AI2010_03_04

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010 18 ADAR, 5770 SHABBAT: FRI 6:16 – SAT 7:16 CINCINNATI, OHIO VOL. 156 • NO. 32 SINGLE ISSUE PRICE $2.00

SPECIAL SECTION Wonderful Weddings Page 11

Jewish Hospital sale to Mercy completed After months of planning and preparation, The Jewish Hospital sale to Mercy Health Partners (MHP) has been completed.

“The closing of this purchase agreement concludes a two-year process of finding the best possible hospital system to take ownership of Jewish Hospital, and the transition has been seamless for patients, doctors and staff,” said Gary Heiman, president of the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati.

“With the sale of Jewish Hospital, one chapter of our history has ended and a new one has begun for our Jewish community,” Heiman continued. “More than 150 years ago, Jewish leadership determined that the community needed to build

and operate our own hospital because Jewish patients were often unable to gain access to quality medical treatment. Jewish doctors generally were not welcome on the staffs of other hospitals. Thankfully, today that is no longer the case, and the Jewish community has similarly urgent, but different, needs.”

Throughout its history, the Jewish Hospital has been recognized nationally for the innovations it introduced in medical treatments.

The hospital will continue to provide high-quality health care now that it is part of Mercy Health Partners’ strong, stable medical system.

The Jewish Foundation and its affiliates will now focus on their primary charitable missions – to sup-

port, promote, advance and strengthen the Jewish community and Jewish causes in Greater Cincinnati and throughout the world – and to promote and advance benevolent, charitable, educational and scientific purposes.

“Mercy is an ideal owner for Jewish Hospital. Both the Jewish and Mercy Hospitals were founded upon rich, faith-based traditions of healing and providing quality health care to people of all backgrounds,” said Heiman. Mercy will continue to use the Jewish Hospital name and maintain Jewish traditions, including Jewish symbols and indicia and observing Jewish holidays. Mercy recognizes that Jewish Hospital’s top-quality doctors, nurses and med-

ical staff are responsible for the great, quality care at The Jewish Hospital. Therefore, the Mercy leadership has announced that they will retain all current Jewish Hospital employees.

“We are delighted to welcome The Jewish Hospital into the Mercy family,” said James May, president/CEO of MHP. “The hospital’s ongoing dedication to providing exceptional medical care, combined with its rich history and tradition in Cincinnati, makes it a perfect fit for our organization. This expands the services we provide and makes it more convenient than ever for our patients to get comprehensive care

HOSPITAL on page 19

Party Planning Showcase 2010 this Sunday

by Avi Milgrom Assistant Editor

NATIONAL Can Iran’s democracy clock outpace its nuclear clock?

Page 6

INTERNATIONAL Fishing for Jews in Russia’s muddy waters Page 9

DINING OUT Stone Creek is fine dining with a happy twist Page 14

The entire community is invited to this year’s Party Planning Showcase at the J — Sunday, March 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Unlike any other party planner in the city, this one is especially well-suited for planning Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and weddings.

The showcase gathers all the vendors for event planning in one place, so that an event can be put together —right there.

This has become an important community resource because of

how complicated it is to pull off a successful event — especially on a budget!

So whether the party planning is delegated to a planner or not, it is important to see and touch a wide array of party elements and to learn what is now in fashion.

At this year’s showcase, sponsored by The American Israelite newspaper and Artrageous Desserts, visitors will be able to explore their party ideas with professionals from this ever-burgeoning industry.

Parties are almost always a public event, no matter how discreet the intentions. In the end you will

know if your party is successful – and so will everyone else.

So planning is imperative.

For many experienced planners, the most critical element in a successful party is the DJ and accompanying dancers, because “you gotta get people participating” — or so the thinking goes. This means everyone has to be active – usually dancing. The death knell for a party is guests who sit around.

Choosing the theme for the event is also important. Themes structure the entire event and reflect much on the hosts.

Who to invite is another neces-

sary decision – usually limited by the event’s budget.

For a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the photographer is critical for the star of the party because kids — like everyone else — love videos about themselves.

Finally, hiring a professional party planner must be considered.

If you are going to go it alone to save money, lack of funds can be made up with creativity—but be certain you are creative!

Admission is free, food is free, parking is free and there will be door prizes. At 1 p.m. there will be a fashion show.

Sex scandal splits Orthodox Zionist world

by Nathan Jeffay Jewish Telegraphic Agency TEL AVIV (Forward) — Israel’s influential Orthodox Zionists have divided into two camps following a sexual-abuse scandal involving one of their most renowned and charismatic leaders, stoking fears for the future of rabbinic authority.

Takana, a rabbinic forum established in 2003 to clamp down on sexual misconduct by Orthodox educators, went public Feb. 15 with allegations that Rabbi Mordechai “Moti” Elon had taken advantage of his influence over male students and performed “acts at odds with sacred and moral values.”

The panel later said that two people, whose complaints alleged acts from about 25 years ago, had been under 18 at the time. More recent alleged acts involved students of Elon who were 18 or older.

Since its initial disclosure, the panel said it has received one more complaint of an alleged underage encounter, but the complaint has yet to be reviewed.

Orthodox leaders and activists have split between those wishing to discuss the allegations openly and support the secular authorities investigating them, and those urging silence, lest the principle of rabbinic authority, which Elon embodied, come into question.

“I am telling everybody keep

silent,” the head of Jerusalem’s Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, told the Forward.

He said the affair must not be allowed to undermine the rabbis’ authority.

But in deference to the stature of the Takana panel that exposed the allegations against Elon, Aviner also said, “I think we have to trust these and these — and respect these and these,” referring to Elon and the rabbis on the panel.

Other religious Zionist public figures are lauding the Takana rabbis as courageous, saying that making public allegations against one of their own is an important step in the right direction.

Jerusalem-based novelist Naomi

Ragen told the Forward that while the affair is “tragic and heartbreaking,” she thinks that “the positive aspect is that we see a new era in that things which years ago would have been swept under the carpet are being brought into the open.”

Efforts by the Forward to reach Elon were unsuccessful. But he has publicly denounced the allegations against him as “a blood libel, a complaint without foundation.”

Elon is almost unique in his ability to so deeply cleave the religious Zionist community.

The son of former Supreme Court justice Menachem Elon, and brother of former lawmaker Benny

SCANDAL on page 20

LOCAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Cincinnati Choral Society concert honors Lichtins, March 6 The Cincinnati Choral Society will honor Dr. Leon and Beverly Lichtin for their support over the past 25 years on March 6. The couple has been on the Board of Trustees of the Choral Society for this time and have led many fundraising and publicity efforts as well.

Dr. Lichtin composes Jewish choral and chamber music and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Pharmacology.

The featured piece on the concert is Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, which will be sung in Hebrew. Dr. Lichtin’s latest work, a string quintet entitled “Zichronot Gimel” is on the program as well. The piece is dedicated to Jewish resistance fighters during the Holocaust.

For information and ticket prices call the Cincinnati Choral Society.

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FEATURING LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S “CHICHESTER PSALMS”

Matisyahu, hip-hop artist, live via satellite at Wise Temple Wise Temple’s next 92nd Street Y program via live satellite is Tuesday, March 16 with hip hop artist, Matisyahu.

A cultural icon, Matisyahu’s blend of Hasidic, reggae and hip hop music has sold millions of records and garnered fans around the world. In his first visit to the 92nd Street Y, he will discuss his development as an artist, his latest record, Light, his fusion of various musical styles and will perform.

His interviewer will be Thane Rosenbaum, novelist, essayist and law professor.

Matisyahu was born Matthew Miller nearly 31 years ago in Pennsylvania.

His initial attitude toward a traditional Jewish upbringing was that of rebellion. He considered himself a “Deadhead” and a hippie by his early teens. But at the age of 14, during a camping trip in Colorado, he reconciled himself to Judaism; soon after he visited Israel and fell in love with it.

When, he returned to his home in White Plains, N.Y., Matisyahu didn’t know how to maintain his new connection with Judaism.

Feeling dejected, he dropped out of high school and began following the band Phish on a national tour. While on the road, Matisyahu thought seriously about his life, his music and appetite for Judaism.

After a few months, burnt out and broke, he returned home.

At this point, his parents insisted that Matisyahu “straighten” himself

BARRY KAPLAN

THE CINCINNATI CHORAL SOCIETY PRESENTS “PRAISE THE LORD WITH PSALTERY AND VOICE” Dr. and Mrs. Lichtin will be honored on March 6.

out at a wilderness school in Bend, Ore. It was here that Matisyahu began to move into his career in music.

The school encouraged artistic pursuits and Matisyahu took advantage to explore his musical inclinations. He studied reggae and hiphop; he attended weekly open-mic sessions where he rapped, sang, beat-boxed, and did almost anything he could to stay creatively charged.

After two years in the “wilderness,” the 19-year-old Matisyahu returned home a changed man.

He moved to the city to attend The New School where he continued honing his musical craft and dabbled in the theater. During this time, he happened on the Carlebach Shul, a synagogue on the Upper West Side, well known for its hippie-friendly vibe and exuberant singing. This encounter turned him on to the mystical power of song in Hasidic Judaism.

While studying at The New School, Matisyahu wrote a play entitled “Echad” (One). The play was about a boy who meets a Hasidic rabbi in Washington Square Park and through him becomes religious.

In a curious twist, Matisyahu's life imitated his art shortly after the play’s performance.

Indeed, Matisyahu met a Lubavitch rabbi in the park, spurring his transformation from Matthew to Matisyahu.

Continuing to perform, Matisyahu assembled a band.

The group recorded Shake Off the Dust...Arise, which was released by JDub Records in 2004.

While touring in support of the album, Matisyahu recorded one of his February 2005 concerts and released the material as Live at Stubb’s, which was issued in April and picked up for national distribution by Epic Records.

Matisyahu’s second studio album, Youth, appeared in March 2006 and was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Reggae Album. Matisyahu and his band released the singer’s third LPLight in August 2009.

Matisyahu’s interviewer, Thane Rosenbaum is the author of the novels: The Golems of Gotham (San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Book), Second Hand Smoke, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and the novel-in-stories and Elijah Visible, recipient of the Edward Lewis Wallant Award for the best book of Jewish-American fiction.

His articles, reviews and essays appear frequently in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Jerusalem Post, and Huffington Post, among other publications.

He is the John Whelan Distinguished Lecturer in Law at Fordham Law School and has authored a number of books on the law as well.

The Cincinnati audience at Wise Temple will be able to ask questions directly to the guest speakers.

The event is open to the Greater Cincinnati public. There is a fee. For information and reservations contact Wise Temple.

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(SUNG ENTIRELY IN HEBREW)

&

THE PREMIERE OF A STRING QUINTET “ZICHRONOT GIMEL”

BY LOCAL COMPOSER DR. LEON LICHTIN

SATURDAY MARCH 6, 2010 - 7:30PM MASON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 6315 S. MASON-MONTGOMERY ROAD • MASON, OH ADULTS - $12 • STUDENTS & SENIORS - $10 • CHILDREN - $6 To reserve tickets, please call The Cincinnati Choral Society at (513) 784-2379 or visit www.cincinnatichoralsociety.com – RECEPTION IN HONOR OF LEON AND BEVERLY LICHTIN TO FOLLOW CONCERT –

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LOCAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Wise Temple hosts talk on Holocaust education by CHHE’s Weiss On Sunday, March 14, Sarah L. Weiss, executive director of the Holocaust and Humanity Education Center will present a program on the next generation of Holocaust education.

While Holocaust education has been a part of the mainstream educational system for several

decades, the approaches and methods for teaching the Holocaust have undergone a myriad of changes.

Weiss will explore the evolution of Holocaust education with a focus on where we are today and where Holocaust education is going.

The interactive session will raise several questions: How do we maintain the uniqueness of the Holocaust while remaining relevant? How do we encourage our kids to remember this painful past while maintaining their pride in Jewish identity? How will the Holocaust be taught and remem-

bered in 20 years? What will the future of Holocaust education look like when the eyewitnesses are gone?

This program is sponsored by Wise Temple’s Eitz Chayim, adult education program, and is open to the public. For more information and to RSVP contact Wise Temple.

NHS throws sock hop for 50th anniversary Northern Hills Synagogue Congregation B’nai Avraham will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Saturday evening, March 13.

They will celebrate with a “sock hop.” The 4 Hubcaps will

perform.

