THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 6 SHEVAT, 5770 SHABBAT: FRI 5:29 – SAT 6:29 CINCINNATI, OHIO
Joyce Heiman remembered by Avi Milgrom Assistant Editor
VOL. 156 • NO. 26 SINGLE ISSUE PRICE $2.00
NATIONAL Jewish groups, Israel mobilizing aid for Haiti quake Page 6
On this past Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 in Cincinnati, Joyce Elaine Heiman passed away in the company of her family. Mrs. Heiman was 80 years old. A life filled with service to others will surely become a part of Mrs. Heiman’s legacy. According to her son Dr. Harry Heiman, his mother viewed helping others as an expression of the human need to reach out and connect with others. An only child growing up in Cincinnati, Mrs. Heiman worked often in the grocery store owned by her parents, Harry and Annette Nogen. They bought the store during the Depression, after her
Joyce Heiman passed away Jan. 17, 2010 at the age of 80.
father’s failed search for work in his chosen profession of law. Mrs. Heiman met her husband, Paul, while in her mid teens, and they married in 1948. Fluent in Yiddish, Spanish and German, she capped her educational pursuits with an “M.R.S.” degree. A talented singer and actress, Mrs. Heiman appeared in many musicals in the Cincinnati Jewish community. At one point she sang songs from “Fiddler on the Roof” in both English and Yiddish. While in her 50s, Mrs. Heiman and her husband bought a farm in Mason, where they bred and raised Arabian horses. There Mrs. Heiman’s nurturing found its mark in the care of horses, including foaling and nursing the sick
and injured. Community service that captured Mrs. Heiman’s interest began with New Hope Synagogue, continued with Hadassah and, for the past 13 years, was focused on Cedar Village. There she recruited residents for the assisted living apartments and later became an advocate for, and friend of, the residents. Along with her husband of over 60 years, Mrs. Heiman leaves three sons and their wives, Gary and Kim Heiman, Mark and Richie Heiman and Harry Heiman and Abby Friedman, as well as grandchildren Isaac, Danielle, Alex, Eli, Thea, Aaron and Tim.
HEIMAN on page 22
RITSS High School presents ‘Paint’ INTERNATIONAL Rogue Lubavitchers feast on fast day, sparking uproar Page 9
DINING OUT Sunday brunch costs less at Parkers Blue Ash Grill Page 14
On Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010, students from the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies will present Miriam Feldman’s dramatic presentation of “Paint” at Cincinnati Country Day School. From the Sinai Desert, to the frozen climate of Siberia, to a “regular” modern-day family preparing to paint their house, this story shows how each person can wield her own paintbrush to color her future. The production offers song and dance as well as drama. The play is directed by Marlene Foreman Shmalo, adjunct instructor of communications at UC, and formerly head of the theatre program at Walnut Hills High School. For reservations and ticketing information, call the school.
On the left (L to R): Adina Chriqui (partially blocked), Chavi Toron, Tehila Elias, Almog Sulam, Bracha Kahn (blocked), Shoshana Klafter, Yehudis Spetner; On the right (R to L): Miriam Elias, Tamar Kernerman, Esther Preis, Michelle Chriqui
Miep Gies, helped Anne Frank, dies at 100 by Ami Eden Jewish Telegraphic Agency
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ‘Lebanon’ latest film to explore Israel’s Vietnam Page 20
NEW YORK (JTA) — Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne Frank and recovered her diary, has died at 100. Gies, who died last Monday in the Netherlands, was the last surviving member of the small group that hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. After the arrest of the Frank
family by the Gestapo in 1944, Gies returned to the attic where they had been hiding and found the diary. “Miep Gies was a beacon of light during the dark days of the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “Without her, the world would never have known about Anne Frank and hundreds of millions of people would never have been inspired by her story.”
Bart Bartholomew / Simon Wiesenthal Center
Miep Gies, who helped hide Anne Frank and her family, receiving the the Wiesenthal Center’s Righteous Among the Nations Award.
LOCAL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
2010 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival: What critics say The films shown in the 2010 Jewish and Israeli Film festival have garnered all sorts of awards and reviews. Here is a brief compilation. On opening night, Saturday, Jan. 30, the film is “A Matter of Size.” Nominated for 14 Israeli Academy “Ofir” awards in 2009, it was recently premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the first and largest Jewish film festival in the world. This light-hearted comedy is about a group of overweight friends who give up dieting and learn to accept themselves by becoming Sumo wrestlers. “Four Seasons Lodge,” a documentary of Holocaust survivors who come together each summer to dance, cook, fight, flirt and celebrate their survival, will be shown on Sunday, Jan. 31, as a matinee, and again on Thursday, Feb. 4 in the evening. This film has been featured at several film festivals across the country and won the Audience Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival in 2009. Washington Times’ writer, Christian Toto, commented, “This film packs more wisdom than the best therapy session.”
Ella Taylor of The New York Times wrote, “the film was gorgeously photographed...the awesome spectacle of life triumphing over annihilation.” On Sunday evening, Jan. 31, the film will be the two-time award-winner, “Noodle.” This comedic-drama tells the story of a woman whose life is turned upside down when she tries to help an abandoned boy reunite with his mother. Film journalist, Andrew L. Urban, wrote, “This is the kind of film that reinforces all the good things about human nature.” “Love and Dance” will be shown at the JCC on Monday evening, Feb. 1 and as a matinee on Wednesday, Feb. 3. This movie (suitable for adults and kids, ages 12+) features a young boy who manages to bridge his family’s cultural differences through ballroom dancing classes and young love. “Love and Dance” was nominated for several awards at the Moscow International Film Festival. Critics at the Seattle Jewish Film Festival cited this coming-of-age story as “Irresistible! Israel’s answer to Billy Elliot and Mad Hot Ballroom.”
“Saviors in the Night,” a World War II drama, shows on Tuesday evening, Feb. 2. This film premiered in the U.S. at the 2009 New York Jewish Film Festival, and premiered internationally at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Based on the memoir of Holocaust survivor, Marga Spiegel, it portrays how courageous German farmers risked their lives to hide a Jewish family. Locarno International Film Festival critics noted, “This is a remarkable real-life story of German farmers who helped hide Jewish friends from the Nazis.” Finally, “Bittersweet” takes a contemporary look at modern day life in Tel Aviv, and will be shown on Wednesday evening, Feb. 3. Winner of eight film festival awards, including one world and two international festivals, Bittersweet focuses on various life issues of a close-knit group of young and middle-aged adult friends, such as marriage, children, sexuality, and assisting aging parents. The showing is co-sponsored by the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
Italian Café Chabad with comedy Café Chabad has made a name for itself in Cincinnati by providing Jewish adults with social events that feature delicious food, great entertainment and good company. Held several times throughout the year, these evenings are a wonderful time to meet up with old and new friends in the Jewish community. Local chefs Lenny Loeb and Josh Freid will prepare menu items that include garlic bread, antipasto, salad, Stracciotello soup and pasta dishes Fettuccini Alfredo and Vegetable Lasagna. For dessert it will be mixed berries with Sabayon.
In addition there will be a dried fruit display in honor of Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for trees, which is celebrated the same day as the event. Italian wines will be available for purchase. The entertainment for the evening will be James Hatfield, comedian and hypnotist. Mr. Hatfield is billed as the “The World’s Fastest Stage Hypnotist.” He has performed for audiences from California to Vermont in venues including private clubs, comedy clubs and resorts. “Cafe Chabad is a lively com-
munity party,” said Simon Groner. “The food and merriment are wonderful, and enhance the enjoyment of being with old friends, renewing old acquaintances, and meeting new people in our community.” Café Chabad events are held several times during the year. Advanced reservations are recommended. The Italian Café Chabad will be held on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Chabad Jewish Center. There is a fee. The event is for adults only. For more information, call the Chabad Jewish Center.
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
CCM concert in remembrance of the Holocaust, Jan. 27 On Jan. 27, musicians from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM) will perform a concert featuring once-silenced musical pieces by Braunfels and Levi with a new piece by Pasatieri. Billed as “A Musical Legacy: Three Works, from Three Centuries and Two Continents,” the concert will take place in the historic Plum Street Temple. It marks the United Nations Day of Holocaust Remembrance. Featured in the concert will be three compositions never before performed together. Of the two pieces written by Jewish composers banned in Nazi Germany, one makes its first debut
“This is an opportunity to hear music that, as a result of the Holocaust, has never been shared in the United States, and to celebrate composers who have been forgotten.”
LET THERE BE LIGHT
The oldest English-Jewish weekly in America Founded July 15, 1854 by Isaac M.Wise VOL. 156 • NO. 26 Thursday, January 21, 2009 6 Shevat, 5770 Shabbat begins Fri, 5:29 p.m. Shabbat ends Sat, 6:29 p.m.
Zell Schulman outside of Germany. The third and final piece is by a non-Jewish American, set to texts by Pola Braun, a Jewish poet and performer who was murdered in Terezin. All pieces are connected by the Holocaust. Once intended for destruction, these works will be conducted by
CCM professor and conductor, Mark Gibson, as well as by his student, Martin Wettges. The concert will be performed by members of the CCM Philharmonia and vocalists from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. “This is an opportunity to hear music that, as a result of the Holocaust, has never been shared in the United States, and to celebrate composers who have been forgotten. What a wonderful chance we have to enjoy pieces that were lost for a lifetime!” said Zell Schulman, concert committee chair. Added Sarah Weiss, Executive Director of The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE), “We hope this concert will unite not only the Jewish and German communities, but the Greater Cincinnati com-
munity as well. It is an opportunity for lesser known works to be revealed and celebrated. History enthusiasts, as well as music lovers, will find inspiration in this evening.” The concert is the result of a partnership between CHHE and CCM’s Harmony Fund, that seeks to challenge hate and prejudice through the performing arts. Other organizations involved in the event include the American Jewish Committee, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jewish Community Relations Council of Cincinnati, and the Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati. This event is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited and tickets are required. Contact the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education for more information.
B’nai Tzedek holds first Spiritual Shabbat Congregation B’nai Tzedek will introduce its first monthly Spiritual Shabbat service with a Shabbat Shirah Tu B’Shevat service on Saturday, Jan. 30. The Spiritual Shabbat service will include enhanced readings, meditative chanting and dynamic singing. As a special addition for Shabbat Shirah and Tu B’Shevat, the choir will participate throughout the service, and the sermon will feature Tu B’Shevat songs led by the choir. This will be the first of a series of monthly, spiritually creative Shabbat services that B’nai Tzedek is planning. These services incorporate aspects of the Jewish renewal movement, a transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism’s prophetic and mystical traditions that seek to create relevant, meaningful and joyful services. B’nai Tzedek is one of the first congregations in the Greater Cincinnati area to incorporate
renewal approaches to prayer into Shabbat services. The congregation decided to begin the new service on Tu B’Shevat because it seemed most appropriate to begin a creative series of Shabbat services then. The Torah portion for the week includes the Song of the Sea, which celebrates the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites, and Tu B’Shevat celebrates the beginning of the new year for trees, on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat. The day is marked by eating fruits such as dates, grapes and figs and remembering, as indicated in the book of Deuteronomy, “that man is a tree of the field.” The service will be preceded by a Continental Breakfast and followed by a Kiddush Luncheon. B’nai Tzedek is a Conservative, participant led congregation. Call the synagogue for more information.
