AI2010_12_09

New Jewish Hospital Program president selected remembering Rabbi Indich to be held Jan. 4

Steven Holman

Steven M. Holman will be the new president of The Jewish Hospital. Mercy

Health Partners announced Dec. 3 that Holman has been selected to fill the position and will start in his new role on Jan. 3, 2011.

Holman comes to The Jewish Hospital from Advocate Bromenn Medical Center in Normal, Ill., where he served as vice president of planning and system services since 2007. Previously, he was the clinical vice president responsible for perioperative and support services, and he served as administrator/CEO of Eureka Community Hospital for 11 years.

PRESIDENT on page 22

Arna Poupko Fisher nominated as one of the 10 ‘Women to Watch’

On Tuesday night, Jan. 4, Golf Manor Synagogue will host a program honoring the memory of Rabbi David I. Indich. The program will be held on the 20th anniversary of his yahrzeit, which begins that evening.

Rabbi Indich was loved by all for his wit, warmth and vibrant personality. He connected with people from the whole Jewish community no matter the denomination. He was also well known and loved by the whole religious community.

The program will include a speaker, individual remembrances and a reception. Rabbi Indich’s family, including his wife, Risa, and sons, Nochum and Avi, will be in attendance.

Anyone with personal remembrances is asked to contact Golf Manor.

More information will follow.

The Jewish Community Relations Council is proud to recognize the achievements of the Cincinnati Jewish community’s own Arna Poupko Fisher, who has been honored by Jewish Women International as one of 10 Women to Watch in 5771. Arna and her fellow recipients will be recognized at the annual Women to Watch gala in Washington DC, on Dec. 6, 2010.

Arna Poupko Fisher

FISHER on page 22

At site of Nazi power, a Chanukah menorah at Brandenburg Gate

After Israel’s deadly fire, mourning, vows rebuilding, finger pointing

By Toby Axelrod Jewish Telegraphic Agency

By Marcy Oster Jewish Telegraphic Agency

BERLIN (JTA) — Icicles formed on Rabbi Yehudah Teichtal’s beard as he helped set up the towering menorah in the center of Berlin.

It wasn’t just any menorah among the thousands that the Chabad-Lubavitch movement erects every Chanukah in public locations around the world. Teichtal, the Chabad rabbi in the German capital, was erecting this one at the Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of Nazi power.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — In the aftermath of the deadliest fire in Israel’s history, Israelis this week set to the task of burying the dead, cleaning up and figuring out what exactly went wrong — and who is to blame.

Even before the blaze in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa came under control Sunday afternoon, Israelis were asking why the country wasn’t better prepared for a wildfire of this magnitude. In all, 42 people were killed, about 250 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, 17,000 people were forced to evacuate, more than

MENORAH on page 22

Courtesy of Toby Axelrod

A costumed Maccabee stands at a Chanukah menorah-lighting ceremony at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, Dec. 1, 2010.

12,000 acres were burned and an estimated 5 million trees were lost.

“The Carmel disaster highlights the outrageous gaps in Israel’s strategic and dayto-day readiness,” the editorialists at Haaretz wrote Sunday while echoing a call for a state commission of inquiry to examine who bears responsibility for the failures of the Israeli fire service.

“What’s better to spend the State of Israel’s money on, firefighting aircraft or an F-15 fighter jet?” wrote Eitan Haber, a former Rabin administration official and now a columnist for Ynet.

FIRE on page 22

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010 2 TEVET, 5771 CINCINNATI, OHIO LIGHT CANDLES AT 4:55 SHABBAT ENDS 5:54 VOL. 157 • NO. 20 $2.00

SINGLE ISSUE PRICE:

NATIONAL

CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE

DINING OUT

TRAVEL

Kevin Spacey gets in touch with his inner Jew in ‘Casino Jack’

AJC Community Service Award to Kim and Gary Heiman

Kanak’s spreading exotic cuisine in the Tristate

SoCal so cool: 50 miles of pure pleasure

PAGE 8

PAGE 11

PAGE 14

PAGE 20

PARTY PLANNING

SHOW CASE 11

SUNDAY, MARCH 6 11-4 @ THE NEW JCC

8485 RIDGE ROAD, CINCINNATI, OHIO 45236

From Caterers to DJs, the Party Planning Showcase has everything you need to make your event something to celebrate!

Come join us for this FREE extravaganza and learn what’s new and what’s hot. Don’t miss out on the Booths, Raffle Prizes and FREE Food plus everything you’ll need to throw the best party ever, no matter the occasion.

Showcasing only the best Balloons, Cakes, Caterers, DJs, Flowers, Photographers & More!

Whether you are planning a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Wedding, Sweet 16, Prom or Graduation Party, the Party Planning Showcase will be the only place to be. FREE ADMISSION. Sponsored by The American Israelite & Artrageous Desserts

To reserve booth space or for more information, contact Teri Scheff at 793-6627 / dezert@aol.com or Ted Deutsch at 621-3145 / publisher@americanisraelite.com

LOCAL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

3

Jewish leaders gather for Cinti 2020 community initiative

By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor On Tuesday, Nov. 30, the first of two leader forums for “Cincinnati 2020,”—a long-term plan for making Cincinnati into a more viable community for the Jewish people currently of this city, as well as a destination for new Jewish families‚—was held at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center.

Over 140 lay and professional representatives from 38 different Jewish community agencies, congregations and organizations were seated at 15 tables for the forum, to discuss the first three of the initiative’s seven goals.

After dinner, Dr. Gary P. Zola, of Hebrew Union College began

the evening’s activities with a Jewish Cincinnati history lesson.

Zola noted a number of Jewish firsts of this city, how organizations like the United Way and Big Brothers/Big Sisters were founded in Cincinnati by or with the help of Jewish citizens, and how in one part of the 19th century, only New York City had a larger Jewish community than the Queen City.

“You may be asked to step out of your comfort zone,” noted the Federation’s Strategic Planning vice president, Andy Berger, about the participation and discussion that followed. After a few more words from Berger and Director of Community Building Sharon Stern, the event facilitator Sarah Singer-Nourie coordinated the rest of the evening. Singer-

D IAMOND J E WELR Y P R O TECTION Where can I go to get my diamond jewelry appraised for insurance purposes “while I watch?”

It's been longer than 5 years.

See page 5

Nourie gave a demonstration on the connectedness of the Cincinnati 2020 goals, which, for the evening, were centered on ways to improve Jewish Learning and Identity, Jewish Engagement and Israel and Jewish Peoplehood.

Singer-Nourie explained that she wanted the community leaders to “ideate,” generate as many ideas, and strategies for the benefit of the three goals as they could.

“Remember, quantity first, quality comes later,” said Singer-Nourie.

The rest of the evening was spent working together to create strategies, tactics and goals about how to move forward with making Cincinnati a model Jewish city in years to come.

LEADERS on page 19

Wendy Kanter Memorial Concert The first annual Wendy Kanter Memorial Fund Concert will take place on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010 at 4 p.m. in the S. H. and Helen R. Scheuer Chapel of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.

This program is a part of the “Concert on Clifton” series. It will feature Jewish-American Michael Hunter Ochs, composer and songwriter for the likes of Josh Groban and American Idol finalist Kimberly Caldwell, and winner of the Gospel Music Association’s Song of the Year Award, and promises to be awe-inspiring.

The Wendy Kanter Memorial Fund was created after her untimely death. Rabbi Ken Kanter established this fund to demonstrate Wendy’s connection with

the HUC-JIR community.

Rabbi Kanter shared: “Wendy’s greatest joy in the last couple of years of her life was her relationship with the students at HUC-JIR. She loved talking with them, hosting them at our home for dinner, and participating in the studentofficiated chapel services. Her devotion to the students inspired the creation of the Wendy Kanter Student Activities Fund with contributions made in her memory. The Michael Ochs’ concert is an ideal event dedicated to her memory.”

Beginning with the Jewish communities in Oslo, London, Berlin, and eventually landing in Israel’s West Bank, Israel and Jordan, Ochs and his band provide an international and inter-cultural musical experience which is 3,000 years in the making.

The presentation features songs composed with some of the top Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian recording artists and highlights music, ethics and conflict resolution. The program also includes songs inspired while visiting the burgeoning Reform movement in Norway and while participating in the Kristallnacht memorial service in Berlin. The afternoon is rounded out with a number of Och’s Shabbat songs as well as a few songs from Michael’s TV/Film/Pop catalogue.

This will truly be an inspiring afternoon of song and conversation.

Prior to the concert the Skirball Museum will be open for tours beginning at 3 p.m. This concert is free and open to the community and includes a dessert reception immediately following the program.

Class on women in the rabbinate Isaac M. Wise Temple will host special guest Rabbi Emily Huebscher teaching a class titled “Women in the Rabbinate” on Sunday, Dec. 12 from 10–11:30 a.m. at Isaac M. Wise Center in Amberley Village.

Rabbi Huebscher wrote her rabbinic thesis on the experiences of the pioneering women in the Reform rabbinate. One of the most powerful changes perceived by these women is how they understand the definition of success.

Here is an excerpt from Rabbi Huebscher’s thesis: “Reflecting on the past enables leaders to shape the future. The emergence of women in the Reform rabbinate fundamentally changed how outsiders would view rabbis, how rabbis would look and speak, and the choices that would be made available to rabbis in their pro-

fessional lives. How these women now reflect on the experiences that led to these changes can enable a greater understanding of issues from gender in the rabbinate to how to affect change within a religious movement.

“The recorded histories of the pioneering women in the rabbinate provide us with a sharper perspective on the many ways in which women have influenced the growth and development of the American Reform rabbinate during the last quarter of the 20th century. This thesis sheds light on how women rabbis ordained by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion between 1972–1981 perceive their experience in the rabbinate, how they have changed the timbre of liturgy and ritual, and how they understand their impact

on the American Reform Judaism.”

During the Dec. 12 class Rabbi Huebscher will explore the personal testimony of women ordained between 1972 and 1981 on the subject of what makes a successful rabbinate. She will investigate how these rabbis understood success prior to the integration of women in the rabbinate. The class will also consider these women’s responses to the question of what, in their rabbinates, do they feel have been their greatest success as rabbis.

Rabbi Huebscher was ordained by the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 2010. Prior to rabbinical school, she earned her bachelor’s degree in classics at Connecticut College. She currently serves Denison University as an adjunct chaplain and teaches Hebrew at Wise Temple.

ONLINE

EDITION

T H E O L D E S T E N G L I S H J E W I S H W E E K LY IN AMERICA IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

www.americanisraelite.com

4

LOCAL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Rockdale’s Mitzvah Palooza III strikes a chord Rockdale Temple bustled with activity Nov. 14 during the Temple’s third Mitzvah Palooza or “MP3.”

Congregants and guests were treated to food and presentations in the morning. Then, after lunch, they donated their time to projects throughout the temple and across town.

Organizers of the various activities unanimously reported

good turnout.

In Rockdale’s social hall, children and adults gathered around tables to color in Shabbat cards for patients at The Jewish Hospital. In the library above the social hall, a knitting circle handcrafted lap blankets for the ill and baby hats for newborns. And in the boardroom, a small service canine expertly supervised a motley group

as they stuffed envelopes with crisis cards to be distributed at the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati.

Outside, temple grounds were beautified for next spring by one group that trimmed and cleared debris and another that planted.

Around the city, congregants pitched in at Crayons to Computers, Halom House and Cedar Village.

The morning presentations,

also well attended, were on eating to improve the environment and personal health, immigration issues from a Jewish perspective, and planning ahead for oneself and loved ones.

Rockdale’s Mitzvah Palooza has grown into a tradition since the concept was first articulated

by Rabbi Sigma F. Coran during the 2007 High Holy Days.

JCC Winter Break Camps are popular with kids, parents The Mayerson JCC has become a popular school break camp destination for many parents who want fun, safe and entertaining activities for their children during their school’s winter break.

JCC Winter Break Camps (for kids in grades K – 6), are open to everyone, and you do not need to be a J Member to sign up. This December, camps are offered Monday – Friday for the last two weeks of the month (Dec. 20 – 31), including two day trips to Perfect North Slopes on Thursdays, Dec. 23 and 30.

Registration is by the day, and advance registration is required.

Winter Break Camps at the J run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. Working parents

appreciate the extended before and after camp options that are available almost every day for an additional fee (not available Dec. 24 and 31). Before camp care begins at 8:00 a.m., and after camp care concludes at 6:00 p.m.

Discounts are available for fullweek reservations and multi-child enrollments.

Kids get to take full advantage of the many facilities at the J during the camp days without trips.

There is time to splash and swim in the indoor waterpark, play games in the gym, create projects in the art studio, and have fun and exercise with interactive games like Nintendo Wii™, Playstation3™ and air hockey in the game room. On Thursday,

Discounts are available for fullweek reservations and multi-child enrollments.

Dec. 23, and Thursday, Dec. 30, JCC Winter Break campers enjoy day trips to Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Ind., for hours of snowtubing fun.

All JCC Winter Break campers should bring a lunch and a drink each day, as well as swimsuits on days spent at the J. Parents should

B’nai Tzedek presents Grad family with sermon volume dedicated to Marty Grad. Top: (L to R) Co-editors Bob Friedenberg, and Alex Cohen and Board Members Russ Rosen, Robert Mermlestein.

Seated: Grad family members, (L-R) Ruth Cohen, Shoshie Grad, Bennett Grad.

VOL. 157 • NO. 20 Thursday, December 9, 2010 2 Tevet 5771 Shabbat begins Fri, 4:55 p.m.

Shabbat ends Sat, 5:54 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

register their kids in advance, and may choose to enroll them for as many days as they like. Camp drop-off and pick-up each day is at the JCC. Before JCC Winter Break Camps begin, children in grades K – 5 can enjoy a special sleepover version of “Hang at the J,” a party just for kids, on Saturday night, Dec. 11. Starting at 7 p.m., kids will partake in an evening of fun games, swimming, crafts, dinner, snacks and a movie. Breakfast will be served the following morning before the 8 a.m. pick-up.

For more information about JCC Winter Break Camps or the “Hang at the J” overnight party, contact the JCC or visit their website.

