AI2010_10_07

Cincinnati couple HUC to host Jewish Hospital will receive JNF 135th anniversary interim leader Tree of Life Award celebration named Well known for their philanthropic achievements especially when it comes to children, it is no surprise that Cincinnati residents Mary Ellen and Tom Cody fell in love with the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Sderot Indoor Recreation Center and its commitment to providing a Mary Ellen and Tom Cody safe space for the children of Sderot, Israel.

“We marveled at the remarkable difference in the quality of security and safety for the kids, in the health care provided and the philanthropic work in the desert,” said Tom, who visited the Sderot indoor playground with Mary Ellen on a trip to Israel in early 2009. “JNF’s work in making a

On the 135th anniversary of the founding of the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College, the Cincinnati Associates of Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion will host a celebration and tribute dinner — Planting for Our Future — on Sunday, Oct. 24 at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in downtown Cincinnati. Cocktails will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the dinner and program at 6:30 p.m.

Event proceeds will provide scholarship support for the rabbinical and graduate students on the Cincinnati campus.

HUC is the oldest institution of higher Jewish education in the western hemi- Karen Hoguet and James A.

JNF on page 19

Chief operating officer Lee Ann Liska of Mercy Health Partners will temporarily serve as The Jewish Hospital’s president until a new leader is announced in early 2011.

Aurora Lambert, president of The Jewish Hospital, retired on Sept. 30.

Lambert had been at The Jewish Hospital for 27 years and served as its executive leader for 12 of those years.

Lambert delayed plans to retire until a new partner had been identified by Lee Ann Liska The Jewish Foundation to purchase the hospital and the transition was complete. Mercy acquired The Jewish Hospital on March 1, 2010 and recently completed the full transition of all support systems and infrastructure.

HUC on page 20 Miller

INTERIM on page 20

Sukkahs that captured a city's Fannie Buten, oldest imagination to go nationwide Jewish person, dies at 111

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency

By Michael Elkin The Jewish Exponent

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — It was a surprise hit on the cultural roster of a city that may be the most culturally busy city in the nation.

And even though the Sukkah City architectural competition in New York is being dismantled this week, look for Sukkah City next year in a town near you.

“Our goal is to fan it out across the nation next year to 15 cities,” said Roger Bennett, who put together the sukkah competition with writer Josh Foer.

More than 620 participants from 43 countries submitted designs for sukkahs, the outdoor booths Jews build on the Sukkot holiday.

PHILADELPHIA (Jewish Exponent) — She saw it all. And when your age is 111, that’s a wealth of history.

Fannie Forman Buten, believed to be the oldest Jewish person in the world, died Sept.

24 and was buried two days later at a private graveside service.

Before her death, which was brought on by a stroke, the suburban Philadelphia resident was listed as the “oldest living” Jewish person “whose age had been verified,” according to Robert Young of the Gerontology Research Group.

Buten, also the oldest person in Pennsylvania and 37th oldest in the world, was a living history book, said her son-in-law, S. Ty

SUKKAHS on page 21

Courtesy of Reboot

“Fractured Bubble,” by Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan, won the Sukkah City architectural competition in Manhattan.

Steinberg. He noted that she witnessed the invention of the telephone, television, flight, automobiles and “the wonder of cell phones,” as well as lived through two world wars.

One of five daughters, Buten was a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls who entered the workforce as a secretary.

She was active throughout her life in Jewish concerns, according to family members. Her husband, the late Mottie Buten of the prominent paint-store family, joined her in these endeavors.

Buten at the time of her death was a member of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park, Pa., and was a past member of Har Zion Temple, Green Valley Country Club and the erstwhile Locust Club.

BUTEN on page 20

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010 29 TISHREI, 5771 CINCINNATI, OHIO LIGHT CANDLES AT 6:53 SHABBAT ENDS 7:52 VOL. 157 • NO. 11 $2.00

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Week for mockeries at the United Nations

S. African museum to juxtapose Holocaust with Rwandan genocide

11th Annual Cedar Village Golf Classic

Cumin—culinary art in East Hyde Park

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

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Lichter Lecture: Part II with Professor Miller

By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor The second of three Lichter Lectures is coming up on Tuesday, Oct. 19, and will take place on the University of Cincinnati campus, in Braunstein Hall. The speaker, Associate Professor of History Susan Miller, of the University of

Susan Miller

California, Davis, will continue the theme of “Jewish Neighborhood, Jewish City,” with her talk entitled “Between Memory and Extinction: The Moroccan Jewish Quarter in the 20th Century.”

“My talk is about the Jewish

quarter (mellah) of Fez and its profile as a microcosm for following the path of Moroccan Jewry as a whole to modernity,” noted Professor Miller. “In the course of the talk, I try to connect the everyday lives of the Jews of Fez with events in the wider world in the first half of the 20th century, leading up to the mass exodus of Moroccan Jews to Israel and the West after the second world war.

My thesis is that ideologically tinged narratives written by both Jewish and the Muslim historians do not do justice to the complexity of motives that prompted this mass migration.”

According to Professor Gila Safran Naveh, the head of Judaic Studies: “Professor Susan Miller conducts groundbreaking research in urban studies and urban culture, two ‘hot’ scholarly areas of research and explores pivotal urban changes which have global, trans-national ramifications.”

Professor Miller teaches courses on the history of North Africa and the Mediterranean, and the history of Jews in Islamic civilizations. She holds a Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of

JFS offers program to help non-Jewish mothers raise Jewish children Interfaith relationships in the Jewish community are becoming more common, with many mothers of other religious backgrounds raising Jewish children. These women can now receive educational support and guidance through the Mothers Circle, a free program offered by Jewish Family Service. To participate mothers do not have to be affiliated with a Jewish institution or have any prior knowledge of Judaism.

“We are excited to offer this national program to Cincinnati moms and to build on the program’s success in other cities,” says Linda Kean, CFLE, Jewish Family Service director of Family Life Education.

The Mothers Circle was created by The Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI), an independent, national, trans-denominational organization reaching out to unaffiliated and intermarried families.

JOI found that there are at least 100,000 women of different faiths

raising Jewish children in the United States. The Mothers Circle program was designed to serve the needs of this population. ”Although the Jewish husband or partner may not be particularly religious, they still identify with their Jewish heritage and customs. They often want to pass this connection on to their children,” says Kean.

The Mothers Circle meets twice a month in a warm and nurturing environment to discuss topics such as Jewish traditions, values, holiday celebrations, and the “how-to’s” of creating a Jewish home. This program also serves as a support group for women with shared experiences.

The Mothers Circle program at Jewish Family Service receives funding from the Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund of Jewish Federation of Greater Cincinnati.

For more information, contact Linda Kean at Jewish Family Service.

Michigan, and has previously taught at Wellesley College, Brandeis University, and from 1990 until 2008, at Harvard

University, where she headed the program in North African Studies.

Her research focuses on cities and the role of minorities in the trans-

formation of urban cultures.

For further information, and directions, contact UC’s Judaic Studies Department.

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Dr. Adi Gordon joins UC Judaic Department At the start of classes in midSeptember, returning students of Judaic Studies at the University of Cincinnati noticed a new member of the department’s faculty: Dr. Adi Gordon. After earning his B.A. in German Studies and European History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Gordon left academia to work at Yad Vashem. While there Gordon spent much of his time working with scholars and historians involved in Jewish history.

That, he affirms, is when he was hit with the research bug.

“Asking them questions and getting to talk to them at eye level really intrigued me and pulled me into pursuing an academic career,” he says. He went on to pursue his M.A. and Ph.D. from Hebrew

University of Jerusalem, one of the leaders in Judaic Studies.

Professor Gordon will also be participating in a variety of collaborative projects, including a joint graduate program with the Hebrew Union College (HUC) and the American Jewish Archives.

With HUC having one of the biggest and most comprehensive libraries of Jewish history in the world, Gordon is excited about starting his professorship in Cincinnati and collaborating with colleagues in the department, across the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, and in the city.

“I’m really taken with my colleagues. It’s such a vibrant research community with so many people doing exciting projects relevant to what I do. It’s made it easy to jump

in and become a part of the crew.”

While he is a trained historian, Gordon is happy to be in an interdisciplinary department such as Judaic Studies because it gives him the opportunity to teach students a variety of subjects through a hodgepodge of genres. This year he will be teaching Hebrew, modern Jewish history, Jewish nationalism, Israeli film, and a seminar on space and community in Jewish and Israeli histories.

“I think Jewish history offers an interesting window to human history in general,” he says.

“Through it we can learn about the unique histories and experiences of minorities and Diasporas. AntiSemitism, for example, is relevant to our broader understanding of xenophobia. The struggle for

Jewish emancipation tells much about the dynamics of other civil rights movements, etcetera. This not only enriches our understanding of human history, but also our present.”

Before working at UC, Professor Gordon worked at Tulane and at Wisconsin University. According to Safran Naveh, “the hiring committee conducted a very thorough search, both nationally and internationally, in line with EEOC stipulations.

This year, we were most fortunate and had 43 outstanding applicants for the position. The committee screened over a dozen candidates and brought to campus four very strong finalists. Dr. Adi Gordon was one of the finalists and he surfaced as the committee’s choice.”

Wise donates over 17,000 pounds of food The Isaac M. Wise Temple continued its major contribution of food to the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank and brought 17,002 pounds of food this past Yom Kippur, an offering sufficient to completely feed over 4,858 people for a full day.

Wise Temple has offered almost 600,000 pounds of food for the city’s hungry and poor since the inception of this program 22 years ago.

“I am so proud of our congregational family,” commented Rabbi

Lewis Kamrass, “for their consistent commitment to this important endeavor and for continuing to contribute in record setting amounts the needed food for the hungry of our region.

“Often as programs become institutionalized people’s enthusiasm diminishes; however, the High Holy Day Mitzvah Bag Project clearly means something important to our congregants and is central to our High Holy Day observance.

Our Wise Temple members have consistently responded generously

for these 22 years, and this reflects our permanent congregational commitment to social justice.”

In the infancy of this program, it was an innovative idea, never before tried and what some considered controversial. Reflecting on the history of this extraordinary congregational participation in such a meaningful project, Rabbi Kamrass recalled the conversation in which he and then Senior Rabbi Alan Fuchs proposed the idea of bringing food to the Temple on Yom Kippur Day. Some people

wondered if it would offend people.

“If they are offended by that idea, then they might be offended by Isaiah,” Rabbi Kamrass remembers remarking, “since it was the Prophet Isaiah’s words that we read as the Haftara for Yom Kippur Day that inspired the idea.

“It was Isaiah who taught us that a proper fast would not only involve cessation from labor and afflicting ourselves with hunger and thirst but would also require a thirst for righteousness and a hunger to ameliorate the pain and poverty all around us.

“It is a wonderful example of the creative and spiritual approach to our text, our tradition, and our observance that characterizes the principles of Reform Judaism.”

From that initial conversation emerged a practice and a “ritual” that has been in place at Wise Temple for quite some time now, and which hundreds of other congregations around the country have learned from and instituted in their own Yom Kippur observance.

It is a natural act for many members and has become a regular part of their High Holy Day experience.

Many families go to the grocery store together to fill their bags for the specific purpose of shopping for the hungry.

As Temple members come to Yom Kippur morning services with their Mitzvah bags, they are eager to see the trucks filling up and tangibly recognize the significant difference this can make.

Betti Greenstein, Wise Temple’s administrator remarked: “I was overwhelmed to see both the amount of food and the spirit of our congregants as they brought food to the Temple on Yom Kippur Day. Children came each carrying a bag, as did their parents.”

WISE on page 22

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

NHS Hazak welcomes ambassador to Luxembourg John E. Dolibois, United States ambassador to Luxembourg from 1981 to 1985, will be the special guest when Northern Hills Synagogue - Congregation B’nai Avraham resumes its monthly HaZaK program for seniors on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The program will take place at the synagogue, beginning at noon, and lunch will be served.

In 1981, after retiring as vice president for university relations for Miami University, President Ronald Reagan appointed Dolibois as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, 50 years to the day after he arrived in

Akron, Ohio from his native Luxembourg. His life and career, as a soldier and interrogator of Nazi war criminals, an educator and a representative of our country, should make for an interesting and informative program.

