AI2010_10_14

CHHE celebrates Linda Hirschhorn, Daniel Pearl 10 years with Vocolot comes to World Music Days anniversary dinner Adath Israel

By LeeAnne Galioto Assistant Editor

By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor This past Sunday, the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE) celebrated their 10th anniversary with a dinner entitled “A Decade of Difference: Honoring History, Celebrating the Future.” The dinner was held at Adath Israel Synagogue, with guests dining as speeches were given, chamber music was played, and 10 community leaders, donors, and members of CHHE—who have been instrumental in shaping CHHE’s success—were honored.

The honorees were: Dean Richard E. Friedman, immediate past president, CHHE; Father Michael Graham, president, Xavier University; Joe Hale, founding board president, CHHE; Shawn Jeffers, director of programs, Bridges

Adath Israel Congregation welcomes Cantor Linda Hirschhorn and Vocolot.

“This will be our first program sponsored by the new Michael M. Levenson Music fund,” announced Penny Pensak, president of the congregation. Several activities will take place the week of Oct. 18–24 at Adath Israel with a major concert on Sunday, Oct. 24 from 2–4 p.m., which is free and open to the community.

CHHE on page 22

Linda Hirschhorn

On Sunday, Oct. 10, around 200 people participated in a world event at the Mayerson JCC. Rockdale Temple Rock Shabbat Band, Foundation Band, “Shir Chadash” from Wise Temple, Northern Hills Synagogue Choir, “Shir Ami” from Adath Israel Congregation, Cosmeau World Music Trio and Southern Gateway Chorus performed as part of the 9th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days.

With a theme of “Harmony for Humanity” these groups came together to use music to promote cross-cultural understanding and emphasize our common humanity.

Daniel Pearl was an American Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and murdered by extremists in Karachi, Pakistan on Feb. 21, 2002. As an accomplished musician, Pearl felt that music bridges people’s differences.

To continue his dedication to bring joy and understanding to

ADATH on page 19

PEARL on page 20

For first time, Supreme Westboro case poses Court opens with three Jews dilemma for Jewish groups

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — For the first time in history, a U.S. Supreme Court convened this week with three Jewish justices.

And Jewish defense organizations had their eyes on … Arizona.

Two of the three cases on the docket this session attracting special attention from Jewish groups come from the Grand Canyon State. One addresses tax credits for religious schools; another looks at whether state immigration laws outweigh the U.S. government. The third case, out of Maryland, deals with free speech protections.

Along with a docket for the first time having three Jewish justices, it will include three women — all appointed by Democrats.

Two of the three Jewish justices are female: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, whose nomination by President Obama was approved over the summer.

The third Jewish justice is Stephen Breyer; the third woman is Sonia Sotomayor.

The first major case, Albert Snyder v.

Westboro Church, will determine whether free speech protections extend to a tiny antigay church that has made a routine of protesting the funerals of soldiers. The court scheduled that argument for Wednesday.

The church, also known for its antiSemitic broadsides, has successfully appealed in lower courts a $5 million award in a defamation and privacy lawsuit brought by the family of Matthew Snyder, a soldier who SUPREME on page 19

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Courtesy of Creative Commons / k763

A girl affiliated with the Westboro Baptist Church pickets the offices of the Anti-Defamation League in the Pacific Southwest region, June 19, 2009.

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jewish defense organizations long — and proudly — have upheld a delicate principle in defending the First Amendment: Hate the speech, defend the speaker.

But a Supreme Court case whose arguments were scheduled for Wednesday have put that precept to the test: A Maryland family is suing the Westboro Baptist Church for picketing the funeral of its WESTBORO on page 22

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010 6 CHESHVAN, 5771 CINCINNATI, OHIO LIGHT CANDLES AT 6:42 SHABBAT ENDS 7:41 VOL. 157 • NO. 12 $2.00

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With Emanuel and Axelrod gone, will Jews have access to Obama?

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SoCal So Cool: 50 miles of pure pleasure

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Two Tikkun Olam-athons at Wise Temple For the past five years, hundreds of Isaac M. Wise Temple congregants have come together to repair the world as part of its annual Tikkun Olam-athon at Wise Center.

This year, congregants have the choice of participating in two different events, each targeted to different age groups and their interests. One will take place at Wise Center and the other at Plum Street Temple.

Both events will be held on Oct. 17.

Tikkun Olam-athon at Plum Street Temple is especially for adults. Congregants will gather together for a buffet breakfast, followed by an inspiring talk from Dr. Victor Garcia, founder of the Children’s Trauma Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and community activist.

Afterward, volunteers will participate in social action projects ben-

efitting downtown Cincinnati organizations such as Over-theRhine Soup Kitchen, Drop Inn Center, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, Cincinnati Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, IHN, Planned Parenthood, Visions Community Services, Welcome House of Northern Kentucky and Stop AIDS. Congregants will join together for projects that include cooking, sorting, painting, socializing and cleaning and organizing.

For Wise Temple families, a Tikkun Olam-athon will take place following religious school at Wise Center. After lunch, which will be provided by the Wise Temple Brotherhood, families will join together to participate in social action projects at the temple and throughout Cincinnati.

Projects include assembling goody bags and organizing at the

JCC ‘Authors Out Loud’ speaks to parents on Nov. 9, 12 In celebration of Jewish Book Month, the Mayerson JCC will host their annual Jewish author speaker series, “Authors Out Loud” from Nov. 9–12. A different Jewish author will speak each day, and the free Nov. 9 and 12 sessions feature books that focus on topics that especially appeal to parents and kids. The focus on Tuesday, Nov. 9 is a book about humorous kids’ letters from camp, and a popular children’s book aimed at bridging the gap between preschoolers and senior adults is featured on Friday, Nov. 12.

The JCC “Authors Out Loud” speaker series kicks off at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9, when the JCC and Camp Livingston present author, Diana Falanga, as she talks about her book, “P.S. I Hate it Here: Kids’ Letters from Camp.” This collection of real letters written by children, ages 8–16, to their parents about their adventures at summer camp, captures a childhood experience shared by millions. Inspired by her own daughter’s “melodramatic rants” from camp, Falanga collected 150 letters from kids across the country for this comedic literary piece.

Chicago Parent Magazine said, “Trust me when I tell you that not only will your kids get a kick out of the amazingly funny letters contained in this book, you and your friends will too!”

The Wednesday and Thursday “Authors Out Loud” sessions cater more toward adults. Tina Wasserman will discuss her book, “Entrée to Judaism, a Culinary Exploration of Jewish flavors and

styles” and serve food samples on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Lisa Gitlin will present her novel, “I Came Out for This?” a first-person narrative about love, obsession, friendship and coming out, on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.

Parents and grandparents are encouraged to join their preschoolaged children on Nov. 12 at 12:30 p.m. at an intergenerational birthday party inspired by the children’s book, “Say Hello, Lily,” written by Deborah Lakritz. This tale of friendship between children and senior adults bridges the gap between generations with a lighthearted story about a child’s first visit to a retirement community.

The JCC, PJ Library, and Jewish Family Service present this free family celebration with games, crafts, prizes and food.

With a master’s degree in social work, Lakritz spent much of her preliterary career working with senior adults and preschoolers in Jewish social service and family education.

These experiences, combined with raising five children, helped inspire her to write the 32-page picture book, “Say Hello, Lily.”

Though the Nov. 9 and 12 events are free, advance registration is recommended for all of the “Authors Out Loud” programs.

Registrations should be made by Nov. 7. Tickets for the sessions on Nov. 10 and 11 should be purchased in advance. For registration, tickets, or more information, call the JCC or visit their website. Free family events at the J are made possible by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

JFS Kosher Pantry; making crafts and get well gifts for children at Shriners Hospital for Children, Jewish Hospital and Cincinnati

Children’s Hospital Medical Center; throwing a Halloween party at the Bethany House; skating and cleaning with Cincinnati Icebreakers Sled

Hockey for Disabled Kids and several other projects which involve cooking, cleaning, visiting, animals and bike riding.

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‘Enriched Relationships!’ with Dr. Lisa Aiken Sarah’s Place, Cincinnati’s newest women’s learning initiative, is pleased to announce its first communal lecture, “Enriched Relationships!” with special guest speaker Dr. Lisa Aiken.

This program will provide local women the opportunity to spend an evening with celebrated psychologist and popular author Dr. Aiken on Sunday, Oct. 31 at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center. It begins at 7:40 p.m. with a dessert reception, and the lecture starts at 8 p.m., followed by a book signing.

Aiken is featured in “Foremost Women of the Twentieth Century” and has lectured for diverse groups and books fairs in 150 cities world-

Aiken is featured in “Foremost Women of the Twentieth Century” and has lectured for diverse groups and books fairs in 150 cities worldwide. wide. She served as chief psychologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and was a clinical assistant professor at New York Medical College and St. John’s University, as well as clinical associate professor at Long Island University. She now lives in Israel

where she maintains a private practice, lectures and continues her prolific writing. Among her specialties is her work in the field of dating and marriage enrichment. She has an impressive record of guiding clients and audiences across the globe toward more meaningful and

loving relationships. Her long list of books includes: “A Guide to the Romantically Perplexed” (also published as “Beyond Bashert”) and “Why Me, G-d? A Jewish Guide to Coping with Suffering.”

This program is a project of Sarah’s Place, an affiliate of the Cincinnati Community Kollel. In the Kollel’s spirit of collaboration, this opening event at the JCC is being coordinated in conjunction with Jewish Family Service and Hadassah. All women are invited to attend but space is limited and advance ticket purchases are highly recommended.

Tickets are available online, at the Kollel and Hadassah offices and at the door.

HUC expands community-wide programming As the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion celebrates the 135th anniversary of its founding, the oldest institution of higher Jewish learning in the western hemisphere announces a major expansion of its community outreach programming initiatives.

“The resources on this campus are truly unparalleled,” said Dr. Jonathan Cohen, community outreach director and director of HUC-UC Center for the Study of Ethics and Contemporary Moral

Problems. “As one of this community’s most esteemed historical institutions, we are focused on sharing these academic and intellectual treasures with more people than ever before.”

Beginning in November, the college will offer a variety of campus-based programs and activities that will be free and open to the entire community.

Events include history lectures by leading scholars, authors’ lectures and musical concerts. Groups can also request docent-led tours of

some of the campus’ places of interest including the Skirball Museum, the Archaeology Center, the Klau Library and the American Jewish Archives.

External outreach programs will also be part of Hebrew Union College’s community-wide efforts. More information on the programs and events can be found at their website.

Rabbi Kenneth Ehrlich, dean of the Cincinnati campus, says that many of these new initiatives are also ways to deepen HUC’s

longstanding partnerships with this community’s religious and secular institutions. “This community gave birth to this institution 135 years ago and labors to sustain and nurture it to this day,” noted Ehrlich. “So now, we are reaching back to the community with many program initiatives that are of significant interest and relevance to thousands,” noted Ehrlich. “All are warmly welcomed to this historic campus to delight in—and become enriched by—its vast assets.”

Scholar-in-residence event at Beth Sholom Rabbi Paul Kushner will be the visiting scholar in residence at Temple Beth Sholom in Middletown the weekend of Oct. 15–16.

Kushner is a native of Brooklyn and grew up within walking distance of Ebbets Field. He is a graduate of Columbia University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He also pursued post-graduate study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to serving congregations in

Aberdeen, Md.; Kendall Park, N.J.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Bellmore, Long Island, Rabbi Kushner has served as the rabbinic director of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York and as North American director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. He lectures often at Molloy College, and he is co-author of “Jewish Ethno-Psychiatry.”

On Saturday, Oct. 16, Rabbi Kushner and Rev. Dr. Tim Doty (of the First Presbyterian Church of Middletown) will dialogue on the

two-fold topic: “Three things Christians should understand about Jews and three things Jews should understand about Christians.” The program will begin promptly at 11 a.m. and will be followed by a dairy lunch.

Doty is originally from Independence, Mo. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Harvard Divinity School and Yale University, where he earned a doctorate in ancient Near Eastern languages.

He was ordained as a Presbyterian

minister in 1984 and has served churches in Independence, Mo.; Leavenworth, Kan.; and here in Middletown. He has also taught religion and ancient history at Saint Paul School of Theology and at the University of MissouriKansas City.

If you plan to attend the event on Saturday, please RSVP to Rabbi Haviva Horvitz. Her email can be found on Temple Beth Sholom’s website. Although there is no charge for the event, an accurate count for lunch is necessary.

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

by Isaac M.Wise VOL. 157 • NO. 12 Thursday, October 14, 2010 6 Cheshvan, 5771 Shabbat begins Fri, 6:42 p.m.

