Arizona Jewish Post May 15, 2020

May 15, 2020 21 Iyar 5780 Volume 76, Issue 10

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Retiring JFSA CEO Mellan fostered cohesive, diverse community PHYLLIS BRAUN AJP Executive Editor

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ontemplative, compassionate, collaborative: these are some of the words friends and colleagues use to describe Stuart Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, who is retiring at the end of this month after more than a quarter century leading the organization.

The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing mean he will bow out with little fanfare. A Federation celebration that had been planned for this month is postponed indefinitely.

“Endings are funny, transitions and letting go,” says Mellan. For him, beginnings make up the most exciting moments of his JFSA career, starting with the creation of the Weintraub Israel

Stuart Mellan

Center program, which brought its first shaliach (Israeli emissary) here in 1997 and launched Tucson’s first big Israel festival in 1998. He also cites the opening of the Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum, the creation of the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in

the Northwest, and the opening of the new Federation and Foundation building, the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy. “Every time we created a new program — launching PJ Library, the first Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition — all of these were exciting.”

But his most rewarding moments have to do with relationships, which often began or deepened on trips to Israel and other places. “In 1997, Louis Pozez of blessed memory helped me lead a trip of 35 Tucsonans to Poland and Russia, which was very powerful and life-changing,” says Mellan. Among many trips he was privileged to take, another standout was a trip to Israel about 15 years ago, for 35 men, which Paul Baker and the late Donald Diamond helped him lead. “I’ve talked to people through the years,

and even very recently, they say, ‘You know, that trip we took to Israel really made an impact on my life,’” he says.

Bryan Davis, executive director of the Jewish History Museum, says the regard Mellan shows for relationships makes him an important role model.

“I have been fortunate to work with him for 13 years and during that time he has been my primary professional mentor,” Davis says.

“I would not be here doing this work today if it wasn’t for Stu’s encouragement and support. Stu taught me how to do this work by taking me under his wing, guiding me. We worked so closely together for so long, that I learned a tremendous amount through that proximity, by observation. Stu values relationships and he understands how deeply the process See Mellan, page 4

PBS film explores recent rise of anti-Semitism in U.S., Europe PHYLLIS BRAUN AJP Executive Editor

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new PBS documentary, “Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations” will premiere May 26.

The film, which will air at 9 p.m. on Arizona Public Media’s channel 6, explores the rise and spread of anti-Semitism in the United States and Europe in recent years.

The project has been underway for more than three years, so the “Viral” title, so timely in this current COVID-19 pandemic era, is pure coincidence, Andrew Goldberg, the New York-based director, writer, and producer, told the AJP.

Photo: Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations

INSIDE

Russell Walker (right) was a candidate for North Carolina's State House in 2018. His racist statements prompted the North Carolina Republican Party to withdraw its support for him.

Anti-Semitism, Goldberg says, “has infected countries, communities, organizations, and individuals around the world for some 2,000 years. About three years

ago, there were a number of highprofile anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. that caught my attention.”

One of these was the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in

Pittsburgh in October 2018.

“I realized there were few if any films that really explored what anti-Semitism is, where it comes from, and how it harms,” Goldberg says.

Doing further research, his team learned that while antiSemitism was growing in the U.S., it had been growing much faster in Europe.

“Viral” focuses on the far right in the U.S, the far left in England, a government propaganda campaign in Hungary, and violent acts including murder in France.

The filmmakers chose these incidents and locations because “we wanted to pick examples that were entirely different from one See PBS, page 7

CANDLELIGHTING TIMES: May 15 ... 6:57 p.m. • May 22 ... 7:02 p.m. • May 28 (Shavuot) ... 7:06 p.m. • May 29 ... 7:06 p.m.

LOCAL UA Hillel partnering with BBYO for virtual college tours

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ARIZONA JEWISH POST, May 15, 2020

Photo courtesy University of Arizona Hillel Foundation

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he University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will take part in a new partnership between Hillel International and BBYO to offer high school seniors virtual college visits.

UA Hillel’s visit will be on Tuesday, May 19 at 4 p.m.

MST, which is 7 p.m. EDT, and will connect potential students with students and staff members from Hillel and university admissions. Visit https://welcome.hillel. org/hillelathome/campusvisits to register.

At least 20 college and university Hillels have signed up to offer tours.

The virtual tours are aimed at high school seniors who are deciding where they will attend school in the fall, but many are also open to parents and high school juniors who are exploring college options.

“We are very excited to give potential Wildcats the opportunity to meet some of our students and to see a few of our programs. In these unusual times, we are utilizing our best resources to showcase the UA Hilllel and the opportunities which exist for our incoming students,” says Michelle Blumenberg, UA Hillel executive director.

“I’m excited that BBYO is partnering with Hillel to provide teens like me with virtual college tours from schools across North America,” says Ian Hammer, a high school junior from Kansas City and BBYO On Demand editor-in-chief. “Many of us planned our spring break trips around college tours which had to

Students show off their challah creations at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation on Jan. 24.

be canceled due to the coronavirus, so these tours will make up for lost opportunities and give us a glimpse into college life.”

LOCAL Social welfare calls bolster community bonds PHYLLIS BRAUN AJP Executive Editor

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s part of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Jewish Community Foundation response to the coronavirus pandemic, staff and volunteers have made more than 1,300 social welfare phone calls to members of the community. The project is ongoing.

“It started with my desire to reach out to donors of the Federation campaign to see how they were doing during this time,” says Fran Katz, JFSA senior vice president, adding that initial calls were made to donors of $1 and up.

However, it is not just donors who have been called, she says. “It’s the most vulnerable — it’s anybody In the Jewish community that we think might be in need,” including those on the Federation’s Senior Transportation program list.

JCF staff also called their fund holders, just to check in, says Brenda Landau, JCF director of legacy development.

Some 99% of those reached reported “all is well” and were appreciative of the calls, says Gail Barnhill, JFSA executive assistant. Around 20 welcomed the idea of weekly or more frequent followup calls, while others passed along the names of friends who are isolated.

About half a dozen people requested help with getting groceries or referred friends who needed grocery help. Jewish Family & Children’s Services and Interfaith Community Services are providing emergency financial assistance or grocery delivery, supported by the Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund. At least one individual who was called volunteered to do shopping for others. Six people who requested Russian-speaking callers also were referred to JFCS. “One thing that we learned was how lonely people were going to be during Passover,” says Landau. “And so in response we put together a Passover ‘Potluck’” that brought people together for a festive meal via Zoom on April 13. Graham Hoffman, JCF president and CEO and JFSA president and CEO-elect, and Sharon Glassberg, JFCS clinical therapist and community educator, provided brief holiday remarks. More than 30 people participated in the potluck.

Along with Katz and Landau, some of the dozens of people making phone calls were Ori Green, JCF legacy officer;

To ease loneliness caused by COVID-19 social distancing during Passover this year, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation organized a Passover ‘Potluck’ held via Zoom on April 13, one of the intermediate days of the holiday.

Robyn Schwager, JCF grants and legacy officer; Phyllis Gold, director of the Federation’s Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life, with her colleagues in the Northwest, Marti Cohen and Carol Nudelman; and Carol Sack, then Jewish Tucson concierge. JFSA volunteers included Melissa Goldfinger, Karen Katz, Leslie Glaze, and Andy Kunsberg. Some volunteers also enlisted friends from the Jewish community and the broader community in the effort.

One caller advised a young man who had moved to Chicago to be with his mother that if she needed help, he should check with Chicago’s JFCS and its Federation, The Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, Barnhill reports. Four hours later, he phoned the volunteer back and emotionally expressed his appreciation for the referrals.

“The project to reach as many people of our community at once was very satisfying,” says Kunsberg, who project organizers credit with making a large number of calls.

“Many who answered were very appreciative about the concern we had about our Jewish community,” he says.

He recalls one family who called him back after he had left a message to convey their gratitude, and another who needed grocery assistance, which he was able to facilitate.

Projects such as this, Kunsberg says, “are what makes our Jewish community a community who cares.”

For more information, to volunteer, or to place a name on the call list, visit jfsa.org/pandemic or call 577-9393.

Please thank our advertisers for supporting our Jewish community May 15, 2020, ARIZONA JEWISH POST

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AREA CONGREGATIONS Many congregational events described below have been suspended or are being conducted virtually. Contact congregations for more information.