“HaZaK” is an acronym, with the letters standing for the Hebrew words “Hakhma” (wisdom), “Ziknah” (maturity), and “Kadima” (forward). The HaZaK programs are for adults 55 and older and are open to the entire community. In addition to members of Northern Hills, many attendees have come from the Jewish Community

Center, Cedar Village, Brookwood Retirement Community and throughout Greater Cincinnati.

Upcoming Northern Hills HaZaK events include a discussion on Medicare on Nov. 10 featuring Phyliss Shubs, a Showboat Majestic program on Feb. 16 with Tim Perrino, and an April 13 program with Dr. Alan Cohen on President Truman’s involvement in the creation of the State of Israel.

There is no charge for the program and lunch, but donations are greatly appreciated. For reservations or more information, please call the Northern Hills Synagogue office.

Local rabbi selected for ‘Rabbis Without Borders’ Rabbis Without Borders (RWB), Clal’s new initiative to help rabbis make Jewish wisdom accessible to the wider American public, selected its second cohort of fellows for its competitive rabbinic fellowship program. More than 80 applications were received for the 22 spots. Of those selected, Rabbi Laura Baum from Cincinnati was picked for this program.

“We are very excited by the amount of interest generated by this program,” said Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu, RWB director. “Clearly rabbis recognize the need to apply their skills in new ways to reach a

wider audience, and make the teachings and tools from Jewish wisdom more accessible.”

The program is designed to encourage rabbis to “think out of the box” and create a network of interdenominational religious leaders from across North America who can make Jewish wisdom more available to people for enriching their lives. As the key conveyers of Jewish wisdom, rabbis who can disseminate the insights more easily will not only nurture better teachers and community builders, but will create religious leaders with unique tools to offer the broader culture.

The Rabbinic Fellows will gather four times in New York City over the course of a year. The first session, scheduled for Oct. 18-19, 2010, will host Professor Barry Kosmin, the principal investigator of the 2001 American Religious Identification survey, which showed that while many Jews do not feel connected to traditional religious institutions, they still identify with being Jewish. Other sessions will feature a variety of leading thinkers, authors, and influential people from a variety of fields. These experts RABBI on page 21

Delegation from Ilmenau, Germany visits Blue Ash A delegation from Blue Ash’s sister city—Ilmenau, Germany— toured Greater Cincinnati from Friday, Sept. 17, through Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010. The 15 German delegates included representatives from the Ilmenau City Council and the Administration, as well as from Ilmenau’s business and educational communities.

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the delegation visited Plum Street Temple and received a personal tour and presentation by Rabbi Lewis Kamrass. The delegates were clearly impressed with both the synagogue and its history, as well as the history of the Reform Jewish movement, which had its beginnings in both Germany and Cincinnati.

Reinhard Schramm, a member of Ilmenau’s City Council and a retired professor of information technology at Ilmenau University, was the one Jewish member of the

delegation. Following the delegation’s visit to Plum Street Temple, Gal Adam Spinrad, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), accompanied Schramm and his translator, Sal Wertheim of Wertheim’s Restaurant in Covington, Ky., to tour the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE). The group was accompanied by Gail Gepsman Ziegler, director of the Center for Holocaust Survivors at Jewish Family Service and Christian Cramer, the new Action Reconciliation Service for Peace volunteer, who is here from Germany for one year working with Holocaust survivors in Cincinnati. The group received a private tour of the Mapping Our Tears exhibit at the CHHE from the center’s director, Sarah Weiss.

Schramm, whose mother was Jewish and who was just a baby

during World War II, shared his experiences being hidden with his mother from the Nazis at the end of the war, until his town was liberated by the Russians in 1945.

Schramm completed his visit of the Greater Cincinnati Jewish community with a visit to the Mayerson JCC, hosted by Brian Jaffee, director of the JCRC. The Blue Ash-Ilmenau Sister City relationship began approximately 10 years ago. Ilmenau is similar to Blue Ash in that it is a progressive community, has a mix of business and residential development, and is the home of a major university. Ilmenau is about 20 square miles in size and is located in the German state of Thuringia, near the middle of Germany. Ilmenau has a 30-member council and is a picturesque community with an extremely rich culture and history.

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NHS Men’s Club, Sisterhood host programs Both the Men’s Club and Sisterhood of Northern Hills Synagogue-Congregation B’nai Avraham will hold special programs in October.

On Thursday, Oct. 14, the Northern Hills Men’s Club will hold its first program of the year, featuring Dr. George Smulian, associate director and interim division direc-

tor of the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and chief of the Infectious Disease Section of the Cincinnati Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Dr. Smulian is a graduate of the University of Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa. He will discuss current

developments in medical research, focusing on antibiotic resistance and HIV infection. The program will take place at InCahoots restaurant in Blue Ash, beginning at 6:45 p.m.

Nonmembers are welcome.

On Sunday, Oct. 17, the Northern Hills Sisterhood will hold its annual paid up member brunch.

Following a delicious buffet brunch,

Cincinnati’s Bette Sherman will display her unique collection of vintage clothing, handbags and accessories, giving a peak into a century of fashion industry history. “Bette Sherman’s shows always create a ‘Wow’ factor,” noted Roz Shapiro, Sisterhood programming vice-president.

The brunch and program will

take place at the synagoguge. There is no charge for Sisterhood members who have paid their annual dues. Nonmembers are also welcome to attend, and a donation is appreciated. Reservations by Oct. 13 are requested.

For more information on either program, please call the Northern Hills office.

Mitzvah Challenge kicks off with bagels, bowling Adam Schimberg—who became a bar mitzvah in 2010— has an answer ready for other young teens who ask him about his participation in the Jewish Federation’s teen philanthropy program, Mitzvah Challenge.

“Join Mitzvah Challenge!” he says. “It’s a great way to have fun while becoming a bar/bat mitzvah. I became more aware of what was happening around me, and I knew that I could make a difference in my community and around the nation.”

Since the program’s inception nine years ago, hundreds of area teens have experienced those same feelings of exhilaration as they joined other participants to discuss philanthropy, exchange ideas about ways to become involved in—and give back to— the community; and then engage in the hands-on projects of their own choosing that would enable them to do just that.

The Mitzvah Challenge program was conceived as a way to

meaningfully engage bar and bat mitzvah youth in the most fundamental teaching of Torah—seeking justice and repairing the world. Each participant contributes $100, and in turn, they ask others in the community to contribute to the charitable projects they undertake through the program.

“Participating in the Mitzvah Challenge to me meant renewing my deep belief in the importance of giving both time and physical resources to charity,” recalls Phoebe Chaiken, part of the Mitzvah Challenge class of 2008 and one of the mentors for the 2010 class. “I can proudly say much of this belief today came from my experience as a participant in the Mitzvah Challenge.”

Before the last meeting of the year, the funds raised by the participants are totaled, and then the group decides where to allocate the funds they have raised among different charities that applied for grants. The charities are local and

Through eight seasons, 214 bar and bat mitzvah teens from Cincinnati have participated in Mitzvah Challenge and raised over $95,000. global, Jewish and non-Jewish.

The Jewish Foundation matches dollar for dollar any money allocated to Jewish organizations.

Through eight seasons, 214 bar and bat mitzvah teens from Cincinnati have participated in Mitzvah Challenge and raised over $95,000.

“Mitzvah Challenge is a good way to learn how to allocate money to different charities,” noted Ali Fisher, a 2010 Mitzvah Challenge participant. “The program taught me how to divide and deal with a lot of money, and put it to good use.”

The 2010-2011 program will

kick off at noon on Sunday, Oct. 24, at Ringo Lanes in Blue Ash. Bagels and bowling will take place from noon-1 p.m., immediately followed by separate program information sessions for parents and teens.

“My four children have all participated in MC,” said Lauren Cohen, mother of Amanda, Liza, Lilyan and Will. “It has been so meaningful for them to understand the needs of the community, be able to give back, and work with other kids their age to see where the money can best be used. It has been an incredible learning experience for them.”

Shep Englander, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, said that his own daughter’s experience with Mitzvah Challenge was eye-opening. “Mitzvah Challenge put my daughter in the position of having to choose between real needs inside and outside the Jewish community. This forced her to debate based on her values.

Before Mitzvah Challenge those needs were blurry and far away. Afterward, the needs and the values requiring us to help were clear and personal.”

As the young adult development officer and Mitzvah Challenge coordinator at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, Felicia Zakem will direct the Mitzvah Challenge program. “I am really excited to be working with the Mitzvah Challenge teens this year,” she said. “I was so impressed by their approach to the allocations process and know they are learning life-long skills. I’m looking forward to a big turnout at Ringo Lanes on Oct. 24!”

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Phillies’ Amaro has rest of league saying ‘Roy Vey’

By Rob Charry Jewish Telegraphic Agency PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — The son and grandson of professional baseball players, Ruben Amaro Jr. was as good a candidate as any to become a baseball lifer.

Yet soccer was actually his “first love” as a kid, and he was good enough at the sport to qualify for a youth team traveling to play in Germany.

But his Jewish mom nixed the idea — for Holocaust-related reasons.

To whatever degree that decision helped steer Amaro toward the family business, Philadelphia fans should be thankful.

In a decade as assistant general manager of the Phillies, he helped build a squad that would win the 2008 World Series — only the second championship in the team’s 126-year history. Days later he was promoted to general manager, a perch he has used to orchestrate a string of high-profile trades and signings that have the Phillies, historically baseball’s losingest franchise, looking like a dynasty rather than a one-year wonder.

In 2009, Amaro’s first as general manager, the team made it back to the World Series, losing to the New York Yankees. This season the Phillies finished the regular season with the best record in the big leagues and are well positioned, as the playoffs kick off this week, to become the first National League team since the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944 to reach three straight World Series.

“A lot of my friends said, ‘Did you have to get the job after you won the World Series?’” Amaro joked in a recent interview with JTA. “It was a tough act to follow.”

Amaro was new to the job, but not the sport. He has spent the majority of his 45 years in and around baseball — ultimately not a surprise given that his father, Ruben Amaro Sr., spent 11 seasons in the majors, including six with the Phillies, and his grandfather, Santos, was a Cuban-born legend who starred in the Mexican Leagues in the 1940s.

Amaro Sr. would marry Judy Herman, a Jewish girl from Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and stick around the Phils’ organization long enough to acquire a World Series ring as first base coach in 1980 — Amaro Jr. was one of the batboys. He went on to star at Stanford University, helping the school win the College World Series in 1987.

After eight seasons in the majors, including five with the Phils — and a trip to the 1993 World Series, which the team lost — he was offered the assistant GM job in 1999.

“It’s funny,” Amaro said.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a doctor or veterinarian. Soccer was actually my first love.”

“We had a very diversified family,” he said, referring to his Jewish mother and CatholicHispanic father. “We did Passover, Yom Kippur, Chanukah. We were exposed to both faiths pretty equally.”

Growing up in northeast Philadelphia, Amaro never had a bar mitzvah. But, he recalled, “I had a lot of friends who were bar mitzvahed and went to a lot of them.”

Though his wife is Catholic and raising their children in that faith, Amaro said that “We go to seders all the time. For the New Year we were hanging with my Aunt Linda.”

What does he love most about the Jewish religion?

“The food,” he joked. “I’m a big geflite fish, knaidlach, chopped liver fan.”

Turning serious, he adds, “I think in the Jewish faith there’s an emphasis on family, and the closeness of the family is something that really appeals to me.”

Just a few months after becoming general manager of the Phillies, Amaro was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. At the ceremony, Amaro’s mother, Judy Amaro Perez, recalled the memory of her own mother, saying she would have been quite proud of her grandson.

“Many a seder did we have at her house, and Ruben was included,” she said.

In explaining the selection, the organization’s director, Debbie Weiss, told The Jewish Exponent that the Hall of Fame was not in the business of imposing a litmus test for Judaism or being Jewish.

Instead, she said, what the organization was most looking for was integrity.

“It’s someone with integrity and values that are consistent with Jewish values,” Weiss said.

If performance is a measure, Amaro has lived up to the honor.

