The Dayton Jewish Observer, August 2022

Focus on Bar & Bat Mitzvahs p. 18book form p. 22 David Moss designs Grace After Meals in comic

THE DAYTON Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton

August 2022 Av/Elul 5782 Vol. 26, No. 12

OBSERVER

The Miami Valley’s Jewish Monthly • daytonjewishobserver.org Marshall Weiss

Ready for schools to return

Few untouched in Highland Park

8

Max Herman/AFP via Getty Images

A family embraces at the shooting scene, July 5

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

Wide gap among Orthodox factions post Roe

10

Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Supreme Court, June 28

Young adults weekend at Camp Livingston Address Service Requested

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

6

Prejudice & Memory

A Holocaust Exhibit • National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Exhibit curator Renate Frydman with museum exhibits volunteer Dave London

Camp Livingston

DAYTON

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PAGE 2

Longtime JCC/Jewish Federation staffers retiring

Picnic at Boonshoft CJCE Aug. 21 in their honor

With a combined 83 years of service, four employees of the Jewish Federation and its Jewish Community Center will retire by the fall.

The Federation and JCC will host a retirement celebration picnic in their honor on Sunday, Aug. 21 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education.

Audrey MacKenzie, who will retire in the fall, has worked in the JCC’s early childhood program for 20 years — 17 of them as its director.

Her career in early childhood spans 44 years.

JCC early childhood teacher Cindy Turner, the longest-serving employee with the Federation, retires Aug. 5. She began her work with the late Lynda A. Cohen when the JCC’s early childhood program was based in Trotwood. Turner has taught with the JCC for 28 years and has been in the “kid business” for 32 years.

Joyce Graham, who has taught with JCC early childhood for 15 years, retires July 28. She’s been in the field for 39 years.

Karen Steiger has served as front desk receptionist of the Boonshoft CJCE for 20 years, since it opened. She retires 20 years to the day of her start date: Aug. 15, 2022.

"We've been blessed with Audrey, Cindy, and Joyce, who have sparked our children's learning for nearly a generation with their creativity and talent," said Jewish Federation CEO Cathy Gardner. "For so many years, Karen has been

Audrey MacKenzie

Cindy Turner

Joyce Graham

Karen Steiger

the first face to greet parents and children every day here at the Boonshoft CJCE — home to our early childhood — knowing the names of each of them. We're grateful for all that our retirees have given of themselves to all who benefit from our programs.”

The kosher picnic is free and open to the entire community. The Boonshoft CJCE is located at 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. R.S.V.P. to Alisa Thomas, athomas@jfgd.net or 937-610-1796.

— Marshall Weiss

Beth Jacob movie afternoon Beth Jacob Congregation will screen the movie The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler at 3 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 21. A social worker who was part of the Polish underground, Sendler smuggled nearly 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. Beth Jacob is located at 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Township.

R.S.V.P. for the free movie at bethjacob1@aol.com.

Beth Or Art & Music Café

Temple Beth Or will host its Third Annual Art & Music Café at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27, featuring photographers, painters, woodcrafters, live music, appetizers, desserts, and adult drinks. Tickets (adults only) are $25 and are available through Aug. 22 at templebethor.com/ art-music-cafe. Temple Beth Or is located at 5275 Marshall Rd., Washington Township.

Arts & Culture.........................25 Calendar..................................11

Twenty-five JCC Camp Shalom and PJ Library families came out for a Shabbat pool party and kosher dinner at Five Seasons Family Sports Club on June 24. Five Seasons is where the JCC's campers swam twice each week this summer. The party coincided with the latest start of Shabbat for the year, with candlelighting at 8:51 p.m. Shown here, floating along with the fun are (L to R): Luke Rabb, Leyton Sweeny, and Colin Rabb.

Family Education....................24 Obituaries........................... 26

O p i n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 2 Religion.......................... 23

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

DAYTON

Holocaust exhibit at Air Force museum ready for return of school groups Story and Photos By Marshall Weiss, The Observer Longtime local Holocaust educator Renate Frydman has noticed an uptick in Holocaust education in schools.

"For a while, there was less teaching of it," the Dayton Holocaust Education Committee chair says. "Now, I think, with the world the way it is, there are more teachers teaching the Holocaust than you can ever imagine."

Her hope is that after more than two years of disruption to in-person learning because of Covid, teachers will bring their middle- and high-school students back to Prejudice & Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit at Prejudice & Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit curator Renate Frydman and the National Museum of the U.S. museum volunteer Dave London, who renovated the exhibit areas, at a Air Force at Wright-Patterson POW section of the exhibit, located in the World War II gallery of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Air Force Base.

Frydman is the curator of the exhibit, which has been on permanent display at completed long-needed renovations to the exhibit at the end of June. the Air Force museum since 1999. It was among "There was a lot of recognition that this area the first in the United States to focus on a community's local survivors, liberators, and rescuers. was beaten up bad," says London, a retired Air Force engineer who has volunteered in the mu"These are your neighbors," one display proseum's exhibit areas for about a year and a half. claims of those "A lot of the walls (of the exhibit) are actually featured in the made out of Styrofoam and pieces are broken off. exhibit. Most have since passed It was not looking great. And everybody recogon. Their testimo- nized that something had to be done. But the question was what." nies and artiLondon tested some possible solutions on the facts keep their pillars at the entrance to the exhibit; he tried varimemory — and ous paints and coatings to see what would stand the lessons they up best to the amount of traffic coming through. taught — alive.

"Once I found something that worked well — a Museum restoEntrance to Prejudice & Memory: couple of coats of thick sealant and the texturing ration volunteer A Holocaust Exhibit, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Dave London Continued on Page Four

Bark Mitzvah Boy NOTYAD EHT

From the editor’s desk

NOTYAD EHT

REVRESBO

REVRESBO

So you liked the last few issues...

Not so much the little dog cartoons...

c O Menachem

According to the FBI's statistics for 2020, 58 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the United States were aimed at Jews. We only comprise about two percent of the population. In Marshall an ADL report earlier this year, antisemitic incidents in the United States inWeiss creased by 34 percent in 2021 from 2020.

Statistics never tell the full story of fear, of physical and emotional trauma to victims of hate. Every morning, I scour multiple respected news sources to look for the latest acts of antisemitism across the world. I can't think of a day that has passed over the last few years when there aren't at least three or four incidents here in the United States, from antisemitic vandalism to physical assaults, from antisemitic statements to organizational policies.

There's no location that's immune to it. All I can say is thank God for law enforcement at all levels and organizations that monitor hate at all levels. We've seen multiple violent plots foiled here in Ohio, most recently near Youngstown (see Page Seven).

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PAGE 3

DAYTON

A Poetic Medley:

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THE DAYTON

Holocaust exhibit

OBSERVER

Continued from Page Three and different color paints over that — I came through and did the whole display.

This was my project for the good part of a month. I've never done anything like that before, so I'm just really happy with the way it came out."

"I was glad to see how it looks," Frydman adds.

"And it's solid. The lighting is also different. It's lower now to protect the A display element of Prejudice & Memory: A Holoartifacts." caust Exhibit, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Frydman and museumtrained volunteers lead school groups "Most were destroyed or disposed on tours of the exhibit, which bridges of," he explains. the space between the World War I London points to a student-made and World War II galleries, with some Holocaust-themed quilt displayed on exhibit elements incorporated into the a wall in the exhibit.

World War II gallery.

"That quilt was made by my "The way they've changed the flow daughter's class in junior high school," of people since Covid, pretty much London says. "In the top right corner, everybody who visits has to come the guy who did that square, he's now through here," London says. "It's part the mayor of Cincinnati." of the normal flow."

Frydman knows the difference each "It's very personal," Frydman says, teacher can make when it comes to of how visitors are drawn to elements fighting hate. She cites the national in the exhibit. "Most people stop backlash when a Tennessee school at one particular place that attracts board voted to cut Art Spiegelman's them. They want to know more about Pulitzer Prize-winning Holocaust it." graphic novel Maus from its middle Such places include the Buchenschool curriculum earlier this year. wald concentration camp uniform "Teachers are often independent in of survivor Moritz Bomstein, the their thinking," she says. "We're not accordion 14-year-old Gertrude Wolff talking politics. We're talking in the Kahn took with her when she was way they think and feel. And so yes, rescued from Nazi Germany through there are certain things they know the Kindertransport program, and the they need to adhere to, but there are violin her husband, Robert Kahn, was also things that they want to do. And forced to play at age 15 on Kristallmany teachers find a way to put the nacht as Nazis beat his father.

Holocaust in, in remarkable ways, Air Force museum Education sometimes. They believe it should be Specialist Patrick D. Hannon notes taught. And they see results." the concentration camp uniform is a Over in the World War II gallery rare artifact. is a French railroad car constructed

PAGE 4

Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss MWeiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555 Contributors Martin Gottlieb, Candace R. Kwiatek Rabbi Levi Simon Advertising Sales Executive Patty Caruso, plhc69@gmail.com 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 Dr. Heath Gilbert President Bruce Feldman Immediate Past Pres.

Mary Rita Weissman Pres. Elect/VP, Personnel/Foundation Chair Beverly Louis Secretary Neil Friedman Treasurer Dan Sweeny VP, Resource Development Cathy Gardner CEO The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 26, No. 12. 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.

• Mama Sol, Poet • Rico Romalus Parker • Vibe5 Band • Ed Dixon Gallery (with work from the late Curtis Barnes Sr.) • Sierra Leone • Shaun Diggs • Marva Williams-Parker • Nate Leone • William Boatwright Admission is free. Appropriate for all ages. For more information, visit DaytonMetroLibrary.org, or call the Ask Me Line at 937.463.2665.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Dayton Metro Library.

daytonjewishobserver.org

• 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.

The Dayton Jewish Observer

Section of Prejudice & Memory with a life-size cutout of the late Henry Wyrobnik showing the tattoo he received at Auschwitz

Please recycle this newspaper.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

DAYTON in 1943. Millions of Holocaust victims were herded into this kind of boxcar and sent to concentration camps. Allied prisoners of war were also transported to German POW camps in these boxcars, some even to Buchenwald concentration camp.

"According to the information at this exhibit, 168 Allied POWs were moved from Paris to the Buchenwald concentration camp in August of 1944," Hannon explains. "Many of these POWs were aircrews that had been shot down. Those of Jewish faith were separated from the other POWs and shipped to concentration camps."

This railcar, part of the Prejudice and Memory tour, was airlifted to the Air Force museum in 2001.

At one time, Frydman says she had 15 volunteers who led tours of Prejudice & Memory, several of them survivors. "I've lost a few due to illness," she says. "But now, there are people coming up who want to be exhibit volunteers, either from the volunteer group that's here, which is 500 or close to it, or from outside."

In July, Frydman led the Holocaust Education Committee's annual retreat; some participants said they'd like to become exhibit volunteers.

"All of the Holocaust exhibit volunteers have had something in their life that relates to this," Frydman says. "We've had a lot of retired teachers."

Frydman originally designed Prejudice & Memory as To schedule student tours of Prejudice & Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, contact the museum's education division at nationalmuseum.mut@us.af.mil or 937-2558048. For information about transportation grants, contact Renate Frydman at rfrydman25@gmail.com.

a mobile exhibit in 1997. For more than a year, she had collected artifacts from local survivors, liberators, and rescuers.

Prejudice & Memory had been on display at 10 sites across southwest Ohio when the late retired Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf — then director of the Air Force museum — invited Frydman to display the exhibit at the Air Force museum from February through September 1999.

"About two weeks into it, Gen. Metcalf said, 'What would you say if I told you we want it permanently?' I almost fainted at that moment. And here it is."

In the last full year before Covid, 2019, the museum hosted approximately 750,000 visitors.

Admission to the museum is free to all.

Frydman says she and the Holocaust exhibit volunteers talk with student groups about prejudice, bullying, respect, and antisemitism.

"They think about it," she says of the students.