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LOCAL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
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Tu B’Shevat Safad Seder at Wise The Wise Temple Senior Committee will host a celebration of Tu B’Shevat, the Birthday of the Trees, with a Seder in the style of the mystics of Safad on Thursday, Jan. 28 at Wise Center. A luncheon will follow the Seder. The Seder will be based on a service developed in the 17th century by a group of mystics. It is in the spirit of the Passover Seder. During this ritual, different types of
fruits and nuts are highlighted, and various Jewish readings on nature are utilized. “…the mystics taught that we live on four levels at the same time. At our Tu B’Shevat Seder, we will visit each level using the various fruits, nuts and juices that will symbolize the various aspects of this spiritual and delicious journey,” said Leah Sauer, one of the chairpeople of the event. Following the Seder, Fran
Goldman will do a presentation on container gardening in honor of the trees blossoming in Israel. Fran has served as co-moderator of the container gardening class at OLLI for a number of years. For centuries, Tu B’Shevat has been celebrated not only for its connection to the trees, but also for its emphasis on anticipating spring and marking a period of renewal. For information on the cost and reservations, call Wise Temple.
B’nai Tzedek sermon on Jewish feminism, Jan. 23 B’nai Tzedek’s Women’s League Shabbat Service on Saturday, Jan. 23 will feature a guest sermon on Jewish feminism. The speaker is Osrat Morag, a Ph.D. student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Morag studies the relationship between Judaism and feminist theology. Her presentation will examine influences that made women’s roles in Judaism evolve differently than those of men. Morag claims that today much of Jewish feminism focuses on establishing equality between the sexes but that equailty was suggested as far back as the commandments.
Morag is Israeli — born and raised in Haifa. After high school she served in the military. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Hebrew University. Morag’s first exposure to reform Judaism was as a tour guide with “The Israel Experience.” This position brought her into contact with North American groups visiting Israel. Morag received her Masters degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary in Women’s Studies and Bible. Morag prepared for the rabbinate at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem. Her current Ph.D. work examines feminist theology as reflected in poetry written by Jewish women.
Also, she currently teaches Judaic Studies and Hebrew at Rockwern Academy. “I am honored to be a guest speaker at B’nai Tzedek, a knowledgeable congregation interested in the role of women in Judaism. I hope to learn from the congregants, as well as share my own ideas,” said Morag. B’nai Tzedek is a participant-led congregation in the Conservative tradition. The Women’s League Shabbat Service will start at 9:30 a.m. and be led by the congregation’s women members. A Kiddush Luncheon will follow the services. For more information, call the synagogue.
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NATIONAL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Jewish groups, Israel mobilizing Dowd’s evening in aid for Haiti quake L.A. with the rabbi
Logan Abassi / UN / Creative Commons
Searching for survivors of the massive earthquake in Haiti, Portau-Prince residents work their way through the rubble.
by Jacob Berkman Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — As the death toll mounts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the organized Jewish world is lining up support for the rescue and relief effort in the region. With Haiti’s government struggling to cope with the aftermath of last Tuesday’s quake, which officials in Port-au-Prince said had killed thousands, governments and relief agencies from around the world are pouring into the impoverished Caribbean country
to help rescue thousands believed to be trapped under the rubble. IsraAID, the Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid, dispatched a 12-person searchand-rescue team to Haiti. The coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish organizations, IsraAID also was considering sending a field hospital, including doctors and medical equipment, as well as humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, the list of Jewish nonprofits that have opened mailboxes to help raise money for the rescue and relief effort was growing quickly, and the Israel Defense
Forces’ Home Front Command was preparing to send a delegation that included engineering, medical, logistics and rescue experts. Israel’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who also serves Haiti, said that the embassy had not been able to reach Jewish families in Haiti due to downed telephone lines. Relatives of Sharona Elsaieh, daughter of the late peace activist Abie Nathan, say she is missing and have turned to Israel’s Foreign Ministry for assistance. Two other Israelis, a woman and her 9-yearold son, also have been reported missing. Several other Israelis also live in Haiti, according to reports. IsraAID and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee are funneling Jewish communal support into Haiti, and the American Jewish World Service is collecting donations for its Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. “We are assessing where the gaps in service are and putting a process in place to help specific communities that might not be immediately served otherwise,” said Aaron Dorfman, the AJWS vice president for programs. “Because of the economic and political situation in Haiti, disasters HAITI on page 19
Artwi / Creative Commons
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, seen in an April 2008 photo, took swipes at President Obama and his White House predecessor, George W. Bush, in her appearance at a Los Angeles synagogue on Jan. 7, 2010.
by Tom Tugend Jewish Telegraphic Agency LOS ANGELES (JTA) — What requests did New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd leave in the cracks of the Western Wall when she accompanied President George W. Bush, and later President Obama, on their trips to Jerusalem? “I left the same message both times,” said the red-headed, IrishAmerican Pulitzer Prize-winner. “I asked, ‘Where’s my Jewish husband?’ ” The acerbic Dowd, a deflator of egos across the political spectrum, proved to be in a fairly mellow mood in an extended giveand-take Jan. 7 with Rabbi David Wolpe at the Sinai Temple here. Billed as a “conversation” on “Manners & Morals in Politics & Culture,” the event made up in humorous anecdotes what it lacked in depth. The younger President Bush, “W” in Dowd-speak, took his expected lumps. “W took the family wagon and rammed it into the globe,” Dowd observed. However, Bush’s successor did not fare all that well either. While Bush’s decision-making process was all visceral, Dowd said Obama may be too cerebral and professorial. “It’s fine to be cool and calm, but on matters of national security, you can’t be all cool, you must connect with the public,” she said. “Obama keeps missing the moment of connection.” Dowd’s view of Obama may have been influenced by an encounter while she was covering the then-Illinois senator as a candidate on the presidential
campaign trail. Obama called in a few top reporters, and at the end he turned to Dowd and said he wanted to speak with her privately for a couple of minutes. With visions of an exclusive, Dowd was a bit startled when the candidate greeted her with the words, “You know, you are really irritating.” Dowd did have high praise for First Lady Michelle Obama. “Michelle stumbled in the early days of the campaign, but she remade her image and in her first six months in the White House she was flawless,” Dowd said. A more in-depth examination on the intersection of personality, politics, power and policy in Washington would have been instructive, but the conversation was detoured to the well-traveled road of gender roles in American life — or are women any happier now than they were before the feminist revolution? As an unmarried 57-year-old woman whose name has been frequently linked with prominent men, Dowd claims considerable expertise on the subject as the author of the 2005 book “Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide.” The veteran journalist, who won the Pulitzer for her commentary on the Monica Lewinsky affair and attempted impeachment of President Clinton, answered the first part of the book’s title in the affirmative. But she deplored continuing bias against women in journalism, describing as “ridiculous” the 8-2 ratio of male vs. female editorial columnists at The New York Times. She attributed part of the problem to the fact that male presidents, including Obama, prefer to bond socially and athletically with male reporters. Dowd noted that Obama played golf for four hours with Tom Friedman, which she said immediately elevated her New York Times colleague into the ranks of “favorite” presidential reporters. On the basis of surveys and her own research and experiences, Dowd proposed that women are now more concerned about their looks and relationships with men than they were 25 years ago. “Women are becoming less happy, while men are becoming happier,” she declared. The reason, Dowd surmised, is that “the more choices women have, the more stressed they are,” adding that “women are finer tuned emotionally.” Wolpe interjected, “Are you saying that we men are happier because we are oblivious?” “Yes,” Dowd answered.
NATIONAL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Conservatives debate Jewish antipathy for Palin
Auburnxc / Creative Commons
Conservatives are debating the degree to which Jews dislike Sarah Palin and whether the antipathy is deserved.
by Ami Eden Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — Forget 2012, Sarah Palin must think she’s headed to the White House even sooner. How better to explain the former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate’s eyebrow-raising comments a few weeks back, when she defended Israeli settlements on the basis that “more Jewish people will be flock-
ing to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead”? After all, it’s hard to think of anything else more likely to convince American Jews to pack their bags for Israel than Palin taking up residence in the White House. And that’s just based on what Jewish conservatives are saying. Jennifer Rubin, who generally blogs and writes for Commentary about the perceived dangers of the Obama administration, has a story in this month’s issue headlined
“Why Jews Hate Sarah Palin.” The piece drew a swift rejoinder from former Bush administration aide David Frum, who rejected Rubin’s sympathetic take on the GOP presidential hopeful and argued that Jews would hardly be alone in not liking Palin. The debate echoes wider fights among Republicans and conservatives, not only about Palin but also the future of the GOP. “If one were to invent a political leader designed to drive liberal, largely secular, urban, highly educated Jews to distraction, one would be hard pressed to come up with a more effective figure than Palin,” Rubin wrote in her Commentary article. Jews more than any other group, she asserted, fall in the camp of liberals and conservatives who see Palin as “uncouth, unschooled, a hick, antiscience and anti-intellectual, an upstart, and a religious fanatic.” Rubin also theorized that Palin’s personal life made her “alien to American Jews,” whether it’s her interest in hunting and guns or her decision to have five children and go through with her final pregnancy after learning that she was having a baby with Down syndrome. In addition, Rubin argued, Palin’s being viewed as “more sexy and PALIN on page 20
B’NAI TZEDEK introduces
SPIRITUAL SHABBAT SATURDAY, JANUARY 30 Continental Breakfast @ 9:30 Spiritual Shabbat Service @ 9:45 Special Songs, Meditations, Chantings & Readings — Kiddush Luncheon Follows —
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Holocaust archives go online
Footnote.com
A property card for a violin from the “Ardelia Hall Collection,” which includes records relating to the Nazi looting of Jewish possessions.
by Rachel Tepper Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Efforts to track down U.S.-held records that may assist Holocaust restitution claims are now a click — and possibly a fee — away. The U.S. National Archives and Footnote, a fee-based history research Web site, recently launched the largest online interactive collection of Holocaust
records. The collection organizes more than 1 million Holocaust-era records, including concentration camp registers and documents from Dachau, Mauthausen, Auschwitz and Flossenburg; captured German records including deportation and death lists from concentration camps; Nuremberg war crimes trial proceedings; and about 26,000 photos from the National Archives.