Shortly after taking the reins, Amaro would make the first of several great moves, letting longtime left fielder Pat Burrell walk as a free agent and replacing him with Raul Ibanez, who would carry the team with his bat for the first two months of the 2009 season.

His biggest successes, however, have involved bringing topflight hurlers to town.

In 2009, with the pitching staff struggling, Amaro signed 37-yearold Pedro Martinez. He pitched well, but the bigger move came soon after, on July 29. After being rebuffed in his attempt to acquire Roy Halladay — perhaps the best

Courtesy of Darryl W. Moran

Ruben Amaro Jr., right, the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, joins Mayor Michael Nutter and the team’s mascot at a pep rally in Philadelphia during the playoffs in 2009.

pitcher in baseball — from Toronto, Amaro outmaneuvered a number of veteran GMs to land the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, in a trade with Cleveland for four prospects.

Lee’s spectacular debut in San Francisco two days later and stellar showing the next two months was surpassed only by a near per-

fect postseason, where he went 40, and became a certified Yankee killer, winning games 1 and 5 of the World Series. But the Yankees still managed to dethrone the Phillies in six games.

Reaching the World Series “was gratifying, yet disappointing,” Amaro said. “We didn’t play very good baseball against the Yankees.”

Amaro had more big decisions to make in the offseason. Six weeks after Lee’s World Series domination, the Phillies sent him to Seattle for three prospects. The same day, he traded three other prospects to Toronto for Halladay, the pitcher he had really coveted that summer.

“We loved Cliff Lee,” the Phillies GM said, “but we only had him under control for one more year” before he would become a free agent. “If we were going to be able to obtain a No. 1 starter and had a chance to keep him for several years, then we oughta give ourselves a chance to do it.”

The Phils immediately signed Halladay to a three-year extension, and the right-hander was dominant from the start of the season. But Amaro would spend the next several months fending off critics who wondered why the Phils couldn’t have kept Lee along with Halladay.

The team got off to a hot start in 2010, but cooled due to a host of injuries. By mid-July, in third place and barely above .500, Amaro began looking for another starting pitcher. One year to the day that he had managed to pry Lee from Cleveland, Amaro outbid several contenders for Houston’s Roy Oswalt.

“We had a lot of internal discussions about doing a number of things,” Amaro said, including “breaking up the club.”

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Week for mockeries at the United Nations

By JTA Staff Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — During last week’s gathering of world leaders for the annual opening of the U.N. General Assembly, some of the proceedings inside were nearly as farcical as the proceedings outside.

In one Jewish-organized protest on the street near the United Nations, activists wearing rainbowcolored wigs, mini-skirts and pompoms danced around a man wearing a massive effigy of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s head and clad in a nuclear suit and chains. Behind him stood an activist in a Hawaiian shirt wearing an Obama mask on his head, a rubber octopus on his hand and carrying a sign that read, “No Nukes for Iran.”

It was all part of a mock trial of the Iranian leader organized by a group called Iran180.

Inside the U.N. plenum, Ahmadinejad by many accounts was making a mockery of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The United States arranged the 9/11 attacks “to save the Zionist regime,” Ahmadinejad declared in his Sept. 23 address. Suggesting that U.S. officials at the highest levels were complicit in the attacks, he called on the United Nations to establish “an independent fact-find-

Courtesy of Iran180

An effigy of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad occupies center stage at a protest outside the United Nations, Sept. 23, 2010.

ing group” to investigate.

The U.S. delegation walked out of Ahmadinejad’s speech, as did all 27 European Union delegations, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Costa Rica.

As is his custom, the Iranian president also used his annual speech at the General Assembly to lash out against Israel.

“This regime,” he said of Israel, “which enjoys the absolute support of some Western countries, regularly threatens the countries in the region and continues publicly

announced assassinations of Palestinian figures and others, while Palestinian defenders are labeled as terrorists and antiSemites. All values, even the freedom of expression in Europe and the United States, are being sacrificed at the altar of Zionism.”

It wasn’t the only attack Israel faced last week at the United Nations.

A day earlier, the Genevabased U.N. Human Rights Council issued its report on the May 31 flotilla incident in which Israeli

soldiers killed nine Turkish activists in a confrontation aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla.

The report called the actions by Israeli naval commandos “disproportionate and brutal,” saying they “demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence” and calling for “prosecution against Israel for willful killing and torture.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report “biased and distorted.” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called it “extremely fair and based on solid evidence. We appreciate that. It meets our expectations.”

A separate inquiry by the United Nations commissioned by SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon is ongoing.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, Israeli representatives did not respond to Ahmadinejad’s tirade because the speech took place on the Sukkot holiday and Israel’s U.N. delegation was absent.

President Obama made the case for Israel in his own speech to the U.N. General Assembly, which preceded Ahmadinejad’s.

“After 60 years in the community of nations, Israel’s existence must not be a subject for debate,” Obama said. “Israel is a sovereign state and the historic homeland of the Jewish people. It should be

clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the United States.”

The U.S. president also called on the world community to back Israeli-Palestinian peace with deeds and not just words.

“Those who long to see an independent Palestine rise must stop trying to tear Israel down,” Obama said.

“Many in this hall count themselves as friends of the Palestinians, but these pledges must now be supported by deeds,” he said.

“Those who have signed on to the Arab peace initiative should seize this opportunity to make it real by taking tangible steps toward the normalization that it promises Israel,” he said, referring to the 2003 Saudi-sponsored plan that offered Israel comprehensive peace in return for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders.

Following Ahmadinejad’s remarks several hours later, the U.S. mission to the United Nations issued a statement saying that “Rather than representing the aspirations and good will of the Iranian people, Mr. Ahmadinejad has yet again chosen to spout vile conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic slurs that are as abhorrent and delusional as they are predictable.”

Insiders: Why was J Street so scared of Soros?

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — George Soros has been a top funder in recent years of liberal political advocacy groups, and Jews have still been voting for Democrats at a 75 to 80 percent clip. J Street, meanwhile, has built relations with lawmakers, lined up support from liberal rabbis and communal leaders, and found itself on the White House invite list, even while issuing controversial criticisms of Israel and establishment Jewish groups on several occasions.

So why exactly did J Street and its director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, risk the organization’s reputation and undermine its credibility by misleading the world about the donations it received from the financier and philanthropist?

The question has some establishment Jewish leaders and Democratic politicians scratching their heads this week — and predicting that Ben-Ami’s deception would cause the group much greater damage than any association with Soros. It’s especially perplexing given J Street’s insistence that it wanted Soros’ money.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Abraham Foxman, the Anti-

Defamation League’s national director, when asked about J Street’s earlier denials about receiving funding from Soros.

Foxman noted that Soros and J Street share the same posture on Middle East peace: an aggressive U.S. role, including pressure on all sides and opposition to settlement building — not to mention an openness to talks with Hamas.

“It’s the most appropriate thing, it fits, it makes sense — there’s nothing wrong with it,” Foxman said of the relationship.

A senior staffer for a Democratic congressman who has accepted J Street’s endorsement agreed, saying that Soros’ support for J Street would not have been “a major factor” in deciding whether to accept the organization’s endorsement.

“People have to know first who George Soros is and, second, why it would be bad for a pro-Israel group — in some circles — to be associated with him,” the staffer said. “There are a lot of people like that in the Jewish macherocracy — but not in our district.”

The Washington Times revealed in a Sept. 17 story that Soros and his children had given J Street $245,000 in 2008. The lobby confirmed the amount and said the Soros family since then had contributed another

$500,000 — 7 percent of the $11 million J Street says it has received in donations since its launch.

Ben-Ami and spokesmen for Soros said the feint arose from the controversy that was sparked in 2006 when it was revealed — by JTA and other agencies — that Soros was a likely funder for the then-unnamed lobby Ben-Ami hoped to establish.

“It was his view that the attacks against him from certain parts of the community would undercut support for us,” BenAmi said. “He was concerned that his involvement would be used by others to attack the effort.”

Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Soros, confirmed that outlook, adding that Soros would not have objected to making his role public once he and his family started funneling money to J Street six months after its founding in early 2008.

“He knew that had he given the money at the beginning, media outlets would have tried to claim that the organization is a Soros-funded organization,” Vachon said.

That may have made sense in 2006, Foxman said, when Soros was associated with the website MoveOn, the provocative organization at the forefront of the opposition to the Bush administration,

particularly its Iraq war.

“People who liked Bush because of Israel were upset because of MoveOn,” Foxman said.

It didn’t help that MoveOn was erroneously associated with a Web advertisement that likened Bush to Hitler, and that Soros himself said the times reminded him of aspects of his Nazi-era childhood in Hungary.

But, several observers said, the fraught politics of just a few years ago — when Soros was seen as an unhinged provocateur baiting the Bush administration and Republicans — were a thing of the past, with Democrats now controlling the White House and the U.S. Congress.

“His reputation is fine, he’s pro-peace,” Foxman said of the Soros of 2010.

For better or worse, insiders said, J Street’s very success has mainstreamed the very beliefs that had once occasioned anger against Soros.

The views espoused by J Street and Soros are now part of the mix, said Shai Franklin, a veteran of an array of mainstream groups like the World Jewish Congress and NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia.

“It was unnecessary, and that’s

what makes it a tragedy,” Franklin, now a senior fellow with the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, said of Ben-Ami’s deception.

“People like me were willing to accept J Street as the new kid on the block, but this disfigures J Street.”

A source associated with J Street dismissed predictions that the controversy would turn J Street into a pariah, noting that 80 of the group’s leaders met separately Tuesday with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, and U.S. State Department officials.

To be sure, many Jewish conservatives, including U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House minority whip, continue to cast Soros as a bogeyman and are seeking to make an issue out of his support for J Street.

They point to a piece on Israel and the pro-Israel lobby Soros wrote for The New York Review of Books in 2007.

“I am not a Zionist, nor am I am a practicing Jew,” he wrote. But, Soros added immediately, “I have a great deal of sympathy for my fellow Jews and a deep concern for the survival of Israel.”

He also sought to clarify 2003 comments that had led some critics to accuse him of blaming Jews and Israel for anti-Semitism.

NATIONAL

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

9

Jewish farm school movement heads west

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Courtsey of David Neff

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and The Israel Project president Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi at a dinner in New York hosted by Mizrahi’s group, Sept. 21, 2010.

Pitching peace as well as Israel

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two months ago the Israel Project was wondering, in a Capitol Hill briefing, “Is the Palestinian Authority preparing its people for peace?”

The answer was a pretty unequivocal “no.”

Delivering the briefing was Itamar Marcus, a founder of Palestinian Media Watch who in his writings has posited that antiSemitism is not just endemic to Palestinian nationalism but central to it.

Last week, the same Israel Project said it was “honored” to host a dinner for Jewish groups in New York with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad—and was even more willing to be charmed by him.

“Prime Minister Fayyad’s spirit of hope was extremely welcome,” said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the founder and president of The Israel Project. “We know that some people will criticize us for falling for a Palestinian ‘charm offensive.’ However, there is nothing offensive about charm.

More Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians, should sit together over dinner and exchange ideas — especially when it can help lead to security and peace.”

Contradiction?

Not at all, Mizrahi told JTA in an interview: Both events stem from The Israel Project’s mandate to accurately represent Israel’s policies. In this case, Mizrahi said, she got her hechsher for Fayyad from Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The prime minister of Israel said that this is his partner for peace,” Mizrahi said. “If the supposedly right-wing prime minister

of Israel says this is partner for peace, it is.”

Insiders say that The Israel Project’s recent aggressive outreach — to Palestinians in particular and Arabs and Muslims generally — is a signal of Netanyahu’s seriousness in his direct talks with Palestinian leaders, which were renewed recently at the behest of the Obama administration.

Netanyahu is giving a green light to American pro-Israel groups to take the talks seriously.

“You’ve got to welcome anyone who reaches out,” said Hadar Susskind, director of policy for J Street, the self-described propeace, pro-Israel organization, which was not present at the meeting. “It can only help for people to understand each other and for all parties to end the conflict.”

Past peace negotiations have been hindered to a degree by vigorous opposition by some American Jewish groups. In 1995, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee played a critical role in getting a U.S. law passed that recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital over the private objections of then-President Clinton and thenIsraeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who did not want the issue hampering negotiations.