Survivors' personal objects on display at Prejudice & Memory "With the whole atmosphere of the museum and draw visitors in, including the accordion that belonged to late surthe exhibit, being together in a place where some- vivor Gertrude Wolff Kahn and the violin her husband, Robert Kahn, one tells them a story they've never heard, they feel was forced to play as a boy on Kristallnacht as Nazis beat his father the element of remembrance." difference. It is probably a message that the teachers The Holocaust Education Committee can also prohave been trying to get across to their students, but vide grants to schools unable to pay for transportation until they see the extreme consequences, it doesn't sink to the museum exhibit. in. Both teachers and students are left humbled by the "We don't want any school not to be able to come experience." because they can't pay for busses."

With the unknown of how new variants and subvariHannon notes that when Frydman shares her own ants of Covid will play out over the coming months, story and gives tours of the exhibit, "kids that are norFrydman hopes for the best. mally rambunctious and a challenge to have focus are "It's up to the schools, the districts. Are they going to solemn and attentive." allow more field trips? Now that the museum is open, "Renate emphasizes how hate and prejudice can they can come. Hopefully, they will come." get out of control, and how one person can make a

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PAGE 5

DAYTON

THE REGION

Jewish Federation Young adults weekend annual meeting to at Camp Livingston celebrate JCC's centennial JFGD

‘Maintaining the cemetery is an extension of our love & devotion.’

— Susan & Dr. David Joffe with their parents

A

s caregivers for their entire professional careers, it’s in Susan and David Joffe’s DNA to provide comfort and support to others. According to David, “it was my Jewish heritage that guided me in how I cared for my patients and their families.”

That care didn’t stop when they both retired. They knew their contribution to the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton endowment campaign would help maintain our three Jewish cemeteries and provide comfort and support for generations of families.

“Both my parents and David’s parents are buried in Beth Abraham’s cemetery. We visit them often,’’ said Susan. “Sometimes we just drive by and wave. Maintaining the cemetery is an extension of our love and devotion to them.”

Susan and David continue to lean on their Jewish heritage and traditions to guide their commitment to our community and to honor their family.

Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton is an endowment organization created to maintain our three Jewish cemeteries in perpetuity.

Please join us as we strive to maintain the sanctity, care, and integrity of these sacred burial grounds.

Preserving our Past Ensuring Our Future

A JCC preschool class at 59 Green St., 1930s

The 100th birthday of the Jewish Community Center is the theme for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton and its agencies' 2022 annual meeting, at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 17 at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education.

The Federation will elect and install its new board members and honor its retiring board members at the annual meeting. This year's award recipients for contributions to the Dayton Jewish community are: • Mike Goldstein, Past Presidents Award • Bruce Feldman, Robert A. Shapiro Award • Ruthe Meadow, Jack Moss Creativity Award • Jody Sobol, JFS Volunteer Award • Candace R. Kwiatek, JCC Volunteer Award • Barbara Gerla, JCRC Volunteer Award (posthumous) •Elaine Bettman, Joe Bettman Memorial Tzadik Award To celebrate the JCC's centennial, Dayton Jewish Observer Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss will share stories and images of how and why Dayton's JCC was established a century ago.

The list of nominees to the Federation board is available at jewishdayton.org. To receive a hard copy of the list, call Alisa Thomas at 937-6101796.

The Federation's annual meeting will include a champagne toast and heavy kosher hors d'oeuvres. The Boonshoft CJCE is located at 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. R.S.V.P. at jewishdayton.org or 937-610-1555.

Field Day & lunch, July 31

daytonjewishcemeteries.org 525 Versailles Drive • Centerville, OH 45459 PAGE 6

With the theme Reignite Your Mind, Body, and Spirit, Beth Abraham Synagogue will host a field day and dairy kosher lunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, July 31 at Indian Riffle Park, 2801 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering.

The free program is for all ages and will be held in partnership with Beth Jacob Congregation, Chabad, Hillel Academy, the JCC Early Childhood program, PJ Library, Temple Beth Or, and Temple Israel, through a Jewish Federation Innovation Grant. R.S.V.P. for lunch at jewishdayton.org.

Dayton's JCC is a partner with Summer Camp for Adults: 20s and 30s Weekend, Friday, Aug. 12 through Sunday, Aug. 14 at Camp Livingston in Bennington, Ind. All Jewish young adults in the Miami Valley are invited to join the program.

"It's a great opportunity Camp Livingston to meet other Jewish young adults in their 20s and 30s and have a great time with new and old friends," said Frances Kahan, director of cultural arts and engagement at the Mayerson JCC in Cincinnati, which is also an event partner along with the camp, the Jewish Federation Camp Livingston, Bennington, Ind. of Cincinnati/YAD, and Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati.

The weekend will begin with a camp-style Shabbat dinner and service under the stars. Campers will sleep in cabins (or have the option of bring-your-own-tent camping) and have access to lakefront activities including waterskiing, kayaking, canoeing, tubing, a high ropes course, climbing wall, other sports, and arts and crafts. Joining the camp for the weekend will be comedian Eric Neumann, who has performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The cost is $159 per person, with registration discounted to $99 for the first 50 registrants. For more information and to register, go to camplivingston.com/youngadult.

New Jewish news outlet coming to Cincinnati

Jewfolk Inc., parent organization of TC Jewfolk — a news site that covers the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minn. area — announced July 12 it's creating a Jewish news site for Cincinnati, Cincy Jewfolk.

In a statement announcing the launch, Jewfolk said its goal in Cincinnati is to leverage its news platform "to increase connectivity and engagement among underrepresented segments in the Jewish community, especially families with young children, young adults, and interfaith families."

Jewfolk enters the Jewish Cincinnati market with initial support from the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, which awarded it $288,500 from its new Reflect Cincy initiative. The foundation established Reflect Cincy to fund new ideas "to spark meaning and connection to Jewish life."

Cincinnati is home to the oldest continuously published English language Jewish newspaper in the United States. Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, architect of Reform Judaism in the United States, established The American Israelite in 1854 as a national Jewish publication. Ultimately the weekly became Cincin- Libby Parker nati's local Jewish newspaper. Since 1998, it has been owned and operated by Netanel "Ted" Deutsch. Its local content generally comprises press releases from Cincinnati Jewish organizations.

According to Jewfolk Executive Director Libby Parker, Jewfolk has been planning to bring its Twin Cities media model to similar Jewish communities for a couple of years. It will organize "micro-communities" online Lonny Goldsmith and in person, in line with how Jewfolk determines Cincinnati's Jews want to be connected.

In Minnesota, Jewfolk facilitates a job networking/advice Facebook group for Jewish professionals, and the Minnesota Mammelahs group. Lonny Goldsmith, Jewfolk's editor and director of communications, said its social media presence is up and running. "There’s a long runway we have built ourselves for when we’ll have staff on the ground in the area."

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

THE REGION

Youngstown-area teen planned to target synagogue congregants, members of Black community 15-year-old arrested after threats found on his phone

community. We are thankful that law enforcement acted quickly in taking this threat and individual seriously, and we

By Courtney Byrnes remain in close contact with our partCleveland Jewish News ners in Youngstown.

The Struthers Police Department “This incident mirrors a dangerous arrested a 15-year-old in June after he rise in violent extremism that we are threatened to kill his father and revealed seeing across the country. Youngstown plans to target a synagogue and Black is #NoPlaceForHate, and we will fight people. antisemitism, racism, and extremism The police in Struthers, a suburb of wherever we see them.”

Youngstown, were alerted by the FBI Pasch was unavailable for further June 17 that the teen comment when conwas livestreaming '...his game plan was tacted by the Cleveland when he made the Jewish News. to kill as many Black threat against his faA search warrant of ther, who was asleep in people as he can on the teen’s cellphone the adjacent room. revealed a video stating his way to a Jewish He was arrested at his plans, according to his home where two police reports. synagogue and then handguns and over 100 “He was going to shoot people at the rounds of ammunikill his father and take synagogue.' tion were collected as his father’s van, and evidence. his game plan was James Pasch, the to kill as many Black regional director of the Anti-Defamation people as he can on his way to a Jewish League, tweeted a statement regardsynagogue and then shoot people at the ing the incident: “ADL is deeply horrisynagogue,” Struthers Detective Tommy fied and troubled by alleged plans for Schneeman said July 8. an anti-Black, antisemitic attack in our The teen has been charged with mak-

ing terroristic threats, domestic violence, inducing panic and threatening violence, and possessing criminal tools.

In a statement to the CJN, Andrew Lipkin, CEO of Youngstown Area Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, Jewish Federation said: “We are aware CEO Andrew Lipkin of the arrest of a Struthers, Ohio teen on charges of making terroristic threats, domestic violence, inducing panic, and possessing criminal tools, and that some of the threats were antisemitic in nature.

“We do not believe there is a threat to the local Jewish community at this time.

As always, our security team is working with local law enforcement to ensure the safety of all members of the local Jewish community, and all who work with and visit the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and its agencies. We are grateful for our partnerships with local law enforcement, and will work with them to ensure the security of our entire Federation campus and to support their efforts

YOU’VE MADE SMART DECISIONS ALL YOUR LIFE.

to bring those responsible for antisemitic crimes to justice.”

Racist and antisemitic messages and symbols and Nazi propaganda were discovered on the firearms, the teen’s phone, and a journal turned in to ADL Regional the police by the teen’s Director father, the reports James Pasch said.

The teen told the police he was distraught over losing his mother and the strained relationship with his father.

He also stated he was a White supremacist and neo-Nazi sympathizer and despised all those associated with the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ community, reports said.

Following his arrest, the teen was transported to Mercy Health Hospital in downtown Youngstown and later Windsor-Laurelwood Behavioral Health Center in Willoughby for a mental evaluation.

He was released from the health center July 1 and transported to the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center.

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PAGE 8

In Highland Park’s Jewish community, few untouched by deadly mass shooting

Max Herman/AFP via Getty Images

By Leslie Hirschfeld, Jewish Chicago: The JUF Magazine/ Andrew Lapin, JTA HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Bright Bowls was open for July 4 in Highland Park’s main commercial district, and its owners, Lindsay and Matt Meltzer, were prepared for a busy day. The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band began playing in the parade lineup, performing the joyful Jewish standard Freylekhs fun der Khupe (Happiness under the Chupah).

A parade observer, local Jewish entrepreneur Candice Crane, laughed and took pictures with A family embraces while observing the scene of a mass shooting at a July 4th parade in downtown Highher husband and two of her land Park, Ill., July 5 young children. of the suburb’s diversity and the draw of “We were joking, ‘Only in Highland its Fourth of July festivities.

Park does the klezmer band come,’” Multiple GoFundMe pages began cirCrane said. culating online immediately for families Then everything changed. of victims and survivors, including one “I was standing at the register, and for the 2-year-old son of victims Irena all of a sudden, I see the Highland and Kevin McCarthy, who will now be Park High School band running up the raised by his grandparents, Nina and street,” Lindsay Meltzer said. “The first Misha Levberg. That fundraiser drew thought I had was that there was an acnearly $2 million in its first 12 hours; tive shooter.” meanwhile, a local rabbi who put out a Moments later, a police officer rode call for pediatric spine surgeon referrals up on his bicycle and told everyone to for an 8-year-old child from her congreget off the street. gation who was critically injured said “We just opened our door,” Lindsay she was overwhelmed by responses. said. “We have a basement that’s about The Chicago suburb is home to a large the size of our entire store, and we were Jewish community, including a substanable to house over a hundred people tial number of Israelis and the national safely, away from windows.” headquarters of a liberal Jewish PAC. It Her husband stood at the front door, was left in a state of shock and trauma keeping watch, while Lindsay guided following the event. Jewish camps and everyone else, mostly families with other activities were canceled around young children, to hide downstairs. A the area the following day; some of the teacher with some active shooter trainmany synagogues in the area announced ing, herself Jewish, played games with special services responding to the shootthe children and helped keep everyone ing. calm.

North Shore Congregation Israel, loMeanwhile, Howard Prager, a tuba cated in nearby Glencoe, announced that player in the band, said he thought he one of the victims was Jacki Sundheim, saw the shooter flee the scene. “We saw a congregant, preschool educator, and a lot of people running,” he said. “We b’nai mitzvah coordinator at the synasaw the panic and terror in their eyes.”