Shabbat ends Sat, 7:41 p.m.

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 PHONE: (513) 621-3145 FAX: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com articles@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher 1930-1985 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher BARBARA L. MORGENSTERN Senior Writer LEEANNE GALIOTO NICOLE SIMON Assistant Editors ALEXIA KADISH Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor STEPHANIE DAVIS-NOVAK Fashion Editor MARILYN GALE Dining Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM RABBI A. JAMES RUDIN RABBI AVI SHAFRAN Contributing Writers LEV LOKSHIN JANE KARLSBERG Staff Photographers PATTY YOUKILIS Advertising Sales JOSEPH D. STANGE Production Manager ALLISON CHANDLER Office Manager

Israel 3-D Experience for high school students Jewish high school students are invited to participate in the Israel 3D Experience. The course will explore critical questions and ideas such as: Why does Judaism need a homeland? What right do Jews have to the land of Israel? How can teens identify and combat media bias? Will there ever be peace in the Middle East?

Israel 3-D will be taking place at the Chabad Jewish Center in Blue Ash every Thursday, 7:30-9 p.m. beginning with a pre-party on

Oct. 14. The meetings will include a pizza dinner.

Jewish teens will have the opportunity to exercise their minds as they debate with peers about relevant issues. Israel 3-D will be facilitated by instructor Rabbi Yisroel Mangel in a dynamic setting that promises to be exciting and informative.

“The experience will deepen high school student’s appreciation for their national history, Jewish identity, and empower them to

speak confidently about Israel.

Everyone has something to gain from attending since the course was designed to speak to the minds and hearts of high school students from all backgrounds,” explained Rabbi Berel Cohen, youth director for the Chabad Jewish Center.

The Israel 3-D was produced by JLI Teens, an international organization that aims to create a global network of informed students connected by bonds of shared Jewish experience. JLI Teens is a division

of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, which has been creating learning curriculum for over 11 years and continues to set new standards in the field. Drawing on research-based instructional design and cutting-edge approaches to learning, JLI’s innovative presentation of Jewish wisdom is designed to be both intellectually rigorous and highly accessible.

To register for the course, visit Blue Ash Chabad’s website or contact Rabbi Cohen directly.

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $40 per year and $2.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $45 per year and $3.00 per single copy elsewhere in U.S. by The American Israelite Co. 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037.

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

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Standing Together: Christian, Jewish support for Israel On Nov. 4, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the Mayerson JCC, the Jewish Community Relations Council and The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministries will co-sponsor an unprecedented pro-Israel event, “Standing Together: An Evening of Christian-Jewish Support for Israel.” This is the first time in recent memory that an event of this kind is being co-sponsored by Jewish and Christian organizations and held at the JCC. This gathering will focus on the motivation, rationale and nature of Christian support for the Jewish State, and the featured speakers will explore new possibilities for Christian-Jewish cooperation on Israel’s behalf. Reverend William E. Sutter, national executive director of The Friends of Israel, will keynote this event, and he will speak alongside a representative from the Israeli Foreign Ministry whose diplomatic portfolio includes outreach to ProIsrael Christian leaders.

“At a time when the State of Israel faces dire threats to its existence and persistent attacks on its legitimacy, it is imperative that the Jewish community connect with fellow supporters of Israel, including evangelical Christians, and

National Briefs Jewish CEO second on Forbes list of powerful women (JTA) — A Jewish CEO was named the second most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

Several other Jewish women also joined Irene Rosenfeld, CEO and chairman of Kraft Foods Inc., on the 2010 World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list released Wednesday.

Rosenfeld was second to U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and ahead of Oprah Winfrey. Rosenfeld in 2009 earned the second highest salary for women in the United States at $26.3 million.

Mary Schapiro, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was 17th on the list.

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Elana Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were No. 25 and 31, respectively.

Other Jewish women on the list: actress and fashion designer Sarah Jessica Parker (45); personal finance expert Suze Orman (61); Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg (66); and fashion designer Donna Karan (96).

that we build on those relationships,” said Gary Greenberg, president of the JCRC of Cincinnati.

“We also see this as an opportunity to educate the Cincinnati Jewish community about this particular relationship, which we have nurtured over several years.”

The Standing Together event is a direct result of the bond developed between the JCRC and The Friends of Israel’s (FOI) local representative, Reverend Robert Johnessee, a retired pastor whose entire ministry is devoted to encouraging solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people among evangelical Christians.

FOI is a national organization with a 70-year history, established in 1938 in response to the desperate needs of Jewish people targeted by the Nazi regime throughout Europe during the years leading up to and during World War II. The organization raised funds and distributed aid to Jewish refugees in their darkest hours of need. Today, FOI is an important evangelical Christian voice in opposing antiSemitism and supporting Israel’s historical and moral right to exist within secure borders.

FOI has previously sponsored similar events in Dayton and Teens arrested in Jewish school vandalism (JTA) — Two teens were arrested in connection with anti-Semitic graffiti painted on a Jewish high school in Washington State.

The 17-year olds, from Mercer Island, Wash., were arrested Wednesday and placed in juvenile detention, according to reports.

They were charged with malicious harassment, malicious mischief and second-degree burglary.

A third teen, 18, was expected to turn himself in.

Anti-Semitic epithets and swastikas were painted in orange, blue and gray paint on the exterior of Northwest Yeshiva High School on Mercer Island; the graffiti included swastikas and references to gas chambers. The attack occurred late on Sept. 16 and was discovered the following morning, on the eve of Yom Kippur.

The graffiti covered most of the building’s outer wall, including the second floor. Neighborhood residents helped the school to clean off the graffiti before Yom Kippur services were held in its sanctuary.

Police searched the arrested teens’ homes and found samples of graffiti on the walls and on pads of paper that matched the graffiti found on the school. One of the teens is now also a suspect in several other local graffiti incidents, The Seattle Times reported.

Mason with Jewish communal support, and which were attended by representatives of the JCRC of Cincinnati. Local chapters of American Jewish Committee, Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and the Jewish National Fund are supporting the November event.

According to an article in YNet Magazine, “Some 600 million evangelical Christians (worldwide) defend Israel’s reputation in the world” and engage in efforts to support the Jewish State. There are an estimated 75 million evangelical Christians in the United States, and hundreds of influential church ministries that focus on the security and viability of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

“Israel has a right to exist and to live in peace and security, and our love for that great nation compels us to stand together to show our support and solidarity,” explained Reverend Robert Johnessee, who leads FOI’s work in six states throughout the Midwest. “I am humbled and honored that the JCRC has opened its doors for proIsrael Christians to come and show their commitment to Israel and the Jewish community.”

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U.S. colleges with few Jews building facilities to draw more

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Last year, 19-year-old Max Chapnick ate plenty of vegetables.

Chapnick, who comes from a kosher home in White Plains, N.Y., is a sophomore at Washington and Lee University, a small liberal arts school in Lexington, Va. His freshman year he ate in the dining hall by choosing carefully.

“I didn’t mix meat and milk, and I ate a lot of vegetarian meals,” he said.

This fall, Washington and Lee dedicated a new $4 million Hillel house, complete with a kosher cafe.

On a campus with fewer than 100 Jewish students, it represents a remarkable per capita investment.

Chapnick says the change makes his life easier — and makes him proud.

“It shows that this place is very welcoming,” he said. “Every year there are more and more resources for Jewish students.”

Nationwide, the same scenario is repeating.

Nearly 25 percent of Jewish college students in North America attend schools with small Jewish student bodies and limited Jewish resources, according to Hillel International. And those numbers are growing.

On one hand, Jewish high school seniors who tend to prefer large, urban universities are finding it more difficult to gain acceptance into those schools and are turning to smaller, rural schools, or

colleges without large Jewish populations. These schools rush to accommodate them.

The reverse is also taking place: Schools large and small with few Jewish students are actively working to recruit more by building Jewish student centers and creating kosher dining options as part of a “build it and they will come” recruitment strategy.

Admissions officers and deans at these schools rarely say they are actively recruiting Jewish students; instead they say they are looking to “increase diversity.” But off the record, many admit that Jewish students bring certain assets, from leadership skills and good academic records, while they are on campus to a propensity for donating to the school once they graduate.

“We’re a private university, and recruiting high quality students is always our goal,” said Jeffrey Huberman, a dean at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., where just 250 of the school’s 5,000 students identify as Jewish.

“We’re recruiting more on the East and West coasts, looking for students in private schools, and the Jewish day school students are very compatible with Bradley.

When you go to recruit them, they ask, what is Jewish life like? Can we eat kosher there?”

Washington and Lee’s Hillel director, Joan Robins, was recruited in 2001 to encourage Jewish life on the campus, which had just 25 Jewish students at the time.

“Jewish enrollment had declined steadily since the 1970s, and the

Courtesy of Kevin Remington / Washington and Lee

Dean Hank Dobin of Washington and Lee University dedicates the school’s new Hillel house, a $4 million, 7,000-square-foot facility funded by private gifts, in September 2010.

administration was interested in recapturing that legacy,” she said.

Robins sent a letter to Jewish alumni, she said, “and the money started coming in.” The school began recruiting at Jewish high schools and yeshivas, and contacting Jewish community centers and youth groups.

As the Jewish population grew from 1 percent to 4.5 percent of the student body, Hillel began offering more services. Now a part of Hillel International’s Small and Mighty Campuses of Excellence initiative — 12 schools that commit to enhancing Jewish student life in return for special training — Washington and Lee’s Hillel runs regular Shabbat services and a lecture series, takes part in Birthright Israel, and this spring sent 14 students to Uruguay on its first alternative spring break program.

“Now we have what Jewish students and parents look for: a vibrant Jewish life, kosher meal options, a very hip kosher cafe that is on the meal plan, High Holiday services with a student rabbi, plus the beautiful new Hillel house that makes a statement in and of itself,” Robins said. “You can’t have a place like that without a commitment from the administration, and Jewish parents see that when they walk in the door.”

Patti Mittleman, Hillel director at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., where 750 of the school’s 2,200 students are Jewish, said, “There’s nothing like word of mouth in the Jewish community.”

Muhlenberg’s Jewish population has risen steadily since the mid-1990s, she said, making its student body the fifth-most Jewish in the country. In August, the school

initiated The Noshery, a new kosher dining hall, and in January a 20,000-square-foot Hillel house is scheduled to open.

“Jewish families are waking up to [small] liberal arts colleges,” Mittleman said. “After you spend a fortune sending your kids to private Jewish school, you understand the appeal of small classes and a more intimate atmosphere.”

Debra Geiger runs Hillel’s Small and Mighty Soref Initiative, which provides resources to 163 campuses with small Jewish populations. Some are large schools and some are quite small, but all have small Jewish student bodies — and want to see that change.

“Jewish students are choosing these campuses because they’re top schools,” Geiger said. “At the same time, the universities realized they weren’t providing the lifestyle these students need, and if they want to attract this caliber of student, they need to provide those services.”

Lehigh University, a school in Hillel’s Small and Mighty program, has seen its freshman class jump from 10-12 percent Jewish to nearly 20 percent this fall. West Virginia University just started offering kosher food this fall, as did Bradley.

“I’m actually shocked they’re doing it,” said Rabbi Eli Langsam, kosher supervisor for Bradley’s new program, which this fall offers sandwiches, salads and frozen foods. In fall 2011, one residence hall will provide full kosher meal service Sunday through Friday.

More than 100,000 Jewish high school graduates enter college every fall, according to Hillel, and they are a prize catch for schools looking to stay afloat in tough economic times.

The University of Puget Sound

in Tacoma, Wash., has about 200 Jewish students among an undergraduate population of 2,400. Five years ago the school had 95 Jewish students, said David Wright, the university’s chaplain. Wright said the president pulled him aside and asked why there was no Hillel and how difficult would it be to bring in kosher food.

“The school was trying to reach into new geographic regions, and those were the questions the admissions office was getting from [Jewish] parents and prospective students,” Wright said. “And they were hearing ‘No, thank you’ from those people.”

Two years ago Hillel came to campus, and this fall the school instituted a kosher and halal meal option. Fresh deli sandwiches from Nosh-Away Catering are available in the dining hall, and the student center sells frozen kosher meals.

“The sandwiches go like hotcakes,” Wright said, even though they cost $2 more than non-kosher sandwiches.

Not only are there more Jewish students on these campuses, more of them are observant.

Natali Naveh, 19, is a sophomore at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., where 350 of the school’s 2,400 students are Jewish. A graduate of the Conservative movement’s Solomon Schechter day school system, she says she would not have gone to a college that did not offer kosher food.