While the total number of Holocaust records in the National Archives’ possession is not known conclusively because many have yet to be assessed and processed, archivists estimate that the material available on Footnote’s Web site accounts for 10 percent of its current holdings. The database also contains the Ardelia Hall Collection, which includes records relating to the Nazi looting of Jewish possessions such as artwork and other cultural objects. The collection is named for Ardelia Hall, the U.S. State Department’s arts and monuments adviser who worked extensively with the records between 1954 and 1961. The records now available in Footnote’s databases have been in the public domain in the archival research rooms of the National Archives here. The new endeavor marks the first time the documents have been available online and made searchable. In addition to the emotional impact of researching one’s family history, the developers hope that information detailing stolen Jewish possessions might aid in restitution battles. ARCHIVES on page 21
MODELS WANTED for Fashion Show and, No, you don’t have to be a model. We are currently looking for volunteers to model the latest Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Sweet 16, Prom and Graduation party fashions from Kotsovos Furs & Fine Apparel during the 2010 Party Planning Showcase at the JCC on March 7th. If you’re interseted or would like more information, please contact Victoria at 791-3877 or kotsovosapparel@gmail.com
Jewish leaders grapple with the rough-andtumble Internet by Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — After the botched terror plot of the “Christmas underwear bomber,” David Harris took to the Huffington Post to argue that the United States had something to learn from Israel’s stellar record in airport security. The argument seemed fairly innocuous as far as Israel-related matters go. But the vitriol unleashed suggested that Harris, the executive director of The American Jewish Committee, might write about the pleasant Israeli weather and still get hammered. “Israel is not on the front line of fighting Islamic radicalism it on the front line of creating Islamic radicalism,” said the second of hundreds of commenters, using the name “baffy.” “These crazy guys are trying to blow up Americans primarily because of our government’s support of israel’s illegal occupation of palestinian land as well as invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq etc.” Off topic, like many of the comments, but not anti-Semitic. Things became a little more questionable a few Web pages later in an entry by “jomamas”: “Jews need to get something straight: because somebody says ‘we shouldn’t be like Israel’, doesn’t mean that we want to be like Arabs or Iranians, nor does it make them anti-semitic nor Israel haters. I can’t understand how the relatively progressive and educated jewish population is so utterly and completely biased when it comes to the issue of Israel. I don’t like Israel. I am not anti-semitic. I don’t really like Iran or Syria either.” As the response to Harris’ post demonstrates, defending Israel and Jewish interests in tweet time can be rough, anonymous and dirty — and organizational leaders are grappling for strategies on dealing with the phenomenon of personal and anonymous attacks in the comments section. “To read some of the reactions to anything I write about Israel is sometimes to require a very strong stomach — it can be nasty, over the top, vitriolic and dripping,” Harris said. Still, the AJC leader added, he enjoys access to readers unfiltered by letters page editors. “I welcome this new environment,” he said. “Everything I write, I write myself.”
And in the case of left-wing sites such as the Huffington Post, it is important to confront anti-Israel voices, Harris said, rejecting the view of a segment of the organized Jewish community that sees the fight for liberals as futile. Harris, who also has a regular Jerusalem Post blog, raised some Jewish organizational eyebrows when he decided to reply with a second entry on the Huffington Post, this one commenting on his commenters.
AJC
American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris: “To read some of the reactions to anything I write about Israel is sometimes to require a very strong stomach.”
“For some readers my last piece, posted December 31, provided a handy excuse to unleash their unbridled hostility toward Israel,” Harris wrote, and outlined his counter-arguments. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, was less sanguine in describing the comments responding to the material that he has posted on the Huffington Post. “It’s a magnet for conspiracy theorists and for haters,” Foxman said of the comments section. “I look at it and sometimes wonder why am I bothering.” The answer, he adds quickly, is the “silent majority” — those who don’t post replies but are searching the Internet to learn and acquire the tools to defend Israel in their own communities. Nevertheless, Foxman has his doubts. “It’s a vehicle for educating, but it’s a vehicle for all the kooks in the world who want a platform,” he said. “I’m not sure we have the antidote.” INTERNET on page 21
INTERNATIONAL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
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Rogue Lubavitchers feast on fast day, sparking uproar “character defamation” and said he and Leonard considered themselves “free to talk to anybody we choose and to carry on our busi-
Peter Haskin / Australian Jewish News
Rabbi Zvi Telsner, the chief rabbi of Melbourne’s Chabad community, said the dissidents’ behavior “was in total disregard of Jewish law.”
by Dan Goldberg Jewish Telegraphic Agency SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — It was the 10th of Tevet, a fast day when Jews traditionally mourn the start of the siege of Jerusalem, which presaged the destruction of the Holy Temple. But while Orthodox Jews the world over marked the annual solemn day three weeks ago by abstaining from food and drink, a group of 25 or so ChabadLubavitch Chasidim in Melbourne staged a festive meal complete with singing, dancing, kiddush and a Shehechiyanu blessing heralding the arrival of the messianic era. The act, which was recorded in a video that has been posted on YouTube, is causing an uproar across the Lubavitch world in Australia and beyond. “For thousands of years before the Era of Moshiach, Jews commemorated the 10th of Tevet as a sad day connected to the destruction of the Holy Temple,” said a statement posted on the video. “They fasted and prayed for the Redemption and rebuilding of the Temple, so that all the painful days of the exile be turned to celebration and rejoicing. In 1991 the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach has announced, that the long awaited Redemption is here, and the Third Temple is complete and standing ready in Heaven.” “Hello!? Moshiach came already,” said Alex Leonard, the man leading the meal, which took place on Dec. 27. “There’s no fast.” The dissident Lubavitchers who organized the meal, Leonard and Asher Rozenfeld, said they were adhering to Jewish tradition that says that in the messianic era, fast days will turn into days of feasts. At the meal they hailed the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994, as the messiah. A Chabad leader in Australia
denounced the festive meal, held Dec. 27, as “a massive and reckless” act of blasphemy. The belief among Lubavitchers that Schneerson is the messiah is not new. It began during Schneerson’s lifetime, failed to disappear after his death and remains a major issue dividing the community. Even those who do not believe Schneerson is the messiah still believe in the importance of hastening in the messianic era through the performance of mitzvot and by bringing nonobservant Jews to traditional Jewish observance. The rogue act that resulted in the very public desecration of the recent fast day touched a nerve and resulted in what amounts to temporary excommunication for the offending participants. Rabbi Zvi Telsner, the chief rabbi of Melbourne’s Chabad community, issued a scathing statement against the “perpetrators of such misguided deeds,” saying their decision to publicize their “transgression” on the Internet “constitutes a massive and reckless chilul Hashem” — desecration of God’s name. In a ruling plastered on the walls of the Yeshiva Center, Chabad’s headquarters in Australia, Telsner said the dissidents cannot be counted as part of a minyan, are not allowed to answer “amen” in shul and cannot receive an aliyah to the Torah. He instructed members of the community to refrain from speaking with the dissidents or having any business dealings with them until they seek forgiveness before a Jewish court. Telsner did not go so far as to call it formal excommunication, known as cherem. “It’s a statement about people who have transgressed,” he said. “Their behavior was in total disregard of Jewish law.” Rozenfeld called the ruling
ness as usual.” One Lubavitcher who is an expert on cults, Raphael Aron, said the furor raises questions about
Chabad’s ability to continue without a rebbe. Schneerson had no children, and there has been no rebbe since his death.
10
ISRAEL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Questioning of Women of the Wall leader sparks protests by Ben Harris Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Conservative synagogue movement is launching a campaign to protest the recent questioning and possible prosecution of a leader of the group Women of the Wall. For more than two decades, the group has been organizing regular women’s prayer services at the Western Wall and pressing for expanded worship rights at Judaism’s holiest pilgrimage site. Last week its chairwoman, Anat Hoffman, was summoned to a Jerusalem police station for questioning. According to Hoffman, also director of the Reform movement’s Israel Religious Action Center and a former member of the Jerusalem City Council, she was questioned by police about her role in Women of the Wall, fingerprinted and told that her case was being referred to the attorney general for prosecution. “I think it was a meeting of intimidation,” Hoffman told JTA. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israel Police, confirmed the basics of Hoffman’s account. But Shmulik Ben-Ruby, a spokesman for the Jerusalem police, denied that the matter has been referred to prosecutors. He said that Hoffman and her group are suspected of having acted to “hurt the feelings” of worshippers at the wall. “We are still checking and will see what will be the end in the investigation,” Ben-Ruby added.
Yossi Zamir / Flash 90 / JTA
Conservative Jewish women wear prayer shawls and carry Torah scrolls at the Western Wall, Dec. 18, 2009.
Hoffman’s questioning threatens to further exacerbate tensions between American Jewish groups and more conservative elements within the Israel’s Orthodox-controlled religious establishment. She told JTA that she hopes to “wake the American Jewish giant” in an effort to prevent the attorney general from moving ahead with prosecution. If convicted, Hoffman said, she faces prison time or a fine of about $3,000. The United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism, the movement’s congregational arm, issued a statement declaring that Hoffman’s arrest and fingerprinting, “opens a new and ominous chapter in intraJewish relations in Israel.” The group urged members to send a letter to Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren, to inform him of “the gravity of this issue” and press his government to “take immediate steps to end the harassment of women seeking to pray with dignity at the Western
Wall, Judaism’s most holy place.” Hoffman’s questioning comes nearly two months after another Women of the Wall member, Nofrat Frenkel, was arrested after she and other women began reading from a Torah scroll in the course of the group’s regular prayer session at the wall, timed to coincide with the start of the new Hebrew month. Frenkel and Hoffman were informed that they were in violation of an Israeli Supreme Court ruling
that, citing concerns about public safety, denied women the right to read from the Torah in the regular women’s section of the wall. The ruling resulted in the designation of a nearby site, known as Robinson’s Arch, as the place for women to pray as a group with a Torah scroll. Hoffman scoffs at the solution, calling it “separate, but it’s not equal.” A Torah scroll the group uses was damaged by rain at the site, which lacks a covered space like the men’s section at the wall. “It is not a place of prayer,” she said. “It is a place where we are praying, and a tour guide is walking with a tour, showing them the different archaeological artifacts. And most important, we can’t read Torah there in safety because it rains on our head.” Rabbi Avi Shafran, a spokesman for the fervently Orthodox group Agudath Israel of America, defended the limitations on women’s prayer groups. “People of all faiths, after all, are welcome at the Kotel — as they should be,” he wrote in an opinion essay distributed via e-mail. “Out of respect, though, for the Jewish historical and spiritual connection to the place, public services there should respect a single standard of decorum. And that standard should be, as it has been, millennia-old Jewish religious tradition.” Promoting a “particular view of feminism,” Shafran added, “should not compel them to act in ways that they know will offend others, to seek to turn a holy place into a political arena.”