Mizrahi, 46, was an heir to a cosmetics dynasty who entered the political sphere through Democratic politics — she had an unsuccessful run for Congress in her home state of North Carolina.

She cuts a figure that is at once imposing and disarming: Mizrahi is tall, and always impeccably and brightly dressed, but exudes deference and charm as soon as she enters a room, remembering every face and details about her interlocutors.

BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) — Today it’s an empty one-acre lot in West Berkeley.

But next summer, if all goes well, the nondescript plot of land should house tomatoes, cucumbers and a host of other fresh garden goodies, planted and harvested by the first cohort of post-college fellows taking part in Urban Adamah: The Jewish Sustainability Corps.

The project, announced publicly this week, is the latest in a growing number of Jewish farming initiatives nationwide and the first modern-day iteration on the West Coast.

“Given the local interest in sustainable food and social justice, it seemed like a no-brainer to do our pilot project here in Berkeley,” said Adam Berman, the founder and executive director of the planned residential leadership training program that will bring groups of young Jewish adults to the city for three months of organic farming, green living skills, Jewish learning and direct social action.

Berman recently moved back to Berkeley, where he attended the University of California, after seven years as the executive director of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut. It was at the center in 2003 that he

developed the original Adamah environmental leadership training program for Jewish young adults.

In the first summer, six volunteers spent three months on the farm. Everyone who applied was accepted. Now, Berman says, there are 10 applicants for each fellowship spot in Connecticut, with a yearlong waiting list.

Adamah’s 140 alumni, many of whom were not involved in Jewish life before their fellowships, have gone on to fill a wide spectrum of Jewish communal positions. They have become rabbis, Jewish educators and heads of Jewish nonprofits, as well as formed the core of what is now known as the new Jewish food movement.

“The Adamah program has been an incredible success—not just transforming the lives of the Adamahniks but also, increasingly, the other people and institutions whose lives they touch,” said Nigel Savage, the executive director of the Jewish sustainability organization Hazon, which currently has four Adamah alumni on staff.

Like the original Adamah, the Berkeley program will be a full immersion experience. But because it is situated in a city with a significant Jewish population, it also will serve as a Jewish educational center, playing host to visiting school groups and holiday festivities. Berman

Courtesy of Cathleen Maclearie

Adam Berman stands on the future site of Urban Adamah in Berkeley, Calif.

anticipates 10,000 annual farm visitors by the project’s third year.

“Having Urban Adamah here will open doors for kids to do handson learning about the earth and Jewish values from high-level educators,” said Debra Massey, the education director for Temple Beth El in Berkeley, which has 160 students in its youth and family education programs. “It’s really exciting to think about what this can offer us.”

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INTERNATIONAL/ISRAEL

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S. African museum to juxtapose Holocaust with Rwandan genocide

By Moira Schneider Jewish Telegraphic Agency CAPE TOWN, South Africa (JTA) — At a South African Holocaust museum that plans to open late next year in Johannesburg, the Holocaust will be featured beside a more local genocide: the Rwandan violence of 1994.

and remembrance of it, did not prevent another genocide from occurring. Even in Africa it’s not a message that naturally occurs to the Jews here, Nates said.

“I don’t think that as South Africans and as Jewish South Africans we actually made the connection,” Nates said. “You cannot look at the story without remember-

Courtesy ofLewis Levin

This architectural rendering shows the interior of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre. “Khumbula” is the Zulu word for remember.

The inclusion of the African mass murder is not a mere gesture toward political correctness in what will be the third Holocaust museum in Africa. Rather it will be an integral part of the planned Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.

“The Rwandan section is a prominent part of the permanent exhibition, not an afterthought,” said center director Tali Nates. “It will be a shared museum.”

The message the juxtaposition sends is stark: that the Holocaust,

ing that as a South African, you need to make the connection to Rwanda, to the continent of Africa and to the fact that genocide, sadly, did not stop after the Holocaust.

“So I could not, in 2010-11, establish a Holocaust exhibition within South Africa without looking at Africa,” she said.

The museum will combine survivors’ testimonies with documents, photographs, film, interactive exhibits, text and artifacts. The exhibition space will take visitors

on a route starting with exhibits on racism in general to the South African experience during the Holocaust to survivor accounts.

There will be a memorial courtyard, an exhibition on the Rwandan genocide and an area dedicated to issues facing South Africans today, such as xenophobia.

To include South African voices in the exhibition on the Holocaust, seven local Holocaust survivors and Pretoria resident Jaap van Proosdij, who saved dozens of Jews, have been interviewed.

For the Rwanda section, the center is collaborating with museums and nongovernmental organizations in Rwanda, Britain and the United States. The exhibit will tell the story not only of the killings, which took the lives of some 800,000 people, but little-known stories of those who rescued Tutsis from the violence.

The museum is receiving significant help from Proof, a U.S.-based organization that interviews rescuers in former hot spots such as Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia.

Describing the Rwandan exhibit, Nates said, “It will be a sizable exhibit with moving images, with color, and we will use a lot of the voices of the victims, perpetrators, bystanders and rescuers.”

As the Holocaust exhibit covers the 12-year period from 1933 to 1945, compared to the less detailed 100 days of the Rwandan genocide, the Nazi exhibit will be larger.

“It’s not a competition in size of story, it’s not a competition in suffering,” Nates said. “It is about the human connection between the ‘Never again’ that we said after the Holocaust and the ‘Again and again’ that sadly we experienced in the 20th century.”

MUSEUM on page 21

Courtesy of Lewis Levin

This architectural rendering shows the exterior of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.

Courtesy of Wagdi Ashtiyeh / Flash90 / JTA

Bulldozers get to work in the Israeli West Bank settlement of Revava on Sept. 27, 2010, the day after Israel’s 10-month settlement construction freeze expired.

Why Israel allowed the settlement freeze to expire

By Uriel Heilman Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — In the four weeks since direct IsraeliPalestinian peace talks resumed, settlement construction has been identified widely as the most immediate obstacle to the survival of negotiations.

In media accounts about the diplomatic standoff over the issue, Israel’s decision not to extend its self-imposed 10-month freeze on settlement building has been portrayed as a slap in the face to the Obama administration, deepening Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and creating more stumbling blocks to a final peace accord between Israelis and Palestinians.

This week, world leaders reportedly telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to extend the freeze.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an end to settlement building following a meeting in Paris with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Quartet peacemaking envoy Tony Blair met with Netanyahu twice over four days. All to no avail.

The Palestinians, meanwhile, say they will wait a week before carrying out the threat of withdrawing from the peace talks.

“Of course we don’t want to end negotiations; we want to continue,” Abbas told Europe 1 radio, according to Israel’s daily Haaretz. “But if colonization continues, we will be forced to end them.”

In Israel, the only response is the rumbling of earth-moving equipment headed for construction sites in the West Bank.

That’s because what is perceived around the world as Israeli stubbornness is seen much differently in

Israel. The differences in outlook cut to the heart not only of how Israelis view these negotiations but how they view the future border between Israel and a Palestinian state.

In Jerusalem, it is the Palestinians who are seen as stubborn for sticking to their insistence that settlement building be halted before coming to the negotiating table. Never before had such a precondition been imposed on negotiations; in the past, Israelis and Palestinians talked while both continued to build in their respective West Bank communities.

Having offered the freeze unilaterally 10 months ago to coax the Palestinians back to the negotiating table and satisfy U.S. demands for an Israeli good-will gesture, the Israeli government sees itself as the accommodating party whose gesture was never reciprocated.

Rather, it took the Palestinian nine months to agree to resume negotiations, leaving virtually no time for substantive progress before the freeze expired.

Then there are the political considerations: Netanyahu’s rightleaning coalition partners made clear that extending the freeze was a nonstarter. Perhaps most important, however, the freeze was seen by many Israelis as unfair.

The vast majority of the 300,000 or so Jews who live in the West Bank are families living in bedroom communities within easy commuting distance of Jerusalem or metropolitan Tel Aviv. While some Israelis moved to the settlements for ideological reasons, for many the motivating factor was economic: Housing was much cheaper in the West Bank than in Israel proper.

FREEZE on page 21

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

SOCIAL LIFE

11

BARRY KAPLAN

“SERVING THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY FOR 23 YEARS.”

(513) 368-9000 AboutBarry.com

A N N O U N C E M E N TS ENGAGEMENT atti and Ray Schneider are happy to announce the engagement of their son, Justin Frank Schneider, to Joanna Wapinski, daughter of Janet and Mauricio Wapinski of Monterrey, Mexico.

Justin is the grandson of Sheal and Bibs Becker, Joseph Schneider, and the late Ellen Schneider, all of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a graduate of Cincinnati Country Day School and Babson College, in Wellsley, Mass.

Justin is currently a bond trader with Putnam Investments in Boston, Mass.

Joanna is the granddaughter of Emanuel and Rebecca Wapinski, Gustava Schwarz Tishman, and the late Enrique Schwarz all of Monterrey, Mexico. Joanna graduated from ITESM (Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey) high school and Boston University. She is currently the Brand Manager of LeSportsac in Mexico City, Mexico.

A February 2011 wedding is planned in Acapulco, Mexico.

R E F UA H S H L E M A H

P

Frieda Berger Fraida bat Raizel

Pepa Kaufman Perel Tova bat Sima Sora

Daniel Eliyahu Daniel ben Tikvah

Murray Kirschner Chaim Meir ben Basha

Mel Fisher Moshe ben Hinda

Alan Schwartzberg Avraham Pesach ben Mindel

Edith Kaffeman Yehudit bat B’racha

Ravid Sulam Ravid Chaya bat Ayelet

Roma Kaltman Ruchama bat Perl

Edward Ziv Raphael Eliezer Aharon ben Esther Enya

Justin Frank Schneider & Joanna Wapinski

11 ANNUAL CEDAR VILLAGE GOLF CLASSIC TH

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

513-984-3770

Carol Silver Elliott, president/CEO, Cedar Village, Kyle Newell, and Leigh Faulk

CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE 11 ANNUAL CEDAR VILLAGE GOLF CLASSIC 12

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TH

The 11th annual Cedar Village Golf Classic took place on August 9th at Wetherington Golf and Country Club. $100,000.00 was raised for the renovation of Cedar Village’s rehabilitation services.

David Hoguet, Jim Levinson, Jay Price, Dick Kuhr

Chris Pelfrey, Michael Schwartzman, Jason Brecht, Ted Deutsch

Allan Goldstein, Louis Guttman, Murray Guttman, Ian Guttman

Millard Mack, Andy Heldman, Dolph Berman

Jerry Robinson, Kay Geiger, Marvin Schwartz, Jim Metzger

Brad Norris, David Horwitz, Mark Moskowitz, Jerry Horwitz

Mark Pierani, Greg Buchanan, Marty Hiudt, Ken Hiudt

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

Wilbur and Miriam Cohen, Neil Cohen, Adam Dumes, Andy Cohen, and Janet Cohen

Carol Neuman, Paula Jarnicki, Lesley Loon, Louise Goodman, Stephanie Gilinsky

Kay Geiger, president PNC Bank, and Jerry Robinson

Co-chairs Barb Reed and Mark Mayer

CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE

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DINING OUT

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Cumin—culinary art in East Hyde Park

By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor Stand back Buenos Aires, move over Paris, a restaurant with international flavor and fare is putting Cincinnati on the map in the dining sphere. Walk into sleek and savvy Cumin nestled in a chic block of East Hyde Park and you might hear four different languages spoken among the clientele. Alex Mchaikhi, owner, speaks five himself.

Imagine my surprise when I entered the eating establishment where I expected to find a welldesigned menu catering to Indian cuisine. Instead, eclectic choices combining different cuisines awaited me. As the spice cumin tantalizes the taste buds, so does the items listed on the large parchment dinner and lunch menu. The word international comes to mind. Cumin is a little bit of Middle Eastern, with Indian flair, a touch of healthy, free range poultry, plus seasonal fruit transformed into shortcakes and delectable desserts. The menu bursts with innovative pairings of interesting food and seasonings.