Congregation B’nai Tzedek publishes volume of congregant sermons Congregation B’nai Tzedek is proud to announce the publication of its third volume of congregant sermons, “Voices from the Bima.”

Congregation B’nai Tzedek is a participant-led congregation in the Conservative tradition. Hence, members routinely deliver sermons. “Voices from the Bima” includes 61 sermons, selected by the editors and reviewers from over 100 that were submitted.

The work of 24 different congregants is represented in this volume. Contributors include congregant-member rabbis, a wide variety of professional and non-professional members and students.

The volume was edited by Alexander Cohen and Robert Friedenberg. Emmy Friedenberg provided clerical support.

Publication of “Voices from the Bima” was underwritten by the generosity of congregant Robert Mermelstein.

This is the third sermon collection presenting the work of B’nai Tzedek congregants and the first

LET THERE BE LIGHT

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

by Isaac M.Wise

since 1996. “Voices from the Bima: Volume III” is dedicated to the memory of Martin Grad, a founding member and past president of B’nai Tzedek. A special section of the book includes eulogies and remembrances of Marty.

Copies of “Voices from the Bima, Volume III” have recently been presented to the Grad family. The volume will be given to congregants at the congregational Chanukah party, which will mark the 46th anniversary of the founding of the synagogue. Area Judaic libraries are also being given copies.

This sermon collection is organized around each of the five books of the Torah, with sermons on most of the weekly Torah portions. Additionally, the book contains a section of sermons on the principle festivals and holidays, and a selection of special presentations that were made from the bima during Sabbath services. For additional information contact Congregation B’nai Tzedek.

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

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.

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

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

LOCAL/NATIONAL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

5

B’nai Tikvah’s ‘Living Judaism’ Congregation B’nai Tikvah’s students and teachers dressed in their new t-shirts for the first in a series of field trips, part of the congregation’s commitment to: “Living Judaism – Day by Day.” Meeting at the synagogue, little hands put hatch marks on the boxes and bags filled with food and toiletries as big hands loaded them on to the truck. Then it was a caravan to the Jewish Food Pantry where they were to stock the shelves. As they passed the bags and boxes from one to another in their royal blue t-shirts, it looked like a wave, a wave of giving. By the time the group left, the shelves were overflowing.

The trip to the zoo reinforced

the story of Noah. Students became detectives as they learned about the animals. The concern for animals was carried over to the time spent at the Scratching Post. Socializing the cats that were not accustomed to contact with children will increase their placement options, enabling these cats and kittens to go to families with children. So, it’s important to get cats used to little ones who might pull a tail or get right into the cat’s space. Two hundred cats a week are turned away from this special place. This is a shelter that believes unless a veterinarian says for the cat’s sake it should not be kept alive, cats should be provided a home until they are adopted.

On the Global Day of Learning, B’nai Tikvahites learned with their feet and hands.

Prepare Affair saw B’nai Tikvah families, along with Harmony Church, helping the elderly prepare for winter by raking leaves, cleaning gutters, installing CO2 and smoke alarms.

The last week before the school break found the students, along with teachers and parents, at the Ronald McDonald House.

Families who have children in the hospital are offered free accommodations. Some have been there for three years. People come from as far away as Israel and New Guinea.

The spirit of “Living Judaism” is alive and well at B’nai Tikvah.

D IAMOND J E WELR Y P R O TECTION NORTH AMERICA GEMOLOGICAL SERVICES Stanley A. Faust, GIA • In-home jewelry appraisals • Jewelry Auction Consultants • Full description and digital photograph • Mobile appraisal service since 1984

(513) 515-6791 stanfaust@gmail.com

The Obama White House—and ADVERTISERS Washington—celebrate Chanukah ATTENTION NEW RATES FOR 2011

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Chanukah is a story of a people standing alone to keep its lights aflame.

This year in Washington, the message was of a people standing with friends — and even the not-sofriendly — to douse terrible flames.

President Obama hosted the annual White House Chanukah party within hours of the news that a devastating forest fire had broken out in Israel and killed approximately 40 people. The death toll later rose to 42, and it took more than three days for the fire to be extinguished.

On Dec. 2, the day the blaze started, Obama strode into an East Room filled with secular Christmas trees — decorated, but without stars or other signs of the nativity — and started by delivering his condolences to the families of the fire’s victims and pledging U.S. assistance.

“As rescuers and firefighters continue in their work, the United States is acting to help our Israeli friends respond to the disaster,” Obama said. “A short while ago, our ambassador in Tel Aviv, Jim Cunningham, issued a disaster declaration, which has launched an effort across the U.S. government to identify the firefighting assistance we have available and provide it to Israel as quickly as possible. Of course, that’s what friends do for each other.”

The “that’s what friends are for” theme resonated throughout the subsequent days.

Dan Shapiro, the top U.S. National Security Council official handling Israel policy, and Nancy Lindborg, an assistant administrator

of the U.S. Agency for International Development, worked through much of the weekend coordinating U.S. assistance to Israel.

Shapiro, who has been battered in recent months as he serves at the nexus of a relationship that has been beset by diplomatic contretemps, seemed especially eager to underscore the U.S.-Israel friendship.

“The U.S. government has been working overtime in many, many different streams to try to be as responsive as possible,” he said in a conference call with media. “That’s what friends do for each other.”

By Monday — following a weekend during which, associates said, Shapiro barely slept — Shapiro and Lindborg were on another conference call, this time with Jewish leadership. Again he underscored the friendship.

“Hundreds of people across the United States were able to mobilize to go help our ally,” Shapiro said.

The breadth of the assistance, as described by Lindborg, seemed far-reaching. Five transport aircraft delivered 111 metric tons of fire suppressant and 3,800 liters of fire retardant. Another eight transports with aerial firefighting capacities were on the way when Israel informed the United States that the fire was under control.

A team of 10 experts on wildfires had flown in, and a 60-person firefighting team was on standby in Boise, Idaho.

Israeli and Jewish organizational officials did not stint in making clear that the assistance was appreciated.

“The people of Israel have been profoundly moved by the outpouring of support from a number of foreign countries, including many in our region,”

said a statement from the Israeli Embassy in Washington. “We are especially grateful to President Barack Obama for his expression of support.”

Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Friday evening.

Netanyahu and other government officials in statements noted contributions from nations in the region, not all of them in the best of relations with Israel — including Turkey and the Palestinian Authority.

ALL RATES WILL INCREASE BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2011 This includes, but is not limited to Display Ads, Classifieds, Professional Announcements, Editorial Photos and Obituaries If you have questions or concerns, call Ted Deutsch at (513) 621-3145

“Let There Be Light.”

6

NATIONAL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

WikiLeaks reveals secrets, backroom dealmaking — and cluelessness

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — A careful reading of the WikiLeaks trove of State Department cables — which is laying bare some 250,000 secret dispatches detailing private conversations, assessments and dealmaking of U.S. diplomats — reveals a notable if perhaps surprising pattern: how often they get things wrong.

Again and again the cables show diplomats, lawmakers and heads of state predicting outcomes that never come to pass.

A year ago, top Israeli defense officials in a meeting with their U.S. counterparts set 2010 as the absolute deadline to squeeze Iran on its nuclear program. Now Israeli officials say the date is 2012.

In a 2005 assessment, the same Israeli cadre told U.S. interlocutors that the point of no return would be Iran’s ability to enrich uranium without assistance. Iran has had that capacity for years.

In January 2008, Egypt’s intelligence chief said Hamas was isolated and would not stand in the way of a peace agreement. Hamas’ continuing control of Gaza, even following the war that broke out 11 months after the Egyptian assessment, still undercuts IsraeliPalestinian peace talks.

In 2007, U.S. diplomats called Tzipi Livni an up-and-comer.

Though now the leader of the Israeli opposition as head of the Kadima Party, Livni twice failed in bids to become Israel’s prime minister.

The same State Department cable said the Israeli military and government don’t get along — “never the twain shall meet!” But they do get along, mostly, and meet often; the lack of cooperation in 2007 was the result of the short-lived term of Amir Peretz as Israeli defense minister.

The disparities between predictions and reality reflect the onthe-fly nature of the discussions detailed in the newly revealed cables.

Ed Abington, a former U.S. consul in Jerusalem who has consulted for the Palestinian Authority, said the authors of such cables work under pressure to come up with “added value” in analysis and fill in the vacuum with chatter that might not have any basis in reality.

“You’re looking for what you can add that makes it relevant to policymakers in Washington and elsewhere — analysis, insight,” Abington told JTA. “A lot of the reporting, in hindsight, is irrelevant.”

Courtesy of State Dept.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal in New York on Sept. 21, 2010. Leaked memos show that behind closed doors, Saudi officials have pressed the United States to attack Iran.

David Makovsky, a senior analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said facts on the ground also change rapidly — a factor that helps explain how dire Israeli predictions about Iran’s imminent weapons program have dissipated, at least for now.

Part of that may be attributable to efforts by the West to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program. Makovsky cited the recent success of the Stuxnet computer worm, which apparently disrupted Iranian centrifuges necessary to enrich uranium to bomb-making capacity.

Much of the material in the leaked cables offers frank U.S. assessments of everything from the temperament of foreign leaders to the shipment of arms between foes of the United States.

In late 2009, U.S. officials told their Russian counterparts that they believed North Korea had shipped missiles to Iran capable of hitting capitals in western Europe.

The Russians were skeptical, but agreed that there was evidence of increased cooperation between the two rogue nations and it posed new dangers.

The cables also track increasing concern among the United States, Israel and Western nations that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading Turkey along a path to Islamism — and beyond the point of no return of accommodation with the West.

In Cairo, U.S. diplomats told Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that in meetings with Egyptian leaders, she should defer to Egyptian self-regard as the indispensable Arab state while acknowledging that the perception is long past its due date.

Tracking the cables that straddle the Bush and Obama administrations also demonstrates that on

some matters policies have changed little, if at all.

Stuart Levey, the treasury undersecretary charged with enforcing Iran sanctions, reassured Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan in December 2008 that President Obama was as determined as George W. Bush to isolate Iran through sanctions. Within a few weeks, Obama would confirm the point by reappointing Levey to the job, ensuring consistency.

The leaks also show Iranian and Syrian duplicity. A 2008 memo, apparently from an Iranian source, details how Iran used the cover of the Iranian Red Crescent to smuggle officers into Lebanon in 2006 to assist in Hezbollah’s war against Israel. Syria apparently provided sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah within weeks of pledging to U.S. officials that it would not do so.

Some of those named in the leaks worried that their publication could inhibit frank dialogue.

U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (DCalif.) was outraged that her private exchange with Netanyahu on Iran and Palestinian issues in a 2009 meeting became public knowledge.

“If Congress has no ability to have candid conversations with foreign leaders, we won’t have some of the critical information we need to make the judgments we need to make about countries like Iran,” she told The Daily Beast.

In condemning the leaks, Clinton said Monday that they represent policymaking only in its most nascent stages. Once the heavy hitters become involved, the policy is changed. So the content of the leaked cables is not of vital importance, she tried to argue.

“I want to make clear that our official foreign policy is not set

through these messages but here in Washington,” Clinton said. “Our policy is a matter of public record, as reflected in our statements and our actions around the world.”

But the cables reveal policy discussions in blunter terms, and show the inner workings of intergovernmental relationships that the parties would rather have kept private.

Saudi Arabia, for example, is shown in the cables to be beating the war drum for a U.S. attack against Iran — a stance quite different from its public posture.

In a 2008 meeting, the Saudi ambassador to United States reminds U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, about the multiple times Saudi King Abdullah called on the United States to “cut off the head of the snake” — attack Iran to stop its nuclear program.

But the message is not consistent. Other cables describe meetings in the Persian Gulf with Arab officials, including Saudis, who counsel against a strike, saying that the backlash would be incalculable.

The cables least prone to such disparity may be those that describe meetings with Israeli officials. Successive Israeli prime ministers and defense ministers all say the same things — and in the same ways that they do in briefings with reporters.

Meeting this week with Israeli reporters after WikiLeaks began publishing the cables, Netanyahu said the Israeli government takes pains to make sure the most sensitive discussions between the two countries are kept private.

“It influences our work, what we do in meetings, who we bring into meetings, what we say in them, and when we narrow the meeting to two people,” he was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post.

The most important exchanges between the U.S. and Israeli governments are not detailed in the cables because top U.S. and Israeli political leaders speak directly to each other.

The cables leaked by WikiLeaks, about 1 percent of which have been published so far, have low secrecy classifications and were written by relatively low-level diplomats. They were stored in a computer system to which more than 2 million people had clearance to access.

Newspapers reported this week that a U.S. soldier, Bradley Manning, is allegedly behind the leaks to WikiLeaks. Manning, a private, is facing trial in another leaks case.

National Briefs Helen Thomas makes more public anti-Semitic remarks (JTA) — Helen Thomas made more anti-Semitic comments in a public forum, causing her alma mater to drop an award named for the longtime journalist.

“We are owned by the propagandists against the Arabs. There’s no question about that,” Thomas said Dec. 2 during a speech to an Arab-American group in Dearborn, Mich. “Congress, the White House and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where their mouth is.”

She added, “We’re being pushed into a wrong direction in every way.”

In response Wayne State University, from where Thomas graduated in 1942, announced the day after the address that it would no longer present the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in the Media Award. The university released a statement reading in part that it “strongly condemns the anti-Semitic remarks made by Helen Thomas.”

The Anti-Defamation League issued a short statement saying Thomas “clearly, unequivocally revealed herself as a vulgar antiSemite.”

Thomas, 90, a Detroit native who is of Lebanese descent, also said during the speech that she stands by the controversial comments about Israel that led to her resignation as a correspondent for Hearst News Service earlier this year.

Thomas resigned in June after saying on the sidelines of the first Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine,” in an interview with Rabbi David Nesenoff, a blogger with RabbiLive website, which was captured on video. “Go home,” Thomas said.

Asked to elaborate on where the Jews in Israel should go, Thomas said, “Poland, Germany and America, and everywhere else.”

