Illustrative. Membersof GU F.R.E.E. protesting on campus. Photo: GU F.R.E.E. / Facebook.

Following dramatically different outcomes of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) votes attwo California schools on last week, campus antisemitism and Israel advocacy experts spoke withThe Algemeinerto break down the anatomy of a BDS campus campaign.

With the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) coming back with zero votes cast in favor of BDS, and California State University-Long Beach seeing 15 student representatives vote yes for the anti-Israel motion,Tammi Rossman-Benjamin founder of the campus watchdog AMCHA Initiative said there is a complicated calculus involved in each BDS push.

To her, the unanimous and unequivocal opposition to BDS of all of a campuss Jewish student organizations is a crucial factor inheading off the efforts of anti-Zionists.

May 15, 2017 2:07 pm

Weve seen a definite increase in the tactic of Jew splitting, where BDS activists find organizations like Jewish Voice for Peaceto run interference for them when they are accused of antisemitism, Rossman-Benjamin explained. So I think that when faced with an issue like BDS, we have to have the moral clarity to state that there is a red line and when you cross over it, the Jews will be standing on the other side, united, saying, No.

Rossman-Benjamin pointed to the letter of unified opposition produced at UCSB and signed by the campuss eight mainstream Jewish organizations as an element that was missing from the CSULB campaign against divestment.

In the letter, the groups including the campuss Hillel, Chabad, and the AEPi fraternity and sorority stated [w]e represent the broad consensus of Jewish opinion at UCSB, and they uniformly reject[ed] this one sided, counterproductive, and incredibly hurtful BDS resolution.

Anti-Zionism is highly dependent on making sure it is seen as separated from antisemitism, said Rossman-Benjamin, adding that her organization has tracked a trend in which BDS activists at a given campus will often host an explanatory antisemitism program often co-hosted with fringe Jewish groups in the days leading up to a divestment vote,to signal to people that they arent antisemites.

But if you want to see how the Jewish world really understands BDS, take a look at the people who signed a [2011] letter condemning the movement, Rossman-Benjamin said, referring to an international Stop BDS effortwhich gathered signatures from nearly 100representatives ofOrthodox, Conservative and Reform groups, Jewish fraternities and sororities and Israel advocacy organizations.

David Brog executive director of the Maccabee Task Force, a group formed in 2015 to combat demonization of Israel on campus said much of the success and failure of BDS at acampus can be attributed to what stage of pro-Israel activism students are at when the campaign is first launched.

[Zionist students at] UCSB last year realized that they shouldnt let student government rest in the hands of anti-Israel students, so they ran and won, and they got pro-Israel representatives on student government, he said.

Brog added that UCSBsHillel center has offered non-Jewish student leaders the opportunity to go on an educational mission to Israel, called a Fact Finders tour, an experience he said leaves many resistant to the BDS narrative.

CSULB, Brog noted, has devoted pro-Israel students who are eager to turn aroundthe environment that allowed BDS to pass, but they are earlierin that process of educating and changing the campus.

Meanwhile, Max Samarov the director of research and campus strategy for the StandWithUs education group said the different outcomes come down largely to a significant difference in campus demographics.

By percentage, UCSB has one of the largest Jewish populations in the UC system, and for years and years and years it has had a strong pro-Israel community, Samarov pointed out. CSULB has a strong pro-Israel presence but not nearly the same numbers.

Samarov said there have been situations where schools with small Jewish pops come together and defeat resolutions, but that the odds are harder to overcome.

According to Samarov, CSULB also contendedwith a very intense campaign of outside pressure, and what started as a debate between Long Beach students, was influenced by external, off-campus groups.

All this came together to create an atmosphere of overwhelming support for BDS and of intimidation [for those against it], he said.

Read more:
The Anatomy of a BDS Campus Campaign - Algemeiner

Giacomo Gianniotti just finished his 50th episode acting in one of TVs most durable hits, Greys Anatomy: a heady position for a young Canadian actor. He's inclined to thank marijuana for getting him to this stage in life.

I guess Im really happy for pot, says the actor, smiling, during a Skype chat. Because if I hadnt smoked it . . . I wouldnt have gone to Toronto and stepped into the me that I was meant to be.

Gianniotti, 27, has been a regular on Greys, now in its 13th season, playing Dr. Andrew DeLuca since 2015. You may have caught him on the big screen in last years Stephen Hopkins film Race; hes also enjoyed stints on shows including Reign, Selfie and Murdoch Mysteries.

And it all began, he supposes, in Grade 9 in Parry Sound, when he was caught smoking marijuana. He was kicked out of school and moved to Toronto to live with his dad, where he attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts.

