#columbia jewish alumni association

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Source

[funkopersonal]

Here's your daily reminder that...

Jews are only 0.2% of the worlds population but...

Jews make up 14% of the World Total and 38% of the United States of America total winners for the Nobel Prize for Literature (source).

Of the 965 individual recipients of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences between 1901 and 2023, at least 214 have been Jews or people with at least one Jewish parent, representing 22% of all recipients. (source)

Jews make up 14% of the total winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 18% of the total winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; 53% of the total winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction (source).

Jews make up 39% of the total winners of the Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award for Best Play; 54% of the total winners of the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (with 62% of all Composers and 66% of all Lyricists of Best Musical-winning productions being Jewish) (source).

Jews make up 40% of the total winners of the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Original Screenplay; and 34% of the total winners of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (source).

Although Jews constitute only 3% of the U.S. population...

80% of the nation’s professional comedians are Jewish (source).

90% of American comic book creators are jewish (source)

38% of the recipients of the United States National Medal of Science are Jewish (Source).

Jews are very successful, with educational levels higher than all other U.S. ethnic groups with the exception of Asian Americans, and income levels the highest of all groups. Six out of ten Jewish adults have college degrees, and 41% of Jewish families report a household income of $75,000 or more” (source)

Jews are a minority across the globe. We've been historically opressed and hated. But these key figures from history are all Jewish and loved, yet many don't even know they're jewish (or they don't know these people in the first place!):

Stan Lee (birth name: Stanley Martin Lieber) - An American comic book writer and editor, Former executive vice president and publisher of marvel Comics, creator of iron-man, spider-man, and more.

Albert Einstein - a Theoretical physicist, Received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, developed the theory of relativity and the "worlds most famous equation"  (E = mc^2), and more.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, co-authored the initial law school casebook on sex discrimination, co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU in 1972, and more.

Jack Kirby (birth name: Jacob Kurtzberg) - an American comic book artist, co-creator of Captain America, one of the most influential comic book artists

Harry Houdini (birth name: Erich Weisz) - a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts.

Emma Lazarus - An American author remembered for her sonnet "The New Colossus," Inspired by The Statue of Liberty and inscribed on its pedestal as of 1903.

Julius Rosenthal, Lillian Wald, Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch, Stephen Wise, and Henry Moskowitz - Jewish activists that helped form the NAACP along with W.E.B. Dubois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell.

Mark Zuckerberg - Founder and CEO of Meta, a businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook, and within four years became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire Harvard alumni.

Joseph Pulitzer - a politician and newspaper publisher, his endowment to the Columbia University established the Pulitzer Prizes in 1917, he founded the Columbia School of Journalism which opened in 1912.

Jacob William Davis - a Latvian tailor who is credited with inventing modern jeans and who worked with Levi Strauss to patent and mass-produce them, died.

Irving Berlin - drafted at age 30 to write morale-boosting songs for military revues (including “God Bless America”). Many Berlin songs remained popular for decades, including “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better),” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” and two celebrating Christian holidays: “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade.”

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel - received his doctorate in Berlin. He was arrested by the Nazis in 1938, moved to the U.S. in 1940, and became an influential figure in the 1960s, marching with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, and speaking out against the Vietnam War.

Elie Wiesel - Romanian-American writer and professor, holocaust survivor, nobel laureate, political activist. Authored 57 books including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps

Bob Dylan - an icon of folk, rock and protest music, won the Nobel Prize in literature for his complex and poetic lyrics.

J. Robert Oppenheimer - ran the Manhattan Project, considered the "father of the atomic Bomb," presented with the Enrico Fermi Award by President Lyndon Johnson.

Betty Friedan - co-founded the National Organization of Women and became its first president, wrote The Feminine Mystique (1963) and helped spark the second wave of feminism.

Gloria Steinem - one of the most prominent feminists of all time, launched Ms. Magazine and co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus with Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan and Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers.

Sergey Brin - an American businessman best known for co-founding Google with Larry Page, president of Alphabet Inc.

Judith Heumann - a founder of the disability rights movement, led a 26-day sit-in at a federal building in San Francisco. The protest spurred implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a precursor to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Larry Kramer - co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis in response to the AIDS epidemic but was soon ousted over his confrontational activism. He went on to help launch a more strident group, ACT UP, and wrote a critically acclaimed play, The Normal Heart, about the early AIDS years in New York City.

Steven Spielberg - released his critically acclaimed epic film Schindler’s List, based on the true story of a German industrialist who saved Jews during the Holocaust. The movie won seven Oscars and led Spielberg to launch the Shoah Foundation at the University of Southern California, which filmed interviews with 52,000 survivors of the Holocaust and genocides in Nanjing and Rwanda.

Calvin Klein - made designer jeans and the infamous ad starring Brooke Shields revolutionized the fashion industry, sold his company to Phillips-Van Heusen (now PVH) for $430 million. Klein was the first designer to win three consecutive Coty Awards for womenswear.

Daveed Diggs - an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton, for which he won a 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. Along with the main cast of Hamilton, he was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in the same year.

And so much more. (a pretty decent list is available here)

Not only that, but the following are all Jewish inventions...

The Teddy Bear - made by Morris and Rose Michtom in honor of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

The Ballpoint Pen - *the first commercially sucessfull ballpoint pen was made by Lazlo Biro, a Hungarian-Jew, and his brother.

Mobile Phones - made by Martin Cooper, nicknamed the "father of the cellphone", and was born in Chicago to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants.

The Barbie - made by Ruth Marianna Handler, born to Polish-Jewish immigrants.

Power Rangers - made by Haim Saban, a Jewish-Egyptian

Video Games - made by Ralph Baer, a German-Jew

Peeps - made by Sam Born, a Russian-Jewish immigrants who came to the United States in 1909.

Cards Against Humanity - created by a group of Jewish boys from the same high school

Many Superheroes including Superman, Ironman, spider-man, batman, and more!

and more! (an illustrated list available here.)

Conclusion: If you're Jewish, be proud. You come from a long line of successful people. No matter what happened to them, Jews persevered, and they strived for sucess. Be proud of your culture, your history, these are your people. You're Jewish.

(feel free to reblog and add more, or just comment and i'll add it!)

Last Updated: June 25, 1:35 AM EST

[eretzyisrael]

by Aaron Subarium and Jessica Costescu

The deans at the center of the Columbia University texting scandal scoffed that Jewish students concerned about the eruption of anti-Semitism on campus are "coming from a place of privilege" and suggested those students have more institutional support than their peers because of their supposed wealth, according to new messages reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

The messages, obtained by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and released on Tuesday, show that three of the deans—Susan Chang-Kim, Matthew Patashnick, and Cristen Kromm—engaged in a more extensive pattern of disparagement than has been previously reported and shed new light on how Columbia officials reacted in real-time to a panel on anti-Semitism held during the university’s alumni weekend.