REFORM

CONSERVATIVE

Congregation anShei iSrael

5550 E. Fifth St., Tucson, AZ 85711 • (520) 745-5550 Rabbi Robert Eisen, Cantorial Soloist Nichole Chorny • www.caiaz.org Daily minyan: Mon.-Thurs., 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Fri., 7:30 a.m.; Sun. and legal holidays, 8 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. / Mincha: Fri., 5:45 p.m. / Shabbat services: Sat., 9 a.m., followed by Kiddush; Tot Shabbat, 1st Fri., 5:45 p.m.; Family Service, 3rd Friday, 5:45 p.m.; Holiday services may differ, call or visit website. / Torah study: every Shabbat one hour before Mincha (call or visit website for times) / Talmud on Tuesday, 6 p.m. / Weekday Torah study group, Wed., 11 a.m. beverages and dessert provided.

ORTHODOX Congregation Chofetz Chayim/SouthweSt torah inStitute

5150 E. Fifth St., Tucson, AZ 85711 • (520) 747-7780 Rabbi Israel Becker • www.tucsontorah.org Shabbat services: Fri., Kabbalat Shabbat 15 minutes before sunset; Sat. 9 a.m. followed by Kiddush. / Mincha: Fri., 1 p.m.; Sat., 25 minutes before sunset, followed by Shalosh Seudas, Maariv, and Havdallah. Services: Sun., 8 a.m.; Mon. and Thurs., 6:50 a.m.; Tues., Wed., Fri., 7 a.m.; daily, 15 minutes before sunset. / Weekday Rosh Chodesh services: 6:45 a.m.

Congregation young iSrael/ChaBad of tuCSon

2443 E. Fourth St., Tucson, AZ 85719 • (520) 881-7956 Rabbi Yossie Shemtov, Rabbi Yudi Ceitlin • www.chabadoftucson.com Daily minyan: Sun. and legal holidays, 8:30 a.m.; Mon. and Thurs., 6:30 p.m.; Tues., Wed., Fri., 6:45 a.m. / Mincha and Maariv, 5:15 p.m. / Shabbat services: Fri. at candlelighting; Sat. 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush. Mincha, Maariv, and Havdallah TBA.

ChaBad on river

3916 E. Ft. Lowell Road, Tucson AZ 85716 • (520) 661-9350 Rabbi Ram Bigelman • www.chabadonriver.com Shabbat services: Fri., Mincha at candlelighting time, followed by Maariv. / Sat., Shacharit service, 9:30 a.m. / Torah study: women, Wed., 2 p.m.; men, Tues. and Thurs., 7 p.m. Call to confirm.

ChaBad oro valley

1171 E. Rancho Vistoso #131, Oro Valley, AZ 85755 • (520) 477-8672 Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman • www.jewishorovalley.com Shabbat services: 3rd Fri., 5 p.m. Oct.-Feb., 6 p.m. March-Sept., all followed by dinner / Sat., 10 a.m. study session followed by service.

ChaBad Sierra viSta

401 Suffolk Drive, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 • (520) 820-6256 Rabbi Benzion Shemtov • www.jewishsierravista.com Shabbat services: Sat., 10:30 a.m., bimonthly, followed by class explaining prayers. Visit website or call for dates.

REFORM

Congregation Beit SimCha 2270 W. Ina Road, Suite 100, Tucson, AZ 85741 • (520) 276-5675 Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon • www.beitsimchatucson.org Shabbat services: Fri., 6:30 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m., with Torah study at 9 a.m; monthly Shabbat morning hikes.

Congregation Chaverim

3888 E. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85718 (Tucson Hebrew Academy) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 31806, Tucson, AZ 85751 • (520) 305-8208 Rabbi Helen Cohn • www.mkorhayim.org Shabbat services: 2nd and 4th Fri., 7 p.m. / Torah study, 2nd and 4th Sat. 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Congregation or ChadaSh 3939 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85718 • (520) 512-8500 Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, Cantor Janece Cohen www.orchadash-tucson.org Shabbat services: Fri., 6:30 p.m.; 1st Fri., Friday Night LIVE (Sept.-May); 2nd Friday, Tot Shabbat (Sept.-May), 6 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. / Torah study: Sat., 8:30 a.m.

temple emanu-el 225 N. Country Club Road, Tucson, AZ 85716 • (520) 327-4501 Rabbi Batsheva Appel • www.tetucson.org Shabbat services: Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m./ Torah study: Sat., 8:30 a.m. except when there is a Rabbi’s Tish.

temple Kol hamidBar 228 N. Canyon Drive, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 • (520) 458-8637 www.templekol.com Mailing address: P.O. Box 908, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636, Friday night Torah study group: 6 - 7:15 p.m. / Shabbat services: Fri., 7:30 p.m.

TRADITIONAL-EGALITARIAN

Congregation Bet Shalom 3881 E. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85718 • (520) 577-1171 Rabbi Hazzan Avraham Alpert • www.cbsaz.org Shabbat services: Fri., 5:30 p.m. (followed by monthly dinners — call for info); Sat. 9:30 a.m., Camp Shabbat (ages 6-10) 10 a.m.-noon, followed

by Kiddush lunch; 12:30-2 p.m. CBS Think Tank discussion led by Rabbi Dr. Howard Schwartz and Prof. David Graizbord; monthly Tot Shabbat (call for dates) / Weekday services: Wed. 8:15 a.m. / Hagim 9:30 a.m.

OTHER

Beth Shalom temple Center

1751 N. Rio Mayo (P.O. Box 884), Green Valley, AZ 85622 • (520) 648-6690 Rabbi Norman Roman • www.bstc.us Shabbat services: 1st and 3rd Fri., 7 p.m. / Torah study: Sat., 9:30 a.m.

handmaKer reSident Synagogue

2221 N. Rosemont Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85712 • (520) 881-2323 www.handmaker.com Shabbat services: Fri., 4:30 p.m., led by various leaders, followed by Shabbat dinner; Sat., 9:30 a.m., led by Mel Cohen and Dan Asia, followed by light Kiddush lunch.

JewiSh arizonanS on CampuS 2146 E. 4th Street Tucson, AZ, 85719 • (520) 834-3424 • www.myjac.org Shabbat hospitality and social events for UA students with Yosef and Sara Lopez. Shabbat services on request.

5901 E. Second St., Tucson, AZ 85711 • (520) 320-1015 Rabbi Stephanie Aaron • www.chaverim.net Shabbat services: Fri., 7 p.m. (no service on 5th Fri.); Family Shabbat, 1st Fri., 6 p.m. / Torah study: 2nd Sat., 9 a.m., followed by contemplative service,10 a.m.

SeCular humaniSt JewiSh CirCle

Congregation Kol SimChah

1245 E. 2nd St. Tucson, AZ 85719 • (520) 624-6561 • www.arizona.hillel.org Shabbat services: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and alternative services two Fridays each month when school is in session. Dinner follows (guests, $8; RSVP by preceding Thurs.). Call for dates/times.

(Renewal)

4625 E. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85718 • (520) 296-0818 Mailing Address: 6628 E. Calle Dened, Tucson, AZ 85710, Shabbat services: 1st and 3rd Fri., 7:15 p.m.

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Congregation m’Kor hayim

ARIZONA JEWISH POST, May 15, 2020

www.shjcaz.org Call Cathleen at (520) 730-0401 for meeting or other information.

univerSity of arizona hillel foundation

MELLAN continued from page 1

matters. I think that is the ultimate lesson I have learned from Stu: the value of relationships.”

“Stu is a uniquely gifted relationship-builder. He has, over the course of the past 25 years, personally operated as a ‘network weaver’ — connecting and cultivating Jewish community that is vibrant, diverse, and deeply enriching for all those who have had the opportunity to take part,” says Graham Hoffman, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation and president and CEO-elect of the Federation.

“From the moment we met during my interview for the Jewish Community Foundation, Stu has demonstrated an extraordinary generosity of spirit and commitment to support my success in the community,” adds Hoffman. “Stu has been a champion in our community for a single CEO to bring together the work of our Federation and Jewish Community Foundation. Thanks to his pioneering efforts over the course of the past two decades, we have made enormous strides over the past 20 months we have had the privilege of working together.”

