people, they must heal whomever is sick-Jew and non-Jew.
This element of Jewish philosophy makes the Jews' stake in health care reform enormous. It is not just about providing insurance to millions of uninsured Americans-caring for children who might not get the vaccinations or the checkups they need, or diagnosing cancer or other diseases early, or making sure people don't have to choose between bankruptcy and having a needed surgical procedure. For Jews it is about more; it is about holding true to our tradition.
After 100 years of trying to achieve comprehensive health care reform-an effort that started with Teddy Roosevelt and continued with FDR, Harry Truman and Bill Clinton-Congress finally passed the Affordable Care Act and President Obama signed it into law on March 23, 2010. Once and for all, the Supreme Court affirmed that the law, particularly the individual mandate, is constitutional...
Because of this health care reform, children can no longer be denied care due to pre-existing conditions. Patients can't lose coverage when they get sick. Insurance companies can't impose lifetime caps on care or raise premiums without reason. Medical research will proceed faster, as insurers must cover the cost of participation on clinical trials. And all of this reform comes while still allowing preserving the traditional physician-patient relationship...
These changes will save lives. They will perfect our union and help repair our world. Yet Republican leaders want to reverse course...
This weekend, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, a conference will be held. The gathering, which the University is hosting, has been arranged by a group which is identified by the acronym BDS. BDS refers to the movement dedicated to punishing, vilifying and delegitimizing the State of Israel in three ways.
First, this group encourages "B", boycotting Israeli products.
Second, the group advocates "D", divesting from companies which do business in and with Israel.
And third is "S", the efforts to convince governments around the world to impose sanctions against Israel.
The members of this group are united in their belief that Israel is among the most evil and discriminatory societies in the world. Likened in many ways to South Africa under apartheid, Israel, they claim, is a racist society, denying basic human rights to Arabs living under her jurisdiction. Israel is viewed as a fascist nation, using its great military strength to occupy Palestinian land. And Israel is a country whose claim of sovereignty is suspicious at best. Her claim of independence came as the result of an illegitimate war which resulted in Palestinians being driven from their homeland. The Jewish state, they believe, was established at the expense of the Palestinians. For the members of the BDS movement, the existence of the State of Israel is an unfortunate blemish which afflicts the Middle East, if not the entire world. Unable to destroy or dismantle the Jewish state, the BDS movement and its supporters are committed to punishing and harming the government and the people of Israel for the many crimes against humanity which they have committed. This is the BDS narrative.
Given the fact that a conference, attended by people who see the world in this way and who judge Israel in such odious terms, will be held, what sort of response would be appropriate? One suggestion would be to counter, point by point the various inaccuracies, if not outright lies, which make up the narrative of this group. Another response might be to invoke history in order to provide some balance and perspective to these one-sided invectives. Finally, some who find these claims particularly disturbing and unsettling might be drawn into confrontations and counter-demonstrations. All of these responses, to be sure, are motivated by a desire for fact and truth to triumph over lies and distortions and by a sense of anger and indignation. I understand these responses. But my response is motivated instead by a sense of sorrow, by a sense of sadness at the level of unvarnished prejudice against Israel and my perception of the need to provide a voice of moderation.
I believe that Israel is a wonderful country, the world's only safe haven for the Jewish people. But Israel is also a country established with the intent of creating a society permeated by Jewish values, a society in which individual freedom, dignity and human rights are woven into the fabric of daily life. I understand that Israel is far from perfect. I understand that Israeli society does not always live up to its own stated ideals and that criticism of Israel is often justified. What is not justified, however, is to single out and demonize Israel, and only Israel, as the villain of the Middle East and of the world.
New York City wasn't the only place in which the treatment of Israel at the United Nations was under discussion recently.
On Sunday evening, September 25, 2011, Penn Friends of Israel and the International Affairs Association hosted Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, at Houston Hall on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
UN Watch is a non-governmental organization the goal of which is to measure the performance of the UN according to its founding mission. Neuer's topic was, "From Eleanor Roosevelt to Qaddafi: An Insider's Account of the Rise and Fall of Human Rights at the U.N."
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On Saturday, November 10 the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) will host a free, open-to-the-public lecture called "Basic First Aid and Emergency Preparedness for Your Pet" at the Dog Training Club of Chester Co. in Exton, PA.
Emanuel: ACA Consistent with Jewish Values
-- by Lori Lowenthal Marcus