"I’m going to throw up," Chang-Kim, Columbia’s vice dean and chief administrative officer, wrote to her colleagues roughly an hour into the panel. The text's timing aligns with remarks from an audience member and daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Orly Mishan, who described how her own daughter, a Columbia sophomore, "was hiding in plain sight" on campus after the Oct. 7 attacks.

"Amazing what $$$$ can do," replied Kromm, the dean of undergraduate student life.

The new messages suggest that the administrators, who were placed on leave pending a university investigation after a Free Beacon report revealed snippets of their text exchanges, see concerns about anti-Semitism as manifestations of entitlement.

"They will have their own dorm soon," Patashnick, the associate dean for student and family support, said of Jewish students, after the head of Columbia Hillel, Brian Cohen, said that many Jews felt more comfortable spending time at the Kraft Center he runs than in their own dormitories following the Oct. 7 attacks.

"Comes from such a place of privilege," Chang-Kim wrote two minutes later. "Trying to be open minded to understand but the doors are closing."

The deans also ridiculed Cohen’s efforts to provide support services, including psychological counseling, to Jewish and Israeli students following Oct. 7, implying that they were receiving special treatment denied to other groups.

"Not all heroes wear capes," Patashnick texted sarcastically. "If only every identity community had these resources and support," Kromm replied.

In 2024, Columbia hosted separate graduation events for black, Asian, Native American, LGBT, and "Latinx" students. Jews were one of the only minority groups not to host a ceremony of their own.

The release of the texts comes as Columbia faces renewed pressure to take action over the ordeal. A petition put forth on Tuesday by Columbia alumni, students, and community members calls on the Ivy League institution to remove Sorett, Chang-Kim, Patashnick, and Kromm "from their positions immediately."

"All four of the deans implicated must be held accountable and terminated. This incident exposes a profound issue at Columbia that cannot be dismissed," the petition reads. "Failure to address this quickly can only be interpreted as a lack of seriousness and urgency in dealing with campus antisemitism within Columbia’s administration. Columbia University must deliver an immediate and unambiguous message that antisemitism will not be tolerated."

Sorett, Chang-Kim, Kromm, and Patashnick did not respond to requests for comment. A Columbia spokeswoman pointed the Free Beacon to a June 12 statement saying the school is "committed to combatting antisemitism and taking sustained, concrete action to ensure Columbia is a campus where Jewish students and everyone in our community feels safe, valued, and able to thrive."

Other text messages obtained by the Free Beacon from the same panel show the four deans dismissing claims of anti-Semitism.

At one point during the panel, Chang-Kim texted Sorett to say the panel "is difficult to listen to but I’m trying to keep an open mind to learn about this point of view." Sorett responded, "Yup."

Kromm, meanwhile, used vomit emojis—"🤢🤮"—to reference an op-ed from Columbia campus rabbi Yonah Hain that raised concerns about the "normalization of Hamas" on campus.

After the release of those messages, Sorett issued a private apology to Columbia's Board of Visitors, saying the texts did not "indicate the views of any individual or the team." He later informed his colleagues that Chang-Kim, Patashnick, and Kromm had been placed on leave. Sorett was not included in the disciplinary move, and a Columbia spokesman declined to say why.

Shortly thereafter, on June 21, the Free Beacon obtained a photo of another text sent during the panel that showed Sorett sneering at Cohen. After Chang-Kim sent Sorett a sarcastic text calling Cohen "our hero," Sorett responded, "LMAO."

On the same day, Sorett broke his silence on his involvement in the scandal in an email to the Board of Visitors. "I deeply regret my role in these text exchanges and the impact they have had on our community," he wrote. "I am cooperating fully with the University's investigation of these matters. I am committed to learning from this situation and to the work of confronting antisemitism, discrimination, and hate at Columbia."

Sorett sent that message after calling the cops on a Free Beacon reporter who knocked on his apartment door to ask him about his involvement in the texts. While Sorett never came to the door or asked the Free Beacon to leave, when the Free Beacon left the building, several New York City police and campus security officers were outside. A Columbia security official said Sorett "raised a whole big issue."

The new texts obtained by the committee, meanwhile, show Kromm and Chang echoed an assessment from Patashnick that Cohen took "full advantage of this moment" for its "huge fundraising potential."

Those texts were sent around the time Cohen cited a visit to Columbia's campus from prominent Israeli politician and human rights activist Natan Sharansky.

"Who was the speaker he mentioned?" Kromm asked. "Natan Sharansky," Patshnick responded before sending a link to Sharansky's Wikipedia page.

[antisemitism-us]

“There is a concerted effort underway to disassociate Jews and Jewish identity from schools, curriculum, universities, museums, hospitals, organizations, and everyday life — which was a tactic employed by the Nazis in the 1930’s,” he added.

Matthew Schweber, a lawyer with the Columbia University Jewish Alumni Association, said actions by the pro-Palestinian movement in the city is the “modern manifestation of the Ku Klux Klan.”

[buttercupkg66]

Associate deans Josef Sorett, Susan Chang-Kim, Matthew Patashnick and Cristen Kromm exchanged the dismissive and derisive texts while seated in the audience of a May 31 alumni event about Jewish life on campus, which were released in full by the House Education Committee.

[creepingsharia]

The growing list of Muslim Student Association (MSA) terrorists – with updates

The MSA - established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood - has branches on hundreds of campuses in the U.S. and Canada. And many of its campus leaders have engaged in and been arrested for waging jihad.

Originally posted on April 25, 2015

The MSA has a growing list of terrorist alumni as noted in this post, Why Muslim Student Group Concerned the NYPD:  *updates below

The list is extensive, but among the MSA alumni who went on to terrorist involvement are:

Anwar al-Awlaki, an influential American-born al-Qaida cleric who recruited a series of homegrown jihadists before being killed by a U.S. drone strike;

Aafia Siddiqui, convicted of attempted murder and assault on U.S. officers and employees in Afghanistan;

Zachary Chesser, convicted of attempting to provide material support to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab and soliciting attacks on “South Park” producers for an episode in which the prophet Muhammad was shown in a bear suit;

Jesse Morton, convicted with Chesser of threatening the South Park producers with murder;

Adam Gadahn, an al-Qaida spokesman who is on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for treason and material support to al-Qaida;

Waheed Zaman, who was convicted of plotting to blow up transatlantic flights;

Adis Medunjanin, who is awaiting trial for plotting to bomb New York subways;

Ramy Zamzam, who was convicted in Pakistan of conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks;

Omar Hammami, who was indicted on charges of providing material support to al-Shabbab and is designated by the U.S. Treasury Department for his terrorist connections;

Muhammad Junaid Babar, who pled guilty to his support to al-Qaida; and

Syed Hashmi, who pled guilty to providing material support to al-Qaida.