In high school, he recalls, he would break into the Kraft Canada headquarters parking lot in North York with his buddies.

Wed have coffee and cigarettes and just talk, says Gianniotti. (There) was this beautiful view of the Don Valley Parkway.

Sometime after Cardinal Carter, he enrolled in Humber Colleges theatre program, during which time he set up shop with some pals in Parkdale in a horrible apartment with cockroaches. It was a far cry from his childhood back in Parry Sound (everybody left their doors open, you shared food with your neighbours, he recalls), but Toronto is where his acting career began.

Before long, though, he was looking south. Greys Anatomy was in its early years when Gianniotti was in high school. The girls at his school watched, but hed never seen it. Fast forward, a bunch of years later . . . I sent a tape out for this Greys Anatomy character.

Four months went by and he hadnt heard back. Gianniotti had begun to feel frustrated with the small pool of acting options in Toronto and he decided to move to Los Angeles.

Driving across America with two Toronto friends who were helping him relocate, he got a call from his agent, telling him that Greys Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes a huge figure in the TV industry wanted to meet with him when he arrived in L.A.

The three men were in Albuquerque and Gianniotti told his friends to take over driving for the rest of the way. In the back of the car he studied his script. When he arrived in L.A., he met with Rhimes and her team a few days later, he had the part.

Joining the show was at first overwhelming.

It was a lot of people, a lot of personalities . . . its hard to get quiet, says Gianniotti.

And quiet is important for the actor, who calls himself really shy and really introverted. He uses his headphones to block out some of the noise on set and he has guitars in his trailer, which he plays to unwind.

But hes found a kindred spirit in actor Martin Henderson, who plays Ellen Pompeos new love interest, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Nathan Riggs.

Hes from New Zealand and Im from Canada, and weve just drawn a lot of parallels of being mountain men and liking the outdoors, Gianniotti says of his off-set friend.

Getting used to new environments is nothing novel to the blue-eyed Italian-Canadian, who was born in Rome to an Italian father and a Canadian mother, and moved to this country when he was around 5 years old. But he had a lot to learn, it emerged, about one of the staples of his new job: simulating surgery.

Theres just so much protocol in the OR, he says, recalling that one medical producer was especially exasperated with him that first day.

Shes like, If a doctor saw you, they would be like, faker! he says with a laugh. And we dont want that, so my first surgery every two seconds, she was like Cut! Giacomo! What are you your hands are no! oh my God!

It was a little bit of a learning curve and (the other actors were) laughing at me, he chuckles. Because they had all been there themselves and were remembering it.

His character was most recently at the centre of a dramatic, violent encounter with Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), which almost sent the latter (a fan-favourite character) to jail. Gianniotti is excited for fans to see the season finale, which he describes as huge and wild and big-budget, but laments that theres just so many amazing things (about it) and I cannot tell you any of them!

The eventfulness of the deathless Greys is probably one key to its success; the show gained teen viewers last year while staying in the top 10 among TV watchers aged 18 to 34 for the sixth year running, according to ABC. Gianniotti cant comment yet on whether hell be back on the show next season; his own contract is managed yearly and he hasnt received it yet.

How has his life been changed by the gig?

I didnt have much growing up. Im so grateful for what I have now and its kind of ridiculous, to be honest, he admits.

But the actor often talking with his hands during the interview or absent-mindedly stroking his beard doesnt see the point in spending money on material effects.

I dont buy fancy things . . . I have, like, three pairs of jeans, he says.

But he can make a difference for those who are struggling; his platform allows him to call out to fans and quickly raise money for the causes he believes in. Recently hes put a lot of his heart into working with an L.A. charity for homeless youth called My Friends Place.

Its such a massive problem. Literally everywhere you look (in Los Angeles you see a homeless person) . . . and its usually a kid.

He misses Toronto for example, snow, the lakeshore, and getting macaroons and coffee at Queen Wests Nadge before strolling through Trinity Bellwoods. In fact, he returned to town in April to direct a music video for those friends who helped him move to L.A. years ago.

Hes also started his own production company and recently wrote a song, which he tells fans to expect in the next couple of months. He has broader ambitions for his acting career, too, declaring hes dying, dying, dying to explore war films.

Until that offer arrives, I ask him how he has time for it all. Not a lot of sleep, he quips.

Greys Anatomys Season 13 finale airs Thursday, May 18 at 7 p.m. on CTV.

Go here to read the rest:
Giacomo Gianniotti's wayward youth helped bring Canadian to Grey's Anatomy - Toronto Star

Welcome to the Anatomy of a Goal, where each week we dissect one goal (or near goal) from Columbus Crew SCs previous match.