Thomas, often referred to as the dean of the White House press corps, was a White House correspondent since the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Her place in the front row during White House news briefings was sacrosanct for years, complete with a plaque on it bearing her name — the only such reserved seat in the room.

A correspondent for United Press International since 1943, she joined Hearst about a decade ago and became a columnist.

NATIONAL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

Neighborhood patrolman charged after assault on Baltimore teen

By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Police have arrested a member of a neighborhood patrol group and charged him with assault after a 15-year-old boy was attacked last month.

According to police, the teen victim was walking near the corner of Fallstaff and Labyrinth Roads on Nov. 19, when three members of a community watch group known as “Shomrim,” which patrols the northwest Baltimore community, approached him.

The victim told police that the men, including 23-year-old Eliyahu Werdesheim who has since been charged with the assault, knocked him to the ground and hit him in the head with a radio.

Werdesheim’s attorney, Andrew Alperstein, says his client was acting in self defense and claims the 15-year-old was armed with a two-by-four with nails in it

and swung it at him.

Werdesheim is a former Special Forces soldier for the Israeli Army, and has been released from police custody on a $50,000 unsecured bond.

Shomrim, which is Hebrew for “watchers,” was started in late 2005 after a rash of burglaries in the Orthodox community around Upper Park Heights and Greenspring, Md. The incident has raised concerns about racial tolerance.

According to a charging document, Werdesheim used an expletive and said to the boy, “You don’t belong around here. Get out of here.”

“What concerns me is this person possibly was attacked because he was perceived as not belonging in the community because of the color of his skin,” said Art Abramson, the executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council.

“That concerns me. I’m not saying that happened but, certainly, there are accusations out there.”

For third straight year, Germany doubling up on funding for Holocaust survivors’ home care

By Jacob Berkman Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — The German government is doubling the amount of money it will provide for home care for poor Holocaust survivors, the Claims Conference said.

The increase announced Monday to $145 million for 2011, doubling the amount given in 2010, is meant to meet a growing need among the elderly survivors, and it comes as the sources of Claims Conference funds for Holocaust survivor programs— derived from the sale of heirless Jewish property in the former East Germany—are drying up.

“We know there is need in two places”—home care and other services to survivors—the executive vice president of the Claims Conference, Gregory Schneider, told JTA. “Disgracefully, there are survivors on waiting lists in certain places. No poor survivor should have to be on a waiting list for home care. That is the bottom line.”

In negotiations with the Claims Conference, the German government began funding home care in 2004 with an initial allocation of 6 million Euro (about $8 million by today’s exchange rates). The allocation has steadily increased; it has nearly doubled in each of the last three years.

The Claims Conference projects that the need for home care will increase until 2014, when it likely will hit a tipping point before starting to decrease as today’s estimated population of 520,000 survivors dies out.

In 2011, the money will go to support home care services for more than 60,000 survivors in 32 countries. In total, the Claims Conference distributes $270 million in funding to services that support survivors.

This includes money obtained by the Claims Conference from the sale of heirless Jewish properties in the former East Germany, but it does not include direct payments to survivors from Germany for which the Claims Conference acts as a pass-through.

7

Rosen remains determined to prove trafficking in secrets is normal at AIPAC

By Nathan Guttman The Jewish Daily Forwad WASHINGTON (The Forward) — A key court filing in the legal battle between Steve Rosen and his former employers at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has been postponed, but tensions still run high.

The powerful pro-Israel group’s supporters, as well as its detractors, are bracing for the next round in what has become an allout fight between Rosen — AIPAC’s former policy director — and the organization’s chiefs.

The group fired Rosen and a colleague in 2005 after the Justice Department indicted them for receiving and passing along confidential information. The charges were dropped last year, but AIPAC said the employees had violated its own standards — possibly, it came out later, not just for their interactions with FBI informants, but for viewing pornography at the office.

Rosen responded to the firing with a $20 million defamation suit, and the depositions and documents filed on both sides in this civil action have become a food fight of unsavory allegations.

“I was not cowed by the FBI’s abuse of power, and I won’t be bullied by Howard’s abuse either,” Rosen said in a November 22 statement he provided to the Forward, referring to AIPAC’s executive director, Howard Kohr, who, according to Rosen, is responsible for the latest “orgy of destruction.”

The next round of this battle is expected when Rosen files his motion in response to AIPAC. The filing, expected today, is now anticipated late this month.

Watching from the sidelines are AIPAC’s critics, who are hoping the brawl will provide them with ammunition in their fight against the lobby’s legitimacy as an American advocacy organization. But experts and Washington insiders think that when the dust settles, the Rosen-AIPAC-pornography scandal will not have any legal or political ramifications.

“Simply receiving classified information is a nonissue,” said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. Aftergood said he does not think federal action against the lobby is probable, even if Rosen’s document shows that the lobby was aware of the practice of receiving classified information.

Supporters of the group also claim that although the disclosure in court filings could be seen as embarrassing to the lobby, it does not have any impact on AIPAC’s standing as a leading political powerhouse.

“By any measure, AIPAC is stronger than ever — membership, fundraising, political influence — and no kind of small lawsuit with a former employee is going to affect that,” said Josh Block, who served as the lobby’s spokesman when Rosen and his colleague, Keith Weissman, were fired after being accused by the FBI of communicating classified information.

The issue at the core of the legal dispute between Rosen and AIPAC is not the accusations of viewing pornography on company computers, which have grabbed the headlines, but the question of whether the lobby knew and approved of the practice of receiving classified information. AIPAC has maintained that by accepting classified information from Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin, Rosen and Weissman did not live up to the standards of the organization.

In his upcoming court filing, Rosen will attempt to prove that receiving secret information was the standard at AIPAC. “AIPAC treated me brutally

when trouble came. They threw me overboard and pretended I was some kind of lone wolf, when in fact Howard knew everything I did and condoned and demanded it,” Rosen wrote in an e-mail to the Forward. “Now Howard and [AIPAC’s managing director] Richard [Fishman] are making really bad decisions. It is time to make things right with me and Keith, but instead they are heaving buckets of slime, with no checks and balances.”

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for AIPAC, said in response that the lobby “strongly disagrees with Steve Rosen’s version of events related to this litigation.” Dorton stressed that it was Rosen’s decision to sue, which he called “frivolous,” that led AIPAC to file a motion in response. “As our motion demonstrates, Steve Rosen’s claims in this matter are wildly inaccurate and are undermined by Mr. Rosen’s own admissions under oath in his deposition,” Dorton said.

Rosen, although stressing that he has “no desire to see AIPAC weakened,” has promised to present to the FBI statements of employees, legal depositions and internal AIPAC documents demonstrating that receiving classified information was an acceptable practice.

The American Israelite is currently seeking a

S ALES R EPRESENTATIVE • HIGH COMMISSION • PART TIME OR F LEX T IME • NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED

For more information or to apply, call Ted Deutsch (513) 621-3145

You can also send your resume to publisher@americanisraelite.com

8

NATIONAL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Cables show shared Israeli, Arab concerns about Iran

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — A peek behind the scenes offered by the WikiLeaks cables published this week offer hints into U.S. and regional priorities. The two issues cropping up most often in the Middle East are Iran and IsraeliArab peace. The cables also offer choice insights into how Americans interact with the locals.

Iran and peace In private discussions, leaders from Egypt and Dubai both talk about their enmity for Hamas, and they and the Saudi king also warn of the dangers of Iran.

In a classified message from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in January 2008, Omar Suleiman, director of Egyptian General Intelligence, tells Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) that Iran “is supporting Jihad and spoiling peace, and has supported extremists in Egypt previously.”

Iranian support of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood makes them “our enemy,” Suleiman says.

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in January 2009, the U.S. ambassador in Cairo wrote that after talking to Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdoul Gheit, he is positive that Egyptian President Mubarak sees Iran as Egypt’s “greatest long-term threat, both as it develops a nuclear capability and as it seeks to export its ‘Shia Revolution.’” As far as the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, Mubarak is “proud of (Egypt’s) role as intermediary, well aware that they are perhaps the only player that can talk with the Israelis, all Palestinian factions, and (The U.S.). Mubarak hates Hamas, and considers them the same as Egypt’s own Muslim Brotherhood.”

The Arab leaders in the Persian Gulf share similar sentiments on Iran. A letter sent to Rice from the Dubai consul general in January 2007 states that in a meeting with Nicholas Burns, a State Department undersecretary, the emirate’s leader, Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, “agreed that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, but warned of the dire regional consequences of military action.” The Dubai leader also said he hoped for a peace deal because it “would make Hamas everyone’s enemy.”

The Saudi king took his hatred toward Iran a step further, telling John Brennan, Obama’s counterterrorism adviser in Washington in March 2009 that he had just finished a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister

Manouchehr Mottaki and scolded him that Iran should “stop interfering in Arab affairs.”

“A solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict would be a great achievement, the King said, but Iran would find other ways to cause trouble,” the cable reported.

The moving Iran deadline In a March 2005 cable, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer describes Israel’s fear of Iran’s nuclear weapons program as reaching the “point of no return” when Iran is able to enrich uranium without assistance — a development believed to have been achieved by 2007.

The cables show that Israeli officials saw the diplomatic efforts vis-a-vis Iran as relevant and crucial. However, they expressed their disappointment with the European Union, which according to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was “too soft,” Kurtzer reported. As to the military option, unlike the strike against Iraq in 1981, hitting Iran would be a much more difficult task, and furthermore would “elicit a strong response from Arab states and the Palestinians, effectively freezing the peace process.”

In a May 2009 meeting between an American congressional delegation and Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, Barak stressed that “no option should be removed from the table when confronting Iran and North Korea.”

Barak also described the Iranians as “chess, not backgammon players,” who will “attempt to avoid any hook to hang accusations on, and look to Pakistan and N. Korea as models to emulate in terms of acquiring nuclear weapons while defying the international community.” Barak also estimated a window between six and 18 months from when the meeting was held in which “stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons might still be viable.”

He also expressed concern that should Iran develop nuclear capabilities, “other rogue states and/or terrorist groups would not be far behind.” Israeli officials now say the “no return” deadline is sometime in 2012.

Regional concerns In a meeting between Mossad chief Meir Dagan and then-Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) on March 13, 2005 in Tel Aviv, Dagan expressed concerns about the fallout from the end of the Iraq War. “Foreign fighters originating from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Syria and Yemen have arrived back in their home countries” after fighting together in Iraq, the Israeli top spy said.

Dagan said that Israel has “no

assets in Iraq other than a friendly relationship with the Kurds.”

However, he said that Israel has interest in the possible impact the jihadis might have in their home countries, especially in ones where the local governments might not be able to fully respond to the challenge brought by the militants.

In a meeting two years later, in July 2007, with Frances Townsend, President Bush’s top terrorism adviser, Dagan raised alarms about Pakistan’s stability.

“Dagan characterized a Pakistan ruled by radical Islamists with a nuclear arsenal at their disposal as his biggest nightmare,” the cable said.

“Al-Qaeda and other ‘Global Jihad’ groups could not be relied upon to behave rationally once in possession of nuclear weapons, said Dagan, as they do not care about the well being of states or their image in the media.

‘We have to keep (President Pervez) Musharraf in power,’ said Dagan.”

Musharraf, facing allegations of corruption, resigned in 2008.

A wild wedding A classified document from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow titled “A Caucasus Wedding” describes the life and culture of Dagestan, a republic in the north Caucasus. The detailed description refers to the members of the Jewish community, their numbers and habits.

A special reference was made to the chief rabbi of Stavropol-Kray, described as “a man who looked like Shamil Basayev,” a Chechen Islamist terrorist, “on his day off — flip-flops, T-shirt, baseball cap, beard — but turned out to be the chief rabbi of Stavropol-Kray.

Elsewhere, it describes the regional compunction for ethnic identification, and how it seemed to be catching among the diplomats.

“After a couple of hours Dalgat’s convoy returned with Aida, horns honking,” the report says, referring to the groom, Dalgat Makhachev, the son of a lawmaker and oil magnate, Gadzhi Makhachev. “Dalgat and Aida got out of the Rolls and were serenaded into the hall, and into the Makhachev family, by a boys’ chorus lining both sides of the red carpet, dressed in costumes aping medieval Dagestani armor with little shields and swords. The couple’s entry was the signal for the emcee to roll into high gear, and after a few toasts the Piter ‘gypsies’ began their performance. (The next day one of Gadzhi’s houseguests sneered, ‘Some gypsies! The bandleader was certainly Jewish, and the rest of them were blonde.’ There was some truth to this, but at least the two dancing girls appeared to be Roma.)”

Courtesy of ATO Pictures

Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff in “Casino Jack.”

Kevin Spacey gets in touch with his inner Jew in ‘Casino Jack’

By Naomi Pfefferman The Jewish Journal LOS ANGELES (The Jewish Journal) — Two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey lifts his fork from his plate of lox and eggs and jabs it in the air. Tucked away in a back booth at Art’s Deli in Studio City, he recounts his monologue from the opening scene of the black comedy “Casino Jack,” which opens Dec. 17.

The film is inspired by the true story of the disgraced right-wing former super-lobbyist and Orthodox Jew Jack Abramoff, whom Spacey portrays.

In that scene, Abramoff wields not a fork but a toothbrush as he informs a bathroom mirror that as a result of “a s—-load of reading and studying and praying,” he’s come to some conclusions that he’d like to share, ostensibly with the reporters and FBI agents circling him.

“You’re either a big leaguer or you’re a slave clawing your way onto the C train” is one of them.

“You say I’m selfish -- f--- you,” is another. “I give back, plenty."

Later he says, “I’m humbly grateful for the wonderful gifts that I’ve received here in America, the greatest country on the planet!

I’m Jack Abramoff and, oh yeah, I work out every day.”

Spacey portrays a hubrisfilled, over-the-top character — the real lobbyist really did brag about his exorbitant fees and about working out every day — but director George Hickenlooper also envisioned him as a kind of empathetic anti-hero.

