The Dayton Jewish Observer, March 2020

Hamantashen recipes for in Purim p.book 22 form p. 22 David Moss designs Grace After Meals comic

THE DAYTON Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton

March 2020 Adar/Nisan 5780 Vol. 24, No. 7

OBSERVER

The Miami Valley’s Jewish Monthly • Online at daytonjewishobserver.org András Mayer

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTON, OHIO PERMIT NO. 59

Documentary shows how young Jews brought Budapest shtiebel

A Megillah reading on Purim at the Teleki Square Synagogue, Budapest

back to life

Temple Israel Rabbi Emeritus P. Irving Bloom dies at 88

5

Rabbi P. Irving Bloom

Guide to an important vote

8

Theo Bikel’s widow at Temple Israel

Address Service Requested

Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton 525 Versailles Drive Dayton, OH 45459

24

Tales of Teleki Square

Aimee Ginsburg Bikel

DAYTON

Comedian with Tourette’s for Purim at Temple Beth Or Pamela Rae Schuller, lah Monologues. The cost is who champions inclusion $18 per couple in advance, through her stand-up com$20 per couple at the door, edy and storytelling, will $10 per single ticket. Babyperform as part of Temple sitting is also available beBeth Or’s Purim celebratween 5 and 7 p.m. tions, Sunday, March 8.

Earlier in the day, from An alumna of Goldman 9:45 to 11 a.m., Schuller Union Camp Institute, will lead a workshop about Schuller shares stories of inclusion and bullying for growing up with a severe students in grades four and case of Tourette syndrome. up and their parents.

From 5 to 6 p.m., Temple Pamela Rae Schuller Temple Beth Or is located Beth Or will present a marat 5275 Marshall Rd., Washtini happy hour followed by Schuller’s ington Township. For more information, adults-only comedy show, The Megilcall 937-435-3400.

Storyteller weekend at Beth Abraham

1099 Tax Day Move-In

Special

Move into an independent or assisted living apartment from March 1 to April 15, 2020 and receive $1099.00 off your first month’s rent!

Please contact Robin Sisk at 937-529-2922 for details!

You’re Invited

To our monthly Friday Night Shabbat featuring a traditional Shabbat dinner with all your favorites.

Friday, March 27, 5 p.m.

In The Atrium Dining Room

$10 per person. R.S.V.P. to 837-5581 5790 Denlinger Road • Dayton, Ohio 45426 • fvdayton.com

PAGE 2

The weekend begins Friday, March 20 Beth Abraham Synagogue’s Ruth & at 5:30 p.m. with Kabalat Shabbat and Fred Scheuer Life Enrichment Series dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by Up Close will present a storyteller-in-residence and Personal stories with Stavish. Folweekend March 20-22 with Corinne lowing 9 a.m. Shabbat services Saturday, Stavish.

March 21, Stavish will present Stories of A professor of humanities at LawMitzvot after Kiddush lunch. rence Technological University in She encourages people to bring Southfield, Mich., Stavish specializes in objects, heirlooms, and pictures to her personal and historical narratives and intergenerational program on Sunday, biblical interpretive tales.

March 22 from 9:30 a.m. to noon, PassShe’s presented at the National over — Telling Our StoStorytelling Festival, ries. Stavish will help serves on the board participants explore of the International their family histories to Storytelling Center, shape stories for sharhas keynoted the ing at the seder.

National Storytelling The cost for ShabConference, and has bat dinner is $18 adult, been named Detroit 12 and under free, $54 Jewish Woman Artist family maximum. Beth of the Year. Stavish Abraham is located at has also contributed 305 Sugar Camp Circle, to Chicken Soup for the Oakwood. R.S.V.P. for Jewish Soul and The the dinner by March 13 Storyteller’s Companto 937-293-9520. ion to the Bible.

Storyteller Corinne Stavish

Temple Sholom Kosher wine tasting Temple Sholom in Springfield will host its Sixth Annual Wine Tasting Evening, Saturday, March 14, 5-7 p.m., featuring six Israeli kosher wines and paired appetizers.

The cost is $30 per person and is limited to 75 paid reservations. Temple Sholom is located at 2424 N. Limestone St., Springfield. R.S.V.P. to Mary Jo and Adam Leventhal, 937-284-8027.

**Correction** In Masha Kisel’s February column in The Observer, Acting Jewish, a direct quote from Ted Merwin was accidentally transposed to appear as if it was

a paraphrase by Kisel of a quote from Merwin. The passage was actually a direct quote from Merwin. The Observer regrets the error.

IN THIS ISSUE A Bisel Kisel.......................................21

Mr. Mazel..........................................19

Arts............................................24

N o s h e r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2

Calendar of Events.......................17

O p i n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1

Family Education............................23

O b i t u a r i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

DAYTON

Documentary shows how young Jews brought Budapest shtiebel back to life

Linda Weprin Realtor/Broker Military Relocation Professional

LindaMWeprinRealty.com

András Mayer

2019 DABR Sales Leader Award of Distinction

937-477-4734

Linda M. Weprin Realty Licensed Real Estate Agent for 30+ Years

Assisting you every step of the way!

Premier Retirement Living 590 Isaac Prugh Way – 937.298.0594

Rabbi Sholom Hurwitz lights a Chanukah menorah at the Teleki Square Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary

Key leader of Teleki Square Synagogue revitalization who worked on film visits Dayton for screening at Neon

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer Over nearly two decades, András Mayer and his brother, Gábor, have led the rebirth and restoration of the Teleki Square Synagogue, Budapest’s last shtiebel (little Jewish prayer house), which somehow escaped Nazi and Communist destruction.

András will bring a documentary to Dayton about the synagogue, Tales of Teleki Square (2017), for a screening at The Neon, March 3. Filmed

over several years, it shows how young hipster Jews brought the synagogue back to life, and features interviews with the last remaining Jews who recalled life there before the Holocaust.

András Mayer Gábor produced the film, directed by Barbara Spitzer; András was the director’s assistant.

The brothers first joined the shtiebel’s prayer services in 1999 when Jakab JCC Film Fest and Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Gláser, who ran the synagogue, recruitRelations Council present the documentary Tales of Teleki ed András. Gábor and some of their Square at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 3 at The Neon, 130 E. 5th St., Dayton, followed by a discussion with András Mayer. friends also started coming at that time, Tickets are $9 and may be purchased at jewishdayton.org, when “the congregation had shrunk to Continued on next page by calling the Federation at 937-610-1555, or at the door.

Bark Mitzvah Boy What Hamantashen dream about

Where’s the mustard?

OMenachem c

From the editor’s desk

If you’re a member of one of the Miami Valley’s Jewish congregations, you may have received information via email or in a newsletter encouraging you to vote in the World Zionist Marshall Congress elections. A process that comes around every five years, the Weiss elections give world Jewry a say in how key Jewish philanthropies disburse their funding in Israel and globally. With so many moving parts, the process and results aren’t that easily understood.

In short, every adult Jew in the United States who is a citizen or permanent resident is eligible to vote online between now and March 11.

To help get our minds around the election, our friends at the Forward have provided us with a guide to how it all works beginning on Page Eight.

Once you’ve had a chance to look it over, go to azm.org/elections at the American Zionist Movement website and place your vote.

WE SCORED A 93!

in the J Turner Research Online Reputation Assessment (ORA™) (When the national average score is 63.05)

The ORA™ statistical model aggregates and analyzes online ratings and reviews of over 120,000 properties across 21+ review sites and ILSs to generate a single score on a 0-100 scale, that is easy to monitor, rank, and improve. It is pioneered by J Turner Research, the leading full-circle online reputation management company exclusively serving the multifamily industry.

71% of prospects surveyed choose to visit a property with a better online reputation. Properties with high ORA™ scores produce 15% more leases than properties with lower ORA™ scores.

We invite you to visit our community, meet our residents, and see why we have this reputation.

For information about One Lincoln Park call 937.298.0594 or visit LincolnParkSeniors.com Please follow us

Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 3

there’s no “lion” about the fun we will have!

don’t monkey around, swing on over and join us!

DAYTON

Teleki Square

Continued from previous page

THE DAYTON András Mayer

OBSERVER Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss MWeiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555

walk on the

Wild Side

Contributors Rabbi Elchonon Chaikin, Scott Halasz, Masha Kisel, Candace R. Kwiatek

at temple israel’s

PURIM

celebration

monday, march 9 6:00 pm megillah 7:00 pm carnival & dinner

raffle & costumes

dinner: $6/adult $3/kids free/under 3

TUESDAY, MARCH 10 AT 1:30 PM

Based on a short story written by Theo Bikel, The City Of Light tells of young Theo’s childhood in Vienna and the antisemitism he faced.

Join us for a reading from the book and a discussion of Theodore Bikel’s legacy with author Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, Theo’s widow. $5/person; book available at the event for $16.

Temple Israel

937.496.0050 & www.tidayton.org 130 Riverside Drive, Dayton, OH 45405 A Reform synagogue open to all who are interested in Judaism.

Childcare provided during Friday services and Sunday school.

PAGE 4

Advertising Sales Executive Patty Caruso, plhc69@gmail.com

Preparing a meal at the Teleki Square Synagogue

only a few old men who were getting even fewer,” according to András.

When Gláser died in 2006, the Mayers and their friends knew that without them, Budapest’s last shtiebel wouldn’t survive. They became its leaders.

Chabad Rabbi Sholom Hurwitz — who with his wife, Devorah Leah, arrived in Budapest a few years earlier to become head of the Pesti Yeshiva — began serving the Teleki Square Synagogue.

The Mayer brothers helped establish the Jakab Gláser Memorial Foundation, a non-governmental organization to support the needs of the Teleki Square Synagogue project. They also understood the importance of documenting the history of the Teleki Square Jewish community while there were still a few elderly Jews alive who could talk about life there before the Holocaust. This was the impetus for the documentary, Tales of Teleki Square, the first of three documentaries they hope to produce.

In May 2017, it won the Best Documentary Award of the Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival.

Its Dayton screening is presented by the JCC Film Fest and the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Partnership2Gether program. Dayton’s Jewish Federation — along with 15 other Jewish Federations in the United States — is partnered with the Jewish community of Budapest and the Western Galilee region in Israel. A program of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Partnership2Gether promotes global Jewish identity through people-topeople relationships.

“The Jewish community in Budapest is focused on young people,” said Marcy L. Paul, Dayton’s JCRC director, who oversees Partnership2Gether here. “Some older people in Budapest are disconnected from their Judaism, some don’t identify, and others look to the younger generation to build a connection.”

According to JTA, poor Jewish migrants began settling in the Teleki neighborhood in the 1850s.

Most made a living selling items at the Teleki Square flea market. The Teleki Square Synagogue, at Teleki Square #22, according to the congregation’s history, was once known as the Chortkover Kloyz and was founded by Chasidim from Chartkov, Galicia (now in Ukraine), who arrived in Hungary in the 1920s after World War I. These Chasidim were poor peddlers who also sold items at the flea market. Before the Holocaust, dozens of shtiebels served the approximately 30,000 Jews who lived around Teleki Square.

Pogroms in October 1944 destroyed several of the shtiebels. Some were around until the 1970s and 1980s; today, only the Teleki Square Synagogue remains, which now hosts hundreds of people with its programs and worship services.

“There’s a rebirth,” Paul said. “There’s a lot going on in this vibrant Jewish community.”

Proofreader Rachel Haug Gilbert Billing Sheila Myers, SMyers@jfgd.net 937-610-1555 Observer Advisor Martin Gottlieb Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton Bruce Feldman President David Pierce Immediate Past Pres.

Dr. Heath Gilbert Pres. Elect/Treas.

Beverly Louis Secretary Dan Sweeny VP, Resource Dev. Mary Rita Weissman VP, Personnel/ Foundation Chair Cathy Gardner CEO The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 24, No. 7. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, a nonprofit corporation, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459.

Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton. Acceptance of advertising neither endorses advertisers nor guarantees kashrut.

The Dayton Jewish Observer Mission Statement To support, strengthen and champion the Dayton Jewish community by providing a forum and resource for Jewish community interests.

Goals • To encourage affiliation, involvement and communication.

• To provide announcements, news, opinions and analysis of local, national and international activities and issues affecting Jews and the Jewish community.

• To build community across institutional, organizational and denominational lines.

• To advance causes important to the strength of our Jewish community including support of Federation agencies, its annual campaign, synagogue affiliation, Jewish education and participation in Jewish and general community affairs.

• To provide an historic record of Dayton Jewish life.

Please recycle this newspaper.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

DAYTON 2 5 1 2 FA R H I L L S AV E

Rabbi P. Irving Bloom, Temple Israel’s longest serving rabbi, dies at 88

Shops of Oakwood 80”

Temple Israel

By Marshall Weiss in support of court-orThe Observer dered integration of the Rabbi P. Irving Bloom, schools, and in support who served as senior of the local school board, rabbi of Dayton’s Temwhich had reluctantly ple Israel from 1973 until obeyed the court order. his retirement in 1997, The late Judy Golddied in Atlanta, Jan. 29 enberg, Temple Israel’s at the age of 88. president at the time of His 24 years at its 1973 rabbinic search, Temple Israel mark later told The Observer the longest period any that Bloom was “somerabbi has served the one with warmth and Reform congregation. menschlichkeit — someIt was during Bloom’s one who had the chatenure that the temple risma to bring (Temple moved from Salem Israel) together.” and Emerson Avenues In Dayton, Bloom enin Dayton View to its couraged Temple Israel current location in 1994, to partner on programs overlooking Downtown with other Jewish conDayton across the Patgregations in the area, terson Boulevard Bridge. and was a supporter of Bloom described this Hillel Academy JewRabbi P. Irving Bloom raises a Torah on the bima of ish day school. He also as the highlight of his Temple Israel at its previous location, Salem and career in Dayton. urged Hillel to add studEmerson Avenues in Dayton View Bloom was born in ies about Reform and Hattiesburg, Miss. in U.S. Air Force as a chaplain and Conservative Judaism to 1931, the son of an Orthodox the Blooms moved to Germany, its curriculum. rabbi who was also a shochet where he was stationed.

Bloom had an active retire(kosher slaughterer), Torah Jewish soldiers on adminisment — as a part-time rabbi for reader, and teacher for small trative leave would study Torah two temples in Alabama, and Jewish communities nearby. with Bloom at Berchtesgaden. as a rabbi on cruise ships. He After his graduation from high “It gave me a sense of poetic and his wife participated in the school in Vidalia, Ga. — where justice to be teaching Torah National Association of Retired his family had moved — Bloom there — in a place that had once Reform Rabbis, and they served first studied at an Orthodox been Adolf Hitler’s mountainas its executive directors for yeshiva in Brooklyn, but ultitop retreat,” Bloom told The four years. mately enrolled in undergradu- Observer in an interview. ate classes at the University Prior to his arrival in Dayton, of Cincinnati and in the preBloom served as an assistant rabbinic program at Hebrew rabbi at Temple Sinai in New Union College-Jewish Institute Orleans from 1958 to 1960 of Religion, the seminary of the and as rabbi of the Springhill Reform movement.

Avenue Temple in Mobile, Ala. In Cincinnati he met his wife from 1960 to 1973. of nearly 65 years, Patricia FranAs the civil rights struggle kel Bloom. After his ordination played out around him in Moin 1956, the rabbi entered the bile, Bloom publicly spoke out

28”

FRESH ǀ FUN ǀ TRENDY UNIQUE ǀ AFFORDABLE White Dibond Backer Board 1/2” Black Acrylic Letters CLOTHING, JEWELRY & GIFTS 937-331-8180 M-F 10:30-6, Sat 10:30-5, Sun12-4 FB & Insta @LEELIANDLOU_OAKWOOD

Attachment: Min. 8 - 3/8” x 3”sleeve anchors 3/8” Liberty Toggle bolts or 3/8” threaded rod with steel uni-strut spanner as needed.

