• Special Report Jews of NYC Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . Those are the words etched on the Statue of Liberty. They were written by an American Jewish poet, Emma Lazarus . It s fitting that an American Jewish immigrant would immortalize the ideals of freedom and opportunity that America offered to so many who arrived at its shores. At the turn of the 20 th century, nearly 2 million eastern European Jews arrived here. Their story transformed Jewish life and America. Join me for a special series that we will start here in New York. From Wall Street to Broadway, from Madison Avenue to the Museum Mile, Jews have helped build the city that never sleeps. There s Mayor Michael Bloomberg who ran New York City for 12 years, he left the 9/11 memorial and added a new skyscraper to the skyline. There s Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld who could have only done their shtick from the Big Apple. And who can think about Broadway without playwrights like Neil Simon or musical geniuses like Irving Berlin? In the fine arts, Jews built the Guggenheim museum, the Lauders, of beauty giant Estee Lauder, built this one. And Jews of course helped with the MOMA and the MET too. In fashion, Jewish designers that have gone global began here too, like Ralph Lauren and Diane von Furstenberg. Rabbi Joy Levitt , JCC Manhattan Executive Director We enjoy an extraordinary degree of affluence and influence in this country and it has been a terrific place for Jews. Prof. Hasia Diner, NYU American Jewish Historian I think that if we lay it out systematically and compare Jewish integration in the United States to Jewish integration elsewhere and if we lay out Jewish integration in the United States to the experiences of other groups, Jews had a pretty easy time in the United States. Sephardic merchants first arrived in what would become New York in 1654. Prof. Hasia Diner, NYU American Jewish Historian These Jews , not particularly eager to live under Portuguese rule, having had personal family memories of the Inquisition, book passage with a French frigate which drops them basically in the next Dutch colony which was New Amsterdam. The small Jewish community in colonial times won legal protection after the American Revolution with the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Prof. Hasia Diner, NYU American Jewish Historian There s nothing in the Federal system, though the Constitution, in which they are any different than again any other white men. It s a society in which the main thing that divides people is color and they re white or I may say gender and they re men. The Founding Fathers separated Church and State and with a great reverence for religion, protected the rights of Jews and all other religious minorities to worship freely. Prof. Hasia Diner, NYU American Jewish Historian They are able to take advantage of all the opportunities economic, social, political, cultural that again are open to white people. The turning point came between 1880 and 1920, when an estimated 2 million European Jewish immigrants, looking for work and freedom, landed on America s shores. NY Jews first settled in the cramped tenement houses of the Lower East Side along with other immigrants. Prof. Hasia Diner, NYU American Jewish Historian They could be whatever they wanted and they could be Jews as they wanted and they could be Americans as they wanted. And that they didn t have anybody of any consequence saying ‘no, no, you re not really American!’ Jewish immigrants jumped into every facet of American life. There was discrimination in the private sector, but it never had a lasting impact. Dr. Ruth Westheimer says she will always be grateful for the opportunities America gave her. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Sex Therapist & Author I became a famous sex therapist and sex educator. And here I m 85 and I m still talking about sex. Born in Germany in 1928, Dr. Ruth survived the Holocaust by hiding in an orphanage in Switzerland. After living in Israel and studying psychology in Paris, she came to New York in the 1950s. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Sex Therapist & Author There s no question that the opportunities were here for me despite the fact that I had no money when I came. I made one dollar an hour and you can hear my accent. Dr. Ruth got her first break talking frankly about sex on the radio. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Sex Therapist & Author The start could only have happened in New York because this is a city that accepted immigrants and people from different backgrounds, different colors and different religious backgrounds and different accents. By the 1980s, Dr. Ruth was a cultural icon, appearing on TV, writing books and most recently, she’s been the subject of an off Broadway show. Today Jewish life in New York is thriving, nearly 2 million Jews live in the City and its suburbs, that s one third of America s Jewish population, now estimated at 6 million. The latest Pew Research Center Study on American Jews found that Jewish pride is running high. 94% of respondents said they are proud of their heritage. Rabbi Mark Wildes, Founder of Manhattan Jewish Experience There s Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Ashkenazi, Sephardic, you know, apple juice, orange juice, all different types of Jews. It does not end here, it’s unbelievable. That diversity can lend itself to a lot of creativity and vibrance. The Westside JCC represents the diversity of the community. The 8 story building with a gym, theatre and 2 pools, offers a range of activities for young and old, religious and secular. Rabbi Joy Levitt , JCC Manhattan Executive Director 2,500 people walk into this building everyday. Often, they think they re coming to swim or drop their kids off for nursery school or work out in the gym or take a class, but what they find is a connection to possibly something inside themselves, certainly to somebody around them and hopefully to Jewish life. Israel is one of the pillars of Jewish identity in America . The Pew study found over 60% of Jews say they have an attachment to the Jewish State. More than 230,000 young Jews across America have taken a free 10 day tour of Israel thanks to Birthright, a program first begun by philanthropists Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman. 25 year old New Yorker Shelby Bartelstein was one of them. She says Birthright deepened her sense of Jewish identity, especially when she grappled with the many lives lost in the Holocaust. Shelby