Hickenlooper died unexpectedly last month at 47 of what appeared to be natural causes, two weeks before his scheduled interview with The Jewish Journal. But

he detailed his journey to “Casino Jack” in his introduction to the published screenplay, including the myriad hours he spent interviewing Abramoff at the Maryland prison where he was serving time on counts related to defrauding Native American tribes, the purchase of gambling cruise boats and other charges.

“Casino Jack” is, according to Hickenlooper’s account, a kind of first-person opera, from Abramoff’s point of view.

In the film, the mega-lobbyist wheels and deals, but also davens, lays tefillin and is passionate about his family and funding charities, including a short-lived all boys’ Jewish day school, The Eshkol Academy. The character reveals that he was motivated to become a “real” Jew as a secular teenager in Beverly Hills after seeing the film version of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Abramoff’s mobconnected associate, Adam Kidan (a hilarious Jon Lovitz), seeks to insult the lobbyist by calling him a “fake Jew.” “Maybe no one would want Jack Abramoff to be humanized, but that’s my job,” said Spacey, who also met with Abramoff in prison. “I don’t sit in judgment of the characters I play.”

In fact, Spacey has earned awards and kudos playing nuanced, morally ambiguous characters in such films as “American Beauty,” “The Usual Suspects” and “L.A. Confidential,” among his myriad roles in film and theater.

For the Journal interview, it was his choice to meet at Art’s “because I do tend to like delis — I grew up in the Valley — and this is where I’m more comfortable than some chi-chi fab restaurant that everyone says is the greatest place on earth.”

INTERNATIONAL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

International Briefs Toronto university under fire for accepting thesis TORONTO (JTA) — The University of Toronto has come under fire for accepting a master’s thesis that calls two Holocaust education programs “racist.”

Written by Jenny Peto, a Jewish activist with the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, the thesis attacks the March of Remembrance and Hope, through which young adults of diverse backgrounds travel with Holocaust survivors to sites of Nazi atrocities in Poland, and March of the Living Canada, part of an international program that takes young Jews and survivors to Poland and Israel.

Peto argues the programs cause Jews to believe they are innocent victims. In reality, she writes, they are privileged white people who “cannot see their own racism.”

The “construction of a victimized Jewish identity,” she argues, is intentional; it produces “effects that are extremely beneficial to the organized Jewish community” and to “apartheid” Israel.

She further questions “the implications of white Jews taking it upon themselves to educate people of color about genocide, racism and intolerance.”

Irving Abella, a well-known Canadian historian and former president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, told the Toronto Star the thesis is “not scholarship, it’s ideology. It’s totally ahistorical; I found it full of untruths and distortions and held together by fatuous and very flabby analysis. It borders on anti-Semitism. . . I’m appalled that it would be acceptable to a major university.”

Holocaust survivors involved in both programs have also denounced the paper as hurtful.

In a letter to University of Toronto president David Naylor, retired University of British Columbia sociology professor Werner Cohn said the thesis “makes wild charges against [Peto’s] fellow Jews without a shred of evidence,” the Canadian Jewish News reported.

Peto, who was part of a group that tried to occupy Toronto’s Israeli consulate in 2009, said the controversy is a smear effort by “right-wing, pro-Israel groups and individuals.”

“This is not the first time I have been dragged through the mud by pro-Israel groups and I am sure it will not be that last,” she told the Star.

March commemorates Aboriginal’s protest of Kristallancht SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — An

Aboriginal man re-enacted his greatgrandfather’s 1938 march to the German Consulate in Melbourne – the only known private protest against the Kristallnacht pogrom.

Kevin Russell led a group of Aborigines and Jews on the march Sunday to celebrate the memory of William Cooper, who as head of the Australian Aborigines League was denied entry to the consulate in 1938 to hand over a petition protesting the “cruel treatment of the Jews by the Nazis.”

Cooper is being officially honored with a memorial garden at Yad Vashem next weekend following a submission by the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange.

Rabbi Meir Shlomo Klugwant told the crowd that the Torah mandates that no one should stand idly by in the face of persecution.

Cooper’s grandson, Boydie Turner, said: “My grandfather had felt the pain and suffering of persecution and he could relate to what was happening in Europe to the Jews.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry passed a motion last month at its annual conference, lauding Cooper’s courage and calling upon the Australian government to “introduce a suitable form of national commemoration of the life and work of this great Australian.”

Russell said: “We thank the ECAJ for their recognition of my greatgrandfather and their ongoing efforts to have William honored here in his own country in front of his own people.”

Heavy rains destroy piece of Venezuelan Jewish history CARACAS (JTA) — Persistent heavy rains have destroyed a key piece of Venezuelan Jewish history dating from the colonial era, according to the Center for Sephardic Studies in Caracas.

The roof of the 19th-century House of Prayer collapsed, unable to withstand the pounding of nearly two weeks of unusually heavy rains.

Located in Coro, five hours west of Caracas, the room was used for prayer by the first Jewish settlers who came to Venezuela in the middle of the 1800s from the nearby island of Curacao.

The head of the Foundation for the Preservation of [the state of] Falcon’s Hebrew Patrimony, Herman Henriquez, had warned of the structure’s advanced deterioration and, with the Center for Sephardic Studies, was seeking support to reinforce the building prior to the collapse. Falcon is a Venezuelan state.

The Casa de Oracion, as it is called locally, was discovered by Rabbi Isidoro Aizenberg, a historian of Latin American Jewry, after reviewing old documents that said Jews congregated in the house of the Senior family to pray.

Sacred objects, including a Torah ark, were discovered in a room that matched the descriptions laid out in the documents.

9

Partial victory in New Zealand in fight over shechitah ban

By Dan Goldberg Jewish Telegraphic Agency SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — A controversial ban on kosher slaughter by New Zealand’s agriculture minister has been partially reversed amid allegations that his decision was taken to appease Muslim countries that have lucrative trade relations with New Zealand.

The reversal marked only a partial victory for the Jewish community: While the ban on kosher slaughter of poultry was suspended and a deal on kosher lamb is still being negotiated, the ban on beef is expected to remain in place. That means kosher beef will have to be imported from Australia.

New Zealand Jewish Council President Stephen Goodman, who had described the ban as “a direct threat to our existence,” said the partial reversal was a “small victory confirming our rights to practice as Jews in New Zealand.

“The whole process has been extremely stressful to the New Zealand Jewish community,” he said, noting that it has cost more than $223,000 to fight the ban. That money, Goodman said, “could and should have been applied to reinforcing the community rather than arguing with our government about our right to live here.”

Last Friday, lawyers acting for Agriculture Minister David Carter agreed to permit the kosher slaughter, or shechitah, of poultry. The decision came just three days before the trial over shechitah was due to begin in the High Court in Wellington.

The change comes six months after Carter’s May 27 amendment of the Commercial Slaughter Code mandating that all animals for commercial slaughter must first be stunned. That action rendered kosher slaughter unlawful and enraged the 7,000-member Jewish community, which took the matter to the High Court when negotiations with Carter broke down in August.

Ever since the ban was declared, the case has been closely monitored

by Jewish officials the world over — from the Orthodox Union in New York to the Office of the Chief Rabbinate in London.

“We felt right away it was a significant case,” Menachem Genack, the rabbinic administrator of the OU’s kashrut division, told JTA. “The OU was extremely concerned about it. Whenever shechitah is challenged, we consider it significant because of its history.”

He noted that the Nazis prohibited shechitah.

“We were also concerned because of the ramifications in

Courtesy of Rabbi Mendel Goldstein

Workers in Invercargill, New Zealand, handle kosher chickens in 2009. The country's agriculture minister reversed a ban last week on the kosher slaughter of poultry prior to a court case.

Europe,” Genack said, alluding to the Dec. 7 vote by all 27 European Union states on a proposal to label kosher meat as “slaughtered without stunning.”

Genack said in a meeting this week with New Zealand Consul General Paul Gestro, he impressed upon Gestro that the U.S. Humane Slaughter Act deems shechitah humane.

Even after Carter backed down last week, he told Radio New Zealand on Monday that killing animals without pre-stunning was “frankly cruel.”

His comments came a day after the Herald newspaper published allegations that Carter was advised that Muslim countries might be irked if they believed New Zealand was giving preferential treatment to the Jews while animals must be pre-stunned for halal.

The paper also revealed that Carter owns shares in Alliance Group Ltd., which exports meat to Muslim countries, and in Silver Fern Farms Ltd. Carter denied the allegations.

“Claims that business interests determined my decision on the Commercial Slaughter Code of Welfare are totally baseless,” he said in a statement. “Animal welfare was the primary consideration in making the decision.”

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, whose mother was a Jewish refugee who escaped Europe on the eve of the Holocaust, said he had “no concerns” with the way Carter handled the issue.

Rabbi Mendel Goldstein, the Chabad emissary to New Zealand, said he was delighted by Carter’s reversal.

“The ban on shechitah would have been devastating to the Jewish community, which has a

hard enough time observing Jewish traditions,” he said. “We regret that we needed to go to the courts simply to uphold the New Zealand Bill of Rights.”

Animal welfare groups expressed their outrage. Robyn Kippenberger of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the Herald that “Kosher killing does cause suffering. Pressure from a small community is allowing animals to suffer — we believe that is unacceptable.”

But David Zwartz, a representative of the Jewish Council, defended shechitah, which has been practiced here since 1843.

Noting that hunting and home kills on farms are legal in New Zealand, he said, “There are double standards here in what is being required of the Jewish community and what is being required of New Zealand society as a whole.”

Although the case was not heard in court, Sydney-based Jeremy Lawrence, a former rabbi at the Auckland Hebrew Congregation, said the process was beneficial.

“As a test case, the bringing together of the local community with Shechita UK, with scientific experts in America and with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry means that we are much better equipped to respond to these attacks than we were a year ago,” he said. “We are on alert.”

Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, who travels from Australia to New Zealand to supervise shechitah, told JTA, “Victory will only be complete when lamb and beef are approved.”

He said, “What we were more concerned about was that people could say, ’If shechitah was banned in New Zealand it could be banned elsewhere.’ Thankfully that precedent was not set.”

10

ISRAEL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Solar panels to bloom in the Negev as Israel Israel embarks on a green revolution Briefs

By Nathan Jeffay The Jewish Daily Forward KIBBUTZ KETURA, ISRAEL (The Forward) — Four years ago, on the morning after Boston businessman Yosef Abramowitz arrived in Israel’s Negev desert for some rest and relaxation, he took a walk that changed the face of Israeli energy.

“It was 5 a.m. I came out with my skin burning from the sun, and I said, ‘Wow, this place must be running on solar power,’” Abramowitz recalled. Yet he soon discovered that there wasn’t a single major solar project in Israel, despite the breadth of the eternally sunny Negev.

On November 18, a company that Abramowitz set up shortly after that walk, Arava Power — named after the Arava Valley near Eilat, where he was staying — signed the first purchase agreement for renewable energy in Israeli history. In a deal worth $68 million, the electrical power monopoly Israel Electric Corp. committed itself for 20 years to buy power from fields the company establishes. On November 21, the Ministry of National Infrastructures approved the deal.

The 27-employee Arava Power has already signed deals with 35 kibbutzim and moshavim, as well as five Bedouin families, to erect solar panels on their lands.

Almost all are in the Negev, where the climate is considered perfect for solar fields.

When Abramowitz, now the company’s president, first approached IEC and the government, officials did not even have procedures for dealing with major bids for green electricity. Since assessing and adopting his bid, officials have become keen for more of the same. By January 2009, the state had set itself a target of sourcing 10 percent of electricity from renewable supplies by 2020, and on November 28, it announced a $550 million plan to reduce greenhouse gases, including a “complementary plan on green energy.”

IEC, responding to questions from the Forward regarding the Arava Power deal, said that it “anticipates hundreds of similar contracts.” Yiftah Ron-Tal, chairman of IEC’s board, said: “IEC welcomes the introduction of independent power producers into the special green energy system and leaves no stone unturned to promote these producers and to connect them to the grid promptly.”

Abramowitz believes that solar energy for Israel constitutes an updating of the Zionist dream.

“Because of the shortage of water in Israel, you can’t really make the desert green, but you can make green energy in the desert,” he told the Forward, adding that he hopes this energy will make the Jewish state a “renewable light unto the nations.”

The past leader of the campaign for Soviet Jewry and co-creator of the popular My Jewish Learning website, Abramowitz has been featured three times for education and activism in this newspaper’s Forward 50 list of American Jews who have had a big impact. He’s one of many American players involved in Israel’s adoption of renewable energy; in fact, American investment paid for the establishment of Arava Power.

The idea for the company was hatched and developed on Kibbutz Ketura, established in 1973 by members of the American Jewish youth movement called Young Judea. American expatriates make up the majority of the 150 adult members of the kibbutz. In the 1980s, Abramowitz had participated in Young Judea’s yearlong posthigh-school program, and when he took time out in 2006 with the intention of writing a book on Jewish thought, he headed back to Ketura. The book didn’t happenbut Abramowitz remained in Israel (though now in Jerusalem), determined to see through the start of power production.

Initially, Ketura owned half the company and the American investors, headed by Abramowitz, owned the other half. Now, electronics giant Siemens owns 36 percent — which it purchased last year for $15 million — Ketura owns 15 percent, the charity Keren Kayemet LeYisrael-Jewish National Fund bought in with a 4 percent share in January, and American investors own the remainder.

And despite the involvement of high-level players, Israel’s first solar field will still be on Kibbutz Ketura. A week after the government ratified Arava Power’s purchase agreement, Roy Kagan, Ketura’s business manager, was excited about what it will mean for his community; he has “high hopes” that this will bring prosperity.

While older kibbutzim began diversifying beyond agriculture as early as the 1930s, Ketura is much younger, and the belief that pioneering means agriculture is one that lasted longer there, he said.

Founders “thought they could support themselves from within the fence of the kibbutz, which I think was a little naive,” Kagan said. He recounted that in the early 1970s, Ketura members were offered work manning a pumping station for the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. Ltd. but refused on principle.

Nonagricultural projects did not begin in earnest until 1990.

The desert sand on the first solar field has already been flattened.