The 4 Hubcaps is one of Cincinnati’s “oldies” bands, featuring classic rock from the ‘50s, ‘60s and early ‘70s, performed by five musicians—John Fox (gui-

tar/vocals), Dave Stonehill (bass/keyboards), Dave Goodman (sax/guitar), Barry Wagner (drums/vocals), and “the irrepressible” Oscar Jarnicki as emcee.

“This should be a great evening, dancing to the songs we grew up with, or our parents made us listen to,” said Joe Lazear, event co-chair, Also, there will be a silent auction, with 50 items priced between $50 to $100. In addition, a raffle with $1 raffle tickets will be featured. A prize will be awarded for the best dressed participants. This year marks the celebration of the Conservative congregation’s 50th anniversary.

Northern Hills Synagogue was founded in 1960, and moved from Finneytown to its Deerfield Township location in 2004. The congregation kicked off its year of celebration with a gala event in January. The sock hop is part of the year-long celebration.

A special commemorative service will be held on Friday evening, June 25. Capping the year will be a Scholar-inResidence weekend November 19-21 featuring Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles.

For information on tickets and reservations, call the synagogue.

Holocaust survivor to speak at Wise Temple Holocaust survivor, Conrad Weiner, will speak about his childhood experiences during the Holocaust on Tuesday, March 16.

Mr. Weiner believes it is important for survivors to pass on the lessons of the Holocaust.

For Mr. Weiner, such activities are a way to remember his mother.

Mr. Weiner was born in 1938 in Storojinetz, which was once part of Romania and is currently part of the Ukraine. When he was three and a half years old, he and other Jews were forced to walk two weeks to a forced labor camp.

For several years, Weiner and his family were able to survive and, in 1944, were among 300 surviving prisoners who were liberated by the Russian army.

In 1960, after 14 years and several attempts to immigrate to the United States, the family was finally allowed to move to this country.

Soon after, Mr. Weiner was drafted into the U.S. Army.

When his tour of duty was complete, he settled in Cincinnati.

“We are so fortunate to have Conrad speak to us this year,” noted Cynthia Marmer, the chairperson of the Wise Temple Senior Adults. “We appreciate his willingness to share his personal reflections on the Holocaust, and we know that we will be enlightened and inspired by his words.”

For Weiner, speaking in public about his experiences is difficult. He persists because he believes in the importance of carrying on the memory of what transpired.

Said Weiner, “It must be done to keep our promise, ‘Never Again.’ We must learn from history in order to not repeat it. We see many examples of intolerance every day. It is unfortunate that today, in the 21st century, we still have wars, ethnic cleansing, poverty and hunger. Education and dialogue are key elements in sharing the world in peace and harmony. I believe that adversity, if it does not kill you, makes you stronger.”

The talk is free and open to the community. Contact Wise Temple for more information.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

The oldest English-Jewish weekly in America Founded July 15, 1854

by Isaac M.Wise VOL. 156 • NO. 32 Thursday, March 4, 2009 18 Adar, 5770 Shabbat begins Fri, 6:16 p.m.

Shabbat ends Sat, 7:16 p.m.

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 PHONE: (513) 621-3145 FAX: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com articles@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher 1930-1985 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher AVI MILGROM MICHAEL McCRACKEN Assistant Editors ALEXIA KADISH Copy Editor JOSEPH D. STANGE Production Manager LEV LOKSHIN JANE KARLSBERG Staff Photographers JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor ROBERT WILHELMY Restaurant Reporter MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM RABBI A. JAMES RUDIN RABBI AVI SHAFRAN Contributing Writers CHRISTIE HALKO Office Manager

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Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE, 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037.

The views and opinions expressed by American Israelite columnists do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the newspaper.

LOCAL/NATIONAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Former ambassador to speak at Israel Bonds reception, March 16 State of Israel Bonds is holding a dessert reception at the home of Diane & Dr. Alan Weber on Tuesday, March 16.

The event is being organized to kick off the annual Israel Bonds campaign — considered by many to be vital to the economic strength of Israel.

Finance Minister of Israel Yuval Steinitz said in a recent speech to Israel Bonds leadership, “Israel can trust Israel Bonds in good times and difficult times. This is extremely important to the gov-

ernment and people of Israel.

“With your support and investments, we will show the entire world Israel is here to stay,” he continued.

The keynote speaker will be Yoram Ettinger, former Consul General of Israel to the Southwestern United States who retired with the rank of Ambassador.

Ettinger is a consultant on U.S.Israel relations to members of Israel’s Knesset and cabinet and is an expert on U.S. policy in the Middle East. He previously served as Minister for Congressional

Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and as director of the Israel Government Press Office in Jerusalem. His topic will be “U.S.Israel 2010: A Mutually Beneficial Two Way Street.”

“Israel has never defaulted and maintains a perfect record on payment of principal and interest on the securities it has issued,” noted Kathe Turiel of the Cincinnati office of State of Israel Bonds, For reservations and information, call the Cincinnati office of State of Israel Bonds.

NHS new members honored at Shabbat service, March 6 Northern Hills Synagogue Congregation B’nai Avraham will honor new members who have joined the congregation over the past two years at a special New Member Shabbat service on Saturday morning, March 6.

As part of the service, new members will be welcomed and participate in leading the service.

In addition, a special interactive junior congregation service will be conducted, led by Tracey Weisberger, Northern Hills' director of programming and

education.

“We’re delighted to be recognizing members who have joined NHS in the past two years. Many are already taking leadership roles. A mark of the health of our congregation is that our new members include young singles and married couples in their 20s as well as seniors,” observed Sonia Milrod, Northern Hills’ membership chair.

“Northern Hills has always taken pride in being a welcoming congregation, and we are delight-

ed to have the opportunity to welcome publicly the large number of people who have joined the congregation in the past two years. I have already gotten to know many of these new members, and I am looking forward to their taking their places in the congregational family,” added Rabbi Gershom Barnard.

The entire community is invited to attend.

A luncheon will follow the service. For more information, contact Northern Hills Synagogue.

The American Israelite is currently seeking a

SALES REPRESENATIVE • HIGH COMMISION • PART TIME OR FLEX TIME • NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED To apply, call Ted Deutsch at (513) 621-3145 You can also send your resume to publisher@americanisraelite.com or send to The American Israelite 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2 Cincinnati, OH 45202

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NATIONAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

U.S. Jewish leaders press incitement issue

By Ben Harris Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — U.S. Jewish leaders pressed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on incitement and the need to keep Israel a Jewish state.

At a meeting Feb. 18 in Jenin between Fayyad and a visiting delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Alan Solow, the chairman of the Jewish umbrella group, said the actions of the Palestinian leadership set back the cause of peace.

“When the Palestinian leadership visits and honors families of those who have murdered innocent Israeli civilians, or when produce is destroyed rather than used only because it originates from the West Bank, that sets back our confidence of peace,” Solow said, according to a news release from the Conference of Presidents. “The

Avi Hayun

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, shakes hands with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the West Bank town of Jenin Feb. 18, 2009. The chairman of the Jewish group, Alan Solow, introduced Fayyad’s address to U.S. Jewish leaders visiting the area.

Israeli prime minister is clear about Israel’s needs to be recognized as a Jewish state. Yet, not

only do the Palestinians refuse to acknowledge Israel’s Jewish nature, but clearly state, in Article

19 of the Fatah constitution, that there must be an armed struggle with the Zionist entity.”

Fayyad criticized Israeli military incursions into Palestinian areas, saying they undermined the Palestinian leadership. He pledged that the Palestinian Authority is committed to nonviolence and coexistence.

The PA wants “a progressive state, democratic, which doesn’t tolerate discrimination, which is open, culturally sensitive — including to our Israeli neighbors,” Fayyad said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

A former World Bank official with a doctorate in economics, Fayyad is generally regarded as a moderate, though he has come under fire, including from the Zionist Organization of America, for meeting Feb. 17 with the family of a Palestinian killed as he allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli soldier Feb. 12 in Hebron.

The ZOA called Fayyad and the Palestinian Authority “unreconstructed supporters of terrorism and not genuine moderates and peacemakers.”

ZOA President Morton Klein, who was present for the Feb. 18 meeting, also raised the issue of incitement at a meeting with several journalists covering the Middle East conflict, including New York Times bureau chief Ethan Bronner.

Klein complained that the Times all but ignores incitement in the official Palestinian media and the perceived endorsement by the Palestinian leadership of antiIsrael terrorism, while reporting extensively on allegations against Israel.

According to Klein, Bronner explained the difference by pointing to different expectations of Israelis and Palestinians. Bronner told JTA that wasn’t exactly what he had said and declined to comment further.

Can Iran’s democracy clock outpace its nuclear clock?

by Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Iran watchers keep two clocks: One counts down to a nuclear Iran, the other counts down to a democratic Iran.

Neither clock is guaranteed to keep ticking all the way down.

The international community hopes to thwart Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon. And despite the upheaval in Iran last summer, no one is sure that the autocratic regime in Tehran is on its way out — or whether it will be replaced by a true democracy.

Still, recent developments on the ground — the rise last June and subsequent repression of Iran’s democracy movement, and Tehran’s apparent nuclear gains — have altered assessments about the two countdowns and whether they are influencing one another.

Some hard-liners such as John Bolton, the Bush administration’s pugnacious U.N. ambassador, say getting tougher on Iran would empower its democracy movement.

Others, like Shoshana Bryen, the senior director for security policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, counter that the democracy movement has essentially been snuffed out — providing another reason for the West to get tougher.

Bryen says the nuclear clock is ticking faster — earlier this month, Iran announced plans to build 10 new nuclear fuel plants — and the regime in Tehran has figured out how to gum up the democracy clock.

“I think we are now not able to wait for the overthrow,” Bryen said,

UN Photo / Eskinder Debebe

The United Nations Security Council, shown in session on Feb. 18, 2010, has passed sanctions legislation three times against Iran but has failed to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions.

arguing that mass imprisonments and executions have intimidated Iran’s opposition.

A similar split is taking hold among those who oppose harsh sanctions. Many in this camp, spearheaded by the National Iranian American Council, say that the successes of the Iranian opposition movement bolster the argument for holding back on tough measures.

Others, however, heeding “realists” such as former George W. Bush administration officials Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, say sanctions are futile precisely because the Iranian government is here to stay, so it’s better to talk to the current regime.

The Obama administration appears to be shifting toward a dual track of investment in the democracy movement and tougher sanctions.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is accelerating talks with major powers toward a new sanctions package and said this month that Iran’s government is assuming the trappings of a junta.

A report earlier this month by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, for the first time cited as “credible” reports from Western intelligence agencies that say Iran is actively working toward a bomb.

The report is helping the United States make the case for sanctions to

holdouts in the U.N. Security Council.

P.J. Crowley, the spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said Feb. 22 that the Obama administration is still focused on outreach — specifically an offer to get Iran to give up its low-enriched uranium in exchange for uranium enriched to medical research levels. He said an international, multilateral sanctions regime was close — underscoring the Obama administration’s focus on pressing for U.N. sanctions targeting the regime’s leadership and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that protect it.

Crowley also would not count out unilateral congressional sanc-

tions targeting Iran’s energy sector — the approach being pushed by many pro-Israel groups.

Ori Nir, a spokesman for Americans for Peace Now — the only major pro-Israel group opposing the congressional sanctions described as “crippling” by their sponsors — says Iran needs active diplomatic engagement precisely because of the nuclear threat and the futility of sanctions, which he warned could backfire.

Nir says the prospect that the regime in Tehran would give way to democracy is too ephemeral right now to count on as policy.

A group of foreign policy realists for months has been advising the administration that investment in the Iranian opposition movement is futile.

In an Op-Ed last month in The New York Times, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett derided Obama’s outreach to Iran as halfhearted and said engagement with the real power — the Iranian regime — made better sense than staking anything on the democracy movement.

Not everyone is ready to count out the democracy movement.

David Cvach, until recently the second counselor at the French Embassy in Iran and now the Middle East specialist at the French Embassy in Washington, says he believes the fissures in Iran reach deep into the power structure.

“The system has lost its amazing capacity to bring everyone together,” he said of the regime in a Feb. 5 talk at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

IRAN on page 22

NATIONAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

7

For children of Russian immigrants, mainstream Jewish community remains elusive

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (JTA) — Alex Varum was 8 years old when he left Russia. Now 35 and a real estate developer in Silicon Valley, Varum grew up in California, speaks English like a native — much better than Russian — and feels American in every way.

So why would he spend an entire weekend exploring Jewish identity with a group of other young Jews from the former Soviet Union, many of whose personal ties to the Old Country are as negligible as his own?