Naveh also applied to a large university in the Boston area, but a friend there told her its Hillel wouldn’t meet her religious needs.

“That was the main reason I chose Franklin and Marshall,” she said.

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Jewish officials flex persuading muscles ahead of possible GOP wins

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Across the United States, Jewish community professionals are honing their skills of suasion, preparing to deal with a new crop of lawmakers who are unfamiliar with Jewish organizational priorities — and who are likely to be unenthusiastic once they’re in the know.

This season of anti-incumbent sentiment, much of it swelling from the political right, presents the likelihood of a Republican takeover of at least one house of Congress. The GOP needs 39 seats to win in the House of Representatives; pollsters are predicting gains of 17 to 80 seats.

The Tea Party insurgency has pushed past the GOP primaries a crop of candidates who have never held political office. Many of the freshmen are likely to arrive in Washington sharing their party’s warmth for Israel, but knowing little about the Jewish state or U.S. domestic issues that Jewish federations traditionally champion — elderly care, poverty relief and other community services.

“In the Tea Party, the concern to dismantle government is very strong and, for better or worse, the Jewish community has prospered and gotten used to involved government, grants, social services, government aid to Israel,” said Marshall Breger, the Reagan administration liaison to the Jewish community who now teaches law at Catholic University.

“Once they start cutting, it’s going to be hard to make exceptions.”

The strategy, said Joyce Garver Keller, the executive director of Ohio Jewish Communities, a group that lobbies for the state’s federations, is to make friends now to prepare for more nuanced meetings after January.

“The first purpose is to make a friend, not to come cold in January,” Keller said of her initial outreach to fresh Republican candidates, who have proliferated in her state. Ohio has a disproportionate amount of toss-up elections that could unseat Democrats.

In the meetings she has with candidates, Keller outlines broad areas of concern, leading with support for Israel and the need to confront Iran over its suspected nuclear program, and then explaining Jewish community backing for safety net spending.

She anticipates a long learning curve in a number of cases.

“We have people running who have never been to Israel, and even if they have a position paper they don’t grasp that it’s more than a war zone,” Keller said.

In some cases the learning curve may be insurmountable.

Hours after Keller spoke with JTA on Friday, The Atlantic magazine revealed that Rich Iott, a Tea Party-backed candidate in the Toledo area, for years had spent weekends dressing up as an SS officer as a member of a group that re-enacted Nazi maneuvers.

Iott, who has never held public office, seemed baffled that anyone was taking offense, even after the national Republican Party made him politico non grata.

“Never, in any of my re-enacting of military history, have I meant any disrespect to anyone who served in our military or anyone who has been affected by the tragedy of war, especially the Jewish Community,” he said in a statement.

Iott was an extreme example but across the country, community outreach officials fretted at a political demographic that hasn’t had much overlap with Jews.

Matt Goldberg, the Jewish Community Relations Council director in Louisville, Ky., said he was worried that spending reductions would result in cuts to security and social programs for seniors.

National officials forecast a grim winter, noting threats by incumbent Tea Party-backed GOP senators Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to dry up spending.

Despite overtures by top Jewish officials, DeMint will not budge, insiders said.

If DeMint and Coburn are joined by another handful of hardliners, they could muster the power to bring government to a halt, using the Senate’s arcane parliamentary rules that grant even lone senators sweeping powers to gum up legislation.

“If you have Rand Paul in Kentucky, if you have Sharron Angle in Nevada, if you have Joe Miller in Alaska, you can have a tremendous impact on social services,” said one official, referring to three races where budget-slashing Tea Party-backed candidates are competitive.

Of concern are possible cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, programs seen as vital to sustaining food and medical assistance to the poor and the elderly.

“One of the things we’ve been working on with local JCRCs is looking at the most vulnerable populations, the new people in poverty,” said Josh Protas, the Washington director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the JCRC umbrella that is a partner in the interfaith Fighting Poverty with Faith campaign. “Certainly a

lot of the service agencies are feeling the brunt of this.”

One frustration for Jewish officials has been the demonization of “earmarks,” the district-specific spending widely derided as “pork” by conservatives.

Earmarks fund an array of programs favored by Jewish groups, including naturally occurring retirement communities, the jewel in the federations system crown, and grants that enhance security at Jewish institutions.

Matt Brooks, the Republican Jewish Coalition director, downplayed talk of a GOP takeover — but he also said Republican policies would not place at-risk safety nets now funded by earmarks.

“Perhaps there will be a different vehicle and a different level of accountability,” said Brooks, who last week oversaw a rollout of a $1 million ad campaign targeting Jewish voters in key states. The campaign includes attacks on what the RJC says are Obama’s economic policy failures.

Robin Schatz, the director of government affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, said she had been making the case for earmarks to Pat Toomey, the conservative Republican running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.

“I told Pat, ‘Earmarks are not a four-letter word. If you are elected, we’re going to sit down and have a substantive talk about this,’ ” she said. “I think he has substantive reasons. You don’t want to see bridges to nowhere — in the Jewish community we want transparency, too — but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Toomey, who served previously in the House, at least is approachable and has strong relations with Pennsylvania Jews. In Kentucky, Goldberg has yet to communicate with Paul, who bested the establishment-backed Trey Grayson, who had close ties to the state’s Jews.

“Suddenly we’re confronted with Rand Paul, and he’s an unknown in the community,” Goldberg said.

Grayson is from Louisville, where there are 10,000 Jews. Paul is from Bowling Green, which has only a handful of Jews. Goldberg said he had tried to get in touch with Paul but had yet to find a Jewish intermediary.

Instead he’s only heard third hand that the candidate is “more pro-Israel” than his father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who has one of the House’s worst pro-Israel records. Goldberg said he was counting in part on pro-Israel evangelicals in the state to make Israel’s case.

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With Emanuel and Axelrod gone, Failures of ‘don’t ask, will Jews have access to Obama? don’t tell,’ DREAM

Courtesy of Israel Bardugo for American Friends of Lubavitch

Rahm Emanuel, seen here at a Chanukah candle lighting in Washington on Dec. 13, 2009, left the White House to run for mayor of Chicago.

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — They were two Jewish aides who had offices within shouting distance of the Oval Office.

But the resignation of Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff and the imminent departure of David Axelrod, the president’s senior adviser, is raising the question of what the disappearance of the president’s top two Jewish aides will mean for the Jewish community.

Top Jewish Democrats and leaders of Jewish organizations say there will be an absence—of optics, not substance.

“It's not every day that a White House chief of staff has his kid’s bar mitzvah in a Conservative shul and takes the family to Israel,” said Matt Dorf, the managing partner at Rabinowitz-Dorf, a communications firm that represents liberal and Jewish groups.

“That gave a human face to this White House to many in the Jewish community,” Dorf said. “In terms of policy and the Jewish community’s relationship with the White House, I don’t expect any change in that relationship.”

The visuals are not unimportant, a top Jewish aide to a senior congressman told JTA. “People like to have someone who looks like them near power,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “You say ‘Shanah Tovah,’ their faces light up.”

Nathan Diament, who directs the Washington office of the Orthodox Union, said that even the visuals wouldn’t suffer.

He noted that Jack Lew, an Orthodox Jew who likes to regale audiences with tales of the difficul-

ties of reconciling observance with the 24/7 schedule of senior public service, is set to take over the Office of Management and Budget.

The OMB director—essentially the administration’s numbers cruncher — is a Cabinet-level position, one Lew also held toward the end of the Clinton administration. He is leaving his position as deputy secretary of state to take the job.

“If you’re measuring Jewish prominence, there will be prominent Jews in the administration,” Diament said.

With Emanuel now in Chicago running for mayor and Axelrod set to leave early next year to run Obama’s re-election campaign, access won’t otherwise change, Jewish organizational officials across the board said.

“Axelrod’s roll for being a key conduit for taking advice from Jewish leaders will presumably continue when he has a political hat, not a government hat,” said William Daroff, who directs the Washington office of the Jewish Federations of North America.

Additionally, Obama’s official liaison to the community, Susan Sher, is still on the job — as chief of staff to Michelle Obama, the first lady, she occupies a fairly senior post.

Emanuel’s replacement, Peter Rouse, is seasoned at dealing with constituencies, including among the pro-Israel and Jewish communities, having worked as chief of staff to Obama when he was in the U.S. Senate and previously for Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader.

“It’s more important that that person have a positive disposition to issues of concern in the Jewish community than be Jewish,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who directs American Friends of Lubavitch.

Privately, Jewish officials said Emanuel’s departure potentially could smooth relations between Obama and the Jewish community for two reasons: Emanuel had earned a reputation in Israel as antiIsrael, and his overall style had alienated core constituencies, among them the Jews.

One Jewish organizational official said Emanuel’s brusque “just listen to me” style had severely hampered Obama’s agenda, leading not only to tensions with the pro-Israel community but with gays, liberals and groups seeking health care reform.

“Part of the reason he got into the trouble he got into were relationship issues,” the official said.

Additionally, Emanuel’s departure means that on Israel policy, Obama no longer will be able to say, as he did in an infamous meeting with Jewish leadership in the summer of 2009, that he has Emanuel to check his policies and does not need to consult with the wider community.

It was a blinkered “If Rahm and Axe are Jewish and they think this is OK, it’s OK” policy, is how the Jewish organizational official put it.

The problem with that view, some Jewish observers said, is that White House staffers — even at that senior level — are likely to defer to the boss, whereas Jewish leaders would be blunter in their assessments. But with two Jewish staffers, Obama mistakenly thought he didn’t need to consult with the Jews, these observers said.

They blamed that insularity in part for tensions over West Bank settlement building that dogged the first year of the Obama-Netanyahu relationship.

Despite those troubles, some Jewish organizational leaders were baffled by a view prevalent in the Netanyahu government that Emanuel somehow had guided Obama down a path that was hostile to Netanyahu.

Emanuel, in fact, had little to nothing to do with formulating Middle East policy, although he did take a role in selling it — most recently when he met with Netanyahu over the summer on his son’s bar mitzvah trip.

Furthermore, the two individuals now running the policy in the White House — National Security Council staffers Daniel Shapiro and Dennis Ross — are sensitive to Jewish concerns.

“Rahm was not running Middle East policy,” Diament said.

“Dennis Ross and Dan Shapiro are still there.”

initiative a blow to groups

By Adam Kredo Washington Jewish Week WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week) —Congressional partisanship claimed the legislative lives of two popular minority rights initiatives recently, dealing a major blow to Jewish groups that had long championed them, according to several Jewish communal officials.

One item would have repealed the long-standing “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bans gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. The other was the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM, an immigration reform initiative that would carve a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who chose to serve in the military.

But on Sept. 28, a unified bloc of Republican senators and one Democrat obstructed a defense spending package, the Defense Reauthorization Act, from reaching the chamber floor for debate in a procedural rebuke that effectively slayed the two amendments.

Following the failure of the defense bill to garner the 60 votes necessary to place it on the Senate floor, Jewish leaders condemned lawmakers for pettiness and playing politics with the lives of scores of military men and women who have been counting on Congress to act on such issues.

“What we’re seeing is a time when the whole process has become very politicized and polarized, and when we have legislation” that’s widely supported by the general public, it’s becoming impossible “to move these things through Congress,” said Richard Foltin, director of national and legislative affairs for the American Jewish Committee, which was part of a coalition of Jewish groups that long backed both the DREAM Act and the repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell.

“The challenge for us is in difficult [political] times to move these things forward,” said Foltin, whose group was aligned with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, B’nai B’rith International, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Anti-Defamation League and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, among others, in working to pass the amendments.

Similarly, Nancy Ratzan, president of the National Council of Jewish Women, another coalition member, decried the legislative setback as “a major disappoint-

ment to a community dedicated to civil rights.”

With midterm elections in November and the threat of a Tea Party revolution brewing, rancor between Republicans and Democrats appears to have reached a crescendo that is playing out on the once-deliberative floors of Congress, Ratzan said. The resulting political theater, she added, is putting the kibosh on bills that likely would have passed both chambers in less tumultuous times.

“It just reflects the halt we’re at right now in moving forward [with] change,” she said. “We seem to be at a particularly heightened time of partisanship and failure to be able to move forward policy...It does seem more extreme than other times.”

The result of the political posturing, Jewish observers said, is that pivotal pieces of civil rights legislation — such as the DREAM Act and don’t ask, don’t tell — are failing to become a reality.

“We’re losing sight of good policy by getting stuck in the moment of politics,” Ratzan said.

Added Mark Pelavin, the Religious Action Center’s associate director, “It says something very frightening about the state of the Senate that we can’t even have a conversation about” nullifying don’t ask, don’t tell.