Crane hid with her 6-year-old daugh- gogue. “There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief,” the ter in an abandoned storefront, sepasynagogue said in a statement. rated from her husband and 1-year-old Multiple area Jewish spiritual leaders who were taken inside an apartment said their communities were wrestling building by a good Samaritan. with their feelings of security being up“We live literally five minutes from ended. “I think our Jewish antennae go that intersection (where the shooting up a little bit on these things,” said Rabbi took place),” Crane said. “That’s our Jodi Kornfeld of Beth Chaverim Huneighborhood. That’s basically our manistic Jewish Community in nearby backyard.”

Deerfield. Other rabbis noted that, while The shooting at Highland Park’s July their own congregants may have been 4 parade killed seven people. Dozens safe physically from the attack, they are were injured and the downtown left feeling the damage psychologically. strewn with abandoned strollers and At least one Highland Park rabbi chairs as the shooting left a trail of devastation in the heart of Highland Park, a reported that the suspect, whom authorities said had pre-planned his attack for city of about 30,000 where about half of residents are Jewish. The victims includ- weeks, had previously visited a synagogue: his own. Yosef Schanowitz, the ed both Jews and non-Jews, a reflection

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

Third Annual

THE WORLD rabbi of the Highland Park Chabad, told the Orthodox news site Anash that he recognized the alleged shooter, who he said had been turned away from Chabad by its armed security guard during a Passover Seder this year. A spokesperson for Chabad told JTA the congregation has a security camera but didn’t say whether footage of the incident was captured.

The building’s security guard also confirmed to the Forward that the suspect had visited the congregation during Passover, saying he gave his name and sat in the sanctuary for 45 minutes before leaving.

No other North Shore area synagogues reached by JTA reported having seen the shooting suspect at their houses of worship.

Authorities said the alleged killer, who was charged with seven counts of murder, had obtained the high-powered rifle used in the massacre legally. The shooting has once again reignited debates around gun control measures in the United States — a subject even Highland Park’s own Jewish community has been divided over in the past.

In 2013, a local Jewish pediatrician named Arie Friedman, then a member of Beth El, sued the city over its new assault weapons ban, claiming the ban was infringing on his Second Amendment rights.

A 2010 candidate for the U.S. House and 2012 candidate for the Illinois state Senate, and at the time active in the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Chicago chapter, Friedman brought his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied it in 2015. Friedman did not respond to several JTA requests for comment. A spokesperson for RJC told JTA that Friedman is no longer active with

the group. He is also no longer a Beth El congregant, according to a local source.

Meanwhile, among the many local Jews who advocated for the ban was Marcia Balonick, executive director of the Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs, known as JACPAC, a liberal pro-Israel lobby group headquartered in Highland Park. She was riding a float at the parade with her son, grandson, and grandson’s baseball team and witnessed the shooting.

“I never imagined I’d face this in my own community. Nothing prepares you for bloodshed on the streets I walk on,” Balonick said, adding that the incident would make JACPAC “more determined than ever before to ensure that we elect members of Congress who will once and for all put an end to gun violence with an assault weapons ban.”

Several Jewish groups, such as the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, said the violent rampage was the latest instance of America’s failure to legislate firearms.

“Our hearts ache for the lives cut short by gun violence and we despair that U.S. government leaders have not reacted decisively enough to prevent these tragedies from becoming commonplace,” the Rabbinical Assembly said in a statement, urging reforms.

The local Jews who scrambled to flee to safety and help people during the carnage said they were devastated that their once-tranquil haven had become a horrifying scene.

“Matt and I have lived in so many different places in the world. We both grew up here, we fell in love here,” Lindsay Meltzer said. “We knew this was the place we wanted to raise our kids. I can’t believe it, it’s just upsetting that this has now hit our own town.”

Saudi Arabia opens airspace to Israeli flights

Saudi Arabia fully opened its airspace to Israeli flights for the first time, the latest sign of the two countries’ warming relations. The country’s civil aviation authority announced the change July 15, as President Joe Biden flew into Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for a conference of Gulf states.

Until now, Israeli flights to and from Asia had to detour around Saudi Arabian airspace. The move saves flyers hours of time and symbolizes a steadily growing cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia on logistical and security issues.

In the leadup to his first presidential trip to Israel, Biden pushed for increased diplomacy between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which has opened up since 2020, the year of the first Abraham Accords signings.

Saudi Arabia has so far avoided formally signing onto the treaty, which has normalized relations between Israel and several of its Arab neighbors.

Biden, echoing the views of a growing group of American lawmakers, is also a supporter of a defense alliance

Art and Music Café

Saturday, August 27th 6:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Or Featuring:

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An open stage will provide the perfect ambiance to the event, with acoustic instruments and vocals blending Folk, Jazz, Blues and yes, Jewish music too!

Your $25.00 ticket provides a variety of hot appetizers, desserts and adult beverages (this is an adult only event, please!)

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For tickets, please visit:

https://templebethor.com/art-music-cafe/ Please RSVP by Monday, August 22nd

The ‘Official’ Third Annual Art and Music Café is sponsored by: Art and Music Café Committee Members: Annette Nathan, Marc Gilbert, Karen and Kevin Bressler, Mary and Lynn Rogers.

Hopewoods Baking Company: providing unique and delectable dessert items, Temple Beth Or Adult Education Committee, Ugly Dog Distillery: providing a flavored-Bourbon tasting U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One for Saudi Arabia at Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, July 15

between Israel, Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations meant to counter Iran’s aggression in the region.

“This decision is the result of the president’s persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia over many months, culminating in his visit today,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement about the opened airspace.

— JTA

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

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Disagreements among Jews 937-259-8882 “Society, through its laws, over where Jewish and state should promote a social laws intersect on abortion, Mon-Thu: 10:30 am-10 pm ethic that affirms the supreme once theoretical, have taken Fri-Sat: 10:30 am-10:30 pm MSG value of life,” Agudath Israel on urgency in the wake of the Sun: 11:30 a.m-10 pm of America, the umbrella body U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling for Haredi Orthodox groups, overturning Roe v. Wade. said in a statement welcoming The differences of opinion the reversal of Roe v. Wade. are acute among the Orthodox, “Allowing abortion on demand, where there is a yawning gap in contrast, promotes a social between a faction that says ethic that devalues life.” The the reversal of Roe v. Wade phrase “abortion on demand” has triggered a crisis that will irks many included among the put the lives of women at risk Orthodox because it is seen as and another that welcomes the Ron Wynne, Instructor Curtis Estep, Instructor diminishing the thought that decision as life-affirming and goes into the decision, and beLearn to properly and safely handle firearms. aligned with traditional Jewcause even under Roe v. Wade, ish values.

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An Assisted Living Community There is already chatter in AVAILABL Orthodox online forums and E NOW! on social media about setting up a network for Orthodox Jewish women in states where abortion is banned to travel to places like New York, where it is not.

Bleich advanced the proposal on Torah Musings, an Orthodox ideas exchange, after the court decision was first leaked in May. A number of Orthodox Jewish women already are pushing back, saying such a Comfort • Convenience • Safety system would be impracticable and would compound the • 24-Hour Care by Licensed Health Care Staff trauma of having an abortion.

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• Therapy Services • Daily Planned Events Bleich, a rabbi and professor of ethics at Yeshiva University and its law school, Cardozo, said those exceptions do not 2501 Keystone Club Drive contradict any state laws.

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there is a single state which forbids abortion when the mother’s life is at stake,” Bleich said, adding, “I think district attorneys are smart enough not to bring a course of action” when a fetus threatens the life of a mother.

Scheininger, the president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance and a court attorney referee who teaches law at the New York College of Technology, said prosecution was inevitable, in part because some laws were vague and did not account for health threats short of imminent death, which would be considered under Jewish law. Halacha includes exceptions for mental health, and some states do not; Georgia explicitly excludes it.

Orthodox Jewish women are going to have those who assist them in getting an abortion “prosecuted for availing themselves or trying to avail themselves of halachically required abortions,” she said.

“It’s that simple,” she said.

“It’s going to happen and women will die.”

The Orthodox Union, the umbrella body for the Modern Orthodox, has sought to straddle the divide.

“We cannot support absolute bans on abortion — at any time point in a pregnancy — that would not allow access to abortion in lifesaving situations,” it said after the decision came down. “Similarly, we cannot support legislation that does not limit abortion to situations in which medical (including mental health) professionals affirm that carrying the pregnancy to term poses real risk to the life of the mother.”

Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s Washington director, said his group and its state offices were conducting a review of the state laws before considering further action, including lobbying for changes to laws.

It’s already clear, he said, that the laws will trigger litigation, although he could not say yet if his organization would join any such lawsuits.

Outside the Orthodox sector, most Jewish organizations, which trend politically liberal, have said they will act to oppose abortion bans.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

CALENDAR Classes

Beth Jacob Classes: Sundays, 2 p.m.: Conversions w. Rabbi Agar.

Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Weekly Parsha w. Rabbi Agar. Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Jewish Law w. Rabbi Agar.

7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp. 937-274-2149.

Temple Israel Classes: Tuesdays, noon: Talmud Study via Zoom. Sat., Aug. 6, 20 & 27, 9:15 a.m.: Torah Study via Zoom.

Sat., Aug. 13, 9:15 a.m.: Torah Study in person. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. tidayton.org. 937496-0050.

Children

Chabad Camp Gan Israel: Through Aug. 12. Ages 5-11.

2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood.

Register at cgidayton.com.

Family

Temple Israel Prayer & Play: Sat., Aug. 13, 10 a.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. tidayton.org.

937-496-0050.

Hillel Academy & PJ Library Shabbat in the Park: Fri., Aug. 26, 5:30-8 p.m. Iron Horse Park, 6161 Millshire Dr., Centerville.

Kosher dinner. Free. R.S.V.P. by Aug. 23 to Kate Elder, kelder@

jfgd.net or at jewishdayton.org/ events.

Teens

BBYO at Kings Island: Sun., Aug. 28, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. $45 includes round-trip transportation from Boonshoft CJCE to Kings Island, park entry, meal ticket. For all Jewish 8th-12th graders. BBYO membership not required. R.S.V.P. by Aug. 26 at noon to Becca Waller, rwaller@ bbyo.org or Josh Alpert, jalpert2163@gmail.com.

Young Adults

Summer Camp for Adults 20s and 30s Weekend: Fri., Aug. 12-Sun., Aug. 14 at Camp Livingston, Bennington, Ind. $159, discounted to $99 for first 50 registrants. Register at camplivingston.com/youngadult.

Adults

Rd., Wash. Twp. Reservations by Aug. 22 at templebethor.com/ art-music-cafe.

JCC Boomers Group Kickoff Meet & Mingle: Sun., Aug. 28, 7 p.m. Possum Creek MetroPark, Prairie Dock Shelter, 4730 Frytown Rd., Dayton. Kosher cookout. Free. R.S.V.P. by Aug. 14 at jewishdayton.org/events.

Community

Beth Abraham Field Day: Sun., July 31, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Includes free kosher dairy lunch with reservation. Indian Riffle Park, 2801 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering. Partnering w. Beth Jacob, Chabad, Hillel Academy, the JCC Early Childhood Program, PJ Library, Temple Beth Or & Temple Israel.

R.S.V.P. for lunch at jewishdayton.org.

Beth Jacob Congregation Screening of The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler: Sun., Aug. 21, 3 p.m. Free. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp. R.S.V.P. to bethjacob1@aol.com.

JCC Alliance Virtual Tribute to Jerry Herman: Wed., Aug. 17, 4 p.m. $12.50 until Aug. 15. $15 Aug. 16-17. Register at jewishdayton.org/events or contact Helen Jones at hjones@jfgd.net or 937610-5513.

Temple Beth Or Third Annual Art & Music Café: Sat., Aug. 27, 6:30 p.m. $25. 5275 Marshall

Jewish Federation & Agencies Annual Meeting: Wed., Aug. 17, 5:30 p.m. Celebrating the JCC's

centennial. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville.