What is eclectic cuisine? It is a new concept from the global kitchens, harnessing flavor and tastes from around the world. “In a professional way,” said Mchaikhi, “unique for Cincinnati.”

Professional referred to the alchemical artistry of award winning executive chef Owen Maass who was not able to be present for the interview. He was in Cleveland, in tryouts for the Food Network. Maass began his career in Cincinnati restaurants, including the acclaimed Chateau Pomije and Chez Alphonse.

Having discovered a love for cooking, he attended the Culinary Institute of America, refining his technique in the kitchen.

Expert management also comes from experienced hospitality guru, Alex Mchaikhi, who was born in Tunisia, North Africa, the youngest of five children. He attended Tunisia’s University of Hotel Management, majoring in Hotel Restaurant Management. In early 2006, Mchaikhi bought Cumin restaurant—where, for this exuberant proprietor, every night is like hosting a party. Inspired by a true love of the business, he spoke of taking Cumin Eclectic

Cuisine to the next level.

“What is the next level?” I asked.

I eagerly awaited his reply as I enjoy talking with visionary business folk, especially those in the dining industry. While I looked around this well put together restaurant & bar, a

pleasing décor certainly imbued an attractive atmosphere.

Future plans include obtaining a chef with North African roots to complement the existing exotic menu. Mchaikhi wants to increase the seasonal choices, and assures

steak and salmon that are popular at many restaurants,” he said.

Sounds cutting edge? It is in the world of taste buds, spices and even dessert wines.

Lately, I am becoming a connoisseur of menus. At a review, I

(Clockwise) Inviting atmosphere makes urban dining fun and festive; Sidewalk dining offers comfort, fresh air and fine eating; Cumin Salad is an appealing healthy lunch or dinner choice; Alex Mchaikhi, owner, brings international hospitality to Tristate dining.

favorite spot for P&G, GE and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital professionals, I marveled at the slick look; black tables, red leather bar stools, white tablecloths, a small patio filled with flowers for outside dining, and original modern art oil paintings hanging on the walls. The

customers that most entrees can become all vegetarian. “I always want something new and I do not want to bore my patrons, though they might have to mourn the loss of a recent favorite dish. It is about what is always exciting and Cumin will not have the same Caesar salad,

quickly scan them, putting asterisks where I note intriguing combinations of spices and food. My hand ran amuck as I perused Cumin’s choices. For starters, eggplant chips caught my eye; spices, tamarind date sauce, sesame seed – a must taste. I sampled the Cumin salad; chick-

peas, potato, black salt, yogurt, tamarind, cilantro and found the cold, fresh mixture satisfying. Local chicken is available, free range poultry, served with roasted Brussels sprouts, balsamic, grilled baby bell peppers and bagna cauda, a flavorful Italian anchovy garlic oil. The vegetarian entrees, Tortellini; spinach filling, shaved Brussels sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms, aged parmesan cheese, truffle, black pepper, and Golden Lentil; cilantro, tomato, curry leaves, red chili, basmati rice, were creative, healthy and stuffed with intercontinental flavors.

Entrees start at $14 for the vegetarian options.

For the dessert lovers among us, which in all likelihood is the majority of diners, Cumin continues with its fine attention to food detail.

Warm Hazelnut Cake; topped with chocolate gelato , the gelato adding a smooth, silky coldness to the warm cake, and Brown Butter Carrot Cake, also served with a cream cheese gelato, are two choices on the menu—generous portions for one or a not-so-guilty serving for two, and both priced at $7.50.

Do not fret if you can’t make a choice. This state-of-the-art restaurant has a tasting menu. Cumin offers Chef’s Degustation.

Degustation is defined as “an exciting and vibrant sampling of exquisite cuisine, high culinary art and good company.” Diners can choose 3 courses for the fixed price of $35, or $50 with wine. Six courses, which would make a continental foodie feast for two, is $65; $85 includes wine.

Cocktails, spirits and beer reflect a sophistication not often found in Tristate neighborhood restaurants.

Honey—a cocktail of gin, lemon and lavender honey—Bacardi silver rum, Grey Goose vodka or a beer named Original Sin provide some of the mellow offerings to quench your thirst. Live music on the weekends with David Ridenour adds to the restaurant’s ambience.

Cumin is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.

Catering is also available for all events.

Cumin 3520 Erie Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45208 513-871-8714

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The American Israelite can not guarantee the kashrus of any establishment.

DINING OUT

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

THAI, SUSHI & PASTA

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Johnny Chan 2 11296 Montgomery Rd The Shops at Harper’s Point 489-2388 • 489-3616 (fx) K.T.’s Barbecue & Deli 8501 Reading Rd Reading 761-0200 Kanak India Restaurant 10040B Montgomery Rd Montgomery 793-6800 Local 127 127 W. 4th St Cincinnati 721-1345 Marx Hot Bagels 9701 Kenwood Rd Blue Ash 891-5542 Mecklenburg Gardens 302 E. University Ave Clifton 221-5353 Noce’s Pizzeria 9797 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati 791-0900 Oriental Wok 2444 Madison Rd Hyde Park 871-6888 Parkers Blue Ash Grill 4200 Cooper Rd Blue Ash 891-8300

Pomodori’s 121West McMillan 861-0080 7880 Remington Rd Montgomery 794-0080

Your restaurant will also receive featured articles and a spot in the dining out guide.

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GUEST APPRECIATION NIGHTS

OPINION

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Which Brooklyn-born woman celebrated her 99th birthday this month (Sept. 30) by promoting a new documentary film about her career as a journalist, award-winning author of 20 books, celebrated photographer and a global humanitarian?

It’s the same woman who, in 1931 at age 20, graduated with a doctorate from the University of Cologne, making her the youngest person to earn a Ph.D.

The same woman who was a secret agent of President Franklin Roosevelt, and traveled to Europe during World War II to help bring 1,000 war-weary refugees from 18 countries to the United States. at that time.

The same woman who, with her perfect knowledge of German, attended a Nazi rally in the 1930s because she, as a young Jewish girl, wanted to learn first-hand why Adolf Hitler exercised such evil power over millions of people.

The same woman who, a few years later, flew in rickety Soviet aircraft to write a book about the people who lived in Russia’s bleak Arctic region.

The same woman who was a secret agent of President Franklin Roosevelt, and traveled to Europe during World War II to help bring 1,000 war-weary refugees from 18 countries to the United States.

The same woman who, in 1947, covered the Exodus ship carrying 4,500 Jewish Holocaust survivors that was forbidden entry to British-controlled Palestine, and who accompanied those refugees when the British

returned them to Germany. Her front-page articles about the refugees’ plight attracted worldwide attention and helped break the British blockade.

The same woman who has written books about such diverse regions as Alaska and Puerto Rico and who, at age 74, journeyed to Africa to report on the exodus of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

The same woman who was portrayed by Natasha Richardson in a 2001 film, and who remains a global leader in the fight against censorship and a champion of human rights everywhere.

The same woman who shattered a myriad of gender barriers long before the world ever heard the words “feminism” or “glass ceiling?” The same woman our family has been privileged to call a friend for more than 30 years.

The answer: Dr. Ruth Gruber.

My wife Marcia vividly recalls a 1983 trip to Israel she made with Ruth as part of a delegation of authors and journalists.

“Most of us wore jeans and several turtlenecks we could pack into one small suitcase, but Ruth juggled several pieces of large luggage containing her flawlessly coordinated elegant wardrobe and matching jewelry.

“Ruth looked fabulous at all times; the rest of us didn’t. She needed good clothing and jewelry because some nights she left our group to dine with more important people, such as the president of Israel.”

After World War II, Gruber pressed for “her” 1,000 refugees to gain U.S. citizenship since they were originally only presidential “guests” in America. Her efforts were successful, and many of the newcomers have made outstanding contributions to our nation: one, Dr. Alex Margulies, helped develop the CAT-scan and MRI medical tests.

Another, Ralph Manfred, was a leader in the U.S. space program.

Ever the professional journalist, Gruber has an interviewing style that is both knowledgeable and probing because she is always in search of the real story. Asked recently how she maintained such a hectic and creative schedule, Ruth replied: “Proper diet, exercise every day, never, never retire, keep up your social life.”

There was one more thing she added, and it’s worth remembering: “Do everything, everything from the heart.”

Rabbi Rudin is the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser.

TEST YOUR TORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: NO’ACH (GENESIS 6:9—11:32) 1. What great worldwide event took place during the life of Noah? a.) Economic depression b.) Flood c.) Earthquake 2. Why did it happen? a.) Rampant stealing b.) Murder c.) Idolatry 3. What sign did G-d give that this catastrophe would not reoccur?

3. A—9:13 4. C—9:20 5. B—9:21

by Rabbi James A. Rudin

a.) Rainbow b.) Northern lights c.) Solar eclipse 4. What did Noah do after the flood? a.) Invented the wheel b.) Built pyramids c.) Planted a vineyard 5. Did this venture end on a positive note? a.) Yes b.) No

had become steeped in both immorality and theft, but the decree was sealed because of theft.

Point of View

ANSWERS 1. B 2. A—6:11-13. Rashi explains that mankind

16

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

C O R R E C T I O N: The following name was spelled incorrectly in our Sept. 23, 2010 issue: STECHENBERG, Mildred, age 88, died on March 29, 2010; 14 Nissan, 5770.

Have something on your mind?

Write a letter to the editor and let your voice be heard.

Send an email to editor@americanisraelite.com

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

JEWISH LIFE

17

Sedra of the Week

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

SHABBAT SHALOM: NOAH

Efrat, Israel — Noah was a righteous person; he was wholehearted in his generations; Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9).

With these laudatory comments the Bible introduces us to Noah.

However, if indeed Noah was such a great man why was he not chosen to be the founding father of Israel? Why must we wait 10 generations for Abraham to come on the scene? And why does Rashi, the classic Biblical commentator who always seeks to unearth positive personality traits, quote the passage from the Talmud informing us that there were sages who interpreted this introductory verse to Noah’s detriment, namely “that he was only righteous in his generation—had he lived in the generation of Abraham, he would not have been considered significant at all?”

(B.T. Sanhedrin 108a) I believe that a careful analysis of the Biblical story of Noah—as well as a comparison with Abraham’s life—will answer our question and teach us profound lessons about what the Bible really expects from us, the descendants of Abraham.

Our Biblical text repeats the assertion that Noah was righteous —a tzadik—as justification for the fact that he and his family were chosen to enter the ark and so to be spared from the Flood— because “You alone have I found righteous before Me in this generation” (Gen. 7:1). Ten generations later, when the Bible is explaining the reason for Abraham’s Divine election and his call to found the nation through which all the nations of the earth will be blessed, a slightly different term is used: “Because I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him to guard the way of the Lord; to do charity (tzedaka) and justice.” What is the difference between Noah, the tzadik, who did acts of tzedek, righteousness, and Abraham, the first Jew, who was a person of tzedaka, charity (as translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan), which is apparently preferable to tzedek?

Noah was a tzadik, a person of righteousness; he was not a doer of tzedaka, a person of compassion.

Noah deserved to be saved, whereas the other inhabitants of the world did not, which is why Noah built an ark for himself and his family in accordance with God’s instructions, but never pleaded with God on behalf of the rest of humanity.

When the Bible first instructs us to lend money to the poor (Exodus 22:24-27), it warns us not to take interest and stresses that if the lender has taken a garment as security for the loan, he must return it to the borrower before sunset. “For this clothing for his skin may be his only covering. In what else shall he sleep? And if he will cry out to me (because he is cold in the night), I will hear him, because I am compassionate” (ibid. 25, 26). When this commandment is repeated in Deuteronomy (24:10-14), the Bible adds, “Return it to him at sunset, so that he will be able to sleep in his garment and bless you; for you, this will be considered as an act of charity (tzedaka) before the Lord your G-d.” Our Talmudic sages rule that until the borrower repays his debt, the lender actually owns the pledge, so strict justice would imply that he does not need to return it for the night. But the Bible expects more: it expects the lender to reach out to the borrower with compassion, to go beyond the requirements of righteousness and to act charitably (giving what is rightfully yours to someone else who needs it).