The 20-acre site is fenced off, and high-tech security devices have been installed. Just outside the fence, 900 wooden crates hold 18,000 solar panels, recently imported from China. Siemens engineers will assemble these panels, and by the end of June 2011 they will be pumping out 4.9 megawatts of electricity per hour during sunlight.

Within three years, a second, larger site should be producing 40 megawatts of power per hour during sunlight. This means that between its two sites, Ketura alone will be producing a third of all energy needed for its neighboring kibbutzim and the large resort of Eilat.

Factoring all its sites and projected additions into its portfolio, the company expects to singlehandedly meet the government target to make 10 percent of Israel’s energy sustainable by 2020 — and hopes that other companies will help the renewable sector to beat the target and provide 20 percent of all Israel’s electricity. The company, however, is not commenting on anticipated profits.

Members from Kibbutz Ketura’s early days welcome the solar project, but they are divided on whether it represents a departure from their original vision.

California native Elaine Soloway, who joined Ketura in 1974 at age 21, said that an agricultural kibbutz “is what we aimed to be when we were young, but we found it didn’t work out economically, as the price of fruit and vegetables was low while the cost of labor and water was high. The only way we could pretend to be profitable was by not counting our own hours.”

Commenting that privatization has been most common on kibbutzim facing financial difficulties, Ketura-nik Jonathan Chester, 38, said, “Solar will give us the financial stability that will let us continue to be like this — to be dreamers.”

Reprinted with permission of the Forward.

Evacuated children to have Chanukah activities JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of children evacuated from communities in Israel’s North because of the raging forest fire will participate in Chanukah activities run by the Jewish Agency.

The activities will include outings and performances in the center of the country. They are being run in coordination with government authorities and in cooperation with the Migdal Or Association and the Noar Ha’oved ve Halomed youth movement.

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky thanked Jewish communities around the world for their condolences and support in the wake of the massive fire in the Carmel forest that has destroyed more than 12,000 acres of land and claimed 42 lives.

“The unity of the Jewish people and the solidarity of Jewish communities with the State of Israel are expressed at such times,” said Sharansky.

Meanwhile, the American Jewish Committee is making an initial $100,000 donation to Israeli relief organizations assisting communities devastated by the unprecedented fire near Haifa.

“We are deeply moved by the dedication and courage of the firefighters, police, soldiers and other rescue workers engaged in fighting the blaze and its devastating effect,” AJC President Robert Elman and Executive Director David Harris wrote in a letter delivered to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Brazil recognizes Palestinian state JERUSALEM (JTA) — Brazil has recognized a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced in a public letter.

The letter addressed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, which was made public last Friday, recognizes what it calls the “legitimate aspiration of the Palestinian people for a secure, united, democratic and economically viable state coexisting peacefully with Israel.”

Abbas had made the request to Lula last month to recognize a Palestinian state, Bloomberg reported. Lula, who is stepping down next month as president after eight years in office, made his first visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in March.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was disappointed by the Brazilian declaration.

“Recognition of a Palestinian state is a breach of the interim agreement which was signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1995, which said that the issue of the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be discussed and resolved through negotiations,” the statement said.

“Every attempt to bypass this process and to decide in advance in a unilateral manner about important issues which are disputed only harms trust between the sides and hurts their commitment to the agreed framework of negotiating towards peace.”

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (RFla.), the incoming chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, also expressed her objections, as did Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the outgoing chairman of the Latin America subcommittee.

“Brazil’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state is regrettable and will only serve to undermine peace and security in the Middle East,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement.

Engel blamed the decision on the leftward tilt of Brazil’s outgoing government.

“Brazil’s decision to recognize Palestine is severely misguided and represents a last gasp by a Lula-led foreign policy which was already substantially off track,” Engel said in a statement. “One can only hope that the new leadership coming into Brazil will change course and understand that this is not the way to gain favor as an emerging power or to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.”

Despite fire aid, Turkey expects Israeli apology JERUSALEM (JTA) — Turkey still expects an apology from Israel for its interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla that led to the deaths of nine Turkish nationals, despite its assistance during Israel’s recent massive fire.

Turkey sent firefighting assistance to Israel over the weekend to help control the forest fire in Israel’s north that killed 42 people.

But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Turkey still demands an apology for the raid on the Mavi Marmara, and that Israel pay damages to the families of those killed and wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec. 4 said he hoped the gesture by Turkey “will serve as an opening to improve relations between Israel and Turkey.” He spoke with Erdogan and thanked him for sending the assistance.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

SOCIAL LIFE

11

AJC COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

ANNOUNCEMENTS

to Kim and Gary Heiman PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PG.12

Jack Meyer Bazelon

BIRTH my and Adam Bazelon are proud to announce the birth of a son, Jack Meyer, on November 13, 2010 in Milwaukee, Wis. Grandparents are Abby and David Schwartz and Sue Bazelon and Mike and Kate Bazelon of Milwaukee, Wis. Great-grandparents are Ada and Morton Schwartz, and Dorothy Scher of South Orange, N.J. and Natalie Soref and Robert Bazelon of Milwaukee, Wis. Jack has an older sister, Harper Jaye.

A

ENGAGEMENT onnie and Randy Loftspring of Cincinnati are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Rachel Cecilia Loftspring, to Daniel Jacob Pelchovitz, son of Ellen Essig and the late Dr. Sheldon Pelchovitz of Cincinnati.

Rachel is the granddaughter of Marjorie and the late Harris Loftspring of Cincinnati and of Sara and Alan Feldman of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Rachel graduated from Emory University, earned a culinary arts degree in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received her law degree from the University of

Pennsylvania. She is currently an attorney at Jenner & Block in Chicago.

Daniel is the grandson of Thelma and the late Dr. Joel Essig of Cincinnati and of Ettie and the late Samuel Pelchovitz of Toronto, Canada. Daniel graduated from the University of Michigan and received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and is currently a fellow in cardiology at Northwestern University in Chicago.

The couple plans an October 2011 wedding in Cincinnati.

B Kim and Gary Heiman receive AJC Community Service Award from President John Stein

Rachel Loftspring and Daniel Pelchovitz

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

Heiman Family: (L to R) Mark Heiman, Paul Heiman, Kim Heiman and Gary Heiman

Frieda Berger Fraida bat Raizel

Pepa Kaufman Perel Tova bat Sima Sora

Daniel Eliyahu Daniel ben Tikvah

Murray Kirschner Chaim Meir ben Basha

Edith Kaffeman Yehudit bat B’racha

Ravid Sulam Ravid Chaya bat Ayelet

Roma Kaltman Ruchama bat Perl

Edward Ziv Raphael Eliezer Aharon ben Esther Enya

CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE AJC COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD 12

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

to Kim and Gary Heiman

American Jewish Committee National Board of Governors members with the Heimans: Jim Miller, Kim Heiman, Gary Heiman, Gloria Haffer and John Stein

Gary Heiman, Kim Heiman, Rhoda Mayerson, Manny Mayerson

Rabbi Lewis Kamrass, of Wise Temple, Rabbi Irv Wise of Adath Israel Congregation, and Rabbi Ed Rettig, acting director of AJC’s Jerusalem office.

Co-chair Bill Katz, AJC past president Patti Heldman, co-chair Rick Michelman

Dr. Gila Naveh, chair of UC’s Judaic Studies department and Kim Heiman

John Cobey, Jan Frankel, Rick Michelman, Karen Meyer, Robbie Michelman, John Michelman and David Cobey

GIFT GUIDE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

13

Appointments For 17 years, Appointments has been the place to go for fine pens and more. Located in the Carew Tower, Appointments is Cincinnati’s largest fine pen dealer.

They specialize in fountain pens and have 20 different lines in stock.

Proprietor Doug Kennedy and his associates Labron Miller and

Jay Plogman enjoy talking with people. Between the three of them, they have over 50 years experience.

Excellent customer service is important to them. They’ll take time with people to find out his or her needs especially with the fountain pens.

At Appointments, customers

can also find items especially for the men on your holiday gift list with wallets, luggage and luggage tags, globes, clocks and walking sticks. They also carry Rookwood Pottery tiles, bookends and more.

True to their name, Appointments also carries an array of stationary, journals and calendars.

Bell’s House of Tobacco Bell’s House of Tobacco in Symmes Township offers a unique and personable experience for your fine tobacco needs. The shop carries one of the largest varieties of premium cigars, humidors, lighters and general cigar accessories in the area.

Since opening in 1999, Bell’s has been working hard to provide their guests with superior products, knowledge and excellent customer service.

Bell’s House of Tobacco is an excellent place for customers new to cigars and pipes and also for customers who want to learn something new as well as the discriminating consumer.

With a passion for products and customer service, the staff of Bell’s House of Tobacco is knowledgeable about current and future trends for premium cigars and pipes. Bell’s will take the time to find out exactly what you would like in a cigar or

pipe tobacco, and find the best fit for your budget and personal tastes.

Still not sure what you want, Bell’s House of Tobacco is accommodating for people to sample wares. The shop has a smoking lounge, a private area dedicated for member guests to be able to enjoy fine tobaccos. With comfortable leather chairs, televisions, and blues or jazz always playing in the store, it’s hard to believe that people ever want to leave.

Its reputation is based on assembling an array of fine linens – the finest cotton from Egypt; intimate apparel by the best designers.

Popes and presidents have been customers.

Henrietta and her son, Otto, opened Gattle’s first storefront in Cincinnati in 1920 on West Seventh Street in downtown Cincinnati. This was one year after Henrietta opened a store in Petoskey, Mich. to serve her cus-

tomers there.

In the 1950s they opened stores in Florida and North Carolina.

In 1964, the company began to print and distribute catalogues nationally.

Third generation owner, Tom Gattle, sold the Michigan and Cincinnati stores to family friends, the Cheneys, 25 years ago.

Barbara Cheney said, “We have always strived to make our stores a place where customers’ comfort is never compromised.”

classes in all sorts of fabric crafts as well as access to designs.

Every month Kramer’s offers a full calendar of classes and events.

Coupons to many of their products are also offered.

In addition to sewing products and services, Kramer’s stocks 40 different models and nine brands of vacuums.

Trade-ins are welcome, and warranty work is done in the store.

They repair and service most major brands of sewing machines and vacuums, and they are an authorized Bernina and Brother Sewing Machine repair center.

Kramer’s offers a sharpening service for knives, scissors and pinking shears with a one-day turn around as well.

Pricing is a major focus of Kramer’s – at or below the discount stores.

Toys for baby’s first year Bright Starts has a full line of toys aimed at entertaining and engaging babies in their first year of life. Each toy contains a combination of characteristics that help develop babies’ senses of sight, sound and touch.

Many of the toys are wonderful for newborn boys or girls, and as they grow the toys will entertain them in different ways.

For example, the Start Your Senses Activity Mat provides a comfy mat perfect for tummy time.

Cincinnati’s Finest Pen Shop TOWER PLACE MALL • CAREW TOWERS 441 VINE STREET • CINCINNATI, OH 45202 (513) 421-7430 • FAX (513) 639-7952

WWW.411PENS.COM

HAPPY CHANUKAH SIGN-UP FOR OUR REWARDS CARD

Kramer’s Sew and Vac Kramer’s Sew and Vac has been in Cincinnati since 1947.

At its store on Montgomery Road, in the Kroger anchored shopping center across from the Camargo Cadillac, Kramer’s offers a comprehensive array of products and services for those who love to sew, embroider and quilt. They also carry a complete line of sewing furniture.

Included in their services are

APPOINTMENTS

GIVE HIM WHAT HE REALLY W ANTS!

Gattle’s Located on Cooper Drive in Old Montgomery, Gattle’s has been in Cincinnati since German immigrant, Henrietta Gattle, began selling imported lace curtains door-to-door here.

Over the years Gattle’s business grew to include a location in Michigan, and another in Florida, while her product lines of luxury fabrics and other items grew to encompass bath, bedding, sleepwear and lingerie as well as table linens, soaps, fragrances and gifts.

VISIT US FOR ALL YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING!

The mat is decorated with high-contrast black, white and bold colors and patterns to provide important visual stimulation. Baby will love scanning, focusing, tracking and recognizing patterns on the mat and on the toys hanging from the bars overhead.

As baby grows, she will get a kick out of reaching for the toys overhead or studying her reflection in the safety mirror. The toys are perfect for little fingers and promote interaction, cognitive, fine motor

skills and hand-eye development.

The toys can be rotated or changed to keep the environment enjoyable.

On a much smaller scale, Lil Squeakers are also for newborns and older and provide a delightful surprise when squeezed. These fun little animals are just right for baby’s small hands.

Take n’ Shake toys can be attached to strollers and carriers or the play mat. They come in fun characters like a duck, bug and frog.

Pull on them, and watch them go!

& EARN 5% REBATES ON YOUR PURCHASES

Bell’s House of Tobacco is now on Facebook!

Join our fan page to receive coupons, read reviews, see new products & more

12137 Royal Point Drive @ Fields Ertel Rd (P) 513-774-0270 (E) bells1@fuse.net

w w w . b e l l s c i g a r. c o m

14

DINING OUT

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Kanak’s spreading exotic cuisine in the Tristate

By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor

OPEN 12/24 FOR BRUNCH 11-3 CLOSED CHRISTMAS EVE AND DAY

COME CELEBRATE NEW YEAR’S EVE • SPECIAL MENU!

STEAKS, FRESH SEAFOOD VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY • LIVE MUSIC

3520 ERIE AVE • 871-8714

cuminrestaurant.com

MONTGOMERY'S NEWEST

& BEST SPORTS BAR 8-DIRECTV HD FEEDS ON EIGHT

50" PLASMAS & HD BIG SCREEN HAPPY HOUR • M-F 3-7 PM

LEGENDARY PIZZAS & GRINDERS 9730 MONTGOMERY • 791-7833

rudinos.com/cincinnati OUTDOOR DINING AVAILABLE

Daily Specials & Homemade Soups LIVE MUSIC ON FRIDAYS @ 7PM LIVE TRIVIA ON SATURDAYS @ 7:30PM

10738 KENWOOD RD. 791-2199 www.throughthegarden.com

THAI, SUSHI & PASTA

Lunch Special (Mon-Sat) Dine-In / Carry-Out / Catering Patio Dining Convenience free parking next to building (2 mins from Hyde Park Square)

513.351.0123 | 2912 WASSON RD. www.blueelephantthaisushi.com

9386 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati, OH 45242 (513) 489-1444

The newest Indian restaurant owned and operated by Jesse Singh is Kanak India. Set back from Montgomery Road, with plenty of inside space and outside parking, Kanak India is fine Indian dining in the same tradition as the well known Ambar located on Ludlow Avenue in Clifton and Baba India on Madison Road in Oakley.