R.S.V.P. at jewishdayton.org/ events.

Jewish Federation/JCC Picnic Honoring Retirees: Sun., Aug. 21, noon-2 p.m. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. Free. R.S.V.P. to Alisa

Thomas, athomas@jfgd.net or 937-610-1796.

Temple Anshe Emeth Annual Picnic & Congregational Meeting: Sun., Aug. 28, noon, Hollow Park, 943 Scott Dr., Piqua.

For info., email Steve Shuchat at ansheemeth@gmail.com.

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PAGE 11

THE REGION

OPINION

Ky. GOP group blames hacker for calling new U.S. firearms regulator part of ‘Jewish junta’

A call to counter antisemitism

By Justin Kirschner When you look at the FBI hate crime statistics for Ohio, it would be easy to assume that the Jewish population has it rather good.

In 2020, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 10 antiJewish crimes reported. Most were for damage or vandalism of property. There

By Andrew Lapin, JTA were no physical assaults tied to antiWhen Steve Dettelbach was confirmed semitism.

July 12 as the director of the federal BuYet, at the same time, we have to deal reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and with the likes of Matthew Slatzer, a CanExplosives, he became the beleaguered ton ex-con who was seen at a 2020 antibureau’s first head to pass a Senate conCovid mandate rally at the Statehouse in firmation in eight years. For some, the Columbus holding a sign depicting a rat confirmation offered hope of a changing and the Star of David with the words, tide in America’s sea of mass shootings.

“The Real Plague.”

But a county Republican group in Slatzer had also walked into a store Kentucky saw a different story: that with a hatchet and sword and asked Dettelbach is part of a “Jewish junta” for directions to Kent State University, that “is getting stronger and more agwhere he heard “there were a lot of gressive.”

Jews.”

The Bracken County Republican You could write that off as the fulParty, representing a rural county with a minations of an extremist rather than population of around a sickness taking hold of society. But 8,400 along the Ohio many Jews I know and work with feel River near Cincinnati, something is different, that something made the comment on is off. its official Facebook There is a palpable sense of unease page, two days after that may not have existed even a few Dettelbach’s confirma- years ago, before White supremacists in tion.

Charlottesville in 2017 bellowed “Jews In calling Dettelbach will not replace us.” “a Jewish anti-gun Indeed, Ohio has the second-largest Steve Dettelbach activist,” the county number of extremist anti-government GOP group attacked the two Republican groups, as documented by the Southern senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Poverty Law Center. Not all are racRob Portman of Ohio, who voted for ist or antisemitic, but there are enough his appointment. It also attacked two that traffic in conspiracy theories that Republican Senators, Ben Sasse of Neinevitably scapegoat Jews for them to be braska and James Risich of Idaho, who a cause of concern. were not present for the vote, saying, Moreover, when the American Jewish “It’s obvious they want to move on from Committee last year released the findhaving to defend rural gun owners.” ings from its latest State of Antisemitism The group deleted the comment from in America survey, we learned that some its Facebook page later that day, after 90 percent of Jews surveyed believe antibeing contacted by the Louisville Courier- semitism is a problem. Nearly 25 percent Journal. The county’s GOP chair, Karin said they were the victim of some kind Kirkendol, did not respond to the paof antisemitic incident. per’s questions about the post, but later Perhaps the most troubling revelasigned a Facebook post from the group tion: some 39 percent of Jews said they disavowing it. had altered their behavior to conceal “That post does not represent the the fact they were Jewish. That included values of the Bracken County Republinot wearing a kipah or a Star of David in can Party. It was incredibly insensitive,” public and posting or commenting about she wrote. “We will investigate how pro-Israel content on social media. And this occurred and we commit to tighter it was younger Jews—52 percent —who oversight of our social media going were the ones most likely to change their forward.” behavior.

The next day, Kirkendol told the That is evident every time we walk newspaper that the Facebook page into a synagogue, where armed security had been “hacked” and said the party accompanies our worship. The emotion“would not and did not publish anyal scars from the Tree of Life massacre in thing antisemitic — as some of our very Pittsburgh in 2018 or the Chabad House own members have Jewish heritage.” in Poway, Calif. the following year may The Cleveland chapter of the Antinever heal.

Defamation League, which includes When a gunman took hostages at a Kentucky in its coverage area, criticized synagogue in Colleyville, Texas in JanuContinued on Page 26 ary, it was easy to assume the worst.

So, what do you think?

PAGE 12

To have the best chance at tackling antisemitism, we must first know the extent of the problem. There were only 10 anti-Jewish crimes reported in Ohio in 2020. Emphasis on reported. Because numerous studies have found that hate crimes, be they motivated by religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, are notoriously under-reported by police and victims.

You’re only as good as your information. The FBI relies on statistics from the state. But as WKEF-TV in Dayton reported last year, only 547 of the state’s nearly 900 law enforcement agencies submitted data to the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services.

It strains credulity to assume that hundreds of police departments had no hate crimes occur, especially when Ohio’s hate crime rate in 2018 was nearly double the national average.

Police must do a better job of partnering with affected communities, identifying hate crimes, and properly document them so the full extent of the problem can be known.

We know what law enforcement should do. What should you do?

• Speak out. If you see an antisemitic incident or are the victim of one, don’t just tell your friends or rabbi. Tell the police or contact your local FBI office to report a hate crime. There may be other similar incidents. The more they know, the AJC's Translate Hate Glossary better they are able to catch a perpetrator and inform policy using the data tism trainings throughout the country, they have. including with government officials, • Learn more. Many of us know law enforcement, the media, including antisemitism when we hear or see it.

Cincinnati-based Scripps Media, and But knowing how or why is essential to the public. For many, a presentation stopping it or educating others about on antisemitism at the Jewish Cultural Festival at Temple Israel in Dayton was a why it is wrong. AJC’s Combating Antisemitism collection, available on the AJC revelation, to say the least. website, is an excellent resource. I guarIt is why we put out Translate Hate, a antee you will learn something new. comprehensive downloadable glossary • Take action. There are a few core of antisemitic terms, which explains why certain phrases and words are anti- steps that you can take to help alleviate antisemitic concerns in your commuJewish. Too often, we find that people grew up hearing terms like “Jew down” nity. Help people understand diverse Jewish peoplehood and that antior “poisoning the well” without realizsemitism is more than just a religious ing why they are so hurtful. bigotry; strive to include antisemitism It is also why AJC co-founded the education as part of your school, orMuslim-Jewish Advisory Council in ganization, or workplace’s DEI efforts, 2016, a national initiative with regional relationship-building activities. Because stand in solidarity with other minority communities, and ensure your elected we know the more that faiths underofficials know this is a priority for you stand and respect each other, the more and for that matter, the sanctity of our we can stand in solidarity against hate democracy. and prejudice.

As much as anything, always be JewDuring the hostage standoff in Colleyville, imams were at the sides of Jew- ish and proud. Antisemitism may be the ish leaders to show the support at a time world’s oldest hatred. But we will keep when a Muslim was holding hostages at finding new ways to beat it back. We will not run and hide. No more. Never gunpoint.

Colleyville is an example of why AJC again. places a premium on its relationships with law enforcement on the local, state, Justin Kirschner is regional director of the American Jewish Committee in Cincinnati. and national levels.

That everyone but the gunman made it out alive was as much a surprise to many as it was a relief.

So, where does that leave us in Ohio?

Gov. Mike DeWine has taken a zerotolerance approach to antisemitism. He issued an order for the state to recognize the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which he noted is a “disturbing problem in American society, including here in Ohio.”

However, the IHRA definition, while important and recognized globally, is nonbinding and carries no legal weight.

So, by necessity, fighting antisemitism is a top priority at the American Jewish Committee, where I serve as Cincinnati regional director. Put simply, we are tired of playing defense.

That is why we conduct antisemi-

Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion Send letters (350 words max.) to The Dayton Jewish Observer, pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459 • MWeiss@jfgd.net The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

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Connect with us! Check out our events. For more information, see our calendar at jewishdayton.org.

Wednesday, August 17, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — JFGD Annual Meeting Friday, August 26, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — PJ Library + Hillel Academy Shabbat in the Park Sunday, August 28, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. — Boomer’s Group Kickoff Meet and Mingle

Love to work with

NOW HIRING: Part-time Administrative Assistant Part-time Teacher Full-time Teacher Contact Marc Jacob at mjacob@jfgd.net or 937-401-1545 for more information.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

PAGE 13

August JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

Shabbat in the Park PJ Library and PJOW families come together with Hillel Academy to celebrate Shabbat in the Park. Meet your friends for playground fun, giant bubbles, and kickball!

Friday, August 26 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Iron Horse Park 6161 Millshire Drive Centerville 45459 RSVP required by Tuesday, August 23.

Kosher dinner will be served. No cost. kelder@jfgd.net jewishdayton.org/event

Join the JCC for a kickoff to our new Boomers Group* for people born between 1946-1964! Meet and mingle with your fellow Boomers as we enjoy some food, drinks, a campfire, and great music! Must bring your own chair and your best singing voice for this night of Boomer fun! *Bell bottoms and Nehru jackets optional.

When: Sunday, August 28, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Where: Possum Creek MetroPark – Prairie Dock Shelter 4730 Frytown Rd., Dayton 45417 Cost: Free!

Must RSVP By Sunday, August 14.

Kosher cookout with hot dogs and hamburgers; vegetarian option available. Please indicate on registration if you want the vegetarian option.

PAGE 14

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

August JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

ALLIANCE PROGRAM

START THE SCHOOL YEAR BY MEETING NEW FRIENDS AND HANGING OUT WITH OLD ONES! Hum along with your favorite tunes from Hello, Dolly! and Mame in this tribute to Jewish composer and lyricist Jerry Herman. Dance and sing along to this fun summer program presented in partnership with the JCC Alliance. Contact Helen Jones at 937-610-5513 for more information.

Date: Wednesday, August 17 Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Place: Zoom Cost: $12.50 before

Date: Sunday, August 28 from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Cost: $45 (cost includes entry to park, meal ticket, and transportation from the JCC to the park and back).

Pickup will be at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education at 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville 45459.

Monday, August 15 $15.00 Tuesday, August 16 Wednesday, August 17

DEADLINE TO REGISTER is Friday, August 26 at noon.

For more information, contact Becca Waller at rwaller@bbyo.org or Josh Alpert at jalpert2163@gmail.com.

For all Jewish 8th through 12th graders from the Ohio-Indiana-Kentucky Region.

(You do not have to be a BBYO member to attend.)

MEET ME

IN THE LOBBY! Come out and join the JCC for Lobby Games and Gatherings at the CJCE every day from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Check availability and register by contacting Helen Jones at 937-610-5513 or at hjones@jfgd.net.

The JCC provides the cards and game boards unless noted. (Masks are OPTIONAL)

MONDAY

Enrollment is open for the 2022-2023 school year in the JCC Early Childhood Program.

We would love to have your child join our Early Childhood Family!

Contact us at 937-610-1555 for information and registration. Limited spaces available.