Gush evacuees still waiting for permanent homes by Ben Harris Jewish Telegraphic Agency NITZAN, Israel (JTA) — More than four years after her family was ejected from their home in the Gaza Strip, Karen Sarfaty lives with her husband and four of their children in a small pre-fab house in this small town located about midway between the southern Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod. Neither she nor her husband have found adequate employment. The compensation she received from the government is running out. Her daughter is only now beginning to overcome the trauma of their forced removal from Gaza. And while the lots allocated to them to build permanent houses are nearly ready, Sarfaty says she lacks the money for construction. “I have a lot of anger inside of me,” Sarfaty told JTA. “If [the evacuation] had to be, then it had to be. But at least if it had to be, it
Ben Harris
Karen Sarfaty, in the garden of her temporary home in Nitzan, says her family lacks money to build a permanent house.
should have been done the right way.” More than four years since the August 2005 removal of some 9,000 Israelis from Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, the national trauma of the forced evacuation is firmly in the past. But for the majority of evacuees, who still do not live in permanent homes, the trauma has not ended. According to a report last November by Friends of Gush Katif, the American arm of the former Gaza residents’ official representative in Israel, unemployment among the evacuees is 21 percent, and only 12 percent have begun construction on permanent homes. Housing construction has begun at only seven of the 23 sites where the evacuees are to be resettled. At about half the sites, work on permanent infrastructure — the prerequisite for housing construction — has not begun. EVACUEES on page 22
SOCIAL LIFE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
11
ANNOUNCEMENTS BIRTH
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obyn and Mike Bloomberg (Robyn Miller) of Chicago are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Lilah Rae, on Oct. 9, 2009. Grandparents are Barbara and Donald Miller of Cincinnati and Pam and Steven Bloomberg of Highland Park, Ill. Greatgrandparents are Abe and Adeline Ordman of Dyer, Ind. and Pauline Miller of Cincinnati. Lilah is lovingly named after her late greatgrandparents Lee and Ruth Miller.
M
R
ichael Friedman, son of Debbie and Alan Friedman, passed all four sections of the CPA exam, on his first attempt. A May 2009 graduate of the Kelley School of Business, at Indiana University, Michael is currently a first year staff auditor at Ernst & Young in New York. Michael is the grandson of Marjorie and Melvin Nadler of Cincinnati and Bernice Friedman and the late Arthur H. Friedman of Boca Raton, Fla. and Cincinnati.
R E F UA H S H L E M A H Daniel Eliyahu Daniel ben Tikvah
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Ravid Sulam Ravid Chaya bat Ayelet Edward Ziv Raphael Eliezer Aharon ben Esther Enya
Andrea Lavine Chana Sara bat Esther Enya
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14
DINING OUT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Sunday brunch costs less at Parkers Blue Ash Grill by Bob Wilhelmy Restaurant Reporter There is an appeal to lazy winter Sundays, especially before gearing up for the battles of the work week. Parkers Blue Ash Grill offers a perfect component to such Sundays, in the form of their Sunday brunch, available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The brunch is an impressive buffet, and the list of buffet items is a page in length. The buffet includes a made-to-order omelet station, where you can add cheese and mushrooms and tomatoes and peppers and a bunch more items to your creation. If something lunch-like is more to your leanings, head to the Italian station, where the pasta and a wide range of add-ins are combined to your order. Or stop at the prime rib station and have the carver whack off a slab of beef for you. Then, there are the pick-andchoose items I love at these buffets. You’ll find items such as Belgian waffles, big and thick and deeply pocketed to hold all that syrup and butter and fruit puree and whipped cream you’ll want to pile on. There is plenty more, too. “Our Sunday Brunch has been successful, and we want to attract even more people to Parkers to try it,” said Jim Brewster, general manager of the long-time Blue Ash eatery. “The way we’re doing that is by lowering the price of the buffet to $19.95 (from $24.95) for adults. And in doing that, we have not taken anything away from the buffet; the same items, the same quality, just five dollars less in price for adults.” Children five to ten may enjoy the buffet for $6.95 (formerly $8.95), and those under five years of age eat free. If you are a weekend diner, then perhaps you’ll want the Friday/Saturday prime-rib dinner for $19.95, instead of the regular price of $26. Frankly, it’s difficult for beef lovers the likes of me to beat a generous slab of classic prime rib, slow-roasted, rare and juicy and fork tender. Parkers is one of very few restaurants in the tri-state area to offer the classic prime rib dinner, and claims to be the only establishment offering prime rib daily. “We do the prime rib here and have been doing it for a long time,” said Brewster. Long experience helps assure the certified black-angus beef is done according to time-honored methods of slow roasting. Speaking of roasting, this writer had the pleasure of eating the Australian rack of lamb and the herb-roasted chicken entrées (pictured) recently, and both are excellent dishes. The rack of lamb is prepared medium rare, a perfect level of roasting to my taste, and
At Parkers Blue Ash Grill, Executive Chef Matt Wilson, left, and GM Jim Brewster, are ready to dig into the Australian rack of lamb and the herb-roasted chicken, respectively, two popular dishes in the Stone Hearth Oven Specialties section of the menu
features a mint demi-glace, with sides of bliss potatoes and asparagus, for $24. Delicious! The chicken is a great value in that it is a half of the bird, and Chef Matt Wilson seasons this pan-roasted poultry in a brandyherb sauce that adds wonderful flavor to the finished entrée. The chicken is complemented by red-
skin course-mashed potatoes and haricot verts, for $19.95. Again, the chicken is delicious, and a real comfort-food meal for a cold winter evening. You’ll find both these dishes in the Stone Hearth Oven Specialties section of the menu, along with the long-standing cedar-planked salmon ($21.50), and the tilapia
Mediterranean ($19.50), both of which I have tried on various occasions, and both are excellent choices. On Friday and Saturday evenings, Parkers features halfprice wines, which are designed to complement the dining of the weekend. On each evening, two whites and two reds are selected
from the wine list and offered at the special half-off price. The wine feature has been a popular addition for weekend diners. Patrons will find a lot more than beef on Parker’s menu, but also lighter fare for those inclined toward salad entrées, according to Brewster. Featured are: the Asian Chicken salad ($13.50); and the Caesar, which can be accompanied by the cedar-planked salmon ($14.50). As was the case on the afternoon we visited Parkers, Happy Hour was buzzing with patrons. Happy Hour stretches from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and complimentary, hearty appetizers are available on Thursdays and Fridays. Another reason to stop in is the live music in the Jockey Lounge on Friday and Saturday evenings. The musical entertainment has been a staple at Parkers for years, and patrons come in just to kick back and enjoy the music while they drink and dine. A list of performers to March 14 now is available. See you at Parkers! Parkers Blue Ash Grill 4200 Cooper Road Cincinnati, OH 45242 513-891-8300
DINING OUT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
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OPINION
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
The problem The lives of dedicated Israelbashers, especially those who hate the Jewish State because it’s no longer acceptable to just hate Jews, can’t be easy. The glaring contrasts between Israeli and Palestinian behavior have to make it hard to keep up the “Israel is the problem” chant, in the hope the weed-words find places to grow. Recent events are illustrative. When a mosque in a West Bank village was torched at the end of the year, allegedly at the hand of an Israeli settler angered by his government’s construction freeze, a delegation of Israelis from West Bank settlements brought copies of the Koran to residents of the village and expressed sorrow over the crime. Shortly thereafter, Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Rabbi Yona Metzger visited the village to express his “revulsion at this wretched act of burning a place holy to the Muslim people” and compared the arson to “how the Holocaust began.” Then, 10 days later, a 45-yearold Israeli father of seven, Rabbi Meir Chai, was shot without provocation as he drove his vehicle on a public road. Although the group taking “credit” for the murder claimed affiliation with the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a group connected to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, the Palestinian leader did not extend condolences to the murdered man’s family. He didn’t care, for that matter, to disassociate Fatah from the murder. What he did do, however, was immediately speak up when the Shin Bet, Israel’s highly regarded security agency, identified Rabbi Chai’s killers and killed three of them – one because intelligence information indicated he was armed, the other two because they refused to surrender. (A fourth suspect was taken into custody.) Mr. Abbas declared the three deceased militants “shahids,” or holy martyrs, and sent Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to pay condolence visits to their families. As my respected colleague, Agudath Israel executive vice president Rabbi David Zwiebel, recently wrote to Secretary of State Clinton, “There is something deeply wrong here.” Rabbi Zwiebel went on to point out that United States aid to the Palestinians is conditioned on,
among other things, the Palestinian government’s renouncing violence. Prime Minister Abbas’ silence at the murder of Rabbi Chai by a group claiming affiliation with the military arm of Fatah—not to mention his reaction to the killing of three of Rabbi Chai’s murderers— would seem, Rabbi Zwiebel asserted, grounds for the United States to reconsider whether the Palestinian government satisfies this criterion. Fatah funding aside, though, the stark contrast between Israelis’ reaction to the burning of a mosque by a rogue vandal and the reaction of their adversaries — the “moderates,” no less, among them — to a cold-blooded murder and to the deaths of the murderers should give pause to the “Israel is the problem” crowd. It won’t, though. Their mantra is fueled by blind hatred; it is impervious to all evidence and reason. Objective observers of the Middle East, though, should think long and hard about what happened in the wake of the mosque burning, and in the wake of Rabbi Chai’s murder. And they might further take note of what the murdered rabbi’s 16-year-old son Eliyahu had to say at his father’s funeral. “Dad wanted to learn Torah and pray,” he said through tears, “and if we want to perpetuate his memory, we need to do these things, not take revenge.” “Continue Abba’s path,” he cried out, “Abba wanted faith! Abba wanted Torah study! Abba wanted prayers!… If we want to immortalize Abba, then we have to do things like that — not external things. Not to look for revenge, not to beat up Arabs.” A few days later, the funeral for the rabbi’s alleged murderers took place, attended by an assortment of Palestinian Authority officials. Speaker after speaker called for retaliation and promised to avenge the terrorists’ deaths. A statement from Aksa Martyrs Brigades promised the same. “The enemy,” it read in part, “won’t see anything from us besides the language of blood and fire.” Not all criticism of Israel, of course, is necessarily misguided, and not every decision made by her leaders is necessarily wise. But, real or imagined errors of judgment notwithstanding: no, Israel is not the problem. (Rabbi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America.)
Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, As a former parent of Yavneh Day School students I have watched the school evolve over the years and it is not surprising that it is beginning to implode. When you pay the Head of School a salary equivalent to that of four teachers and have such a top heavy administration, who are all collecting a salary in or near six digits, financial problems should not come as a surprise. Perhaps the Rockwern Board should take a course in Sitebased School Management at the Mayerson Academy. There they would learn that a school needs an enrollment of 400 students to support just one principal, much less the swarm that they have filling administrative positions at that school. How did the school succeed and grow in years past with just a principal? If they insist on maintaing an institution of that size with five administrators, they are merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Robert D. Schmalz Downtown Cincinnati Dear Editor, American Jewish Committee
mourns the passing of Miep Gies, a courageous and principled Dutch woman. She risked her life by helping Anne Frank and her family avoid capture by the Nazis in Amsterdam for more than two years. Miep Gies discovered and hid Anne Frank’s diary, which she handed to Anne’s father, the sole surviving member of the family, after the war. “The Diary of Anne Frank,” a searing personal account of the horror of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young girl, became an international best seller and has been translated into dozens of languages. Abidingly modest and unassuming, Miep Gies never considered herself a hero. On her Web site, she recalled that “more than 20,000 Dutch people helped to hide Jews and others in need of hiding during those years. I willingly did what I could to help. My husband did as well. It was not enough.” Miep Gies exemplified the highest human values during the world’s darkest days. May we always be inspired by her legacy, even as we mourn her death at age 100. Sincerely, Patti Heldman President, American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Region
Dear Editor: The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is working with a leading Israeli non-governmental relief organization to bring humanitarian medical assistance to Haiti after a devastating 7.0 earthquake struck the island nation. “Battered by repeated hurricanes and floods, and a generation of political upheaval, the people of Haiti have again become victims – and they urgently need our help,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. AJC has partnered with IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid in a number of crises, including Sri Lanka after the South Asian tsunami in 2004, a devastating earthquake in Peru in 2007, a tropical storm that hit the Phillipines last year, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, and now Haiti. AJC’s initial donation to support IsrAID’s efforts in Haiti came from AJC’s Harriet and Robert Heilbrunn Humanitarian Fund. Humanitarian relief has been a core of AJC’s work for more than a century. “Our tradition commands us to respond generously and compassionately to LETTERS on page 22
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE of this week’s Torah portion This Week’s Portion: Bo (Shmot 10:1—13:16) 1. Did Pharaoh's advisors advise him to let The Children of Israel leave Egypt? a.) Yes b.) No 2. What brought the locust plague? a.) The word of Hashem b.) They came up from the ground c.) East wind 3. Did Hashem through Moshe give advance warning before the plague of darkness? a.) Yes b.) No
4. Who accompanied The Children of Israel from Egypt? a.) Converts from various nations b.) Wild animals to protect them c.) Angels 5. According to the verse, how many years did The Children of Israel spend in Egypt? a.) 210 b.) 400 c.) 430
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
1. A 10:7 Pharaoh consulted with his advisors each time Moshe warned him. However, this time Moshe was brought back to Pharaoh to negotiate (10:8) Ramban 2. C 10:13 Also A is correct because Hashem not only makes the winds blow, but the east wind brings judgment to the world. R B'Chai 3. B 10:21,22 Rashi does not answer why. However, members of Bnei Yisroel who did not want to leave Egypt perished during the plague of darkness, which the Egyptians did not realize. Rashi 4. A 12:38 5. C 12:40,41 From the birth of Isaac to the Exodus from Egypt it was 400 years to fulfill the prophecy that Abraham's descendants would strangers in a land that was not theirs. However from the time of the Covenant of the Parts it was 430 years.
by Rabbi Avi Shafran Jewish Telegraphic Agency
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Answers
16
JEWISH LIFE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
17
Sedra of the Week by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Bo Exodus 10:1-13:16
Efrat, Israel — “This day shall be for you a memorial; and you shall celebrate it as a Festival unto the Lord for your generations. As an eternal statute shall you celebrate it” (Exodus 12:14). This week’s Biblical reading describes the workings of the Hebrew calendar beginning with the celebration of the New Moon. It then tells us about the many laws of the festival of Passover, our festival of freedom. But there is one “mystery” festival which requires definition and explanation: “this day shall be for you a memorial…” (Exodus 12:14). Which day is the Scripture speaking about? The classical commentator Rashi suggests that it refers to the first day of Passover—the 15th of Nissan. But Passover lasts for seven days, with the first and last days being called “holy convocations” on which no physical work is permitted. (12:16)Why single out the first day? On the 10th of Nissan, the Jews in Egypt were commanded to take a lamb and keep it until the 14th of the month when they slaughtered it and placed its blood on their door-posts. The lamb was then roasted on the fire, and we were commanded to eat the whole of this sacrifice including its head, legs and innards. Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra maintains that the special festival refers to this day which was designated for the “slaughter of the paschal lamb by the entire witness-congregation of Israel after the sun begins to set.” (Exodus 12:6). Why were the instructions for this sacrifice so detailed and why did it warrant a special day on the eve of Passover to serve as an eternal memorial (zikaron)? The astrological symbol of the month of Nissan, its “sign on the zodiac” is Aries the ram linguistically linked to Ra, the sun-god of Egypt. Aries was particularly invoked during the month of Nissan, the first month of spring, when the days were getting longer and the sun was getting stronger. Ra’mses, or son of Ra, the sungod, was a popular Egyptian name and the very term Pharaoh may very well mean the House of Ra, or the sun-god. If indeed the ram (or lamb) symbolized the sun-god of Egypt, we can readily understand why the Hebrews had to
leave Egypt for three days in order to carry out their sacrifice as Moses explained to Pharaoh: “It would not be proper for us to do so (in Egypt) since it would be an abomination for Egypt that we slaughter in a way which would be an abomination to Egypt before their eyes and not have them stone us?” (Exodus 8:22, see also Genesis 46:34) Nevertheless, right before the exodus, the Almighty commands each Hebrew household to take a lamb (or ram) on the 10th day of Nissan, the month of Aries, or Ra, and then four days later to slaughter the symbol of the Egyptian god before the eyes of their masters. A midrash teaches that on that same day they had themselves circumcised, a symbol par excellence of blood commitment before placing the blood of the ram on the doorposts of their homes, flaunting their sacrilegious act before the Egyptians. They then roasted the lamb on a fire, causing maximum fragrance to waft into the streets outside, while retaining all of the lambs’ limbs “entire and intact,” as the ultimate act of defiance. I believe that God’s message with this commandment was that the Hebrews had to earn their right to freedom — pay their exit or exodus tax, as it were, by slaughtering the symbol of the Egyptian god, patron of consummate evil who presided over hedonistic and totalitarian pharaohs. Slaughtering the ram must have been a capital offense in Egypt and by carrying out the Divine command in such a public manner, the Hebrews were placing their lives on the line for the God of freedom and morality. This then is the memorial, the unique festival of the 14th day of Nissan, which certainly deserves to be an eternal statute; as a reminder of Hebrew mesirut nefesh, our commitment to pay the ultimate price, for the sake of freedom and redemption. It is also a reminder that without this total dedication, liberty and deliverance will remain illusory and unrealized goals. Thus from a Biblical perspective, there are two distinct and disparate festivals: first the one-day Festival of the Passover Sacrifice, on the 14th day of Nissan, followed by the seven day Festival of Matzot, from the 15th to the 22nd of Nissan. There remains one more set of symbols to explain: the matzah
(unleavened bread) and the hametz (leavened, fermented, risen bread). Matzah represents the poor bread eaten by the Hebrew slaves, who would return home hungry and exhausted after a difficult day of slave labor, so desperate for sleep that they hadn’t the energy to wait for their dough to rise before eating their one meager meal of the day. Matzah was also the bread which the Hebrews took out of Egypt with them, and so it became the symbol of freedom — freedom of movement, freedom of choice, and freedom of worship. At the Seder, the matzah is eaten together with the paschal sacrifice, and after the destruction of the Temple, it took on the symbolism of the paschal sacrifice in the form of the Afikomen which substitutes for the final taste of the paschal sacrifice that was eaten in Temple times. On the other hand, yeast and leavening, hametz, symbolizes the hedonistic materialistic Pharaohs, who represented Ra the sun-god, and who utilized Hebrew slave labor for their own puffed-up selfaggrandizement. Hence we are Biblically commanded, “But, on the first day (of the Festival of the Paschal Sacrifice, the 14th day of Nissan) you must cause leavening to cease to be in your homes…” (Exodus 12:15). And the Hebrew word tashbitu (cease to be) can mean either to physically destroy or to spiritually transform. The Jewish people, the children of Abraham, were put in this world to imbue it with compassionate righteousness and morality, to fight against and ultimately destroy the unbridled greed which fuels totalitarian despots who take advantage of, and even enslave their weaker subjects. This “leavening” cannot be tolerated. If we can bloodlessly change regimes, if Amalek can be inspired to repent as the Talmud records that the grandchildren of Amalek taught Torah in Bnei-Brak, (B.T. Sanhedrin 98), that would be optimal; but if such spiritual transformations are impossible, then Pharaoh and his cohorts must be drowned in the Reed Sea. Ultimately, freedom and morality must prevail if humanity is to endure. Shabbat Shalom Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi — Efrat Israel