“It’s more than just campaign season politics,” said Pelavin, who penned a letter to senators before last week’s vote urging them to repeal the military ban on gays and lesbians. “I’m afraid we’ve reached a place where a minority is willing and able to block progress.”

Mark Hetfield, senior vice president for policy and programs at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said that as the vote neared on the Defense Reauthorization Act, “it was obviously ... doomed to fail from the get-go. We’re devastated by it, but not surprised.”

While HIAS does not take a position on the repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell, it has been a strong backer of the DREAM Act, which would grant permanent-resident status to undocumented minors who serve in the military or complete a college degree, as long as the person arrived in the United States before he or she was 16 years old and has lived in the country for at least five years.

Hetfield characterized the initiative as “the most obvious of the all immigration reforms,” as it concerns those “who came here not by their own choice but their parents’ choice.”

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

INTERNATIONAL

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Draft of anti-Jewish measure changing views of Vichy head

By Devorah Lauter Jewish Telegraphic Agency PARIS (JTA) — Nearly 70 years to the day since the passage of a pivotal anti-Semitic law in Vichyoccupied France, new evidence about who drafted the law is transforming some historians’ views of France’s wartime head of state, Philippe Petain.

Until now the Oct. 3, 1940 law —dubbed the Statute of Jews and legislating anti-Jewish discrimination that went above and beyond the demands of France’s Nazi occupiers —was believed widely to have been the brainchild of at least two French ministers and their collaborators.

But the discovery of an early draft of the law, donated anonymously to the Paris Holocaust Memorial, has shed some new light on the matter. The draft is a marked-up, undated five-page document with modifications to the law scribbled in red and black ink that call for more stringent measures against Jews than contained in the original, typed draft.

Historians do not contest the authenticity of the document, but experts disagree on who authored the edits.

Did Petain himself handwrite the corrections, providing unprecedented confirmation and new clues about the Vichy leader’s personal anti-Semitic zeal? Or did technocrats simply jot down demands from one or several other leaders bent on toughening the text during a Cabinet meeting devoted to the law two days before its enactment?

Serge Klarsfeld, a lawyer who brought former Nazis and collaborators to trial, as well as the president of an association for children of deported French Jews, maintains that the edits are in the hand of Petain.

Klarsfeld calls the finding a “historic” confirmation that Petain, then 84, was not a senile puppet of Nazi Germany, as some have argued, but an active promoter of Nazi ideology and anti-Semitism.

“The general defense of Petain makes him out as an aging man, dominated by his entourage, without possessing all his mental capacity,” Klarsfeld told JTA. “Now we see very well that it was his desire to make these remarks.”

Petain “aligns himself with Nazi, racial ideology because he esteems it’s in the interest of France,” Klarsfeld said. “And he himself is ultimately anti-Semitic.”

Klarsfeld was charged with determining the authenticity of the document for the Paris Holocaust Memorial after its anonymous

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Serge Klarsfeld standing in front of a copy of the newly discovered document about the Vichy regime’s attitude toward French Jews, Oct. 4, 2010.

donation. He said each of the handwritten letters on the document were compared to other writings by Petain, and that handwriting experts would continue to examine the document.

Yet days after the announced discovery, other historians in France remain divided over the document’s origins and significance.

Historians do not contest the authenticity of the document, but experts disagree on who authored the edits.

“Even if it was the hand of Petain, we don’t have information on the conditions in which he made these corrections to the statute,” said Annette Wieviorka, a leading French historian on the era. “We don’t know if he was alone, or if it’s his own work.”

Wieviorka said younger historians debating “the degree of the German influence on this statute” question whether Nazis pressured French leaders during the creation of the law, contradicting established views that Vichy leaders acted alone in formulating the antiJewish measure.

The handwritten edits on the newly discovered document expanded the category of jobs forbidden to Jews, ensuring that Jews no longer could be elected to public office or work in public education.

The original draft only barred them

from certain top level administrative and educational posts.

The changes also cross out with a series of quick strokes a loophole that would have exempted from the law “descendants of Jews born French or naturalized before 1860.”

In the past, some have argued that Petain occasionally and passively tried to protect native-born French Jews. Mounting evidence, however, has changed the historical view of Petain.

Testimony from a Cabinet minister from the period suggested that Petain played a particularly severe role in the making of the Statute of Jews, pushing in particular for Jews to be prevented from teaching in public schools.

He believed in “a traditional form of anti-Semitism in the sense that for him, the Jews are not really French,” said Laurent Joly, associated with France’s National Scientific Research Center and a French historian on the Vichy era.

Joly said it’s not clear to him whether the edits on the document actually are in Petain’s hand. The detailed corrections seem too focused on minutiae to have come from the nation’s leader, Joly said, asserting that Petain likely would only have given “general directions.”

Yet Joly said he believes that Petain helped make the law more anti-Jewish.

“The reality here seems to me that instructions by Petain were given and were written by a technocrat,” he said, adding that “It doesn’t matter whether it is his handwriting or not, we can see his state of mind.”

In any case, Joly said, few French today defend Petain.

“The thesis of Petain as a scapegoat is out of style,” he said.

“Today the French feel that Petain was an evil for France.”

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To accept new freeze, U.S. might have to sweeten deal

By Leslie Susser Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — Following reports of an unprecedented U.S. offer of a host of assurances in return for a 60-day extension of the freeze on building in West Bank settlements, some political analysts are wondering why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not grabbed the deal with both hands.

According to the reports, President Obama is offering Netanyahu pledges that the United States will: • Not ask for additional extensions on the partial ban on settlement building, which expired Sept. 26; • Commit to using the U.S. veto to prevent U.N. recognition of a unilaterally declared Palestinian state, if Israeli-Palestinian negotiations fail to bear fruit; • “Accept the legitimacy” of Israel’s security needs as defined by the Netanyahu government— understood as referring to Netanyahu’s demand for a longterm Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley, in the eastern West Bank; • Broker talks with neighboring Arab states on a “regional security structure”—a nod to Netanyahu’s desire for cooperation on confronting Iran; • Enhance Israel’s security through the sale of a second squadron of state-of-the-art stealth F-35 fighters and space cooperation, including access to U.S. satellite early warning systems.

The price: Israel must agree to extend for 60 days the recently expired West Bank building freeze.

If Netanyahu spurns the offer, Israel not only would lose out on all the above, but the Americans would come out publicly in support of the 1967 borders as the basis for all future territorial negotiations with the Palestinians.

On its face, the deal would seem

Cortesy of Kobi Gideon / Flash90 / JTA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen here at his weekly Cabinet meeting on Oct. 4, 2010, reportedly is trying to convince Cabinet members to agree to extend the West Bank settlement freeze by 60 days.

like a no-brainer for Netanyahu to take. So why hasn’t he?

For one thing, it’s not only up to Netanyahu. He needs the approval of a settlement freeze extension from his 29-member Cabinet or at least his 15-member Security Cabinet, and he doesn’t have enough votes yet in those bodies. While by most accounts Netanyahu is inclined to take the deal and is pushing for Cabinet members to approve it, the United States first might have to sweeten the pot.

The U.S. offer followed intensive negotiations in Washington between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and an American team led by veteran Middle East adviser Dennis Ross. The idea was to affirm the U.S. commitments in a presidential letter to Netanyahu to persuade him and pro-settlement members of his government to go along with a new temporary

freeze—and in so doing keep alive the direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks launched in early September.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to quit the talks if the freeze is not extended.

For now, the Israeli prime minister is being pressed by Cabinet hard-liners not to accept the American package as is. They warn that it is all very general and that much of it will not stand up in practice.

The hard-liners are suspicious, too, of Barak’s motives. They believe Barak is behind the American offer because he fears that if the peace talks with the Palestinians break down, his Labor Party would be forced to withdraw from the government. Such a move would cost Barak the post of defense minister and, in all likelihood, his political future.

As things stand, Netanyahu

does not have the votes for the deal.

In the full 29-member Cabinet, 14 ministers are for extending the freeze and 15 are against. In the 15-member Security Cabinet the count is seven for and eight against, and in the unofficial forum of seven top advisers, three are for extending the freeze and four are against. In Netanyahu’s governing coalition, without the support of Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, Torah Judaism, Habayit Hayehudi and Likud hard-liners, the prime minister would have the support of fewer than 40 members of the 120-member Knesset.

Netanyahu’s greatest political fear is of a repeat of 1999, when after making concessions to the Palestinians at Wye Plantation, he lost his right-wing political support base and was roundly defeated by Barak in the ensuing election. This time, the scenario that Netanyahu wants to avoid is

accepting an American package, going ahead with the peacemaking and then losing the next election to Kadima’s Tzipi Livni.

Even if Netanyahu could jettison the pro-settler parties from his coalition and bring in Kadima— changing the balance of power in the government and the Knesset in favor of pro-negotiation parties, and accepting the U.S. package—it could cost him the premiership.

Netanyahu therefore is being extra careful about making any moves that could lose him large swaths of what he sees as his natural constituency.

The Israeli prime minister also has a major strategic concern.

According to confidants, he fears that as soon as any new 60-day freeze ends, the Americans will put a “take it or leave it peace plan” of their own on the table.

With the U.S. midterm elections over, Obama might feel able to publicly present parameters for a peace deal that Netanyahu would find impossible to accept.

Israel might then find itself totally isolated and under intolerable international pressure. That is a scenario Netanyahu hopes the current negotiations with the Americans will help him avoid.

So far, Netanyahu has spoken of ongoing “delicate” negotiations with the Americans and implied that much of what has been reported in the press is inaccurate.

As so often in the past, Netanyahu is caught between the U.S. administration and his rightleaning coalition. If he chooses his coalition, he risks losing the support of the current administration; if he chooses America, he fears he could lose his coalition and, with it, the premiership.

What Labor and Likud moderates reportedly are telling him is that it is not 1999, and that now he can have his cake and eat it, too: If he goes with the Americans and the peace process, he will win the next election hands down.

Career fairs for jobs in Israel held across United States JERUSALEM — In an effort to make North American Jews more aware of the wide range of opportunities that the strong Israeli job market has to offer new immigrants to Israel, Nefesh B’Nefesh and the Jewish Agency for Israel are conducting career-focused Aliyah fairs in four major cities across North America. The events will be held between Oct. 24–31 in New York, Miami, Baltimore and Toronto and are expected to attract over 1,200 people.

The October fairs, which will focus on helping Olim, people

immigrating to Israel, find jobs and build successful careers in Israel, will feature seminars on “Finding a Job in Israel,” “The Israeli Job Market” and “Understanding the Israeli Work Culture” among others. A number of industry-focused seminars will also be presented by Nefesh B’Nefesh staff and professionals from various fields, covering a wide range of professions, including: hi-tech, marketing, education, medicine, law, accounting and the non-profit sector.

Participants will also have the opportunity to meet with Aliyah

career consultants and attend general Aliyah informational seminars on topics such as: “Choosing a Community,” “Financial Planning” and “Navigating the Israeli Education and Healthcare Systems.”

The New York fair will feature a special networking seminar geared toward the many singles and young professionals residing in the area.

“Finding a job in Israel is one of the key factors for a successful transition into life in Israel,” said director of employment of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Rachel Berger.

“Providing potential Olim with a

better understanding of the Israeli job market helps build their Aliyah confidence and preparedness and is vital for ensuring their successful integration into Israeli life.”

“This is an opportunity for potential Olim to get a step ahead in their job search in Israel,” said Barry Spielman, head of the Jewish Agency’s North America Aliyah delegation, who will be at the fairs and lead a seminar on the Israeli hi-tech sector, where he worked for over a decade. “In partnering with Nefesh B’Nefesh, we are bringing the best possible resources to the issue of

employment which is critical to successful Aliyah.”

The Aliyah Career Fair is part of Nefesh B’Nefesh and the Jewish Agency’s expanded programming.

In an effort to maximize the assistance offered, an Israeli job coach will attend the New York fair to advise future Olim about how to best go about finding a job in Israel.

Additionally, Jewish Agency shlichim and Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah staff will be at the fairs and will also be available for personal Aliyah meetings in each city immediately afterward.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

SOCIAL LIFE

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MAYERSON JCC 2 ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY PICNIC & PARTY PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

ANNOUNCEMENTS BIRTH randon and Rebecca (Demb) Schneider announce the birth of their son, Ryan Blake, on September 19, 2010. Ryan has an older brother named Zachary David.