Shop Our New Spring Arrivals!

I do bridal makeup!

Makeup & lips that will last the whole simcha

• Look flawless on your wedding day • Waterproof, kiss-proof cosmetics • Share your first kiss, not your lipstick • Contact me for a free demo I ship too! rachel’s million dollar lips

INDEPENDENT SENEGENCE DISTRIBUTOR r.haugilbert@gmail.com • 937-672-8936

Are you reading this? So is the entire Jewish community.

Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.

Samurai, Ghosts and Lovers

Temple Israel

February 22– May 3, 2020

daytonartinstitute.org/samurai

Rabbi P. Irving Bloom (L) and Assistant Rabbi Mark Glickman dedicate Temple Israel’s current building, Nov. 13, 1994

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 5

DAYTON

THE REGION

Retired Beth Jacob exec. dir. Barry Serotkin dies HUC’s American Jewish Archives Barry Serotkin, who served to house JFNA’s multi-million as executive director of Beth document collection Jacob Congregation from 1995 Marshall Weiss

until his retirement in 2012, died Jan. 23 at Hospice of Dayton from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 76.

He had a reputation for providing all who entered Beth Jacob Congregation with the highest level of customer service in an unflappable manner. Serotkin worked with five synagogue presidents, six boards, and handled more than 200 funerals.

“When I got into this, I thought that I had won the job Lotto,” Serotkin told The Observer at the time of his retirement. “And you know the kids that I used to chase around the building here? I see them now, they’re all grown.”

A native of Cincinnati, Serotkin and his wife, Haana, moved to Dayton in 1965 when Edison Brothers Shoes transferred him here. Shortly after, he went to work as a buyer with ElderBeerman for almost 30 years.

“It was around the holidays and we were unfamiliar with Dayton and financially we were not the greatest at the time,” Serotkin recalled of their arrival in Dayton.

Hope and Larry Footer, friends and neighbors who

experience and culture. ejewishphilanthropy.com “Jewish Federations susThe Jacob Rader Marcus Centained the institutional structer of the American Jewish Archives at the Cincinnati campus tures required to build strong Jewish communities — where of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion has an- individuals could live with dignity, meaning and purpose, nounced that the AJA has been and where Judaism in all of awarded a $500,000 matching its variety was part of a life grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to well lived,” Rehfeld said. “The model of communal construct a new fourcollective responsibilstory archival facility ity begun in the late adjacent to its current 19th century would 52,000 square foot become the model of Marcus Repository the United Way in the Building to house The United States. These Jewish Federations Beth Jacob Congregation Executive Director Barry Serotkin in the papers tell the story of of North America’s synagogue’s balcony near the time of his retirement in 2012 our people’s confronmulti-million docutation with modernity ment collection. lived in the same apartment secretary, treasurer, and presiin North America: The collection incomplex, encouraged the Serot- dent. cludes historic docu- HUC-JIR President from our immigrant kins to try Beth Jacob. “They’ll In 1995, when Beth Jacob’s Andrew Rehfeld roots to our connecments from JFNA’s welcome you with open arms executive director left for a tion with world Jewry and you don’t need a ticket,” larger synagogue in Cincinnati, predecessors: The throughout the urgent existenUnited Jewish Appeal and the Barry remembered the Footers Serotkin applied for and was tial crises of the 20th century.

Council of Jewish Federations. saying. offered the job.

These priceless records will The collections comprise “And after that, I just started “He was an absolute gift uncover new insights into the 8,000 archival boxes and apcoming and got involved. I real- to everyone whose lives he evolution of American Jewish proximately 6,500 linear feet of ly developed a closeness when touched,” recalled Hyla Weiscommunal life.” documents and related materimy parents passed away. And kind, a former congregant and Once JFNA’s collection als. one of the few places I truly felt sisterhood president who now comes to the American JewThe AJA’s award is among comfortable was here.” lives in Cleveland. “He was Mr. ish Archives, Cincinnati will Through the urging of Rabbi Beth Jacob. It was a privilege to the NEH’s $30.9 million in be the home of the world’s grants for 188 humanities projSamuel Fox, Serotkin joined the have known him.” largest cataloged collection of board; he ultimately served as — Marshall Weiss ects nationwide. documentary evidence on the Andrew Rehfeld, president history of American Jewry. of HUC-JIR, says the signifiHUC-JIR and the AJA are cance of the JFNA collection is difficult to overstate — as is the currently engaged in efforts to match the requested NEH collection’s value to the understanding of how the activities of Challenge Grant ($500,000) Living Community AVAILABL with non-federal funds of $1.5 federated Jewish communities E million. helped shape American Jewish NO

Walnut Creek Terrace An Independent

W!

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

• Spacious 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Home • 1,500 Square Feet • 24 Hour Emergency Assistance • Attached Garage • Security System • Maintenance Free Living

Hear

Call Today! 299-0194 2501 Keystone Club Drive Dayton, OH 45439 • www.wcreekoh.com PAGE 6

AJA

SENIOR LIVING CAMPUS

this week’s Jewish news with Radio Reading Service.

Join Marshall Weiss Sundays, noon & 6 p.m. at Goodwill Easterseals Miami ValleyRadio Reading Service.

To listen, go to gesmv.org/radio-reading-services-terms-use THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

THE WORLD

US ambassador to Israel leads new In first, umbrella US committee to map out West Bank Jewish group sends delegation to Saudi Arabia settlements for Israeli rule Saudi agents brutally murdered

By Ron Kampeas, JTA NEW YORK — A delegation Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Saudi national who had of members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American become critical of the regime, when he was visiting Istanbul.

Jewish Organizations visited But Saudi Arabia also has Saudi Arabia in February, a first forged closer informal ties with for the umbrella body for U.S. Jews. It’s believed to be the first Israel in recent years.

In 1993, the American Jewish official visit to the kingdom by Congress sent a an American Jewish Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images delegation to Saudi organization since Arabia as the Oslo 1994. peace process was The visit, from getting underway.

Feb. 9 to 12, includAn American Jewed meetings with ish Committee delsenior Saudi offiegation visited the cials, as well as with country in 1994. The Mohammed al-Issa, Anti-Defamation the secretary-genLeague has also sent eral of the Muslim delegations in the World League who Saudi Arabia’s Prince past. recently led a delMohammad bin Salman It’s unlikely egation organized that the visit took by the American Jewish Complace without the blessings and mittee to Auschwitz. Al-Issa is seen as close to Mohammed bin encouragement of the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Salman, the crown prince.

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s The focus of the talks begovernment. President Donald tween the Presidents ConferTrump’s son-in-law Jared Kushence constituents and Saudi ner is close to bin Salman. Kushofficials was on countering ner is seeking traction for the terrorism and those fomenting Israeli-Palestinian peace plan he instability in the Middle East. unveiled in January, which has Saudi Arabia and Israel share been greeted with skepticism by a mutual concern about Iran’s most of the international comactivity in the region and fears that Iran is developing a nuclear munity.

Netanyahu also favors the weapons program. plan, and is seeking to raise his The Presidents Conference, profile as a world player ahead an umbrella body for major of elections in Israel in March — U.S. Jewish organizations, was created in the 1950s to present a the country’s third in less than unified Jewish voice on issues of a year. foreign policy. It has been riven in recent years over differences on criticizing Israel’s settlement policy and how closely to work with the Trump administration.

It’s not known which component organizations were represented in Riyadh, but the group’s professional leadership — Executive Vice President Malcolm Hoenlein and CEO William Daroff — are known to have been present, as well as current lay chairman Arthur Stark.

A number of organizations chose not to attend, but most notably no Reform movement group was on board.

The visit signals what could be an increasing warmness between some mainstream U.S. Jewish groups and Saudi Arabia, which has come under fire in recent years for cracking down on dissidents. In 2018,

By Marcy Oster, JTA JERUSALEM — U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman will lead the joint U.S.-Israel committee that will map the areas where Israel will be allowed to apply sovereignty, according to an Israeli newspaper’s report.

The members of the committee were recently appointed.

Along with Friedman, the U.S. members include his senior adviser, Aryeh Lightstone, and Scott Leith, director of Israeli and Palestinian affairs at the National Security Council, Israel Hayom reported Feb. 8, citing an unnamed senior official in the Trump administration.

The Israeli members are Tourism Minister Yariv Levin; National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat; and the Prime Minister’s Office director-general, Ronen Peretz.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, will provide assistance.

“We will complete the work as quickly as possible,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, noting that it was already underway. “We are turning parts of the homeland in Judea and Samaria into part of the state of Israel forever.”

Friedman, a known supporter of Jewish settlements, had told reporters at the White House immediately after the Trump administration’s peace plan was announced that

Israel could, in his view, “annex settlements at any time” and that the country “should not wait at all” to do so.

He began walking back those comments the following day, however, saying it is a “process that requires some effort,” and that Israel would first need to present detailed maps before the United States would approve such a move.

Under the plan, the United States would approve of Israel annexing about 30 percent of the West Bank, including all of

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman

the Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley.

Your Space. Just for you.

spacethreedayton@gmail.com

COMING MID St. Clair Lofts OCTOBER

39Clair S. St.Clair at St. Lofts! St.

Dayton, Oh 45402

BARRE-TRX-DANCE

Pre-Sales going on now, email Follow us on Instagram spacethreedayton@gmail.com for details @spacethreedayton

39 S. St Clair St. Dayton, Oh 45402 Follow us on Instragram @spacethreedayton

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 7

Celebrate Purim with

Temple Beth Or

Sunday, March 8th Makor

Bullying and Inclusion Workshops &

PURIM CELEBRATION

Then join us for Martini Happy Hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. followed by

The Megillah Monologues (an Adults-Only Comedy Show featuring Pamela Rae Schuller) Cost: $18/Couple (advance) $20/Couple (door) $10/Single Babysitting is available 5:00 p.m. - 7:00p.m.

Comedian (and GUCI Alum!) Pamela Rae Schuller is relentlessly funny. Her observations on disability, mental illness, dating, family, and past misadventures have led to brutally honest confessions about what it’s like being 4 foot 6 (and a half) and having a whole lot of Tourette Syndrome.

As an internationally known disability and mental health advocate and professional stand-up comedian, Pamela’s stories of growing up in a body she had no control over are engaging, powerful, a little bit heart-wrenching, and unapologetically funny.

THE WORLD

Your guide to the World Zionist Congress elections, the most important vote you’ve never heard of

By Aiden Pink, Forward Most Jews have never heard of the World Zionist Congress, and those who have probably learned about it in history class. It was founded more than a century ago by Theodor Herzl.

But the congress still exists, and it’s actually really important. That’s because when it meets every five years, elected delegates makes major decisions about two things: how to spend nearly $5 billion that goes to Jewish organizations and programs in Israel and around the world, and who should serve as board members for other influential, affluent organizations, like the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Jewish National Fund, and the World Zionist Organization.

And if you are reading this, there’s a good chance you can have a say in all this — by voting in the World Zionist Congress elections, which runs Jan. 21 to March 11. The elections are how American Jews will decide who will serve in the congress.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

Are the elections especially important this year?

Yes, because more people are running, and more people are voting. For example: The Reform movement used the last election to get more of a say over whether to buy land in the West Bank, and they’re still working on that issue. (Read more below.) Organizers are expecting turnout to grow this year.

PAGE 8

Who can vote?

Voting is open to any adult Jew who is a United States citizen or permanent resident, pays the $7.50 ballot fee ($5 if you’re 18-25), and signs a statement affirming that they are someone who “views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic and secure state of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the Jewish people for its continuity and future.” And yes, registering is basically on the honor system — you don’t have to prove any of this.

How does voting work?

There will be 500 delegates making those decisions about the fate of $5 billion at the World Zionist Congress, which takes place in October in Jerusalem. Voting in the United States will take place online between January 21 and March 11.

Israel, the United States, and the rest of the Jewish Diaspora will each be sending about a third of the delegates.

That means you get to vote for 152 of them — the Americans. Those 152 delegates are decided through a system that works like elections in Israel. In

Buying & Selling Video Games & Systems

Pamela doesn’t just “tolerate” what makes her different; she embraces it, loves it, and finds the funny in it... while challenging her audiences to do the same.

5275 Marshall Road, Dayton OH 45429 (937) 435-3400 www.templebethor.com

Fifteen parties are running, three more than last year.

“There are more slates running across the board; there are more candidates running. Overall there’s more interest, which hopefully will lead to more engagement,” Herbert Block, the executive director of the American Zionist Movement, which runs the elections, told JTA.

®

Electronics, Movies, Music & More Mon thru Sat 10 - 9, Sun 12 - 6

1133 Brown St. Dayton • 228-6399 secondtimearound.com THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

THE WORLD Israel National Photo Collection

Turn Oy Vey Into Mazel Tov.

THE COMPASSIONATE CARE AND CLINICAL COMPETENCE YOU DESERVE Independent Living • Assisted Living • Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing • Short Term Stays Theodor Herzl addresses the First Zionist Congress, Basel, Switzerland, 1897

each election, there are parties that make a list or slate of candidates. The overall vote determines how many people from that list get into power. If a party gets 10 percent of the vote, then it gets to pick 10 percent of the American delegation. Whichever party gets the most votes will have the most say over what happens at that October meeting of the World Zionist Congress — and its money, and its power — when it convenes in Jerusalem in October.

Israel’s delegates will be determined by the results of its parliamentary elections in March; a party that gets 10 percent of the Knesset seats will also get 10 percent of Israel’s Congress delegates.

What happened in the last election?

Around 56,000 Americans voted in the last election, in 2015. That’s something like a 1 percent voter turnout.

In that election, the slate of the Reform movement got 56 of 145 spots, the Conservative movement got 25 and the main Orthodox delegation 24, with the remainder split among smaller parties. That’s roughly in line with American Jewish demographics, though the Orthodox parties overperformed.

The Reform slate’s strong showing in 2015 allowed it to name board members to the Jewish National Fund. The organization is best known for planting trees in Israel, but it’s also bought properties in east Jerusalem and built settlements in the West Bank, which many liberal Jews think makes the prospect of peace with Palestinians more difficult.

The Reform movement claimed last year that even though they had set policies against buying more West Bank land, JNF subsidiaries had done so anyway and then hidden their actions from Reform representatives. So the Reform movement is hoping for an even stronger showing, in order to prevent such things from happening again.

These elections are usually overlooked.

So why is interest surging now?

It has a lot to do with the last election, and the Reform movement’s strong showing. Both the Reform movement and the major non-religious liberal Jewish groups are putting together major publicity pushes to juice voter turnout — they say that this is one of the only ways that American Jews can truly influence Israeli politics. The liberals want money to go toward progressive Israeli groups and away from West Bank settlements. And many right-wing and Orthodox

groups are pushing back in response, wanting to ensure that priorities instead go to protecting their causes, like yeshivas or settlement expansion.

Who is running?

American Forum for Israel: This group, affiliated with maverick Israeli politician Avigdor Liberman, advocates for right-wing politics and increased resources for Russian-speaking Jews. Last time, they came in fourth place, with 10 seats.

Americans4Israel: Comprised of the youth group Young Judaea and a collection of smaller, centerright and right-wing organizations, American4Israel stresses its independence from larger movements, and wants to reform how the WZO itself is run.

Dorshei Torah V’Tzion: This slate is affiliated with groups like the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and others on the most liberal end of the Orthodox Jewish spectrum — sometimes called “Open Orthodox,” though not everyone uses that term. Dorshei Torah V’Tzion is pushing for improved Israel-Diaspora relations, religious pluralism, and more support for women’s equality, especially in religious spaces like yeshivot. Their list of candidates is a who’s who of the liberal Orthodox world, including Rabbi Avi Weiss, the first modern-day Orthodox rabbi to ordain women, and Rabba Sara Hurwitz, his first female graduate.