Mellan is most proud of the collaborative spirit he has helped foster in the community.

“I feel like over the 25 years I worked hard to create an inclusive Federation, an inclusive community that celebrates every individual and nurtures the spirit of partnership between our institutions, making a place for everyone to participate who wants to participate,” he says.

There were challenges, he says, but his attitude toward challenges has generally been, “Well, that’s the work.”

People have commented recently that he must be glad to be retiring, with all the challenges the world faces because of coronavirus.

“I actually don’t feel that way,” he says. “I feel like when we’re faced with enormous challenges, that’s the time when the Jewish community and the leadership of our Jewish community and the Federation are of great value.

“And yes, its’s very hard, and sometimes painful decisions are made, to cut services for example during difficult financial times; these are very painful times but that’s the work. The work is trying to bring people together. Sometimes, there are a lot of strong opinions in the room and they’re not all aligned.” The work, he says, is to try to find a way to keep people moving together in the same direction.

For Mellan, the hardest times have been when people felt disappointed. “To me the saddest time is when someone feels let down by the community; you just never want to hear that, especially if they are people of good will who really were counting on the community.

Conversely, the rewards are when the community has made a difference in someone’s life for the better.”

Linda Tumarkin was president of the Federation

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board from 1997-2000. “Stuart’s style was collaborative,” she says. “He was an excellent listener as well as a risk taker. He knew how to empower his volunteers and would always take a step back so that they could take center stage. Guided by his passion for our Jewish world, he has dedicated his career to tikkun olam (repair of the world). He has shared his beautiful family as well as his talent for playing the piano with the community. I feel blessed to have worked with him and to have him as my friend.”

One project on which Tumarkin and Mellan worked together involved the mikvah (ritual bath) at Congregation Young Israel, at the time the only community mikvah. A group called the Federation/Synagogue Dialogue determined that it needed to be remodeled. “None of the congregations would take the lead, so it became my responsibility with Stuart to get the task accomplished,” she says, recalling that the outcome was “a welcoming, inviting community mikvah.”

Fran Katz, JFSA senior vice president, says, “I was a friend before I was an employee. I was on the committee that hired him. We became friends through my volunteer work and now I’ve had the honor of working with him for five years. My respect for him as a leader has grown even more during my tenure as an employee.

His compassion for people — compas-

‘Stuart Mellan is a true mensch,who always can be trusted to do the right thing.’

sion and underHe also seemed standing of those to appreciate Barnaround him — is hill’s sense of hureally a gift. He’s mor. certainly going to “It was always be missed.” easy to pull surpris— Deborah Oseran Rabbi Thomas es on Stuart,” she Louchheim of Conrecalls. “One year, a gregation Or Chadash calls Mellan “con- week or so after a ceiling collapsed in antemplative and a tremendous listener” other part of the old building — I rushed who takes the time “to weigh all the dif- into his office and told him, ‘You’ve got to ferent communities that he’s represent- go see what happened in the boardroom ing as the head of Federation, and always right away,’ which he did at a run … and comes up with a thoughtful response and found a surprise birthday party! His heart a plan for us to move ahead together. eventually stopped pounding so fast.

“I always felt that I was part of his “It is so sad that our work relationplanning team. I just loved his leadership ship has ended so strangely what with style and just him, personally. I told him COVID 19 — but as I’ve told him many that when we celebrated at Or Chadash times, it lasted over twice as long as both [which held a dinner and service honor- of my marriages put together,” she says, ing Mellan on Feb. 21]. I’m so happy that concluding that it was “a delight to work we were able to create an opportunity with him.” where people could gather together and Deborah Oseran, the current chair celebrate the last 25 years together, with of the Federation board, says it was her him, for him … and for Nancy,” Louch- “great good fortune to work with Stuart heim says, explaining that particularly both at the beginning of his tenure as where Or Chadash was concerned, Mel- CEO of our Federation when I served lan’s wife was “part of the equation.” as volunteer legal counsel, and at the Gail Barnhill has been Mellan’s execu- closing of his tenure. He has guided our tive assistant for the last 20 years of his 25 community with dedication and vision as CEO of the Federation. “He has always — despite our relatively small numbers, been so thoughtful, patient, supportive, Southern Arizona is widely recognized and kind, and will forever be my favorite for our diversity of participants, and our boss,” she says. cohesion as a community. This we owe

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in large part to Stuart’s constant motivation to be inclusive, preserving what is best in our community, while adapting to change and introducing new ideas to improve the ways in which we can engage all, care for those in need, and provide partnership and support to our agencies, affiliates, synagogues and temples.”

Mellan, she says, has an “unmatched ability to empower both volunteers and professionals, providing guidance and collaboration without the need to take credit. Stuart is like the perfect parent, never showing favoritism but instead demonstrating respect, kindness, and friendship for each community member, whether a professional, donor, volunteer, or service recipient.

“A mensch is so much more than a good person, or a dignified person of good character who you admire. While Stuart certainly is possessed of these characteristics, he is a true mensch because he is someone who always can be trusted to do the right thing. It has been an honor to have worked closely with Stuart, the most humble person I know, and to be able to call him my friend.”

Mellan and Nancy plan to remain in Tucson. “We have three of our five adult children and their families here and we love Tucson,” Mellan says, “so we can’t think of another place we’d rather be.”

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May 15, 2020, ARIZONA JEWISH POST

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COMMENTARY Our post-pandemic Shabbat meals should include far less meat MELISSA HOFFMAN JTA LOS ANGELES

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ast year I wrote about how, as we come to terms with the existential threat of climate change, our joyous occasions will shift in both spirit and practice — including the food we eat and how it is produced. The same is true in the wake of coronavirus.

Thanks to a surge of global efforts to end the pandemic as fast as humanly possible, we’ll break bread at Shabbat and cook food for our neighbors, families and friends again — probably the act I’ve missed more than any other. And when we do, it will be a new opportunity to make different choices about what’s on the menu.

Right now, I’m deeply concerned that there is so little focus on what specialists in infectious disease have explained we need to do to prevent another pandemic in the future.

Many of our ongoing policies concerning industrial agriculture all but guarantee another pandemic, possibly one that is magnitudes worse. The good news is that we know how to better prevent pandemics. To succeed we need to focus on future threats now, before it’s too late.

Wuhan’s wet markets unmasked our troublingly dissonant relationship with wildlife and rightly deserve condemnation. But as so many news articles are revealing, factory farms are breeding grounds even more ripe for transmitting deadly zoonotic diseases. Industrial poultry farms are uniquely suited for generating new pathogens — in fact, most of the influenza viruses with pandemic potential deemed “of special concern” by the CDC arose from commercial poultry operations.

We’ve known for a long time that breeding animals to the brink of their genetic and physiological limits, raising them in confinement and keeping them

alive with constant doses of antimicrobials pose outsize risks to human communities. That said, we may have underestimated just how big those risks are.

In a recent op-ed in The Guardian, my colleagues Aaron Saul Gross and Jonathan Safran Foer asked readers to imagine a situation in which “our military leaders told us that almost every

terrorist in recent memory had spent time in the same training camp, but no politician would call for an investigation of the training camp. Imagine if we knew that those terrorists were developing weapons more destructive than any that has been used, or tested, in human history.”

See Shabbat, page 8

When crisis abates, we must not forget vulnerable Jewish communities HEN MAZZIG JTA TEL AVIV

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n pop culture, Jews are most often depicted as affluent, assimilated, and Ashkenazi. Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld and Mrs. Maisel have long informed the public perception of who Jews are

and what they are like.

Recent popular shows like “Unorthodox,” “One of Us” and “Shtisel” have widened the lens slightly by including haredi Orthodox Jews in the picture, but they flatten the nuanced world of religious society into a powerful, backwards cabal.

Of course, we know that the Jewish-

3718 E. River Rd., Suite 272, Tucson, AZ 85718 • 520-319-1112 www.azjewishpost.com • localnews@azjewishpost.com The Arizona Jewish Post (ISSN 1053-5616) is published biweekly except July for a total of 24 issues.