Grandparents are Dr. Larry and Marilyn Breslow Schneider of Cincinnati, Ohio and Sharon and

B

Marvin Demb of Pikesville, Maryland. Great-grandparents are the late Minnie and David Breslow of Lincoln, Nebraska and the late Mary and Ed Schneider of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Great-grandparents are Esther Kruger and the late Zalmon Jerry Kruger, and the late Louis and Priscilla Demb of Pikesville, Maryland.

R E F UA H S H L E M A H Frieda Berger Fraida bat Raizel

Edith Kaffeman Yehudit bat B’racha

Murray Kirschner Chaim Meir ben Basha

Daniel Eliyahu Daniel ben Tikvah

Roma Kaltman Ruchama bat Perl

Ravid Sulam Ravid Chaya bat Ayelet

Mel Fisher Moshe ben Hinda

Pepa Kaufman Perel Tova bat Sima Sora

Edward Ziv Raphael Eliezer Aharon ben Esther Enya

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CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE

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MAYERSON JCC 2 ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY PICNIC & PARTY About 500 members of the JCC enjoyed sun and fun at the 2nd Annual Father’s Day Picnic & Party at the J on Sunday, June 20. Everyone enjoyed the free picnic lunch, courtesy of Kroger Kosher Market, Blue Ash, as well as games and activities in the outdoor pool and playfield. DJ Toad donated his time and kept the party hoppin’ at the outdoor pool with great music. Raffle prizes and inflatables were a big hit, and professional J Spa staff gave dads free chair massages & manicures throughout the afternoon. What a great day!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

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Sukhothai celebrates 12 years of sweet basil

By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor Sukhothai has been nestled in The Market Place in the suburb of Montgomery for 12 years. Chyut Fuengchongmanee and his wife Lynn celebrated 12 years of ownership on Oct. 12, 2010. This charming eatery is as picturesque as a village restaurant in a seaside town. Displays of ceramic miniatures of vegetables and spices arranged on tiny wooden outdoor food stands, souvenirs from the owners’ trips to native Thailand, decorate the counters near the cash register. The art on the wall is a curious mixture of sculpture and paintings. A serene interior ambience gives an intimacy to the dining experience.

“What is the difference between holy and sweet basil?” I asked early in the interview.

The basil question was one I yearned to ask since I first encountered Thai food in Cincinnati, more than 30 years ago. Then, I was intrigued by herbs and spices such as ginger, lime, lemongrass, fish sauce, and new categories of basil as I had only known that spice to be something used in Italian food. Over time, and after many plates of pad thai, chicken basil, and chicken satay dipped in tangy peanut sauce, I noted the disappearance of the holy basil and replacement with sweet.

“Sweet basil lasts longer; the holy keeps its sharp bitter flavor only for a short time. It soon becomes tough and stringy.” That is what the owner, manager and executive chef of this lovely ethnic suburban eatery answered when I asked for clarification. He also told me to call him Toi. Thai food is known for its balance of the five fundamental tastes in each meal: hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty and bitter.

Thai spices are being discovered and integrated into western palates. Health benefits and immune boosting qualities are welcome additions to ethnic cuisine.

Many common Thai spices have feel-great benefits. Ginger aids in digestion, turmeric is an antiinflammatory, and lemongrass has long been used in Asian medicine to help treat colds and ease tummy troubles. Can a soup fight cancer?

If it’s a Thai favorite called Tom Yum, the answer might be yes.

A recent internet article extols the virtues of this soup. Made with seafood, coriander, lemongrass, ginger, and other herbs and spices used in Thai cooking, the soup is found to possess properties 100 times more effective than other antioxidants in inhibiting cancerous-tumor growth. Researchers at Thailand’s Kasetsart University

The restaurant is proud of its 12 year success with Trisate diners.

and Japan’s Kyoto and Kinki Universities became interested in the soup’s immune-boosting qualities after noticing that the incidence of digestive tract and other cancers was lower in Thailand than in other countries.

Toi, owner, welcomes diners with fine, fragrant cuisine.

Look out, chicken soup, there is a new brew in town arriving from the far east with medicinal benefits.

For the health hunters who dine at Sukhothai, starting with a bowl of Hot and Sour soup (Tom Yum) may be just the boost you need to combat those seasonal chills and troubling stomachs. This famous Thai soup, spiced with chili, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass and lime juice with mushrooms, scallions and cilantro can be ordered at Sukhothai with mushroom, for

$2.95, or chicken, for $3.25 “The secret to the restaurant’s longevity is don’t let anybody else cook,” said Toi. All the vegetables are hand cut, the produce is fresh and nothing is ever frozen or prepackaged. A favorite Thai appetizer is fish cakes (Tod Mun)—minced fish mixed with chopped green beans, chili paste and kaffir lime leaves, formed into patty cakes, deep fried and served with cucumber sauce (5 pieces), for $4.95.

Toi talked about his happiness living in Cincinnati. A small smile appeared on his face when I asked him why Cincinnati as he had mentioned owning restaurants in Lexington, Boston, Cleveland and Miami before settling in the Queen city. Simple answer, “I got married here,” said Toi, and gestured toward his wife who sat quietly with an open laptop at the next table. A man who appreciates his mate is indeed a wise soul.

Sukhothai’s menu is extensive.

Noodle dishes are always popular and most of us foodies have already enjoyed a pad thai—rice noodles stir-fried with ground peanuts, bean sprouts, green onion and egg—at some point in our eating adventures. There are lunch specials and deluxe stir fries featuring cashews, macadamia and pine nuts. Duck is also a protein option. All dishes can be made vegetarian and Toi suggests diners check out the restaurant’s website for a more full look at the many delicious items. Prices are reasonable too, with dinner

entrees starting at $10.95.

The restaurant has a generous wine list. Plum wine and sake are also available. Imported beers such as Tsingtao and Sapporo on draft add to the diner’s pleasure and for the calorie conscious, you can quench your thirst with a Michelob Ultra-low carb.

Treat yourself and your family to this healthy, energizing cuisine.

Stroll through the charming Market Place and enjoy the diversity within your neighborhood. Be tantalized by spices and flavors that are sure to improve your digestion as well as satisfy your palate.

Sukhothai Thai Cuisine 8102 Market Place Lane Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 513-794-0057

Chicken Pad Thai is a filling, healthy meal.

DINING OUT

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

15

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

Aroma Restaurant & Sushi 7875 Montgomery Rd Kenwood 791-0950 Bangkok Terrace 4858 Hunt Rd Blue Ash 891-8900 • 834-8012 (fx) Bella Luna Cafe 4632 Eastern Ave Cincinnati 871-5862 Blue Elephant 2912 Wasson Rd Cincinnati 351-0123 Carlo & Johnny 9769 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati 936-8600 CUMIN 3520 Erie Ave Hyde Park 871-8714 Embers 8120 Montgomery Rd Montgomery 984-8090 Ferrari’s Little Italy & Bakery 7677 Goff Terrace Madeira 272-2220 Gabby’s Cafe 515 Wyoming Ave Wyoming 821-6040

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

Rudino’s Pizza & Grinders 9730 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati 791-7833 Slatt’s Pub 4858 Cooper Rd Blue Ash 791-2223 • 791-1381 (fax) Stone Creek Dining Co. 9386 Montgomery Rd Montgomery 489-1444 Sugar n’ Spice 4381 Reading Rd Cincinnati 242-3521 Sukhothai Thai Cuisine 8102 Market Place Ln Cincinnati 794-0057 Tandoor 8702 Market Place Ln Montgomery 793-7484

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16

OPINION

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Valuing Values “[M]oral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples,” reads the sentence at the heart of the August decision by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker declaring Proposition 8, California’s 2008 voter-approved measure banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Moral and religious views, Judge Walker is saying, may not constitute the basis for a marriage law that makes distinctions among citizen-couples.

And so, with the summer came yet another judicial salvo aimed at the idea that certain values rooted in religious tradition are rightfully reflected in secular law.

The relationship between American jurisprudence and “natural law” – a phrase connoting that certain transcendent values inhere in human nature and society – has always been somewhat amorphous. But there can be no denying that many of the essential mores we consider to underlie civilized society have roots in religious tradition. And no doubting that when James Madison drafted the First Amendment he did not likely envision the words “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion” being invoked to undermine time-honored, cardinal institutions of human civilization.

The vast majority of Americans (including the majority of California voters who backed Proposition 8) who consider samesex relationships to be ignoble – or, at very least unworthy of enshrinement as equivalents of what the word “marriage” has always implied – are not religious zealots.

Nor are they are trying to enshrine their respective (and varied) religions in American law. Many aren’t particularly, or at all, religious in the first place. And they certainly don’t in any way condone mistreatment of those who are different from them, an affront in its own right to their beliefs. They are

simply sensitive to the danger – no let it be said: the wrongness – of tampering with so basic a societal institution as marriage.

And they have every right to voice – and vote – their understanding of propriety, wherever their judgment’s roots may happen to lie. Some laws are mere social contracts; others, though (and in many ways the most vital), are predicated on the concept of right and wrong – a concept, in the end, bequeathed us by religion.

Proponents of bending the concept of matrimony to encompass unions of men or of women argue that denying a marriage license to two members of the same sex is rank prejudice; and the would-be limiters, rank people.

But it isn’t, and they aren’t. A traditional conception of so essential and societally vital an institution as marriage constitutes not disrespect of individuals but rather respect – for humanity.

And if, as Judge Walker implies, denying the status and privileges of marriage to any committed human relationships is indeed bigotry, then we are bigots no less to seek to limit marriage to pairs of people, or to those not closely related. Is a marriage law that does not honor polyandry and incest also unconstitutional? (Some people bristle when such questions are brought up. But bristling isn’t an argument.)

The Ninth U.S Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments about Proposition 8’s constitutionality in December; and the issue is expected to end up before the United States Supreme Court.

We can only hope – and, the religious among us, pray – that the final arbiters of the issue recognize that the First Amendment should not be read to eviscerate the values, despite their source in the Torah, that sublimate and ennoble human society.

Rabbi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America.

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

Dear Editor, AJC is urging a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.

AJC believes that government should not encourage or discourage religious observances or practices. Marc Stern, AJC associate general counsel, says, “Our Constitution wisely leaves decisions concerning matters of individual conscience and belief, such as whether and when to pray, exclusively to individuals and the private religious community.”

In an amicus brief, AJC has urged the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the District Court decision in Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v.

Obama. The District Court found that the statute requires the President to proclaim a National Day of Prayer annually, leading a reasonable person to conclude that the government was encouraging prayer. The District Court ruled that the National Day of Prayer violates the Establishment Clause of First Amendment. The federal government appealed the decision.

AJC has a long history of supporting religious liberty and separation of church and state.

Sincerely, John M. Stein, president Barbara Glueck, director AJC Cincinnati Dear Editor, I would like to call your readers’ attention to a truly special project taking place this year at Rockwern Academy. The schoolwide reading of “Three Cups of

Tea” by Greg Mortenson is the finest program initiated by Rockwern in the seven years I have been sending my children to the school. Although deeply valuing the wonderful Judaic and secular education provided by Rockwern, I have always feared attendance at a Jewish day school might generate close-minded ethnocentrism. Such insularity ultimately undermines Jewish values in addition to obscuring the lessons we should learn from our long history as victims of ignorance and prejudice.

Given the seemingly irresolvable tension between Jews and Arabs in Israel, the terrible tragedy of 9/11 and the sound-bite driven media that sheds more emotional heat than informative light, it is only natural to demonize Islam as justifiably deserving hostile suspicion from American Jewry.

Therefore, to confront this misinformed antipathy with education represents the fullest realization of Rockwern’s primary mission to create “the best Jewish human beings.” By reading a book that documents how Americans and mullahs and Moslem villagers struggle against extremist forms of Islam, Rockwern students can understand that Islam has moderate, decent adherents and should not be reduced to the embodiment of evil.

The book, of course, provides something greater than broadening our understanding of Islam, of which most Americans are lamentably as ignorant as they are of Judaism. The book also demonstrates how education, even in a small rural village in Pakistan, produces tolerance. This message cannot possibly be lost on our

children who are now learning tolerance at Rockwern Academy through their education. Most inspiring, however, is the heroic dedication of Mortenson who truly models that tikkun olam is achievable by a single person. And how fitting that Rockwern has wedded this book to action by partnering with the International Academy of Cincinnati. Only through understanding and empathy based on actual encounters with the unknown other can we eliminate sinat hinam (the baseless hatred that led to the destruction of the Second Temple).

A hasidic tale describes the difference between a mirror and window. Both consist of glass, but the mirror has a thin sheet of silver. As a result, when we look at a mirror, we only see ourselves, but when we look through a window, we see the world around us.