“I feel somehow that I don’t belong to the American Jewish community,” he says. “I don’t feel Russian — I’m American. But I don’t identify as an American Jew.” That’s the reality of the Russianspeaking Jewish population in the United States.

More than half-a-million strong, scattered in hundreds of cities and towns from New York to Seattle, it spans a range of religious observance, income levels and career choice.

But even those who came as young children and barely speak Russian feel a bond with their landsmen that sets them apart from what they still perceive as a monolithic, powerful and elusive American Jewish community.

“Our concept of Jewish peoplehood is more ethnic than religious,” says Mark Khmelnitsky, 30, a lawyer who has been in this country since he was 16. “With American Jews it’s much more about what you do than what you are. I know I’m Jewish — now what do I do about it?”

That question is what brought Varum, Khmelnitsky and 80 other young professionals from New York and the San Francisco Bay area to Mitbachon, a weekend leadership and identity-building seminar for Russian-speaking Jews held this month in San Rafael, 30 miles north of San Francisco.

Five years ago the Jewish Agency for Israel began reaching out to this second generation, sending young Russian-speaking emissaries from Israel to New York, Toronto and San Francisco — cities with large, young, Russian-speaking Jewish populations — to help them find bridges to the larger community.

It’s a tough challenge, acknowledges Anna Vainer, one of three New York emissaries and a coorganizer of the Mitbachon weekend.

“There are very few bridges to reach this population,” she says.

“Not synagogue, not camps, not

Rozana Saveliev / Jewish Agency

Children of the Russian Jewish immigration are confident, successful and exploring their Jewish identities — but in their own circles. Participants at the Feb. 12-14 Mitbachon weekend in San Rafael, Calif., explored their Jewish identities using theater and other creative arts.

Jewish schools.”

Even those who grew up in the United States talk about “American Jews” as something apart from themselves.

“The ‘booze and schmooze’ model that is popular with young American Jews doesn’t reach them,” Vainer says.

Her colleague Alexandra Belinski, Jewish Agency emissary in San Francisco, agrees: “There is something in the Russian mentality that wants to go deeper. They’re ‘Russian from the inside,’even those who don’t speak Russian well.”

All weekend, the conversation veered back and forth between the two languages, with occasional snatches of Hebrew. In one session, participants were asked to describe themselves — young Russian Jews — versus American Jews of the same age.

The words on the “Russian Jewish” list showed pride in their cultural heritage — “intelligentsia,” “smarties,” “ambition,” “loves Pushkin” — combined with embarrassment at their immigrant status: “fresh off the boat,” “xenophobic,” “lost,” “strong accent.”

Their view of their Americanborn peers was similarly schizophrenic: Envy was reflected in descriptors such as “synagogue,” “went to Hebrew school,” “Hillel,” “making donations” and “part of the community,” mixed with disdain conveyed by terms such as “privileged” and “naive.”

“The Americans have the privilege of going off to do what their hearts desire, but we are immi-

grants, we don’t have that luxury,” said one young San Francisco woman. “We become engineers, doctors, lawyers.”

Many in this group juggle two, three, even four identities, and just as many passports. Nearly one-third have lived in Israel, and most have family there. Some still have family in the former Soviet Union.

This gives them a deep attachment to Israel, a personal history with anti-Semitism and the shared immigrant experience of living between worlds.

“In a way, we’re homeless,” says Khmelnitsky, who recently moved from New York to San Francisco. “I don’t feel very American. Israel is the place where I could have ended

up, and might still end up, so I have a very positive view of it.

“American Jews are already home. They can stand to the side and criticize.”

Few of the second generation group hold leadership positions in Jewish organizations, even though many of those raised in America attended religious school, even Jewish day schools.

“In New York, none of this population has taken a real leadership role yet,” Vainer says.

That’s not because they disdain the organized Jewish community — quite the opposite. It’s that they can’t find their way in, or don’t feel they need to participate.

One goal of the weekend seminar was to change that perspective.

Lev Weisfeiler, who immigrated to the United States at 22, says he’s never been part of a Jewish community and belongs to no Jewish organizations.

“As a Russian Jew, you didn’t have to show external symbols of your belonging; it was obvious,” he said.

Now that his daughter is 13, however, he wants to develop tools to articulate his Jewish identity so he can pass it on to her.

Finding their way into the community doesn’t mean the Russian immigrants don’t have a deep sense of who they are and where they come from.

IMMIGRANTS on page 22

8

NATIONAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

2010 PASSOVER COVER

COLORING

CONTEST SIZE:

Art must be no larger than 8.5" Wide x 11" High.

MATERIALS:

Anything that shows up bold and bright, such as markers, crayons, paint or cut paper.

AGE CATEGORIES:

Open to children of all ages.

All entries must be received by FRIDAY, MARCH 19TH THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE 18 WEST NINTH, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OH 45202 Entries must have a completed entry form attached to the back. Please print clearly.

2010 PASSOVER COVER COLORING CONTEST ENTRY FORM

Delegates to policy plenum debate ‘civility’ in all arenas

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — The notion of civil discourse pervaded this year’s Jewish Council for Public Affairs plenum in Dallas, spilling over from its stated goal of alleviating partisan vituperation in the American public square into discussions of how Jews treat one another in the organizational world and how they treat other minorities.

Rabbi Steve Gutow, the executive director of the umbrella body for the Jewish public policy group, and Andrea Weinstein, its chairman, set the tone for this year’s theme with an op-ed Monday in the Dallas Morning News.

Their recommendation was an initiative that would “send community leaders into our schools, workplaces and congregations, in our own faith communities as well as others, and work with one another to define a code of civility, create a system of checks and balances to alert others when that line has been crossed, and to generate appropriate and public responses for when one continually crosses that line.”

The initiative apparently was in its putative stages; no further details were available.

The vexatious question of what “civility” means and when and how it should be applied crept up throughout the conference, and not just in the fora that were dedicated to its proposition, like the discussion Gutow, a Reconstructionist rabbi, had with the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, the general secretary for the National Council of Churches of Christ USA on “Getting Civil: Bridging the Divide Between Protestant and Jew.” Fresh off his recent headlinemaking encounter with hecklers at the University of California, Irvine, Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, said in his keynote talk on Sunday evening that the notion of civil discourse did not obviate “brutal” exchanges.

Just after his talk at Irvine, he delivered another at the University of California, San Diego, where he encountered fierce but politely put criticism of Israel — and emerged invigorated.

“It proves it can be done otherwise,” he said.

The intensity of the Irvine encounter rattled the delegates from 125 communities and 14 national agencies, and they were seeking strategies.

“There are those of us around the country who are sharing that video with our communities,” Weinstein

said, introducing Oren.

Abraham Foxman, the AntiDefamation League’s national director, said the point-and-click instantaneousness of the Internet age was helping to create what he said was the most pervasive display of anti-Semitism in decades.

Hannah Rosenthal, the former JCPA director who is now the Obama administration’s envoy on anti-Semitism, said it would be a mistake to confront such discourse through legal means, as some have advocated, using laws in other countries that contain toxic speech.

Her British counterpart, she said, called America’s First Amendment preoccupation “silly.”

“We in this country care about the First Amendment, and as disgusting as some speech is, we like to see more speech, not less,” Rosenthal said.

The notion of inter-Jewish civility arose in a formal session on tensions between Jewish Republicans and Jewish Democrats.

Ira Forman, the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, advised the delegates not to confuse civility with a he said-she said approach to analyzing the political debate.

On the hot-button area of abuse of Holocaust imagery, Forman said both parties were guilty — but Democrats were fewer and more likely to apologize. He identified the more pervasive abuse with leaders of the “Tea Party” movement and other conservatives who have likened the Obama administration to Nazis.

Noam Neusner, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, countered that perhaps that was true now, but he proceeded to show images depicting Bush and his Cabinet as Nazis that proliferated during his two terms, although the provenance of the images was not clear.

“It would have been nice to have the JCPA and the NJDC actively condemning” such imagery during his boss’ terms, Neusner said. “I would have welcomed an effort of focusing only on the issues.”

Neusner said the focus on increasing civility should be directed toward how Jews spoke to one another, regardless of whether the conversation was political.

“People cut each other off in mid-sentence, they yell at each other, they cut each other down — it’s awful,” he said. “Let’s start our civility campaign right here on that theme.”

How Jews treat one another certainly was a theme that arose throughout the conference.

INTERNATIONAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Fishing for Jews in Russia’s muddy waters

By Anna Rudnitskaya Jewish Telegraphic Agency MOSCOW (JTA) — This spring, Howard Flower and his assistants plan to go to Russia’s westernmost region, Kaliningrad, on a fishing expedition: They’re fishing for Jews.

Flower, the aliyah director of the Russian office of the International Christian Embassy, a pro-Israel evangelical group, plans to look through telephone directories for Jewish-sounding names and meet with local leaders in an attempt to find far-flung Jews — some of whom might not even realize they’re Jewish — and talk to them about moving to Israel.

As elsewhere in the world, determining who is Jewish in Russia is more an art than a science.

In the 2002 Russian census, the country’s most recent, 233,000 Russians self-identified as Jews.

Jewish leaders here and abroad consider the figure an underestimate, but they can’t agree on the actual figure or how to determine it.

“Anyone who works in Jewish organizations knows that the real number of Jews is higher than records show because many people do not receive any services and thus are not registered anywhere,” said Rabbi Yosef Hersonski, head of the Khamovniki community in Moscow. “Probably they are not interested. But if their mother was Jewish, we consider them Jews.”

One of Russia’s chief rabbis, Berel Lazar, estimates the number of Jews in Russia at 1 million to 2 million; he considers as Jews all those with a Jewish mother. NCSJ, a U.S.-based advocacy group for Russian-speaking Jews, estimates that Russia has 400,000 to 700,000 Jews, and 1 million to 1.5 million in the former Soviet Union as a whole.

A representative for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the largest Jewish aid group active in Russia, declined to speculate on a figure.

“We have not yet found reliable data based on sound methodology about the number of Jews in Russia,” JDC representative Rina Edelshtein said.

Across Russia, approximately 100,000 Jews are registered with their local Jewish community organizations. To be registered, one has to prove Jewishness.

It’s often not a simple thing.

Official records tend to be a mess. In the Soviet era, ethnicity was delineated on adults’ internal passports. Those with two Jewish parents were registered as Jewish, but the children of mixed marriages could choose the ethnicity of either parent. Since Jews suffered dis-

Khamovniki Jewish community

Some 233,000 Russians selfidentified as Jews in the last Russian census in 2002, but Jewish leaders believe it’s an underestimate.

crimination in the Soviet Union, the products of intermarriages usually did not register as Jewish.

The situation was captured best perhaps in a joke popular at the height of the Soviet Jews’ struggle for immigration to Israel.

“How many Jews are there in the USSR?” Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev asks the head of the KGB. “Two-and-a-half million,” the KGB head replies. “But if we let them leave, there will be 6 million.”

By the time the Iron Curtain fell and Soviet Jews obtained the right to emigrate, there were 1.8 million Jews in the Soviet Union, including 570,000 in Russia, according to 1989 census data. Most have left since then, moving to Israel, the United States and Germany.

The Israeli Embassy in Moscow says it knows only about those who qualify for aliyah, or immigration to Israel, under Israel’s Law of Return. Under those criteria, anyone with a Jewish grandparent is eligible.

The Nativ organization, which deals with aliyah in the former Soviet Union, estimated that 530,000 Russians meet the criteria for aliyah, according to embassy spokesman Alex GoldmanShaiman. How many are legitimately Jewish is unknown, he said.

Mark Tolts, a demographer at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the author of the “Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe,” estimates that only about 255,000 Jews live in Russia. He bases his figures on census data.

“If you speak of a million Jews, show me the method with which you counted them,” Tolts said.

“Given the proliferation of mixed marriages among the Jews of the former Soviet Union in the last generations, it is very difficult to empirically determine the number

of Jews, according to halachah.

Demographers base their figures on the statistic data they have. These are mainly census results, vital and migration statistics.”

Tolts says that 1.5 million people did not state their nationality during the 2002 census; he guesses that at least 20,000 were Jews.

However, Tolts’ figure of 255,000 refers only to the so-called “core Jewish population” — the aggregate of those who, when asked, identify themselves as Jews or, in the case of children, are identified as such by their parents. It does not include those of Jewish origin who report another ethnicity in the census. Russian passports dropped the ethnicity field in 1994.

To complicate matters, some Russians of Jewish lineage are baptized yet still identify as Jews when asked about ethnicity.