Entrepreneur, visionary and chef, Singh says Kanak is Ambar in the suburbs with the addition of parking and a luscious lunch time buffet that is also available at Baba India.

Singh and family are spreading this exotic cuisine all over the Tri state area as this healthy, largely vegetarian food spiced with vibrant seasonings promotes well being. Kanak India is situated in a convenient location for suburban families who no longer have to trek into town to Ambar. Of course, Ambar and Baba India are good choices for a day spent in the urban Queen city area.

I met with Singh at Kanak India during a lunch hour. The fragrance of cardamom and fenugreek filled the large room. The long silver station buffet offered the additional scent of garlic and ginger. I am a fan of buffets, especially at ethnic restaurants, as I like to have endless choices and large amounts of food available to me. Ambar is fun for dinner with a friend who likes spicy food and sharing a bottle of wine while immersed in the heady chatter of UC and Xavier faculty.

Let me assure you that the combination yields a satisfied dining aura both internally and externally.

Kanak India carries this ambience into the northeast suburban corner of Cincinnati. Yes, the menu is the same as Ambar’s. But the buffet, the dishes of fragrantly spiced vegetarian items, puffy and crispy pakoras and trays loaded with pieces of tandoori chicken are additional offerings. Arrive hungry, eat heartily and enjoy authentic cuisine from Northern India, famous for savory tandoori oven dishes and exotic curries.

I have found that you either love or hate Indian food. If you are from the bland tummy group, feeling safe and secure only among hot dogs and apple pies, content to

(Clockwise) Delicious tandoori chicken is a favorite on the lunch buffet; Pleasant decor makes dining at Kanak India a relaxing experience; Jesse Singh is your host at Kanak, Ambar and Baba India; Bounty from the buffet is a gift for healthy appetites.

mull over retirement options while watching reruns of favorite shows from the ‘60s and ‘70s, and Lady Gaga makes you fear for the morality of the next generation, then your taste buds might need a touch of wake up spice. Try Indian food, more specifically drive to Kanak India, park your vehicle in the many spaces in front of the restaurant, (Ambar aficionados will envy this parking luxury), walk in, slide into a side booth or sit at a table with white tablecloths.

If you are not working that day, start off by ordering an Indian beer—King Fisher or Taj Mahal— as these smooth brews mix magically with the spice of powerful cuisine. Or I hear the Mango Lassi—chilled sweet mangoes blended with a touch of rose water and fresh homemade yogurt—will unleash a yummy internal explosion and a satisfying thirst quencher for the bevy of spices that season the food.

The most frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are chilli, pepper, black mustard seed, cumin, turmeric, asafoetida, ginger, coriander and garlic. Popular spice mixes are garam masala, a powder that typically includes five or more dried spices, especially cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Each region, and sometimes each individual

chef, has a distinctive blend of garam masala. Some leaves are commonly used, including tejpat (cinnamon leaf), and coriander leaf, fenugreek leaf, and “Mentha” mint leaf. Sweet dishes are seasoned with cardamom, saffron, nutmeg and rose petal essences.

Singh reports that garlic helps lower cholesterol and keeps arteries clean. In India, turmeric and milk are used for the treatment of broken bones as the spice has antiinflammatory properties. Ginger and caraway seeds help digestion.

Cinnamon is gaining in popularity as a remedy for diabetes, indigestion and colds.

Healthy, healthy food. We are striving to eat more from the bottom of the food chain. Many already have a modified vegetarian diet. The convenience of Kanak Indian in this northern suburb can’t be overstated. In addition to American transformation in diet, we are also encouraging the younger folk to eat healthier, which usually means more fruits and vegetables. Families should consider dining here or opt for take out after a busy work day or hectic car pooling. Indian food turns eggplant and cauliflower into aromatic dishes.

Spinach, peas and mushrooms cooked in cheese and spices served over basmati rice begs to be eaten.

Sushi • Steaks • Raw Bar Live Music Every Tues thru Sat! (513) 936-8600 9769 MONTGOMERY RD. www.jeffruby.com

Naan, the traditional Indain bread, can be ordered made from whole wheat flour, and stuffed with peas, onions and potatoes. Tandoori chicken, marinated in yogurt and spices, baked in a clay oven, provides protein without excess fat.

Times are changing. We are global as evidenced by our technology. Having such menu possibilities as take out Sag Paneer, homemade cheese cubes cooked in spinach and cream ($10.49 includes rice) and Chicken Tikka Masala, lightly broiled chicken cooked in a savory tomato, onion and butter sauce ($11.99 with rice) merely reflect our sophisticated palate and better choices than high fat fast food options.

Singh says, “Everything is cooked in house, and the secret to success is simple, daily hard work.” His philosophy on hospitality includes caring for each customer by providing good food, on time, in pleasant surroundings. I strongly agree with Singh, who added that buffets are a bargain and a great way to taste new food.

Kanak India is open seven days a week. Catering is also available.

Kanak India 10040 B Montgomery Road Montgomery, Ohio 513-793-6800

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

DINING OUT

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

DINING OUT Andy’s Mediterranean Grille At Gilbert & Nassau 2 blocks North of Eden Park 281-9791

Incahoots 4110 Hunt Rd Blue Ash 793-2600

Rudino’s Pizza & Grinders 9730 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati 791-7833

Apsara 4785 Lake Forest Dr Blue Ash 554-1040

Izzy’s 800 Elm St • 721-4241 612 Main St • 241-6246 5098B Glencrossing Way 347-9699 1198 Smiley Ave • 825-3888 300 Madison Ave Covington • 859-292-0065

Slatt’s Pub 4858 Cooper Rd Blue Ash 791-2223 • 791-1381 (fax)

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 Dingle House 9102 Towne Centre Dr West Chester 874-PINT (7468) 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

GET RESULTS. Place your restaurant ad here!

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

Call 621-3145 today.

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 Oriental Wok 2444 Madison Rd Hyde Park 871-6888 Parkers Blue Ash Grill 4200 Cooper Rd Blue Ash 891-8300 Pomodori’s 121West McMillan 861-0080 7880 Remington Rd Montgomery 794-0080

15

AMBAR

BABA

KANAK

350 LUDLOW AVE. CINCINNATI, OH 45220 (513) 281-7000

3120 MADISON RD. CINCINNATI, OH 45209 (513) 321-1600

10040B MONTGOMERY RD. CINCINNATI, OH 45242 (513) 793-6800

CINCINNATI’S BEST INDIAN RESTAURANTS

Sonoma Am. & Med. Grill 3012 Madison Rd Cincinnati 376-9941 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 Sultan’s Med. Cuisine 7305 Tyler’s Corner Dr West Chester 847-1535

ROAST BRISKET & CHICKEN DINNERS with CARROTS, POTATOES

& GRAVY

ALSO

ORDER OUR HOMEMADE CHOPPED LIVER (MADE WITH REAL SHMALTZ) All orders are to be made 2 days in advance of pickup

Tandoor 8702 Market Place Ln Montgomery 793-7484 the Palace 601 Vine St Downtown Cincinnati 381-3000 Through The Garden 10738 Kenwood Rd Cincinnati 791-2199

CALL 761-0200 FOR DAILY SPECIALS MON 11-2, TUE-FRI 11-8, SAT 3-8, CLOSED SUN KENNY TESSEL’S

KT’S BARBECUE & DELI 8501 READING ROAD • 513-761-0200 View our menu @ ktsbbqanddeli.com CATERING AVAILABLE FOR ANY AND ALL OCCASIONS

VIEW 2200 Victory Pkwy Cincinnati 751-8439

Enjoy Our al Fresco Patio Dining • Private Dining Rooms Full-service Dining • Carry-out • On-premise Italian Bakery

KIDS EAT FREE on Sundays 1/2 PRICE WINE on Tuesdays and Wednesdays $5 MARTINIS on Sundays and Mondays Lunch: Mon - Fri 11:30–2:30 Dinner: Mon - Thu 5–10 • Fri & Sat 5–11 • Sun 4–9

7677 Goff Terrace • Madeira, OH 45243 513-272-2220 • www.ferrarilittleitaly.com

OPINION

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Fighting fire with water Maybe you received it too.

The e-mail was forwarded to me by no fewer than three people, and in each case I was among hundreds of recipients. The photographs in the communication were prefaced by the all-caps pronouncement, “THIS MUST BE SEEN AND PASSED AROUND THE WORLD. PLEASE DO SO.” They depicted a throng of Muslim men bowing or kneeling in prayer in the middle of a major city thoroughfare.

The famous thought attributed to Irish statesman Edmund Burke, “For evil to flourish, all that is needed is for good people to do nothing,” followed, in turn followed by an explanation that the scenes were “an accurate picture” of Madison Avenue in Manhattan, where Muslims “stop normal traffic every Friday afternoon by worshipping in the streets.” This inconveniencing of others, the writer added, takes place “between about 2 & 4 p.m.” in two places – “one at 42nd St & Madison Ave… [and by] another, even larger group, at 94th St & 3rd Ave.” Beneath that, there was a reminder of the controversy over the “Ground Zero mosque” and the admonition: “If we don’t wake up soon, we are going to ‘politically correct’ ourselves right out of our own country!”

One of the comments appended at the top of the e-mail by an earlier recipient who apparently lives in Israel, expressed relief that “Baruch Hashem, we all got out in plenty of time.”

I have spent most of six years of weekdays in Manhattan but, admittedly, have never been in midtown on a Friday afternoon.

So the activity described, for all I knew, could in fact regularly occur as described. Somehow, though, it struck me as unlikely.

My skepticism was well placed.

Although the photographs were real, a bit of research yielded the fact that what they depicted was a moment at last year’s Muslim Day Parade, an event that has taken place annually since 1985.

Like the St. Patrick’s Day parade celebrating Irish-American culture or the Columbus Day parade celebrating the Italo-

American heritage or the Puerto Rican, West Indian or Chinese New Year (or the Salute to Israel) parades, a procession celebrating Islamic culture takes place in New York each year (on a Sunday, as it happens, the last one in September). For a quarter of a century, Muslims in the New York area have yearly obtained the requisite permits for the event, during which they peacefully celebrate their culture. The photographs captured their break for prayers.

Might there be participants in the parade who are unsavory characters, Jew haters, even terrorists?

Well, certainly (although there are rumored to be Irish and ItaloAmerican anti-Semites too).

Might there be books among those sold (along with foods and clothing) at the post-parade festival that promote anti-Semitic or antiwestern sentiment? Could be.

Some enterprising investigative reporter might want to drop by next year’s festival and see.

But even if some ugliness is uncovered, it will not cancel the ugliness – and affront to truth – that was the widely distributed email.

There is, unfortunately, plenty of Islamist sentiment out there, plenty of anti-Semitism both straightforward and barely concealed behind an “anti-Israel” cloak, plenty of anti-Americanism and hatred for all that is good, to demonstrate that the threat radical Islam poses to civilized society is real and dire and pressing.

But does that provide us permission to believe, much less propagate, any charge brought against Muslims? What would we think if photographs of the massive celebration of the Siyum HaShas Talmud-completion were circulated and described as Jews gathering to plan a takeover of the country (or to celebrate accomplishment of the same)?

Our Jewish danger-sensors must be turned on always, but our Jewish brains no less. Truth is a high Jewish ideal. Our enemies use lies as their weapon. Are we not better than that? We should be.

We would never think of trying to extinguish a fire with gasoline. Why would we think that we can fight lies with more lies?

Rabbi Shafran is an editor at large and columnist for Ami Magazine.

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

Dear Editor, Few of us have lived during a time when our community has suffered so much. At Jewish Vocational Service, we hear about it every day: People who once donated to food pantries are now going to the same food pantries for groceries.

People who once lived comfortable lives are now losing their homes to foreclosure.

People who once wore fashionable clothing have had to accept donations of business attire just to look presentable during job interviews.

Many are experiencing these problems for the first time. Some must cobble together several jobs to pay their heating bills or put gas in their car. It can take more than a year to find a job, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, especially if you’re older than 45.

Getting help finding a job is important, but the seemingly simple act of acknowledging the

need for that assistance can be painful. And the effort to reach out for help is made more difficult by a lack of knowledge about where to turn.

A professional career consultant—someone who can enhance an individual’s job search skills—can be the answer. Yes, it’s important to have impressive work skills and a strong employment history. But here’s something that’s just as important: learning how to write an effective resume and cover letter, sharpening interviewing skills and polishing professional networking techniques.

Many come to Jewish Vocational Service for that help.

Our Cincinnati Career Network coaches people in job search skills. We’re committed to helping people rebuild their lives whether they’re unemployed or underemployed, entry-level workers or top executives.

But we’re not the only ones offering such assistance. Other nonprofit and government agencies in Greater Cincinnati that

can help are the SuperJob Center in Cincinnati, the Job Search Focus Group in Hyde Park and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Many colleges have career advisers for their students and graduates. And the United Way of Greater Cincinnati has a telephone referral service that can help with many needs, including finding a job.

Landing a job can be difficult at any time. But with unemployment soaring, it’s even more difficult now. Seeking professional advice can make a big difference.