MSA was founded in the United States in 1963 by members of the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood seeks a global Islamic state and has spawned leaders of a series of Sunni terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Muslim Brotherhood motto established by founder Hassan al-Banna is, “God is our objective, the Quran is our Constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our way, and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations.”

MSA members remain faithful to Brotherhood ideology. At the closing session of the MSA West conference in January 2011 at UCLA, attendees recited a pledge, “Allah is my lord, Islam is my life, the Quran is my guide, the Sunna is my practice, Jihad is my spirit, righteousness is my character, paradise is my goal. I enjoin what is right, I forbid what is wrong, I will fight against oppression, and I will die to establish Islam.”

Update 1 via the Hayride: h/t terrortrends

In June 2006, Ali Asad Chandia, who had served as president of the Montgomery College (Maryland) MSA in 1998 and 1999, was convicted on terror charges as part of a Northern Virginia jihad network; he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for three separate counts of conspiracy and material support to the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Abdurahman Alamoudi, who served as MSA national president in 1982 and 1983, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for his extensive international terrorist activities, which included fundraising for al Qaeda.

In February 2010, Aafia Siddiqui – a woman who had been captured in 2008 with explosives, deadly chemicals, and a list of New York City landmarks – was convicted of attempting to murder a U.S. Army captain while she was incarcerated and being interrogated by authorities at a prison in Afghanistan. Described variously as “al-Qaeda’s Mata Hari” and “Lady al-Qaeda,” Siddiqui had previously been radicalized by the MSA chapter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied neuroscience.

Wael Hamza Julaidan, who served as president of the University of Arizona MSA in the mid-1980s, went on to become one of al Qaeda’s co-founders and its logistics chief. In September 2002, the U.S. governmentlisted Julaidan as a specially designated global terrorist, identifying him as a close associate of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders, and as a director of the Rabita Trust, which had already been designated a terrorist finance entity that supported al-Qaeda.

University of Idaho MSA president Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, who operated nearly a dozen Arabic-language websites for anti-American, pro-suicide-bombing clerics, was accused by federal authorities of using his academic studies as a cover for terrorist support activities. Al-Hussayen wasdeported to Saudi Arabia in June 2004 after agreeing to a deal with federal prosecutors.

In December 2009, Howard University dental student Ramy Zamzam, who had served as the president of MSA’s D.C. Council, was arrested in Pakistan along with four other D.C.-area men (all of whom were also active in MSA). All five were charged with plotting to join the Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorist group with plans to attack U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan; all five were convicted in a Pakistani court in June 2010 and sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

Syed Maaz Shah, secretary of the University of Texas-Dallas MSA chapter, was arrested in December 2006, for his involvement in paramilitary training at an Islamic campground, where he was preparing to join the Taliban in order to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Shah was convicted on weapons charges in May 2007.

Ziyad Khaleel, president of the Columbia College (Missouri) MSA, was a representative of the Islamic Association for Palestine (a Hamas front). He also registered and operated the English-language website for Hamas, and served as al Qaeda’s chief procurement agent in the United States during the 1990s. Among the items Khaleel purchased was a $7,500 satellite phone for Osama bin Laden. That phone, dubbed by intelligence authorities as the “jihad phone,” was used to plan the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

Anwar Al-Awlaki served as president of the Colorado State University MSA in the early 1990s, and as chaplain of the George Washington University MSA in 2001. In Washington, DC, he delivered sermons that were attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers and by Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. In 2002 Alwaki fled the U.S. for Yemen, where he developed ties to al Qaeda and reportedly played a role in the Fort Hood massacre of 2009, the failedChristmas Day underwear-bomber plot of 2009, and the attempted Times Square bombing of 2010.

Carlos Bledsoe, aka Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, was a member of the MSA as a student at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. Bledsoe went on to receive terrorist training at a jihadist training camp in Yemen and returned to the US and murdered US Army Private Andy Long outside a Little Rock, Arkansas recruiting office on June 1, 2009.

Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, aka Omar Hammami is an American-born member of al Shahab, a Somali Islamic militant group aligned with al Qaeda. Hammami served as president of the MSA chapter at the University of South Alabama.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who would later go on to mastermind the September 11th terrorist attacks as the number 3 man in Al Qaeda, was a member of the MSA chapter at North Carolina A&T in 1986.

Update 2 via a CJR reader in Canada: h/t lburt

Here are some names in Canada

Ahmed Said Khadr MSA University of Ottawa Ahmed Said Khadr’s radicalization at the University of Ottawa

Ferid Imam MSA University of Manitoba Archive.Today (Former MSA Manitoba president Shariq Kidwai said that Ferid Imam has been a president of the association before him.)

Muhanad Al Farekh MSA University of Manitoba After being deported to the U.S. from Pakistan, former MSA Manitoba leader Al Farekh appears in a New York court to face terrorism charges

Maiwand Yar MSA University of Manitoba RCMP Warrant https://archive.is/kWAqF MSA Manitoba https://archive.is/0lxuS

Update 3: Add a pedophile to the list – Ahmad Saleem

Orlando community activist Ahmad Saleem drove to a Clermont-area house intending to meet a 12-year-old girl he had been chatting with online for sex in a vehicle with a specialty “Invest in Children” license plate, authorities said Tuesday…Saleem was also the Orlando regional coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations��

He attended the University of Central Florida, where he was President of the Muslim Students Association. He later became the MSA National Service Director before founding the Saleem Academy.

Update 4: Middle Tennessee State University added to the list:

Dareen Ahmad, leading active member in the university’s Muslim Student Association, tweeted: “…we need a new Hitler”

Dana Swaies, a well-known representative for the school’s MSA chapter stated: “May Allah annihilate the Jewish dogs”

Shaden Hamdulla contemplated putting Jews in concentration camps and called for a new Hitler to wipe them out

Update 5: Abdul Kareem Saeed Alkady – Twitter jihadi

Update 6: This list just got a lot longer.  CANADA: Biographies of MSA Alumni with Terrorism Connections (excerpts only, full description at the link)

Awso Peshdary: Ottawa born accused terrorist Awso Peshdary was arrested in February 2015 as part of operation ‘Project Servant’ by the RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET). He was charged with participation in the activity of a terrorist group

Khadar Khalib (aka AbdulBaqi Hanif): Grew up in Ottawa and later moved with his family to Calgary. Khalib was a member of the Algonquin College MSA. It is believed he was radicalized by Awso Peshdary. According to the RCMP, Khalib travelled to Syria in late March 2014 with the alleged assistance of Peshdary and former University of Ottawa business student John Maguire, who was already in Syria at the time. Khalib is now believed to be in Syria fighting with the Islamic State, therefore he was charged by the RCMP in abstentia in February 2015. Weeks before Khalib left for Syria, both he and Peshdary took part in Islam Awareness Week on Algonquin College’s Woodroffe Avenue campus, which was sponsored by the MSA.[61]

John “Yahya” Maguire: Grew up in Kemptville, ON. He received a scholarship to study in Los Angeles in 2010 and returned to Canada enrolling at the University of Ottawa in 2011, at which point friends claimed he had already begun making extremist claims, and became involved with the university’s MSA. He joined IS in 2012, travelling to Syria on a one-way ticket, and posted a propaganda video in 2014.[62] He was charged in abstentia with participating in a terrorist group in Syria, Iraq and Turkey, and conspiring with a terrorist network in Ottawa. He was reportedly killed in battle, but no official agency has confirmed his death.