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Arizona Jewish Post Advisory Board Damion Alexander, Myles Beck, Barbara Befferman Danes, Bruce Beyer (chair), Roberta Elliott, Cathy Karson, Steve Weintraub Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Stuart Mellan, president • Graham Hoffman, president-elect Fran Katz, senior vice president • Deborah Oseran, chair of the board

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ARIZONA JEWISH POST, May 15, 2020

world is far more diverse. Mizrahi Jews in Los Angeles and Israel, Ethiopian Jews escaping refugeehood, and Kaifeng Jews battling China’s draconian government are just as much a part of the Jewish story.

The coronavirus pandemic could have been an opportunity to revise this image.

After all, the virus leaves us all vulnerable, and Jews the world over have had their practices and traditions interrupted. But instead of being the great equalizer, this pandemic has exacerbated deep-seated inequities — in the world writ large, and in our Jewish world as well. Overcrowding and financial insecurity are considerable factors in the spread of coronavirus, which has stolen the lives of countless Hasidic Jews, 45% of whom are poor. Instead of being met with compassion and assistance, haredi Jews have been increasingly blamed for spreading this terrible disease, by anti-Semites and the mayor of New York City alike.

While the Mrs. Maisels work from home, sequestered in their comfortable places of residence, many Jews of color are risking their lives as essential workers both in America and Israel. Meanwhile, few even think to check in on the Jews in China to see if they are safe from the virus or government crackdowns on religion.

As someone who works for full inclusion of Mizrahi and LGBTQ Jews in Israeli society, I know firsthand how difficult it is to overcome our biases and work together. But as this crisis continues to devastate the most vulnerable, it is increasingly important to do so.

I often see Jewish social justice groups in America fighting for other minorities instead of vulnerable Jewish communities — a worthy endeavor, but one that sustains the mistaken perception that all Jews are past needing to be helped by others. I know that groups like Masbia and the Met Council have been doing important work providing for impoverished New Yorkers for years, often without the glamour commanded by some other Jewish organizations. But we all must do more.

As life begins its return to normal, whenever that is, we’ll have a chance to change our frame before the window of opportunity closes. When we can have galas again, instead of inviting non-Jewish minorities as ambassadors of diversity, Jewish organizations should recruit up-to-now marginalized members of the Jewish world. Instead of hiring evangelical black Christians as the keynote speakers for Jewish events about inclusion, when those events resume, black See Vulnerable, page 8

Photo: Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations

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PBS continued from page 1

another,” Goldberg says.

“Far-right anti-Semitism,” he explains, “is often driven by people who challenge social progress and progressives.

The Pittsburgh shooter blamed a Jewish organization for bringing immigrants to the U.S. — and he opposed immigration.

In England, the far-left anti-Semitism comes from many of the very progressives that the far-right dislikes. It is very focused on its dislike of Israel, in ways far beyond its dislike of any other country.

What’s more, this criticism of Israel often turns directly to blatant anti-Semitism.

So here you have two forms of anti-Semitism which come from the polar opposite ends of the political spectrum yet lead to the same result.”

Dozens of special guests include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair; Deborah Lipstadt, author of “Antisemitism: Here and Now”; a former white supremacist; rabbis; journalists; and survivors of the Pittsburgh shooting and the HyperCacher supermarket shooting in France in January 2015.

What always surprises him, says Goldberg, is to see “just how deep into societies this anti-Semitism runs.”

For example, although he was aware of anti-Semitism in France, the extent of the violence was a shock. “There’s a lot of it that isn’t discussed. I’m not even talking about what goes unreported. These people were pulling their kids out of schools; there’s bullying, and there’s beatings, and there’s fights and harassment, and none

of that makes the papers. Nothing makes it onto any kind of discussion outside of the immediate community.”

The French government, he points out, tries very hard not to peg crimes against any particular ethnic group or community as hate crimes. Unlike in the U.S., where ethnicity is celebrated, the French ideology, founded in “liberté, égalité, fraternité,” is to celebrate “Frenchness.” It makes tracking crimes against Jews — or other groups — very difficult.

Noting that he is neither a social scientist or an activist, Goldberg says he’s pessimistic about any solution for antiSemitism.

“Historically the world has been highly unsuccessful at arresting [antiSemitism],” he says. “The single event that put Europe on its best behavior was the Holocaust. Never before did you see Germany so committed to fighting antiSemitism as you did shortly after 1945.”

Germany, he says, banned political parties, made reparations, gave money to Israel, and embarked on educational programs about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. “You never saw any European country do anything like that for its Jews. Basically you saw every single European country on its best behavior with respect to Jews in its history,” although there were plenty of mistakes made and “big aberrations in places like Poland,” he says.

“Now that’s all being forgotten. Seventy years later, that whole generation of people is dying off. The Holocaust survivors, World War II veterans. People that were in power then are gone,” he says.

“What does that leave you with?”

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They conclude: “This is our situation when it comes to pandemics and farming.”

In a Jewish context, you might say that we’ve bent if not broken the blessing of human agricultural skill. No one touring (or reading details about) a factory farm could possibly describe it as an actualization of God’s work. Yet Jewish traditions impel us to make our lives — from the prayers we sing to the food we eat — an actualization of divine intention.

Tackling the problem of industrial animal agriculture is a crucial form of the preventive medicine that we are commanded to practice. We must do our part to remove this very real peril, and the time to begin is now, when the whole world is experiencing the potential consequences.

It would be disastrous if the admitted immensity of the task before us paralyzed us into inaction. We should remember that even dramatic changes occur incrementally and that we are not alone.

More people and more leaders are talking about reforming farming than ever before. We can start with our own daily choices, and we can start considering what we’ll do differently when we’re back in our institutional and communal settings. We can start talking

VULNERABLE continued from page 6

Jews should play a leading role. We must create spaces for more underrepresented Jewish people to speak, even if the message will not be as easy for some Jews to digest.

Our synagogues, publications, federations and other organizations are having countless panels via Zoom during this pandemic. The normal barriers to having diverse speakers, such as flights and travel accommodations, are no longer an issue. Now is the time

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Hen Mazzig is an Israeli writer, international speaker, commentator and marketing consultant from Tel Aviv.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the AJP or its publisher, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona.

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Melissa Hoffman is the director of the Jewish Initiative for Animals.

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now about how to reduce our own community demand for the products most tightly linked to the creation of pathogens with pandemic potential, like industrial poultry (that’s 99% of all birds sold, including kosher).

We can ask if it is time to replace some — or even all — of the animal products served at our religious and communal institutions with plant-based alternatives or at least with meat, dairy and eggs verified to be from animals raised outside the factory farming system.

Change can be as simple as replacing a single animal product, like swapping the cow’s milk on our cereal and in our beverages for plant-based milks. It can be a healthier rhythm of eating like Jonathan Safran Foer’s call to be vegan before dinner. It can be a new eating identity like reducetarian, flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan. And it can rise to the communal level, beginning a conversation with your local Jewish community institutions to create new food policies and ultimately a new normal for the food we eat.

This piece is a part of JTA's series of Visions for the Post-Pandemic Jewish Future — visit www.jta.org to read the other stories in this series. Use #JewishFuture to share your own ideas on social media. If you’d like to submit an essay for consideration, email opinion@jta. org with “Visions Project Submission” in the subject line.

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NEWS BRIEFS The Veterans Administration will not replace three tombstones inscribed with swastikas in its military cemeteries, calling them “historic resources.”

A group that advocates for religious freedom in the military on Monday called on the VA to replace two World War II-era POW headstones in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas, inscribed with swastikas inside a German cross, and the phrase, “He died far from his home for the Führer, people, and fatherland.”

Führer was the title Adolf Hitler assumed for himself.

Replying Tuesday to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency query, Les’ A. Melnyk, a VA spokesman, said the agency was aware of the two headstones, as well as a third at Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Salt Lake City with the same inscription. He described Hitler as a “divisive historical figure.”

“The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 assigns stewardship responsibilities to federal agencies, including VA and the Army, to protect historic resources, including those that recognize divisive historical figures or events,” Melnyk said. “For this reason, VA will continue to preserve these headstones, like every past administration has.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which issued the call Monday, after a retired officer alerted the group to the tombstones’ presence in the San Antonio graveyard, said the VA response fell short.

Mikey Weinstein, the group’s president, noted in an interview that in recent years Democratic and Republican

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“That is a non-reply reply,” Weinstein said, adding that his group was exploring legal action to replace the tombstones.