Eretz Hakodesh: A new slate led by Pesach Lerner, the head of the Coalition for Jewish Values, a group of hundreds of right-wing Orthodox rabbis. Eretz Hakodesh (Hebrew for The Holy Land) calls for promoting “classical Jewish values of Torah” in Israel. “The Torah community must vote, to prevent values of the liberal movements from infiltrating the Torah atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael,” the group says on its website.

Hatikvah: Supported by dovish groups like J Street and the New Israel Fund, Hatikvah’s first-time candidates include some of the Zionist left’s biggest figures, like Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR in Los Angeles, National Council of Jewish Women CEO Sheila Katz, and commentator Peter Beinart. Hatikvah is pledging to move funding away from West Bank settlements and toward peace and coexistence efforts. (Full disclosure: Samuel Norich, the Forward’s president, and Kenneth Bob, who is on the Forward’s board of directors, are Hatikvah candidates.)

Herut Zionists: Carrying on the legacy of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the ideological father of the Israeli right, Continued on next page

THE COMPASSIONATE CARE AND CLINICAL COMPETENCE YOU DESERVE Independent Living • Assisted Living • Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing • Short Term Stays

Grace Brethren Grace Brethren A NOT FOR PROFIT RETIREMENT COM MUNITY

Short Term Rehab Long Term Care W W W. G B V I L L A G E . C O M

1010 Taywood RoadRanked | Englewood,#1 OH in | 937.836.4011 Still

Montgomery County for 2019 by the Ohio Department of Aging for Family Satisfaction

We focus on...

Grace Brethren Our Residents Grace Brethren Their Health Their Safety TheirRETIREMENT DignityCOM MUNITY A NOT FOR PROFIT Their Families W W W. G B V I L L A G E . C O M 1010 Taywood Road | Englewood, OH | 937.836.4011

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 9

CJ CHAN A Healthy Alternative We Use The Best Ingredients Prepared Fresh Daily

www.mycjchan.com 536 Wilmington Ave. Dayton, OH 45420 937-259-9866

2ND LOCATION! 2747 W. Alex Bell Rd. Moraine, OH 45459 * Hot Pot Available * 937-259-8882 Mon-Thu: 10:30 am-10 pm Fri-Sat: 10:30 am-10:30 pm Sun: 11:30 a.m-10 pm

MSG

Are you reading this? So is the entire Jewish community.

Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.

THE WORLD

World Zionist Congress elections Continued from previous page Herut calls for “a return to the traditional values of Zionism,” including funding for West Bank settlements.

Israel Shelanu: A new slate seeking to represent IsraeliAmericans, its name means Our Israel. It calls for a more “open and pluralistic Jewish culture,” and funding for improved Israeli-Diaspora relations and better Hebrew education (which they call “Making Hebrew great again”).

Kol Yisrael: Kol Yisrael is backed by the Israel advocacy group StandWithUs and the Israeli American Council. These groups are known for their staunch opposition to the boycott-Israel movement known as BDS, but Kol Yisrael’s platform surprisingly avoids mentioning that and other controversial subjects, instead promising to improve Israel-Diaspora relationships through more funding for summer camps, exchange programs and teen educational initiatives. (Full disclosure: My aunt, Mina Rush, is a Kol Yisrael candidate.)

MERCAZ USA: The Zionist organization of Conservative Judaism, MERCAZ pushes for recognition of and funding for its movement’s programs in Israel, implementing the egalitarian prayer plan at the Western Wall, and a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Ohavei Zion: Ohavei Zion seeks increased funding for promoting Sephardic Jewish culture, education and spiritual life, and for encouraging immigration to Israel.

Orthodox Israel Coalition — Mizrahi: Backed by the giants of mainstream Orthodoxy like the Orthodox Union and Yeshiva University, the OIC wants to strengthen Orthodox yeshivas in Israel and the Diaspora, fight BDS, and encourage West Bank settlement.

Shas Olami: The final party to enter the race, Shas Olami is affiliated with Israel’s Sephardic Orthodox party Shas.

Vision: This mostly-Millennial slate is focused on fighting for Israel on campus and promoting “fresh solutions to Israel’s conflict with the Pales-

tinians” — as in, not the twostate solution.

As the Forward reported in 2015, it’s affiliated with Tkuma, a small far-right religious Zionist political party. Vision’s leader is Rudy Rochman, an IDF veteran who became a controversial pro-Israel activist while studying at Columbia University.

Vote Reform: The largest vote-getter five years ago, Vote Reform represents America’s largest Jewish denomination, as well as the smaller Reconstructionist movement. The slate will oppose racism and discrimination and push for a two-state solution, in addition to recognition of non-Orthodox Judaism in Israel.

ZOA Coalition: Endorsed by many of the top figures in Israel’s ruling Likud party, the Zionist Organization of America’s slate promises to push the organization’s goals: strengthened settlements and opposition to BDS and to the creation of what it calls an “Iranianproxy Palestinian-Arab terror state.”

Believe Belong Become • Exemplary secular and Judaic education • Art and science professional residencies • Project-based learning and critical thinking • Hebrew language immersion via Tal-Am Hebrew Curriculum • Sinai Scholarships available to eligible new students

Now accepting K-6 applications for the 2020-2021 school year.

daytonhillel.org • 937.277.8966 • dkmecoli@daytonhillel.org PAGE 10

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

OPINION

Anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism. Except when it is.

Venom, even in support of a ‘just’ cause, is still venom.

By Andrew Silow-Carroll There are two sentences I can’t say with absolute certainty: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.

The first has become an article of faith in the Jewish establishment. It’s an applause line at most Jewish events. It drives a cottage industry of support for pro-Israel activism on campus.

It is part of President Trump’s executive order on combatting antisemitism on campus, which cites an international definition of antisemitism that includes “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination.”

It was applied recently at the Fieldston School in the Bronx, where, as JTA reported, a Jewish teacher was fired after posting “multiple tweets disparaging Zionism.” Among other things, the teacher tweeted, “I refuse to ‘reaffirm the value’ of ethnonationalist settler colonialism.”

The teacher also appeared to endorse remarks by a previous guest speaker, who angered Jewish students and parents when he said those who had suffered under the Nazis are now perpetuating “unthinkable” violence against the Palestinians.

An outsider — and more than a few insiders — might wonder why a strongly worded condemnation of Israel might be considered antisemitism and a fireable offense. Let’s put aside the complex series of events at Fieldston that has Jewish parents on edge. Let’s look at perhaps the strongest case that “anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitism,” by liberal Zionist Peter Beinart.

In an essay last year, Beinart challenged “three pillars” of the argument that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

First, he argues, many people are denied a state of their own: Opposing Zionism is no more antisemitic than opposing an independent Kurdistan is antiKurd. Second, those who oppose “ethnic nationalism” — or “states created to represent and protect one particular ethnic group” — and instead favor “civic nationalism” (“in which no ethnic group enjoys special privileges”) aren’t necessarily bigots.

And finally, Beinart points to the Jews who support some form of anti-Zionism. They include the Satmar Chasidim, who reject political Zionism on theological grounds, and far-left Israelis, who believe a single state of Israelis and Palestinians is the only way to preserve Israel’s democracy, even at the expense of its distinct Jewish character.

Beinart makes a compelling

case, especially in defending Palestinians who oppose Zionism now that a two-state solution seems to be off the table.

If they are not to get a state of their own, why would they accept a political philosophy that relegates them to second-class status?

Beinart in fact suspects that “the Israeli government wants to define anti-Zionism as bigotry because doing so helps Israel kill the two-state solution with impunity.”

But what Beinart’s fiercely logical argument fails to capture is the emotional toll of anti-Zionism, especially as experienced in progressive spaces. If not anti-Jewish at the root, contemporary anti-Zionism sure feels bigoted in its unaccountable trendiness and its consistent demonization of those who support a historical haven for the Jews. Consider the experience of Blake Flayton, a sophomore at George Washington University, who in a New York Times op-ed wrote of being hounded and ostracized by fellow progressives because he dares to support Israel. Or the students at the University of Toronto who learned that a kosher food program was being rejected by student legislators who felt such food is “pro-Israel.” Or the Jewish student leader at McGill University in Montreal who faced ouster from the student union for accepting a Hillelsponsored trip to Israel and the

anti-Zionism, or demonize the Israelis while lionizing a corrupt Palestinian leadership and their regressive neighbors, or hold Jewish peers accountable for Israel’s perceived crimes. Nor do those arguments account for the ignorance of portraying Israel as a bastion of white, European colonialism, ignoring Israel’s Mizrachi majority, erasing historical Jewish claims to the land, and denying the complex nature of Israel’s founding.

Fair-minded critics of Israel believe Palestinians suffer under Israeli control, but believe in two states that allow both peoples self-determination. Possibly, they believe in one state that guarantees both peoples their basic democratic rights.

What they don’t insist on is the notion that Israel is illegitimate from its birth, and its people are interlopers in their historic homeland.

I worry that insisting that anti-Zionism always equals antisemitism hobbles our ability to fight other, more immediate forms of Jew hatred. We also risk being seen as a community that, by supporting campus and statehouse speech codes, wants to restrict free speech.

But we can’t ignore the effect of anti-Zionism and the drumbeat of scorn that has nothing to do with a just solution for all parties in the Middle East.

Palestinian Authority.

Two New York Reform rabbis, Ammiel Hirsch and Joshua Davidson, made the case for when anti-Zionism becomes antisemitism when they spoke to Fieldston students at the invitation of the administration. Summarizing their talk in another Times op-ed, the two “stated emphatically that criticism of Israel is not necessarily antisemitic. To the contrary: it is often helpful and motivated by sound principles.”

But anti-Israel speech dives into antisemitism when Jews are compared to Nazis, when selfdetermination for the Jews is dismissed as racism, and Israel is constantly singled out with “such venom.”

The two make the distinction articulated first, I believe, by former Harvard President Lawrence Summers, between antisemitism in intent, and antisemitism in effect. “A hateful obsession with Israel too often descends into hatred of Jews, even if it doesn’t start there,” they write. “Hateful words lead to hateful deeds.” They also cite, as I did, incidents of hair-raising anti-Israel activity at colleges.

Like the rabbis, I am suspicious of the faddishness of antiIsrael views. I know the arguments: The U.S. aid package implicates taxpayers in Israeli policy, the Holy Land is dear to three major religions. But they don’t account for the zeal with which progressives embrace

Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor in chief of The NY Jewish Week.

As a former Israeli lawmaker, I know Trump’s peace plan won’t work. But it could strengthen Arab-Israeli relations.

By Einat Wilf President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan will probably not achieve its stated goal of bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but it might just bring about peace between Israel and more of its Arab neighbors. Here’s why.

Over the past several years, Israel has become an appealing partner to Arab states for two main reasons.

Ever since the revolutions known as the Arab Spring toppled several regimes and undermined and threatened the stability of others, Israel’s stability in the region has become ever more apparent.

Moreover, as Arab countries in the Gulf increasingly came to perceive Iran as a threat, Israel’s stability, military power, and political will to limit Iran’s power became ever more attractive to those states.

So behind the scenes, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states grew closer, sharing intelligence and cooperating on security to confront Iran. Precarious ties with Jordan and Egypt were further cemented by

So, what do you think?

the joint battle against ISIS and, more long-term, by the discovery and mining of substantial gas reserves on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

As all of this cooperation became more visible, these Arab countries had to find a way to do so without appearing to abandon the Palestinian cause altogether.

It is easy to dismiss the concerns of non-democratic regimes and argue that they can pursue their economic and security interests with utter disregard for how the public views them. But this opinion betrays a misunderstanding of the extent to which even non-democratic regimes have to navigate public opinion to ensure their continued survival. In fact, for many decades, the positive sentiment in the Arab world toward the Palestinians and the negative one toward Israel was actually used by many regimes to deflect anger away from their own shortcomings.

The dramatic events of the Arab Spring made it ever more necessary for Arab regimes to remain attuned to public sentiment for their survival, but it also began to

Send letters (350 words max.) to The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459 • MWeiss@jfgd.net

change that sentiment, as publics increasingly focused on domestic demands. This means that while empathy for the Palestinian cause remains strong across the Arab world, it is no longer uniform, and in some places it is fraying.

There is growing evidence of decreased willingness to place the Palestinian cause above domestic Arab interests. Voices that in the past would have never been heard in the Arab world now appear on local Arab television and social media, questioning why their countries continue to hitch their wagons to the Palestinians, who are prone to rejecting compromise.

In some cases, these voices even express open support for Israel.

In the past, Palestinians could generally count on the Arab countries — not just to openly fight wars for their cause, as they did in 1948 and 1967, but to stand firmly behind them, accepting what the Palestinians accept and rejecting what the Palestinians reject. This Continued on Page 26

Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 11

OPINION

Elections will determine whether Israel seizes or squanders a historic opportunity

By Benjamin Netanyahu The “deal of the century” presented by my friend, U.S. President Donald Trump, offers the state of Israel a historic opportunity that won’t return: to protect and defend our country, determine our borders, and ensure our future. We must do all we can to capitalize on this opportunity and not squander it.

Ever since the plan was revealed, many things have been said and written in the media to distort it. Here are the facts to counter the false claims: Claim one: Trump’s peace plan won’t lead to the application of Israeli law in the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.

Fact: It will do just that! For the first time since the establishment of the state, the deal of the century will grant American recognition of our sovereignty over these regions of our homeland. This is the realization of the Zionist vision.

As U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman explained, the application of Israeli law in these territories requires the completion of the mapping process by the joint American-Israeli committee because we must map out the 498-mile line, which will encompass the area where Israeli sovereignty will be applied. We will finish this process as quickly as possible.

I reject the claim that President Trump won’t keep his word. He promised to exit the dangerous nuclear deal with Iran and followed through. He promised to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and followed through. He promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and followed through. He promised to recognize our sovereignty on the Golan Heights and followed through.

On the matter of sovereignty in our homeland, he

will follow through. Together with President Trump, I will apply Israeli law in all our communities in Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and additional large swathes.

Claim two: Trump’s peace plan creates a Palestinian state that supports terror.

Fact: The plan does the exact opposite. It imposes strict and rigid conditions on the Palestinians in exchange for a future deal. Among other things, the plan requires Palestinian society to fundamentally change and become a democratic entity.

Israel and the United States will determine whether the Palestinians are fulfilling these conditions, of which there are many. To enter negotiations, the Palestinians must do the following: • Immediately cease all “salary” payments to terrorists and their families.

• Halt all efforts to join international organizations without Israel’s approval.

• Pull their lawsuits against Israel at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

All these are preconditions the Palestinians must meet just to enter diplomatic talks. To conclude such negotiations, they must fulfill each of the following conditions: • Recognize the state of Israel as a Jewish state.

• Recognize a united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

• Agree to Israeli security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River—on land, at sea, and in the air.

• Cease any and all incitement against Israel, including in school textbooks and curricula, and in all Palestinian Authority institutions.

• Completely demilitarize Gaza and the entire Pal-

estinian population.

• Completely cede the “right of return.”

• Disarm Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations.

• Hold free elections, safeguard freedom of the press, protect human rights, protect freedom of religion, and grant equal rights to religious minorities.

And again, Israel and the United States will be the ones to determine whether the Palestinians have indeed met these conditions, before finalizing an accord even becomes possible. Moreover, if after the signing of such an accord the Palestinians fail to meet their security conditions, Israel will be able to reverse the processes outlined by the accord.

Claim three: This peace plan isn’t different from past initiatives.

Fact: Not true! This is the friendliest plan toward Israel ever proposed. It is a historic turn of events for the future of our people. For the first time, Trump’s plan is doing the exact opposite of previous diplomatic proposals.