Ahmed Said Khadr: Born in Egypt, Khadr moved with his family to Montreal in 1975, and then to Toronto several months later. He enrolled at the University of Ottawa, studying engineering. While there he joined the MSA, agreeing with their notions of Sharia law, and became a vocal advocate for Islamic rule in his native Egypt.[65] …Khadr was killed on October 2, 2003, along with al-Qaeda and Taliban members, in a shootout by Pakistani security forces near the Afghanistan border. An al-Qaeda website profiling “120 Martyrs of Afghanistan” described him as a leader of Bin Laden’s organization and praised him for “tossing his little child [Omar] in the furnace of the battle.”[68]

Salman Ashrafi: Originally from Pakistan but raised in Calgary, Ashrafi was enrolled at the University of Lethbridge, where he completed a bachelor degree in management. During his university years, Ashrafi started to practice Islam in a more serious manner and became heavily involved with Islamic activism in the campus, serving as president of the MSA. Following graduation, he worked at Calgary’s Talisman energy for one year before quitting in 2012, and flying to the Persian Gulf.[71] He blew himself up in November 2013 in a double suicide bombing at an Iraqi military base, reportedly killing 46 people on behalf of ISIS, using the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah al-Khorasani.[72]

Chiheb Esseghaier: A Tunisian national and scientist, who was a doctoral student with a research arm at the Université du Québec at the time of his arrest. Esseghaier admitted to “La Presse” in an interview to only becoming immersed in religion after arriving at the University of Sherbrooke, when he read books and websites about Islam and joined the local chapter of the MSA, and began attending a local Mosque. He was charged with plotting an attack on a VIA rail train in the Niagara region, and did not deny the charges, stressing that there is “no shortage of reasons” to launch a terrorist attack on North America.

Ferid Imam: University of Manitoba student who served as the local chapter of the MSA’s president.[75] He is wanted by the RCMP on terrorism related charges following a four-year investigation.

Imam has also been charged in the foiled al-Qaeda plot against New York City subways.

Khaled al-Qazzaz: Khaled al-Qazzaz was born on July 3, 1979 in Cairo, Egypt. He moved to Toronto in 2000 to do a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he met his wife, Sarah Attia. He served as the UTSG MSA President in 2002-2003.[97]…

He was taken in a wave of arrests alongside several other top Muslim Brotherhood aides after a military coup toppled the government on July 3, 2013. After spending 18 months in prison, he was released by Egyptian authorities in January 2015.[98]

Maiwand Yar: Born in Pakistan in 1983, Yar is a former student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manitoba, and was the local MSA chapter’s treasurer.[105] According to the RCMP, in 2007, it is believed that Yar departed Canada with accomplice Ferid Ahmed Imam for Pakistan. Yar is being sought on charges of conspiracy to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.[107]

Muhannad al-Farekh: Born in Texas, al-Farekh grew up in the United Arab Emirates and was educated in Jordan.[108] In Canada he lived with his grandmother in Winnipeg. He is a former business student at the University of Manitoba, who served as the office manager of that chapter’s MSA from 2005-2006. On April 2, 2015, an arrest warrant for Muhannad al-Farekh was unsealed after an RCMP investigation. The allegations against al-Farekh date back to 2007.[109] It was then that he disappeared to Pakistan along with University of Manitoba colleagues Farid Imam and Maiwand Yar. Though both Imam and Yar were charged in 2011 with terrorism offences following an RCMP national security investigation called Project Darken, al-Farekh was only indicted in April 2015. The criminal complaint accused him of travelling “to Pakistan to join al-Qaida” and helping a terrorist group targeting American citizens and military personnel.[110]

Omar Kalair: President and CEO of United Muslims (UM) Financial, Kalair is wanted by the RCMP with respect to a sharia banking fraud investigation. Videos of previous RIS (Reviving the Islamic Spirit) conventions available on YouTube show that UM Financial sponsored the Toronto Islamist convention in 2005 and 2006. A profile of Omar Kalair posted on a Wilfrid Laurier University alumni’s website indicates that, during his years as an Economics student, “Kalair founded the Muslim Students’ Association [MSA] and remained its President for four years.”[113]

There are many others with links to MSA in the TSEC expose.

Update 6B: New link here and additions below:

Qutbi al-Mahdi:  Involved with the Islamic movement in Sudan from a young age. While studying for his PhD in Islamic Studies at McGill University, Qutbi was active with MSA and then ISNA, where he served as President from 1984-1986.

Youssef Sakhir, Samir Halilovic and Zakria Habibi:  All three are from Sherbrooke QC, and became friends through a local Muslim association in the Eastern Townships. They were Facebook friends with the University of Sherbrooke MSA. They vanished from Quebec last year at around the same time and are currently being sought by RCMP and CSIS.

Dr. Wael Haddara (aka Al-Muraqqash Al-Akbar):    Dr. Haddara has been active with Muslim Brotherhood organizations since at least 1991 when he was listed as the contact person for the Memorial University Muslim Students Association.   He sat on the board of CAIR-CAN from 2003-2012. He sat on IRFAN’s board from 1999-2003. The group had its charity status revoked in 2011 after it was found that from 2005-2009 alone, it transferred $14.6 million to Hamas. He has also been involved with MSA national, which was mentioned in a 2011 MAC newsletter.[81] Dr. Haddara was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood delegation that was sent to meet with, but refused by, the US State Department, to advocate against the current Egyptian government.

Khaled al-Qazzaz:  He moved to Toronto in 2000 to do a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he met his wife, Sarah Attia. He served as the UTSG MSA President in 2002-2003.[97] In 2005, al-Qazzaz returned to Egypt. In 2011, and according to his own Twitter account, al-Qazzaz was working in Egypt as “Secretary on Foreign Relations, Office of the President Politics: Freedom & Justice Party.”  This refers to Dr. Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood president of Egypt in 2012 and 2013.  The Freedom and Justice Party is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He was taken in a wave of arrests alongside several other top Muslim Brotherhood aides after a military coup toppled the government on July 3, 2013.

Many more in the link above.