The economic, social and political success of American Jewry can obstruct our vision of the world around us. Our day schools can produce “Jews,” but this has little value if our children perpetuate a narrow-minded, self-absorbed and self-congratulatory notion of Jewishness. I give thanks to Rockwern for courageously removing the silver veneer and revealing a world of humanity that could remain invisible to our children. I owe thanks to Rockwern for a program that truly produces “the best Jewish human beings.”

The reading of “Three Cups of Tea” makes me proud to be Jewish and privileged to send my child to Rockwern Academy.

Sincerely, Rabbi Matthew Kraus Cincinnati, OH

T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE This Week’s Portion: Vayera (Braishith 18:1A\22:24) 1. Where did the angels meet Lot? a) Hebron b) Sodom c) Damascus 2. What was the reaction of the townsfolk? a) They gave the key to the city b) They made a banquet in their honor toward Avrohom, and in order that Avrohom pray to Hashem to forgive Avimelech. Rashi.

6. A 22:23 After the Akeidah, Avrohom was worried that he had not married Isaac off yet. Therefore Hashem gave the news that Rivkah was born to his family in Haran

Joanne Silverman, Peggy Katz, and Florence Zaret

c) They tried to lynch them 3. Did Lot willingly leave the city? a) Yes b) No 4. Who kidnapped Sarah? a) Avimelech b) Lot c) Nimrod end to the otherÅh, implies that nobody even attempted to stop the mob. Rashi 3. B 19:16 Lot did not want to lose his money when Sodom was destroyed. Rashi 4. A 20:2 5. B 20:14 Actually, Avimelech paid Avraham money to show good feelings

In the October 7 issue’s Cincinnati Jewish Life section, the names for the photo (below) of “11th Annual Cedar Village Golf Classic” were left out.

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

5. Did Avrohom have to pay ransom money for Sarah? a) Yes b) No 6. Which matriarch other than Sarah is mentioned in the Parsha? a) Rivka b) Leah c) Rachel ANSWERS 1. B 19:1 The angels were sent to destroy Sodom. However, they took longer than the normal time to travel, hoping that Hashem would listen Abraham's prayer to save Sodom.

2. C 19:4,5 The whole city Ågfrom one

C O R R E C T I O N:

JEWISH LIFE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

17

Sedra of the Week

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT LECH-LECHA GENESIS 12:1 –17:27

Efrat, Israel - And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and the souls which they made in Haran, and they came to the Land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5).

One of the major challenges facing the State of Israel today— specifically in terms of its future as Jewish state—is the fate of close to 400,000 Israeli citizens from the former Soviet Union who are not halachically Jewish. These people were granted automatic Israeli citizenship under the law of the Right of Return for a compelling reason: since the Nazis’ definition of a Jew to be murdered in Auschwitz was someone with one Jewish grandparent—even if it was on the paternal side, those same criteria were adopted for anyone seeking refuge in Israel. Hence, our society is faced with a large influx of nonhalachically Jewish citizens who are fighting and sometimes dying for us in the IDF. Their children are attending kindergartens, schools and universities with other Israeli children, but they cannot be married in a Jewish religious ceremony and they cannot even be buried in a Jewish cemetery. This opens the door to a massive problem of intermarriage and countless desecrations of God’s name as bereaved parents ask why their beloved children were Jewish enough to sacrifice their lives for the Jewish state, but not Jewish enough to be buried with other Jews.

The most natural solution lies in

“conversion”—a procedure first described in the Book of Ruth.

Ruth was a Moabite, and the Bible forbids Moabites from “entering into the congregation of the Lord” (Deut. 23:4). Nevertheless, she forsook her family and culture, committing herself to the faith, fortune and nationality of her beloved mother-in-law, Naomi, saying: “Wherever you go, I shall go, where you sleep, I shall sleep, your nation shall be my nation, your G-d my G-d” (Ruth 1:16). The Talmud explains that a religious court determined that the ancient Biblical law only prohibited male Moabites from converting, females were permitted to join our nation (Yevamot 69a). Ruth, therefore is praised as an “Abrahamic” figure, who married the prominent Judean leader Boaz, and became the great grandmother of David, King of Israel and fore-runner of the Messiah.

The Talmud (B.T. Yevamot 45, 46) sets down the fundamental procedures for conversion, which are codified by the Shulhan Aruch to include acceptance of the commandments, ritual immersion, and circumcision for males. The Talmud maintains that while general acceptance of commandments is mandatory, the would-be convert need only be informed of: “some of the more stringent laws and some of the more lenient laws” (specifying only Shabbat, aspects of kashrut, and the charitable tithes).

While another Talmudic passage (B.T. Shabbat 31) suggests in the name of Hillel that as long as the conversion candidate has embarked on a positive process of

Torah study, he/she is to be accepted immediately.

Unfortunately, however, the religious courts in Israel—and especially the ultra-Orthodox religious community—have established much stricter standards, which is hardly conducive for the large numbers of converts which our present national situation so desperately demands. I believe that whether or not we apply a userfriendly attitude toward potential converts depends upon how we see our Jewish mission, especially now that we have returned to the Land.

Many Talmudic commentaries actually count conversion as one of the 613 commandments. The Ra’avad (12th Century) derives this command from our Biblical portion, which mentions the souls [that Abraham and Sarah] made in Haran (Genesis 12:5). The Midrash, cited by Rashi, says Abraham converted the men while Sarah converted the women.

Maimonides goes one step further (Book of Commandments, Positive Command 3), citing the Sifre that the command to love the Lord means to make Him beloved to all of humanity, like Abraham our father, as it is written, the souls they made in Haran who sought out people for our faith because of the great love he felt for God. As the Mishna in Avot (1:12) teaches us to, “love all humanity and bring them close to Torah.”

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editor@ americanisraelite.com

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

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MODERN ORTHODOX SERVICE

3100 LONGMEADOW LANE • CINCINNATI, OH 45236 791-1330 • www.templesholom.net Miriam Terlinchamp, Rabbi Marcy Ziek, President Gerry H. Walter, Rabbi Emeritus October 15 6:30 pm Sholom Unplugged Musical Shabbat A light dinner will follow the service

October 22 6:00 pm Shabbat Nosh 6:30 pm Shabbat Evening Service

October 16 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Service

October 23 10:30 am Shabbat Morning Service

18

JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

Jewz in the Newz

By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist BIG SCREEN NOTES “Conviction,” which opens on Friday, Oct. 15, is based on the true-life story of Kenny Waters and his sister, Betty Ann Waters. In 1983, Kenny, who was no angel, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Betty was convinced of his innocence and, over the next 19 years, put herself through college and law school with the aim of mastering the legal skills to free her brother. In 2000, Betty began working with the Innocence Project, a group which works to free wrongly convicted persons through the use of DNA testing. (The Project has helped free over 250 people). Testing of the Waters’ case evidence was finally done in 2001 and it exonerated Kenny.

The Innocence Project began (1989) at Yeshiva Univ.’s Cardozo School of Law and is still closely connected to Cardozo. The project’s co-directors are Jewish lawyers BARRY C. SCHECK and PETER J. NEUFELD. Hilary Swank stars as Betty Waters, with Sam Rockwell as Kenny Waters, and Minnie Driver as a law school student who befriends Betty. The original screenplay is by PAMELA GRAY, 50. The director is sometime actor Tony Goldwyn, the grandson of SAM GOLDWYN, the legendary film mogul (who was Tony’s only Jewish grandparent).

This is the second film Gray and Goldwyn have made together.

In 1999, Goldwyn directed “A Walk on the Moon,” about a Jewish family in the Catskills in the late ‘60s. Gray wrote the script, based somewhat on her own family’s history (her father was once a borscht-belt comedian).

“Walk” took five years to make (financing problems) and didn’t do big box office despite getting quite good reviews. Its quality is demonstrated by the fact that the entire principal cast has since become much more famous via work in other good films (LIEV SCHREIBER, Viggo Mortensen, Diane Lane, and Anna Paquin). It took almost 10 years to bring “Conviction” to the screen. (Such is Hollywood!)

“Freakonomics” is a documentary based on the best-selling book by former NY Times journalist STEPHEN DUBNER, 47, and Univ. of Chicago economist STEVEN LEVITT, 43. Dubner is also known for the 1998 book, “Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son Returns to his Jewish Family.”

Dubner’s parents, both born Jewish, converted to Catholicism and raised their children Catholic. Dubner opted to embrace Judaism as an adult and he’s a practicing Jew. The documentary opened in a few theaters on Oct. 1 and is set to open in about 75 theaters nationwide this month and next month.

As I write this, it does not appear that it will play in Cincinnati.

However, it is already available for “on-demand” viewing on almost all cable and satellite systems (it costs $7.50 on my cable provider). This is a promising new way for “small films,” that don’t get a wide theater release, to be seen right after they are reviewed in national media outlets.

“Freaknomics” looks at diverse topics, like cheating, through an economic model that explains how people really act.

The documentary consists of six case studies, acted out by real actors, and there is some humor in the film. Each case study was directed by a different leading documentary maker, including EUEGENE JARECKI (“Why We Fight”).

MAZEL TOV On Sept. 28, actor/writer SETH ROGEN, 28, announced that he and his girlfriend of four years, LAUREN MILLER, also 28, were engaged. Miller, a filmmaker who has had small parts in several Rogen films, was raised on Long Island and in Lakeland, Fla. In 2003, she wrote and directed a short dramatic film, “Happy Holidays,” about the difficulties a Jewish girl faces when she is “inundated” with Christmas. She feels particularly besieged when her (public) middle school teacher asks her, and the rest of the class, to write a letter to Santa Claus.

The film is semi-autobiographical—Miller, a very pretty woman, was a cheerleader at her Florida high school, but she raised a stir when she refused to march in Lakeland’s Christmas parade with the rest of her squad. “Happy Holidays” was shown at the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival and the Festival Board was so taken with the film that they created, on the spot, a “best college student film award” and gave it to Miller.

Rogen, a very average-looking fellow, who recently slimmeddown, became an unlikely film star in the last few years with a string of hits, including “KnockedUp,” “Superbad” and “The Pineapple Express.” His Canadian parents met on an Israeli kibbutz and he attended an Orthodox elementary school in Vancouver.

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Sam Kahn announce the engagement of their niece, Miss Lucie Schwab, to Alvin J. Lehman.

Mrs. Jeanette Stiebel, mother of Mrs. Adolph S. Lowenberg, died early Monday morning, after a short illness. The venerable lady, who attained to the age of 84 years, was most esteemed in this city, where she had lived for more than 50 years. Dr. Grossman officiated at the Chapel of the United Jewish Cemetery.

Mrs. Mielziner is anticipating the great pleasure of a visit from her son, the noted artist, Leo Mielziner, formerly of Paris, but now located in New York. At the solicitation of many Cincinnati friends who have visited his charming studio in New York, he will give an exhibition while here of a select number of his canvas and character drawings. The exhibition will probably be held at Closson’s galleries, of which due announcement will be made. The

Metropolitan Museum of New York, recognizing Mielziner’s strong individuality as a portraitist, recently purchased one of his drawings.

Would it not be well for the directors of the Cincinnati Art Museum to imitate this example, and thus not only enrich their own treasures but also honor a noted portrait painter whose work already elicited favorable comment years ago, when he was a student at our own Art School.

— October 13, 1910

75 Years Ago Dr. Nathan R. Abrams, who has been a resident physician at Jewish Hospital here, has left for Boston, where he will be associated with Dr. Walter Bauer at Massachusetts General Hospital, specializing in arthritis.

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Vigran of Richmond, Ind., announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son Marvin Irving, Oct. 20, at Temple Israel in Covington, Ky. Mr. Albert M. Hoffheimer

announces the engagement of his daughter, Miss Stella Margaret, to Mr. Frederick Joseph Triest, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Triest, of Augsburg, Germany.

Miss Hoffheimer is a graduate of Brown College, at Providence, R.I. She was editor of the college weekly, “The Pembroke Record.” At present, she is associated with the Child Guidance Home staff.

Mr. Triest is a graduate of Wurzburg, Germany, and holds a

Doctor of Laws degree. He has been continuing his studies at the University of Cincinnati Law School. He is a cousin of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Rauh.

Ferdinand S. Alsfelder, 3705 Beatrice Drive, passed away Sunday, Oct. 13. He leaves his widow, Mrs. Sophie Weil Alsfelder, two daughters, Mrs. Samuel Dauman and Miss Selma Alsfelder, and one son, Perry Alsfelder.— October 17, 1935

50 Years Ago Mrs. I Mark Zeligs, 4037 Victory Parkway, will be honored as a “Woman of Valor” at a tea sponsored by the Women’s Division, State of Israel Bonds, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the home of Mrs. Henry Marks.