Celebrating 125 years in Cincinnati and 10 years at Cornell. 8100 Cornell Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45249 (513) 489-3399 • www.ohavshalom.org
3100 LONGMEADOW LANE • CINCINNATI, OH 45236 791-1330 • www.templesholom.net Richard Shapiro, Interim Rabbi Marcy Ziek, President Gerry H. Walter, Rabbi Emeritus Friday January 22 6:30 pm Sholom Unplugged Musical Shabbat – A light dinner will follow the service
Friday January 29 6:00 pm Shabbat Nosh 6:30 pm Shabbat Evening Service
Saturday January 23 10:00 am Transition Shabbaton including worship, lunch and discussions
Saturday January 30 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Service Lunch and Tu B’Shevat Seder to follow services
Sincere Sympathy To: Dr. Bill Boniface on the death of his sister, Jane Clark The family of Paul Toner
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JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist SOMETHING LIGHT, SOMETHING NOT “The Tooth Fairy” is a fantasy/comedy starring Dwayne Johnson (known as “The Rock” when he was a pro wrestler). Johnson plays Derek Thompson, a tough minor league hockey player. When Derek tells a little girl that there is no tooth fairy — a “real” tooth fairy, played by Julie Andrews, magically “sentences” Derek to work a week as a tooth fairy, complete with wings and tutu. BILLY CRYSTAL has a cameo role and the director is MICHAEL LEMBECK, 62, the son of the late comedic actor HARVEY LEMBECK (best known for playing PHIL SILVERS’ corporal in “Sgt. Bilko”). (Opens Friday, Jan. 22) HARRISON FORD, 67, costars in “Extraordinary Measures” as Dr. Robert Stonehill, an unconventional biologist. When John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) is diagnosed with a fatal disease, he and his wife (Keri Russell) enlist Stonehill’s help to develop a lifesaving drug. (Russell has been described by her friend, director J.J. ABRAMS, as “part Jewish,” but what that means has never been made clear in any other source.) Opens Jan. 22. WINTER SPORT ROUND-UP Here’s this season’s National Hockey League, Jewish player round-up, prepared with the help of Jewish Sports Review newsletter: MIKE BROWN, 24, rightwing, Anaheim Ducks; MICHAEL CAMMALLERI, 27, forward, Montreal Canadiens. Last year, with the Calgary Flames, “Cam” really came into his own as a star player and scored 39 goals (the highest total ever by a Jewish NHL player); JEFF HALPERN, 33, center, Tampa Bay Lightning; ERIC NYSTROM, 26, defenseman, Calgary; MATHIEU SCHNEIDER, 40, defenseman, Vancouver Canucks. (Halpern, Brown, and Schneider have two Jewish parents. Nystrom, who had a bar mitzvah, and Cammalleri, who was raised secular, are the sons of Jewish mothers/non-Jewish fathers.) Last fall, the NBA Sacramento Kings signed Israeli basketball star OMRI CASSPI, 21. He’s turned out to be an exceptional player who quickly made the starting line-up and is now a serious contender for rookie-of-theyear honors. The other Jewish NBA player is JORDAN FARMAR 23, the back-up point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, last
year’s league champion. Farmar, who was raised Jewish, is the son of a white Jewish mother and a non-Jewish African-American father. THEY AIN’T SO TOLERANT IN EGYPT In a recent column, I reported some remarks by actor Omar Sharif. I said, in part: Sharif, who was born in Egypt to Lebanese Christian Arab parents…converted to Islam to marry a famous Egyptian Muslim actress. The marriage…ended decades ago — it produced Sharif’s one child, a son, Tariq. About Tariq, the actor said..: “Now my son is atheist like me. I have educated him so that he is tolerant of the whole world. …[my son] has married three times — to an Orthodox Jewish girl, to a Catholic girl and now to a Muslim girl. ... I have a Jewish grandson, for whom I gave the biggest bar mitzvah in Canada.” I was just referred to a 2007 English-language interview that Sharif gave to Al Jazeera, the most popular TV station in the Arab world. Its audience includes a lot of Muslim extremists. The interviewer, who had read the same Western media interviews I did, asked Sharif about his “Jewish grandson.” In short, Sharif replied: [my] “Grandson is not the Jewish in the least…his father is a Muslim and he is a Muslim…although he does respect his Jewish mother…he is with us, with us, his father’s family.” I don’t know if Sharif’s grandson, also named Omar, now identifies as a Jew or a Muslim. However, Sharif was either outright lying about or, at the very least, minimizing Omar’s Jewish ties. Tariq and Omar’s mother divorced when Omar was a toddler; Omar was raised in Canada by his mother; and now is doing post-grad work in London, after finishing college near home. Tariq now lives in Egypt. Omar Sharif frequently visits Egypt, as does his grandson, Omar. It seems to me that Sharif “fibbed” because he was outright scared of the reaction of the Arab Muslim world if it was widely known that Tariq had consented to the raising of his son as a Jew — and that Omar Sharif had paid for the boy’s bar mitzvah. In Islam, the son of a Muslim father is “automatically Muslim” and the grandson, in the view of most Muslims, would be an apostate from Islam if he identified as Jew as an adult. Also, most traditional Muslims would say that Tariq and Omar Sharif are guilty of a serious religious offense for consenting to/assisting with the raising of a “Muslim child” as a Jew.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Mrs. E. Klein of 705 Glenwood Avenue, returned home Thursday from a visit with her sister in Iowa. The Manischewitz matzoth bakery , employing 120 hands, was damaged to the extent of about $5,000 last Sunday by fire, smoke and water. Aaron Lehman, aged 74 years, of Greenville, Ala., died at home and was buried in Montgomery, Ala., Jan.13. He was the father of
Mrs. Simon Hesse, Lexington Avenue, Avondale, and is survived by five daughters, three sons, 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Emil Pollak, who was appointed as a member of the University Board of Trustees Tuesday, has won the distinction of being the only Cincinnatian who simultaneously held membership in Cincinnati’s three educational boards — the Board of Education, the Union
Board of High Schools and the Board of Trustees of the University. His unique position will no doubt enable him to do much toward coordinating and harmonizing the entire educational system of the city, from the kindergarten to the university. Mr. Pollak is also one of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College and of the Talmud Yelodim Institute, the religious school of the Plum Street Temple congregation. — January 20, 1910
75 Years Ago In honor of their cousin, Mr. Paul J. Sachs, internationally known in the field of art, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob S. Plaut entertained with a cocktail party on Jan. 21, having with them on this occasion a few intimate friends. Mr. Sachs, professor of fine arts at Harvard University, a director of the Fogg Museum on Harvard campus, and an honorary director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, spoke later in the evening before members of the Museum Association on “Aspects of the Eighteenth Century Art.”
Also in his honor, Mr. Charles J. Livingood, president of the Art Museum, entertained at a luncheon at the Queen City Club, and Miss Mary Hanna gave a dinner honoring Mr. Sachs. Mr. Harry D. Liebschutz, former president of the Men’s Apparel Club of Ohio, will be a speaker and the chairman of a delegation from Cincinnati to the State convention in March in Cleveland. Other Cincinnatians who will attend will be Messrs. Arthur Bowman, Jr., Morris Tobias, Bert M. Yamin,
Harry Marks, Gordon Block, Martin Kessler, Eugene Saenger, Nat Newburgh, Edward J. Weisbaum,, Walter N. Rosentahl, Rudolph Benson and David Levine. Mrs. Marie Rosen, wife of Rev. Emil Rosen, cantor at K.K. Adath Israel Synagogue, is in grave condition at the Jewish Hospital as the result of having been struck by an automobile when across the street from her home Jan. 19. She suffered a possible skull fracture, internal injuries and deep cuts. — January 24, 1935
50 Years Ago Harry D. Liebshutz has been elected president of the Home for Jewish aged of Cincinnati. He has been a member of the board since 1953, and a vice president since 1958. Mr. Liebschutz stressed the importance of realistic planning toward a new building. That theme was noted also in the annual reports of Norvin J. Heldman, outgoing president, and Charles R. Cohen, executive director. Elected by the board were David W. Ellis, Charles R. Levinson,
S. Charles Straus, vice presidents; David W. Goldman, secretary; Thomas J. Reis, treasurer. New trustees are Nickolas J. Grossman and Dr. Aaron W. Perlman for three years each; Jay A. Goldstein, Marvin H. Rose, Sidney A. Warm, for one year each. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Henle Klein of Cincinnati announce the engagement of their daughter, Betsy Ruth, to Mr. Marvin Heidingsfeld Schwartz, son of Mrs. Harry Lapriow of Kennebunk, Maine, and Dr. Bernard Schwartz of Cincinnati.
Mrs. Helen Thorner Morgenstern passed away Wednesday, Jan. 13. She had lived in Cincinnati for 52 years and before that in Macon, Ga. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Julian Morgenstern, president emeritus of HUC-JIR; a daughter, Mrs. William Greenebaum, of Macon; two sisters, Miss Gertrude Thorner and Miss Evelyn Thorner, of Macon; and two grandsons, Rabbi William Greenebaum II of Milwaukee and Julian Morgenstern Greenebaum of Detroit. — January 21, 1960
25 Years Ago President Alfred Gottschalk of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion will deliver the inaugural prayer at the inauguration of President Reagan and Vice President Bush Monday, Jan. 21. Edwin L. Drill, president of Adath Israel, has appointed Ira Dinerman and Robert Dinerman co-chairmen of the annual Night of Stars. Ira and Robert Dinerman are the sons of Mrs. Samuel Dinerman
and the late Samuel Dinerman. “Sam” Dinerman had been chairman of the Night of Stars for 12 years. This year’s concert, featuring Roberta Peters will be held Sunday, April 28, in the Lerner Auditorium at Adath Israel. United Jewish Cemetery operates six cemeteries for Rockdale and Wise Temples. Its Board of Delegates is composed of six members from each Temple.