Bartelstein, Actress & Producer You never know what could have happened. And all these amazing futures perished. And I think just thinking about that, well then, I feel like I have to carry on the legacy. The latest Pew study found that 73% of American Jews across all age groups said remembering the Holocaust is an essential part of being Jewish. Betsy Aldredge, Publicity Director, Museum of Jewish Heritage It s certainly one that whether you re a teenager thinking about why being Jewish is important to you, it s still something that people grapple with. An estimated 200,000 Holocaust survivors came to America after the 2 nd World War. The mission of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park is to share their stories with Americans. Art is another way Jewish New Yorkers connect with their identities. At The Jewish Museum, a new Marc Chagall exhibit entitled Love, War and Exile looks at the artist s work in Paris from the rise of fascism to 1948. Susan Tumarkin Goodman, Chagall Exhibit Curator, The Jewish Museum In the late 1930s, he begins to feel that his world is collapsing and the work becomes darker and more destructive in a way and there is an ominous sensibility about it. Under threat from the Nazis, Chagall fled Paris in 1941, finding refuge in New York. Susan Tumarkin Goodman, Chagall Exhibit Curator, The Jewish Museum The Holocaust, a lot of it occured when he was in New York and feeling very frustrated that there was nothing he could do specifically or directly. But the effects and his response is definitely in his works of art. We see the violence and the destruction in the works very directly. The silver screen has always been a favorite outlet for Jewish identification. At the annual Jewish Film Festival , a packed house came to see the documentary When Jews were Funny. It looks at why Jewish stand up comics dominated the American comedy scene in the 1950s and 60s. Jeff Glickman, Producer, When Jews Were Funny I think it just becomes when you get beaten down so much, the only thing you can do is just laugh about it and find the humor in it. And so we ve become experts at finding the humor in everything. Don t laugh, but humor is a trait 42% of American Jews say is essential to their Jewish identity, that again, according to the Pew Study. Shelby Bartelstein, Actress & Producer I think my humor comes out of my Judaism , that s what I draw on. For many, eating is central to their Judaism. Move over bakeries and delis , at Prime Grill in Midtown, Chef David Kolotkin is taking kosher dining to new heights. His mouth watering creations are as artistic as they are delicious. One of his specialties is this winter duck dish with quinoa cakes, kale and cranberry sauce. David Kolotkin, Chef at Prime Grill My best compliment is when someone walks in off the street. They have a 3 to 4 course meal and they ask for cr me with their coffee. And the waiter says ‘I’m sorry, we don t have dairy in the house and so ‘what do you mean?’ And they say ‘well, we re kosher’ ‘what do you mean you re kosher ? We had a great meal!’ And to me, I did my job. Orthodox Jews in New York City are the fastest growing segment of the community. One group, the Chabad Hasidim are headquartered in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Led by their late spiritual leader, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Chabad now has more than 7,000 centers around the globe. Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz, Leading Member of Chabad You need to inspire people and educate people and that s what Chabad Rabbis and Rebbetzins are doing all over the world, every single day, and they are reaching millions of Jews. Despite the vitality of Jewish life in New York, the challenges of assimilation and intermarriage still hover over the community. The recent Pew Study found that more than 30% of Jews are unaffiliated. Intermarriage rates are at 58% and for the youngest Jews getting married those after 2000, 70% married a non Jewish partner . Rabbi Mark Wildes, Founder of Manhattan Jewish Experience You can t give over a feeling, you can t give over a sentiment. You know, our grandparents had a Jewish feeling, but bagels and lox Judaism is not transferable. What is transferable rabbi Wildes says is observing Jewish tradition. He started Manhattan Jewish Experience in 2000 to inspire unaffiliated Jews with classes, beginner s religious services and social events. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, RAMAZ Principal There are three important words in the area of Jewish survival education , education, education. Rabbi Lookstein is at the helm of RAMAZ, Manhattan s first Modern Orthodox Day School built in 1937 by his father. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, RAMAZ Principal If there is to be an answer to the Pew Study, the first answer is to get as many children as possible into day schools. 800 kids from kindergarten to high school study at Ramaz. It is one of over 250 Jewish day schools in the city and its suburbs which include non denominational ones all the way up to yeshivas. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach , the man many call America s Rabbi , is attacking Jewish apathy from another angle. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Author, TV Host and Founder of Jewish Values Network The model has to change. Instead of us saying ‘come to the Jewish community’ we have to take our values, our wisdom and bring it to the mainstream world, the mainstream society. The media savvy rabbi first made headlines with his book Kosher Sex. Many books have followed, plus a stint on TV with his show, Shalom in the Home . Some of America s most famous cultural icons have become his close friends, including Oprah, Madonna and Michael Jackson. America, Rabbi Boteach says, is having a crisis of values. He believes Jewish wisdom can help heal America and re ignite the interest of young Jews. To that end, rabbi Boteach founded This World The Values Network. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Author, TV Host and Founder of Jewish Values Network The purpose of our organization is to use universal Jewish values to change the conversation, to talk about something that is really more wholesome and more life affirming. New York City still remains the hub of American Jewish life, many say it’s only second to Jerusalem. Join us however in the upcoming series as we look at how the Jews transformed Los Angeles and how they’re building a vital new community that’s booming in Miami. Jordana Miller, JN1 , New York City