Bridge

TUESDAY Canasta

WEDNESDAY

Mah Jongg (please bring your mah jongg set and cards)

THURSDAY

Scrabble/Backgammon

FRIDAY

Needlework (knitting, crochet, needlepoint)

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

PAGE 15

August JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials JFS

FEDERATION

JCC

PAST PRESIDENTS FUND

JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES

IN MEMORY OF

IN MEMORY OF

› Joell Alter › Robert Weinman

› My long-standing friends Shirlee and Ronald Gilbert

JOAN AND PETER WELLS AND REBECCA LINVILLE FAMILY, CHILDREN AND YOUTH FUND

Sylvia and Ralph Heyman DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER

IN HONOR OF › Jacob Westerkamp’s graduation from college Lori and John Westerkamp HOLOCAUST PROGRAMMING FUND

IN MEMORY OF

BEN AND DOROTHY HARLAN CHILDREN’S FUND

IN MEMORY OF › Debra Saidel

IN MEMORY OF

Lynn Levin JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES ENDOWMENT FUND

IN MEMORY OF › Barbara Gerla

Judith Woll Jan Maharam

LINDA RUCHMAN MEMORIAL FUND

IN MEMORY OF › Lynda Kala Stotsky › Richard Levinson, brother of Jim Levinson

Judy and Marshall Ruchman

Marla and Stephen Harlan CAROLE RABINOWITZ CAMP FUND

IN MEMORY OF

› Shirlee Gilbert

› › › ›

Susan and Stanley Katz IN MEMORY OF

› Bella Freeman’s daughter, Dr. Lisa F. Wolfe on her award

Shirlee Gilbert Richard Levinson Naomi Lerner Debra Saidel

IN HONOR OF

› Debra Saidel › Eva Izenson

FOUNDATION

› Debra Saidel › Richard Levinson

IN MEMORY OF Susan and Milton Legome Stephanie Weber Sis and Joe Litvin IN MEMORY OF

JCRC

Joan and Peter Wells

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES DISCRETIONARY FUND

› Debra Saidel

› Shirlee Gilbert Kathy and Mark Gordon

A SPEEDY RECOVERY TO › Jim Levinson

Robert Kahn

Beverly Louis

Judy Lipton IN MEMORY OF › Debra Saidel

Joan and Martin Holzinger Pat Jones

THE INTERVIEW FREE A PLAY BY FAYE SHOLITON TO THE PUBLIC What begins as a simple history project related to the Holocaust becomes a story of mothers and daughters forgiving and being forgiven within this two-hour play.

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF

DAYTON PLAYHOUSE FUTUREFEST WINNER Playwright Faye Sholiton will share her inspiration and host a talkback after the 2:30 p.m. performance.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 2:30 P.M. & 7:00 P.M. BETH JACOB CONGREGATION 7020 N. MAIN STREET DAYTON 45415 RSVP SUGGESTED TO 937-274-2149

PLAY SYNOPSIS: Bracha Weissman has transformed herself into an emotional recluse. Her identity is defined by the loss of her family in the Nazi death camps she miraculously survived. Her attachment to the past has estranged her daughter Rifka, who wants to get on with the life of a modern-day mom in California. Bracha's armor begins to crack when Ann Meshenberg appears one day to take her oral testimony for a video archive. Ann, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, has her own agenda: the need to ask a stranger what she could not ask her parents.

BETH JACOB CONGREGATION PAGE 16

FUNDING PROVIDED BY AN INNOVATION GRANT OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER DAYTON THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

2022 ANNUAL MEETING

for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton & its Agencies

Wednesday, August 17, 5:30 p.m. @ Boonshoft CJCE (525 Versailles Dr., Centerville 45459)

Award Recipients Past Presidents Award Mike Goldstein Robert A. Shapiro Award Bruce Feldman Jack Moss Creativity Award Ruthe Meadow JFS Volunteer Award Jody Sobol JCC Volunteer Award Candace R. Kwiatek JCRC Volunteer Award Barbara Gerla z”l Joe Bettman Memorial Tzadik Award Elaine Bettman

JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE THE

100TH BIRTHDAY OF THE JCC with stories by

MARSHALL WEISS

The Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton and its Agencies invites the Dayton Jewish community to its 2022 Annual Meeting.

Dayton Jewish Observer Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss will present a visual history of how and why Dayton’s JCC was established a century ago.

We will honor our outgoing board members, install new board members, and recognize the 2022 award recipients for their contributions to the Dayton Jewish community.

Heavy hors d'oeuvres. Dietary laws will be observed.

RSVP at jewishdayton.org or 937-610-1555. A listing of board nominations for the Jewish Federation is available at jewishdayton.org. To request a hard copy of this document, please call Alisa Thomas at 937-610-1796.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

PAGE 17

For your Bar or Bat Mitzvah

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EVENTS T H AT M AK E H I S T ORY

Story and Photos

By Howard Blas, JNS Two 13-year-olds with autism—surrounded by family, teachers, guests, and Rabbi Mikie Goldstein—celebrated their b’nai mitzvah during a Thursday-morning musical Shacharit (morning) service at Adat Shalom–Emanuel in Rehovot, Israel.

Aviv and Yair put on tefillin, carried the Torah scroll, and recited the Torah blessings

and prayers with the help of an augmented communication device. The b’nai mitzvah took place May 26 as part of the Masorti (Conservative) movement’s Adraba center, which has been developing and conducting bar and bat mitzvah programs for children with disabilities for more than 25 years now. To date, more than 5,000 children have taken part in the program.

It’s been a busy season for

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participants in the program.

From Akko to Haifa, Karmiel, Kfar Vradim, and the egalitarian area of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, 100-plus teens with disabilities from families of all backgrounds and levels of observance have celebrated b’nai mitzvah at 20 venues between March 24 and the end of June.

According to Ronen BarAbraham, director of AdrabaThe Shirley Lowy Center for Children With Disabilities, the bar and bat mitzvah program was founded “to fulfill an unmet need in Israel.”

“The Masorti movement believes that every Jew with disabilities or challenges is a full and equal member of klal Yisrael (the people of Israel) and should be included in a minyan (prayer quorum) as is every Jew,” Bar-Abraham said.

Goldstein, an English-born rabbi who moved to Israel in 1989 and has been leading Adat Shalom-Emanuel since 2014, appreciates the unique nature of the program.

“It is a rare chance for these children and families to celebrate a Jewish lifecycle event they might not otherwise have thought possible,” he said.

He added that the students come from “all sorts of religious and non-religious backgrounds—from Orthodox to completely secular to celebrate together” and believes “the program shows that pluralism can exist.”

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

The special day started with Bar-Abraham welcoming the 40 family members, teachers, and guests and putting them at ease. “Shalom and mazel tov to all who enter! You can sit where you want—men and women together.” He also reminded excited guests to hold off on showering the b’nai mitzvah with candy until they finished leading the service and reading from the Torah.

Adraba staff shared a PowerPoint and video of the program, which described the curriculum and preparation process for the more than 200 students enrolled in 30 Israeli schools.

Ruth Rubin Lavie, who came on aliyah in 1978, began playing Hinei Mah Tov on her guitar. She is a congregant, b’nai mitzvah teacher, and singer who regularly volunteers her musical talents by accompanying on guitar at the services. “It is inspiring every time to see the happiness of kids coming to the Torah and of parents’ kvelling,” she said.

Guests used the red, hardcover B’chol D’rachecha accessible Siddur (prayer book), for which the Adraba Center and the Masorti Movement have received awards from the Shalem Foundation and JDC-Ashalim. The siddur uses simple explanations, various colors and fonts, and picture icons that assist those unable to read standard Hebrew.

Throughout the service, Aviv and Yair’s teachers patiently stood next to them with smiles on their faces.

The teachers helped their students remain on task and facilitated student reading and singing with their augmented communication devices.

The service kicked off with the young men offering personal blessings. “Thank you, God, for giving me the ability to smile and be with my family.”

Goldstein and the teachers consistently modeled sensitivity, respect, and inclusivity for all participants and guests. Prior to the central Amidah prayer, Goldstein asked: “Those who are able, please stand.” When the b’nai mitzvah boys had difficulties remaining at

Aviv carries the Torah at his bar mitzvah in Rehovot

Yair reads Hebrew at his bar mitzvah in Rehovot

the bima (stage), a staff member seamlessly walked with them around the room until they were ready to return to the service.

Each boy was called to the Torah by name to recite the Torah blessings. Goldstein served as the Torah reader. Yair’s mother, Iris Elkobi, addressed her son, saying, “Despite the challenges, you are a leader in all areas...Your dream is to be a millionaire—always listen to your dreams!”

Iris added, “This program is so special. It is a big mitzvah. The bar mitzvah is important for him and for the family, too.”

His father, Chaim, is proud of all five of his sons, but noted that this bar mitzvah was particularly miragesh, emotional in Hebrew. He elaborated, “It was so special seeing Yair in his tefillin. Today is a d’var kadosh—a holy event. ” Yair’s school bus driver, Aron, grew emotional when he described the significance of the bar mitzvah.

“This program is more important than tanks and mis-

siles,” he said, acknowledging the amount of money Israel spends on defense while also emphasizing the need for ongoing funding to support the b’nai mitzvah program.

At the end of the service, Yair and Aviv received their own personalized copy of the siddur, as well as personalized blessings from parents and teachers. The ceremony took place under a large tallit. The young men were then showered with candy, lovingly tossed by kvelling guests.

The celebration continued with a festive breakfast of bread, salads, cakes, and pastries outside in the synagogue’s specially decorated garden.

As the guests said their final mazel tovs, Adir and Yair left to return to school. The Adraba staff then turned their attention to the 20 students looking forward to celebrating their same milestone before the school year ended. In a few months, it will be time to begin preparing even more Israelis with disabilities for their special days.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

PAGE 19

Harassment at a Western Wall bar mitzvah renews the fight over prayer spaces in Israel Those details have prompted especially strong and

By Andrew Lapin, JTA lasting reactions — a denunciation from Israel’s prime The video taken at the mixed-gender prayer space minister, and a fierce debate over whether the U.S. at Israel’s Western Wall is brief, but the incident it captured has left a lasting impact. A Masorti Movement State Department should treat harassment of Jews by other Jews as antigroup of Jews celebrate a bar mitzvah semitism. at the Kotel’s egalitarian prayer space.

“Israel is the only Western country Dozens of Haredi Orthodox men in which Jews don’t have freedom of and teenage boys enter the scene and worship,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair aggressively harass and intimidate Lapid said July 6 from Paris in rethe participants: shouting down the sponse to the incident. prayers, calling the gathered Jews Deborah Lipstadt, the Holocaust “Nazis,” “animals,” and “Christians,” scholar and newly appointed State and ripping up their prayer books.

Department antisemitism monitor, As one of the boys celebrating his suggested that what took place at the bar mitzvah continues with his service, Western Wall was antisemitism. a Haredi young man blows his nose “Let us make no mistake, had such with pages from the prayer books. a hateful incident — such incitement The incident that took place June — happened in any other country, 30 was only the latest in an ongoing there’d be little hesitation in labeling series of harassment of non-Orthodox it antisemitism,” Lipstadt wrote from Jews by Haredi men opposed to The Masorti Movement shared video the State Department antisemitism ofegalitarian prayer at the Wall and of a Haredi man wiping his nose fice’s official Twitter account.

Israel’s other holy sites. Just prior to with a page ripped from a Masorti Lipstadt’s role carries no authorthe bar mitzvah disruption, the activist prayer book at the egalitarian secity to penalize or otherwise act in group Women of the Wall had been tion of the Western Wall, June 30 response to antisemitism abroad. blocked from bringing a Torah into But her voice carries weight in public discussions of the women’s plaza, as it seeks to do monthly. antisemitism, allowing others to cite a top U.S. governYet two things set it apart: its location, at the tiny, ment official in making their own cases. peripheral plaza that has been carved out as a safe While Lipstadt hedged on actually labeling the haven for non-Orthodox Jews who want to pray in a mixed-gender setting at Judaism’s holiest site, and the Kotel incident itself antisemitic, a person familiar with her thinking told JTA that the encounter fit the Internacrudeness captured on camera.

tional Holocaust Remembrance Association’s widely adopted definition of antisemitism, which could help determine how the international community responds to it. “It’s classic antisemitism under the IHRA definition, there’s dehumanizing, there’s Holocaust distortion — calling Jews Nazis falls under the scope of denial, denying the mechanisms and intentionality of the Holocaust,” said the person, who asked to remain anonymous to speak frankly.

“Tearing pages of a siddur (prayer book) and blowing your nose in it is classic. The only thing that confuses people is that Jews are doing it. The IHRA definition doesn’t say it applies only to non-Jews.”

The IHRA definition of antisemitism has been controversial because of its inclusion of some forms of anti-Israel rhetoric and activity. Its invocation in fights among Jews could open another front for debate.