At its annual meeting on Dec. 16, the following officers were elected: president, John J. Frank, Jr.; vice president and financial secretary, Mrs. David L. Graller; treasurer, Robert Chalken; recording secretary, Judge Burton Perlman. Other delegates are: John A. Benjamin, Milton M. Bloom, Samuel L. Chalfie, Alfred M. Cohen, David W. Goldman and Melvin W. Schaengold. — January 17, 1985
10 Years Ago Samuel Mansbach, 72, of Ashland, Ky., died on Dec. 16, 1999. He is survived by his wife, Darlene; two daughters, Lori Moore of Ashland and Robin Mansbach of Lexington. Other survivors include: four sisters, Sophia Ralson of Cincinnati; Trudie Weber of Sherman Oaks, Ca.; Minx Auerbach of Louisville; and Hannah
Weininger of Scottsdale; as well as a brother, Gerald. Frances F. Schulein died on Jan. 8, 2000 at the age of 73. She was born in Oberlauringen, Germany. She was predeceased in 1985 by her husband, Fred. She is survived by a daughter, Miriam Burrows and her husband, Dan of Chicago. Other survivors are: two grandchildren,
Rachel and Jeffery Burrows, also of Chicago. Surviving cousins are: Joyce and Paul Heiman, Barbara and Walter Kaufman, Anita and Lothar Haas, all of Cincinnati. Other cousins include: Ell Kugleman and Walter Beaverstein, both of Florida; Louis Beaverstein of Toronto; and Karl Wurzman of Cleveland. — January 20, 2000
CLASSIFIEDS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc. (513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Beth Tevilah Mikveh Society (513) 821-6679 Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7226 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 336-3183 • cedar-village.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Community Center (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org Jewish Community Relations Council (513) 985-1501 Jewish Family Service (513) 469-1188 • jfscinti.org Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (513) 985-1500 • shalomcincy.org Jewish Foundation (513) 792-2715 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 Jewish Vocational Service (513) 985-0515 • jvscinti.org Kesher (513) 766-3348 Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Summer Intern Program (513) 683-6670 • workum.org CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 335-5812 Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tikvah (513) 759-5356 • bnai-tikvah.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • bnaitzedek.us Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org
Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Isaac Nathan Congregation (513) 841-9005 Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Kneseth Israel Congregation (513) 731-8377 • kicc.org Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Sephardic Beth Sholom Congregation (513) 793-6936 Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com
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EDUCATION Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com Cincinnati Community Kollel (513) 631-1118 • kollel.shul.net Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Reform Jewish High School (513) 469-6406 • crjhs.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati-hadassah.org Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com Women’s American ORT (513) 985-1512 • ortamerica.org.org
HAITI from page 6 like this have devastating consequences throughout the country. Our longstanding partnerships with grass-roots organizations in Haiti allow us to reach the poorest and most remote populations with the speed necessary to save lives.” JDC sounded a similar message. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti in the wake of this overwhelming disaster, and as we did following Hurricane Gustav in 2008, JDC will leverage its strong partnerships in the region to respond quickly and compassionately to the needs of those affected,” said Steven Schwager, JDC’s chief executive officer. “Now and in the months to come, JDC will provide both immediate relief as well as long-term assistance to help the Haitian people rebuild their lives.” The Jewish Federations of North America is coordinating with the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief to assist victims of natural or man-made disasters on a nonsectarian basis. The coalition is managed by the JDC, which is the Jewish Federations’ foreign aid agency, and consists of organizations including the Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, World ORT, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, AJWS and American Jewish Committee, among others. In the wake of the Southeast
Asia tsunami, the federation movement raised more than $10 million for the JDC’s $18 millionplus relief effort. The federation movement spearheaded a nearly $30 million aid effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, creating a blueprint for collective disaster relief. The Jewish Federations of North America also has opened its own disaster relief mailboxes when Jewish communities were affected in other disasters, such as fires that swept across Southern California. “Our hearts go out to the victims of this terrible tragedy in a nation already suffering from so many challenges,” Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said after Tuesday’s quake in Haiti. “The massive scale of the earthquake will require an international support network,” said Dennis Glick, the president of B’nai B’rith International, which is funneling money to Haiti through IsraAID. “Our ongoing partnership with IsraAID means our help can go a lot further. We extend our deepest sympathies to the people of Haiti as they face the consequences of another natural disaster.” The earthquake was the strongest in Haiti in 200 years. The National Palace and United Nations peacekeeper headquarters were among the many buildings that suffered damage.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
‘Lebanon’ latest film to explore Israel’s Vietnam
Unnecessary War,” Yehuda Stav, a film critic at Israel’s largest-circulation newspaper, Yediot Achronot, told JTA. That explains its appeal as a storyline, he said, just as Hollywood’s films about Vietnam continue to capture the popular imagination of U.S. audiences. In films depicting Israel’s earlier wars, there was little hint of the self-doubt and critique of Israeli society that began to emerge after the first Palestinian intifada in the late 1980s, Stav said. Movies at the time started to express an Israeli sentiment that came to be known derisively as “shooting and crying” (in Hebrew, “yorim v’bochim”) — a label bestowed by anti-war Israelis on left-wingers who took part in what they viewed as questionable military missions only to return and criticize the army and the government for what they themselves had participated in. The current wave of Lebanon movies in some ways continues
the trend, Stav said, in particular “Lebanon” and “Waltz with Bashir.” Both wrestle with individual soldiers’ internalized, suppressed emotions reflecting traumatic events the filmmakers themselves experienced fighting in Lebanon. A common denominator in the films is their viewpoint limited to one slice of the war: the experiences of individual characters. In the case of “Beaufort,” it’s the characters at the Crusader-era fortress of the same name on the eve of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. The audience sees no more than the characters do from their hilltop perch. “Waltz with Bashir,” an animated documentary that made the Academy Awards finals in the Best Foreign Film category last year — “Beaufort” had reached that milestone the previous year — explores what the Israeli role may have been during the massacre of Palestinians at Lebanon’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in a nar-
rative drawn from the repressed memories of filmmaker Ari Folman and his fellow soldiers. In “Lebanon,” the war is viewed from the perspective of four soldiers manning a tank that has been dispatched to search a hostile town only to become lost amid Syrian forces. The film shows little more than what the soldiers themselves see: a limited line of vision to fighting outside the tank and the dynamic of terror inside the tank, as four young men try to navigate their vehicle —not just a machine of war but a potential death trap — back to safety. Yvonne Kozlovsky-Golan, an academic who researches the theme of war and film and teaches at Sapir College in southern Israel, says it’s not surprising that it has taken awhile for films to be made about the war. “Post-trauma usually takes about 10 years to come out, not only in film but literature too,” she said. Lebanon War-related films are
coming out now because of financial reasons, too. In recent years, as Israel’s film industry has grown and received more recognition, Israeli productions have drawn greater investment from abroad. Even though all three films were made on relatively limited budgets, they had the support of European co-producers. Some have described the films as anti-war treatises and one of the reasons liberal European funders — and audiences — found them palpable. But Kozlovsky-Golan sees them differently. “It may be fashionable to call them anti-war movies, but in the very origins of these films is a theme of the Jewish value of being a pursuer of peace, a ‘rodef shalom,’” she said. “In the Talmud, a debate emerged that concluded that Jews should refrain from confrontation and not be involved in war-like situations,” Kozlovsky-Golan said. “And even though these filmmakers are secular Jewish Israelis, I see that this tradition is also rooted in them, this feeling that somehow war is not a Jewish thing.” Meir Schnitzer, a film critic for Israel’s daily Ma’ariv, said the films promote the image Israelis would like to see of themselves. “The films are a continuation of the feeling that Israel is the victim in the Middle East conflict,” he said. “They act as a salve against charges that we are war criminals.” David Silber, the producer of “Beaufort” and “Lebanon,” said the films on the Lebanon War serve a social function. “They help people understand the misery of war, the need to explain again and again that it’s a terrible thing and should only be chosen as a last resort,” Silber said. “I don’t know if we are still paying a price specifically for the Lebanon War, but the far bigger issue is that we have been at war for the past 100 years here. “On one level we are a posttraumatic society,” he said, “and these films give expression to that.”
behalf of her assertion [that Jews hate Palin] is a September 2008 poll in which Jews disapproved of Palin by a 54-37 margin. That does not look like foaming hatred to me, and anyway those numbers are now 15 months out of date,” Frum wrote in a blog post on his Web site, Frum Forum. “Besides: Lots of people dislike Sarah Palin. Palin excites intense support among a core group of conservative Republicans. Beyond that base, she is one of the most unpopular figures in modern American life. She polls poorly among the young, among women, among independents. A plurality
even of Republican women regard her as unqualified for the presidency.” Frum also noted that Jews have been fond of politicians with larger families than Palin’s (Bobby Kennedy) and ones from humbler beginnings (Bill Clinton). He did, however, say that a major problem for Palin among Jews is “that they — we — doubt her intellectual capacity for the job.” But Palin’s biggest problem in winning Jewish support, Frum speculated, is that she divides “her fellow-Americans into first class and second class citizens, real Americans and not-so-real
Americans.” “To do her justice, she has never said anything to suggest that Jews as Jews fall into the second, less-real, class,” Frum added. “But Jews do tend to have an intuition that when this sort of line-drawing is done, we are likely to find ourselves on the wrong side.” Palin’s defenders, including Rubin, say that the Alaskan politician has only defended herself against unfair attacks from liberal and coastal elites. Still, Rubin said in the conclusion of her article, Palin needs to take several steps if she hoped to
expand her base and make inroads into the Jewish community. Palin’s staunch support for Israel is a major plus but, Rubin wrote, she “must accept the obligation to speak with authority and command about pressing publicpolicy issues. She will have to make voters comfortable with the idea that she is neither ignorant nor lacking in intellectual agility.” Rubin concluded that Palin must not only castigate her elitist critics, but “must also demonstrate that she can go toe-to-toe with them in articulating positions on the issues that all candidates are expected to address.”
by Dina Kraft Jewish Telegraphic Agency TEL AVIV (JTA) — From the depths of an Israeli soldier turned middle-aged filmmaker’s haunted memories, the new award-winning movie “Lebanon” consists mainly of scenes shot from inside a sweatand anxiety-soaked tank of Israeli army conscripts trapped behind enemy lines. Accepting the prestigious Venice Film Festival’s top prize last month, Samuel Maoz, the film’s writer and director, said the victory was for all those forever marked by the trauma of war. “I dedicate this award to the thousands of people all over the world who, like me, come back from war safe and sound,” he said after winning the highest international honor ever bestowed on an Israeli film. “Apparently they are fine, they work, get married, have children. But inside, the memory will remain stabbed in their soul.” “Lebanon,” which opens this week in Israel, is part of a trilogy of internationally acclaimed Israeli movies on the first Lebanon War to have come out in the past three years. The films — “Beaufort” (2007) and “Waltz with Bashir” (2008) are the other two — are a reminder that the war’s impact on Israeli society and the men who fought it is still being played out 25 years after the first Israeli tanks rumbled across Israel’s northern border and into a different type of war than Israel had ever known. Launched in an invasion in the summer of 1982, the war became Israel’s first experience fighting a guerrilla war. What originally was sold to the government by thenDefense Minister Ariel Sharon as a swift operation stretched into 18 years of fighting on Lebanese soil. The Israeli public began to question the war’s goals as it stretched into what was called “the mud of Lebanon” and became known as Israel’s Vietnam. “Lebanon people began to ask themselves why Israel there, and it became symbolic as the PALIN from page 7 athletic” didn’t sit well with Jewish women, who have grown accustomed to admiring female politicians who are “modest to the point of frumpiness in appearance and professional style.” Frum, who served as a White House speechwriter and had been widely credited for helping to coin the term “axis of evil,” responded with a blog post challenging Rubin on several fronts, starting with the premise that Jews stand out in their dislike for Palin. “The sole evidence she cites on
Etiel Zion
Scene from “Lebanon” illustrates the anguish of war.