“The main dilemma is who should be called Jews,” said Mark Levin, the executive director of NSCJ. Flowers, of the International Christian Embassy, called counting Russia’s Jews “one of the trickiest questions facing man.”

His organization recently provided the Jewish Agency for Israel with a list of 1.2 million people in Russia whose names sound Jewish, all of whom were found in online and print telephone directories.

International Briefs Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada reach record high TORONTO (JTA) — AntiSemitic incidents in Canada rose to record levels, according to B’nai Brith Canada’s annual audit.

The yearly survey released Wednesday showed an 11.4 percent increase in incidents in 2009 over the previous year to reach the highest number ever reported in the audit’s 28-year history.

There were 1,264 anti-Jewish incidents last year, which encompassed acts of harassment, vandalism and violence. That compares to 1,135 incidents in 2008, and represents a five-fold increase over the last decade, B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights said.

The highest number of incidents for the year, 209, occurred in January, coinciding with Israel’s war in Gaza, noted Frank Dimant, executive vice president of B’nai Brith Canada.

Last year in Canada saw 884 cases of harassment, 348 of vandalism and a doubling from 2008 of acts of violence, at 32.

The majority of incidents, 672, occurred in Ontario. That represents a slight drop over 2008 of 1.5 percent, while incidents in the Greater Toronto Area decreased by

9

11 percent. However, incidents in other parts of Ontario rose by nearly 50 percent.

There were 373 incidents in Quebec, a 52.5 percent rise over the 2008 data. Of these, 319 incidents took place in Montreal, representing an increase of 58.7 percent over the year before.

Another spike in incidents occurred just before Yom Kippur, when 10 synagogues were vandalized across the country, including four in Quebec on one night.

Dimant specifically cited an Islamic community newspaper, which accused Jews and Israelis of mass organ trafficking.

109 candles for Australia’s oldest Jew SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – Australia’s oldest Jew turned 109 years old.

Mary Rothstein was born in Russia on Feb. 27, 1901, moved to the United Kingdom when she was two and immigrated to Australia in 1958.

A resident at a Jewish Care home for the aged in Melbourne, Rothstein was feted at a party there Sunday in the presence of her daughter, Ruth Cavallaro, two grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren.

“I can’t understand why I’ve lived so long,” Rothstein told the Australian Jewish News. “It doesn’t seem possible.”

The world’s oldest Jew, 112year-old Rosa Rein, died in Switzerland earlier this month.

10

INTERNATIONAL/ISRAEL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

With election, change Mossad chief seen as for Ukraine, but indispensable on Iran likely not for Jews

by Leslie Susser Jewish Telegraphic Agency

By Anna Rudnitskaya Jewish Telegraphic Agency MOSCOW (JTA) — In a country where anxieties about antiSemitism are never far from the surface, Viktor Yanukovich’s victory in Ukraine’s presidential election is being welcomed with caution by Ukrainian Jews.

Yanukovich, who has close ties to the Kremlin, replaces Viktor Yushchenko, his West-leaning rival who won five years ago in a second runoff election between the candidates. Widespread protests claiming fraud in favor of Yanukovich in the original runoff spurred the rematch. The pro-democracy protests became known as the Orange Revolution.

Yanukovich’s victory, which was finalized last Saturday when his main opponent, Yulia Tymoshenko, dropped her legal challenge to the results, isn’t expected to bring significant changes for the Jews of Ukraine, the head of its Jewish community said.

“We don’t expect any unpleasant surprises,” said Josef Zissels, chairman of the Vaad association of Jewish communities of Ukraine.

“We were a bit anxious during the previous elections, as the rise of nationalism is always accompanied with the rise of anti-Semitism. But now we can say those apprehensions proved to be groundless. The level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine is now equal to that in Eastern Europe. The new government is unlikely to worsen this situation.”

In the west of the country, where ultranationalistic and anti-Semitic attitudes are traditionally stronger, some Jews welcomed the Yanukovich victory.

“Unlike Tymoshenko, he is quite predictable,” said the rabbi of the Ivano-Frankovsk community, Moshe Kolesnik.

Kolesnik said the community was glad the election was not accompanied by anti-Semitic violence.

“We are grateful this time no one threw stones through our windows. During the previous elections it was much worse,” he said.

“The local authorities here represent the whole spectrum of ultranationalists. Fortunately they mostly quarrel with each other, leaving us alone.”

The election season was not free of anti-Semitic themes, however.

Sergey Ratushnyak, the mayor of one western Ukrainian town who was running for president, engaged in smear tactics against another candidate, Front for Change leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, over his alleged Jewish roots.

Ratushnyak, the mayor of Uzhgorod, portrayed Yatsenyuk as a “brazen Jew” serving “the interests of thieves who dominate Ukraine” and using money obtained from criminal activities to capture the presidency. Others also attacked Yatsenyuk as a thieving Jew. Ratushnyak garnered less than 1 percent of the vote, and Yatsenyuk, whose hypothetical Jewishness was never established, won nearly 7 percent.

“All we want is law and order,” said Meyer Brenner, the head of the Jewish community of Uzhgorod, a city of 120,000 located in an area sometimes referred to as Ruthenia.

“Ruthenia has always been home to different nationalities that have lived peacefully here. The Orange years have not brought us much good, but there is a chance things will improve now.”

While Yushchenko sought to forge closer ties with the West, especially the United States, his tenure was not without its tensions with Ukraine’s Jews, whose population is estimated at 80,000 to 110,000 in a country of 46 million.

A fierce opponent of Russian influence in Ukraine, Yushchenko gave posthumous awards to several Ukrainian nationalists who fought the Soviets during World War II but also collaborated with the Nazis.

The latest was the awarding of the Hero of Ukraine to Stepan Bandera, the World War II-era head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Hailed by supporters as a fighter for Ukrainian independence against the Soviets during World War II, Bandera is viewed by detractors as a war criminal responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews. Bandera fought the Nazis, but he also collaborated with the Nazi regime.

Following the announcement of Bandera's award, Ukraine’s chief rabbi, Moshe Reuven Asman, declared that in protest he would give up the state Order of Merit Yushchenko had awarded him.

Despite Yushchenko’s predilection for honoring Ukrainian nationalists, he tried to contain the antiSemitism espoused by many nationalists.

Yushchenko’s government shut down 26 branches of the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management, which in 2008 was named “one of the most persistent anti-Semitic institutions in Eastern Europe” by the U.S. State Department. The academy was responsible for about 80 percent of the anti-Semitic publications in Ukraine, according to the Vaad.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination in Dubai of top Hamas arms smuggler Mahmoud Mabhouh, but the killing is raising questions about whether it will compromise Israel’s effort to stop Iran from obtaining the bomb.

That’s because one of the key figures behind the effort, Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is coming under heavy criticism for the sloppy operation in Dubai.

Operating under the assumption that Israel was behind the Dubai hit, some Israeli analysts are calling for Dagan’s ouster.

They say the Mossad has adopted an irresponsible, trigger-happy approach to fighting terrorism, and they point to the diplomatic imbroglio facing Israel for the use of fake British and Irish passports by members of the hit squad, who traveled under the names of European citizens now living in Israel.

Dagan’s tenure at the Mossad is up for renewal at the end of the year.

Defenders of Dagan point to the long list of Mossad achievements in the war on terrorism and the campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, and argue that his tenure at the intelligence agency should be extended for an unprecedented fourth time. They insist that his knowledge of the Iranian theater is unmatched, and that as the clock reaches zero hour on the Iranian nuclear threat, his input will be invaluable — and not only for Israel.

Under Dagan, the Mossad has had just two priorities: delaying Iran’s nuclear program and counterterrorism.

“The list must be short. If we continue pretending we can do everything, in the end we won’t do anything,” Dagan was quoted as saying when he was appointed by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2002.

Sharon reportedly told Dagan to run the agency “with a knife between its teeth.”

The main focus of his tenure has been Iran. Soon after Dagan took over the Mossad, the agency reportedly passed on information to the United States and others that the rogue Pakistani nuclear dealer Abdel Qadir Khan was helping the Iranians build a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.

Since then, a string of unexplained accidents has afflicted the Iranian nuclear project: scientists have disappeared, laboratories have caught fire, aircraft have crashed

Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90

Mossad chief Meir Dagan, shown at a Knesset committee meeting in February 2008, has earned plaudits for his actions on Iran and some criticism for his tactics countering terrorism.

and whole batches of equipment have proved faulty.

In 2007, Israeli intelligence detected work on a secret nuclear program in Syria, and in September of that year Israeli planes bombed the site of a North Korea-style reactor the Syrians were building.

The Mossad also was credited for the discovery of a hidden Iranian enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom last September — a find that finally convinced even previously skeptical international observers that Iran indeed was conducting a clandestine nuclear weapons program.

Although the Mossad has not claimed credit for any of this, regional players have little doubt as to who has been behind the killings, the accidents and the pinpoint intelligence.

Egypt’s Al-Ahram daily ran an article in mid-January calling Dagan Israel’s Superman and claiming that he almost singlehandedly has delayed the Iranian bomb.

“Without this man, the Iranian nuclear program would have taken off years ago,” the newspaper’s former Gaza correspondent Ashraf Abu al-Haul wrote. In a moment of rare praise for an Israeli in the Egyptian press, he called Dagan’s actions against Israel’s enemies “very brave.”

Now, as the international community dithers over new sanctions against Iran and the Iranians move closer to nuclear weapons’ capacity, Dagan’s reading of the situation will be crucial. He recently revised backward his estimate of when Iran will be able to manufacture a bomb it can deliver to 2014.

Still, there are fears in the international community that Israel may act to stop the Iranian program before it reaches its “breakout point” — when Iran will have

stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to manufacture a bomb if it so chooses. That could come by the end of this year.

For now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he favors giving sanctions a chance as long as they are tough — not allowing oil out of Iran or oil distillates like petroleum into the country.

“If one is talking about what are effective sanctions, they must include the constriction of the export of oil from Iran and the import of refined oil into Iran,” Netanyahu said Monday in a speech to the Jewish Agency for Israel’s board of governors meeting. “I think that nothing else stands a real chance to stop the progress of the regime, but this has a chance. At least it must be tried and must be tried now.”

Few criticize Dagan’s actions on Iran, but some question his derringdo tactics on terrorism as reflected in the Dubai operation. They argue that his risk taking could cost Israel diplomatically and provoke heavy terrorist retaliation. His critics also contend that taking out top terrorists is a dubious proposition: Often their replacements are even more dangerous.

Dagan’s eight years at the helm have seen several targeted killings of top Hezbollah and Hamas operatives in Beirut and Damascus attributed to the Mossad — the most notable of which was the assassination of Hezbollah terrorist mastermind Imad Mugniyeh in a car bombing in Damascus in February 2008. Mugniyeh, who reportedly planned the attack on the U.S. Marines compound in Beirut in 1983, had been on the wanted lists of Israel and the United States for more than two decades.

MOSSAD on page 22

WONDERFUL WEDDINGS

11

WEDDING VENDORS DIRECTORY ALL OCCASIONS EVENT RENTAL Begun in 1979 as a tool and equipment company, the company struck out in a direction for which it recognized a need – renting all the “stuff” for a party.

Nationally recognized as having the highest number of Certified Event Rental Professionals (CERP) of any rental company in the United States and Canada, according to its literature, All Occasions offers a sophisticated staff of event professionals, including a goodly number of event consultants.

Perhaps more importantly, the detail oriented staff functions as a team in order to ensure proper delivery and follow-up for their broad array of party items.

All Occasion’s rental inventory includes the area’s widest selection of linens as well as food service items, furniture and décor.

CHOCOLATE PASSION All that is needed is a table.

Chocolate Passion supplies a buffet station to perch on top of the table, in a design consistent with the event’s theme.

A bountiful array of handcrafted chocolates and gourmet desserts is then discreetly maintained at the station throughout the event.

Chocolate Passion offers its sweets in a variety of packages as well as from an a-la-carte menu.

DANIEL MICHAEL, INC. Daniel Michael’s professional photographers offer stills and videos of weddings and engagement events.

With a full array of photographic services, Daniel Michael’s motto is “It’s not just an image, it’s a moment.”

Special services include engagement photo sessions to prepare the couple for their wedding moments and “destination weddings” that allow the couple to take their favorite photojournalist with them out of town.

“We strive every day to reach new levels of creativity and cus-

tomer service with quality that is second to none,” said Daniel Michael.