At  least eleven (11), and counting…

Update 7:  Al Qaeda’s Base at MIT

MIT Muslim chaplain Suheil Laher used his leadership of the MIT Muslim Students Association as a vehicle for raising money for Al Qaeda causes around the world. We especially focus on the Al Qaeda affiliate in Chechnya, which Laher and his associates lionized, even as MIT trusted him to be its Muslim students’ spiritual guide.

…and now Brandeis Univ. Hires Terror-Linked, Jihad-Supporting Muslim Cleric

While at MIT, Laher did not hide his Islamist views. His personal website at the time featured attacks on Jews, Christians, and kuffar (non-believers):

The kuffar, including the Jews and Christians, can never become our intimate friends, confidantes or close allies.

Laher’s personal website featured al-Qaeda leader Abdullah Azzam’s infamous call to jihad. It also linked to an al-Qaeda fundraising website. It urged Muslims to reject the “evils” of the West.

His personal website also declared: “[T]he only solution prescribed by Allah is jihad.”

Update 8: Pakistani convicted of infiltrating DC for Pakistani intelligence

Ghulam Nabi Fai, the executive director of the Kashmiri American Center (KAC) who admitted in a 26-page Statement of Facts at the time of his plea deal last December that he was an influence agent working for the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI. He penetrated the halls of Congress and successive administrations over a 20-year period to help shape U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan’s favor.

Fai served as national president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), during which time, according to an email cited in the FBI affidavit, he began serving on behalf of his Pakistani ISI masters.

Update 9: Imam Mahmoud Shaker Shalash at the Islamic Center of Lexington charged in murder-for-hire plot is former MSA

According to a LinkedIn profile, In addition to running the Islamic Center of Lexington, a man of that name owned a mobile home park and the Bluegrass Extended Stay motel (guest reviews have complained about roaches, stained beds and unfriendliness to service dogs), was a member of the Muslim Students Association (a terror linked Muslim Brotherhood hate group) while working on a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Chicago...

Update 10: One-time president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University of Alabama Pleads Guilty to Concealing Terrorism Financing to al Qaeda

Alaa Abu Saad aka Alaa Mohd Abusaad, 22, who was arrested Oct. 23 in Ohio. She was a former student at the University of Alabama and her LinkedIn profile said she was president of the Muslim Student Association.

Abusaad pleaded guilty to concealment of terrorism financing, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2339C and 2.

Abusaad instructed an FBI undercover employee (UCE) about how to send money to the mujahedeen—fighters engaged in jihad.  Abusaad told the UCE that money “is always needed.  You can’t have a war without weapons.  You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment.”  Abusaad also advised the UCE on how to send money in a manner that would avoid detection by law enforcement, including by using fake names and addresses when conducting electronic money transfers.  Subsequently, Abusaad introduced the UCE to a financial facilitator who could route the UCE’s money to “brothers that work with aq” (meaning al Qaeda).

Update 10:  Mohamed Soltan - arrested as leader of Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Egypt

His father, Salah Soltan was recently given the death sentence in Egypt and Mohammed will likely receive the same verdict on April 11th, just days from now for his accused role in Muslim Brotherhood operations. It should also be noted that Mohammed Soltan was former President of the Muslim Students Association at Ohio State University

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Readers: If you know of other MSA jihadists, let us know and we’ll update the list.

We leave you with Amir Abdel Malik Ali at UCLA reciting the Muslim Student Association Pledge of Allegiance:

Jihad is my spirit, I will die to establish Islam

[lastsonlost]

COLUMBIA, Mo. — In the fall of 2015, a grassy quadrangle at the center of the University of Missouri became known nationwide as the command center of an escalating protest.

Students complaining of official inaction in the face of racial bigotry joined forces with a graduate student on a hunger strike. Within weeks, with the aid of the football team, they had forcedthe university system president and the campus chancellor to resign.

It was a moment of triumph for the protesting students. But it has been a disaster for the university.

Freshman enrollment at the Columbia campus, the system’s flagship, has fallen by more than 35 percent in the two years since.

The university administration acknowledges that the main reason is a backlash from the events of 2015, as the campus has been shunned by students and families put off by, depending on their viewpoint, a culture of racism or one where protesters run amok.

Before the protests, the university, fondly known as Mizzou, was experiencing steady growth and building new dormitories. Now, with budget cuts due to lost tuition and a decline in state funding, the university is temporarily closing seven dormitories and cutting more than 400 positions, including those of some nontenured faculty members, through layoffs and by leaving open jobs unfilled.

Few areas have been spared: The library is even begging for books.

“The general consensus was that it was because of the aftermath of what happened in November 2015,” said Mun Choi, the new system president, referring to the climax of the demonstrations. “There were students from both in state and out of state that just did not apply, or those who did apply but decided not to attend.”

The protests inspired movements at other colleges. Since then fights over overt and subconscious racial slights, as well as battles over free speech, have broken out at Middlebury Collegein Vermont, the University of California, Berkeley, and The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. Missouri’s experience shows how a conflict, if not deftly handled, can stain a college’s reputation long after the conflict has died down.

Students of all races have shunned Missouri, but the drop in freshman enrollment last fall was strikingly higher among blacks, at 42 percent, than among whites, at 21 percent. (A racial breakdown was not yet available for this fall’s freshman class.)

Black students were already a small minority. They made up 10 percent of the freshman class in 2012, a proportion that fell to just 6 percent last fall.

Whitney Matewe, a black student from McKinney, Tex., who will be a senior in the fall, said that after the protests, her parents asked if she wanted to transfer, but she decided to stay because she is in Missouri’s prestigious journalism school.

But, she said, she understands why black students might not apply to a campus where they are all but invisible. A friend’s boyfriend obliviously told her she looked like Aunt Jemima, and she was dismayed that her friend did not object.

“Being ‘the other’ in every classroom and every situation is exhausting,” she said.

By sheer numbers, the drop in white students has caused the greatest damage, since they make up a majority of those on campus.

Tyler Morris, a white student from St. Louis, said he was afraid of being stereotyped as a bigot if he went to Missouri. So he decided to go to Missouri Valley College, “just down the road” in Marshall.

“The discrimination wasn’t against white people, but I didn’t want to be that person who I guess was stereotyped because I was white,” he said.

College counselors said that Missouri might have a hard time recovering from protests because its reputation was largely regional. “Why would a student from New Jersey go to the University of Missouri instead of Rutgers or Penn State?” said Steven Roy Goodman, an independent college admissions counselor in Washington.

Even in-state students for whom Mizzou is a family tradition are choosing to go elsewhere, including public universities in neighboring states, like Illinois and Arkansas, which offer preferential tuition or scholarships to Missouri students.

Aly Zuhler’s mother and cousins went to Missouri, and her mother would have liked for her to go there as well, she said. But Ms. Zuhler, who is Jewish and grew up in suburban St. Louis, said she could not stomach going to a place where blacks and Jews might feel unwelcome.