— Ron Kampeas, JTA

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Hoping to improve your culinary skills while in quarantine? There’s an online Jewish food festival for you.

Jewish culinary talents like Michael Solomonov, Joan Nathan, and Michael Twitty are coming together for the inaugural Great Big Jewish Food Fest from May 19 to 28.

The festival, free for participants, will consist of workshops, happy hours, and Shabbat dinners led by Jewish chefs and food writers.

“Not a single person we’ve asked has said a flat out ‘no,’” Jeffrey Yoskowitz told the Forward. “Everyone has said ‘I’m in, I want to be part of it.’”

Yoskowitz is on the team helping to produce the festival alongside Liz Alpern, his co-founder of Gefilteria, a Brooklyn-based company whose focus is reimagining Old World Jewish foods.

The festival is supported by several foundations, including the Jewish Food Society, Mazon, and the American Sephardi Federation.

Leah Koenig, author of “The Jewish Cookbook,” will lead a cooking class on Roman cuisine. “While nothing quite replaces face-to-face interaction,” she told the Forward, she’s amazed at how intimate virtual events can feel.

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RUTH EBENSTEIN JTA JERUSALEM

E

ight weeks have passed since Arie Even, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, died of the coronavirus.

It happened at the end of Shabbat dinner on a Friday night in March at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Even drew headlines as Israel’s first COVID-19 fatality. As of Tuesday, the coronavirus death count in the country had risen to 260. There have been more than 16,500 confirmed cases.

For Rachel Gemara, 33, the memory of Even has not lost its charge. It’s stark and raw, and may stay that way for a long time to come.

She was the veteran nurse on call that night monitoring Even’s breathing when he had a heart arrhythmia in Keter Alef, the hospital’s first popup unit created for corona patients. The monitor sounded a long solemn beep, and the doctors raced to don their gear and care for him.

Gemara watched Even gasp and wheeze his last breaths on the screen as his grip on life slackened. She felt the tears stream from her eyes. Two patients in the isolated coronavirus ward raced to Even’s bedside, placed their hands on his eyes and recited the Shema, the Jewish declaration of faith. Even had passed away.

Gemara understood that she and the other nurse on call would have the inauspicious responsibility of being the first ones in Israel to wrap the body of someone who died of the virus over fears of contagion. Because the resilient pathogen remains in a decedent and could be expelled in bodily fluid when the body

is moved, this involved implementing a protective protocol drafted by the Israeli Ministry of Health just eight days earlier.

Gemara reached for the special kit, which included two bags and four pages of instructions. ...

Preparing a body for Jewish burial is habitually the domain of the chevra kadisha, Hebrew for “holy society.” The ritual act of purification is known as tahara, which is carried out by individuals trained to care for the body in an ageold process of traditional cleansing. Men care for men; women care for women. It is said that the body is treated as a vessel for holiness.

The specific rituals for care of the dead are generally relegated to the private domain. The body is washed thrice in a constant stream of warm water or ritually immersed in a body of water before it is dressed in tachrichim, a traditional Jewish burial shroud of simple white intended to be a cocoon of sheets. Silence fills the room, save the recitation of psalms and prayers. The deceased is addressed by name.

Gemara had spent 10 years in an oncology ward where most of the patients are at the severe stage 4 and approximately 30 percent are terminal. She had invested emotionally in making their end-of-life meaningful and caring for them when they passed on.

By nature, Gemara gravitated to the demanding. Right out of nursing school, she had advocated to work in oncology.

That same drive prompted her to volunteer for the not-yet-formulated unit for coronavirus patients in late February, as a text circulated in the hospital calling for staff members to sign up.

Photo courtesy of Gemara

Nurse tells of Israel’s first coronavirus death and life inside a COVID-19 ward

Nurse Rachel Gemara wears a hazmat suit in the coronavirus ward at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Gemara’s knack for compassionate care meant that she instinctively knew what to do when a patient passed away.

She also had considerable experience with patients postmortem.

“How many times had I wrapped a body? 100 times? 200 times?” she said.

But wrapping a body in a special bag and cleaning it to avert endangering those with whom it would come into contact until burial? That was a first.

Even more piercing was the knowledge that she’d be the last one to identify and care for him. That, too, was uncharted territory.

On that Friday in March, Gemara slipped out of the hospital into the parking lot and stepped into a white hazmat suit, then zipped it up. She pulled her long hair into a ponytail, put on an N95 mask, two sets of blue sanitized gloves, face shield and hood, and slipped booties

over pink Nikes. Cuffs secured. It took 10 minutes to don the protective gear. Then she buzzed into the unit.

As she started to care for Even’s body, her eyes stung with tears. He reminded Gemara of her grandparents, Saba Dov, 96, and Savta Miriam, 90. Like Even, they were Holocaust survivors from Hungary and spoke with the same accent.

“He was familiar,” she remembered recently, her voice shaking with emotion.

Even had escaped the Nazis by hiding with his mother and brother in a countryside basement, helped by the renowned Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Even had survived multiple heart attacks and surgeries, even fled a cholera epidemic in Spain. He had four grandchildren and 18 grandchildren. A great-grandchild was born. He had lost his wife of 50 years, Yona, in 2012.

When Even had teetered in to the hospital on his weathered brown cane five days earlier, his skin pale and hair matted, he was short of breath, chest rising.

His eyes took in the room grimly. ...

On Monday, Even had asked Gemara to help him call his family members to say goodbye. By Friday night, he was rapidly deteriorating.

That evening was Gemara’s seventh day in the unit, her fifth shift there. On the corona-compressed calendar, time seemed to stretch and contract.

Gemara is a Modern Orthodox Jew, the daughter of a rabbi. Born in Israel, she was raised in Toronto before moving to Jerusalem in 2006.

Judaism provided an anchor, a way of life. She felt viscerally pained over the fact that Even would not experience the See Nurse, page 14

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he Tucson Jewish Community Center has been offering a variety of virtual classes and programs at www.tucsonjcc.org to help people stay physically fit, mentally sharp, and spiritually focused while the facility is closed as a preventative measure due to the coronavirus.

“You can stay active in your own home! Here are some great activities to keep you moving when you can’t be at the J,” says Amy Dowe, director of wellness, introducing the J’s free “Work Out at Home” video programs. These include a 10-minute loving kindness meditation with Pamela Adler; cardio and weights programs designed for seniors; “Yogalaties” combining gentle yoga and Pilates movements, and a full-body workout, both from the Mayerson JCC in Cincinnati. There also are links to free trials of the Peloton app and Les Mills on Demand, which is used at gyms in more than 110 countries.

Group fitness classes for members are offered daily (except Saturdays) via Zoom and run the gamut from “Family Yoga with Courtney” to “Body AttackHigh Intensity with Cesar.”

Virtual personal training for adults — one-on-one, with a friend, or in groups of three — is available, as are group personal training sessions for kids. Fees vary.

Registration is still available for Yom Limmud, a day of Jewish learning, on Sunday, May 17. Participants can sign up for one or up to six free sessions. Most sessions have a choice of classes available, with several options suitable for children.

Podcast recommendations from Khylie Gardner, director of marketing and communications, include “Israel

Story,” “Why We Eat What We Eat,” and for kids, “Two Sisters” from PJ Library.

Staff also provide book, TV, and movie recommendations, including past favorites from the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival. Some of the films are free and others are available on popular fee-based streaming services.

Additional resources for kids include arts, crafts, and STEM activities, such as “Easy Peasy Playdough” and “Rainbow Walking Water,” and games such as “Extreme Simon Says” and “Banana Tag.” There also are virtual learning resources curated by Joline Riddle, director of early childhood education.

Links to cooking resources, virtual art experiences, and virtual Jewish resources also are provided.

To help keep people spiritually connected, Jennifer Selco, the J’s director of Jewish life and learning, and other staff members offer Sheva Lenses videos, exploring Jewish concepts such as tikkun olam (repair of the world) and kedushah (holiness).

“Sheva is Hebrew for ‘seven,’ and the Sheva Lenses Framework offers a perspective for how we experience the world,” Selco explains. “We live and breathe this framework throughout the Tucson J’s early childhood education program, but the lenses can also inform our thinking beyond the walls of the J. The sheva lenses continue to ground me, and I invite you to watch these brief videos that our team created to highlight the Sheva Lenses Framework. May these lenses bring deeper meaning to our time at home with our families, and may we be inspired by them to help us navigate our temporary reality.”