Jews on both the right and left said Lipstadt should not wade into the Kotel dispute from her official position as antisemitism monitor.

David Friedman, former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Donald Trump, said Lipstadt should focus instead on threats posed by non-Jews.

“The Jewish people need to fix this internally, it’s our collective problem — you should focus instead on external threats,” Friedman tweeted, adding that he found the harassment at the Kotel “deeply disturbing.”

The Orthodox publication Ami Magazine also tweeted that Lipstadt’s office had “undermined the gravitas and significance” of the concept of antisemitism by using it to refer to “Jewish infighting.”

On the left, Abe Silberstein, a progressive commen-

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THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

tator on Israel issues, told JTA that dealing with the incident as antisemitism, as opposed to “Jewish extremism,” ignored a “difficult truth.”

Since demonstrations against non-Orthodox Jews are routinely encouraged by Haredi politicians and media who are opposed to egalitarianism, they require different tactics from dealing with outsiders who hate Jews, he said. “By invoking antisemitism, I am afraid we bolster the illusion that this is something that can be disowned without confronting it,” he said. “Calling the actions of these boys antisemitic is misidentifying the symptom while failing to diagnose the problem.”

But others believe treating Haredi harassment of non-Orthodox Jews as antisemitism is appropriate and important.

“Is it antisemitic to attack Jews engaging in Jewish ritual at a Jewish holy site? When you phrase it that way, the answer is clearly yes,” David Schraub, a law professor at Lewis & Clark College who writes frequently on Jewish issues, told JTA. “The only reason why it wouldn’t be is if you think it gets some sort of exception because of who the attackers are.”

Tensions surrounding prayer at the Western Wall have long drawn attention from nonOrthodox Jews, including from outside Israel. Arie Hasit, an influential Israeli Masorti/ Conservative rabbi who was working with the American bar mitzvah celebrant, posted on Facebook that he was “broken” over the Haredi youths’ treatment of the bar mitzvah group.

“Some people hate me. Who are willing to hurt me. Because my Judaism is different from their Judaism,” Hasit wrote in Hebrew.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, a longtime proponent of egalitarian prayer in Israel, condemned the harassment. “I am against all violence at the Western Wall against people who want to pray as their faith allows them,” he said. “This cannot continue.”

Lapid’s statement followed pressure from American Jewish groups, religious and not, to act against Haredi influence in Israeli prayer spaces. Two separate letters, one from the heads of the Reform and Conservative movements and another from the heads of some of the United States’ most prominent pro-Israel Jewish groups, had called for the prime minister to respond to the harassment.

“Mr. Prime Minister, we turn to you because this situation

cannot go on,” Union for Reform Judaism head Rabbi Rick Jacobs and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism head Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal wrote in their letter to Lapid. “We represent millions of Jews who cannot tolerate such behavior, who are tired of being treated as second-class citizens at the Wall.”

Jacobs and Blumenthal called on Lapid to implement the Western Wall compromise: a plan that would expand and make permanent the Kotel’s egalitarian prayer section.

The agreement has languished in the Knesset for years because it is staunchly opposed by the country’s religious right. A planned implementation earlier this year was put on hold after threats of violence.

Lapid supports the plan, but his influence as a caretaker prime minister is limited until Israel holds new elections this fall (the country’s fragile ruling coalition recently dissolved, in part prompted by a different religious disagreement).

The other letter — from the Jewish Federations of North America, the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency and Israel fundraising network Keren Hayesod — also called on Lapid to condemn the harassment at the Kotel.

“This is about the basic derech eretz (consideration for others) of Israelis welcoming Jews from around the world who come to celebrate their most cherished smachot (celebrations) in the Jewish State, follow all the established rules for such an event, engage in no provocation, demonstrate nothing but ahavat Yisrael (love of Israel), and are nevertheless subjected to conduct that should embarrass every Jew of every level or style of Jewish practice,” the letter said.

The organizations’ letter did not make specific policy demands. It stressed that the latest incident was “not about the Kotel agreement,” and did not call on Lapid to advance the plan — only to more strongly enforce a prohibition on violence at the space. Israeli police are seen in the video holding the parties back from each other but otherwise not acting.

It did suggest that the stakes of preventing another episode like the one that interrupted an American boy’s bar mitzvah at the end of June are high. “No effort to unite or strengthen the ties between Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora can be remotely successful while such behavior is allowed to continue.”

Is Cha Cha Real Smooth the first good bar/bat mitzvah movie?

By Andrew Lapin, JTA It seems hard to believe, but there’s never been a truly great bar/bat mitzvah movie — mostly because there just haven’t been that many bar/bat mitzvah movies, period.

Yes, there have been plenty of one-off TV episodes centered around the Jewish ritual, ranging from Big Mouth to And Just Like That to The Wonder Years.

And sure, one could make an argument for A Serious Man, the Coen brothers’ 2008 masterpiece about a Jewish physics professor undergoing an existential crisis, except the hero’s son’s bar mitzvah only factors into the story tangentially.

But after that, things get pretty sparse. Keeping Up With The Steins, the 2006 Jeremy Piven comedy about warring bar mitzvah families, got lukewarm reviews, at best. And the less said about Donny’s Bar Mitzvah, the better.

Now, though, we have a serious contender: Cha Cha Real Smooth, a low-key charmer from 25-year-old writer-director-star Cooper Raiff, on Apple TV+.

Apple acquired the film for a record sum at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, just like it did with last year’s eventual Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, and seems to be adopting a similar release strategy here.

Named after a lyric in Cha Cha Slide, a 2000 hit by DJ Casper that has become a standby of bar mitzvah playlists everywhere, it’s a film that seems to understand something subtle about the dramatic potential of bar and bat mitzvahs — even though Raiff himself isn’t Jewish, we never see the inside of a sanctuary, and the R rating aims the movie at a post-bar mitzvah audience.

So what makes this one special? Cha Cha takes the bar mitzvah’s central coming-ofage idea, that a single ritual at the appropriate time marks

Apple

Cooper Raiff as a bar/bat mitzvah motivational dancer in Cha Cha Real Smooth

the true threshold of adulthood, and runs with it in an unexpected manner. Its hero, Andrew (Raiff), isn’t a bar mitzvah boy but rather his hype man: the guy the parents hire to make sure the hormonal honorees (and all their friends)

are having a good time at their own party.

In a sign of what’s to come, Andrew is first seen as a teenager hopelessly in love with an adult “motivational dancer” at a friend’s bar mitzvah party, Continued on Page 22

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Cha Cha Real Smooth

Apple

Continued from Page 21 oblivious to their age and maturity gap. Fastforward a decade and we watch Andrew himself become a motivational dancer, once again falling in love with an older woman (Dakota Johnson, playing depressed single mother Domino).

He spends his evenings among the pubescent, caught between the carefree world of his youth and the unanswerable tensions of adulthood.

The chance to liven up some b’nai mitzvah parties and extend adult-ish confidence boosters to his 13-year-old brother in the process is the lone motivator in this recent college grad’s otherwise deeply directionless life.

Bunking back in his New Jersey childhood home with his bipolar mother (Leslie Mann) and self-serious stepfather (Brad Garrett, playing against type as a humorless scold), Andrew can’t quite figure out whether he wants to be an adult at all. He continually seems to be glitching back and forth between maturity (launching his own party-starting business) and debasement (drinking on the job; spinning the adults-only Cardi B hit WAP for a roomful of junior high school kids).

Raiff’s publicists didn’t respond to multiple JTA requests for an interview. But he’s told other outlets that his inspiration for the film came from growing up in a wealthy, heavily Jewish community in Dallas, where most of the kids at his school were Jewish and the bar mitzvah party was a major marker of social status.

Raiff was less interested in the easy jokes one could make about elaborate, expensive parties than in the undercurrent of the ritual itself: what it means to put so much attention and so many expectations on a 13-year-old.

“The whole experience is, you see your close friend and the fruits of his or her labor. And so you’re seeing this whole new life of people that you’ve known for so long,” he told The Playlist. “They were such huge, huge events in my mind.”

This outlook translates on screen into a curious outsider’s perspective on Jewish pathways to maturity. Its main characters aren’t preparing for bar/bat mitzvahs themselves (Domino offhandedly remarks that she’s also not Jewish), yet they still treat the parties as rites of passage: important social engagements that will determine whether they can have meaningful relation-

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Vanessa Burghardt (L) and Dakota Johnson in Cha Cha Real Smooth

ships with their peers. Andrew might think he’s the one teaching these teens how to do that, but actually — as regular viewers of the prototypical “Sundance dramedy” have likely already deduced — they’re teaching him.

Case in point: One significant character, Domino’s autistic teen daughter Lola (played by newcomer Vanessa Burghardt, who is herself on the autism spectrum), explains to Andrew why she’s less comfortable in social situations than he is, and why she often needs to recharge by sitting in an empty room. Andrew’s acceptance of this information constitutes what, for him, is growth: the realization that confidence can come in many different forms, and doesn’t just show up on the dance floor. The disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility, which often works on disability inclusion issues within the Jewish community, consulted on Lola’s representation in the film.

What can “maturity” mean to a drifter like Andrew; to a lost adult like Domino; to their young charges decked out in their awkward formalwear; or to someone like Lola with an entirely different outlook on life? Cha Cha explores the different aspects of this question with wit and insight, if not a particularly Jewish perspective.

But it’s not entirely without Jewish insight.

When the non-Jewish heroes witness a bar mitzvah boy call his family up to lead the kiddush and motzi (blessings over wine and bread), they get emotional: This image of a family coming together to mark a life stage means something grand, even if they don’t have the words for it.

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THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

RELIGION

MAZEL TOV! United Way of Greater Dayton presented its 2022 Humanitarian of the Year Award to the Klaben family, at the Nutter Center on June 28. Since 2001, Morris Furniture Company and the Klaben family have provided more than 14,000 beds to children in need, partnering with Secret Smiles of Dayton, United Way of Greater Dayton, Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Cincinnati, and Furniture Bank of Central Ohio. Morris and its nearly 500 employees have made this possible through Morris Hope To Dream events.

On the day of the awards cer-

Marshall Weiss

Unravel your potential

By Rabbi Levi Simon Chabad of Greater Dayton The story is told about an important member of the Jewish community who passed away.

His children received two envelopes, one to be opened upon his death and the other a week later. They opened the first envelope and read their father’s words. He explained that in his closet was his favorite tie, full of sentimental value. He instructed his children to ensure he would be buried while wearing this tie.

Perspectives

This simple request, however, was met with great resistance. Jewish law mandates that every individual, from the emony, Morris closed its stores greatest rabbi to the simplest of and distribution center as a people, be buried in the same kickoff to its 75th anniversary way. Uniforms, clothing, and celebration. any other extras are strictly forbidden. No matter what the Senior U.S. District Judge children said or offered was goWalter H. Rice is the inaugural ing to change that. recipient of the National ConA week later, they opened ference for Community and Jus- the second envelope. In this tice's Trailblazer Legacy Award. letter, the father wrote that he He'll be honored at NCCJ’s hoped his children understood 2022 Friendship Celebration, his message of the tie. The an evening of music, entertainfather knew that the tie was not ment, and food trucks, from 5 going with him. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at He hoped that his children the Levitt Pavilion. This year's realized that one cannot even NCCJ Humanitarian Honorees take a simple piece of clothing are Judge Tony Capizzi, Shan- with them to the next world. non Isom, Barbara Johnson, “The only things of sentiment Michael Knote, Mikayla Petro- and value,” wrote the father, vic, and Carolyn Rice.

Anna Claire Gaglione received her law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She is the daughter of John and Elaine Gaglione and granddaughter of Charles and Joan Knoll and the late Vincent and Monica Gaglione.

The Miriam Rosenthal Foundation, Dayton’s only foundation dedicated solely to the arts, is looking for new board members. The board oversees its operations, including investments, grant policies, research, and community support. “We seek members who are active within our local community and who love and attend performances of those organizations supported by the foundation,” board Chairman Richard McCauley says. If you're interested, contact Richard at richard.mccauley1@frontier.com.