FRAMEWORKS The motto of FrameWorks is the old adage: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

“If a person cares enough about something to have it custom framed to look good a long time, we use the best quality materials we can find and take the time to do the job right,” said Rick Granick of FrameWorks.

Although the framing process is done with machinery, at FrameWorks much of the work is done by hand in order to incorporate custom variations and details.

Among their selection of frames are shadow boxes, fillets and stacked frames.

“Whether their value is mon-

etary or sentimental, at FrameWorks we will treat your treasures as though they were our own,” promised Granick.

THE HILTON CINCINNATI NETHERLANDS PLAZA A Cincinnati landmark since 1931, The Netherlands Plaza has a long history of hosting dream weddings, with world-class French art deco and three ballrooms that can host over 700 guests.

Smaller space for weddings is available as well, including The Restaurants at Palm Court – a good choice for bridal lunches, afternoon teas or celebration brunches, according to the hotel.

For the tribe, perhaps the most noteworthy attribute of this grand hotel is as downtown Cincinnati’s only dedicated Kosher kitchen.

VENDORS on page 12

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WONDERFUL WEDDINGS

VENDORS from page 11 JEFF THOMAS CATERING Celebrating over 25 years of service to Greater Cincinnati, Jeff Thomas delivers buffet and seated dinners with many custom options.

With a staff that can assist clients with coordinating tables, china and linens, Jeff Thomas hopes its clients will, in the end, relax and enjoy their event like one of the guests.

Among their clients, the multiples reception station is the most favored; selections include meat carving, Mexican, vegetarian, pasta and desserts.

JONES THE FLORIST Since 1865, Jones the Florist has designed and set up their floral arrangements for weddings and other singular occasions.

Their staff routinely assists clients in reception room décor elements, guest gift baskets and gifts for the bridal party as well.

Managing the flowers and plants for a wedding successfully is an involved process that Jones approaches with a comprehensive team effort to ensure no detail left behind.

Jones event specialists work

Mazel Tov Glass provides a colorful substitute to ordinary gifts.

closely – and personally – with their clients to design and set up arrangements to best express the sentiments of the occasion.

JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET Jungle Jim’s is well known for offering a mind-bending array of products: 1400+ cheeses, 12,000 wine labels, 1,200 beer labels and 500 different kinds of produce.

What many in Cincinnati may not know is that it offers an event center and catering, gifts shops and gift baskets for those planning major celebrations such

as weddings.

The event center, “Oscar,” offers on-sight food preparation and a variety of celebration spaces ranging from room for an intimate gathering of 40 to a 1,000-person spectacular.

Located above the international market, the event center provides easy access to wide selections of flowers, invitations, desserts, gifts and, of course, food.

MAZEL TOV GLASS After the wedding ceremony there will be photos, videos and memories. How does one capture

WONDERFUL WEDDINGS that once-in-a lifetime instant of the iconic breaking of the glass?

That is what Mazel Tov Glass answers.

Before the wedding, the couple will receive a special container, the “Mazel Tov Bag,” in which to place the newly formed shards and mail it back to the company.

Back at Mazel Tov Glass, the pieces of broken glass will be suspended in colorful — yet clear — molten glass to form a hand blown vase or bowl: the Mazel Tov Heirloom.

It all started when three friends, who blow glass together – Andrea, Kanik and Susan – went to a wedding and brainstormed for a truly meaningful wedding gift.

Something a little different.

They did.

MJS PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Snyder launched his business from his living room in 1998.

Now offering a fully digital studio that delivers Michael’s images quickly to his clients from his facility to their computers, mjs photography has grown into one of the city’s top private photography studios.

For those planning to wed, Michael offers engagement and other portraits as well as photo-

graphic recording of the wedding itself.

THE SILK CANOPY: THE FLORAL ARTISTRY OF MARY BAUM Mary Baum offers a fresh concept in floral arrangement.

Said Baum, “My goal was to create beautiful table arrangements like those that are typically found on the cover of high-end bridal magazines, and make them accessible to brides with a moderate budget.”

Baum, who loves the expression of creativity and emotion afforded by her designs, is happy to build on ideas from customers.

Baum has been in floral design for 35 years; she began to learn her art on her grandmother’s knee, who was a florist herself. Her specialty is artificial flowers or “Eternal Botanicals.”

Emphasizing that it is the couples’ belief “that tomorrow holds even more promise, more excitement and more love than today” that far eclipses the many aesthetics of the wedding day, Baum laughed, “But it never hurts to have a little more bling.”

STRING CELEBRATIONS USA For a more refined ambience

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to establish the mood for a wedding celebration, there is String Celebrations USA. Offering the sounds of Brahms, Mozart and Bizet, performed by professional classical musicians, String Celebrations USA also offers lighter fare such as jazz, ragtime and Jewish folk music.

Performances are by professors at area music schools with graduate school credentials — many have international tours and solo performances in their professional histories.

String Celebrations USA is available for wedding ceremonies and for celebrations.

VICTORIA TRAVEL Victoria Travel wants to “transform your honeymoon fantasy into a glorious reality.”

Offering exclusive travel adventures, every trip includes prepaid gratuities, VIP guest amenities and upgrades plus “substantial savings.”

For honeymooners, Victoria Travel has a wedding registry and announcements that include trips to Hawaii, Europe and Tahiti.

In business since 1960, the travel agency boasts “250 years of travel experience” from its travel consultants.

14

DINING OUT

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Stone Creek is fine dining with a happy twist

by Bob Wilhelmy Restaurant Reporter In essence, the dining-out experience is a two-part deal. The food is central, the primary part. The setting or ambiance is part two, and while seemingly subordinate, generally is critical to the diner’s overall experience. In fine-dining restaurants, you’ll find both of those elements almost every time.

Stone Creek offers those two parts, and a happy twist as well.

The twist? The place features a casual I-Like-This-Place ambiance on the social side. Those elements, taken together, are hard to come by in fine-dine eateries.

For the record, we’ve tried 10 or so entrée items on Stone Creek’s menu and they all rate a scrumptious “Wow!” on the Taste/Quality/Value scale. Entrées are plated with fine-dining panache, dishes are inventive, inviting and tasty, and prices are comfortably moderate. So Stone Creek gets an “A” on cuisine.

Now, for that twist. This takes us into intangible territory here, but you’ll know what it is when you visit Stone Creek. The “intangible” is a laid-back, just-folks style that is just right: no pretense, no phony-baloney stuff at the service end. Just people intent on doing a good job for you, and knowing they have the good food to win your approval.

Tom Cunningham, the head of the Stone Creek location in Montgomery, put it this way: “Part of the reason people like to come here is because we aren’t pushy.

We’re not trying to get every last dollar. We don’t think that way. If a customer wants a sandwich or a bowl of soup or an appetizer instead of an entrée, that’s fine with us. We’re trying to give them a good experience: great food and good value.”

The bar at Stone Creek is a testament to how much patrons like the place. During the wind-down Happy-Hour time on weekdays, 47 p.m., the bar area is jumping!

Also, Stone Creek is one of only a few fine-dine eateries in Greater Cincinnati offering continuous service throughout the day, from lunch to close. That’s especially advantageous to those who may want a late lunch, an early dinner, or a place to meet in the afternoon and enjoy the company of others over wine or a drink.

In stopping there at the 3o’clock afternoon hour or so, it is common to see clusters of people at tables talking, or people doing business, or individuals tapping away at a laptop.

So, why the steady flow of patrons? Cunningham, managing thinks there are several reasons.

“Stone Creek has become the place to meet for a lot of people in

Executive Chef Chris Hendricks stands next to one of Stone Creek Dining Company’s signature dishes, the sesame-crusted tuna entrée, a pan-seared preparation with Asian vegetables, topped with ginger-soy cream.

and around the Montgomery area,” he said.

Another reason for crowds at Stone Creek is a steady following of regulars, according to Sarah Cunningham, general manager.

“Many of our diners are here several times a week, and we work to keep a menu that has a balance of favorite items and fresh, new preparations for people to try,” she said.

One of the items we tried is “Bem’s” chicken, and you are going to love it, I’m thinking. The entrée features a chicken breast, and is loaded with flavor gained from a combination of sautéed spinach and artichokes spooned over a grain called quinoa, all of which then is finished with basil tomatoes and a rosemary sauce (hold the mozzarella cheese, please). The quinoa “grain” actually is an edible seed found in South America (Peru), and it is a nutritional superstar. The seed contains almost all the nutrients needed by the human body. And in the Bem’s dish, the quinoa is just perfect. Bem’s chicken is $20.

“Holding the mozzarella is no problem for us,” Tom Cunningham said. “We operate a scratch kitchen here, so literally,

every dish is prepared to order.

That’s important to people who have special food requirements, and we are happy to do whatever we can for them.”

Deals? On Monday evenings, the feature is Half-price Wine Night. All bottles of wine on the list that are $100 or less at regular price are offered at one-half the price. Tuesday evenings, you’ll find half-priced draft beers for your enjoyment. On Wednesday evenings, the draw has been the Half-price Martini Night.

Thursdays provide advantage also, with $5 well-mixed drinks, and live music from 8-10 p.m.

The evening menu offers salads, sandwiches and entrée choices from $9 to $26, and lunches range from $8 to $15. Appetizers begin at $3.50 for a cup of soup, to $15 for ahi tuna intended for two.

Dinner salads range from $6 for a house Caesar to $14 for grilled salmon salad.

Now for specifics: Hot items on the appetizer menu include the French onion and wild mushroom

soup, finished with homemade parmesan croutons, topped with gruyere cheese, for $6 a bowl; the spinach artichoke dip, mixed with a variety of cheeses, and offered with grilled focaccia for scooping, also $9; and baked goat cheese, topped with Italian caponata and served with crostini, for $11.

Beef entrees include a 12ounce ribeye, with baked potato and a chef’s choice veggie and horseradish cream for $24; New York strip, a 12-ouncer, fitted out the same, but with caramelized onions, also $24; a filet mignon, in 8-ounce, for $26 or 6-ounce, for $21; and lastly, the horseradishDijon-crusted sirloin, a 10-ounce cut, same sides, for $20.

The seafood menu features salmon, a seafood broil, mahi mahi, sesame-crusted tuna, and pan-roasted tilapia, with prices ranging from $18 to $23.

There are pasta and sandwich selections that round out the menu, along with homemade desserts, such as carrot cake and cheesecake.

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OPINION

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Someone’s there The rubble doesn’t stir; things are very quiet. But a faint tapping emerges from somewhere below.

You shout “Can you hear me?” and more tapping ensues.

You have an idea. “If you can understand me,” you yell, “tap once.” A single tap. “If you’re injured,” you then say, “tap twice.”

Two taps. There’s someone there.

The scene conjures the aftermath of a natural disaster like January’s earthquake in Haiti. But it could also stand as a compelling metaphor for the discovery of a human being struggling to be heard through the rubble of a body that is just too hard to move.

A group of European scientists has employed a high-tech means of, in effect, hearing the tapping of a mind trapped in an unresponsive body. Four patients diagnosed as vegetative and assumed to be unconscious were demonstrated to be aware, despite their inability to move in any way, even just blinking.

The discovery was the result of the creative use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which shows cellular activity across brain regions. What it demonstrated was that the patients were hearing and thinking, and that they could communicate.

The researchers’ discovery utilized the fact that when a person is thinking about active movement, cells in one area of the brain become active; when he visualizes navigating a familiar area, a different area shows cellular activity. The researchers asked the physically unresponsive patients first to imagine swinging a tennis racket and then to imagine moving through the rooms of their houses. The fMRI scan showed activity in the respective, separate areas of the brain with each thought.

Then the researchers posed a series of factual yes-or-no questions to each patient, like whether he had a parent or sibling with a certain name, and instructed the patient to respond “yes” by imagining playing tennis and “no” by imagining walking through his home. Each patient was instructed to concentrate on the “yes” or “no” thought-activities for a full 30 seconds, well beyond the range of any random brain activity artifact, and they were able to respond accurately.

The results were striking. The answers provided by the four patients, who were part of a tested group of 54, were all correct, demonstrating that consciousness can reside in a body seemingly severed from the world. Before fMRI, such an assertion could have been no more than a statement of faith.

Now it is fact. Left for us to specu-

late is whether some even more sensitive future technology might one day reveal consciousness even in patients whose brains cannot generate signals detectable by current methods.

No one knows what degree of consciousness persists in a body unable to move. But now we know that some degree can persist in some such bodies, belonging to people many would previously have thought of as something less than people.