Peter M. Bloch Jewish Vocational Service CEO

T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: VAYIGASH (BRAISHITH 44:17—47:27) 1. What gifts did Joseph give his brothers? a.) Shoes b.) Fragrances c.) Clothes

a.) Jacob b.) Benjamin c.) It was given to all 4. What percentage did Pharaoh get as a tax? a.) Ten percent b.) Twenty percent c.) Thirty percent

2. Who received a gift of 300 silver pieces? a.) Jacob b.) Benjamin c.) Shimon

5. Whom did Joseph not tax? a.) The poor b.) Nobility c.) Priests

3. Who received a gift of 10 donkeys and 10 mules?

3. A 45:23 Joseph did not actually send the animals,but provisions that would need 10 donkeys and mules. Rashi 4. B 47:24 5. C 47:22

By Rabbi Avi Shafran Contributing Columnist

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ANSWERS 1. C 45:22 2. B 45:22 The brothers sold Joseph as a slave. The value of a slave is 30 shekels by the ten brothers who sold him, because Benjamin was not involved in the sale of Joseph. R'Bcahi

16

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

JEWISH LIFE

17

Sedra of the Week

By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT VAYIGASH • GENESIS 44:18-47:27

Efrat, Israel - The magnificent Torah reading recounts the denouement of the drama of Joseph and his brothers, with the Grand Vizier of Egypt revealing his true identity in a manner totally devoid of blame or rancor: “And now do not be saddened or angry that you sold me (into slavery)... It was G-d who sent me before you... to enable you... to remain alive for a great salvation” (Genesis 45:58). Joseph immediately bids his brothers “make haste and go up to my father.. to come down to me, not to remain (in Canaan) ... lest you and your household perish since there is another five years for the famine” (ibid 10,11).

But this seems like a rather strange request. Joseph certainly heard at the knee of his father the importance of the Land of Israel in the lives of the Patriarchs: “aliyah” was the very first commandment the Almighty gave to Abraham.

Indeed, Jacob himself had risked physical danger at the hands of Esau as well as financial ruin when he left Laban’s employ to return to his ancestral homeland. Moreover, Father Jacob is now 130 years old, and he looks and feels even older than his age because of the many tragedies he suffered in his lifetime (Genesis 47:9). Would it not have been far more logical and sensitive for the Grand Vizier of Egypt to have made a “state visit” to his old father, bringing with him a large supply of provisions and guaranteeing his family regular monthly stipends of grain? In keeping with the tradition of filial respect, the young vibrant Joseph should have made the arduous journey to see his ailing father, and could easily have continued to support the “Israeli family” from Egypt!

I believe there are three main responses to this question. First of all, we must always view the stories of the Book of Genesis from two perspectives: on one plane we are held spellbound by a riveting human drama of parents and children, unfolding in accordance with the freely committed actions of the personalities involved, while on another plane, we are allowed to glimpse a Divinely directed march toward salvation developing in accordance with the predestined

“And now do not be saddened or angry that you sold me (into slavery)...

It was G-d who sent me before you... to enable you... to remain alive for a great salvation” (Genesis 45:5-8).

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

Kiddush follows Shabbat Morning Services

RABBI HANAN BALK & ASSISTANT RABBI STUART LAVENDA

6442 Stover Ave • 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org plan of the Author of History. The “covenant between the pieces” which G-d entered into with Abraham foretold the necessity for the children of Israel to experience Egyptian servitude and eventual redemption. Joseph must therefore bring his family to Egypt.

The late Dayan Golditch of London suggested another explanation. He presented the analogy of a son who leaves his parents’ religious home in a burst of desired independence, going off to a distant university and establishing his own residence. Indeed, the son distances himself to such an extent that there is no contact between him and his parents. What kind of rapprochement would suit the parents better, a visit by the son to his family home for a Sabbath or Festival, or an invitation (with plane or train tickets included) for the parents to come to his home? Dayan Golditch insists that the latter invitation would gladden the parents’ hearts immeasurably more. After all, knowing the deep religiosity of his parents, the son would hardly invite them to his home if it weren’t kosher, or if he were living with a non-Jewish woman! Hence Joseph sends his father “tickets”; he apparently wishes to impress his father with the fact that he had retained his religious commitments even as Grand Vizier of Egypt. That is why, explained Dayan Golditch, the Torah-text explains that when “(Jacob) saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to transport him (to the Grand Vizier's house in Egypt), the spirit of Jacob their father was revived” (Genesis 45:27).

The third and in many ways most convincing explanation is provided by the Ramban (Nahmanides) who suggests that Joseph is not able to send to the Land of Canaan a great deal of food from Pharoah’s storehouses because he (Joseph) would then be suspected of preparing treasures of gold and silver for himself when he returns to his

ancestral homeland! (Ramban on Genesis 45:10). In other words, Joseph could not allow himself to be vulnerable to the charge of “dual loyalty” of preparing the way for his eventual return to an economically sound Israel.

Rav Meier Simkha of Dvinsk, in his Biblical commentary known as the Meshekh Hakma goes one step further, maintaining that specifically because Joseph still retained his familial religious practices in Egypt, he had to “bend over backwards” and not send large supplies of food outside of Egypt into the land of Canaan; Joseph had to take special precautions not to seem to be too generous to Israel lest he be accused of sacrificing the best interests of Egypt.

Added weight is given to this third explanation by the later Biblical description of Joseph’s discomfiture in seeking to gain permission to bury his father Jacob in Israel: “And Joseph spoke to the household of Pharoah saying, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes please speak to the ears of Pharoah’...” (Genesis 50:4, 5) Joseph was the Grand Vizier of Egypt! He certainly could walk into Pharoah’s office at any time, without the intermediary of a servant or a family member to whisper into Pharoah’s ear! Apparently, Joseph realized that his father’s desired burial in Israel would anger the despotic Pharoah, raising vexing questions of Jewish dual loyalty! Perhaps it is this realization more than anything else which brings home to the Grand Vizier the message that even Egypt is Exile, and inspires him to request of his brethren that he too must be buried in Israel. In the final analysis, only Israel is the Jewish eternal homeland!

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

Over 125 years in Cincinnati and 10 years at Cornell.

Egalitarian • 8100 Cornell Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45249 (513) 489-3399 • www.ohavshalom.org

18

JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

Jewz in the Newz

By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist BERKOFF, ONE TOUGH JEW The action-thriller “The Tourist” opens on Friday, Dec. 10.

It stars Johnny Depp as Frank, an American tourist in Italy. Angelina Jolie plays Elise, a woman whose former lover is a con-man who is being hunted by the police and by a big-time gangster from whom he has stolen a lot of money. Elise seduces Frank with the intent of making the main police agent (Paul Bettany) and the gangster (STEVEN BERKOFF, 73) think that Frank is the con-man (they know the con-man has had plastic surgery).

Berkoff, a British Jew, is an acclaimed actor, playwright and stage director. He takes an occasional well-paid film role to support his theater work. He has a real flair for playing classy, but truly menacing villains and he played just such a character in the first “Beverly Hills Cop” film and in “Octopussy,” the James Bond movie.

Berkoff has written Jewishthemed plays, directed plays in Israel, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind about the place of Jews in English society. He told the London Jewish Chronicle last year: “Unlike America, [Jews] in England feel too self-conscious about being [Jewish]. England is not a great lover of its Jews…

There is a slight distaste of the foreigner.”

This attitude, he says, extends to the arts establishment: “They quite like diversity and will tolerate you as long as you act a bit gentile and don’t throw your chicken soup around too much and you keep your Jewishness well zipped up…”

These attitudes, he adds, carryover to the Arab-Israeli conflict (although he notes he’s not a supporter of the Israeli right wing): “Overt anti-Semitism goes against the British sense of fair play. It has to be covert and civilized. So certain left-wing playwrights and actors make themselves out to be stricken with conscience. They say: ‘We hate Israel, we hate Zionism, we don’t hate Jews.’ But Zionism is the very essence of what a Jew is. Zionism is the act of seeking sanctuary after years and years of unspeakable outrages against Jews. As soon as Israel does anything over the top it’s always the same old faces who come out to demonstrate. I don’t see hordes of people marching down the street against Mugabe when tens of thousands are dying every month in Zimbabwe.”

FISHER AND JONES “Wishful Drinking,” an autobiographical one-woman play that actress/writer CARRIE FISHER, 54, has toured for four years (and is still touring), is premiering on HBO on Sunday, Dec. 12 (multiple showings). It explores her life as the bi-polar famous daughter of a famous interfaith Hollywood couple (the late singer EDDIE FISHER and actress Debbie Reynolds).

In 2008, Fisher spoke to the San Francisco Jewish paper in conjunction with her play opening there.

She said that even though she was raised sort-of Protestant, early memories of her father singing in synagogue had “a big effect on her.” Fisher said she now identifies as Jewish. She added that she and her (then) 16-year-old daughter (Fisher’s a single mother) often attend Friday night services and have Shabbat meals with Orthodox friends.

The famous British punk band “The Clash” is profiled in a BBC America special airing on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 10PM. Relatively few people know that MICK JONES, 55, the band’s lead guitarist and cofounder, is the (secular) son of a Jewish mother and a Welsh, nonJewish father. He’s referenced his mother’s Jewish refugee background in a couple of songs.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK “He’s [ANDREW GARFIELD] fantastic and Jewish apparently, and I’m Jewish. A Jewish Spider-Man— that’s progress.”

—So said Brit actor DANIEL RADCLIFFE, 21, the star of the “Harry Potter” films, about Andrew Garfield, 27, who has been cast as the star of the next “Spider-Man” movie. (Radcliffe’s mother is Jewish. Garfield, who was raised in the U.K., is the son of an American Jewish mother and a British Jewish father).

“Ms. Portman’s experience gave her a taste not only of the physical sacrifices, but also the mental ones. ‘It was very religious in my mind,’ she said. ‘The ritual of, like, breaking in your point shoes and getting them soft, all of that, it’s almost like tefillin wrapping in Judaism, this thing you do every day, this ritual.’”

—NATALIE PORTMAN, 29, speaking to the NY Times about her dance training to play the lead in the film, “The Black Swan.”

“Having to deal with co-workers wishing you a Happy Chanukah a month after it’s over.”

—Worst thing about (an early) Chanukah, from a humor site.

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Wolf, of Mt. Vernon, Ind., will spend two weeks with their sister, Mrs. Isaac A. Weil, 820 Hutchins Avenue, Avondale.

At the general meeting Congregation Bene Israel (Rockdale Avenue) held recently, Rev. Joseph Mandelberg was re-elected Cantor at an increased salary for a term of three years.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Freiberg celebrated the 25th anniversary of their marriage on Friday evening, December 2. A musical program was rendered by Mr. Clarence Adler and Miss Mary Conrey.

The engagement of Mr. Jacob M.

Plaut, of this city, to Miss Alice Sachs, of New York City, has been announced. Mr. Plaut is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Plaut, of Forest and Bogart Avenues, Avondale, and Miss Sachs is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Barney Sachs, of New York. Dr. Barney Sachs is the well-known educator, who has been for many years the head of one of the private schools of that city.

Word was received here of the sudden death of Mrs. Joseph Miller (nee Gertrude Moers) of this city at San Francisco, Cal., on Sunday, December 4. Mrs. Miller was taken suddenly ill and an immediate opera-

tion was found necessary. Her mother, Mrs. Carrie Moers, of this city, was sent for, but although she left at once she arrived too late. The deceased was twenty-nine years old, and is survived by her husband, her mother, two sisters, Mrs. Ben Schottenfels, of Cincinnati, and Miss Elsie Moers, who has been making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Miller in San Francisco, and two brothers, Moses and Raymond, both of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Miller resided in Cincinnati until about a year ago, when they removed to the coast. Interment took place Wednesday, December 7, at San Francisco. — December 8, 1910

75 Years Ago Dr. Meyer R. Schneider has taken over the dental practice of the late Dr. Sidney J. Rauh, 441 Doctors Building, with whom Dr. Schneider had been associated.

Dr. Henry Wald Bettmann, 67, nationally known authority on internal medicine, professor in the College of medicine, University of Cincinnati, and former president of the Academy of Medicine succumbed to a heart attack in his home late Thursday, Dec. 5th.

Dr. Bettmann leaves his widow,

Mrs. Rose K. Bettmann; a son, Henry Alfred Bettmann, who has been studying at Harvard University, but is returning home, and a daughter, Mrs. Charles Leopold, Philadelphia.

Mrs. Julia Menderson Weiler, 79, widow of Simon L. Weiler, Cincinnati manufacturer, died Saturday, Dec. 7th, at her home, 725 Crescent Avenue.

Seven children, Geoff M. Weiler, Mrs. Louise Greenbaum, and Mrs. Carl Robertson, all of New York City, and Mrs. Joseph Rauh, Mrs. Harry Mannheimer, Mrs. Nat Rosenbaum,

and Leo Weiler, all of Cincinnati, survive her.

Samuel Seinsheimer, retired, died Sunday, Dec. 8th, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Norvin J. Heldman, 3993 Rose Hill Avenue, after a brief illness. He was 77.

Mr. Seinsheimer, a native of Cincinnati, was the owner of the Seinsheimer-Hauser Co., liquidated when he retired 20 years ago.

His daughter, Mrs. Heldman, and three grandchildren, survive. — December 12, 1935

50 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Levinson announce the engagement of their daughter, Ronnie Ann, to Mr. John Edwin Shore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard S. Shore, of this city.

Miss Levinson graduated from College Preparatory School and attends Colorado Women’s College, Denver.

Mr. Shore, a graduate of Colby College, Waterville, Me., attends The

College of Law at Northwestern. He is a member of Kappa Delta Rho and Phi Delta Phi, law fraternity.

Miss Levinson is a granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Al Levinson, also of this city.

A June wedding is planned.

Irwin Blumberg, 1348 Westminster Drive, passed away Sunday Nov 13.

Services were held at the Weil Funeral Home, Tuesday, Nov. 15,

Rabbi Fishel J. Goldfeder officiating.

Interment was in Schachnus Cemetery.

Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Blanche Wasserman Blumberg; his daughter, Miss Rosalie Blumberg, of Cincinnati, and four sisters, Mrs. Max Robinson and Mrs. Louis Slovis, both of Knoxville; and Mrs. Philip Moskowitz and Mrs. Sara Mayersohn, both of Cincinnati.— December 8, 1960

25 Years Ago Janet Block, vice president of Shillito Rikes, and Joseph E. Rosen, Cincinnati attorney, were married Thursday, Dec. 5 Rabbi Milton Richman of Scranton, Pa., officiated.