The price of cigarettes in the european union

Astra cigarettes: $7.10 per carton at discount cigarettes mall.

BACKGROUND&#x02014 A major factor influencing tobacco use is its price. Fiscal policies on tobacco are a key ingredient of any comprehensive control strategy, as they can be used to raise prices. The European Union (EU) developed directives to ensure some harmonisation of the fiscal pressure on tobacco across its member states.
OBJECTIVES&#x02014 To provide a simple comparison of tobacco prices in the EU, adjusting for the purchasing power of each currency.
DESIGN&#x02014 For price comparisons, a 20&#x000a0 units pack of Marlboro was the reference product, and data refer to April 2000.&#x000a0 Purchasing power parities (PPP) for each member state currency have been compiled. These are currency conversion rates, which convert to a common currency and equalise the purchasing power of different currencies.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES&#x02014 Nominal prices of a Marlboro pack for each member state, and a price index, estimated taking as reference the EU mean. Adjusted prices and an adjusted price index have been estimated using PPP.
RESULTS&#x02014 Nominal prices show wide variation, with the cheapest pack in Portugal (59) and the most expensive in the UK (196) the range of variation is three fold. However, PPP adjusted prices reveal a different distribution. In three countries adjusted prices are outliers, but all other countries make two clusters, one around the average EU index of 100,&#x000a0 the other around a lower value of 85.
CONCLUSIONS&#x02014 These results suggest that fiscal harmonisation policies in the EU do not have an even effect at reducing availability by its impact in price.

Keywords cigarette price fiscal policy health policy European Union.

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