Noah was a tzadik, a person of righteousness; he was not a doer of tzedaka, a person of compassion. Noah deserved to be saved, whereas the other inhabitants of the world did not, which is why Noah built an ark for himself and his family in accordance with

God’s instructions, but never pleaded with God on behalf of the rest of humanity. When, however, God informed Abraham that because of their heinous crimes Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed, Abraham argued with God, pleaded with the Almighty even on behalf of the evil people. God wants a covenantal people that will reach out in compassion to the entire world; that will be “a sacred nation and a kingdom of priest-teachers;” that will even strive and argue with Him, choosing the ways of loving compassion over the path of strict righteousness.

Noah was righteous for himself, holding everyone to his own strict standards. In this, he was a precursor of Jonah, who fled from the God of repentance and forgiveness, the God of Nineveh and the God of the world. Abraham was the father of Moses, who was willing to be removed from the Book of Books and the Book of Life in order to “force” God to forgive a sinning Israel, and the father of Isaiah, who dreamt of a house of God that would be a house of prayer for all nations—in a world where every human would live in peace and security. It is no wonder, then, that, when compared to Abraham, Noah is found wanting.

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

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Over 125 years in Cincinnati and 10 years at Cornell.

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3100 LONGMEADOW LANE • CINCINNATI, OH 45236 791-1330 • www.templesholom.net Miriam Terlinchamp, Rabbi Marcy Ziek, President Gerry H. Walter, Rabbi Emeritus October 8 8:00 pm Shabbat Evening Service Choir Shabbat

October 15 6:30 pm Sholom Unplugged Musical Shabbat A light dinner will follow the service

October 9 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Service

October 16 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Service

18

JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

Jewz in the Newz

By Nate Bloom, Contributing Columnist NEW FLICKS All these movies open on Friday, October 8.

DAVIS GUGGENHEIM’s documentary, “Waiting for Superman” is a hard-hitting look at the failures of the inner-city public education system. It tells its story by focusing on the interlocking stories of a handful of students and their families. Like Guggenheim’s Oscar-winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” his new film has stirred up much discussion and controversy. The director is the (secular) son of a Jewish father (the late documentary maker CHARLES GUGGENHEIM) and a non-Jewish mother. A few years ago, Davis, 47, visited Israel for the first time on a governmentsponsored cultural trip and expressed his admiration for Israel’s vibrancy.

“Secretariat” is a Disney feature about the legendary horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973. Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery, who took over Meadow Stables from her ailing father (SCOTT GLENN, 69) and, with the help of a veteran trainer (John Malkovich), bred Secretariat and turned him into a great racehorse.

Glenn is an experienced horseman in real life. His most famous roles include the FBI agent who supervised Jodie Foster in “The Silence of the Lambs” and the evil, (mechanical) bull riding cowboy who DEBRA WINGER hookedup with in “Urban Cowboy.” Glenn converted to Judaism in 1967, shortly before marrying his wife, artist CAROL SCHWARTZ. ANDREW GARFIELD, 27, who currently can be seen in a costarring role in “Social Network” (the Facebook movie), is the co-star of “Never Let Me Go.” “Never” is based on an acclaimed novel by the author of “The Remains of the Day.” Garfield’s character, Tommy, lives in a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. But, when Tommy and two other students (Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan) leave the school—the truth of their terrible fate is revealed to them. (This film is in limited release.)

NEW TV SHOWS, MORE JEWISH STARS As you may have heard, “Lone Star,” the critically acclaimed Fox TV drama starring JAMES WOLK, was canceled after two episodes due to low ratings. It’s a shame they didn’t give the show another time slot and time to build viewership.

On the bright side, I’ve uncovered a couple more Hebrew thes-

pians in lead roles in new TV shows: BEN RAPPAPORT is the handsome young star of the NBC series, “Outsourced,” about an American running a call center in India. Ben’s parents belong to a Reform synagogue in his hometown near Houston, Texas. (Airs Thursdays at 8:30.) Also: LUCAS NEFF, 24, a co-star of the Fox comedy, “Raising Hope,” recently told a hometown Chicago paper that his father is Jewish and his mother is Irish Catholic. (Airs Tuesdays, 8PM.) PASSINGS The hit AMC cable show, “Mad Men,” began its new season (Aug. 15) with the introduction of a character, loopy secretary Ida Blankenship, who quickly became a fan favorite. Sadly, Blankenship unexpectedly died at her desk in the episode that aired on Sept. 19. Playing Blankenship was veteran actress RANDEE HELLER, 67, who is best known for playing the mom in the original “Karate Kid” movie. Heller says she crafted Blankenship’s New York Jewish accent from her memory of her Yiddish-speaking grandparents’ accents.

In the course of 10 days (9/199/29), four major Jewish entertainment talents died: screenwriter IRVING RAVETCH, 89; singer EDDIE FISHER, 82; actor TONY CURTIS, 85; and film/stage director ARTHUR PENN, 88.

As for Fisher and Curtis—their lives have been so well covered I can’t add much here. I thought CARRIE FISHER was incredibly generous when she described her father as a “mensch” in the statement she made after his death. He really wasn’t much of a mensch in terms of being a father. But it was very “menschy” of Carrie to say so. As for Curtis, when I heard he died, I thought of a statement he made in one of his memoirs: “I was the best looking Jewish kid, ever.”

And he may have been right.

Ravetch, and his now widow, HARRIET FRANK, penned some of the best movies of the last 40 years, including “Hud,” “Norma Rae,” and “Murphy’s Romance.”

The latter two were original screenplays and I always loved one particular exchange between Southern millworker Norma Rae and Ruben, a Jewish union organizer. Rae, who never met a Jew before Ruben, comes to the conclusion that Jews are no different from anyone else and tells Ruben so. Ruben tells her Jews ARE different, for one reason: “History.”

Penn had his hits and misses, but two of his films, “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Little Big Man,” were incredibly influential and groundbreaking works.

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FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Sam Stern, 63, originally of Cincinnati, where he had a large relationship and acquaintance and one of the best known traveling men in North Indiana in the tobacco trade, died Oct. 3, while seated in a chair at the I. Stern & Co. cigar store, from heart failure.

Word was received Monday of the marriage of Miss Hannah Shelt to Dr. William Ravine, both of Cincinnati. The news came as a great

surprise to their many friends as Miss Shelt, for years head worker at the Jewish Settlement, left ostensibly on a vacation trip for Wave Crest, Long Island, N.Y., where the couple were married Monday, a week ago.

Four years ago, Dr. Ravine was a prominent violinist, and on the evening before he was to leave for Europe to complete his musical education, a testimonial concert was given in his honor. On his way to the

concert he slipped on the ice and sprained his wrist, rendering his hand helpless as far as music was concerned. His parents at the time being in moderate circumstances, were not able to start him in any other profession, so Miss Shelt gave him financial and other aid, after which he attended medical college for four years and served as intern for one year. The couple will locate in Cincinnati. — October 6, 1910

75 Years Ago Among those who attended the World Series Games were the Messrs. Harry Siegel, Arthur Silver, Gus Hilb, Sidney Weil, David and Charles Strauss, Walter Friedlander and Maurice Halpern.

The Torch Club will open its session at Vernon Manor Thursday, Oct. 10th. The club meets the second Thursday of each month.

As the year passes in review, the

persons shown here stand among Jewish athletes.

Although Helen Jacobs lost to her rival, Mrs. Helen Wills Moody, in the finals of the all-England women’s singles tennis championship, Miss Jacobs went on to retain her title and to share with Mrs. Sarah Palfrey Fabyan the national doubles title.

Mrs. H. Walter Blumenthal (for-

merly Baroness Maud Levi) won the thee New York State women’s clay court singles title and the Women’s New Jersey singles.

“Hank” Greenberg, Detroit first baseman, is regarded by many sportwriters as major league baseball’s most valuable player. He is one of the reasons why Detroit is first for the second consecutive year. — October 10, 1935

50 Years Ago Four consecutive generations of the Weil family have blown the shofar in their congregation, Wise Temple.

The late Isaac A. Weil is followed in that sacred task by one of his sons, Gordon Weil Sr.; grandson, Gordon Weil Jr., and now by his great-grandson, 11-year-old Gordon Weil III. Mrs. Henry E. Malsh, 1962 Andina, announces the forthcoming bar mitzvah of her son Jerry Charles, Saturday, Oct. 8, at 10:30 a.m., at Rockdale Temple. Jerry is

the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Karl Triest of Cincinnati. Relatives and friends are invited. No cards.

Mr. and Mrs. Julius C. Mendelson, 1308 Avon Drive, invite friends and relatives to worship with them on the occasion of the bar mitzvah of their son, Mark Louis Mendelson, Saturday, Oct. 15, at Rockdale Ave. Temple. A kiddush will follow.

Mark is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Louis Mendelson, of Bellaire, Ohio, and of the late Mr.

and Mrs. Sim Marks, (Cora Weil), of Cincinnati.

Mrs. Molly Weintraub, 133 Kentucky Drive, Newport, Ky., passed away Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Survivors include four sons, E.A. Weintraub, Phoenix, Ariz., Adm. D.J. Weintraub (USNR), Pine Ridge, N.J., Dr. Josef Weintraub and Morris Weintraub, both of Cincinnati. Morris Weintraub is a former member of the Kentucky Legislature. — October 6, 1960

25 Years Ago “The chairman of our major divisions are now all in place and we are getting ready for an outstanding 1986 Jewish Welfare Fund Campaign,” said 1986 general chairman, Philip M. Meyers Jr. “This year’s theme is ‘One People, One Destiny,’ and we feel it captures the essence of our age-old commitment to help those less fortunate than ourselves.”

The 1986 Jewish Welfare Fund leadership includes: Jerome S. Teller,

chairman, Major Gifts Division; Richard Weiland, chairman, Pacesetters Division; Arnold Rabkin, chairman Chai Division; James J. Chalfie, chairman. Magen David Division; Ernest Elovic, chairman, Community Division; James A. Miller and Dr. Jeffrey Zipkin, cochairmen, Acharai Division; Richard Weiland, chairman, Cash Mobilization: Harris R. Goldstein, chairman, New Gifts Division; Joanne and M. Samuel Sudman, Co-

Charimen, Super Sunday.

Mrs. Sara Tucker of Great Neck, Long Island, passed away Sept. 30.

She was the wife of the late Richard Tucker, world-famous Metropolitan Opera star.

Mrs. Tucker is survived by three sons, Barry and Henry, both of New York City, and David of Cincinnati; two brothers, Max Peerce of Miami and Sender Peerce of Los Angeles; and six grandchildren. — October 10, 1985

10 Years Ago Robert D. Friedman, 78, passed away on September 23, 2000. He was born in Buffalo, N.Y., as the son of the late Alfred Dudley Friedman and Eleanor Friedman. His wife Elaine Friedman, predeceased him in 1993. He is survived by his children: Dave and Robin Friedman of Boston, Mass.; Jim and Lori Friedman of Cincinnati, Ohio; Robin and David Guethlein of Alexandria, Ky,; and Jerri and Scott Menaul of Boston, Mass. Surviving grandchildren are Zach Friedman, Tyler Friedman, Jason Friedman, Niki Friedman, Brad Guethlein,

Amanda Guethlein, and Andi Menaul. Mr. Friedman was the brother of Jane and Armand Jacobs of Buffalo, N.Y., who survive him.

Professor Marianna Brown Bettman spoke to the Senior Adults of Isaac M. Wise Temple on September 20. Each year the Wise Seniors hear a lecture on the theme “And Justice for All.” This year Professor Bettman spoke on “The Judicial Branch of Government: Yes, It Is Different!”

Professor Bettman began her talk by saying, “It’s a pleasure to give a speech just because I want to. Just

for TLC.” Her enthusiasm was reciprocated by her audience, which remarked on her warmth as well as her clear and informative presentation. Emil Dansker, chair of the program, expressed it most succinctly: “She is a born teacher!”

Professor Bettman is the first and only woman ever elected to the Hamilton County Court of Appeals.

She is a visiting professor of law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She is also a commentator on WVXU-FM and an occasional newspaper columnist. — October 5, 2000

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

CLASSIFIEDS

19

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 Fund (513) 899-1836 • 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 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 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 Jewish War Veterans (513) 459-0111 • jwv.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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JNF from page 1 difference in the lives of these children coincides in an exciting way with issues in which we are interested.”