Instead of demanding concrete “gestures” from Israel (such as the release of terrorists and construction freezes in our communities) just to begin talks, without demanding anything of the Palestinians — this plan is a complete reversal. Irrespective of Palestinian acceptance or rejection, we are getting American recognition over parts of our homeland, while the Palestinians must make considerable concessions just to enter talks!

Earlier diplomatic plans were predicated on the warped view that Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the Jordan Valley are all “occupied” lands that need Continued on Page 18

We must be vigilant about the power of our words & actions

By Michele Dritz I really enjoy Masha Kisel’s writing, especially her columns where she describes the history and culture of her family, and of Eastern Europe. I often learn something new and get to glimpse things from her unique vantage point.

It is because of that enjoyment and respect for both Masha and our Dayton Jewish community that I felt compelled to write this. After reading her column about her family navigating Christmas in America (January Observer), I found myself both saddened and upset.

I can appreciate the frustration she and others feel during that time of the year, and I enjoyed hearing about her own family’s traditions like mitzvah making with JFS, but I was left saddened by the underscore of derision toward someone else’s traditions — in this case, Christmas.

I admittedly come to write this bearing my own bias as someone who grew up Catholic in a country that is clearly steeped in Christianity, regardless of its so-called secular institutions. But I also write this as someone who hopefully has shown by actions my strong commit-

So, what do you think?

PAGE 12

ment to the Dayton Jewish community.

Growing up all over and loving the immersive experience of travel, I have spent my life knowing that one can become richer from learning and engaging in new cultures without feeling like it needs to be your identity or cultural framework.

We stress the value of diversity and acceptance both within our Jewish community and in our larger world. And as a Jewish community, we rely on that acceptance and emphasize our nonnegotiable need from others to both “see us” and give us the space to live our lives, however we may express that Jewish connection.

The Jewish community — both fortunately because of wonderful traditions like tikun olam (repairing the world) and unfortunately because of the devastation we have seen when hate perpetuates hate — preaches and practices support and inclusion for all, acting as a light for others to model. But we do a disservice to ourselves and our traditions when we speak in ways that subtract value from others’ traditions.

As a good friend recently said, “I do not

think we would mock the practice of Muslims fasting for Ramadan or hide from Hindus dousing each other in chalk for Holi.”

Our traditions, though sometimes originating in religious practice, are also an extension of who we are, where we have been, and who we have become.

They often evolve as we evolve and form connections to others. Sometimes we continue those traditions while emphasizing the religious underpinnings, and sometimes those traditions hold value for us despite their origins, but it is hard to deny their importance as part of our identity.

We tend to view the world through the lens and history in which we are embedded. It is in part why people who are Jewish are so tuned into words or actions that are antisemitic, African Americans for racist undertones, or Muslims for Islamophobia and stereotyping. The list goes on because even things that are not meant to be disparaging can be interpreted quite differently through someone else’s lens.

It may be an impossible line to walk, but we nonetheless must stay vigilant

Send letters (350 words max.) to The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459 • MWeiss@jfgd.net

about the power our words and actions have in creating space for all.

I am not implying that one needs to line up to see Santa Claus, nor should we hide our own traditions like latke-making or Passover celebrations throughout the year. And I am keenly aware of the very real dangers both locally and abroad as I strive to raise my own Jewish family in a world that feels scarier every day.

But if our goal is to broaden the thinking and acceptance of those around us — especially those who look upon the Jewish community with a sense of otherness or at least “unsureness” — then our own words and actions need to be as welcoming and open as what we expect from others.

There is beauty and value in sharing and embracing the richness in all of our unique stories, traditions, and cultures, and in the end I think it allows us to simultaneously strengthen ourselves and the communities in which we find our home.

Michele Dritz is a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

Highlights JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

young adult division

ABOVE LEFT: The Jewish Community Center of Greater Dayton ends the 2019 Cultural Arts and Book Series with author Lev Golinkin. PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Wine. ABOVE RIGHT: The young adult division enjoyed volunteering for the YWCA. It was an engaging and meaningful experience. YAD wishes to participate in other ways to give back to the community.

PHOTO CREDIT: Cheryl Carne.

ABOVE LEFT: On February 5, JFS kicked off its new series Technology & The Independent You. Marianne Bailey, the Senior Tutor, took the time to answer all of our questions about different devices and their capabilities. PHOTO CREDIT: Theresa Clyburn. ABOVE RIGHT: We had a great time at the PJ and Hillel Academy Snow Day event on February 4 The children were led on a magical journey where they learned that snowflakes, like people, are each unique, worthy of respect and consideration. PHOTO CREDIT: Cheryl Carne.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 13

March events JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES S 1

M 2

TUESDAY 3 JCC & JCRC Tales of Teleki Square at The Neon 7:30PM @ The NEON (130 E 5th St. Dayton, 45402). Tales of Teleki Square is Hungarian-French participatory documentary film about the last shtiebel in Hungary that flew under the radar of both Nazis and Communists. This film captures a truly unique and inspiring story about the past and present of Budapest Jews. Partnership2Gether and JCC are showing this film and bringing in a Budapest visionary to speak about it.

T F S S WEDNESDAY 4 JCC 5 6 7 8 The Beat – Making Music at the J (Rock n' Roll)

6:30 - 8PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE. Facilitated by Irv Moscowitz. Do you like music? Come listen and/or play!

THURSDAY 12 JFS JFS Purim Program - South

4 - 5:30PM @ The Boonshoft CJCE. Volunteering inspires kids to deepen their understanding through empathy, strengthens family bonds, and builds community.

Come together as a PJ family as we work out our mitzvah muscles to help others in need! This event is in collaboration with Jewish Family Services of Greater Dayton.

& interest-free student loan applications are due March 20.

THURSDAY 12 JCC Women Strong Art Exhibit Reception

3:45 - 4:45PM @ One Lincoln Park, Oakwood Room (590 Isaac Prugh Way, Kettering, 45429). Celebrate Purim with a musical program and noshes! Purim celebration with Courtney Cummings, Music and Program Director at Temple Israel.

SUNDAY 15 PJ LIBRARY & JFS PJ Library Good Deeds Day

REMINDER! Scholarship

T 10

celebrating the life and art of women in the Dayton Miami Valley region through the visual arts and related cultural programs.

The women selected for this project are diverse in age, education and artistic experience. Ethnically they are varied even within their own families, like most Americans - Nordic, Anglo, Germanic, Afro, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American. Several are familiar to the art world of Dayton/Miami Valley - others are quiet gems waiting to be discovered and more fully embraced.

2:30 - 3:30PM @ Spring Hills Singing Woods (140 E Woodbury Dr, Dayton, 45415). Celebrate Purim with a musical Program and noshes! Purim celebration with Cantor Andrea Raizen from Beth Abraham Synagogue.

THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

RN,BC, Senior Service Coordinator with the City of Kettering to learn about fall prevention. Lunch provided. No cost.

MONDAY, MARCH 9 - THURSDAY, APRIL 23 JCC Women Strong Art Exhibit 8AM - 6PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE. Women Strong is a specially designed project

WEDNESDAY 11 JFS JFS Purim Program - North

F S 13 14

WEDNESDAY 4 JFS Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes - A Matter of Balance 12-1PM @ Temple Israel (130 Riverside Drive, Dayton, 45405). Join JFS and Vickie Carraher,

THURSDAY 26 Women's Seder

6 - 7:30PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE. Join us for an opening reception with the artists of the Women Strong art exhibit, on display at the Boonshoft CJCE in Centerville from March 9 - April 23.

MONDAY 16 Men's Seder

JFGD, JCC, JFS & JF

6 - 8PM @ The Boonshoft CJCE. Engage in a non-traditional Seder with friends and community members as we explore questions of freedom and social justice. A family style kosher dinner and beverages will be served. $36 per person. see page 20 for more information.

T W 17 18

FRI SAT SUN MON TUE 27 28 29 30 31

JCC

6 - 9PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE. Join us as we celebrate the 6th Dayton Women’s Seder Healing Our Bodies, Healing our Souls. Come relive our spiritual journey with the women of our community as we celebrate Passover with a unique Seder. $36 per person. Your payment is your reservation. See page 20 for more information

SEE YOU IN APRIL!

THE

RSVPs due at least 1 week before event.

Events with no price listed are free.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO RSVP (unless noted): 937-610-1555 www.jewishdayton.org

BEAT

PURIM PROGRAMS

The JCC is excited to host the second season of “The Beat,” welcoming all to an informal setting where we will play, sing, clap, or dance along with a variety of music that has Jewish connections.

Musicians and vocalists of all abilities are welcome! Listeners are also enthusiastically welcome to join! We even have a few instruments available for those who might not have their own. Contact us for more information.

March 4 Rock n' Roll with Irv Moscowitz Send any song requests you might have and we will try to have the sheet music available!

TO REGISTER go to jewishdayton.org or call (937) 610-1555.

PAGE 14

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES

Wednesday, March 11 JFS Purim Program - North 2:30 - 3:30PM @ Spring Hills Singing Woods (140 E Woodbury Dr, Dayton, 45415) Thursday, March 12 JFS Purim Program - South 3:45 - 4:45PM @ One Lincoln Park, Oakwood Room (590 Isaac Prugh Way, Kettering, 45429)

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

Announcements JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

2020 PRESIDENTS DINNER SPEAKERS:

Get to Know the Hosts of Tablet Magazine's 'Unorthodox' Podcast!

Get to know the three keynote speakers for the Federation's Premier Event!

The Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton is proud to announce our keynote speakers for the 2020 Presidents Dinner: Stephanie Butnick, Liel Leibovitz, and Mark Oppenheimer! Together, they are the hosts of Unorthodox, the most popular Jewish podcast on iTunes and the authors of The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia.

Stephanie Butnick is the deputy editor of Tablet and has written for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She has a bachelor’s degree in religion from Duke University and a master’s degree in religious studies from New York University. She lives in New York with her husband and their cat, Cat Stevens.

Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer for Tablet and the author of several books, including, most recently, A Broken Hallelujah, a spiritual biography of Leonard Cohen. He has a PhD in video games from Columbia University, a fact that makes his sevenyear-old self very happy. He lives in New York with his wife and their two children.

Mark Oppenheimer is the former Beliefs columnist for the New York Times and the author of The Bar Mitzvah Crasher: RoadTripping Through Jewish America. He has a PhD in American religion from Yale University and lives in New Haven, Connecticut, with his wife and five children.

Their podcast, Unorthodox, labels itself as a "smart, fresh, fun weekly take on Jewish news and culture." The 'Unorthodox Crew' share an immense knowledge of Jewish topics relevant to both the Jewish and secular audiences. Unorthodox is full of witty, intelligent takes on all the ways Judaism intersects with popular news and culture.

The 2020 Presidents Dinner will be on Sunday, May 17, at Carillon Historical Park's new Learning Center venue, invitation to follow. Ticket sales begin online Monday, March 23. For more information, contact Alisa Thomas at athomas@jfgd.net or (937) 610-1796.

TUE 31

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials FEDERATION

UNITED JEWISH CAMPAIGN IN MEMORY OF › Shirley Mazer › Shirley Leventhal Debby and Dr. Robert Goldenberg › Terry Bovinet Debby and Dr. Robert Goldenberg Helene Gordon Jane and Dr. Gary Hochstein Wendy Lipp Jody and Todd Sobol Donna and Marshall Weiss › Shirley Leventhal Wendy Lipp › Bobbie Kantor › Allen Ross Judy Lipton

HOLOCAUST PROGRAMMING FUND IN MEMORY OF › Sam Heider Rachel and Dr. Heath Gilbert Marilyn Snyder Flemming and David Flemming Judy Schwartzman and Mike Jaffe › Sam Heider › Hy Blum Charlotte Handler CAROL J. PAVLOFSKY LEADERSHIP FUND IN MEMORY OF › Hy Blum Judith Bernstein Marlene and David Miller › Penny Arons Marlene and David Miller

Would you like to honor or memorialize someone in your life, all while making a meaningful impact on the Jewish community?

Consider making a donation to a Jewish Foundation of Greater Dayton Fund. Tribute and memorial donations can be made for a variety of reasons.

Contact us at 937-610-1555 for more information.

JCC

JOAN AND PETER WELLS AND REBECCA LINVILLE FAMILY, CHILDREN AND YOUTH FUND IN MEMORY OF › Shirley Leventhal › Shirley Mazer › Terry Bovinet › Maxine Leventhal Joan and Peter Wells CULTURAL ARTS AND BOOK FAIR IN HONOR OF › Speedy recovery of Marni Flagel Jane and Dr. Gary Hochstein BEN AND DOROTHY HARLAN CHILDREN’S FUND IN MEMORY OF › Shirley Leventhal › Maxine Leventhal Marla and Dr. Stephen Harlan

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

JFS

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES IN HONOR OF › Cathy Gardner’s Master’s Degree Completion Judy Schwartzman and Mike Jaffe IN MEMORY OF › Shep Rosen Amy and Ed Boyle › Shirley Leventhal Beverly and Jeffrey Kantor › Shirley Mazer › Shirley Leventhal › Hy Blum › Maxine Leventhal Claire and Oscar Soifer › Shirley Mazer › Maxine Leventhal › Hy Blum Susan and Joe Gruenberg › Shirley Mazer › Shirley Leventhal › Maxine Leventhal › Hy Blum › Barry Serotkin Debbie and Bruce Feldman

PAGE 15

Upcoming events JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES Tuesday, March 3 Tales of Teleki Square The Renaissance of a Hungarian Jewish Community 7:30PM - 9:30PM @ The NEON (130 E 5th St. Dayton 45402)

J E W I S H F A M I LY S E R V I C E S P R E S E N T S

HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES Travel with us from our heads down to our toes this year to create a happier, healthier you. Join JFS for informational sessions. Lunch included. No cost.

The Tales of Teleki Square documentary captures the lives, history, and heritage of the Budapest Jewish community. Visit our website for more information about the movie. Plan to join us at the Neon as András Mayer the Director's Assistant will be with us to discuss the film and share his incredible experience in bringing the Teleki Synagogue back to life.

A Matter of Balance with Vickie Carraher, RN, BC, Senior Service Coordinator, City of Kettering Fall Prevention Wednesday, March 4 12-1PM @ Temple Israel (130 Riverside Drive, Dayton, 45405)

$9 per person. Register online at jewishdayton.org or call (937) 610-1555.

RSVP at jewishdayton.org or by calling (937) 610-1555.

This event is a collaboration between the JCC Film Fest Committee and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES of GREATER DAYTON

&

LED RAFF R DOO !

S PRIZE

PJ Library & PJ Our Way Good Deeds Day Sunday, March 15 4 - 5:30PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE (525 Versailles Dr., Centerville 45459) Volunteering inspires kids to deepen their understanding through empathy, strengthens family bonds, and builds community. Come together as a PJ family as we work out our mitzvah muscles to help others in need!

This event is in collaboration with Jewish Family Services of Greater Dayton.

&

grades 1–10 Contact Meryl Hattenbach at mhattenbach@jfgd.net or (937) 401-1550.

Don’t let your child miss out on a summer of fun! Register today at jewishdayton.org.

18 months–entering kindergarten Contact Audrey MacKenzie at amackenzie@jfgd.net or (937) 853-0373.

“As my ancestors planted for me before I was born, so do I plant for those who will come after me.” ~ Ta’anit 23a If you have questions about the LIFE & LEGACY program, contact Janese R. Sweeny at jsweeny@jfgd.net or 937-401-1542.

PAGE 16

&

THE JEWISH FOUNDATION of GREATER DAYTON

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Classes

Beth Jacob Classes: Tuesdays, 7:15 p.m.: Weekly Torah portion using Pardes methodology.

Thursdays, 7 p.m. Insight into Prayer, Shabbat & Holidays. W. Rabbi Agar. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp. 937-274-2149.