Mrs. Zeligs has earned the title, “Woman of Valor,” for having sold $100,000 of Israel Bonds. She is a former chairman of the Bonds’ Women’s Division and the Jewish Welfare Fund Women’s Division.

“A Working Visit to Russia” is the title which Irwin Weil, assistant professor of Russian and Russian literature at Brandeis University has chosen for his talk at the 11th annual luncheon of the Cincinnati Chapter, Brandeis University Women’s Committee, Monday Oct. 24, at the Netherland Hilton.

A native of Cincinnati, Mr. Weil also has taught at Harvard and has been engaged in research in Russian and European history and literature.

Mr. Weil was the recipient of an academic travel grant to the USSR. While in Moscow and Leningrad this summer he collected material at the Society Academy of Sciences and Gorky Archives.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Weiland (Marcia Pastor), 3941 Beechwood Avenue, announce the birth of a son, Frederick Louis, on Thursday, Oct. 6. The infant has a brother, David, and sister, Jeanne. — October 13, 1960

25 Years Ago Gene I. Mesh will be honored as the Israel Bond Man of the Year at a tribute dinner, Sunday evening, Dec. 1, at the Netherland Plaza Hotel. The announcement was made by Sam Boymel, chairman for Israel Bonds here.

“I am very pleased to be the chairman of Bonds when Gene is honored,” Boymel said. “It has been years since we have bestowed the Man-of-the-Year honor, and Gene certainly deserves the tribute.”

Mesh, a Cincinnati attorney, was Israel Bond chairman during the 1971-72 campaigns. He is a member of Adath Israel Synagogue, the Jewish Community Center and Crest Hills Country Club.

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Schneck announce the engagement of their daughter, Dr. Elizabeth J. Rabkin, to Dr. Eric F. Stamler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Stamler.

Dr. Rabkin is the daughter of the

late Sigfried Rabkin and the granddaughter of Mrs. Samson Cohen Margolis of Jerusalem and Mrs. Isaac L. Rabkin of Florida.

Dr. Stamler is grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Max Grossman of New York City and Mrs. Bella Rosenthal.

Dr. Rabkin is a resident in internal medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Dr. Stamler is a surgery resident at UC.— October 17, 1985

10 Years Ago On Aug. 2, Rabbi Gershom (George) Barnard celebrated a milestone anniversary. The date marked his 25th year as spiritual leader of Northern Hills SynagogueCongregation B’nai Avraham. He is the longest standing Cincinnati rabbi, and has spent his entire rabbinical career at this one congregation, two notable accomplishments.

Rabbi Barnard was born in Cambridge Mass., and attended schools in Brookline and

Stoughton. He graduated from Harvard University in 1969, receiving a B.A. summa cum laude in philosophy. He attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York from 19691975, earning the degree of M.A.H.L., with honors in Talmud and philosophy as well as a rabbinical diploma. From 1971-1973 he studied Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and in 1982 he received the degree

M.Ed. from the University of Cincinnati, having completed studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Marlene W. Swillinger, 52, passed away on October 3, 2000.

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, as a daughter of Edith Weider and the late Emanuel Weider. She is survived by her husband, Steven R. Swillinger, and her three sons: Bradley, Eric and Jeremy. — October 12, 2000

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

CLASSIFIEDS

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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 Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net 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

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References. Insured.

ADATH from page 1 “We are so excited to welcome Linda Hirschhorn, founder and primary composer for Vocolot, the first ever Jewish women’s a cappella ensemble,” Pensak continued.

Linda’s songs and arrangements have been published in major anthologies, and her compositions have become staples of youth and adult choruses around the country.

She is like a “Joan Baez and Carole King rolled into one amazing vocalist and workshop leader,” said Pensak. Her style is traditional, folk and contemporary music sung in English, Hebrew and Ladino.

She sings songs of freedom, peace, healing and social justice. Her music is sophisticated yet accessible and gratifying to both novice and experienced singers. An intense immersion in her workshops builds to an exhilarating and inspiring performance.

Anyone who likes to sing is being invited to join her community chorus and will be able to perform with her. Mitch Cohen, Adath Israel choir director, reports that 30 people have joined the community chorus so far, and more are invited to participate.

ORGANIZATIONS SUPREME from page 1

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

SENIOR SERVICES

died in Iraq and was buried in Maryland in 2006.

Jewish defense organizations effectively are sitting this one out, in part because of the difficulties of reconciling the principle of defending free speech with the excesses of the church’s hate speech. Only the Anti-Defamation League has filed a brief, calling on the court not to hear the case. The ADL argues that it would be improper to decide such a momentous issue based on this case because the Snyders did not know in real time about the protest.

In coming weeks, the court also will consider Garriott v. Winn and Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, a challenge to the state’s practice of granting tax credits for tuition to religious schools. Lower courts have found that most of the credits are granted for religious school tuitions.

The Orthodox Union has filed

Mitch is holding “head start” sessions before Linda arrives for those who wish to get a jump on her music. These sessions will take place in the Adath Israel Gershuny Music Room on the 3rd floor of the Adath Israel religious school on Thursday, Oct. 14, 7:30–9 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 17, 12:30–2 p.m.

Hirschhorn arrives the week before the concert and will hold four workshops to teach her music on Oct. 18, 19, 20 and 21. Cantor Hirschhorn and the chorus will lead Friday night services on Oct. 22 at 5:30 p.m. The concert, including Vocolot, Cantor Hirschhorn and the community chorus, will take place in the Lerner Fisher Hall at Adath Israel on Oct. 24 starting at 2 p.m.

To join the community chorus call Adath Israel or find the signup link at Adath Israel’s website.

Hirschhorn has served as Cantor for Temple Beth Sholom in San Leandro, California since 1988. For more information on Linda Hirschhorn please refer to her website or Vocolot’s.

This event is free and open to the community, though reservations would be greatly appreciated and can be made by calling Adath Israel Congregation. an amicus brief favoring the defendants. The American Jewish Committee and the ADL have joined Americans United for Separation of Church and State in a brief that defends the right of taxpayers to bring the case to the courts, anticipating a defense argument that because the case involves credits and not expenditures, taxpayers lack standing. The brief does not otherwise address the substance of the case.

The other case out of Arizona has to do with its controversial immigration law. The ADL filed a brief joining the Chamber of Commerce and the Obama administration in challenging a law that would force businesses to use a federal database to check the backgrounds of prospective employees.

Federal policy now makes the database available on a voluntary basis.

Challengers to the Arizona law say the danger is that favoring Arizona would allow states to usurp federal immigration law.

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TRAVEL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

SoCal So Cool: 50 miles of pure pleasure Wandering Jew

By Janet Steinberg Travel Editor

Redondo Beach: Always more to sea PART 2 OF A SERIES Since the 1800s, Redondo Beach has provided more to “sea” in Southern California, dubbed SoCal by the locals. Located just seven miles south of Los Angeles International Airport and 18 miles from downtown L.A., Redondo Beach has the character of an exclusive beach enclave— uncrowded, scenic and miles from anything urban.

This historic beach town, that typifies the Southern California lifestyle, is flanked by a county path that threads along 27 miles of oceanfront from Torrance Beach to Santa Monica. Once a commercial port, the city now has a pleasure pier with unique shops and restaurants, myriad water sport activities, marinas, and a sport fishing fleet. There’s an attractive sea front esplanade that has been called one of the most romantic places in the world from which to watch a sunset.

You can build sandcastles on the beach, dine on the pier with a sweeping view of the ocean, bike the 27-mile strand along the beach, hike the scenic designated trails, scuba dive, or boat, and then take in a show at the classy Performing Arts Center.

Redondo Beach has a sterling line-up of annual events, including a free summer concert series on the famed horseshoe-shaped pier and the old-fashioned, funfilled Riviera Village Summer Festival.

PEARL from page 1 the world, Pearl’s family and friends formed the Daniel Pearl Foundation.

James Pilcher, reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer was the master of ceremonies. He told the audience how important the concert was to him personally. “Pearl became our rallying cry…to find out the truth.”

The performances gave a little something for everyone. There was classical, a capella choir singing, gospel, barbershop, world and rock

During June’s annual two-day Riviera Village Summer Festival, you can purchase artisan crafts, sample great food, have the kids play on carnival rides, watch local acts perform on the Community Stage and visit the Hawaiian Village, which features Polynesian dancing. Or you can just hang in the ocean view Beer Garden, listening to great live bands. There is entertainment for all musical tastes during the two-day festival.

And besides all that—you can eat, eat, eat! Whatever your taste buds crave, you can appease them in Redondo Beach.

Begin your day at the iconic Polly’s at the Pier, where hungry fishermen eat breakfast and the in-crowd gathers for brunch.

Diners can view the local fishing boats’ daily catches while munching on hot and spicy huevos rancheros or a humongous omelet on the sport-fishing pier in the Redondo Beach Marina.

A 1940s start to your day can begin with burgers, fries and milkshakes at the red and white Ruby’s Diner decked out with bright red vinyl booths, white Formica tables, soda fountains and colorful 1940s poster art. Ruby’s is adjacent to the Seaside Lagoon, at the southwest corner of Harbor Drive and Portofino Way in Redondo Beach’s King Harbor.

The large saltwater lagoon offers a large sand area for sunbathing, children’s play equipment, snack bar facilities provided

by Ruby’s and volleyball courts.

There is also a grass area and luau shelter for day and evening events.

A short walk from the lagoon is the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club, a hidden gem overlooking King Harbor. The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club boasts breathtaking scenes from sunsets and sailboats to dolphins and pelicans and is home to its own colony of California sea lions. From our room we had a front-row view of the sea lions frolicking, feeding and basking in their natural habitat—a coastal retreat for the senses.

A grand, circular driveway and custom water feature frames Baleen Los Angeles, the whimsical, yet elegant signature restau-

rant that brings an eclectic, eccentric fine dining experience to the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club.

In the mood for some south-ofthe-border grub? Three life-size steel musicians welcome you to Ortega120, a Frida Kahlo-colored restaurant that combines the charm of Mexico with contemporary SoCal style. With a central bar stocked with 120 tequilas, its house-squeezed lemon and lime Margaritas are said to be the best in town.

Another Redondo Beach icon is Tony’s on the Pier at Fisherman’s Wharf. Known as Old Tony’s, this ship-shaped restaurant situated right on the Pacific Ocean has been family owned and operated since 1952. It is the oldest restaurant on the Pier. The Top of Tony’s is the perfect place to enjoy one of the South Bay’s best Mai Tai’s and a sweeping view of the beautiful Pacific sunset.

Sunsets can also be enjoyed from Kincaid’s Bay House, a large first-class restaurant with a view that doesn’t quit. If you want to select your own fish, try Captain Kidd’s Fish Market. It is a barebones eatery where you can order from the menu or buy your catch from their Market side. They will

charbroil, sauté, deep-fry, or steam your selection free of charge.

When you’ve eaten enough, and feel it’s time for nature and a round of golf, head for beautiful, environmentally sensitive, Trump National Golf Club a few minutes drive from Redondo Beach on the luxurious Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Even if you are not a golfer, Trump National features public access trails that meander through the golf course toward the bluffs. The trail system not only provides access to the beach and a public park that is located on the bluffs in front of the club house, but also gives its users the chance to see—up close—the native flora and fauna.

Palos Verdes Peninsula, or P.V., as it is known to locals, is an affluent community affording dramatic ocean and city views from the Palos Verdes Hills. The beautiful synagogue facility Congregation Ner Tamid is located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and serves Redondo Beach and the Jewish community of the South Bay of Los Angeles.

Congregation Ner Tamid began in a private home with a handful of couples on the Friday evening of March 17, 1961.

Today it has evolved into a con-

gregation of over 600 families with hundreds of Religious School and preschool students.

Preparing to leave Redondo Beach and continue on my 50-mile journey down the coast of Southern California, I had an epiphany. Why drive a rental car? A one-day stop in Long Beach, and a hop on the Catalina Express, would take me to Catalina Island where no cars are allowed for visitors.

So, for less than one day’s cost of a rental car, I arranged for Karmel Shuttle to take me directly to my Long Beach hotel. It was so pleasant that I instantly hired Karmel Shuttle to take me back to the Los Angeles Airport after I ended my trip in Laguna Beach.

And what a pleasure that was. No tangle of freeways…no turning in cars at LAX…no shuttles back to the airport. In other words…no stress. However, you’ll read more about those delightful SoCal destinations in my next couple of articles.