Some still aren’t convinced they are, in fact, still people. In an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Allan H. Ropper, a neurologist, warned against, in the New York Times’ words, “equating neural activity [like that seen in the brain scans of the four patients] with [human] identity.” He asserted that “Physicians and society are not ready for ‘I have brain activation, therefore I am.’ That would seriously put Descartes before the horse.”

Quite the punster, that Dr. Ropper; but the issue is most serious.

Writing in Great Britain’s The Guardian, University of Glasgow Professor of Law and Ethics Sheila McLean doesn’t treat “brain activation” as casually as Dr. Ropper. On the contrary, she assumes that patients like those who communicated their answers to the European scientists are in fact thinking.

Nonetheless, she asks whether “if recovery truly is impossible, is it compassionate to keep people alive in this condition?”

“Frankly,” she asserts, “the only thing worse than being in a vegetative state must be being in one, but being aware.”

Perhaps. But then again, perhaps not. Professor McLean is too quick to discount the value of even such a physically imprisoned life. Is only our movement meaningful?

Not all of us at the end of our lifejourneys will experience epiphanies, but all of us have the potential to be so blessed. And many of us, even if immobile, physically unresponsive and without reasonable hope of recovery, might still engage most important matters – things like forgiveness, repentance, acceptance, commitment, love, G-d – perhaps the most momentous matters we will ever have considered over the course of our lives. Is ending a life of pure contemplation less objectionable that ending one that includes physical activity?

And, as Professor McLean notes, “the consequence of a diagnosis of permanent vegetative state is that it can be lawful to withdraw assisted nutrition and hydration” – resulting, of course, in the patient’s death.

Back to the aftermath of the natural disaster. What would we think of someone who looks down at the immobile rubble, hears some faint tapping… and just walks away?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com

Dear Editor, Get your money back from the guy or gal who made up your wedding invitation. It should have said your date was April 1, not April 31.

“Cook”

Dear Editor, The congregants at Adath Israel were moved to tears by last week’s Purim news of your impending marriage to a KTBA (kallah to be announced). We believe they were tears of joy, though some members said they were tears of laughter at the notion of a groom whose middle name always includes parentheses. Rumor has it that some female members of the congregation also shed tears of relief at the prospect that the Most Exalted Publisher and Israelite Grand Poobah would no longer be circulating on Cincinnati’s Jewish dating scene.

As you know, Adath Israel Congregation is located within a stone’s throw of French Park – although our membership has faithfully promised not to throw any stones in that direction while your ceremony is underway. Should you run into inclement weather, i.e., if snow is still falling on April 31 (as seems likely as of this writing), you, your bride (whoever she may be), and your guests are invited to hike over to the shul and conduct the affair beneath the beautiful covered portico that shelters automobile pick-up and drop-off at the parking lot entrance to our building. On the way over, your wedding party will pass right by the

rabbi’s house, and if the Wises are home you’ll be invited to have some of Rabbi Wise’s infamous Yemenite condiment tzug on a cracker to “spice up” your nuptials.

You suggested that gifts be mailed to your office, but it seems you already are well-supplied with the silk long johns and flannel shirts that we had intended to buy for you and the missus. As an alternative we wish to gift the happy couple with a complimentary one-year membership at Adath Israel Congregation: one size fits all, no assembly required, batteries included, satisfaction guaranteed. Operators are standing by to take your call, and if you Act Now!!, the synagogue Sisterhood will throw in a membership that the Cougar, the Youngin, the Bubbe or the Goldilocks will be sure to enjoy while you spend long hours at the office toiling away with ink-stained fingers and kvetching about “balanced news coverage in an unbalanced world.”

Mazal Tov from your somewhat loyal and occasionally satisfied subscribers at Adath Israel Congregation.

Bruce H. Ente Administrator Adath Israel Congregation

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE of this week’s Torah portion This Week’s Portion: Ki Tisa (Shmot 30:11—34:32) 1. How does one elevate The Children of Israel? a.) Through the Shabbat and Festivals b.) Through the giving of a half shekel in the census c.) Through honoring Torah scholars 2. What was cinnamon used for? a.) Part of the incense sacrifice b.) Anointing oil c.) It was sacrificed by itself in the Mishkan 3. When did Hashem give the Two Tablets of Testimony?

a.) When the Torah was given at Mount Sinai b.) After 40 days on Mount Sinai c.) When he finished building the Mishkan 4. What were the Tablets made of? a.) Metal b.) Stone c.) Clay 5. Who was Moshe's special attendant? a.) His sons b.) Aaron's sons c.) Joshua d.) All of the Children of Israel

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

1. B 30:12 “Ki Tisa” means to raise and not to count. Since the Children of Israel received an atonement through a census it was an elevation 2. A 30:23 Cinnamon is woody, the Torah says a requirement that it is fruity.

3. B 31:18 Actually, Moshe could not learn the entire Torah in 40 days.

After 40 days, Hashem gave Moshe the Torah as a gift. Rashi 4. B 31:18 5. C 33:11 He was only called a “lad” in relation to Moshe

By Rabbi Avi Shafran Contributing Columnist

Answers

16

JEWISH LIFE

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

17

Sedra of the Week

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Ki Tis Exodus 30:11 – 34:35

Efrat, Israel — “Lord, Lord a G-d of Compassion…” (Exodus 34:6).

It is difficult to imagine the profound disappointment and even anger Moses must have felt upon witnessing the Israelites dancing and reveling around the Golden Calf. After all of his teachings and exhortations about how G-d demands fealty and morality – and after all of the miracles G-d had wrought for them in Egypt, at the Reed Sea, in the desert and at Sinai, how could the Israelites have so quickly cast away G-d and His prophet in favor of the momentary, frenzied pleasures of the Golden Calf?

“And it happened that when he drew near to the encampment and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses burned with anger and he cast the tablets from his hands, smashing them under the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). Whether he broke the tablets in a fit of anger, disgusted with his nation and deeming them unworthy to be the bearers of the sacred teachings of the Decalogue (Rashi), or whether the sight of the debauchery caused Moses to feel faint, to be overcome with a debilitating weakness which caused the tablets to feel heavy in his hands and fall of themselves, leading him to cast them away from his legs so that he not become crippled by their weight as they smattered on the ground (Rashbam, ad loc), Moses himself appears to be as broken in spirit as were the tablets in stone.

After all, ultimately a leader must feel and take responsibility for his nations’ transgression! All of these emotions must have been swirling around Moses’ mind and heart while the tablets were crashing on the ground.

But what follows in the Biblical text, after capital punishment for the 3,000 ring leaders of the idolatry, is a lengthy philosophical – theological dialogue between Moses and G-d. This culminates in the revelation of the 13 Divine attributes and the “normative” definition of G-d at least in terms of our partial human understanding. What does this mean in terms of Moses’ relationship with his nation Israel after their great transgression, and what does this mean for us today, in our own lives?

This was not the first time that Moses was disappointed by the Israelites. Early on in his career, when he was a Prince in Egypt, Moses saw an Egyptian task-mas-

ter beating a Hebrew slave. “He looked here and there, and he saw there was not a man” – no Egyptian was willing to cry out against the “anti-Semitic” injustice and no Hebrew was ready to launch a rebellion – “and he slew the Egyptian task-master and buried him in the sand” (Exodus 2:11). Moses was no fool; he would not have sacrificed his exalted position in Egypt for a rash act against a single Egyptian scoundrel. He hoped that with this assassination he would spark a Hebrew revolution against their despotic captors.

Moses goes out the next day, expecting to see the beginnings of rebellious foment amongst the Hebrews. He finds two Hebrew men fighting — perhaps specifically about whether or not to follow Moses’ lead. But when he chastises the assailant for raising a hand against his brother, he is unceremoniously criticized: “Who made you a master and judge over us? Are you about to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?”

(Exodus 2:14).

Moses realized that he had risked his life for nought, that the Hebrews were too embroiled in their own petty arguments to launch a rebellion. Upset with his Hebrew relatives, Moses decides to give up on social action and devote himself to G-d and to religious meditation rather than political rebellion (see Lichtenstein, Moshe, Tzir V’tzon).To this end, he apparently chose to escape to Midian; a desert community whose Sheikh, Yitro, was a seeker after the Divine. (see Exodus 2:21, Rashi ad loc and Exodus 18:11) Moses spends 60 years in this Midianite, ashram-like environment of solitary contemplation with the Divine, culminating in his vision of the burning bush when Moses sees an “angel of the Lord in flame of fire in the midst of a prickly thorn-bush, — and behold, the thorn-bush is burning with fire, but the thorn-bush is not consumed” (Exodus 3: 1-3).

The prickly and lowly thorn-bush seems to be symbolizing the Hebrew people, containing within itself the fire of the Divine but not being consumed by it. And Gd sends Moses back to this developing, albeit prickly Hebrew nation, urging him to lead the Israelite slaves out of their Egyptian servitude.

G-d is teaching His greatest prophet that his religious goal must not only be Divine meditation, but also human communication; and specifically taking the Israelites out of Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land, no

matter how hard it may be to work with them.

Now let us fast forward to the sin of the Golden Calf and its aftermath. Moses pleads with G-d to forgive the nation. G-d responds that He dare not dwell in the midst of Israel, lest He destroy them at their next transgression.

Moses then asks to be shown Gd’s glory, to understand G-d’s ways in this world. G-d explains that a living human cannot see His face, since that would require a complete understanding of the Divine. But His back—a partial glimpse—could and would be revealed. Moses then stands on the cleft of a rock on Mount Sinai, the very place of G-d’s previous revelation of the Ten Commandments, and he receives a second revelation, a second “service to G-d on this mountain.” “… Moses arose early in the morning and ascended to Mt. Sinai…taking the two stone tablets in his hand. The Lord descended in a cloud and stood with him there, and he called out with the Name Adonai (YHVH).

And Adonai (YHVH) passed before him and he proclaimed: Adonai, Adonai, El (G-d), Compassionate and forgiving, Slow to Anger and Abundant in Kindness and Truth…” (Exodus 34: 4-7).

In this second revelation, G-d is telling Moses two things: first of all, that He is a G-d of unconditional love, a G-d who loves the individual before he/she sins and a G-d who loves the individual even after he/she sins (Rashi ad loc), a G-d who freely forgives. Hence G-d will never reject His covenantal nation, will always forgive with alacrity and work with Israel on the road to redemption.

Secondly, if G-d is fundamentally a G-d of love and forgiveness, we must be people of love and forgiveness. From Moses the greatest of prophets to the lowliest hewers of wood and drawers of water, just as He (G-d) loves freely and is always ready to forgive, so in all of our human relationships we must strive to love generously and always be ready to forgive. This second Revelation is the mirror image of the first, yes, we must firmly ascribe to the morality of the Ten Commandments, but we must at the same time be constantly aware that the G-d of the cosmos loves each and every one of His children, and is always ready to forgive us, no matter what.

Shabbat Shalom Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi — Efrat Israel

MODERN ORTHODOX SERVICE Daily Minyan for Shacharit, Mincha, Maariv, Shabbat Morning Service and Shalosh Seudas.

Kiddush follows Shabbat Morning Services

RABBI HANAN BALK & ASSISTANT RABBI STUART LAVENDA

6442 Stover Ave • 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org

3100 LONGMEADOW LANE • CINCINNATI, OH 45236 791-1330 • www.templesholom.net Richard Shapiro, Interim Rabbi Marcy Ziek, President Gerry H. Walter, Rabbi Emeritus March 5 6:30 pm Sholom Unplugged A Light Dinner will Follow Services

March 12 8:00 pm Shabbat Evening Service (Choir Shabbat)

March 6 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Service

March 13 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Service and Transition Workshop

18

JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

Jewz in the Newz

by Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist OSCAR ROUND-UP The Academy Awards will be presented on ABC on Sunday, March 7, at 8PM. This year the Academy expanded the number of best picture nominees from five films to 10. The best picture Oscar is presented to the winning film’s producer(s).

The best picture nominees include “Inglourious Basterds” (a historical fantasy about Jewish WWII commandos) and “A Serious Man” (about the troubles of a Jewish college professor). The Israeli film, “Ajami,” is nominated for best foreign film.

“Avatar,” James Cameron’s blockbuster sci-fi film, is also up for best picture. It was co-produced

by Cameron and JON LANDAU, 49. (Jon Landau, the film producer, should not be confused with Jon Landau, a famous rock music producer. I think the ‘music guy’ is Jewish, too.)

Landau, the film producer, also produced “Titanic,” James Cameron’s previous box office champ. Jon Landau’s parents, ELY and EDIE LANDAU, were known for the many classy “small” movies they produced-including “The Chosen.”