For their ongoing commitment to the Cincinnati community and the world at large, JNF is honoring the Codys with the Tree of Life™ Award, a humanitarian distinction presented by JNF to individuals for their outstanding community involvement, their dedication to the cause of American-Israeli friendship, and their devotion to peace and the security of human life.

The Cincinnati Tree of Life™ Award Dinner will take place on Nov. 1, 2010, from 6-9 p.m. at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati. JNF CEO Russell Robinson will be the keynote speaker.

“We’re excited and delighted to accept this honor,” said Tom. “When you accept an award like the Tree of Life™ Award, you are endorsing the goals of JNF, in particular the goals that make a difference for so many people. For Mary Ellen and me, it’s a very big positive to give support to JNF.” No strangers to helping others, the couple’s philanthropic focus is on helping children, specifically in the arena of early childhood education: Tom is the Chairman of the Board of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Mary Ellen serves on the board of Every

Child Succeeds and Ursula Academy.

“Living in Cincinnati, there’s an expectation to get involved,” said Tom. “The city welcomes people to perform community service. Somebody has to raise the money, and Mary Ellen and I are happy to do it.”

The Tree of Life™ dinner will benefit Givot Bar, a new community in the Negev Desert that is part of JNF’s Blueprint Negev initiative to sustainably develop Israel’s southern region for the next generation of Israel’s residents. The community, which is currently home to 70 families, is expected to reach 500 families within the next 10 years. Proceeds from the dinner will go toward building playgrounds that are accessible to children with and without disabilities as part of the 12-acre Wingate Park, which will run through the center of Givot Bar. The park includes a walking path, bike trail, playgrounds, extensive lawns and shaded areas, and an amphitheater that will be used as the region’s flagship center for shows and cultural events.

“You must go to Israel in order to truly appreciate the work that JNF does,” said Tom. “It’s so much more tangible when you experience it first-hand.”

For information and reservations, contact Southern Ohio Regional Director Melissa Ann Fabian, M.A. at JNF.

The Codys with their children and grandchildren.

20

BUSINESS

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Fighting breast cancer—one brick at a time The 9th annual Breast Cancer Brick Auction will be held at the centrally-located Cintas Center at Xavier University on Sunday, Oct. 10 from 2 - 5 p.m. Bricks painted by local artists and celebrities are auctioned to benefit breast cancer research, advocacy and patient support in the area. Admission and parking are free.

“Bricks Along the Journey”was started by Ellen Bernstein Ganson. When diagnosed with breast cancer, she said it felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks. Instead of giving in to that defeated feeling, she decided to use the image of bricks in a positive way to symbolize laying a path of hope.

Ganson devised the idea of asking local artists to transform bricks into beautiful objects of art.

This symbolizes the journey women and men with breast cancer experience as they struggle with the debilitating nature of this disease and yet commit them-

selves to rejuvenate, rebuild and beautify life.

Breast cancer is so prevalent that the inspiration artists have for their brick art often reflects their own personal experiences or those of friends and relatives. More than 300 artists from over a dozen states donate their time and talents to the Breast Cancer Silent Brick Auction. This year there are a number of artists participating for the first time, including Jim Borgman who created a “ZITS” brick.

“The artists are amazing,” commented Beth Goldfarb, executive director of the Ellen B. Ganson Memorial Foundation.

“They are so supportive of this event and continue to amaze us with their ingenuity and creativity. A Chicago artist, Codi Wismer, sent a Rosie the Riviter brick.

Susan Rosenberg Wechsler, a native of Cincinnati now living in Boulder Colo., is an acclaimed Mosaic Artist. We have received a

number of incredible mosaic brick-art from Susan and her students which will be at the auction.”

Hundreds of brick art will be available at the auction. There are glass, mosaic, acrylic and oil paint, tile, ceramic, fiber, collage,

and many other media represented. Beginning bids range in price, some beginning at $25. The brick art makes lovely gifts for home display and gardens. Please visit our website to view bricks and for more information about the Ellen B. Ganson Foundation.

Proceeds have benefitted breast cancer research projects, education, advocacy groups and improving the quality of life of breast cancer patients in Greater Cincinnati. The 2010 beneficiaries include; The Mary Jo Cropper Breast Care Center at Bethesda North Hospital, Cancer Family Care, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Hereditary Cancer Program, FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, Mercy Hospital Anderson Women’s Center, The Wellness Community of Greater Cincinnati and the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati’s Great Beginnings Teen Breast Health Program.

HUC from page 1

citywide Fine Arts Fund campaign.

In addition, she is a member of the board of HUC, Cincinnati City Center Development Corporation (3CDC), The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati. She also serves on the Cincinnati Business Committee. Hoguet has also served as president of the board of The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and on the boards of the Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Foundation and the Walnut Hills High School Alumni Foundation.

From 1999 through 2005, Hoguet served on the board of Cincinnati Bell and its Audit and Finance Committee.

She received the YWCA

Career Woman of Achievement Award and the Bridges for a Just Community Distinguished Service Citation. Hoguet is a native Cincinnatian and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University. She received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1980. She and her husband, David, have two daughters and reside in Cincinnati.

James A. Miller is the chairman of Bartlett & Co., a Cincinnati-based investment advisory firm, and also serves as a senior portfolio manager at the firm.

He joined Bartlett & Co. in 1977.

Over the years, Miller’s philanthropy has earned him the well-

deserved reputation as one of Cincinnati’s most generous corporate executives. He is a tireless volunteer, spending a great deal of time serving on the board of directors of several prestigious institutions including Xavier University, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Wellness Community and the American Jewish Committee. In addition, he currently serves as board president for the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati and is a member of the Executive Council of the Department of Economics of the University of Michigan.

Miller was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics

from the University of Michigan in 1971 and his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1974.

He and his wife, Mary, have two children: Casey, who lives in Narragansett, R.I., and Katherine, who lives in Philadelphia.

“The Cincinnati Associates of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion are proud to salute Karen Hoguet and James A. Miller as exemplary models of civic and philanthropic leadership and achievement,” said Dick Weiland, chair of the tribute dinner event.

Tickets can be obtained by contacting Phyllis Volan at HUC. RSVPs are requested by Oct. 11.

leader for The Jewish Hospital.

The process includes input from Lambert as well as the hospital’s physicians and its leaders.

As Witt/Kieffer continues the search, Mercy President and CEO James May tapped Liska to serve as the interim president. “Lee Ann will devote a portion of her time each week to support the hospital’s leadership team while continuing her work with our other hos-

pitals,” explained May. Liska joined MHP in May after having served as executive director and senior vice president for UC Health – University Hospital.

Liska has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare administration, including previous roles as chief operating officer of The Cleveland Clinic Florida Hospitals, vice president of operations for The Metrohealth System

and administrator for various clinical departments at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. With Mercy, Liska has operational oversight for the organization’s six area hospitals, its service line development, and system-wide ancillary services.

Mercy Health Partners is a comprehensive healthcare network with care-delivery sites throughout Greater Cincinnati.

Mercy encompasses six awardwinning hospitals, eight senior living communities, primary care and specialists physician practices, imaging/diagnostic centers, social service agencies, urgent care centers, health and wellness centers, weight loss management and a variety of outreach and ambulatory centers. To learn more visit the Mercy Health Partners, Cincinnati website.

Cynwyd, Pa., told family members.

By all accounts she wore the age distinction well. Young said Buten was “likely the world’s oldest Jewish person since the death of Rosa Rein of Switzerland, 112, on Feb. 14, 2010.”

The number one seemed to be a seminal figure in her life. Not only was she No. 1 on the Jewish gerontology list at age 111, she scored a hole-in-one in her 70s on the greens of the Green Valley Country Club.

Buten was born in Austria in

1899—according to the manifest at Ellis Island, she arrived in the United States at the age of 2.

Steinberg, however, says there is no birth record.

That presented a problem when Buten applied for a passport to visit Israel decades ago, but eventually she sought the help of a Pennsylvania state senator to cut through the red tape.

The incident was in keeping with the characteristics described by Rabbi Seymour Rosenbloom of Adath

Jeshurun as a woman filled with “immense resilience and stoicism.”

And one with a sense of humor.

“She was so well-known for her milk sponge cakes with coconut,” said her daughter, Marjorie Steinberg.

“And when you’d go to blow out the candles, the coconut she sprinkled on top would be all over the place.”

Apparently it was a favorite family tradition.

Her greatest joy, the Steinbergs said, was her family, including Marcia Picus, her late daughter, and

Herbert Picus, a surviving son-in-law.

“The growth of her family was of the utmost importance to her, and she loved cooking the favorite dishes for her surviving 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren,” Ty Steinberg said.

Highlighting her historic age upon her passing probably would have angered her mother, said Marjorie Steinberg.

“She always lied about her age,” Steinberg said, “so this probably wouldn’t please her.”

sphere and the academic center of Reform Judaism.

Karen Hoguet and James A. Miller will be honored for their civic and philanthropic leadership and achievement.

Karen Hoguet is chief financial officer and executive vice president of Macy’s, Inc. (formerly known as Federated Department Stores, Inc.). Karen has held these positions since 2005. She began her career with Federated in 1982.

Hoguet volunteers her time in a diverse range of community service activities. She is treasurer of the Fine Arts Fund of Greater Cincinnati and chaired the 2009 INTERIM from page 1 Mercy initiated its search for Lambert’s replacement in June after she announced her plans to retire. They engaged the firm Witt/Kieffer – specifically one of its most senior consultants, Anna Phillips, senior vice president and chair of the board of directors for Witt/Kieffer – to assist in the process of identifying the next BUTEN from page 1 Among her many charitable endeavors, she worked at the nowdefunct Elder Craftsmen, which provided local elderly artisans a sales outlet for handmade goods, in Philadelphia.

Charity begins at home, she taught, but she also viewed the world as her homefront.

“It is easy to give money, but the most important thing is to give of one’s self,” Buten, of Bala

Beth Goldfarb (left) and Louise Goodman at the Artist Appreciation Party in September.

NEWS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010

SUKKAHS from page 1 A dozen finalists, chosen by an expert panel, were constructed for two days in Manhattan’s Union Square Park. Thousands of visitors wandered through the sukkahs; more than 17,000 voters cast ballots for their favorite.

The winning design -“Fractured Bubble” by Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan, which one reporter described as an “exploding coconut” -- was left up alone for the duration of the holiday ending Friday.

Who would have thought a bunch of wild and crazy huts would generate such attention?

The project became a media darling. Reporters from The Wall Street Journal to The Los Angeles Times gushed and cooed over the RABBI from page 5 will work with the Fellows to help them spot the trends and identify the ways in which Americans make meaning in their lives.

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cutting-edge sukkahs, all of which had to conform to halachah, or Jewish law: more than two walls; a roof made of organic material that provides more shade than sun but allows for views of the stars; no taller than 20 cubits but higher than 10 handbreadths.

“I’m not surprised at the buzz,” said Jacob Wisse, director of the Yeshiva University Museum in lower Manhattan, where two of the 12 winning structures spent the past few days on display after they were taken down in Union Square on Sept. 20. “It reflects the natural interest in a contemporary understanding of traditional forms.”

Bennett, vice president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies and co-founder of Reboot, a network for Jewish innovation, said one inspiration for the

competition was to rescue Sukkot, one of the Bible’s three pilgrimage festivals, from its neglect by nonobservant American Jews.

“We wanted to take Sukkot, a 21st century festival of meaning, and place it back on the pedestal where it belongs,” Bennett told JTA. “Themes of homelessness, of scarcity and abundance, of hospitality -- there are few more important values embedded in a ritual than these.”

One of the finalist designs took the homeless theme literally.

“Sukkah of the Signs,” conceived by an architectural firm in Oakland, Calif., utilized nearly 300 signs bought from homeless people in the San Francisco Bay area to illustrate the transient nature of the shelter provided by a sukkah.

In keeping with the theme, the wildly fanciful and elaborately constructed finalists themselves had short life spans.