For Match 12 of the 2017 MLS Season, we take a look at Justin Merams 91st minute hat-trick earning goal that put Crew SC up 3-2 as part of the win over Montreal Impact on Saturday.

Heres a look at the finish from the Crew SC winger.

The Black & Gold got off to a hot start, with Meram scoring a brace in the first half. Despite that hot start, Columbus ceded much of the possession to Montreal and looked to be in for yet another second half collapse.

Its tempting to call this goal a breakaway goal but I prefer to call it a transition goal. While Meram does dribble more than 50 yards by himself, Crew SC still have to break down the Impacts defense in order to bag the game winner.

Merams finish begins in the above image. Wil Trapp has just broken up a typical Ignacio Piatti cut in from the left side, placing the ball at the feet of Crew SC right back Hector Jimenez. Niko Hansen is just behind the play providing a safety valve for this tackled ball. Meram, shifting to the center of the field after Federico Higuains 74th minute substitution, is unmarked but in the vicinity of, the incredibly tired, Chris Duvall.

After Trapp tackled the ball into the path of Jimenez, he directs the fullback to the wide open Hansen, much like he directed Jonathan Mensah to an open Higuain against New England. Meram is still in the center of the field and Duvall has made his move to mark the winger. Ive highlighted Duvall not to suggest that he isnt match fit enough to compete into the 90th minute of a match, but instead to show just how much Meram has left in the tank. As youll see in the following images, Meram, who has played all but seven minutes of three matches in eight days, will pick up the ball and totally outrun Duvall.

As Hansen brings the ball up the field, he immediately has two options. He can either continue forward and try to beat Patrice Bernier; or make a simple pass to the wide open Meram. Duvall, still highlighted, is more or less level with Meram.

As Bernier closes in, Hansen opts for the simple pass to Meram. The winger has acres of space, and Ola Kamara, ahead of him but does have Duvall closing in from his left.

As soon as Hansen passes the ball to Meram, he continues his run at pace around Bernier, opening himself for another pass. Meram begins his move to his attacking half, and is nearly marked by Duvall. However, this is as close as the defender will get to Meram.

The above video shows just how badly, and easily, Meram is able to outpace Duvall. Duvall carried a relatively heavy offensive load in this match, but Meram is playing his third match in eight days, having been subbed out only once during this congested period. Despite the workload, Meram blazes away from Duvall like its his first run of the match.

After Meram outruns Duvall he has two legitimate options: a pass to Hansen, running at full pace downfield or continue to dribble at Montreal center-back Kyle Fisher until Fisher commits to defending Meram.

Kamara is highlighted with Laurent Ciman near the middle of the image. Though Kamara is not in a position to receive a pass, his run occupies Ciman and open a lane for Meram.

Meram opts to continue his run, forcing Fisher to commit. As Fisher shields Merams left, the attacker can either make a simple pass to an open Hansen, or a more difficult pass to Kamara, who has a better angle on goal.

I want to highlight Fishers shield of Merams left in the above image and sequence. At first glance, I was confused by Fishers decision to shield Merams weaker foot. While Meram has finished with his left foot more often this season, he still heavily prefers to shoot and pass with his right foot.

However, on second (and tenth) watch, I think Fisher makes the correct decision here. By shielding Merams left, Fisher gives up Merams stronger foot to force him right, creating a more difficult shooting angle or forcing a pass to Hansen, who has a much worse angle on goal than Meram would.

Fisher knows that Ciman is on his left, covering Kamara, and must assume that Ciman or a trailing player will shift over to cover Meram if the Crew SC hat-trick-hero makes a pass to Hansen. No trailing Montreal player would recover in time, leaving the two Impact center backs to cover three Crew SC attackers.

Meram makes his pass to Hansen as Fisher shifts over to attempt to cut off any passing or crossing angle. Now, Hansen will have two options. He can either attempt a shot at a difficult angle or pass back to Meram. Duvall, back frame, will not reach Meram in time.

Hansen makes the correct decision to pass the ball back to Meram, but must make a difficult pass back across his body. As Hansen successfully puts the ball back into the path of Meram, the Crew SC No. 9 must make a quick decision: with Ciman bearing down on his goal side and Duvall finally approaching from the back will he take a shot on goal; or play Kamara?

Meram, feeling the Mothers Day magic from his moms goal request, decides to be Crew SCs hero and fires a one-timer toward the back post...

...and buries the winner. Notice the highlighted Kamara. Even as the ball is going into the goal, he is frustrated that Meram hasnt passed him the ball...but dont worry, Kamara didnt stay mad for long.