JAMES HORNER, 56, is nominated for best original score for “Avatar.” Horner, who won two Oscars for Cameron’s “Titanic” (best score and best song: “My Heart Will Go On”) is the son of the late HARRY HORNER, an Austrian Jew. In 1937, legendary Austrian Jewish stage director/producer MAX REINHARDT came to America to stage a spectacular operatic history of the Jewish people called “The Eternal Road.”

Horner accompanied Reinhardt as an art director. When the Nazis marched into Austria in 1938, Harry made the prudent choice to remain in America. He went on to be an Oscar-winning Hollywood art director and, in 1952, he married James’ mother, a member of a prominent Toronto Jewish family.

RANDY NEWMAN, 66, and MAURY YESTON, 64, vie for the Oscar for best original song.

Newman is double-nominated for two songs for “The Princess and the Frog,” while Yeston is up for a new song he composed for the film version of his Broadway musical, “Nine.” Newman has been Oscarnominated 19 times for best score or best song, winning once. (James Horner has ‘only’ been nominated 10 times).

This is the first Oscar nomination for Yeston, the grandson of a cantor. It’s ironic that he competes

with Horner, who had such a success with his score for the film, “Titanic.” Yeston wrote the score for the 1997 Broadway musical “Titanic,” which received mostly negative reviews.

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, 32, whose mother is Jewish, is nominated for best supporting actress for role as a journalist who helps a down-and-out country singer (Jeff Bridges) turn his life around in “Crazy Heart.” Actress LAUREN BACALL, 85, was given an honorary lifetime Oscar this year—the presentation was made at a special “Governor’s Ball” ceremony held last November. Bacall began her film acting career at age 19 in the classic, “To Have and Have Not” (1944). She is still in good enough health to take a co-starring role in the comedy-drama “Carmel,” which will open later in 2010.

Bacall met and became friends with KIRK DOUGLAS even before she began her film career. Douglas, 94, appeared at the Governor’s Ball to praise Bacall and he remarked that 2010 is the 60th anniversary of the release of “Young Man with a Horn,” an excellent dramatic film that co-starred Bacall and Douglas.

ETHAN and JOEL COEN are nominated for best original screenplay for “A Serious Man.” Their competition includes MARK BOAL, 37, a journalist who penned “The Hurt Locker,” a film about the Iraq war that is a best picture nominee. Also nominated in this category is Israel-raised OREN MOVERMAN, 44, the director and screenwriter of “The Messenger,” also about the Iraq War. (The Coen brothers and Boal are also nominated in their roles as co-producers of films up for a best picture Oscar).

JASON REITMAN, 32, is up for three Oscars for his film, “Up in the Air” (best director, best adapted screenplay, and as the coproducer of a film nominated as best picture).

WONDERLAND Tim Burton’s new film, “Alice in Wonderland,” is a re-telling of the famous Lewis Carroll “Alice” novels. It employs both live action and animated sequences. Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter.

British actor STEPHEN FRY, 52, whose mother was Jewish, co-stars as the Cheshire Cat. Another British Jew, comedy actor and writer MATT LUCAS, 35, plays Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Lucas is very famous in his home country. He is the creator and costar of the BBC series, “Little Britain,” a huge hit in the UK. (Opens Friday, March 5.)

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago A delightful entertainment was given at the Jewish Home, Feb. 27, 1910. Those taking part were Miss Ethel York, Miss Jessie Strauss, Miss Theresa Rice, Mrs. Rosalie Altmaier and Mr. Gordon Weil.

Messers. J.M. and Nathaniel Gidding have returned from New York after an absence of several weeks. During their stay in the metropolis they closed a deal to occupy the six-story building at

564, 566 and 568 Fith Avenue, at the corner of 46th street, which is one of the very best locations in the heart of the new and fashionable retail shopping district. They will take over their new building on September 1st. While every new enterprise is something of an experiment, this venture is as little of one as possible. There is every reason to believe that the boldness, intelligence and understanding of the wants of that portion of

the public to whom they cater, displayed by the Gidding brothers in Cincinnati will achieve in New York a similar success to that won by them here.

The marriage of Miss Edna Schoenfeld, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schoenfeld, of Milwaukee, and Mr. Charles J. Abraham, son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Abraham, of this city, takes place this (Thursday) evening. — March 3, 1910

75 Years Ago Mr. B.J. Lazar has been named managing director of the Cincinnati Branch, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He succeeds Mr. C.F. McCombs, retired. Mr. Lazar has been cashier of the Cincinnati Branch for the past 15 years. Previous to this he served two years in the Cleveland office of the Reserve Bank. He was reared in Cleveland, where he started his banking career, and was active in

the work of the American Institute of Banking for many years. He and Mrs. Lazar have two daughters and reside at 3928 Dickson Avenue.

Miss Loretta Ebner, known to many Avondale residents through the Loretta Shop, Reading Road, is recuperating from a recent serious illness.

Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Davis and Mr. and Mrs. Herman Aaronsohn of Toledo, O., were

guests of Mr. and Mrs. Al Levinson, of Glenwood Avenue.

Dr. Stuart Schloss, son of Mrs. Alfred Schloss, is enjoying a two-week motor trip in Florida.

Mr. Howard Ullman has returned from Miami Beach, Fla. Mrs. Ullman will return within a month.

Messrs. Arthur Stern, Martin Meister and Saul Schwartz are among new residents at the Hotel Alms. — March 7, 1935

50 Years Ago Jewish Hospital births include: Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Harkavy (Roslyn Dreyer), 4081 Rose Hill Avenue, son Friday, Feb. 26.

Mrs. Eva Siebler, 85, of 7200 Brookcrest Drive, passed away Thursday, Feb. 25.

She is survived by: two daughters, Mrs. Sidney Horwitz and Mrs. Harry Weisbaum; three sons, Edward J. and Louis H. all of Cincinnati and Jack of Pompano

Beach, Fla.; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Paul Cohn is the new president of Hillel at the University of Cincinnati. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin M. Cohn, 3959 Wess Park Drive.

Chosen with him are Norman Levy, vice president; Miss Laura Noodleman, Miss Barbara Signer and Miss Selma Rothstein. All are Cincinnatians except Mr. Levy, of Evansville.

Mrs. Edward Frank, special

gifts chairman for the Women’s Division of the Jewish Welfare Fund, has announced that the special gifts tea will be held Thursday, March 10, at 1 p.m. at the home of Mrs. Robert L. Block, Jr., 1047 Lenox Place.

Mrs. Frank’s vice chairmen are: the Mesdames Philip T. Cohen, Charles Dressler, Leo S. Friedman, Jack Getz, Julian Moskowitz, Irvin J. Schwartz, Nathan Silverblatt and Mrs. S. Charles Strauss. — March 3, 1960

25 Years Ago Max Stein of 1435 Beaverton Avenue passed away Feb. 21.

He is survived by: two daughters, Judy (Mrs. Fred) Elkus of Cincinnati and Phyllis (Mrs. Edward) Gabovitch of Indianapolis; a sister, Jean Wainer; a brother, Herman Stein; 11 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Mr. Stein was the husband of the late Ann D. Stein and the brother of the late Dr. Joseph Stein.

He was a member of Wise Temple.

Services were on Feb. 24 at the Weil Funeral Home. Rabbi Alan Fuchs officiated. Interment was in the United Jewish cemetery in Montgomery.

The Labor Zionist Alliance and B’nai B’rith District Two will co-sponsor a program entitled “ARI” (Active Retirees in Israel) Sunday, March 17, at 11 a.m., at the Jewish Federation, 1811 Losantiville. Dr. Daniel Mann, director of the Israel Commission of B’nai B’rith International, will

speak.

Dr. Mann grew up in Cincinnati and attended Walnut Hills High School. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Columbia University (where he received his B.A. and M.S. degrees). He studied Judaica at Spertus College in Chicago and comes from a family of Jewish scholars. He participated in a work-study program for Jewish youth in Israel sponsored by Habonim. — February 28, 1985

10 Years Ago Harley Rosenberg, 72, formerly of Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away at his home in Florida, on February 16, 2000. Subsequent to Mr. Rosenberg’s residence in Cincinnati, he lived for 15 years in Marco Island, Fla., followed by four years in Naples, Florida. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Minch Rosenberg. Also surviving him is a daughter, Gerri Moldovan

of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and threee grandchildren. A son, Mark Rosenberg, pre-deceased him. Mr. Rosenberg was the son of the late Hildreth (Cohen) and Lee Rosenberg.

Gilah Safran Naveh, professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Cincinnati, has recently published a book on the history of parables, published by SUNY Press, which has met high

acclaim from others in her field.

While the work may appear a daunting task for the average reader, “Biblical Parables and Their Modern Re-Creations,” is highly accessible to anyone interested and a valuable tool in facilitating the revitalization of Jewish spirituality in time when scriptural truths are in essence indecipherable. — March 2, 2000

CLASSIFIEDS

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 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 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com 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

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production@ americanisraelite.com HOSPITAL from page 1 through our hospitals, primary care physicians, outpatient centers, and wide array of programs and services.”

With the addition of The Jewish Hospital, Mercy provides the most comprehensive health care services in Greater Cincinnati. Combined with Mercy hospitals in Anderson Township, Batavia, Fairfield, Mt. Airy and Western Hills, as well as medical centers in Harrison and Mt. Orab, Mercy also treats more emergency room patients than anyone else, with nearly 300,000 emergency room visits per year.

The sale’s closing comes on the heels of a settlement agreement between Jewish Health System, Inc., the University of Cincinnati and Fort Hamilton Hospital and Healthcare Corporation regarding their respective interests in the Health Alliance. The agreement is expected to facilitate the continued provision of high quality patient care by all the hospitals, and will enable them to move forward in their respective spheres of activity and community service.

Jewish Hospital’s departure from the Health Alliance was made official through this agreement. The agreement also clears the way for Fort Hamilton Hospital to leave the Alliance and join Kettering Health Network. The University of Cincinnati will be the sole member of the Health Alliance and has unveiled plans to form a new health system called UC Health, which will

• Up to 24 hour care • Meal Preparation • Errands/Shopping • Hygiene Assistance • Light Housekeeping

513-531-9600 operate University Hospital, West Chester Medical Center, Alliance Primary Care and University of Cincinnati Physicians.

Although they are separating, the University of Cincinnati, Jewish Hospital and Fort Hamilton Hospital will each continue to be committed to their communities, providing high quality patient care and services.

“This is the beginning of a very exciting transformation of health care in Greater Cincinnati,” said Gregory H. Williams, president of the University of Cincinnati.

“Through this agreement, UC Health, the region’s only academic medical center, will strengthen its teaching and research programs that translate discoveries in research into cures for patients. I am very excited about the formation of UC Health and what it will mean for health care in our community.”

“We believe this agreement is fair to all parties,” said Jewish Health System, Inc. board chair Robert Kanter, “and we look forward to Jewish Hospital’s future as part of Mercy Health Partners.”

Kanter added that the parties were aided in reaching agreement by an experienced mediator, Cleveland lawyer Niki Schwartz. Gary Heiman was highly complimentary of the role played by Attorney General Richard Cordray. “The Attorney General showed tremendous leadership in initiating the mediation process, and because of his involvement we were able to reach a fair and equitable solution for all parties concerned.”

20

LEGAL

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Doggie Discord Legally Speaking

by Marianna Bettman Contributing Columnist Getting a case into the Ohio Supreme Court is not easy; like the U.S. Supreme Court, it chooses the cases it wants to hear. For about 90 percent of the cases, the intermediate courts of appeals are the final word in Ohio. To get into our high court, a case must be “of public or great general interest” or involve a “substantial constitutional question.” What subject seems to intrigue the justices?

Dogs.

In a 1991 decision, the justices noted that “[t]o many, a pet dog is as important and as loved as human members of the family” (perhaps this demonstrates that elected judges aren’t out of touch with regular folks). But, the Court also noted that even though many people do consider their dogs to be family members, they are still property, and as such subject to the state’s police powers.

In 2004, in the case of State v.

Cowan, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down a state statute that required the owners of a dangerous or vicious dog to confine the dog in a certain way and to get a certain amount of liability insurance on the dog. Failure to comply with that statute was a criminal offense. The high court found that the statute violated due process because it did not give the dog owner any meaningful opportunity to be heard on the issue of whether the dog was vicious.

Under the statute the dog warden had complete discretion in labeling a dog dangerous or vicious, and the statute had no mechanism for the owner to challenge that determination before being hauled into court on the criminal charge.