JCC Class, The Beat: Wed., March 4, 6:30 p.m. Rock ‘n’ Roll w. Irv Moscowitz. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937-610-1555.

Temple Beth Or Classes: Sun., March 1, 10 a.m.: Adult Ed., The Good, Bad, Ugly in Jewish Cyberspace. Tues., March 3, 7 p.m.: Adult Ed., Chai Mitzvah.

Sat., March 7, 10 a.m. & Sun., March 15, 11 a.m.: Tanakh w.

Rabbi Chessin. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400.

Temple Israel Classes: Tues., March 10, 17, 31, 5:30 p.m.: Musar. Wed., March 11, 18, noon: Talmud. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.: Torah Study. Sun., March 15, noon-2 p.m.: Suicide prevention training w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. $5 donation requested. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050.

March 29, 5 p.m.: Mah Nishtana Magic. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-643-0770.

Young Adults

advance, $20 couple at door, $10 single. Babysitting available 5-7 p.m. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash.

Twp. 937-435-3400.

Chabad Shabbat Dinner for Young Adults: Fri., March 6, 7:15 p.m. At the home of Rabbi Elchonon & Mussie Chaikin.

R.S.V.P. to 937-643-0770.

Beth Abraham OY-KLAHOMA! Purim: Mon., March 9, 5:30 p.m.

Dinner $12 adults/$6 children.

R.S.V.P. to 937-293-9520. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

Chabad YJP Purim Party: Mon., March 9, 7:45 p.m. Therapy Café, 452 E. 3rd St., Dayton.

R.S.V.P. to 937-643-0770.

Temple Israel Zoo-Themed Purim Carnival: Mon., March 9, 6 p.m. $6 adults, $3 ages 3-12, free 2 and younger. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-4960050.

Women

Chabad Rosh Chodesh Society Classes: Sun., March 1 & 29, 9:45 a.m. $10 each. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-6430770 or chabaddayton.com.

JCC Women’s Seder: Thurs., March 26, 6 p.m. $36. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. R.S.V.P. to 937-6101555.

Men

Get ready for spring vacation!

Chabad Purim in Paris: Tues., March 10, 5:30 p.m. Dinner, Megillah, mime. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-643-0770.

COLD PRESS JUICE & JUICE CLEANSES PLANT BASED PROTEIN RICH SALADS RAW VEGAN TREATS SMOOTHIE BOWLS

1120 Brown Street, Dayton OH • 937-991-0085 Mon-Fri 8am-7pm / Sat-Sun 9am-5pm

WE DELIVER THROUGH DOORDASH

Exhibit

Women Strong: March 9-April 23. Opening reception, Thurs., March 12, 6 p.m. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937-610-1555.

Chabad’s Bagels, Lox & Tefillin: Community Events Temple Beth Or Carnegie Deli Sun., March 1, 9:30 a.m. 2001 Corned Beef Sale: Tues., March Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 9373. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 643-0770.

937-435-3400.

Jewish Federation Men’s Tales of Teleki Square: Seder: Mon., March 16, 6 Discussions Tues., March 3, 7:30 p.m. The p.m. $36. Boonshoft CJCE, Beth Abraham Sisterhood Neon, 130 E. 5th St., Dayton.

525 Versailles Dr., Centerville.

Brunch: Sunday, March 15, 10 Sponsored by JCRC & JCC Film R.S.V.P. to 937-610-1555. a.m.: Intolerance & Hate: Let’s Fest. $9. Tickets at jewishdayton.

Talk! Panel & Q&A facilitated org, 937-610-1555 or at the door.

Seniors

by Tara Feiner. Free. 305 Sugar JFS A Matter of Balance: Wed., Camp Cir., Oakwood. R.S.V.P. by March 4, noon. With Lunch. Free. Aimee Ginsberg Bikel at March 9 to 937-293-9520.

Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Dr., Temple Israel: Tues., March 10, Dayton. R.S.V.P. to 937-610-1555. 1:30 p.m. $5. Books available for Temple Israel Ryterband $16. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

Brunch Series: Sundays, 9:45 937-496-0050.

JFS Purim Programs: Wed., a.m. $7. March 1, Reps from March 11, 2:30 p.m. at Spring Catholic Social Service, Clark/ Temple Sholom Kosher Wine Hills Singing Woods, 140 E. Champaign County Food Bank, Tasting: Sat., March 14, 5 p.m.

Woodbury Dr., Harrison Twp. House of Bread: Food Insecurity $30. At Temple Sholom, 2424 Thurs., March 12, 3:45 p.m. in the Miami Valley, Causes & N. Limestone Dr., Springfield.

Solutions. March 8, Tonya Folks, at One Lincoln Park, 590 Isaac Mont. Co. Sheriff’s Office: Human Prugh Way, Kettering. R.S.V.P. to R.S.V.P. to Mary Jo & Adam Leventhal, 937-284-8027.

Trafficking. March 15, Bob Thum, 937-610-1555.

Promises & Challenges of Jewish Beth Abraham Storyteller Life in 19th-Century America. 130 Purim Weekend: W. Corinne Stavish.

Riverside Dr., Dayton. R.S.V.P. to Temple Anshe Emeth Purim Fri., March 20, 5:30 p.m.: Celebration: Sat., March 7 937-496-0050.

Kabalat Shabbat, dinner, Up following 10 a.m. Shabbat service. 320 Caldwell St., Piqua. Close & Personal Stories.

Family For info., call Steve Shuchat, 937- Sat., March 21, following noon PJ Library Good Deeds Day: kiddush lunch: Stories of Mitzvot.

726-2116.

Sun., March 15, 4-5:30 p.m.

Sun., March 22, 9:30 a.m.: Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Passover, Telling Our Stories.

Dr., Centerville. W. JFS. R.S.V.P. Purim at Beth Jacob: Sun., March 8, 11 a.m.: Purim Party w. Shabbat dinner $18 adult, 12 to 937-610-1555. carnival, music, food, costumes, & under free, $54 family max. raffle. Mon., March 9, 7:15 p.m.: 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

Temple Israel Prayer & Play: R.S.V.P. for dinner by March 13, Mystical & Magical Megillah Sat., March 21, 10 a.m. At 937-293-9520.

Menagerie. 7020 N. Main St., Temple Israel. Families and Harrison Twp. 937-274-2149. their children 6 and under. 130 Beth Abraham Men’s Club Riverside Dr., Dayton. R.S.V.P. to Kosher Deli Dinner & Raffle: Temple Beth Or Martini 937-496-0050.

Sun., March 29, 6 p.m. $20.

Happy Hour & The Megillah R.S.V.P. by March 25 to 937Monologues Adult Comedy: Children & Youths 293-9520. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Chabad Kids: Sun., March 8, 5 W. Pamela Rae Schuller. Sun., Oakwood. p.m.: Purim Outta the Box. Sun., March 8, 5 p.m. $18 couple in

WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS & OUR BUTTER BABIES! Butter Cafe is a casual, quirky breakfast and lunch stop in the University of Dayton area featuring fresh and organic ingredients. We specialize in classic comfort dishes with an added flair!

Many of our dishes feature vegan and gluten-free ingredients and our bakery case is always packed with classic, keto and gluten-free sweets.

We also deliver through DoorDash

ButterCafeDayton.com

Hours Mon 8am - 2pm Tues - Sun 7am - 3pm

1106 Brown Street Dayton, OH 45409 937-985-9917

Bring in this ad and receive $10 off your next in-store purchase of $60 or more* Expires 6.30.2020. *Some exclusions apply. Not valid on wine, candy, or delivery.

1306 Troy Street • Dayton, Ohio 45404 (937) 223-1213 • furstflorist.com

Staffing Needs? Call The Professionals!

MANAGEMENT RECRUITERS

OF DAYTON

BUILDING THE HEART OF BUSINESS

228-8271

228-0060

Jeff Noble • mridayton.com • info@mridayton.com

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 17

Beth Abraham Synagogue Conservative Rabbi Joshua Ginsberg Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming Andrea Raizen Mornings, Mon. & Thurs., 7 a.m.; Tues., Wed., Fri., 7:15 a.m.

Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Evenings, Mon.-Fri., 5:30 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m. w. Youth Service 10:30 a.m. 305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood. 937293-9520. BethAbrahamDayton.org Beth Jacob Congregation Traditional Rabbi Leibel Agar Saturdays 9:30 a.m. Yahrzeit minyans available upon advance request. 7020 N. Main St., Dayton.

937-274-2149. BethJacobCong.org Temple Anshe Emeth Reform Rabbinic Intern Caroline Sim Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m.

320 Caldwell St., Piqua.

Contact Steve Shuchat, 937-7262116, AnsheEmeth@gmail.com. ansheemeth.org Temple Beth Or Reform Rabbi Judy Chessin Educator/Rabbi Ari Ballaban Fridays 7 p.m. (2nd Fri. ea. month 6:15 p.m.), Saturdays 10 a.m.

5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400. templebethor.com Temple Beth Sholom Reform Rabbi Haviva Horvitz See Web site for schedule.

610 Gladys Dr., Middletown.

513-422-8313. thetemplebethsholom.com Temple Israel Reform Senior Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz Rabbi/Educator Tina Sobo First Friday each month 6 p.m.

All other Fridays 6:30 p.m.

Saturdays 10:30 a.m.

130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

937-496-0050. tidayton.org Temple Sholom Reform Rabbi Cary Kozberg Fridays 6 p.m.

2424 N. Limestone St., Springfield. 937-399-1231. templesholomoh.com

ADDITIONAL SERVICES Chabad of Greater Dayton Rabbi Nochum Mangel Associate Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin Youth & Prog. Dir. Rabbi Levi Simon, Teen & Young Adult Prog.

Dir. Rabbi Elchonon Chaikin.

Beginner educational service Saturdays 9 a.m. adults, 10 a.m children. Sundays 9 a.m.

2001 Far Hills Ave. 937-643-0770. www.chabaddayton.com Yellow Springs Havurah Independent Services 1st & 3rd Saturdays, 10-noon. Antioch College Rockford Chapel. Contact Len Kramer, 937572-4840 or len2654@gmail.com.

PAGE 18

Netanyahu

RELIGION

CONGREGATIONS

Purim’s true meaning

By Rabbi Elchonon Chaikin Chabad of Greater Dayton Since I was a child, Purim has been one of the year’s greatest highlights. I continue to look forward to it each year as winter comes to a close. The memories of seeing who had the loudest grogger, of making sure to listen to every word of the Megillah, of the stockpiles of candy collected from friends who delivered the traditional mishaloach manos (gift baskets) all remain vivid in my mind.

As the rabbi’s son, I discovered who the undercover poor of our community were when they would pick up the matanot l’evyonim, the gifts to the poor

Perspectives that had been collected. It always shocked me that some of the most upstanding and respected people of our community were unfortunately broke.

Being young, I looked forward to Purim for its candy, its costumes, and its fun and joyous spirit. As I grew into adolescence, Purim became, in true Chabad fashion, a mitzvah opportunity. As a yeshiva high school student, I took rides all over Chicago’s uptown, downtown, and suburbs, visiting Jewish offices, and homes where my friends and I read the Megillah for people who wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise. We made instant friends in order to give out more mishaloach manos, and exhausted, we came home to the wonderful Purim feast catered by our faculty and their families.

But only when I became an adult did Purim’s true meaning really hit home. It was time not only to be an activist for others, but to absorb inwardly the message the story of Esther was teaching me.

March

Adar/Nisan Shabbat Candle Lightings March 6, 6:17 p.m.

March 13, 7:24 p.m.

March 20, 7:31 p.m.

March 27, 7:38 p.m.

battle plan. Troubles The Jews of are facing our Persia and Media people once again. were in a terrible Our first instinct is predicament, facing to travel the natural antisemitism in its path: protest, adworst form. The vocate, lobby, build wicked Haman relationships, and didn’t even bother educate the masses dressing his views of the great injustice. in political correctWe forget that our ness. He was open people’s existence and straightfordefies all natural ward — he wanted explanation because his land Judenrein.

Rabbi Elchonon Chaikin we are not govSound familiar? erned by the laws of The future looked nature. We are Godly people. bleak and the Jews began to When we face a crisis, we must despair. Mordechai, with his first and foremost turn to God, deep faith in the Almighty, was who isn’t only within nature the quintessential leader of the but above it as well. We must Jewish people, and he was also remember Esther’s message to well respected in the king’s Mordechai. Put God first. Only palace. Mordechai now had to then is advocacy a tool. save his people from total anWe applaud and support nihilation. His closest ally was Esther the queen. He beseeched those who stand up on our behalf. Our true power, though, Esther, “Please, go to the king, lies in our prayer and good even though you risk your life. deeds. When we have reconPerhaps the only reason you nected to God through prayer, were made queen was to be Torah study and able to intercede at this moment. We tell this story doing mitzvos (commandWill your name and celebrate ments), we are be lost to hisconfident that tory due to your it yearly not as silence at this a triumph of old, we will survive.

Not only will trying hour?” but as an we survive, we Esther, will thrive as though, repriever-relevant we have seen manded Morbattle plan. for thousands of dechai. While years. agreeing to risk This Purim, I encourage you her life for her people, she told to participate in the mitzvos of him, “We Jews don’t rely on Purim. It will strengthen our political advocacy. We rely on connection as a people to our our Father in Heaven. Gather Father in Heaven. We will then all the Jews: men, women, chilhave the power to advocate dren, and have them pray, fast, and repent for three days. Only to protect our people. Hear then will I advocate on the Jew- the Megillah, give out shalach manos, donate a financial gift ish people’s behalf.” to (at least) two poor people, And so Mordechai did, and and join a festive Purim feast. the rest is history.

Be joyous and merry, trusting We tell this story and celeGod’s promise that our future brate it yearly not as a triumph is bright. of old, but as an ever-relevant

Torah Portions March 7: Tetzaveh (Ex. 27:20-30:10; Deut. 25:17-19) March 14: Ki Tissa (Ex. 30:11-34:35;Num. 19:1-22) March 21: Vayakhel-Pekudei (Ex. 35:1-40:38; Ex. 12:1-20) March 28: Vayikra (Lev. 1:1-5:26)

Purim

Feast of Lots March 10/14 Adar Commemorates the rescue of the Jews in ancient Persia.

The reading of the Book of Esther, costumes, grogers (noisemakers), and eating hamantashen are part of this festival.

Continued from Page 12 to be negotiated. For the first time, an American administration is proposing a plan that recognizes the historical bond and our national rights in the Land of Israel, our biblical and ancestral homeland.

The plan even calls for the establishment of an international mechanism to resolve the issue of Jewish refugees who were forced to flee Arab and Muslim countries. It calls on Arab countries to terminate anti-Israel initiatives in the United Nations and other international bodies.

Claim four: The deal of the century won’t truly impact Israeli citizens.

Fact: This plan will dramatically affect every single citizen in Israel. The safety of Israelis everywhere, especially in the main cities such as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Petach Tikvah, Netanya, Rishon Letzion and others, depends on us maintaining security control in Judea and Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.

The deal of the century ensures this. It will eliminate the prospect of missile attacks on Israeli cities and Ben-Gurion International Airport from the hills of Judea and Samaria.

The U.S. plan deals with more than just applying Israeli law in our homeland. It is a historic moment of defining our identities and ensuring the future of our homeland. This is our heritage, the essence of our culture, the deep biblical link between our people and the Land of Israel.

The choice we make in the coming weeks will define our nation forever. After 11 years of working against previous American administrations’ policy of withdrawals and uprooting, after three years of working closely with President Trump and his team, we finally have the opportunity to bolster our security, determine our borders and ensure our future.

Claim five: The upcoming elections won’t affect the deal of the century.

Fact: These elections will determine whether Israel seizes or squanders a historic opportunity. I will implement the deal of the century. Our political adversaries will implement the “miss of the century.” For the sake of realizing the historic opportunity, for the sake of the Land of Israel, we must not miss this moment.