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proper end-of-life Jewish rituals.

“In addition to the COVID-induced isolation of dying without family, this man who survived the Nazis was going to be cheated out of this,” she reflected.

Then Gemara understood that she could be his makeshift chevra kadisha. She could confer respect to the dead. While she wrapped the body as prescribed by the Health Ministry, she imbued it with the same holiness and intent of tahara. Modified, atypical holiness. But holiness nonetheless.

When she was done, she replicated a custom of the burial society: appealing to the body for forgiveness if any distress was caused in the preparation. Inaudibly and with reverence, she whispered: “Arie, I’m sorry for how we were required to handle your body. We did our best to preserve your dignity and respect you in the current circumstances. … It was a tremendous honor to care for you in your final days. You’ve touched my heart, the staff, and the patients that surrounded you. I know your life will inspire the rest of Am Yisrael [the Jewish people] as well.

Go to your resting place in peace. Look out for us from above.”

The following evening, Even was buried by members of the chevra kadisha wearing biohazard suits, with only his youngest child able to attend. Jewish end-of-life rituals had to be secondary to safeguarding the living. ...

As the pandemic continues, so does grappling with end-of-life customs and practices. Tahara was suspended, then permitted.

The coronavirus has blurred other kinds of lines: Patients care for other patients in a closed-off ward while medical staff observes from afar. Doctors and nurses are suited head to toe, their faces trapped on the inside while smiling glossy photos of their faces are plastered on the outside — something to reveal about the health professional inside.

In its first six weeks, Keter Alef sprouted to six units, including one in the ICU. In that time, Gemara clocked 275 hours in 12-hour shifts. She celebrated her 33rd birthday and a Pass-

over Seder. Much of her life has been all coronavirus, all the time. No breathers with friends, no time to jog, no respites to condition her hair. She found restful sleep to be a distant country.

When she did nod off, her dreams were dark and unreachable. Many times the responsibility felt heavy, unyielding.

Fortunately the rate of incoming patients has slowed. With cautious optimism, Shaare Zedek closed Keter Hey on April 23 and Keter Bet on April 26.

Keter Alef shuttered on April 30. Things were starting to open up.

But the ache of losing Even lingered.

Then it was bookended by hope. ...

On the evening of April 23, a tall man with glasses knocked his glove-covered hand on the nurse’s station. Gemara’s face beamed. It was her patient, admitted three weeks prior with severe respiratory distress, too weak to get out of bed.

The 51-year-old with no prior medical conditions had stopped breathing on her watch. As she revisited that night, her voice caught.

“At 2 a.m. I was inside the unit, in full protective gear, the rest of the staff far away in the headquarters,” Gemara recalled. “He asked me to help him out of bed, and as I slowly helped him sit down, he suddenly slumped his head, his eyes rolled back and he completely lost consciousness.

“I was alone and terrified. His life was in my hands, and every second counted. I leaped to grab a 100% oxygen face mask from the crash cart and connected him immediately to the maximum amount of oxygen. Thank heavens he regained consciousness. The sheer terror and uncertainty of those few moments shook me to my core.”

As she looked at him, Gemara remembered wheeling him carefully to the ICU Keter Unit, eyeing him closely during the transfer. How she’d squeezed his hand, saying “Stay strong, keep fighting, I’ll pray for you and I’ll see you again soon.” How she’d walked back to her unit in tears, wondering if she would, in fact, see him again soon.

And now he had come to say goodbye.

“Hey there,” he said, release papers in hand, looking straight into Gemara’s eyes. “I just wanted to thank you. You saved my life, plain and simple.”

Rattlesnake bites on the rise — watch where you step, warns UArizona poison center

W

Ronald M. Mann, M.D. CATA L

of Catalina Dermatology Board Certified Dermatologist

A DERMATO IN

GY LO

Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology

Photo: Facebook

arm weather may lead to more outdoor activities, but be aware of rattlesnakes, cautions the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center located in the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.

So far this year, 36 rattlesnake bites have been reported to AzPDIC. Twentyfour of those bites occurred in April, up from nine in March.

“We’re well into rattlesnake season here in Arizona,” says Steve Dudley, PharmD, DABAT, director of AzPDIC. “It’s not only hikers who need to be wary; home gardeners should be cautious as well. Roughly 25% of our rattlesnake bites happen to people gardening or doing yardwork.”

“Rattlesnakes don’t practice social distancing,” warns Laura Morehouse, MPH, CHES, poison education specialist. Be on the lookout for rattlesnakes, whether on the hiking trails or in your own backyard.

If you encounter a snake, give it plenty of space. “And remember that a rattlesnake does not always rattle before it strikes,” Morehouse adds.

If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, get to a hospital immediately for laboratory work and potentially antivenom. “Rattlesnake bites can cause tissue damage, bleeding risks, or both. You can’t necessarily tell if you are at high risk of serious bleeding just by looking at where you were bitten,” Dudley advises.

The best way to treat a rattlesnake bite is to prevent one altogether. Be care-

Fellowship Trained Mohs surgeon

A rattlesnake crosses the Loop path near Swan Road on April 25.

ful where you step and pay attention to where you put your hands and feet. Do not approach or try to handle snakes, even if they appear to be dead. Finally, know the peak activity times for rattlesnakes. In the summer, rattlesnakes are most active in the early mornings and evenings.

AzPDIC helps hospital staff manage an average of 147 rattlesnake bites annually. AzPDIC provides its services for every county in Arizona except Maricopa, which has its own poison center.

Call 1-800-222-1222 day or night, 24/7, with questions regarding this or any other poison, drug, or chemical exposure.

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May 15, 2020, ARIZONA JEWISH POST

15

UArizona, with state funds, begins COVID-19 antibody tests

What are antibodies?

The COVID-19 antibody tests, which can identify who has developed antibodies to the virus, build upon the work of UArizona Health Sciences researchers Deepta Bhattacharya, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Medicine Tucson’s department of immunobiology, and Janko Nikolich-Žugich, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the department of immunobiology.

Antibodies are produced by the immune systems about a week after infection.

“Antibodies are proteins that float in our blood,” said Nikolich-Žugich, who also is co-director of the UArizona Center on Aging. “Good antibodies attach to the virus and whisk it away, preventing it from binding to our cells and getting inside.”

Current estimates suggest that as many as 50% of people who have been exposed to the virus have experienced few to no symptoms and could have been unwittingly transmitting the virus in the community.

The presence of COVID-19 antibodies means the immune system mounted a response against the virus.

Experts do not yet know the amounts of antibodies that are required to fully prevent subsequent infections, but there might be some level of protection. Because we still do not know enough about the virus, protection should not be assumed.

First in the nation

The initial wave of tests will reach health care workers and first responders whose increased exposure to pathogens puts them at higher risk for infection.

“We’re going to be the first to undertake statewide testing of all health care workers and first responders,” says Michael D. Dake, senior vice president for health sciences. “This is critical to understanding what current immunity might be in our community and state, and it’s something no one else is doing.”

Photo: Kris Hanning/University of Arizona Health Sciences

T

he University of Arizona has started analyzing blood samples from hundreds of thousands of Arizonans to determine who has developed antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19.

The state of Arizona is providing $3.5 million to test 250,000 health care workers and first responders throughout Arizona.

To lay the foundation for successful statewide implementation, a first phase of testing began late last month in Pima County for 3,000 health care workers and first responders. Using separate funding, approximately 1,500 members of the general public in Pima County, including university students currently residing on campus or in the county, also are being tested to provide a measure of comparison to the health care worker and first responder groups.

Testing for the remainder of the state expanded May 7 to health care workers and first responders throughout Arizona.

Graduate student Tyler Ripperger in Janko Nikolich-Žugich lab at the University of Arizona puts plates into a 37 degrees Celsius bath to allow for optimal detection conditions.

The road ahead: Pushing for knowledge

With so few people in Arizona receiving the COVID-19 diagnostic test as of late April, there was little data on exactly how hard the virus had hit the state.

Health care providers and first responders, whose jobs put them directly in COVID-19’s line of fire, especially need a better understanding of their exposure to the virus and their immunity to it.