The Court noted that at a minimum, under both the Ohio and the U.S. Constitutions, due process requires the opportunity to be heard, at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.

In 2007, the Ohio Supreme Court let the dogs in again. The city of Toledo had a municipal ordinance that limited ownership of vicious dogs to one per household. State law specifically defined pit bulls as vicious dogs, and required the owners of pit bulls to get liability insurance for any damages or injuries caused by the dog.

A Toledo resident who owned three pit bulls challenged the con-

stitutionality of the city ordinance and the two state statutes. The trial court upheld the laws, but the court of appeals for Toledo reversed.

One of the reasons for the reversal was the concern of the appellate court over the lack of a precise definition of a pit bull.

The Ohio Supreme Court reversed the Toledo appeals court and upheld all three provisions, finding that the city and the state had the constitutional authority and a legitimate interest under their respective police powers in protecting citizens from the proven dangers of pit bulls, and that the statutes and the ordinance were rationally related to that interest. According to the high court, in that case, “the evidence established that pit bulls caused more damage than other dogs when they attack, cause more fatalities in Ohio than other dogs, and cause Toledo police officers to fire their weapons more often than do other breeds.”

Onward—2009—more dogs. A couple of years ago, a man named David Roch was walking his 16 pound wire fox terrier in Mill Creek Park in Youngstown, Ohio.

He was approached by two Italian mastiff/Cane Corso dogs, one male, one female, weighing in the neighborhood of 170 pounds. The dogs were running loose; no owner in sight. One of the dogs attacked Roch’s dog, causing seri-

ous injury, and when Roch tried to break up the fight, the dog attacked him. A woman who witnessed the attack called the police, who ultimately shot and killed both dogs. The owner was later identified as Jammie Traylor, (he admitted owning only the female dog, but later admitted he was keeping the male as well, for breeding purposes). Traylor was convicted under a Youngstown City ordinance requiring vicious dogs to be confined. Traylor was sentenced to 90 days in jail, followed by two years of intensive probation, ordered to pay restitution to Roch, and, as a condition of his probation, ordered to own “nothing bigger than a Chihuahua.” The court of appeals reversed his conviction, finding the city ordinance unconstitutional. Then, for the third time in six years the high court accepted review of the constitutionality of a dog ordinance. The case is Youngstown v. Traylor, decided this past August.

Traylor argued to the Ohio high court that the Youngstown vicious dogs ordinance violated procedural due process because it failed to give a dog owner notice that his dog would be considered vicious before it punished the owner, and it failed to give the owner a meaningful opportunity to be heard on the dog’s classifications—arguments very similar to those made

SCANDAL from page 1 Elon, his disciples number in the thousands. He has held senior posts in several educational institutions, including Yeshivat Horev and the flagship rabbinic school Yeshivat HaKotel, both in Jerusalem.

He is widely known by religious elementary school children across the country who read his weekly publication, which carries cartoons along with his thoughts on the Torah portion. The secular public remembers him from a former television show on the weekly portion.

Yaakov Katz, a religious Zionist lawmaker, described the affair as an “earthquake.”

The impact on the religious Zionist community, according to Hanoch Daum, who writes for the news Web site Ynet, must be reckoned by the fact that Elon “was not just another rabbi. He was a master and leader.”

The details of Elon’s alleged behavior and the precise ages of the complainants are unclear. Takana members say they must remain vague to protect the complainants’ identities.

What has given the allegations credibility among the public is the membership list of Takana, which reads like a who’s who of

Kobi Gideon/FLASH90

In a show of solidarity with Rabbi Mordechai Elon, young religious Zionists pray at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Feb. 18, 2010.

religious Zionism.

It includes Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, son-in-law of the late Modern Orthodox icon Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and head of the Har Etzion yeshiva in Gush Etzion, as well as Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, founder of the Tzohar organization for Orthodox-secular reconciliation.

The Takana rabbis were clear about why they chose to make the sexual-abuse allegations public now, several years after they had been

made aware of them.

The rabbis said that they tried unsuccessfully to persuade the complainants to go to the police.

In 2006 they also approached then-Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, who felt unable to probe the matter without the complainants’ cooperation.

The current attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, has told police to look into the allegations.

Stymied on the law enforce-

ment front, Takana rabbis said they demanded in 2006 that Elon cease face-to-face teaching, counseling and other rabbinic activities; he agreed. That year he retired from his post at Yeshivat HaKotel and moved to the Galilee.

But the forum rabbis say that Elon failed to honor his commitment, leaving them, according to a statement they released, with “no other way to protect the public from possi-

in the 2004 Cowan case.

A majority of the court, in a 52 decision written by Justice Evelyn Stratton, upheld the constitutionality of the Youngstown ordinance, finding it rationally related to the city’s legitimate interest in protecting its citizens from vicious dogs.

A couple of reasons underscore the Ohio high court’s decision in this case. One is that under the ordinance an owner does not have to prove his dog is not vicious; the government has the burden of proving viciousness. The owner has the right to challenge the government’s determination at a meaningful time. The ordinance does not require liability insurance for any particular breed. And dogs are not classified as vicious by any particular breed, but by their propensity to attack or by an actual attack.

Justices Paul Pfeifer and Judith Lanzinger dissented in this case.

Pfiefer would find the ordinance unconstitutional because the owner was punished for having a vicious dog that he hadn’t known was vicious. “Traylor,” wrote Pfeifer, “was not capable of restraining his ‘vicious’ dog until he knew it was vicious. Justice Lanzinger finds the Youngstown ordinance indistinguishable from the laws struck down in the Cowan case.

Cats anyone? ble future harm” than by going public.

The final straw was that Takana rabbis believed that Elon had resumed counseling young men on sexual matters.The backlash was not long in coming.

Elisha Vishlitzky, an influential rabbi at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem and a longtime Elon associate, on Feb. 18 gathered 50 religious Zionist rabbis at a meeting, where they spoke of a desire to minimize public discourse on the affair.

At the forum Rabbi Haim Druckman, chairman of the Bnei Akiva yeshiva network, gave what appeared to be a coded message of support for Elon, citing a rabbinic dictum that if one sees a sage sin by night, one should “not pursue him about it” by day, as he will have repented.

Experts on the Religious Zionist community say the damage to rabbinic authority is unstoppable.

Ira Sharkansky, emeritus Hebrew University professor and expert on Orthodox Jewry, said given that leading rabbis are seen as inheritors of an ancient line of tradition, “the aura that surrounds a rabbi of Rav Elon’s stature brings a degree of prestige, and when the expectations are violated, it’s a shock to a foundation of the Orthodox community.”

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22

OBITUARIES

DEATH NOTICES WOLF, Richad E., M.D., age 96, died on February 23, 2010; 9 Adar, 5770.

GOLDBERG, Estelle Pearlman, age 96, died on February 26, 2010; 12 Adar, 5770.

RUBENSTEIN, Walter A., age 81, died on February 27, 2010; 13 Adar, 5770.

OBITUARIES RUBENSTEIN, Walter A. Walter A. Rubenstein, known to all as Wally, died on February 27, 2010, at the age of 81. Wally was the son of Mark and Lee Rubenstein. He is survived by his IRAN from page 6 Cvach says the successes of the opposition coupled with the Obama administration’s attempts at outreach to Iran lay the groundwork for sanctions that would target the IMMIGRANTS from page 7 The notion of “discovering” their Jewish identity seems foreign to many of them, even laughable.

They’re Jewish because they’re Jewish, they say — what eludes them, for the most part, is Judaism.

“This is something that really interests me, the Jewish part, not the Russian part,” says Luba Prager, who recently made her first visit to Israel

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

beloved wife Ann Rubenstein and his sons Mark (Karen) and Rick Rubenstein. Wally was a pillar of the Cincinnati Jewish community for many decades, during which he touched and enriched the lives of countless people. He was known and respected by all who met him for his unfailing kindness, empathy and humor.

Wally was born in New York City. As a baby he moved with his family to Cincinnati, where he remained for the rest of his life, living in several communities including Golf Manor, Wyoming, and Hyde Park. He graduated from Hughes High School in 1946.

Wally served with honor during the Korean conflict as an Army medic, stationed in Japan. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1953, he completed his Masters degree in social work at Ohio State University.

In 1956 Wally married Ann

Lois Goldberg, a marriage that was to last 53 wonderful years. In 1955 he began working at the Jewish Community Center, serving in a variety of positions, including executive director. During his time

there he helped develop many innovative programs which thrive to this day. In 1971 he left the Center to work at the Jewish Federation, where he remained until his retirement in 1993. At the

Federation he again held several positions, including assistant executive director and endowment director. He was known for the tireless dedication, care and professionalism with which he advanced the causes of the community.

After retirement Wally continued to be generous with his time, volunteering at the Cincinnati Zoo and serving on the Regency Condominium board of directors.

To the very end, his life was marked by love and concern for those around him. He will be remembered with great affection by his family and many, many friends.

Funeral services were held at Weil Funeral Home on March 1, 2010. Memorial contributions may be made to the Isaac M. Wise Temple Library, 8329 Ridge Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236; 513-793-2556, or to the charity of your choice.

regime’s elites.

“We should now focus on pressure on the regime,” Cvach said.

“We don’t need to know whether it has nuclear weapons or how deep the fissures are — what we know is enough to raise the pressure.”

Trita Parsi, who heads the National Iranian American Council, says that sanctions could be counterproductive unless they are narrowly targeted.

“Sanctions that truly target the Revolutionary Guards but spare the

population will likely not damage the Green movement,” Parsi said.

“But blind, indiscriminate sanctions that hurt the population have in the past and will likely in the future make the struggle for democracy more difficult.”

Meir Javendanfar, a respected Iranian-born Israeli analyst who believes the post-June unrest has wounded the Iranian regime, favors the sanctions targeting the Guard’s banking and business interests — for now.

as part of a Jewish Agency trip.

Those who do become involved in Jewish organizations often turn to those with which they are familiar, particularly groups that work with their own Russian-speaking community.

At the Feb. 6 Emigre Community Gala in San Francisco for Jewish Family and Children’s Services, which resettled the city’s 45,000 recent immigrants from the former

Soviet Union, more than 70 of the bejeweled attendees —one-fifth of the crowd — were younger than 35.

Not only were they enjoying the caviar and dancing the hora with their elders, they were helping to raise funds for the organization and making their own donations.

It was the largest youth contingent in the gala’s nine years, according to Gayle Zahler, the associate executive director of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service. Their presence represents the younger generation’s growing confidence in themselves,

she says, and their growing willingness to give back.

“My grandmother goes to the L’Chaim Center,” says Yelena Frid, 26, co-chair of the event’s young adult leadership committee and a native of Odessa, referring to a dropin center for Russian-speaking seniors. “These people took time from their life to make my life better, and it’s our job to give back.”

The young people at the Mitbachon weekend, and at the JFCS gala, don’t know if their children will speak Russian or their

grandchildren will appreciate Pushkin. But just because they feel apart from the mainstream American Jewish community doesn’t mean they aren’t flexing their muscle and looking to build something of their own.

“There’s a whole base of us, a community that speaks the same language and has a specific way of being,” says Veronica Price, 32, of New York. “We are a community, and a relatively strong one, and we can teach other communities how to find their identity.”

MOSSAD from page 10

Damascus. Two weeks later, two Hamas members were killed in a mysterious bombing in the heart of Hezbollah’s Dahiya stronghold in southern Beirut. Last month, an Iranian nuclear scientist died in a bombing outside his home in Tehran. A week later, Mabhouh was found dead in his Dubai

hotel room.

Dagan also has pulled off some major intelligence coups in the war on terror, enabling Israeli forces to intercept weapons destined for Hamas and Hezbollah as far afield as Sudan and on the high seas near Cyprus.

In mid-January 2009, a convoy carrying weapons for Hamas during Operation Cast Lead reportedly was bombed by Israel Air Force planes in Sudan. In November, the Francop, an Antigua-flagged vessel carrying more than 100 tons of rockets, mortars and anti-tank weapons for Hezbollah, was captured by the Israeli navy.

Dagan’s advice on Iran over the coming months will carry considerable weight. He seems to think there is still time for actions other than a full-scale military operation.

If and when it comes to that, however, chances are that despite the Dubai incident, Netanyahu, one of Dagan’s staunchest admirers, will want Dagan at his side helping to plan it.

Walter “Wally” A. Rubenstein

Late last year the Mossad, although it never acknowledged any involvement, seemed to step up its activities.

In early December, a bus carrying Hamas members and Iranian officials exploded outside