Benjamin Netanyahu is the prime minister of Israel. This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

LIFECYCLES

Jonathan Matthew Shtilman Jonathan Matthew Shtilman will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 14. He is the son of Dmitriy Shtilman and Sabina Shtilman and a brother to Isabella Shtilman and Elijah Shtilman. Jonathan attends Bethel Local Schools as a seventh grader. He participated as a CIT at Camp Shalom and volunteered at Camp Gan Israel by preparing meals for the younger campers.

Jonathan moved to the Dayton area in August 2017 with his parents and siblings.

Jonathan loves learning to play saxophone, he loves to draw, and loves learning to play tennis. Jonathan also enjoys spending his free time with his younger brother and sister. Jonathan participated in the Out of the Darkness Walk in October 2019, a walk to help fund suicide prevention and awareness. Jonathan was able to collect donations in the amount of $600. Jonathan would like to thank Rabbi Tina Sobo for all the time she helped in the preparation of the Bar Mitzvah, including a few times on her days off.

Moshe and Sonia Gutman of Austin, Texas are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Rivka Rose, now three months old. Her proud grandfather is Martin H. Nizny.

Send lifecycles to: The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville, OH 45459 Email: MWeiss@jfgd.net.

There is a $12 charge to run a photo; please make checks payable to The Dayton Jewish Observer.

Hear

Handel-Herald Dori Rebecca Handel and Jeffrey Thomas Herald were married Jan. 19 at Summerour Studio in Atlanta. Rabbi Bradley Levenberg of Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs, Ga. officiated. Dori is the daughter of Frank and Renee Rubin Handel of Dayton, and the granddaughter of Maxine Rubin and the late Dr. Frank Rubin. Jeff is the son of Kathy and Bill Herald of Atlanta.

Dori is a graduate of Miami University and received her master of education in teaching, early childhood education, at Oglethorpe University. She is currently a third grade lead teacher at The Galloway School in Atlanta.

Jeff is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and is a hospital administrator with Grady Health System in Atlanta.

After the ceremony, the couple briefly honeymooned in Asheville, N.C., and are planning for more extended travels this summer.

Arielle and Joshua Handel of Cincinnati are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Marlowe Reese Handel, born Jan. 28. Marlowe is the granddaughter of Frank and Renee Rubin Handel of Dayton, and the greatgranddaughter of Maxine Rubin and the late Dr. Frank Rubin. Also welcoming Marlowe are maternal grandparents Jonathan and Shari Mann of Cincinnati and great-grandmother Frances Mann of Madison, Wisc.

Marlowe is named after her maternal great-grandfather, the late Mandel (Manny) Katz, of Milwaukee.

this week’s Jewish news with Radio Reading Service.

Join Marshall Weiss Sundays, noon & 6 p.m. at Goodwill Easterseals Miami ValleyRadio Reading Service.

To listen, go to gesmv.org/radio-reading-services-terms-use

THE MARVELOUS MR. MAZEL Adina Weiss has received the Dayton LaSertoma Youth Service Award, representing The Miami Valley School.

The annual award honors a student from each high school in Montgomery and Preble counties for their community service contributions. For four years, Adina has volunteered with East End Miracle Makers, an after-school and summer learning program for elementary-age students.

A senior at MVS, Adina is the daughter of Donna and Marshall Weiss.

Jenny Caplan “Break a leg” goes breathed a big sigh out to Saul Caplan, of relief recently Shana Fishbein, when she finished Tamar Fishbein, up a big editing and Matt Lindsay, project that took who are appearing nearly two years. An in The Man Who assistant professor Came To Dinner in the department at the Dayton of philosophy and Playhouse, March religious studies at 6-15. Saul plays Towson University, the title character, Jenny Caplan Jenny edited a Sheridan Whiteside, collection of academic essays Shana plays Maggie Cutler, on the television show Crazy Tamar plays Sarah, and Matt is Ex-Girlfriend. The special Dr. Bradley. issue of The Journal of Modern Jewish Studies was published In January, Julie Bloom was in January and features five installed as president of the essays covering everything Dayton Chapter of Hadassah.

Send your announcements to scotthalasz1@gmail.com.

Scott Halasz from seeing Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as part of the lineage of biblical women’s songs, to the show’s use of mental health and psychopharmacopeia. Jenny’s essay takes on the resurgence of the Jewish American Princess stereotype and makes an argument that it is time to abandon the trope.

The project came out of a panel Jenny was on at the 2017 Association for Jewish Studies annual meeting. It was so well received that the panelists decided to write formal versions of their talks, which became the five essays in the journal.

“Bringing together people working on everything from Bible to modern Judaism on the same topic rarely happens, and it makes it really challenging to make sure people from all those audiences can enjoy the issue equally,” Jenny explained. “It was also interesting translating an American phenomenon for a British-published journal. It reminds you that some of the things you think ‘everyone’ is watching are really quite parochial.”

Rachel Bloom, the creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, emailed Jenny throughout the process and was very excited to receive the finished issue.

Jenny was pretty pleased with how everything transpired.

“It took almost two years start to finish, and that is actually remarkably fast for academic publishing, so it was just a long process that was very difficult, but also very worth it,” she said.

You had me at cookie dough.

VISIT THE SHOP • CATERING • NATIONWIDE SHIPPING 36 South Main Street, Miamisburg, OH 45342 www.spoonfulcookiedough.com

Spring

is here.

THE SHOPS OF OAKWOOD 2316 FAR HILLS AVE DAYTON OH 45419

937-224-7673

WWW.THEFLOWERSHOPPE.COM

Are you reading this? So is the entire Jewish community.

Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 19

JUSTICE

TOLERANCE

THE MEN'S SEDER

EQUALITY

FREEDOM

HUMANITY

2020

MONDAY, MARCH 16 6 - 8PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE Men are invited to engage in a non-traditional Seder with friends and community members as we explore questions of freedom and social justice. A family style kosher dinner and beverages will be served.

Speakers: Tonya Folks, MPA – Human trafficking

Owner, Human Trafficking Essentials, LLC Human Trafficking Liaison, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

Rabbi Bernard Barsky – Prison reform

Licensed Professional Counselor, Family Services

Joel R. Pruce – Human rights

Assistant Professor of Human Rights Studies, the University of Dayton

A Women’s Seder

HEALING OU R B ODI E S , H E AL I NG OU R S OU L S

Thursday, March 26, 2020 6 – 9PM @ the Boonshoft CJCE Join us as we celebrate the 6th Dayton Women’s Seder Healing Our Bodies, Healing our Souls Come relive our spiritual journey as we celebrate Passover at a unique Seder with the women of our community. $36 per person. Your payment is your reservation.

RSVP by Thursday, March 12 online at jewishdayton.org For questions or more information, call Amy Dolph at (937) 401-1553. (limited seating)

Marcy L. Paul, PhD – Gender equality

Jewish Community Relations Director, Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton

Rabbi Ari Ballaban – Anti-Semitism Assistant Rabbi, Temple Beth Or

$36 per person.

Tickets available online at jewishdayton.org.

For questions or more information, call (937) 610-1555.

Sam Dorf Neil Friedman

Joe Saks Dan Sweeny

Jewish Community Center Jewish Family Services OF GREATER DAYTON OF GREATER DAYTON

The JCC Women’s Seder committee is helping Shoes 4 the Shoeless and Clothes that Work in our community by collecting the following: new socks for children ages 5 and up, as well as for adults. Please bring these items the night of the Seder.

Become a Program Patron: for a contribution of $75, your name will be inserted in the Haggadah and you will receive a free tribute.

Become a Program Supporter: for a contribution of $50, your name will be inserted in the Haggadah.

If you’d like to make a tribute in memory or in honor of someone you will miss at your Seder, you may do so by contributing $18 online at jewishdayton.org or at (937) 601-1555 by Thursday, March 12. Your tribute will be inserted in the Haggadah.

Jewish Community Center OF GREATER DAYTON

THE JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

PAGE 20

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

A BISEL KISEL

A ketubah conversation I grew up in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and immigrated to Chicago, where I struggled to fit into a suburban Jewish private school. My husband, Sam Dorf, grew up in the vibrant Jewish community of Brookline, just outside Boston. Over 13 years of marriage, we have been discuss-

getting away with it because as a villain long dead, but it still “Russian immigrants,” we were makes me uncomfortable. considered too clueless to bear Masha: Maybe the booing is any real responsibility. But the an expression of helplessness, teachers were right in that I was rage against the inability to culturally tone-deaf as a tween. improve one’s own fate. That I imitated TV and magazines was the experience of the Jewish to be “American,” with little people in ancient Persia. What’s discernment of context. What your take on Esther masqueradare your memories of Purim in ing as a non-Jew to marry the Brookline? king? He only listened to her Sam: I remember going to because he was in a sex fog. services when I was 10 and Ultimately, Esther could only Masha seeing a man dressed as a dead speak for her people because Kisel Laura Palmer from the TV show her true identity was hidden Twin Peaks. He painted his face behind her beauty. Doesn’t that a ghastly purple, wore a tiara, make you angry? and wrapped himself in plastic.

Sam: Absolutely, there is a lot ing how our experiences have I still have nightmares about of fear right now about showshaped our approach to Jewish Masha Kisel and her husband, Sam Dorf that. But I only dressed up ing visible signs of Jewishness traditions. Here, we share our distinguish between a person’s my childhood, especially at when I was in the Purim shpiel. in public, like wearing a kipah conversation about Purim. school. It wasn’t unusual for an humanity and their deeds? or a Magen David. In the end, Sam: So, tell me about grow- One year I played Haman and Sam: Hmmm, that’s a great entire class to collectively heckle the next year I got to play King though, Esther revealed who ing up in Chicago and your Ahashverus. she was. That’s what makes her a student at a teacher’s request, question.

Purim experiences. Did you Masha: We can condemn for tardiness or spilling an inkMasha: Which role did you the hero. ever dress up? evil actions without staining well (we still used quills in the prefer?

What did you think of your Masha: In sixth grade, 1980s). I don’t want our children our own moral conscience with Sam: To be honest, I liked first Purim service as a newly my friend Eugenia, another hatred. My great-grandmother to participate in any form of playing the bad guy, but it did arrived Soviet immigrant?

Russian-speaking immigrant, used to tell a story about refusforce me to reflect Masha: The first public shaming as victims or and I dressed up as Slash and ing to spit on Stalin’s grave perpetrators. on the weird cru- ‘I don’t want religious service Axl Rose from Guns n’ Roses. when it became fashionable Sam: Agreed. So no grogelty of the holiday, our children I ever attended I copied the words and design gers, no booing for our kids. But after the denouncement by with all the booing at a synagogue from the back of their album Khrushchev. She detested the what should they do? I keep and noise making to participate was a Megillah onto white T-shirts. I wrote mob mentality, which revered on thinking about what Barack directed at me. I Guns n’ f’n Roses on the back, in any form of reading at B’nai Stalin while he was alive, but Zion, located right Obama said during the 2016 only vaguely realizing that there vividly remember turned on him with the political election when a crowd of supacross the street was a bad word in there. A sock the sudden fear I public shaming tide. These days, all I want to porters booed Donald Trump. had of stepping from our Chicago stuffed in the front of my black as victims or do is boo. But I’d like our famHe said, “Don’t boo; vote!” I apartment. The bike shorts recreated Axl Rose’s on stage and getily’s Judaism to be a cultivation wonder if there is a modern groggers initially famous bulge. Eugenia, as Slash, ting heckled by a perpetrators.’ of gentleness and forgiveness, way to do that this Purim? congregation. disturbed me, but brought an empty Jack Daniels despite the world’s brutality.

Masha: You’re the one who Masha: Some people interI got into it by the end of the bottle filled with apple juice, You’re better at forgiveness than always brings up Sister Helen service. which the teachers immediately pret those sounds as a joyful I am, but I’m learning.

Prejean’s words: “people are celebration of our survival. Do Coming from a Soviet enviconfiscated as we yelled, “It’s more than the worst thing ronment with a long history of just apple juice!” It felt wonder- you buy that?

Dr. Masha Kisel is a lecturer Sam: I can see that, but there show trials and denouncements, they have ever done in their ful to be that irreverent. lives.” She obviously condemns in English at the University of is danger in providing an effigy it wasn’t all that strange to see Sam: That’s amazing.

Dayton. Her husband, Dr. Sam murder, but has spent her life for that anger, especially in a formerly powerful official Masha: My best memories Dorf, is an associate professor of fighting against the death penthese politically divisive times. desecrated in this way. from Solomon Schechter Day musicology at UD. alty. Would it be a bad thing to I get the fun of safely reviling Public shaming permeated School are of mischief and of

The Dayton Jewish Observer New & Renewing Voluntary Subscribers • Jan. 10 - Feb. 5 New Angel Roger Chudde Double Chai Cynthia Pretekin & Jeff Froelich Stephen Renas Subscribers Phyllis Pavlofsky Allen Karen Chamberlain Jerry Goldberg Rick Goldberg Jeff & Esther Green Hindy & Richard Gruber Lois Harris Lenorah Hart Sharon Hatfield Sue & Bill Kelius Elli Kent

Current Guardian Angels Howard & Judy Abromowitz Congregation Anshe Emeth Tara & Adam Feiner Bella Freeman Elaine & John Gaglione Robert & Vicky Heuman Marilyn & Larry Klaben Bernard Rabinowitz Dr. & Mrs. Nathaniel Ritter Lee & Patti Schear Marilyn Scher Zerla Stayman Steve & Shara Taylor Current Angels Ken Baker, K.W. Baker & Assoc.

Skip & Ann Becker Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Bettman Amy & Michael Bloom Ken & Lisa Blum

Sylvia Blum Frieda Blum Betty Bremen Buck Run Doors & Hardware Inc. Betty Crouse Dr. Scot Denmark Sam Dorf & Masha Kisel Esther & DeNeal Feldman Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Feldman Marni Flagel Lynn Foster Felix & Erika Garfunkel Kim & Shelley Goldenberg Debby & Bob Goldenberg Judi & George Grampp Dr. Arthur & Mrs. Joan Greenfield Barb Gronefeld Susan & Jonas Gruenberg Harold & Melissa Guadalupe Stephen & Marla Harlan Ralph Heyman

Myrna Nelson Sis & Phil Office Lori Ohlmann John & Sharyn Reger Steven Rothstein Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Rubin Jan Rudd-Goenner Felice Shane Marc & Maureen Sternberg Col. Jeffrey Thau, USAF, (Ret.) & Rina Thau Joel & Jennifer Tobiansky The Waldman family Judith & Fred Weber Donald & Caryl Weckstein Michael & Karen Weprin Dr. Warren Wingate Ronald Bernard & Judy Woll

Linda & Steve Horenstein Steve & Rachel Jacobs Michael Jaffe David & Susan Joffe Dennis Kahn & Linda Ohlmann Kahn Susan & Stanley Katz Dr. Kim & Mrs. Candace Kwiatek Laurie & Eddie Leventhal Todd & Gabriele Leventhal Jean Lieberman Judy Lipton Sis & Joseph Litvin Beverly A. Louis Dr. David & Joan Marcus Donald & Carole Marger Marvin & Susan Mason Suzi & Jeff Mikutis Jane & Dan Miller Irvin & Gayle Moscowitz Alan & Marilyn Moscowitz Richard & Marcia Moyer

Thank you for your generosity.

To make your Voluntary Subscription, fill out the form on page 27 or go to our secure site, daytonjewishobserver.org THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 21

Savory Leek & Feta Hamantashen

Chocolate Chip Cookie Hamantashen for Purim

By Shannon Sarna The Nosher A fun part of baking hamantashen is getting creative with the fillings. I love this recipe because it has a little fun with the dough itself, imitating one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes with both brown and white sugar and mini chocolate chips.