And so, I bid a fond farewell to delightful Redondo Beach. The SoCal place to “sea and be scene.”

music. Religious, secular and patriotic songs were performed, and peace was a frequent theme. As Meredith Kahan, director of the Rock Shabbat Band at Rockdale Temple, said, “This group and so many out there are praying for peace.”

Performances featured some familiar favorites as well as original compositions. Most groups performed music that lent itself to the audience singing and clapping along, and the bands that played rock music seemed to inspire the

most audience participation. “Shir Chadash” performed a piece with Hebrew words with a Ugandan flair, and they encouraged the audience to clap. The song contained a complex meter, but the audience followed the beat amazingly well and kept the rhythm—a feat sometimes elusive to even the simplest song.

The performances highlighted great musicians on a wide range of instruments including upright bass, keyboard, Indian sitar, drums and world percussion. Alberta Schneider

of “Shir Chadash” played energetically and passionately on the violin, and Daniel Bogard of “Shir Ami” laid down some mean guitar rifts.

After Mark Williams of Foundation played, Pilcher remarked, “I haven’t heard guitar playing like that since George Benson was in town.”

The concert was organized by Courtney Cummings and made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

Cummings commented that the message of the program is very

important and was glad the JCC could bring these groups together.

She hopes that they are able to do this again in the future and would love more involvement from community music groups.

This awareness-raising program began in 2002 and takes place the entire month of October, Pearl’s birthday month. The JCC’s event took place on Pearl’s birthday.

Songs, concerts, compositions and shows are performed with a mission to unite people with shared values.

Polly’s at the Pier is a Redondo Beach icon.

Janet Steinberg is an award-winning Travel Writer and Travel Consultant.

AUTOS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010

Audi Q5: Performance, luxury and looks The 2010 Audi Q5 provides an ultra-luxurious cabin, great performance and it has the looks to match. This compact SUV is Audi’s first. It’s smaller than the Q7 and uses the same platform as the A4 sedan. “Q5 offers a level of refinement and cargo/passenger versatility unmatched by most compact SUVs of any price,” writes Consumer Guide. The Q5 comes in three trims: Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige.

The Q5 comes standard with all-wheel drive so it handles well in wet conditions and is a blast to drive when the pavement is dry.

Thanks to the A4 platform and the all-wheel drive, this SUV drives like a sedan.

On the Prestige models, the Q5 comes with the optional Audi Drive Select, which offers preset suspension and steering modes. It allows drivers to choose from three settings. A Comfort setting for a commute on smooth roads, a Normal setting for daily driving or a stiff Sport setting for a drive full of zip.

The Q5 offers a 3.2-liter, sixcylinder engine, rated at 270 horsepower. It comes with a sixspeed automatic transmission. A hybrid model is expected for 2011. The Q5 manages to get very good fuel economy for its class with 18 miles per gallon city and 23 mpg highway.

The exterior design has received many compliments from reviewers. The Q5 comes with standard LED taillights and optional LED daytime running lights. It also features a distinctive grille and wrap-around tailgate.

The interior features an optional two-piece Panorama sunroof.

The rear panel is fixed, but the front panel can be tilted and opened. The front panel has a mesh wind deflector to diminish noise.

The SUV comes with leather seating for five. The front seats have power controls and are heated on Premium Plus and Prestige models. The rear seat reclines and moves forward and backward about four inches. This allows for comfortable seating without sacrificing cargo space. The Q5 boasts 29.1 cubic feet of cargo capacity with all seats in use and 57.3 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.

The power tailgate, standard for Premium Plus and Prestige trims, allows the driver to open the tailgate with the key FOB or a switch in the interior. The standard roof rack is an especially innovative feature. It senses when

it’s carrying a load and transmits the information to the Q5’s electronic stability system.

The Audi Q5 comes standard with luxury features like heated power mirrors, a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, automatic climate control, wood decorative inlays and satellite radio. The top-of-the-line Prestige model adds extras like a navigation system, an iPod interface, a parking system with rearview camera, and even a heated and cooled cupholder.

The Q5 also comes with hill descent control that automatically applies braking to individual wheels to help maintain a preset speed on steep inclines.

In other safety features, the Q5 has driver and front passenger dual-stage airbags, seated-mounted chest side airbags, and Sideguard head protection airbags for all outboard occupants. A rearview camera is optional on Premium Plus models and standard on Prestige models. Prestige models also come standard with Side Assist, which monitors blind spot areas and fast approaching vehicles to the rear of the car. If it identifies another car is in the blind spot, it informs the driver with LED lights in the exterior mirror.

The Audi Q5 starts at just over $37,000.

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OBITUARIES

DEATH NOTICES STERNE, Harold Emanuel, age 81, died on October 2, 2010; 24 Tishrei, 5771.

JACOBY, Vivian “Joy,” age 82, died on October 6, 2010; 28 Tishrei, 5771.

TILLEY, Sidney Joseph, age 76, died on October 6, 2010; 29 Tishrei, 5771.

GREENBERG, Elaine, age 85, died on October 10, 2010; 2 Cheshvan, 5771.

WIDLANSKY, William, age 93, died on October 12, 2010; 4 Cheshvan, 5771.

OBITUARIES STERNE, Harold Emanuel Major Harold Emanuel Sterne was born April 25, 1929 and died on October 2, 2010, at the age of 81 in Sarasota, Florida, formerly of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Sterne was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He is survived by his wife and soul-mate of 50 years, Judilee Tash Sterne; his children, Mark (Cari) Sterne of Northbrook, Ill., David (Michele) Sterne of Atlanta, Ga., Melissa CHHE from page 1 for a Just Community; Sam Knobler, president, MidLife Development; Dr. Michael Meyer, Adolph S. Ochs professor,

(Richard Kosmacher) of Chicago, Ill., Deborah (Rabbi Bill Siemers) of Riverhead, N.Y., and Cynthia of Atlanta, Ga.; his grandchildren, Jeffrey, Michael and Ryan Sterne, Zachary and Seth Shapiro, Gabriel and Evan Kosmacher, and Rebecca and Daniel Siemers; his niece and nephew and many cousins.

Mr. Sterne was born on a mission to make the world a better place. His mission was simple in its plan but difficult to execute. Once he and his family managed to escape the Nazis and make it to America in 1938, he dedicated his entire life not only to the wellbeing of his own family and friends but to Jewish communities in places as far flung as Sarasota, Cincinnati and Ernsbach, Germany.

Mr. Sterne served as a Major in the United States Air Force. He was a past president of Temple Sholom in Cincinnati, Ohio and recently served on the Endowment Committee of Temple Emanu-El of Sarasota, Fla. He was a volunteer Ombudsman for the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs. He was a passionate printer, buying his first printing press at the age of 14, and he graduated from West Virginia Tech with a degree in Printing Management. A field in which he worked until his retirement 30 years later—as vice president of manufacturing from S. Rosenthal Co. in Cincinnati— Hebrew Union College; Margaret Moertl, senior vice president, PNC Bank; John Neyer, president and CEO, Neyer Management; Dr. Racelle Weiman, senior director, Dialogue Institute, Temple

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

Mr. Sterne was recognized as Printing Man of the Year by the Cincinnati Printing Week Council.

He continued his hobby of letterpress printing in his own studio in Cincinnati and then Sarasota until his death. He holds three printing related patents and authored two books about antique printing and binding equipment.

Having fled Nazi Germany with his family at the age of 9, Mr. Sterne never forgot the gift that life provided him. Besides his numerous professional accomplishments, he was a devoted family man, providing his family with a rich, loving environment. He became interested in his genealo-

gy and in the past 10 years had devoted time to researching his family roots in Germany, making several trips there with his children and grand-children. He and a cousin began a project to provide markers to Jewish cemeteries in Germany. His happiest moments were celebrating family events with all of his children and grandchildren; most recently the Bar Mitzvah of his grandson, Ryan, his and Judilee’s 50th wedding anniversary and his 80th birthday.

Judilee had said that she always wanted to marry someone who was exciting and the best in his field.

She recalls on their first date opening the door and seeing his sweet smile, sparkly blue eyes and knew Hal was the one for her. Hal took Judi to printing museums, like the wonderful museum in Maintz, and they would travel to remote museums in tiny towns, like the one where Mergenthaler lived, to find a bit of printing history. The couple didn’t agree on art, particularly. Judi would go on and on about nuances in prints that were a tad bit off register and Hal would keep saying, “It’s off register – bad printing!”

Mr. Sterne was funny and romantic, too. He was creative and loved to give his wife surprises. One was a small gift of AT&T stock because they spent so much time on the telephone while dating. He surprised her with a cruise

for their 20th wedding anniversary. He told his wife they were going to Florida to see a customer who had a special printing project that he wanted Hal to work on.

That way she would pack all the appropriate clothing for a cruise to Puerto Rico, where they had spent their honeymoon.

As most people who knew him understood, Mr. Sterne’s politics were a bit to the right. In summer 2010, when his oldest grandson interned with a democratic senatorial candidate, not only did Mr. Sterne donate money to his campaign, but also pledged to vote for him. He was passionate for helping his family, from building additions onto houses to mentoring many business decisions and switching political parties!

People who knew Hal knew of his remarkable drive and energy, his contributions to printing, his business successes and travels. But for his children and grandchildren, they will remember how he always had time for them, sitting in his chair in the living room with newspaper in hand, ready to chat about anything that was going on in their lives or the world.

The family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Endowment Fund of Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, Fla. 34232; (941) 371-2788.

University; and Gail Ziegler, Jewish Family Service.

“We are grateful to the hundreds of individuals who have played a role in the development of the Center, including the Holocaust survivors, members of The Combined Generations of the Holocaust, board members, volunteers, interns, and countless other groups and individuals,” said Sarah Weiss, executive director of CHHE. “This event is an opportunity to honor 10 individuals who have made unique contributions to CHHE, celebrate the many accomplishments in our first decade and glimpse our bright future.”

The evening of speakers opened with Hagit Limor as master of ceremonies, and with words from co-chairs Julie and Mark Weisser and Carol and Ken Kabel.

In 2000, the CHHE organization opened on the campus of Hebrew Union College with Dr. Racelle Weiman as director. The original space included offices and a Resource Library for teachers learning about the Holocaust. In the past 10 years, the organization has partnered with nearly 100 diverse institutions, produced books and films by area survivors, moved into Rockwern Academy, offered both permanent and traveling exhibits, sent Holocaust survivors into schools, and more.

“Human contact is the best way to teach the Holocaust,” noted Dr. Weiman in her speech. It was also

lamented how that opportunity for teachers, schoolchildren, and prison inmates to meet with survivors is coming to a close. Rosie Alway, a language arts teacher at Summit Country Day, recounted the experiences in teaching the Holocaust to her students, and the journeys she took to Columbia University and to Poland to continue her education for herself and her students, studying books about the Holocaust, which began at the CHHE. A film was shown of all of the honorees and their individual relationship to the creation and continuation of CHHE. Weiss conveyed her hope for the organization’s future:“CHHE will continue to bring the best programming to the community. In the coming years, new and innovative programs will focus on Arts and the Holocaust, faith and the Holocaust, and other victims of the Holocaust. CHHE will be a voice of conscience by educating about and advocating against modern day injustices so that future generations will not have to say ‘I was a bystander.’

Near the end of the evening, when the 10 honorees all gathered on the stage to accept their plaques, they received a standing ovation from the guests.

In addition, a musical set was performed by the Northern Kentucky Youth Sinfonia, which included original music written specifically for the event.

WESTBORO from page 1

Major Harold Emanuel Sterne

son, Matthew Snyder, a soldier killed in a noncombat accident in Iraq.

Jewish organizations that routinely have defended free speech that others might find abusive are sitting this one out. The American Jewish Committee has not filed a brief; the Anti-Defamation League filed a brief arguing that the case has no merit.

The case pits the Snyder family’s right to privacy and protection from defamation against the rights of Westboro church, which is well known for its message that America’s woes derive from its tolerance for homosexuality. The tiny Kansas-based church also has a long record of anti-Semitic activity and regularly pickets Jewish institutions throughout the United States.

“Free speech encompasses hate speech,” said Marc Stern, the associate legal counsel at the American Jewish Committee, “but this church is off the wall. They’re not just saying things, they’re shoving it down people’s throats.”

The Snyders sued Westboro after church founder Fred Phelps picketed the Catholic church where Snyder’s funeral was held, protesting against U.S. soldiers for not rising up and overthrowing the “sinful” U.S. government.

Ultimately the family won $5 million, but an appeals court threw out the award. The Snyders brought the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.