Following their two-day presentation in the park, two were carted off to the Yeshiva University Museum, one went to the JCC in Manhattan and a couple were sold to private collectors, according to Bennett. Several ended up on the sidewalks of New York, cast off and abandoned.

New York Times writer Ariel Kaminer noticed that one runnerup sukkah, left by its creators on an Upper West Side sidewalk, was commandeered by a few local families. They “had run home and grabbed food, then reconvened under the stars,” moving with an alacrity Kaminer chalked up, at least partially, to “the lengths to

which New Yorkers will go for outdoor seating.”

Sukkah City is inspiring other ventures.

The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles already had commissioned a local firm to design its public sukkah; education director Sheri Bernstein said it “wasn’t inspired per se” by the New York contest.

“But we were inspired by the goals of the project, which tapped into something of interest not only to the Jewish community but the larger community: issues of shelter and caring for the earth and the world around us,” she said. “When we heard about Sukkah City, it confirmed that this is of interest to people. It’s a point where Jewish values can connect with issues of wider concern.”

The program is also developing a variety of resources to help rabbis enhance their skills for addressing a variety of audiences.

From online learning to one-onone conversations, participants will work with Clal faculty to

develop methodologies that draw on the texts and tradition in new ways. The goal is for these “spiritual innovators” to see their congregations as more than just members of their school, community or institution.

Since Clal—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership—began in 1974, its mission has been to help prepare the Jewish people for the unprecedented freedom and openness of America. Started by Rabbi Irving

“Yitz” Greenberg and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Clal formed a network of rabbis to translate Jewish wisdom and practice into useful idioms for contemporary life. RWB is the next phase of this work.

MUSEUM from page 10 The Rwandan story resonates particularly in South Africa, which emerged from decades of apartheid just as the Rwandan genocide took place. Indeed, South Africa’s experience with apartheid will form a substantial part of the introduction to the Rwandan exhibition.

South Africa is the only country in Africa where the teaching of the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide are part of the national curriculum. The center is committed to assisting this education and has been doing so since its establishment in temporary premises in 2008.

“Our hope is that our education efforts will lead to growing awareness, intervention and prevention” of xenophobia within South Africa, Nates said.

Architect Lewis Levin is designing the museum. African stone, readily available in the Gauteng province in which the museum will be located, will be incorporated with concrete and steel.

The visual effect will evoke not only wreckage and destruction but also trees in a forest. Levin FREEZE from page 10 What’s more, for decades the government offered Israelis economic incentives to settle across the Green Line -- the 1949 armistice line that marked the Jordan-Israel border until the 1967 Six-Day War. During the freeze, these Israelis saw themselves as unfairly penalized: Why were they barred from expanding their homes when their

Courtesy of Ilan Ossendryver

This illustration of two survivors living in South Africa—Rwandan Xavier Ngabo and Warsaw Ghetto survivor Irene Klass—is being used as part of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre's media launch.

says the imagery is deliberate.

“If you visit the death camps, the fragments of mangled steel that have remained and of forests surrounding the precincts are strong visual associations,” he said.

The split-level, 9,000 squarefoot center will be comprised of two buildings connected by a bridging structure and public areas. The first floor will house the permanent exhibition, while the second floor will include administration offices, a temporary exhibition space, a lecture hall and a resource center.

At street level, the double-volume foyer will be dominated by a wall of clear glazing interspersed with illustrations drawn by children in the Theresienstadt ghetto during the Holocaust. There will be an area for reflection inside and outside in the form of the memorial garden to victims of the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide.

In the displays, the museum will include explanations in South Africa’s indigenous languages, such as Zulu and Xhosa, in addition to Hebrew and English.

At the entrance will be a

memorial light with “Z’chor,” the Hebrew word for “remember,” alongside words for remembrance in other African languages, including Kinyarwanda, the language spoken in Rwanda.

The Johannesburg center is being funded by the local Jewish community, but it is partnering with the city of Johannesburg to place the museum in a prominent site in the heart of the city -- on Jan Smuts Avenue, one of the city's main thoroughfares, near other museums and its main universities.

The property, which will be

leased to the museum at minimal cost, originally belonged to the Bernberg sisters, Jewish sisters who had a fashion museum there and bequeathed the site to the city on condition that it be used as a museum or art gallery.

Nates, a native of Israel who married a South African and has lived here for 25 years, is an internationally regarded scholar on the Holocaust and a child of survivors. Her father and uncle were on Schindler’s list; much of the rest of her family was murdered at the Belzec death camp.

Palestinians neighbors were not?

"Stop making us look like monsters," Yigal Dilmoni, director of the information office for the Yesha Council, the settlers’ umbrella organization, told JTA in a recent interview.

The problem, of course, stems from the ambiguous nature of Israel’s presence in the West Bank.

Most nations view the area as illegally occupied by Israel. The Israeli government views it as dis-

puted territory captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. While Israel annexed some territories captured in that war (eastern Jerusalem from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria) and withdrew from others either unilaterally or within a peace deal (the Sinai Peninsula in a deal with Egypt, the Gaza Strip unilaterally), Israel left the West Bank in legal limbo.

The Palestinians claim the land as the site of their future state.

In Israel, many on the right believe that Israel should not cede an inch, and many on the left say settlements are a crime and the West Bank should be entirely Palestinian. But the majority Israeli view is that most of the West Bank will end up as Palestine while parts of it -- large Jewish settlement blocs adjacent to the Green Line -- will be annexed to Israel.

In almost all the scenarios,

Israel plans to keep the major settlement blocs. Among them are Gush Etzion, a largely religious cluster of towns with some 55,000 people less than 10 miles from Jerusalem; Maale Adumim, a mixed religious-secular city of some 35,000 about five miles east of Jerusalem; and Modiin Illit, a haredi Orthodox city of some 45,000 located less than two miles inside the West Bank, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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OBITUARIES

DEATH NOTICES KIRSCHNER, Jack Robert, age 85, died on September 21, 2010; 13 Tishrei, 5771.

WEISS, Marc E., age 52, died on September 28, 2010; 21 Tishrei, 5771.

OBITUARIES BUSH, Selma Klein Selma Bush, 96, wife of the late Louis Bush, M.D., for more than 64 years, passed away peacefully in her sleep on September 20, 2010—the 12th day of Tishrei, 5771—in Riverdale, Md. In Cincinnati, she leaves her daughter and son-in-law, Janet and Irwin Light. Also residing in Cincinnati for many years was her late brother, pediatrician Dr. Jules Klein.

The middle child of Sigmund and Rose Klein–who had immigrated to America from Eastern Europe–Mrs. Bush grew up in Morgantown, W.Va. The Kleins

were among Morgantown’s few close-knit Jewish families, and their home became the gathering place for Jewish students at West Virginia University in the 1920s and 1930s. It was there that Selma met and fell in love with Louis Bush, from New York City. They were married in Manhattan in 1938. After World War II, they settled in Baldwin, Long Island, where Dr. Bush established his medical practice, and where they raised their three children.

Mrs. Bush graduated with honors from West Virginia University.

In New York, while assuming leadership roles with the local PTA and the National Council of Jewish Women in Nassau County, she also pursued a life-long interest in the arts. She studied at the Art Students League in New York, and with Long Island artists, and found her true medium in sculpture. She reveled in the hum of Saratoga Springs, New York’s arts colony, where she and her husband spent summers during their retirement years.

What today is sometimes termed outreach was an innate, spontaneous element of her nature.

Along with an unshakeable love and

The unveiling of the monument for

Dr. Alfred Gottschalk will be held Sunday, October 17 at 11:15 a.m.

It will be held at the Clifton United Jewish Cemetery, 730 Ludlow Ave, Cincinnati, OH. Family and friends are welcome.

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

ber of Central Synagogue of Nassau County in Rockville Centre, Long Island, where her brother-in-law, the late George B. Lieberman–who was ordained at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati–served as rabbi.

Funeral services were held on Long Island, with Rabbi Leon A. Morris, of Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, officiating. Interment was in Beth Moses Cemetery in Pinelawn, Long Island.

Memorial contributions may be made to Friends of Yad Sarah, 450 Park Avenue, 7th Fl., New York, N.Y. 10022, or to a charity of one’s choice.

FINER, Marvin H. Selma Klein Bush

need for family, she was genuinely interested in other people. She made friends and forged relationships wherever she lived, friendships that expanded her horizons and deepened her thinking. She leaves that precious legacy, plus memories of a welcoming warmth, a sense of fun, generosity, encouragement, and an ever-youthful outlook, to her immediate and extended family.

In addition to the Lights in Cincinnati, Mrs. Bush leaves her children Joy Bush and Thomas Gilmore of Hamden, Conn., and Donald and Chantal Bush, of College Park, Md.; grandchildren Alix-Anne, Maxence and Chloe Bush of College Park; Alan Light and Suzanne McElfresh, and greatgrandson Adam, of Manhattan, and Sharon Light and Gidon van Emden, of Washington, D.C.. Her beloved sister, Sylvia Lieberman, of Atlanta, Ga. and Southampton, Long Island, survives her as well.

Mrs. Bush was a longtime mem-

Marvin H. Finer, age 85, passed away on September 23, 2010—the 15th day of Tishrei, 5771. Born and raised in Cincinnati, he was a son of the late Nathan and Molly Feinhor.

Mr. Finer was preceded in death by his first wife, Ruth Simpson Finer; his sisters, Elsie Feinhor and Adalynn Hoffman; his brother, Joseph Feinhor; his son, Jeffrey Seidman and his son-in-law, Robin Roberts.

Surviving relatives include his wife, Rita Finer; his children, Lin Finer, of Santa Monica, Calif., Lainee Finer, of Ashland, Ore., Gregory (Chris) Finer, Carrie Seidman and Jackie (Stuart) Arden, of Portland, Ore.; his grandchildren, Ryan and Jamie Unger, Aden Kirschner, Eli and Sarah SeidmanDeutsch, and Lucy Arden; and his brother, J. Louis (Victoria) Feinhor, of Ft. Meyers, Fla. After graduating from Hughes High School, Mr. Finer served in the U.S. Marines during WWII. He was part of the first landing at Iwo Jima

and witnessed the first flag raising on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. After being wounded in Iwo Jima, Mr. Finer returned to the United States, where he remained hospitalized for six months, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Mr. Finer graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Business and spent his professional years as a certified accountant. He was married to Ruth Simpson Finer and they had three children together and lived in Roselawn, until her passing in 1973.

In 1974, Mr. Finer remarried, to Rita Finer, whom he had met at Adath Israel Congregation.

Together, the couple enjoyed traveling, the theater, opera, spending time with their grandchildren and socializing with friends and family.

Mr. Finer was a treasurer with the Marine Chapter Ohio #18, he belonged to the Purple Heart Association #3620, he was a member of the UC alumni fund and he was a former treasurer for Adath Israel Congregation.

He was an avid Bengals fan, attending numerous home games throughout the years. Even in his later years he would follow the games on television at the Wellspring Health Center.

Mr. Finer was well loved and respected and will be missed by many.

Funeral services were held for Mr. Finer at Weil Funeral Home on September 27, 2010, officiated by Rabbi Irvin Wise of Adath Israel Congregation.

Memorial contributions can be made to Adath Israel Congregation, 3201 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236; (513) 7931800, or to the Alzheimer's Association Greater Cincinnati Chapter, 644 Linn Street, Suite 1026, Cincinnati, Ohio 45203; (513) 721-4284.

WISE from page 4 “Of all the sights and sounds of the High Holy Days, this is one that stirs me most deeply,” Wise Temple president, Mark Kanter, commented.

This year, the Wise Temple Confirmation Class of over 40 high school sophomores followed up the congregation’s efforts on the day after Yom Kippur by preparing and serving lunch at the Over-the-Rhine Soup Kitchen to over 300 of the city’s poor. The following week, the class visited the Freestore in order to sort the Wise Temple more than eight-ton donation for distribution to food pantries and the poor throughout the region.

“There was great power for our high school students in seeing the entire congregational community at work on behalf of the hungry and the poor on our sacred day, and following up that next day and that week with our direct response to it. Our teens derived great meaning from that experience,” remarked Rabbi Kamrass.