Send your Mazel Tov announcements to mweiss@jfgd.net.

CONGREGATIONS

legendary rabbi. The “are good and posirabbi had spent some tive deeds one has eight awful years in accomplished in this the Soviet gulag as world.” punishment for his People enter into efforts to preserve heated arguments Judaism in the dark about important days of communism matters. Many have in the 1940s and 1950s. become political The rabbi related experts, spending how, one day, his inordinate amounts fellow inmates started of time on the issues Rabbi Levi Simon a spirited game of they feel are imporcards: strictly illegal in the tant. gulag. Upon hearing the loud Some are experts in sports, noises, the guard immediately some can wax poetic about recognized the card game, and history, science, technology or came barging into the cell. food, demonstrating expertise “OK, hand over the cards,” and boasting all they know he barked. The cards were about those subjects.

Few of these have any mean- nowhere to be found. This ing. The energies spent on them continued several times, until the guard forced every inmate are going to the same place as to undress, and he that tie: they will went through all remain hanging in their clothing, but the closet. What to no avail. The really matters is: cards were not What have I done found. to live up to the Later, Reb MenGodly image in del asked the ringwhich I was creleader what had ated? And what happened to the have I done for the cards. The hardrest of humanity, all created in the image of God? ened criminal responded: “We are professional pickpockets.

This takes a deep look into ourselves, into our souls. When When the guard entered, we professionals placed the cards one focuses upon the inner arin his back pocket. On his way eas of oneself, one can begin to unravel the potential present in out, we pulled them out…”

Reb Mendel, always one to every person, and making the teach a lesson from his stories, most of it.

Rabbi Mendel Futerfas was a concluded: We look and search everywhere for truth. If we merely paid attention to our own “back pockets,” we would be able to resolve many of life’s issues.

Imagination is not the place for people to dwell. True, it is critical to have a vision and a dream. Life, though, needs to be Torah Portions real. That takes a hard and real look into oneself, and to include close family members and friends, to become real: really August 6: Devarim productive, and really focused.

(Deut. 1:1-3:22) And then we will all be August 13: Vaetchanan blessed with all good things; we (Deut. 3:23-7:11) will be productive and fruitful, amid a spirit of happiness and August 20: Ekev (Deut. 7:12-11:25) contentment.

What have I done to live up to the Godly image in which I was created?

August • Av/Elul

Shabbat Candle Lightings August 5: 8:27 p.m.

August 12: 8:19 p.m.

August 27: Re’eh (Deut. 11:26-16:17; Num. 28:9-15)

August 19: 8:09 p.m.

August 26: 7:59 p.m.

Tisha B’Av

Ninth Day of Av • Postponed because of Shabbat until 10 Av, August 7 The day of fasting to mark the destruction of the First and Second Temples, the loss of Jewish sovereignty, and numerous other tragedies said to have fallen on this day.

The Book of Eicha (Lamentations) is read.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

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Beth Abraham Synagogue

Conservative Rabbi Aubrey Glazer Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming Andrea Raizen Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood. 937-293-9520. bethabrahamdayton.org

Beth Jacob Congregation

Traditional Rabbi Leibel Agar Sundays & Wednesdays, 7:15 p.m.

Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

7020 N. Main St., Dayton.

937-274-2149. bethjacobcong.org

Temple Anshe Emeth

Reform 320 Caldwell St., Piqua.

Contact Steve Shuchat, 937-7262116, ansheemeth@gmail.com. ansheemeth.org

Temple Beth Or

Reform Fridays, 6:30 p.m.

Rabbi Judy Chessin Asst. Rabbi/Educator Ben Azriel 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400. templebethor.com

Temple Beth Sholom

Reform Rabbi Haviva Horvitz 610 Gladys Dr., Middletown.

513-422-8313. templebethsholom.net

Temple Israel

Reform Senior Rabbi Karen BodneyHalasz. Rabbi/Educator Tina Sobo Fri., Aug. 5, 6 p.m. Fridays, Aug. 12, 19 & 26, 6:30 p.m. (lay led) Saturdays, Aug. 13 & 27, 10:30 a.m. (lay led) 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

937-496-0050. tidayton.org

Temple Sholom

Reform Rabbi Cary Kozberg 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. Beginner educational service Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. 2001 Far Hills Ave. 937-643-0770. chabaddayton.com

Yellow Springs Havurah

Independent Antioch College Rockford Chapel.

Contact Len Kramer, 937-5724840 or len2654@gmail.com.

PAGE 23

JEWISH FAMILY EDUCATION

Being Zusya The Power of Stories Series

A zoology professor assigned a paper on the topic of elephants to his graduate-level international students. The English student wrote Elephant Hunting. The French student wrote The Love Life of the Elephant. The German student

Candace R. Kwiatek wrote An Introduction to the Bibliography for the Study of the Elephant. The American student wrote Breeding Bigger and Better Elephants. And the Israeli student wrote The Elephant and the Jewish Problem. Recounted by folklorist Josepha Sherman, this anecdote is emblematic: both individuality and community are sacred tenets in Judaism.

“There are no clones in God’s world,” declares author Gila Manolson. “Everyone is an individual.” We each have our own ways of thinking, our own approaches to experiencing the world, our own manner of expressing ourselves. We have our own dispositions, histories,

and opinions. And we each have our own souls.

Individuality is evident in the personalities and behaviors of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Jacob expresses this fundamental idea when he bestows upon his sons not one universal blessing but 12 blessings, each uniquely tailored to a specific son.

The Talmud embeds it in an allegory: “A person stamps many coins with one seal and they are all alike, but the King of all kings...has stamped every person with the seal of the first human, yet not one of them is like another.”

Individuality also suggests that each person has a positive purpose in the world, a unique mission for which they are specifically equipped. Inclinations or abilities may reveal one’s mission. Circumstances or events may illuminate it.

Sometimes it will fall in one’s lap. Regardless of its origin, however, every mission is one of a kind.

Individuality cannot exist in a vacuum; it implies community. Rabbi Aryeh Malca notes that the true purpose of community is to unite and uplift individuals, facilitate

their growth, and empower individuality. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks concurs. “Individuality means that I am a unique and valued member of a team…Judaism values individuality, not individualism.”

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt offer a surprisingly Jewish link to the following stories: ”You have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one.”

Shepherd to sage. Poor and illiterate, Akiva was a shepherd for a wealthy Jerusalemite whose only child, Rachel, was expected to marry an equally rich scholar. Instead, she fell in love with Akiva and they married. Convinced he had an excellent mind, Rachel encouraged Akiva to study. Although skeptical, the 40-year-old began with the alef bet alongside the youngest children, mastered reading and writing, and eventually went on to study at the academy. There, even the greatest scholars of the era developed a deep admiration for his insight and wisdom. After more than two decades, Akiva returned home as a famous rabbi with a following of 24,000 students.

Akiva went on to become a leading contributor to the Mishnah and is known in the

Sometimes circumstances reveal one's individuality and task.

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Talmud as “Chief of the Sages.”

Sometimes a person’s individuality, their gift and their purpose, is revealed by someone else.

White to black. The son of poor Polish immigrants, Jacob Ezra Katz loved to draw and paint. At 5, he covered the white kitchen table with detailed ink drawings of houses, ships, and planes. He was just 8 when hired to paint a local store’s sign. By high school, he was winning awards. Despite the Great Depression, he persevered, painting murals for the WPA, illustrating backgrounds for Marvel comics, and designing camouflage patterns for the military.

Sidestepping widespread antisemitism, he changed his name to Ezra Jack Keats and became a highly successful commercial illustrator. His most significant accomplishment was writing and illustrating the award-winning picture book A Snowy Day, the first mainstream children’s book featuring an African American child. “None of the manuscripts I’d been illustrating featured any black kids,” Keats wrote. “My book would have him there simply because he should have been there all along.”

Sometimes circumstances reveal one’s individuality and task.

Pen to paper. The Jewish Englishwoman Eliza Davis admired her fellow Londoner Charles Dickens, whose novels

were, besides entertainment, social critiques designed to raise awareness and help the vulnerable. While reading Oliver Twist, however, Eliza became more and more distraught. The Jewish character Fagin was described in the most negative of terms. The leader of a gang of thieves, he was “the Jew,” “a loathsome reptile,” and “the old one,” a popular nickname for the devil.

Eliza wasn’t a prominent figure in the city, but she picked up her pen and wrote to the renowned author anyway. She argued that Dickens’ characterization of Fagin “encouraged a vile prejudice against the despised Hebrew,” and that “he had done a great wrong to the Jewish people.” She added that “while the author Charles Dickens lives, the author can justify himself or atone.”

Although defensive at first, Dickens eventually revised the text for the reprinting of Oliver Twist, changing “the Jew” to Fagin. Dickens’ next novel, Our Mutual Friend, featured a Mr. Riah, from the Hebrew re’a, meaning friend. Eliza thanked Dickens, and then sent one final note to him in the copy of an English-Hebrew Bible: “The noblest quality man can possess is the ability to atone.”

Sometimes events seem to just drop a mission into the lap of someone whose individuality is uniquely suited to it.

There are no clones in God’s world. Before his death, Rabbi Zusya said to his disciples, “In the coming world, they will not ask me: ‘Why were you not Moses?’ They will ask me: ‘Why were you not Zusya?’”

Literature to share Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City by Andrew Lawler. More than just a history book, Under Jerusalem is storytelling at its finest. Each chapter recounts untold tales of archaeological digs under Jerusalem’s streets and notable sites by fortune-seekers, zealots, and archaeologists. Along with priceless artifacts, their endeavors have revealed troves of information that help the reader better understand Jerusalem’s ancient history, theological issues, and modern conflicts. This innovative perspective on Jerusalem is immensely interesting, thought-provoking, and diplomatically evenhanded in its presentation.

José and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Joshua Edelglass and Arnon Shorr. Swashbuckling pirates. A teen “freak.” Family secrets. When the Inquisition arrives in the New World, Portuguese teen émigré José Alfaro has just learned of his Jewish identity. He evades the Spanish crown’s soldiers by stowing away on a pirate ship, eventually training to become a pirate under the mysterious Captain Toledano. What follows is a fast-paced swashbuckling tale of adventure and hand-tohand combat on the high seas as José discovers who he really is and what really matters. It’s a wonderfully crafted comingof-age graphic novel for middle grades.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America

By Michael Benson 2022, Citadel Books 283 Pages

Gangsters vs. Nazis Decidedly cinematic nonfiction

names in this story are familiar in Jewish-American history: Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Mickey Cohen, Longie Zwillman (New Jersey), Jack Ruby (yes, THAT Jack Ruby), Lewis “Lepke” Buchalter, Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, Davey Berman (Siegel’s successor in Las Vegas), Moe Dalitz (Cleveland), Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik (Al Capone’s number-two guy in Chicago) and Barney Ross (the famed former boxer who was afraid he could be prosecuted for murder if he used his world-famous fists in a brawl).

Other juicy movie roles: Father Charles Coughlin (the main antisemite of the radio airwaves), and the would-be Hitler of America, Fritz Kuhn.

The most important work this book does is not to tell us that certain Jews responded to antisemitism in a cinematic way. It is to remind us that the Nazi movement had an American arm. These events the gangsters disrupted were happening across the country.

Book Review

By Martin Gottlieb Special To The Observer Jewish gangsters have shown up in plenty of Hollywood movies. But typically they just happen to be Jewish.

If the author of this book sees his apparent dream fulfilled, there will be a movie in which their Jewishness is the whole point.

Gangsters vs Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis Three Lions/Getty Images Members of the German-American Bund parading through the streets of New York City, 1938 in Wartime America is decidedly cinematic, and the author doesn’t want that point lost on of being taken seriously, but and speeches and such. Enter Nazis be the way to handle it? anybody. He labels his preamhe has done his homework the gangsters.

Such fights today could not ble Fade In and writes it in the in many venues across the About the gangsters, author be contained as mere brawls. form of a screenplay, beginning country.