When she heard that a swastika had been smeared in feces on a dormitory bathroom at Missouri, she decided not to apply. She enrolled instead at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., where she will be a sophomore this coming year. “Looking for colleges is intimidating just by itself,” she said. “Adding anti-Semitism on top of that was just too much.”

A plant sciences professor, Craig Roberts, said that Missouri was suffering not because it was more racist than other places, but because the rage that had been repressed on other campuses burst into the open.

“It was sparked at Mizzou by Ferguson,” Mr. Roberts said.

Ferguson, Mo., of course, is where the killing of an unarmed young black man, Michael Brown, by a police officer in 2014 became a national symbol of tension between the police and minority communities. Ferguson, just a two-hour drive away, was still a fresh memory in September 2015, when Payton Head, the student association president, posted on Facebook that people riding in the back of a pickup truck had continuously screamed racial slurs at him.

The post went viral and the outcry escalated through what has become known in the protest world as “intersectionality,” grievances that gain potency by being bundled together. There were demonstrations against racism, and to support Planned Parenthood, which was under attack by state lawmakers.

Days later a drunken white student jumped onstage during a rehearsal by an African-American group and used a racial slur.

This was followed by the failure of the university president, Timothy M. Wolfe, to get out of his car to speak with demonstrators during the homecoming parade in October, drawing accusations of indifference. Then the swastika appeared.

A movement, Concerned Student 1950, commemorating the year the first black student was admitted to the university, grew out of the protests and set up a tent city. On Nov. 2, a graduate student, Jonathan Butler, began a hunger strike, spurred by the complaints of racial animosity and official inaction, as well as a cut in graduate student health care funding.

Over the weekend of Nov. 7, the football team, led by its black players, said it would not practice or play unless Mr. Wolfe resigned. It was the last straw. On Nov. 9, Mr. Wolfe resigned as system president, and the chancellor of the Columbia campus, R. Bowen Loftin, also announced he was stepping down. Mr. Butler ended his hunger strike.

As the protests continued to boil, demonstrators tried to block the news media from the encampment, and Melissa Click, a communications professor, called for “some muscle” to oust a student taking a video of the confrontation.

In the minds of many, her outburst and the resignations became symbols of a hair-trigger protest culture lacking any adult control.

The university received a barrage of emails from alumni and families, some of which were published by National Review and Heat Street, a conservative news site.

In one, the parents of a junior wrote that while they did not underestimate the extent of bigotry in the world, “the way to effect change is NOT by resorting to the type of mob rule that’s become apparent over the past few days.”

The university, they added, had shown a “complete lack of leadership,” and their two younger children had “all but eliminated Mizzou from their college list.”

The email was forwarded to Ellen de Graffenreid, vice chancellor for marketing and communications, with a brief note saying, “I’m sure you already know this but you have a P.R. nightmare on your hands.” Ms. de Graffenreid, in turn, forwarded it to other administrators with a note saying, “This is pretty representative of the middle of the road people we are losing.”

While freshman enrollment has plummeted, students already at Missouri have not transferred out in large numbers — a sign, administrators said, that the protests looked worse from the outside. Christian Basi, a spokesman, said the university was formulating a marketing campaign to correct what he called “misperceptions” about the extent of the unrest.

Missouri also has appointed a chief diversity officer; promised to double the percentage of minority faculty members by 2020 and recruit more minority postdoctoral fellows; and is requiring diversity training for faculty and staff members and incoming students.

The tent city has been restored to a well-manicured emerald field of grass, but all around campus, signs of the university’s suffering are evident.

The library is asking for donations to buy 400 books that it wants, including a $5,250 copy of “Complete and Truly Outstanding Works by Homer.”

To soften the financial blow, some vacant dorm rooms — spartan suites of two rooms of two single beds, sharing a bathroom and with no TV, are being rented for $120 a night for events like homecoming, the fall family visit and the football game against Auburn University, a Southern rival.

For the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, Columbia is lucky to be one of the prime viewing locations where the sun will be completely obscured by the moon. As of early July, 35 rooms were still available for the event.

Some faculty members are still hoping that the situation can be turned around.

“I think we squandered a rare opportunity that we had to be a local, regional, national, global leader in terms of showing how a university can deal with its problems, including related to race relations,” Berkley Hudson, a journalism professor, said.

The protests could have been turned into an asset — a chance to celebrate diversity. “We still can,” he said.

[csrgood]

Ideagen Announces Addition of New Board Members as Part of Global Expansion Presented Globally by Microsoft

Ideagen®'s CEO, George Sifakis Announces Sharon Price John, CEO of Build-a-Bear and Steven James Tingus, National Disability Policy and Inclusion Leader have joined the Ideagen Advisory Board

Ideagen® is honored to announce the addition of two new members on the Ideagen Advisory Board. Sharon Price John, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop and Steven Tingus. 

“We are very excited and honored that both Sharon and Steven have joined the Ideagen Advisory Board. With their knowledge and experience as global leaders, they will bring critical insights and perspectives as Ideagen scales globally, including with the recent launch of Ideagen TV “Powered by Azure” and presented globally by Microsoft”  -George Sifakis, CEO, Ideagen.

Sharon Price John has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. since June 2013. In just a few short years, she has helped lead the company through a successful financial turnaround, while refreshing the brand, now in its 23rd year. At the St. Louis headquarters of Build-A-Bear Workshop and when visiting stores across the globe, the Tennessee native leads and challenges her teams to be better and do better every day in a uniquely engaging way. She takes the time to share the full story with employees and answer questions, and they in turn know she will always speak the truth. Sharon took this approach directly to the field on the Season Eight premiere of the hit CBS series “Undercover Boss” in December 2016. In this episode, she donned a disguise while working with store and warehouse associates to gain unfiltered feedback on changes the company began implementing in 2014. 

With over two decades of experience in marketing, product development and change management, Sharon has worked with several iconic family brands. During her tenure at companies, including Hasbro, Mattel and Wolverine World Wide, she established a strong track record of success working with a variety of brands and businesses. 

Before joining Build-A-Bear Workshop, Sharon was President of the Stride Rite Childrens Group LLC, where she led all functions, including product creation, wholesale sales, marketing, planning and distribution. She wore many hats while directing operations, retail merchandising and international franchising for more than 350 Stride Rite stores. 

Prior to Stride Rite Children’s Group, she held a range of senior management roles at Hasbro, including General Manager and Senior Vice President of Global Preschool, where she drove the global strategy and marketing for Hasbro's Preschool portfolio that included the likes of Mr. Potato Head and Play-doh. Separately, Sharon served as the General Manager, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the U.S. Toy Division, overseeing iconic brands like NERF, Transformers and My Little Pony, while managing key licensing relationships such as Star Wars and Marvel. Prior to that, she held a number of roles, including Marketing Director of Barbie and Vice President of International for the Disney Business Unit. 