Findings:

1. Justin Meram had an incredible match, and somehow found the legs to run the full length of the field in the 91st minute of his third game in eight days.

2. Niko Hansen made every correct decision during this play. As soon as he made his entry pass to Meram, he blazed by Patrice Bernier. He also made the difficult cross-body pass back to Meram for the game-clinching goal.

3. Montreals center backs tried to close out the Crew SC attack, but stopping three attackers, two of which were substitutes, requires a bit of luck. The Impact had no luck on this play.

Extra-time:

Because this weeks goal was relatively straightforward, I wanted to highlight one portion of one more goal from Crew SCs win over Montreal. Specifically, I want to show how Adam Jahns movement created an open lane for Justin Merams first goal.

All in all Jahn had a relatively forgettable match, and might have been at fault on Montreals equalizer, but his movement in the video above drew Ciman away from Meram, and opened a huge lane for Meram to smash in the opener.

Jahn starts out on Merams right, just in front of Kekuta Manneh. As Jahn sees Manneh run behind him, he darts in front of Ciman, forcing Fisher to either follow Jahn, leaving Manneh in on goal, or to stay with Manneh, giving Meram a lane ahead. Fisher opts to stay with Manneh, and as Jahn crosses in front of Ciman, the center backs movement is slowed just enough to give Meram an open shot on goal after rebounding his own pass.

See the original post here:
Anatomy of a Goal: Meram's Mother's Day Miracle - Massive Report - Massive Report

The last full week of the 2016-17 TV season means a slew of season finales.

NCIS, TVs most-watched drama, closes its 14th season at 8 p.m. Tuesday on CBS. The story sends Gibbs (Mark Harmon), the newly married McGee (Sean Murray) and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) off to Paraguay to hunt for a missing Navy SEAL.

Greys Anatomy wraps up its 13th season with the hospital in jeopardy. A trailer for the episode Ring of Fire, at 8 p.m. Thursday on ABC, resembles The Towering Inferno. The last episode suggested that Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton) is no longer with us after trying to stop a madman. We applaud her courage, but her methods were ill-advised.

Scandal closes its sixth season with two hours at 9 p.m. Thursday on ABC. President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) ends his presidency with a series of changes, and Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) prepares to become the first female president. Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) works furiously to ensure the president-elects safety.

The Blacklist wraps up its fourth season with two hours at 9 p.m. Thursday on NBC.

Modern Family finishes its eighth season with the high-school graduations of Manny and Luke at 9 p.m. Wednesday on ABC.

Designated Survivor closes its first season with Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q) trying to stop another attack by the terrorists. The White House drama airs at 10 p.m. Wednesday on ABC.

More finales

Monday: Man With a Plan and Scorpion on ABC, Quantico on ABC.

Tuesday: NCIS: New Orleans on CBS, Chicago Fire on NBC, The Middle, American Housewife, Fresh Off the Boat on ABC.

Wednesday: Blindspot and Chicago P.D. on NBC.

Thursday: Supernatural on The CW.

Friday: Undercover Boss on CBS, The Toy Box on ABC.

Reality series: Dancing With the Stars and The Voice deliver their semifinals at 8 p.m. Monday. The final four couples each deliver two routines on DWTS before the field is reduced to the final three on ABC. The Voice delivers this weeks results at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NBC. Both high-rated series wrap up their seasons May 23.

Survivor continues its 34th season at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS. The finale will play out over three hours on May 24, the final night of the TV season.

More highlights

Antiques Roadshow starts its three episodes filmed last summer in Orlando at 8 p.m. Monday on PBS. The other episodes screen May 22 and 29.

If you enjoy colorized Lucy Ricardo, youre getting a new I Love Lucy special at 9 p.m. Friday on CBS. The episodes feature a singing-and-dancing Van Johnson (to How About You?) and a merry-making Harpo Marx.

Robert De Niro reminds you why hes considered one of the worlds greatest actors with a devastating performance as disgraced financier Bernie Madoff in The Wizard of Lies at 8 p.m. Saturday on HBO.

If youre not hearing enough politics, CNN offers a town hall with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at 9 p.m. Monday. A town hall debate between Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Gov. John Kasich, D-Ohio, follows at 9 p.m. Tuesday on CNN.

Saturday Night Live could turn those events into a skit for its season finale at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC. Dwayne Johnson will host, and Katy Perry will be the musical guest. Ive got a hunch well hear Perrys "Chained to the Rhythm." And why not? Its a great song.

hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com

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'NCIS,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'SNL' end seasons - Orlando Sentinel - Orlando Sentinel