“We expect it’s going to be eye-opening,” NikolichŽugich said as the project launched last month. “We certainly expect that exposure to the virus among frontline health care workers and first responders is going to be significantly higher than the general community.”

“This is a great opportunity to participate in something that will add to understanding the virus across the whole country, if not the world,” Dake added. “People are literally working 24/7 to get this project up and running , pushing, pushing, pushing.”

Sonora Quest, Walgreens also testing

In partnership with the state, Sonora Quest Laboratories announced April 24 it will offer antibody testing starting with 1,000 to 3,000 tests per day. Sonora Quest now offers antibody testing to consumers without needing a provider’s order or insurance in Arizona.

Sonora Quest also continues to offer diagnostic swab testing for active COVID-19 infection. For masking requirements and other safety procedures, visit www.sonoraquest.com/coronavirus.

Walgreens also is offering drive-through testing at nine locations in Arizona, including 10315 E. Broadway in Tucson, for those who meet Centers for Disease Control criteria.

To determine eligibility, complete an online screening at www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing.

Please patronize our advertisers.

Tell them you saw them in the AJP. 16

ARIZONA JEWISH POST, May 15, 2020

Money Matters Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund taking two-phase approach

L

ast week, the Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund approved an allocation of $25,000 to the Community Food Bank to rescue over 30,000 meals from the international border that otherwise were destined for the landfill. The fund also allocated an additional $20,000 to Interfaith Community Services for emergency financial assistance to individuals and families most in need, and $3,637 for a COVID-19 indigent burial. These disbursements add to previous allocations of $20,000 each to Jewish Family & Children’s Services and ICS, and $2,075 to the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network.

The fund, established in March by professionals and volunteer leaders of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation, has raised $385,000 to date.

A May 7 email update from the office of Graham Hoffman, JCF president and CEO and JFSA president and CEO-elect, explains the deliberate, two-phase approach to distributing the funds. Phase

1, which continues throughout the life of the fund, focuses on individuals and families most impacted by the pandemic, while phase 2 focuses on agencies and organizations whose infrastructure supports those in phase 1, whether in the Jewish or broader community, as well as needs in Israel and among Jewish communities around the world.

The aim of the fund is “to respond rapidly not only to today’s problems, but also to the growing challenges that will face us as circumstances evolve,” the email stated.

“We have taken care to strike a balance on the continuum between immediately allocating funds to show community support and adopting a more gradual, measured approach as we watch to ensure we can meet the community’s evolving needs that shift and develop with time. The Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund operates in the dynamic tension between these poles, though we have intentionally embraced a more measured approach,

knowing that the greatest needs locally may yet be ahead of us. Moreover, we work to ensure that during our phase 1 focus on individual and family needs locally, we are designating grants toward COVID-19 related needs while working to facilitate the receipt of stimulus funds and government loans to address the broader economic impact on the nonprofit sector in Southern Arizona.

“Funding recommendations made by our Pandemic Relief Taskforce are brought to the joint executive committee/officers of Foundation and Federation, where funding distributions are decided. We are deploying resources in a thoughtful, measured way as this complex situation unfolds, ensuring that the funds are not exhausted in the broader communal context.”

Community partner

The Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund is working in concert with the Pandemic Relief funds established at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the United Way, as well as

other nonprofits in our local community.

By working with these local partners, the email stated, “our position is balanced by the complementary approaches of major funders in our region” to ensure that the community’s needs are met now and in the future. “We are complementing and supplementing each other’s funding strategies, and taking care not to duplicate efforts.”

Anticipated areas of need

Areas where increased need is anticipated include, in alphabetical order, basic human services, domestic violence, first responders/medical community, food scarcity, healthcare, homelessness, mental health: suicide prevention, Native American populations, and seniors and vulnerable populations.

These areas of need have been determined through research and conversations with experts in our region.

To access services, contribute to the fund, or volunteer your time, visit www. jfsa.org/pandemic. For more information, call 577-9393.

HBL CPAs, P.C. HBL was founded in 1973 with a focus on providing excellent client service. As second-generation leaders, we have realized that this isn’t enough. Clients expect excellent service; we want to provide more. To this end, we are committed to continual development of technical expertise, providing a comfortable, personable experience for all clients and offering a full-range of advisory services.

HBL specializes in working with small to midsized businesses and their owners. We offer attest, accounting, tax, and consulting services to a diverse client portfolio that includes nonprofit organizations, construction, commercial real estate, franchises, and medical practices, to name a few.

Our firm and CPA professionals are licensed and registered to practice in the state of Arizona. We are a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Arizona State Society of CPA’s, and CPAmerica, the ninth largest global network of independent audit and advisory service firms in the world.

Our management group has a combined professional experience in excess of 200 years. We welcome the opportunity to partner with you.

(L-R) Coleen A. Krogen, CPA, Managing Partner; Jacquie Ivey, CPA, Partner; Michael J. DeVries, CPA, Partner; Cynthia J. Haines, CPA, SHRM-CP Director of Accounting; Daniel J. Rock, CPA, Director of Tax; Laura L. Randol, CPA, CFE Partner

5470 E. Broadway Blvd., Tucson AZ 85711 • (520) 886-3181 • www.hblcpa.com ADVERTORIAL

May 15, 2020, ARIZONA JEWISH POST

17

Money Matters CARES Act suspends federal student loans for six months, through Sept. 30

T AMY SPENCER

Amy Spencer, CPA, P.C.

Amy Spencer, CPA, MBA, is an experienced, certified public accountant providing traditional accounting and tax services of the highest quality to her clients. Her educational background begins with two associate degrees in business administration and liberal arts from Pima Community College, where she was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Society International Honor Society. Attending the University of Arizona on an Honors scholarship, she received her Bachelor of Science in business administration, emphasis in accounting. She also has a Master of Business Administration, emphasis in accounting from Grand Canyon University. She worked in the accounting field for several years, focusing mainly on taxation, before obtaining her license as a certified public accountant. She has lived in the Tucson area for over 38 years and has three adult children.

Amy is a member of the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants.

7230 N. La Cañada Drive, Ste. 110, Tucson, AZ 85704 • (520) 881-5437 amy@amyspencercpa.com • www.amyspencercpa.com

he federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law on March 27 provides automatic suspension of principal and interest payments on federally held student loans from March 13 through Sept. 30.

There is no fee to suspend your loans and you do not need to apply to have your federal student loans placed in this suspension, known as “administrative forbearance.” Your federal student loan servicer will suspend all interest and payments without any action from you.

If you made a payment toward your federally held student loans after March 13, you can request a refund from your student loan servicer. However, if you are financially able to continue making payments on your student loans, any payments you make after March 13 will be applied directly to principal. This will help you pay off your loans faster.

Is your loan included?

The benefits authorized by the CARES Act do not apply to private (non-federal) student loans. But many private student loan lenders are offering extended forbearance options and other benefits.

Contact your lender or servicer for more information.

Also, be aware that not all federal student loans are held by the Department of Education. Some loans under the Federal Family Education Loan program are owned by commercial lenders, and some Perkins Loans are held by the institution or school you attended. Your FFEL lender or school may choose to suspend interest and payments on a voluntary basis, but they are not required by law to do so. Contact your servicer to find out if these options are available to you.

Not sure who services your loans?

For federal student loans, find your servicer by visiting the Department of Education website at https://studentaid. gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers.

For private student loans, look at your latest billing statement or check your credit report. You are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).

Request a copy at www.annualcreditreport. com or call (877) 322-8228.

For more information, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website at www.consumerfinance.govabout-us/blog/what-you-need-to-knowabout-student-loans-and-coronaviruspandemic.

Need help with IRS issues?

Lawrence I. Subrin, CPA Tax Preparation & Consulting 520-296-7759 Cell: 520-419-1472 Fax 520-296-7767 lsubrincpa@aol.com David Arond

GENERATIONS LIVING TRUST

David Arond and Generation Living Trusts can help protect you and your family in these challenging times.

A living trust avoids the costs and hassle of probate court and ensures your wishes are honored in a medical emergency or passing. The new Covid-19 proclamation enables us to process your living trusts over the phone or online. We can Zoom, talk on the phone, or come to your home (mask and social distancing).