Her career began in the advertising industry working at top agencies in New York, including DDB Needham Worldwide on the Hershey account and Bates USA as Account Supervisor for the SNICKERS/M&M Mars business. Sharon holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. In 2014, she received the distinguished alumna award from Columbia Business School – Columbia Women in Business. In 2016, she was recognized as one of the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s 100 Distinguished Alumni.

Sharon is a sought after speaker, who has served on the Board of Directors for Jack in the Box, Inc. Since 2014. She is also active on a number of national and regional philanthropic senior boards and organizations, including KaBOOM!, the Board of Directors of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and the Committee of 200 (C200). Sharon lives in St. Louis with her husband and three children.

Steven James Tingus is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts and thought leaders for public and private disability, aging, veterans, health care and educational programs, and diversity and inclusion. 

Since 2011, Steven has served as a Consultant through STEVEN J. TINGUS CONSULTING to business, non-profit foundation and entertainment industry executives. His clients include: LEISURE FILMS LTD. (Sacramento, CA, 2019 – Present): As Creative Partner for Diversity and Disability Inclusion, advocates for the development of new storylines for film and television that accurately portray individuals with disabilities and others from underrepresented and minority groups, and the hiring of talent from these communities in front and behind the camera; MOTHER ROAD STUDIOS (Los Angeles, CA, 2018 – Present), as Consultant for Diversity and Inclusion, advocates for the development of new storylines for film and television that accurately portray individuals with disabilities/seniors/veterans and others from underrepresented and minority groups, and the hiring of talent from these communities in front and behind the camera. The mission of Mother Road Studios is to “pave the way for inclusion by creating art and entertainment through a new lens with people of all abilities. Using creativity, connections and collaborations to generate more inclusive opportunities in our communities and our world.”; DIVERSE CITY ENTERTAINMENT (Los Angeles, CA, 2013 – 2017), as Consultant (former Partner and Director of Public Relations, 2013 – 2014), advocated for new storylines for film and television that accurately portray individuals with disabilities and others with health-related challenges, and the hiring of talent with disabilities (including veterans) in front and behind the camera to promote diversity. Developed strategic partnerships (e.g.,NBCUniversal’s Abilities Network) and presented the business case before leadership to promote the increase in the employment of talented individuals with disabilities into all facets of the entertainment industry. Selected Achievement: Associate Producer (Disability Issues and Content Development) for Perfectly Imperfect Radio on Monday nights at 7:00 PM (Pacific Time) on www.LATalkRadio.com ; and LEE & ASSOCIATES, LA NORTH/VENTURA, INC. (Calabasas, CA, 2011 –2013), as Consultant (Senior Vice President for Business Development), directed the development and growth of potential profitable business for key principals. Conducted extensive research and developed lists of potential clients. Ensured business growth by directing and managing business development initiatives. Managed community outreach and served as a spokesperson at industry events. Selected Achievement: Solicited investments and funds for Lee & Associates’ 2012 Annual Golf Classic & Client Appreciation Day benefitting local non-profit organizations serving children and families, including those with disabilities. From 2010 to 2011, Steven served as Chief Government and Public Relations Officer for the LOS AMIGOS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INSTITUTE, INC., at the world-renowned Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (Downey, CA) for people with disabilities and aging.

Following the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Steven became the first mainstreamed “Handicapped” student into public schools in Northern California which set the stage for his achieving many lifelong accomplishments that also opened the doors and improved the lives for his peers with disabilities. On February 1, 2001, President George W. Bush invited Steven to the East Room of The White House to introduce him and to deliver a speech on behalf of the President for the unveiling of the New Freedom Initiative (NFI) before members of Congress, the press, and leaders from the disability community. Steven helped craft the NFI which served as the blueprint for the Bush administration’s policy supporting people with disabilities. Later that year, President Bush appointed Steven to serve as the Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research at the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (Washington, DC) from 2001 to 2007, followed by appointing him to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy) at the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (Washington, DC) from 2007 to 2009. Steven also chaired the President’s Interagency Committee on Disability Research and various White House task forces focused on disability policy and research. Previously, Steven served as Director of Public Policy and Resource Development at the CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS, INC. (Sacramento, CA) from 1998 to 2001, which followed his appointment by California Governor Pete Wilson as Health Care Policy Analyst (Disability) for the CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES, Office of Long Term Care (Sacramento, CA) from 1995 to 1998. 

Steven has earned a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences, a Clear Ryan Single Subject Teaching Credential in Life Science, an M.S. degree in Physiology, and a Candidate in Philosophy (Ph.D. ABD) degree in Physiology from the University of California, Davis. Steven has received numerous awards at the federal, state and non-profit foundation level for his exceptional leadership in the establishment and implementation of public policies and research programs that enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities and seniors. Steven is a Charter Member of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Member of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), Member of the Board of Advisors for RespectAbility (2014-2019), SAG-AFTRA eligible Member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG- AFTRA), Associate Member of the Television Academy, Member of Film Independent, Indie Creative Member of the Sundance Institute, Member of the Board of Directors for the Hollywood Diversity Association (HDA) (2014-2017), and Member of the ABC Studios Advisory Panel (2015-2017). 

Besides serving as a political appointee and consultant on disability policy at the state and federal level, Steven particularly enjoys bringing his expertise in disability policy to the entertainment industry in support of talent with disabilities. Steven believes that “The entertainment industry can be an incredible ally in creating social change. I enjoy educating industry leaders on the business sense of hiring highly-talented and trained people with disabilities and those underrepresented onscreen and behind the camera. Toward that end, to build a network of high-profile actors, producers, directors and other key players in the entertainment industry towards increasing storyline development and hiring so that the abysmal 2.4% representation on TV/film is changed for the disability community (USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, 2017).” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 20% of the United States population (1 in 5 adults) or 61 million Americans are living with a disability (2018). Amongst this population are some of the most talented people on earth. Unfortunately, very few ever get the opportunity to shine on the world stage. Steven resides in Los Angeles, California.

“Sharon and Steven will bring game-changing, innovative thinking to the Ideagen Advisory Board and we are looking forward to changing the world together” - Christian Angelson, VP Global Operations at Ideagen.

For more information regarding Ideagen, visit www.IdeagenGlobal.com to join the movement. 

RESOURCES

Build-a-Bear

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/44035-Ideagen-Announces-Addition-of-New-Board-Members-as-Part-of-Global-Expansion-Presented-Globally-by-Microsoft?tracking_source=rss

[picardonhealth]

Mark Wainberg, dead at 71, was ‘a giant of HIV science’

ANDRÉ PICARD, The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Apr. 21, 2017 

On April 6, at the annual Mark Wainberg Lecture, the namesake researcher quipped, as he did every year, that it wouldn’t be a “prememorial” event forever.