You could fill these cookies with anything you like, but my favorite fillings are dulce de leche (I buy the jarred kind from Trader Joe’s), cookie butter or chocolate hazelnut spread.

As with any hamantashen baking, make sure to chill the dough for at least one hour before rolling it out, and pinch the corners very well to ensure the cookies keep their shape.

For the dough ½ cup butter (or margarine), at room temperature ½ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed 1 egg

1 Tbsp. milk (or almond milk) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 ¼ cups + 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour ¼ tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt ¼ cup mini chocolate chips Filling suggestions Chocolate hazelnut spread Dulce de leche Cookie butter Beat the butter and sugars together until smooth. Add egg, milk, and vanilla until mixed thoroughly.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry mixture to wet mixture until incorporated.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Dust your work surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking. I like to cut dough in half and roll out in batches. Roll

By Leanne Shor, The Nosher The inspiration for these flaky, cheesy leek and feta hamantashen comes from my best friend Danielle’s mother, Hannah. I make a quick all-butter pie crust using salted butter and freshly ground black pepper, no fancy equipment required though you could also use a pastry cutter or food processor if you are accustomed to making pie crust.

The two most important things to remember when making pie crust is that all of the ingredients need to be very cold, and to work the dough minimally to ensure the crust is flaky. Then I make the filling by caramelizing leeks in olive oil and adding crumbled feta and cottage cheese.

I use a mix of these two cheeses because the cottage cheese really mellows out the sharpness of the feta and creates a very creamy filling.

These leek and feta hamantashen are the perfect appetizer or side for any Purim party. I’ve even made them larger, using a 4.5-inch circle cutter — with a salad or cup of soup, they are easily a very festive light lunch.

the dough to about a quarter to a half-inch thick.

Using a round cookie cutter, cut out dough and place on cookie sheet. To keep the dough from sticking to your cookie cutter, dip the cutter in flour before each cut. (In place of a cookie cutter, you can also use a regular drinking glass or Mason jar top).

Fill cookies with a scant half teaspoon of chocolate hazelnut spread, dulce de leche, cookie butter or a few chocolate chips and mini marshmallow in each round. Pinch circle into triangle.

Repeat with remaining dough, putting scraps back into dough three to four times until For the pie crust dough all dough has been used.

2 cups all-purpose flour Place cookies on baking sheet 1 tsp. kosher salt with silpat or parchment paper 1/2 tsp. ground black and place entire baking sheet pepper into the freezer for five minutes 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) very cold before baking (or place in fridge salted butter, cubed for 10 to 15 minutes). This will 4-5 Tbsp. ice water ensure the cookies don’t fall apart while baking.

For the filling Bake for eight minutes. Al2 large leeks, washed well, low to cool before serving. and sliced thinly

515 WAYNE AVE. DAYTON, OH | WHEATPENNYDAYTON.COM

5531 Far Hills Ave. Dayton, OH | MeadowlarkRestaurant.com

-Wnning Cooking Award

AWARD-WINNING

Cooking

PAGE 22

JOIN US FOR

BRUNCH

3 Tbsp. olive oil 1/2 cup crumbled feta 2/3 cup whole milk cottage cheese 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 1 egg, beaten for egg wash To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, pepper, and salt and whisk to combine.

Add the cold cubed butter.

Using clean fingers, shmush the cubes of butter into the flour, coating each one with flour.

You could also use a pastry cutter instead of fingers. Add the ice water and stir gently to combine, until the dough just starts to come together, but you should still see pea-sized pieces of butter. Dump half of the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, and use the plastic to push the dough together into a ball.

Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat with the second ball of dough.

To make the filling: Pour the olive oil into a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced leaks and a pinch of kosher salt. Cook until golden brown and caramelized, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

Combine the feta, cottage cheese, and black pepper in a small bowl, mix well. Add the cooled leeks and stir to combine.

To assemble: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove one disk of dough from the fridge and roll out on a well-floured board to a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out circles using a 3-inch cutter.

Brush each circle with egg wash.

Spoon 11/2 teaspoons of the leek and feta mixture into the center of each circle.

Fold into a triangle, pinching the corners very well. Brush the tops and edges lightly with egg wash. Place the hamantashen back into the fridge for 10 minutes, then straight into the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

JEWISH FAMILY EDUCATION

A heritage of wandering Our Dual Heritage

raoh “who knew not Joseph,” necessitating the addition of “secure from enslavement” to the home they sought.

Following the Exodus, when they again took everything with them including riches from the Egyptians, the Israelites wandered for 40 years before arriving and settling in Canaan.

“Much of the Torah is Candace R. focused around the search Kwiatek for home,” Rabbi Elliot Kukla writes, echoing the Census Bureau conclusions. But it wasn’t just about housing or family or Why do people move? even a job. The Exodus — in According to a U.S. Census Bufact, the entire Israelite saga — reau study, over three quarters was a divine journey initiated of Americans move for housby a covenant and a promised ing- or family-related reasons, inheritance, involving nearly an with job-related reasons a entire population and not just a distant third. Just two percent statistical “two percent.” move for other reasons. While Jewish wandering continthese general categories have ued. The exile of nearly the likely been stable throughout entire Jewish population to history, I suspect the statistics Babylonia and the themselves don’t return of a remnant reflect the full story What is to Jerusalem. A of movement in Jewour divine further dispersion of ish and American journey as Jews under Roman traditions.

Byzantine rule The story of an American and into the lands of the Jewish wandering Mediterranean and begins with Abrapeople?

Europe. The Spanish ham. “The Lord said Inquisition and expulsion. Jewto Abram: “Go forth from your ish settlement in the Americas land, and from your kindred, and, with the rise of Zionism in and from your father’s house, the late 1800s, a mass return of to the land that I will show Jews to the land of Israel. you.” From Mesopotamia to Over time, Jews have wanCanaan to Egypt, back and forth, the Bible’s patriarchs and dered across the globe, settling matriarchs moved with all they in lands as diverse as India, Ethiopia and the Caucasus acquired, seeking a place to (eighth century B.C.E.), Russia settle secure from famine and and China (seventh century), warring neighbors. and Scandinavia (15th century).

For a time they found their Such movement has been the home in Egypt, having relocatresult of many different influed there in the time of Joseph. ences: force, opportunity, anHowever, the Israelites eventutisemitism, a desire for advenally became enslaved to a phaIt took more than 300 boxes, three sets of movers, and two weeks to move just over a mile to our new home. Who knew we had so much stuff, even after we’d eliminated all the “don’t need or haven’t used in three years” items?

Literature to share The Last Watchman of Cairo by Michael David Lukas. Infused with history, mystery, culture, and a delightful narrative style, this novel centers on the al-Raqb family, guardians of the Ibn Ezra genizah in Cairo since the 11th century. Woven into the story are the twin British sisters who helped rescue the genizah in the late 1800s along with Solomon Schechter. A highly engaging story with many layers to explore.

Color Me In by Natasha Diaz. Her dad is white and Jewish, her mom is black, and Nevaeh is torn between the two worlds as her parent’s marriage crumbles. This young adult book explores issues of fractured families, the complications of identity, the roles of religion, and the meaning of finding one’s own voice. A realistic, engaging addition to teen fiction.

Antisemitic visions of The Wandering Jew

huddled masses to our teeming shore.”

Americans are still on the move across the country, even outward into space and inward into the genome. But today’s journeys seem to be missing the divine spark, the sense that we’re pursuing something greater than just a series of disconnected individual successes.

What is our divine journey as an American people? What are we doing about building a City upon a Hill?

Perhaps we should follow the advice of the prophet Jeremiah to the Jews exiled in Babylon. He encouraged them to “build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit, take wives and have sons and daughters…and seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

The divine spark is ignited when we not only do good for ourselves, but when we also pursue virtue by doing good for others, whether neighbors, communities, or an entire country.

After all, God didn’t only promise blessings for Abraham.

“Through your offspring (who exemplify goodness and virtue) all nations (into which they wander) will be blessed.”

As Jews and as Americans, inheritors of the biblical tradition, we are to be a blessing.

The identity of Jews as wanderers precedes the antisemitic canard of The Wandering Jew or The British Library Eternal Wanderer. According to Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum, the image likely arose when most Jews rejected Christianity during the first centuries C.E. As a result, Jews were viewed as alien and “condemned to perpetual migration as a sign of divine disfavor.” In the 13th century, a more sinister fabrication appeared, writes book reviewer Alberto Manguel: as Jesus carried the cross, he stumbled in the doorway of a Jewish cobbler. The cobbler pushed Jesus from the doorway, telling him to move on.

Jesus answered, “I will move on, but you Title page of The will tarry until I return.” Wandering Jew,

— Candace R. Kwiatek 1765, London ture, the search for a new life or job, the reuniting of family, and — in the case of Israel — a love for the country.

The story of American wandering parallels that of ancient Israel, beginning with the Pilgrims.

“Like the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, the Pilgrims had left what they saw as an oppressive, degraded situation in Europe, in which they could not worship freely, in order to create a new life in America,” writes Angela Kamrath, author of The Miracle of America. “They were God’s people, and America was their Promised Land.“ Theirs was a divine journey whose purpose was to establish, in the words of John

Winthrop, founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, “a City upon a Hill,” a virtuous and successful example to other nations.

Journalist John O’Sullivan emphasized it would be a journey whose founding principle was freedom. And journey they did. Seeking freedom and opportunity, newcomers from lands across the globe arrived on America’s shores, and like the biblical Abraham in Canaan, wandered its vast plains, traversed its great rivers, and settled in its valleys.

Like ancient Israel, America still pursues the dream of building a virtuous society founded in freedom, two pursuits that continue to bring “the

Call Today for a Tour 293-7703 SENIOR LIVING CAMPUS

Featured on Campus: • Skilled Nursing Center • Elegant Assisted Living • Independent Living Community • Memory Care • Rehabilitation Services

“Setting the Standard for Excellence in Health Care”

www.wcreekoh.com

5070 Lamme Rd. - Kettering - OH - 45439 - 293-7703

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 23

Arts&Culture

Theodore Bikel’s widow keeps his legacy of social justice, Jewish folk culture alive Temple Israel hosts Aimee Ginsburg Bikel reading children’s book based on her husband’s childhood

Theodore Bikel Legacy Project

way he had hoped it would. Usually, I was able to remind him that we are in a better place because of his and many others’ activism. I reminded him that, for example, the marches in the South for civil rights — he had been arrested at one of them — helped put President Obama in the White House.

An interview by Jonathan Kirsch Los Angeles Jewish Journal Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light — published in December — is based on a short story by Theodore Bikel, but the book’s author is his widow, Aimee Ginsburg Bikel. Born in Los Angeles, raised in Israel, and long based in India as a foreign correspondent for Israel’s largest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, she met and married Bikel while visiting Los Angeles. She is the founder and director of the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project, which supports projects that “strengthen and support the values close to Theo’s heart: social justice and Jewish folk culture.”

Bikel will read her children’s book about her husband’s childhood and lead a discussion at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 10 at Temple Israel.

What aspect of Theodore Bikel’s long and varied career was most important to him? How would he want to be remembered — as an actor, as a singer or perhaps as an activist?

Theo would always say ‘that is like asking me to choose between my children!’ It is unusual for someone to put so much energy and attention into so many separate careers, but all of these careers were important to him. He certainly started out, as a young man, intending to become an actor, and he did. His singing career was something that happened by accident, after he was discovered by Jac Holzman at Elektra Records.

He had always loved to sing his folk songs but did not intend to do that professionally. And he would not have been able to look at himself in the mirror if he were not an activist.

The publisher suggests that Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light is appropriate for readers who are 10 and older. The story you tell about the events leading up to the Holocaust are certainly child-safe, but what do you want your younger readers to learn about that tragic history?

I like to say that the book is appropriate for readers “from 10 to 120.” I’ve spoken with fifth-graders and sixth-graders, and the conversation mostly comes back to the fact that bigotry is alive and strong in our world. It’s one of the saddest parts of human experience but it’s real. While we want our children to spend most of their days and most of their thoughts on feeling good and feeling safe, they are certainly old enough to know that people behave in ways that are unkind and unfair, and that sometimes there are negative consequences, not only for an individual but for a whole society. Most of them have experienced these things themselves, in one way or another. I talk with the kids about our job to stand guard; and where we see injustice, when we see people behaving badly Temple Israel presents Aimee Ginsburg Bikel reading and discussing Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. The cost is $5 per person. Books will be available for purchase for $16. For more information, call Temple Israel at 937-496-0050.

PAGE 24

Aimee Ginsburg Bikel with her husband, the late Theodore Bikel

He lived long enough to see Israel change in some profound and unsettling ways. What did he make of the contrast between Israel in its pioneering days and Israel today?

Theo’s love for Israel was unconditional the way one loves a family member. The strength of his love was never shaken. He often quoted the saying “America right or wrong,” pointing out that when it’s right, it’s right, but when it’s wrong, it’s to be made right. He used the same phrase about Israel. He was a true lover of Israel, and to him that included caring to the depth of his being that Israel should be the just country it was meant to be. Theo suffered greatly over the occupation, over the plight of the Palestinians, the children of Gaza, and the deterioration of civil society in Israel. The last article he contributed to the Jewish Journal, shortly before he passed away (in 2015), expressed those heartfelt concerns.

toward each, we have the obligation to speak up. We talk about our need to remember, even when it’s hard, that all people are our brothers and our sisters. I think it is not too early to have these conversations at that age.

I am also happy for children to hear an intimate account of what it means to be a refugee. I want them to know that a refugee is someone who, a minute before becoming a refugee, was probably a happy child having a happy life, and suddenly, overnight, for reasons as unfathomable as those in City of Light, their world became a hostile world and they had to flee. When the children, when all of us, look at a refugee, that’s what we should see.

Finally, we are all concerned that the Holocaust is quickly being forgotten. This book does not detail the horrific facts, but the Holocaust not only happened, it happened to our own parents or grandparents or great-grandparents, and we want our children to know of those experiences so they can honor their ancestors, respect them for what they have been through, and learn from history.

What is the work of the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project?

We are using Theo’s artistic voice in service of tikun olam (repair of the world). We continue to publish his words and his songs, and we created a short documentary film that we show at venues all over America. His archives have been curated and will soon be available for viewing at UCLA. We also engage in civic events, such as a fundraising concert for an Israeli organization that treats Syrian children, and a large event, including the mayor, Garcetti, and 45 faith leaders from the many religions represented in LA, against the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia. At the event, at Mt. Sinai Cemetery and in the presence of our ancestors, we declared Los Angeles to be a city of brotherly and sisterly love, and that everyone’s sacred place is sacred to all of us, to defend and to respect. And we’re still not finished! It’s quite incredible: when I talk to audiences about Theo, anywhere I go, in every city and in any venue, half the audience members have their very own Theodore Bikel story.

Although the book recalls some of the darkest moments in Theo’s life, you tell a tale that is ultimately redemptive.

You write in the book that he was “full of goodness and joy,” that he “loved being Jewish and worked hard to make this world a better place for all people everywhere.” How did he manage to be so optimistic despite his experiences in childhood?

Theo was very much an optimist, and he really was full of joy. But that does not mean I did not find him, many a night, in the middle of the night, sitting by his computer, reading Berthold Brecht and listening to socialist songs, weeping away at the plight of the people of the world. As his life drew to a close, he would weep in heartbreak that despite all of his activism, the world was not fixed and did not turn out the

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

Arts&Culture

Storyteller in Play about Holocaust survivor and daughter returns to Dayton Residence Weekend

Israeli clarinetist with Sinclair Jazz Ensemble

Anat Cohen

Grammy-nominated clarinetist Anat Cohen — named Clarinetist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association each year since 2007 — returns to Dayton for a concert with the Sinclair Jazz Ensemble at 7 p.m., Friday, March 13 at Sinclair’s Blair Hall Theatre, in Building 2 of its downtown campus.

