THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010 24 NISSAN, 5770 SHABBAT: FRI 7:51 – SAT 8:51 CINCINNATI, OHIO VOL. 156 • NO. 37 SINGLE ISSUE PRICE $2.00
INTERNATIONAL Rebuilding a synagogue where Jews resisted Soviets Page 8
Kosher foods will remain at Remke by Avi Milgrom Assistant Editor Following Remke Market’s announcement of an agreement to purchase six, Cincinnati bigg’s stores and pharmacies last week, concern has arisen within the Jewish community about the fate of the kosher section at the bigg’s on Highland Avenue. According to Remke Markets spokesperson, Pat Iasillo, Remke will continue to operate the kosher section in the Highland Avenue biggs. He indicated that the kosher section is a good source of sales. The only other major source for kosher foods in Cincinnati is
the Blue Ash Kroger. This acquisition expands Remke Markets to 13 stores in Ohio and Northern Kentucky. At this writing, questions remain about whether the bigg’s stores will become part of the Remke brand. The bigg’s locations that will be acquired are as follows: 3240 Highland Ave., Columbia Township; 5071 Glencrossing Way, Westwood; 5218 Beechmont Ave., Anderson Township; 3872 Paxton Ave., Oakley; 9600 South MasonMontgomery Rd., Mason and 5025 Delhi Rd., Delhi Township. The following stores that are not part of the purchase agreement
will be closed by the owner of bigg’s, SUPERVALU INC., before the end of May: 4450 Eastgate Blvd, Union Township; 10501 New Haven Rd., Harrison; 8340 Colerain Ave., Colerain Township; 4824 Union Center Blvd., West Chester and 4873 Houston Rd., Florence. At this time there is no information on how the closings and purchase will affect the pool of bigg’s jobs. SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest grocery companies in the U.S. with estimated annual sales of $41 billion. Throughout the U.S., it owns a network of approximately 4,290 stores composed of approximately 1,200 traditional and premium stores, including 850 in-store
pharmacies; 1,180 hard discount Save-A-Lot stores, of which 860 are operated by licensee owners; and 1,910 independent stores serviced primarily by the company’s traditional food distribution business. SUPERVALU has approximately 170,000 employees. Remke Markets’ 13 stores will be supplied by the SUPERVALU distribution center in Xenia, Ohio. The company has been in the grocery business for more than 113 years and is employee-owned. Stated Remke, “This purchase, and the ability to work with SUPERVALU via our supply relationship, will allow our entire organization to expand...”
A life-changing experience for two Christians by Avi Milgrom Assistant Editor
ISRAEL Land Day march highlights dilemmas facing Israel and its Arab citizens Page 10
DINING OUT Apsara Asian Cuisine offers tastes of Pacific rim Page 14
In addition to the various trips to Israel for young people, there is another that attracts Jews and nonJews alike. These trips are organized by Volunteers for Israel (VFI) in the states and administered in Israel by Sar-El. For travelers between the ages of 18-27 on Taglit–birthright Israel, flight tickets may be extended to permit a longer stay with the tab for room and board paid. VFI’s mission is “…to connect Americans to Israel through volunteer service.” The service is to spend two to three weeks living and working in an army base or
Splendid St. Petersburg: palaces, parks and a midnight sun Page 20
Mike and Jean Thurman in Jerusalem, Israel.
CHRISTIANS on page 22
In Germany, confronting the Nazi perpetrators by Toby Axelrod Jewish Telegraphic Agency
TRAVEL
hospital in Israel. Volunteers work Sunday through Thursday and get Friday and Shabbat off to explore Israel. Group excursions are often part of the trips as well. Originally the program was developed during the 1982 war with Lebanon; it attracts volunteers from all over the globe. Volunteers do have to pay for round-trip airfare, various fees and other expenses, but during the workweek, expenses are covered and volunteers often enjoy Shabbat with host families. Two non-Jews who enjoyed participating in this program are
BERLIN (JTA) — It isn’t easy facing the cold stare of a Nazi perpetrator, even in a photo. Increasingly, however, memorial sites in Germany are making the confrontation possible, opening a door that long has been sealed. A new exhibit at the former Ravensbrueck women’s concentration camp in the ex-East German state of Brandenburg is the latest example. “The Fuehrerhaus: Everyday Life and Crimes of Ravensbrueck SS Officers,” opened March 20,
allowing a glimpse into the life of camp commandant Max Koegel and his SS underlings through informational panels arranged in his former villa, steps away from the barracks that once housed thousands of prisoners. On April 18, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit the memorial for the first time to mark the camp’s liberation 65 years ago by Russian Red Army soldiers. During a recent preview, members of the restoration crew and their spouses entered the peakroofed house of Koegel, passed through the former dining area with its large fireplace, climbed the pol-
ished wooden staircase to the second floor and stepped out onto the balcony from which Koegel himself could survey the camp below. The spheres of SS and prisoner “were two completely separate worlds,” exhibit curator Alyn Bessmann said. “We hope this [dichotomy] will be more tangible to the visitors now.” The contrast “should make people think,” said restorer Dietmar Gallinat, 46, standing on the balcony. Koegel, notorious for his eagerness to punish prisoners for the slightest transgression, “was probably no different from the town
baker” who ignored the brutality around him. “And there are still people who think this way today.” “The whole thing has a kind of nightmarish atmosphere,” said painter Karsten Neumann, 46. “It is astonishing that people were capable of spreading such misery … and it is important to name these people.” “When I think that they lived normal lives in these rooms, I feel sick,” said Neumann’s wife, Ulrike. “I felt I had to wash my hands after leaving the house because I did not want to touch what they had touched.”
GERMANY on page 21