“At some point,” he quoted friends as saying, “you might not be around any more and then it will really be a memorial lecture.”

The audience members gathered at the Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research in Montreal laughed, and none more heartily than the self-deprecating Dr. Wainberg. Then, reflecting on his advancing age, he turned serious and added: “All I can really hope is we’ll have a cure for HIV – or some other way of ending the AIDS epidemic – before I’m banished from the planet.”

Five days later, the world-renowned HIV-AIDS researcher and activist drowned after suffering an asthma attack while swimming near his condominium in Bal Harbour, Fla. He was 71.

A molecular biologist, Dr. Wainberg began his research career studying HTLV-1, the first virus shown to cause cancer (adult T-cell lymphoma). The co-discoverer of that virus was Dr. Robert Gallo, who went on to become the co-discoverer of HIV.

Dr. Wainberg, who worked in Dr. Gallo’s lab in 1980, shifted his focus to what was initially described as “gay cancer.” He established the first AIDS research laboratory in Canada and set to work looking for treatments. In 1989, Dr. Wainberg and his team identified that the drug 3TC (Lamivudine) was effective in slowing the replication of the virus in the body. It became one of the first effective treatments for people infected with HIV, and a cornerstone of what came to be known as antiretroviral therapy.

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ART was a game-changer, transforming HIV-AIDS from a deadly infection into a chronic illness for many. But the drugs were expensive and most of the infected lived in the developing world. That grim reality turned many scientists into activists, Dr. Wainberg chief among them.

That was perhaps not a complete surprise. After all, in 1976, he ran for political office under the banner of the Union Nationale in a historic election that saw the separatist Parti Québécois elected.

One of his few other forays into partisan politics came in 2013, when Dr. Wainberg angrily denounced PQ plans for a “Charter of Values” that would, among other things, ban public employees from wearing religious symbols including head coverings. (An Orthodox Jew, he wore a kippa.)

Dr. Wainberg served as president of the International AIDS Society from 1998 to 2000. He lobbied furiously to get the International AIDS Conference to Durban, South Africa, whose government at the time largely denied that AIDS was a problem. Dr. Wainberg’s plan – to shame then-president Thabo Mbeki into action – worked. He spoke forcefully not only in public, but behind the scenes.

Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, recalls that Dr. Wainberg “told Mbeki to his face that it was shameful that he wasn’t offering life-saving HIV drugs to his people.”

“He was forceful and unrelenting. If anyone spoke truth to power, it was Mark,” Dr. Montaner said. The Durban conference is seen as a watershed in turning back the tide of one of the worst pandemics in human history. Prior to the conference, ART was virtually unavailable in the developing world; today, 18.2 million people worldwide take antiretrovirals, almost half of the 36.7 million who are infected with HIV-AIDS.

“When I look back on my career, I always feel that the most important contribution of my life was political and not scientific,” Dr. Wainberg said when the AIDS Conference returned to Durban in 2016.

In fact, over time, the two roles morphed into one. “AIDS is going to be the world’s leading cause of death, so it behooves us all to be AIDS activists,” he said in an interview with McGill News, the university’s alumni publication, in 2000.

But, in recent years, he had dedicated himself to the lab again, convinced that advances in genomics could help defeat AIDS. His work identifying mutations in the HIV genome led him to believe that replication of the virus could be blocked and patients cured of HIV.

Mark Wainberg was born in Montreal on April 21, 1945, to Abraham, who worked for a glassware company, and Fay (née Hafner) Wainberg, who worked in the insurance industry. He attended Outremont High and then McGill University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in 1966. He then completed a PhD in molecular biology at Columbia University in New York in 1972, and did postdoctoral research at Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Dr. Wainberg was hired at McGill in 1974 and remained affiliated with the university for his entire career. He was the long-time head of the McGill AIDS Centre and the head of AIDS Research at the Jewish General Hospital’s Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research.When news of his death spread, tributes poured in from around the world.

“Mark Wainberg was a giant of HIV science. His work contributed to saving millions of lives,” said Michel Sibidé, executive director of UNAIDS.

Dr. Roderick McInnes, acting president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and director of the Lady Davis Institute, said: “The 35 million people living with HIV-AIDS are indebted to Mark because, without him, many of them would not be alive today.” He described Dr. Wainberg as a “politician-scientist,” someone who combined scientific excellence with a social conscience.”

Linda-Gail Bekker, president of the International AIDS Society, was even more succinct: “Mark was a true mensch and a great scientist, and an even better friend.”

Dr. Wainberg was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2015. In its citation, the CMHF said he “revolutionized our understanding of HIV/AIDS at a medical, epidemiological and clinical level.” He garnered many other honours over the years. Dr. Wainberg was an officer of the Order of Canada, an officer of the Ordre National du Québec, and a chevalier in the Légion d’Honneur of France. He was awarded the Killam Prize in Health Sciences, one of the country’s top scientific prizes. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Wainberg’s son Zev, who is an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said his father was a “complicated, humble, brilliant man.” In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was a deeply religious man. While raised in a secular Jewish family, he embraced Judaism during the time he spent studying in Israel.

Dr. Wainberg was also an inveterate traveller – with three million Aeroplan points, no less – who visited 120 countries. He also loved good Scotch and fine wine – and swimming.

“One of my dad’s joys was going into the ocean, which he did every day,” the younger Dr. Wainberg said at the funeral. He was with his father when he suffered a malaise, and managed to pull him from the water and perform CPR.

“I tried to save him, I tried and I could not. I knew HaShem was taking him away,” he said, weeping.

Rabbi Yechezkel Freundlich of Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem, the synagogue Dr. Wainberg attended every day he was home, said: “Words escape us to describe the great footprint Mark left on the world.”

He noted that the funeral drew an unprecedented cross-section of people, including diplomats, gay-rights activists, scientists, students and neighbours. Judah Aspler, president of the TBDJ synagogue and lifelong family friend, said that while Dr. Wainberg’s accomplishments are many and highly visible, he made many more invisible contributions in his community.

“He was always generous and gracious,” Mr. Aspler said. For example, if an elderly congregant missed weekly services, he would drop by their home to check up on them. Last year, after a 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death during a gay-pride parade in Jerusalem, Dr. Wainberg donated a Torah to an Ethiopian synagogue in her memory. Mr. Aspler also quipped that the gregarious Dr. Wainberg ���was always excited to give a speech when invited – or not invited – to do so.”

Dr. Wainberg was predeceased by his parents. He leaves his wife of 48 years, the former Susan Hubschman; two sons, Zev of Los Angeles, and Jonathan of London; and a brother, Lawrence. Dr. Wainberg also had three grandchildren, Jake, Eliana and Julia. Family members said that of all the titles he accumulated over the years, the one that made him most proud was “Zaidy Mark.”