A native of Tel Aviv, Cohen last performed in Dayton in 2018 at the University of Dayton with her New York-based tentet (ensemble with 10 musicians). Described by The New York Times as a “master,” Cohen has also been named the top clarinetist by readers and critics in DownBeat magazine polls for several years. Her Sinclair program is free.

with

Corinne Stavish Friday, March 20 Up Close and Personal 5:30 p.m.: Kabbalat Shabbat 6:30 p.m.: Dinner $18 adult, 12 & under no charge, $54 family max. R.S.V.P. by March 13 to 937-293-9520 or bethabrahamdayton.org.

Saturday, March 21 Stories of Mitzvot Shabbat Services & Kiddush Lunch

Applauded & acclaimed as “mesmerizing...capturing the hearts & minds of audiences,” Corinne specializes in personal & historical narratives & biblical interpretative tales that are warm & witty, powerful & poignant.

Sunday, March 22 Passover — Telling Our Stories 9:30 a.m.-noon: Bring an object, heirloom or picture to this intergenerational program to explore your family’s journey.

Corinne will help you shape a story to use at your seder!

Purim!

Monday, March 9

A! M O H O YK LA

Actor’s Theatre Fairborn

It was the summer of 1997 when Dayton Playhouse’s Futurefest presented Faye Sholiton’s new play, The Interview, about a Holocaust survivor and her estranged daughter.

Since then, The Interview has had more than three dozen readings and staged productions across the United States.

Sholiton — a prolific playwright and founding artistic director of Cleveland’s Interplay Jewish Theatre — credits The Interview’s success to the opportunity Futurefest gave her to bring it to an early life and shape it in Dayton.

From Feb. 29 through March Jenny Westfall (L) and Pam McGinnis rehearse Faye 8, The Interview returns to DaySholiton’s The Interview at Actor’s Theatre Fairborn ton, at Actor’s Theatre Fairborn, directed by longtime Futurefest stalwart survivor said on a taped testimony that I saw, ‘If you licked my heart, it would Brian Sharp. poison you.’”

“It’s such a safe space to bring a new Two Holocaust survivors she interwork into the world,” Sholiton says of viewed had estranged children. her Futurefest experiences. “I called it a “It certainly was not the rule; it was playwright’s fantasy camp.” the exception,” Sholiton says. “I stumOver the years, she has returned to bled on what happens in any home Futurefest as an adjudicawhere there’s something you can’t tor and to watch other talk about. And that is the crux of playwrights in action. it: that when you can’t really talk She says the impetus about something, you can’t really for The Interview came talk about anything.” from interviewing HoloDirector Brian Sharp says it’s caust survivors and their the right time to stage The Interview children for the Cleveland because people aren’t really talking Jewish News, and her work these days. for Steven Spielberg’s Sur“We shut people out or don’t vivors of the Shoah Visual allow open lines of communication History Foundation, now Playwright for many reasons,” he says. “This is the USC Shoah FoundaFaye Sholiton the kind of theatre that makes you tion — The Institute for think. I also think we don’t talk about Visual History and Education. the atrocities of the Holocaust enough.

“The play is full of moments that And having just passed the 75th annipeople shared with me when I was a versary (of the liberation of Auschwitz), journalist,” Sholiton says. “My reI think it’s timely as well.” porter’s notes really gave me so much.

— Marshall Weiss I saved all these interviews that I have done with survivors and their children.

Actor’s Theatre Fairborn presents The I had years of those interviews to look Interview, Feb. 29-March 8. Tickets back on and see those moments that are $12.50-$15 and are available at were so powerful and so revealing, and actorstheatrefairborn.org. The theatre is so simply stated. I learned from the located at 23 E. Fairborn St., Fairborn. interviews to suspend judgment. As one

Oh, What a Beautiful Evening it’ll be!

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Carnival & Box Dinner. $12 adults/$6 children.

R.S.V.P. by March 2 to 937-293-9520.

6:45 p.m.: Costume Parade, combined service/Megillah reading/shpiel.

Men’s Club Annual

Sisterhood Brunch

Movie & Raffle

Sunday, March 15, 10 a.m.

Kosher Deli Dinner Sunday, March 29, 6 p.m.

Kosher deli buffet, $20.

Followed by a nostalgic Jewish film.

R.S.V.P. by March 25.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

Intolerance & Hate: Let’s Talk!

Panel & Q&A facilitated by Tara Feiner.

Free & open to the community.

R.S.V.P. by March 9.

PAGE 25

OBITUARIES Rabbi Paul Irving Bloom died peacefully in Atlanta, Jan. 29, at the age of 88.

Rabbi Bloom is survived by his loving wife of almost 65 years, Patricia Frankel Bloom of Atlanta; children, Jonathan (Aurora) Bloom of Columbus, Ohio; and daughter, Judy (Jonathan) Minnen of Atlanta; grandchildren, Michael Minnen, Molly Minnen and Ariel Bloom; nephew Michael J. Bloom of Buffalo, N.Y.; and niece Nadine A. Bloom of Amsterdam, N.Y. He was preceded in death by his parents, Florence Kaplan Bloom and Herman Bloom, his brother Rabbi Samuel A. Bloom and his sister-in-law, Eleanor Nadel Bloom. Rabbi Bloom was born Nov. 30, 1931 in Hattiesburg, Miss. He was a first generation American. He spent most of his childhood in Vidalia, Ga., graduating from Vidalia High School in 1948. While in high school, Rabbi Bloom held his first job working as a radio announcer and earning $1 an hour. He briefly attended the University of Georgia before transferring to and then graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in political science in 1952. Rabbi Bloom remained in Cincinnati for full-time study at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and was ordained a rabbi in 1956. He and Mrs. Bloom were married in 1955.

While at HUC, Rabbi Bloom served as a student rabbi in Charleroi, Pa. and later in Anniston, Ala. After ordination, Rabbi Bloom served as a chaplain in the United States Air Force from 1956 to 1958.

He was stationed in Germany

Our Family Serving Your Family For More Than 90 Years

Funeral Homes, Inc.

Pre-need Arrangements Pre-paid Funeral Trusts Cremation Services • Transfers North Main Chapel 1706 N. Main Street Huber Heights Chapel 5844 Old Troy Pike

For Both Locations Call 937-275-7434 PAGE 26

and he and Mrs. Bloom have many fond memories of their time in Europe. He and Mrs. Bloom visited bases in Germany, Holland, and France, serving the Jewish Air Force personnel there. During this time, they were able to travel to Israel to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of the state. After his military service, Rabbi Bloom took a position at Temple Sinai in New Orleans as an assistant rabbi to Rabbi Julian Feibelman from 1958 to 1960. Rabbi Bloom served as rabbi of the Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile, Ala. from 1960 to 1973, and he and Mrs. Bloom retained many close friendships from those years. Living in Mobile during these years gave them the opportunity to live, experience, and participate in many moving, meaningful, heartbreaking, and hopeful moments of the civil rights movement. While Rabbi Bloom was a full-time student at HUC, he completed the coursework for a master’s in political science which he ultimately completed a decade later when he was motivated to write his thesis on the desegregation of the public schools in Mobile.

He later accepted a position at Temple Israel in Dayton and served that congregation from 1973 until his retirement in 1997. During the Dayton years, Rabbi Bloom was gratified and proud to hold leadership positions in the three major organizations of the Reform Movement: The Union for Reform Judaism (formerly the Union of American Hebrew Congregations), the Central Conference of American Rabbis and his alma mater,

HUC. Locally, he was active in Rotary and other interfaith, community service, and civic organizations. After retiring in 1997, Rabbi Bloom continued serving as a part-time rabbi, traveling approximately monthly to Congregation Beth Israel in Gadsden, Ala. until its closing in 2011, and to Temple Beth-El in Anniston, Ala. until he retired again in June 2017. He and Mrs. Bloom also spent many years serving on cruise ships as the cruise rabbi, a gig he really enjoyed.

Rabbi Bloom reflected fondly on the opportunity the cruises gave him to serve as a rabbi for people with many different backgrounds. Rabbi and Mrs. Bloom were also active in the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis, serving as its executive directors for four years. They valued the bonding with colleagues and spouses which this group nurtured. Rabbi Bloom was warm, generous, and witty.

He loved studying and living Judaism, was devoted to his wife, children, grandchildren, and extended family members, enjoyed a good laugh and a good meal and loved to travel. He spoke often about the importance of the ethics of Judaism. He served as an example of an ethical and love-filled life to all who knew him. He will be greatly missed.

Interment was at the Springhill Avenue Temple Cemetery in Mobile. Please send contributions to a synagogue or charity of your choice.

Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Bloom, 3747 Peachtree Road NE, Apt. 1521, Atlanta, GA 30319.

L’dor V’dor.

From Generation To Generation.

GLICKLER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE Larry S. Glickler, Director Dayton’s ONLY Jewish Funeral Director 1849 Salem Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45406-4927 (937) 278-4287 lgfuneralhome@gmail.com

Ivan J. Goldfarb, Ph.D., formerly of Dayton, died Feb. 10 at age 87. He was the beloved husband of Sonia; devoted father of Barry of Arlington, Texas, Ron (Susan), and David (Nancy Barnish) of Cleveland; loving grandfather of Josh (Mei), Ethan (Molly), Lily, Adam and Meghan (Ben) Tedrick; adoring greatgrandfather of Ryker Whitton and Sam Tedrick; dear brother of Stuart (Marilyn) and Judy (Bob) Koor. Interment was at Mayfield Cemetery, Cleveland Heights. Contributions are suggested to Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple or Greater Cleveland Congregations, 6114 Francis Ave. Cleveland, OH 44127.

Paul Kulback, age 80, passed away Jan. 23. He was born in Cincinnati, Dec. 13, 1939.

Mr. Kulback was a volunteer for Trotwood Rescue for 20 years and served as chief. He served on the board of Jewish Family Services for many years, volunteered for the Russian Family Relocation Program, and was a past board member of Temple Israel. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sondra; son Andy (Candy) Kulback; daughter Jodi (Joe) Miller; sister Marian (Bob) Rubin; sister-in-law and brother-inlaw Sharon and Elliot Levy; many nieces, nephews, family and friends. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Israel or the charity of your choice.

Peace plan

Continued from Page 11 is no longer the case.

So although the Palestinians were still able to rally the Arab League — a group of Arab countries, which is already a shadow of its former powerful self — to join in their rejection of Trump’s plan, their isolation in the Arab world is growing more apparent.

This is the most important aspect, and the greatest news, to come out of the plan’s introduction. Not only does the plan reflect the political preferences of the vast majority of Israel’s Jews — with the Likud, Blue and White and Israel Beiteinu parties endorsing the plan — but it has been cautiously welcomed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as at least a legitimate basis for negotiations.

It also makes vital regional

Barry M. Serotkin, age 76 of Centerville, passed away Jan. 23 at The Hospice of Dayton from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Mr. Serotkin was a buyer for ElderBeerman Stores for 29 years, retiring in 1995 and then was the executive director of Beth Jacob Congregation, retiring in 2012. He was a longtime member and past president of Beth Jacob Congregation.

Mr. Serotkin is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Haana S.; daughter, Michele Arnold of Centerville; sons and daughter-in-law, Kenneth Serotkin of Dayton and Michael and Helen Serotkin of Miami Township; sister and brother-in-law, Sandra and Max Wrobel of Cincinnati; grandchildren, Charles and Nathan Arnold, Gavin Serotkin; stepgranddaughter, Jamie Hawkins; other relatives and many friends. Interment was at Beth Jacob Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to The Hospice of Dayton, Beth Jacob Congregation, or The Michael J. Fox Foundation in Mr. Serotkin’s memory.

The family thanks Dr. Larry Lawhorne for the exceptional care he provided. The family also thanks Amy and her team from The Hospice of Dayton Coming Home and staff and volunteers at The Hospice of Dayton for the wonderful care and support they provided to Mr. Serotkin.

cooperation more likely to continue and strengthen over time.

Israel, for its part, must endorse and adopt the plan in its entirety if it is to serve as a framework that enables the Gulf countries to pursue ever closer cooperation with Israel.

It is crucial that even if Israel ultimately annexes the territory designated for Israel in the plan, it does so while making it clear that the remaining territory, assigned in the plan to a Palestinian state, would not be annexed and will be kept for a future Palestinian state.

It is tempting to ridicule the American president’s vision, but the plan does offer the prospect of greater peace and prosperity for those countries in the Arab world who accept that Israel and the sovereign Jews have come back to their ancient homeland to stay.

Einat Wilf is a former Labor member of the Israeli Knesset.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

If you love what we do, help us continue!

We can’t do it without you!

Ad sales and Jewish Federation support only cover a portion of our expenses to bring you The Observer.

BMB

Observer mascot Bark Mitzvah Boy

Printing costs and postage go up.

We need your help to ensure the depth of our coverage doesn’t go down.

Please consider a Voluntary Subscription to The Dayton Jewish Observer.

Yes! I will support

The Dayton Jewish Observer. $18 Subscriber

One-year subscription to The Observer and acknowledgment in The Observer

$100 Angel

One-year subscription, acknowledgment in The Observer and one free three-column holiday greeting ($36 value)

$36 Double Chai

One-year subscription, acknowledgment in The Observer and one free one-column holiday greeting ($12 value)

$250 Guardian Angel

A Miami Valley Tradition THE DAYTON

OBSERVER

1. Select your greeting size. Check off your selection: A, B, or C.

B

A Warm Passover greetings from

Happy Passover

The Mensch Family This is a 1-column-inch size.

(Does not include graphic)

Only $12

The Simcha Family

2. Select your greeting.

Check off your selection.

This is a 2-column-inch size.

(Includes graphic)

❏ Happy Passover

Only $24

❏ A sweet and joyous Passover

C

❏ Happy Passover to our friends ❏ Our warmest wishes for a joyous Passover ❏ Warm Passover greetings from ❏ Best wishes to all for a Happy Passover

Best wishes to all for a Happy Passover

❏ Wishing all of Dayton Happy Passover ❏ We wish the Dayton Jewish community a Happy Passover ❏ Other

One-year subscription, one-year acknowledgment in The Observer and three free three-column holiday greetings ($108 value)

Fill out your name exactly as you wish it to appear in The Observer

assover reetings

The Haimishe Family This is a 3-column-inch size.

(Includes graphic)

Only $36

3. Print the name(s) as you would like them to appear in your greeting

Name Address City

Phone

State

Zip

E-mail

(check one) I currently receive The Observer via mail: yes no Make checks payable to The Dayton Jewish Observer

Return with payment to: The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Drive, Dayton, OH 45459

Or —

just pay at our secure site, daytonjewishobserver.org

Deadline is March 4

4. Fill in the information below Your Name Address City

Phone

State

Zip

E-mail

Make checks payable to The Dayton Jewish Observer

Return with payment by March 4 to: The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Drive, Dayton, OH 45459

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • MARCH 2020

PAGE 27

P R E S I D E NTS

D I NNER 2020

S U N D AY, M AY 1 7 5PM @ CARILLON HISTORICAL PARK'S NEW LEARNING CENTER (1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton 45409)

An evening with Keynote Speakers Stephanie Butnick, Liel Leibovitz, and Mark Oppenheimer, hosts of Unorthodox, the most popular Jewish podcast on iTunes, and authors of the Newish Jewish Encyclopedia. Together, Stephanie, Liel, and Mark bring a fresh perspective on what it means to be part of a Jewish community in the 21st Century.

BILL & MELINDA DONER - Event Chairs LARRY & MARILYN KLABEN - Event Co-Chairs

Tickets on sale at jewishdayton.org March 23 for more information contact Alisa Thomas at athomas@jfgd.net or (937) 610-1796.

Jewish Book Council