We are one of the largest living trusts planners in Arizona and have been serving families like yours for over 30 years. David offers special pricing of $1295 per couple for a complete living trust, guardianship, medical power of attorney and power of attorney. If you have children with special needs, it is only an additional $500 to add a secondary special needs living trust. David has been part of the Tucson Jewish community for 32 years. He welcomes the opportunity to help you and your loved ones.

Markets fluctuate.

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ARIZONA JEWISH POST, May 15, 2020

Investment and Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Insured • NO Bank Guarantee • MAY Lose Value

ADVERTORIAL

IN FOCUS

Top row (L-R): Sharon Glassberg; Daniel, Alma, and Consuelo Hernandez; Theresa Dulgov. Middle: Raisa Moroz, JFCS Holocaust survivors services program manager; Barbara Agee; John Kessler. Bottom: Sidney Finkel, Pawel and Sara Lichter (not pictured). Also on the call, by phone, were Walter Feiger, Yulia Genina, and Wanda Wolosky.

Rachel Rudner

Two Tucson teens, Gabe Friedman and Rachel Rudner, have been elected to the BBYO Mountain Region board.

Friedman is the 73rd regional aleph godol (BBYO AZA president), overseeing the engagement of Jewish teens across Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Also part of the teen team responsible for the BBYO On Demand website, www.bbyo.org/ ondemand, he says, “Throughout this uncertain time, the teens of BBYO have found ourselves saying, ‘Nothing in BBYO is cancelled, it’s just online.’ Across the International Order of BBYO, we have been using our innovative platform of BBYO On Demand to celebrate with each other, laugh with each other, challenge one another, learn from one another, and continue to welcome new friends into our movement. As we unite, we reaffirm that the last thing we’ll do is distance ourselves from each other, our community, our tradition, or our faith.

Rudner, the 73rd regional mazkirah (vice president of communications), reports, “The local Tucson BBG (girls’ chapter), Kadimah, has been staying virtually connected by doing weekly Zoom programs where we do fun little activities and games to get to know each other better. Many of the programs have been centered around all the Jewish holidays that we just had and making plans to give back to our community. Throughout the week we regularly text with each other to stay connected and maintain the tight bond that we have.”

Photo: Andrea Ramirez/Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging

Gabe Friedman

Staying connected at Handmaker

Photo: Angela Salmon/Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging

Two Tucsonans elected to BBYO regional board

Standing (L-R): Jack Scrimer, Jared Matheson, Aidan Goldberg, Eidan Schachter-Brooks, Liam Parnaby, Ben Gerber, and Anisa Rutherford; seated: Lariella Citron, Abigail Ruskin, Alex Farbrook, Halle Hirshman, Matias Naiman-Molina, Yileana Pasillas, and Mielle Griver.

Due to restrictions on large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, Tucson Hebrew Academy will hold an online eighth-grade graduation ceremony on Monday, May 18. The 14 graduates will attend the following high schools in the fall: Catalina Foothills High School, The Gregory School, Tucson High Magnet School, and University High School. Fun fact: Liam Parnaby’s mother, Ori Green, and Jack Scrimer’s father, John Scrimer, are THA graduates.

Holocaust survivors flock to JFCS group Zoom meetings Jewish Family & Children’s Services weekly Holocaust survivors group meetings have been taking place over Zoom, sometimes with special guests, such as a recent meeting with State Reps. Alma Hernandez and Daniel Hernandez Jr. and their sister, Consuelo Hernandez, a member of the governing board for Sunnyside Unified School District. “There is a lot of laughing, checking in with one another, and discussion. We watch YouTube videos that are relevant, such as a Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) ceremony from Israel, in addition to viewing articles and updates from around the world,” says Sharon Glassberg, JFCS clinical therapist and wellness and support specialist.

Photo courtesy Tucson Hebrew Academy

Photo courtesy Jewish Family & Children’s Services

THA plans online commencement

Digital apps and dedicated staff have been helping Handmaker residents stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic.

For Passover, Handmaker provided all interested Jewish residents with dinner, seder plates, wine or grape juice, battery operated candles, and Haggadot Handmaker resident Lois Waldman follows along with Facebook live Passover for one or two seders, Festival services from Temple Emanu-El, April 9. depending on their request. Some residents joined online celebrations with local synagogues, others joined family through Zoom or other apps, and some “just did their own thing,” says Nanci Levy, Handmaker outreach coordinator.

“It was not ideal, but most really appreciated the effort and felt that something was better than nothing during these trying times.”

On Saturday, April 18, via Zoom, Handmaker residents participated in the bar mitzvah of Jonas Valdez Leonard, whose family has been attending services at Handmaker for a decade. Mel Cohen and Dan Asia led the service along with Jonas, who On April 17, the day after Passover ended, Handmaker celebrated in his home with his parmanagement distributed specially wrapped chocolate ents, Shay Salomon Leonard and Nibars to show appreciation to the staff, including Elizabeth gel Valdez, and his younger brother, Kariuki, a Handmaker caregiver for 16 years.

Rafi.

and ishpost.com w je z .a w w w Visit k! on Faceboo P J A e th w follo May 15, 2020, ARIZONA JEWISH POST

19

MARCY OSTER JTA

Y

ou can have one of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl rings while helping those in need facing food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s gonna cost you.

Kraft is putting his Super Bowl LI championship ring up for auction to raise money for those facing food insecurity. As of Tuesday, the bidding had reached $1 million after starting at $75,000. There are six days left to bid.

Kraft was asked to participate in the All-In Challenge, a digital fundraiser created by Fanatics founder and Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

Also included in the purchase of the ring is a trip in the Patriots’ team plane to Gillette Stadium in suburban Boston, where the buyer will be presented with the ring in the team’s trophy room and be invited to a personal meeting

with Kraft.

Kraft said he picked the Super Bowl ring from the 2017 game because of the Patriots’ stunning 34-28 comeback win in overtime over the Atlanta Falcons — the Pats were down 28-3 in the third quarter — and the parallels that can be drawn with the current struggle in the United States against the coronavirus, Yahoo Sports reported.

Kraft, a winner of the Genesis Prize, the so-called Jewish Nobel, has earned six Super Bowl rings as owner of the Patriots. One is on display in the Kremlin. Kraft says Russian President Vladimir Putin tried it on and did not give it back. A Putin spokesman said in 2013 that the ring was a gift, according to NBC Sports.

Several weeks ago, Kraft sent the team plane to China to pick up new protective gear for medical personnel. The plane was on the ground for just under three hours in Shenzhen as workers in masks and full-body suits loaded boxes of N95 masks onto the plane.

Celebrate love on the 5th Anniversary of Marriage Equality

Photo: Twitter

NATIONAL Patriots owner Kraft auctioning a Super Bowl ring for coronavirus charity

A May 10 ESPN tweet shows a video by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is auctioning his 2017 Super Bowl ring to fight food insecurity as part of the All-In Challenge, a digital fundraiser.

DEADLINE FOR GREETINGS IS TUESDAY, JUNE 19 The Arizona Jewish Post is pleased to offer our readers an opportunity to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26, 2015 decision on marriage equality with a personal greeting in the AJP’s June 26, 2020 edition. $5 from every ad purchased will be donated to JPride, a joint program of the Tucson Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona.

Show Your Support!

We got married on (insert date)

We Support

Marriage Equality Name and Name

A - $50

Celebrating love 5th

on the

Anniversary of

Marriage Equality

SPREAD Through the World!

Your Name

Your Name

B - $50

C - $30

Mazel tov on the th 5 Anniversary of

Marriage Equality for all!

Your Name

D - $30

Mail to: Arizona Jewish Post, 3718 E. River Road, Suite 272, Tucson, AZ 85718 Please run my greeting in your June 26 issue. I would like ad (circle one) A, B, C, D

The name(s) on the message should read: (If you wish to write your own message, please do so on a separate sheet of paper and attach to this form.)

Enclosed is my check made payable to the Arizona Jewish Post or Charge my MC, Visa, or Amex: _______________________________________________ Signature: _____________________________________ Exp. date: _________________ Name: _________________________________________________________Phone: ___________________________ Address:___________________________________________City/State/Zip: _________________________________ If you have any questions contact Phyllis at 647-8480 or pbraun@azjewishpost.com.

(All ads must be paid for in advance.)

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ARIZONA JEWISH POST, ARIZONA JEWISH POST, May May 15, 15, 2020 2020