NEWS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
ARCHIVES from page 8 Holocaust survivors and their families are still battling with several European governments over the issue of restitution, in particular the return of artwork stolen by the Nazis and the communists in Central and Eastern Europe. The project also has a considerable social networking component; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum provided to Footnote.com the material for some 600 interactive personal accounts of those who survived or perished in the Holocaust. Footnote’s technology allows visitors to search for names and add photos, comments and stories, share their insights and create pages to highlight their discoveries. “These pages tell a personal story that is not included in the history textbooks,” said Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “They give visitors a firsthand glimpse into the tragic events of the Holocaust and allow users to INTERNET from page 8 A spokesman for the Huffington Post, Mario Ruiz, said the blog endeavored to screen offensive comments. “All comments made on blog posts are currently monitored by paid moderators,” Ruiz said. “While every effort is made to eliminate offensive comments, they do occasionally slip through the cracks of a process that handles nearly 2 million comments a month. But from its inception, HuffPost has taken comment moderation very seriously, and devotes a lot of energy and resources to maintaining a civil conversation, free of name calling, ad hominem attacks and offensive language.” Ruiz said it was “great” that Harris was taking on his commenters. Faulting the Huffington Post for such comments would be unfair, considering their ubiquity on proIsrael Web sites, including The Jerusalem Post, said Eric Rozenman, the Washington director of CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. “Look at the talkbacks at any place to any article that stirs a little controversy — the Post, Haaretz — it can be appalling and disconcerting, the kind of stuff you used to see on bathroom walls,” he said. “The technology has enabled the fringe to go mainstream, and no one knows what to do about it.” While it’s difficult enough keeping the anti-Semitic genie in the bottle in the mainstream media, CAMERA’s most recent struggle has been with C-SPAN, the cable broadcaster dedicated to making government transparent through
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engage with content such as maps, photos, timelines and personal accounts of victims and survivors through over 1 million documents.” U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum official records on Footnote.com will supplement data already on the museum’s Web site and bring the stories of Holocaust victims and survivors to a wider audience, thus creating a richer research experience. The information on Footnote.com will link back to additional material on the museum’s Web site, said Michael Gurnberger, the museum’s director of collections. Gurnberger believes that having several sites featuring the material will increase the potential for learning and meaningful research. “It’s not only to reach more people,” he said of Footnote.com. “It’s also to bring them back to our Web site so they can learn more. That’s our mission.” Menachem Rosensaft, vice
president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants, welcomed the availability of the archives’ collection but voiced some concerns. “Any initiative that provides access to Holocaust-related documentation is positive,” Rosensaft said. “Of course, having it in conjunction with the National Archives and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is extremely important because it provides a serious legitimacy to the project.” He added, however, that the limitations of the database must be made clear. While the database includes a large amount of historical material, Rosensaft said, it represents only a sliver of the records kept during the Holocaust and do not make for a complete picture of events during that time. Rosensaft warned users that major discoveries are “a longshot under any circumstances.” He also voiced concern over the project’s social networking
element, saying that scholars and users need to “keep in mind the difference between an objective document and a subjective one that is being created based on memory.” There’s always a risk of memory fading, he says, of dates being approximations and information being inaccurate as a result, despite the best intentions of the author. Access to the collections has been free, but full access eventually was expected to be reserved for those with paid memberships. Memberships on Footnote are $79.95 annually and $11.95 monthly. Users, however, can use the databases on a “pay-perimage” basis for $2.95 per record. Access to the “Stories” section of the site and pages created with Footnote’s social media tools were expected to remain free. Rosensaft expressed displeasure that access to the records ultimately would become fee-based. Documents that have been in the public domain, he said, should not
be part of a profit-making venture, especially in regard to research for Holocaust survivors and their heirs. “There should not be a price tag on that,” he stressed. Still, Rosensaft anticipated that Holocaust survivors and their descendants would welcome the resource. “I think the community is going to be very appreciative,” he said. Despite any misgivings about the project, Rosensaft acknowledged that the large scale of the project is particularly exciting. “We cannot afford to forget this period in our history,” said Michael Kurtz, assistant archivist of the United States and author of “America and the Return of Nazi Contraband: The Recovery of Europe’s Cultural Treasures.” “Working with Footnote, these records will become more widely accessible, and will help people now and in the future learn more about the events and impact of the Holocaust.”
live broadcasts of the U.S. Congress and the executive branch. For the last year and a half, CAMERA has tracked a cadre of diehard anti-Semites who have been abusing C-SPAN’s open caller policy, injecting vitriol against Israel and Jews into just about any discussion, ranging from taxes to Middle East policy. Until now, the reply from CSPAN has been radio silence. Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst who has claimed he lost work because of his anti-Israel views, was a guest Jan. 4 on the net-
work’s “Washington Journal” program. A caller identifying himself as “John from Franklin, N.Y.” launched into an anti-Semitic tirade saying he was “sick and tired of all these Jews” who were “willing to spend the last drop of American blood and treasure to get their way in the world.” Jews, the caller said, have “way too much power” and “jewed us into Iraq.” In response, host Bill Scanlan turned to Scheuer and said, “Any comments?” Scheuer appeared to approve of
what John had to say. “Yeah. I think that American foreign policy is ultimately up to the American people,” he said. “One of the big things we have not been able to discuss for the past 30 years is the Israelis.” On Monday, in response to a JTA query, the broadcaster acknowledged that the host should have been more proactive in dealing with the caller. “Program hosts, whose role is to facilitate the dialogue between callers and guests, are certainly permitted to step in when a caller
makes ad hominem attacks or uses obscenity or obviously racist language,” C-SPAN said in a statement to JTA. “Given that this involves quick judgment during a live television production, it’s an imperfect process that didn’t work as well as it should have that day.” Readers can judge whether the Huffington Post’s screening process worked in response to Harris’ piece on Israeli airport security. One official at another Jewish organization who also blogs on Huffington Post wondered about Harris’ decision to engage with the commenting crowd. “Jewish fascists and antiSemites are the prominent animals” in the comments sections, said the official who spoke on background to avoid a contretemps with Harris. “It’s like watching pornography — who’s going to get the sickest thing in.” The official said he enjoys Huffington Post as a platform to reach liberal cognoscenti and the current political leadership — not the commenters “banging away in their footsie pajamas in their mothers’ basements.” “To go to the comments and take them seriously — they’re not representative, you should stay away from it,” he said. Harris says knocking those guys off the page is the point. Ultimately, he adds, his target is the “sophisticated consumer” who can tell the difference between the vicious and the civil — and he noted that he also earned civil critiques from those who criticize Israel. “I rely to a large degree on the sophistication of the consumer,” Harris said, “and I think we underestimate that.”
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OBITUARIES
DEATH NOTICES RUBIN, Dr. Mark, age 65, died on December 28, 2009; 11 Tevet, 5770. KELLEY, Helen, age 98, died on January 10, 2010; 24 Tevet, 5770. FRANK, Annette, age 96, died on January 16, 2010; 2 Shevat, 5770. HEIMAN, Joyce, age 80, died on January 17, 2010; 3 Shevat, 5770. CROWN, Herbert, age 83, died on January 19, 2010; 4 Shevat, 5770.
HEIMAN from page 1 The funeral was held at Weil Funeral Home on Jan. 20 with Shiva observed Wednesday and Thursday evening at the home of Gary and Kim Heiman, between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. The family asks that memorial contributions go to Rockwern Academy, Hadassah, Cedar Village or Hospice of Cincinnati. According to her children, she had a warm smile and a great “capacity to love.” She, in turn, was loved by her family, friends and the community. Described as “totally selfless” by her family, Mrs. Heiman would offer assistance to anyone regardless of their station in life. Added her sons, “our mother was truly generous of spirit…To know her was to both love her and be loved by her.”
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
EVACUEES from page 10 The situation is so bad that the Knesset has established a commission of inquiry to look into the matter. In an interim report issued in September, the commission said the government basically had failed in its handling of the evacuees, though it also noted that a lack of cooperation from some in the settler community contributed to the delays. According to government data cited in the report, only about half the 1,800 or so families had been allocated plots of land to build new homes. Of those, only about 250 families had begun to build as of last August. Several evacuees noted with disgust that while the government managed to speedily carry out the evacuation — also known as the disengagement — from conception to execution, the rehabilitation has dragged on without any sense of official urgency. “There was terrible foot dragging,” says Dror Vanunu, the international coordinator for Friends of Gush Katif. Evacuees were supposed to be housed in temporary quarters and then moved to permanent dwellings. But in Nitzan, which is home to the largest concentration of former Gaza residents in the country, the community has all the trappings of a permanent neighborhood. The community has schools and groceries, playgrounds and hair salons. Many families have upgraded the small, pre-fab housing units known as caravillas with additional rooms and elaborate gardens. About a mile to the south, where permanent dwellings are to be built, roads have been paved and sewage and electricity lines installed, but construction on housing has not begun. According to Vanunu, the paved roads and absence of pedestrians have made the area a popular destination for high-speed motorcycle racing — so much so that the authorities
Ben Harris
Moshe and Rachel Saperstein, seen here outside their temporary home in Nitzan, are still waiting to move into their home in the new community of Bnei Dekalim.
have broken up parts of the pavement to discourage the practice. “Look around,” Vanunu says. “Not even one single house was built.”
finance a new home. Rachel and Moshe Saperstein also have not begun construction on a new home. The Sapersteins, who moved to Neve Dekalim, Gaza, in
“I wish I were 39 so I could build a town, watch it grow and still have a few years left.” Rachel Saperstein A spokesperson for the commission of government inquiry said the infrastructure is in place and the onus is now on the evacuees to begin construction of their homes. But Sarfaty says that after more than four years with minimal income, the family lacks money to begin construction, and they may be forced to sell part of their plot to
the 1990s in protest of the Oslo Accords — or, as Rachel likes to say, to “put our bodies where our mouths were” — live a few blocks from the Sarfaty family in a caravilla with a small garden where Moshe, who lost an arm in the 1973 war and several fingers in a terrorist attack, likes to smoke cigars. Their future home will be in
LETTERS from page 16
During the early 1950s, U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy began a crusade to root out communist in all walks of life. Using the power of his government position McCarthy ruined many decent American lives. He was finally stopped cold when Joseph Welch, counsel for the United States Army, asked the Senator one question. This question so stunned the morally void McCarthy he was unable to answer; it was at this point his creditability and the investigation itself began to fall apart. And we began to heal. Mr. Obama, using the power of your office, you are ruining the lives of many decent Americans
those who suffer a natural disaster,” Harris said. AJC’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund is now accepting donations to aid the earthquake victims in Haiti. One hundred percent of donations will support relief and rescue efforts. Barbara Glueck Director, AJC Cincinnati Office Dear Editor, A Question for President Obama:
Bnei Dekalim, a new community being built in the eastern part of Israel’s Lachish region. The town eventually is supposed to include a luxury hotel, cottages for rabbis on sabbatical and a health spa. Infrastructure is being built in the area, but it will be many months before the Sapersteins move into their new home. “I wish I were 39 so I could build a town, watch it grow and still have a few years left,” Rachel says. “When you’re 69 going on 70, you should theoretically be living in a place that is built. But I’m excited. I’m going to build a town at 69.” That sort of optimism isn’t always easy to muster among the evacuees, but Sarfaty says her faith helps her to cope. “We’re people that believe. We believe that everything is for the best,” she says. “Maybe right now we can’t see it. Maybe in another couple years we will see it.” with the following: * Condoning bribes for your pet partisan health care project; * Significantly increasing foreign troop strength after promising to bring-the-troops-home and; * Have refused to identify and condemn an enemy sworn to kill us. Mr.President, as you race down your Obamaism path, I must ask you the same question put forth by counselor Welch: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” Chuck Klein Amberley Village
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