Benson approvingly quotes the Guns would be unleashed. paragraphs with words such as That the Jews seem to win all son of one: “If a Palestinian Jew Indeed, the absence of guns is Interior and Exterior. the fights also strains credulity (a Jew in pre-state Israel) was one of the intriguAnd the story is a doozy of a bit. But, after all, the Jewish born here, he’d be a gangster.” ing aspects of this what Hollywood calls a “high mobsters knew how to recruit.

The point is that this was the story. The Jews Retired Dayton concept,” one that is easily They got big-name former box- way for an ambitious young had their orders.

Daily News editopitched: A certain judge in ers. And they got professional man to rise out of the mean As for the Nazis, rial writer Martin New York decides in the late thugs, people drawn to that slums, to overcome the virtual author Benson Gottlieb is the 1930s that Hitler’s supporters line of work by their size and bans on Jews in “legitimate” doesn’t get into author of Lincoln’s in the United States — a very their proclivities — tested and enterprises. their side of the Northern Nemvisible group — need to get hardened in action.

In fact, though, even this story much. One esis: The War the message that Jews are not Meanwhile, the Nazis they story involves judges, politiis left to speculate Opposition and going to just sit back and take assaulted weren’t necessarily in cians, rabbis, and others who about what conExile of Ohio’s their slander, are not going to those categories. While today found other ways up. Such strained them.

Clement Vallive up to any stereotype of we picture neo-Nazis as sleeve- stories are legion.

Let’s just say it’s landigham. He is themselves as weak, unphysiless skinheads with tattoos — As for the judge’s approach, a period piece. also the advisor to cal people. The judge gets on guys on macho trips — Hitler the book invites this question: Best is just to The Dayton Jewthe phone and calls the top attracted all types.

If similar circumstances arose ask who should ish Observer.

Jewish mobster in each of mulWhen a Nazi attacked by the today, would beating up the play whom. Many tiple cities across the country Jews in this story is described and asks each Getty Images as being in to bust up Nazi “retail,” the fight events with seems unfair. physical vioNot that lence — but not German Amerito kill anybody. cans in general All the were Nazis. The mobsters agree author makes enthusiastically, clear more than though there’s once that we’re nothing in it for talking about them financially. a small minorThe judge ity of Germans. was Nathan Still, photos Registration is now open for Perlman, a of swastikaformer congressbedecked Beth Abraham’s GOAL! Program man who had parades and (Go Out And Learn) Meyer Lansky lent his services to various gatheropposed ProJewish leaders looking to counter • Jewish learning for the entire family hibition, gainings (including the American Nazi movement • Classes for grades K-7 on Sunday mornings ing him favor a famous one of with certain crucial people. He • One-on-one Hebrew sessions for students grades at the old Madison Square was a well-known name, long Garden in New York attended 3 and up • Family programs • Torah, Holidays, Prayer, thereafter prominent in Jewish by thousands) make clear that Mitzvot/Values • Classes begin Sunday, Sept. 11 Contact Cantor Raizen, 937-293-9520 affairs. the American Nazi phenomThe writer is Michael Benenon — generally known as the Beth Abraham, Dayton’s only Conservative synagogue, son, author of more than 60 Bund — was not to be laughed is enthusiastically egalitarian and is affiliated books, some in the true-crime off. with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. realm, some about the MaAnd there were no laws For our complete program schedule, go to bethabrahamdayton.org. fia. He writes in a tough-guy against hate speech. The aumode: people get “whacked” thorities had difficulty coming 305 Sugar Camp Circle • Dayton, Ohio 45409 or, at prison, they “sizzle.” up with constitutional ratio937•293•9520 • www.bethabrahamdayton.org That complicates his hopes nales for banning Nazi dinners

Arts&Culture Arts &Culture

Give your children

the gift

Judaism.

THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

PAGE 25

OBITUARIES Dr. Steven M. Cohen, age 70, passed away peacefully on June 25 after battling many years of chronic illness. He leaves to mourn, his loving wife of 42 years, Jude, and beloved children, Kelly Cohen, Daniel Cohen (Rachel) and their son Ryan, and Alex Cohen (Rebekah) and their daughters Isla and Magnolia.

Steven is also survived by his sister, Harlene (Stephen) Johnson, brother, Herbert Cohen, brother-in-law Michael (Barbara) Ryan and nieces and nephews.

Our family is fortunate to have several cherished friends that are considered family. You know who you are. Steve obtained both his undergraduate degree in biology and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Cincinnati.

He entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1978 and focused his residency and later practice on internal medicine. After discharge from active duty, Steve devoted 30 years to serving U.S. veterans at the Dayton VA Medical Center.

He held the position of chief of ambulatory care, chief of staff, and the director of VAMC. Steve enjoyed teaching and he was a faculty member and member of the admissions committee of the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University for many years. Steve was also active in the Dayton Jewish community. He served as a two-term president of Temple Beth Or and chaired Jewish Family Services of Dayton’s Jewish Federation. Interment was at David’s Cemetery. Steve requested a party be held in celebration of his life at a later date.

The family would like to thank the many caregivers we were blessed with on our journey. The staff at Kettering Health Washington Township, Otterbein Springboro, Home Instead, and Hospice of

Dayton gave us all extraordinary care with a smile. Donations may be made to Hospice of Dayton, the American Heart Association, or the American Diabetes Association.

Richard Gruber was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was born with health issues and they did not expect him to live to age 5, but he surpassed their expectations and they readjusted the expectation that he would not live to see age 20. Being the rebel that he was, he once again defied the odds. Rich chose to attend college in Nebraska, where he learned to ride horses and formed unbreakable bonds with people.

Rich ended up passing away at age 75, on July 7, 2022, living his life to the fullest with friends, family, and lots of adventures. Rich married the love of his life, Hindy Bloom Gruber, and they had two kids, Rachel and Elliott Gruber. In 1982, they moved to Ohio due to the opportunity for Rich to work at NCR as a consultant. Rich loved NCR and was proud of his work there, and more importantly, he made lifelong friends there that loved and supported him until his last breath. His sister Diane Paul lives in New York to this day, and despite the miles between them, they spoke every day. Rich will forever be remembered for his uniqueness, humor, intelligence, quirkiness, creativity, chattiness, spirit, and passion. Rich was loved by many and his legacy will live on through the impact he made on the lives of everyone he met.

Interment was at Beth Abraham Cemetery. Donations can be made to the The National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Terry Mitzman, age 65, passed away on July 2. She is survived by her husband, Mark Mitzman; daughters, Jennifer (Brian Rosichan) Mitzman and Melanie (Scott) Morales; parents, Julius and Betty Loeser; sister, Frances (Steve) Balf; grandchildren, Naomi, Yoni, Rayna, and Cecelia; many nieces, cousins, and friends.

Interment was at New Agudas Achim Cemetery in Columbus.

Terry and Mark lived in Dayton for 20 years and raised their daughters here. They were active members of Beth Jacob Congregation. Terry was mostly a stayat-home mom. But her love of people led her into many years of part-time work in retail sales. She could also be found several times per week playing mah jongg with friends at Meadowbrook Country Club. Much of the beautiful artwork in her home came from her needlepoint hobby. Contributions in Terry's memory may be made to Lifeline of Ohio at lifelineofohio. org, Beth Jacob Congregation or a charity of donor's choice.

Edwin M. Ziskin (12-10-1932 to 12-22-2021). Ed was born in Dayton to Molly and Abe Ziskin on Dec. 10, 1932, and spent the first five years of his life in Dayton where he went to Longfellow School for kindergarten. The family then moved to Piqua, where Molly opened her own dress shop and Abe worked for Val Decker Meat Packing Co., where he carried sides of beef to restaurants in Dayton, a trip he made daily.

Ed went to Piqua grade and high school where he graduated in 1950. He briefly attended The Ohio State University, but when he returned to Piqua in 1953 to work alongside his father, he was drafted into the Army. After boot camp, Ed was sent overseas to Eniwetok, a mile-long atoll in the Marshall Islands. His uniform of the day was khaki shorts, Hawai-

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ian shirts, and flip flops. His R&R was Hawaii, almost 3,000 miles away. His year there was quite eventful as the government was conducting secret thermonuclear tests near the Eniwetok atoll. In all, Ed witnessed 13 tests in the year he was there!! But what he talked about most was seeing sharks feeding on garbage, looking at huge clams and eels, and suddenly being stranded in deep, shark-infested water when the tide changed. He laughed about cookouts on the beach with steaks he had ordered as a supply sergeant. After his discharge from the Army, Ed once again tried higher education at Ohio State.

Golfing and enjoying time with his new friends interfered with his studies and once again Ed returned to Piqua for work. He had many sales jobs, including selling radio time and Windlight signs. But then, two friends, Charlie Schommer and Bernie Malcolm, offered Ed a chance to be in business for himself and that was the beginning of Colonial Stone in Piqua in the Armco quarry. Beautiful limestone was blasted out, cut into buildingsize pieces with a diamond cut saw, and sold for use in walls and homes. His stone was used at Hueston Woods Park and Burr Oak State Park. While at Ohio State, Ed met Patsy. They married in 1957 and had three children: Jan, Sam and Linda. Trips to the quarry always meant the family dog would go swimming in the pond. It also meant a visit to see Abe and Mollie. Ed loved golf,

his golfing buddies, jazz, and old movies. He had a passion for classic clothes, shoes and hats, which included steaming and cleaning in the old fashioned way. He loved his golden retriever Jake. He enjoyed eating out at his favorite places and was known to travel for food. We’d go to Cincinnati to the Maisonette, and the Blue Gibbon for fried rice; Columbus to the Top for lobster tails, and a martini with no vermouth; also to Columbus to Massie’s for pizza and the Clairmont for onion soup and banana cream pie; Shapiro’s in Indianapolis for corned beef; and Greenville for Maid Rites.

He ordered rye bread from Davis Bakery in Cleveland, which was delivered by UPS. One time we made the rounds looking for ribs, found Burbank’s in Cincinnati and when they closed we went to Tipp City to Hickory River BBQ. Yes, he was a foodie. Of course we went to Jungle Jim’s too. He liked cars, but not flying. He had an inner GPS sense of direction. He had a sort of Don Rickles sense of humor with a very distinctive voice.

The family would like to thank the staff on Emma 4 at Maria Joseph Nursing Home and especially the kind people at Bella Care Hospice who attended to Ed. Ed is survived by his wife, Patsy; children, Jan Ziskin, Sam (Meredith) Ziskin, Linda (Mike) Krehnbrink; grandchildren, Max and Jack Ziskin, Josh (Olivia), Marni, Will, Sam and Kali Krehnbrink. Interment was at Dayton National Cemetery.

‘Jewish junta’

hate crimes in America.

The Justice Department bureau, which is charged with enforcing federal gun control laws including new ones recently signed by President Joe Biden, has for years faced a leadership vacuum, and a limited budget and resources for dealing with an expansive mandate. Gun control groups celebrated Dettelbach’s appointment, which Senate Democrats pushed through despite Republican resistance by using procedural rules to force to a vote.

Dettelbach is a member of Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and sends his children to a Cleveland-area Jewish day school.

Leaders at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, the site of the 2018 mass shooting that was the deadliest ever antisemitic attack on American soil, endorsed his appointment.

Gun control groups, including Everytown For Gun Safety and the Brady Campaign, also celebrated his confirmation.

Continued from Page 12 the post, saying on social media, “The perpetuation of antisemitic tropes at a time when antisemitism is on the rise is dangerous.”

The Kentucky Jewish Council, a new local Jewish group formed by Chabad of the Bluegrass director Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, also issued a statement saying the post “stems from a harmful and easily debunked conspiracy theory from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and beyond that claims Jewish control of world politics.”

A former federal prosecutor and Ohio district attorney who unsuccessfully ran for state attorney general as a Democrat, Dettelbach invoked his Judaism during his confirmation hearing, saying that his experiences “raising Jewish children as a religious minority in this country” and witnessing attacks on synagogues and other sites of worship helped fuel his desire to combat gun violence and

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THE DAYTON JEWISH OBSERVER • AUGUST 2022

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