Nearly 300 friends, relatives and colleagues gathered to honor Sam Kruke upon his retirement as the Jewish Community Center’s Men’s Health Club Director following 33 years of service to the Center.

Ron Rose served as “roastmaster”

at the dinner and roast held Sunday, Nov. 17 at the Center. Participating in the program were Gary Schreiber, Eugene “Yitz” Klein, Leo Herman, Al Fingerman, Ray Kuhn, Joe Bettman, Harvey Egherman, Mert Weinberg, Bill Gallop, Sid Diamod, and Mildred Schwartz.

Malvin Rae Ziv of 2444 Madison Road passed away Dec. 4.

She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, William S. and Elinor

Ziv; a daughter and son-in-law, Fritzie and Robert Yamin of Tarzana, Calif.; seven grandchildren, Edward, Francine, Robert and Andrea Ziv, Michael, Nancy, Linda and Wendy Yamin; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Pitzele of Hollywood, Fla.; two nieces, Francis Pitzele Schuster of Hollywood and Laura Blumenthal of Los Angeles; a nephew, William Pitzele; and a grandniece, Lori Schuster, both of Hollywood. — December 12, 1985

10 Years Ago Lloyd George Gottlieb, 76, passed away October 13, 2000. Mr. Gottlieb was born in Cincinnati, the son of the late Ann and Sid Gottlieb. He is survived by his wife, Miriam Gottlieb, and his children, Dr. Roy Gottlieb of Columbus, Ohio and Lynn Schramek of Rochester, N.Y. Surviving grandchildren are Alex Gottlieb and Camilla Schramek. Mr. Gottlieb is also survived by a sister, LaVerne Gottlieb Hiudt.

Mr. Gottlieb was a graduate of Walnut Hills High School and served in the Naval Air Force during WWII.

After the war, he continued his education as a chemical engineer at the University of Cincinnati. Six months prior to graduation, he joined his father as a representative in automobile accessories, which became his career.

Myron T. “Mike” Jacobs, 85 passed away November 25, 2000. Mr. Jacobs was born in Sardinia, Ohio, the son of the late Charles Isaac Jacobs and Carrie Klein Jacobs, and most of his life was spent in Cincinnati. Mr. Jacobs was the husband of the late Julia F. “Judy” Jacobs. He is survived by his children, Patricia and William

Steinway of Chapel Hill, N.C., Barbara and Stanley Schwartz, Sally Jacobs and Suzy Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs is also survived by grandchildren, Brian and Stacia Schwartz and Andrew and Miranda Steinway.

Mr. Jacobs and his wife were the owner/operators of Lillian’s Dress Shoppe and the inspiration for Julia’s Dress Shoppe, which is owned by one of his daughters. Mr. Jacobs was a preOlympic diver and swimmer in his youth and swam in the Senior Olympics, where he won many medals. — December 7, 2000

BUSINESS/CLASSIFIEDS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc.

(513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Beth Tevilah Mikveh Society (513) 821-6679 Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7226 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.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) 984-3393 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

19

New scholarship established at Cincinnati State honoring Phyllis Karp Cincinnati Business and Professional Women will honor a former member, the late Phyllis Karp, at their Holiday Benefit on Wednesday, Dec. 15, by establishing a scholarship in her name at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.

The benefit will be held at the Summit Restaurant of Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State.

It will include an elegant menu prepared by students of the Culinary Institute, entertainment and many raffle prizes and drawings.

Phyllis Karp was president of

Main Auction Galleries and was recognized during her lifetime for her support of downtown Cincinnati causes and her philanthropy. Cincinnati Business and Professional Women greatly appreciated her generosity as a supporting member for many years.

Proceeds from ticket sales (events, raffle prizes and drawings) and charitable donations will benefit the Scholarship through the Cincinnati State Foundation. For event invitations and raffle tickets, contact Cincinnati Business and Professional Women.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

SERVICES

RICHEY CONSTRUCTION Carpentry, Remodeling Repairs, Gutters, Siding, Windows, Roofing, Decks, Tile, Drywall, Painting, Kitchen, Baths References. Insured.

731-9721 Shomer Shabbat

HOUSE CLEANING WANTED 25 Years Experience.

Excellent References.

My references have been with me for 15-23 years.

Honest, Loyal, & Dependable

Call Vickie at (513) 260-3636 SENIOR SERVICES

ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati-hadassah.org Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (513) 204-5594 • 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

DO YOU WANT TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED? Send an e-mail including what you would like in your classified & your contact information to

production@ americanisraelite.com

LEADERS from page 3 At each table, participants discussed ideas and used easels to stick their thoughts on post-it notes, which were viewed by all the participants and will be looked

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

513-531-9600 over by the Federation’s Strategic Planning committee. The next leader forum will be in January and the goals will center on Quality of Life, Community Resources, Civic Leadership and Jewish Community Leadership.

20

TRAVEL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

SoCal so cool: 50 miles of pure pleasure Wandering Jew

By Janet Steinberg Travel Editor

Laguna Beach: Puttin’on the Ritz PART 4 OF A SERIES On the last leg of our 50-mile Southern California (SoCal) journey, we opted for three days of utter indulgence. Exhaustion was setting in from all we had seen and done in the last 10 days.

Therefore, we decided, it was time for a truly hedonistic, sybaritic vacation in an idyllic sanctuary on the California Riviera.

With that being said, we began our “operation recovery” with an upgrade to the Captain’s Lounge on the Catalina Express vessel that was to take us from Catalina Island to Dana Point. This private lounge, available on only four of the fleet’s boats, is located on the top deck directly behind the Captain. Bloody Mary’s, Captain Tony, and a doting stewardess were at our service as we pre-boarded and lounged on leather banquettes in what seemed like our own private catamaran.

Upon disembarking in Dana Point, we had time to stroll the quaint harbor while awaiting the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel’s car that would drive us to the hotel, a few minutes away. Dana Point Harbor, dedicated on July 31, 1971, is one of the world’s most beautiful man-made harbors. It is also the “Whale Watching Capital of the West.” Dana Point has a surfing history to rival anywhere outside Hawaii. Hobie Alter, of Hobie Cat fame, opened the very first retail surf shop in Dana Point in 1954.

The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Perched atop a 150-foot bluff with panoramic white-water views of the Pacific Ocean and two-miles of sandy beach, The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is consistently ranked among the finest resorts in the world.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were ushered into our spacious room with views of the Pacific Ocean dashing toward the shore below. Although it was morning, we could hardly wait for sunset time to arrive. The glowing sun, sinking into the Pacific horizon is

Legendary Eiler Larsen, official greeter of Laguna Beach, works his corner at The Pottery Place; Author reclines on sculptural art bench at the entrance to Art-A-Fair; Cliffside homes overlook Laguna Beach’s breathtaking Pacific Ocean.

an unforgettable sight.

Whatever your taste buds crave, the Ritz-Carlton will assuage your desires. Breakfast at the Market Place offers a wide variety of coffee, espresso, sweet treats and more. ENO is a wine, cheese and chocolate sensation where guests can indulge in three of the world’s greatest pleasures.

In 2010, Raya, a restaurant concept by acclaimed chef Richard Sandoval opened in the Ritz Carlton. It showcases Pan-Latin Coastal Cuisine prepared with sustainable seafood, local produce and chef Richard Sandoval’s signature Latin flavors.

Dinner got off to a great start

with a Mojito Cuzco and an Orange Ginger cocktail. Latin inspired entrees included Chile AnchoPistachio Crusted Tuna, ChipotleMiso Glazed Black Cod, and Achiote Barbecued Salmon.

Dulce de Leche Pudding or Lemongrass Panna Cotta can top off the dinner. A dramatic Brad Oldham stainless steel forest sculpture backdrops the restaurant’s ocean views.

Nearby Laguna Beach is a magical seaside village with a history that dates back more than 2,000 years. Laguna’s reputation as an artist’s colony began with the arrival of Norman St. Claire in 1903. St. Claire arrived by train

and stagecoach from San Francisco to capture Laguna’s dramatic surf, sand and picturesque hillsides.

After eyeing his work, many of his artist friends made an exodus to Laguna Beach and it has been an artistic haven ever since.

In 1932, The Festival of Arts staged its first show. Today, 90 minutes of “living pictures” are presented at the Festival’s Pageant of the Masters where real people pose to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces of art. It has been voted one of the top three festivals in the United States.

The Sawdust Art Festival, located in a beautiful eucalyptus grove, features artwork created only in

Laguna Beach. The nearby Art-AFair features fine art by international, national and local artists.

Wyland, the world-famous marine artist, posted his first Whaling Wall on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. Mrs. John Wayne dedicated the mural on July 9, 1981. It was repainted in 1986 and then tiled in 1996.

Laguna Art Museum, the oldest museum in California, is located about 300-feet from the ocean on Cliff Drive. It is one of the most spectacular and impressive locations of any museum in the world.

Chabad Jewish Center of Laguna Beach welcomes all visitors for holiday or Shabbat services, or to unwind, celebrate or just schmooze.

The dining options in Laguna Beach are as diverse as the artist community itself. Dining patrons can travel the culinary globe in a matter of a few blocks.

Our fabulous dinner experiences took us to Tabu where we were immersed in a South Pacific ambience. The following night, our dinner at Mozambique was as if we had flown off to South Africa. Our final dinner at Raya was divine food with a Latin American twist.

Lunches at Watermarc and Sundried Tomato were pure California. Be sure to try the latter’s namesake soup, spiked with rich Gorgonzola cheese.

Togetherness took on new meaning for my husband and myself as we opted for the “Couples Ritual” in the Aquaterra Spa at the Surf and Sand Resort. For 110 minutes we nurtured our bodies and souls in unison. Wrapped up like tortillas, with seaweed, blankets and who knows what else, we lay side by side on heated massage tables as Sasha and Lauren tended to our corporal needs.

Continuing with the healing elements of the ocean, we relaxed in a special seaweed bubble bath for two. We giggled like teenagers, plotting how we would ever lift ourselves out of that deep, bubblefilled bathtub. We contemplated calling the fire department or the possibility of renting a crane.

Well, we made it out of the bathtub…don’t ask how…and it was back to the massage tables. For our side-by-side finale, we each received an Aquaterra Signature Massage, combining time-honored Swedish techniques with our individual therapist’s personal expression of tension reduction and relaxation.

Laguna Beach is one of those destinations that top my “MustGo-Back List.” The natural beauty of this 8-mile stretch of picturesque coastal village, plus all it has to offer, is already calling me to return. And, I will!

Janet Steinberg is the winner of 38 national Travel Writer Awards.

AUTOS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

The 2011 XJ offers value, power The 2011 Jaguar XJ presents a vehicle replete with dazzling style and handling at a great value for a luxury car. The 2011 Jaguar XJ brings an exquisite interior, a superb engine and nimble handling for its class.

The 2011 XJ is a large luxury sedan available in regular and longwheelbase four-door body styles.

The XJL is 4.9 inches longer than the XJ. Both are available in three trim levels, which correspond with an engine: XJ, XJ Supercharged and XJ Supersport. A six-speed automatic with manual shift control is standard on all XJ models.

The interior of the XJ is huge especially in the long models. The dash is a few inches lower than the windshield than on previous models. A band of burled wood joins the dash and windshield. The lowered dash makes the vehicle feel more intimate and personal.

The XJ comes with a directinjection 5.0-liter V-8 with 385-hp.

Jaguar estimates 0-60 mph in a mere 5.4 seconds. EPA estimated fuel economy is 16 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway.

The XJ comes loaded with 19-

inch wheels, an adaptive suspension, a panoramic sunroof, automatic xenon headlamps, auto-dimming mirrors, a power-closing trunk lid, keyless ignition/entry, front and rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, dual-zone automatic climate control, power front seats (16-way driver and 12-way passenger) with memory functions, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel and leather upholstery. All of these features are standard. Also standard is an LCD digital instrument panel, a touchscreen electronics interface, Bluetooth (phone connection and audio streaming), a navigation system, voice controls and a 14-speaker sound system with CD player, digital music storage, an iPod interface, HD radio and satellite radio.

Every 2011 Jaguar XJ comes standard with antilock brakes, stability and traction control, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, active head restraints and a blind spot warning system.

The 2011 Jaguar XJ starts at $72,000.

Audi brings improved fuel ecomony to the AWD SUV The 2011 Audi Q7 brings better fuel economy than past models. It boasts one high-powered and one low-powered 3.0T engine. The relatively new direct-fuel-injection, 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 produces 272 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque or 333 hp and 325 poundfeet of torque.

The new pair of engines are replacing the 3.6-liter V6 and 4.2liter V8 engines from the past.

Reviewers love the extra power and feel that even the lower-output engine is more than adequate.

The new fuel economy figures for the 2011 are 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. This is an improvement over past models that were rated at just 14/19 and 13/18 city/highway.

The Q7 features an eight-speed automatic transmission with manumatic shifting, and four-wheel drive is standard on all trim levels.

This well-equipped, seven-passenger SUV can go from 0–60 mph in 7 seconds.

The Q7 has a five-star crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The all-wheel drive system, Quattro, is essentially a mechanical system devised around a torquesensing, self-locking center differential that shifts torque to where it’s needed. It adjusts power between front and rear axles more than a hundred times a second, ensuring torque is delivered to the wheels where traction exists.

In normal driving situations, Quattro distributes the power and enhances the driving dynamics while maintaining optimum control. Constantly assessing grip, Quattro helps ensure the best possible combination of traction and handling regardless of the road conditions.

The Q7 comes with six standard, second-generation airbags, a rearview parkingcamera, Electronic Stability Control, blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control. The cruise control monitors the distance to the vehicle ahead and automatically adjusts speed to maintain a safe distance.

The system can even bring the vehicle to a complete stop.

The 2011 Audi Q7 starts around $45,000.

21

22

OBITUARIES

DEATH NOTICES SOMMER, Kim, age 58, died on December 1, 2010; 24 Kislev, 5771.

MAYER, Jule B., age 92, died on December 1, 2010; 25 Kislev, 5771.

GLASER, Reita, age 97, died on December 2, 2010; 26 Kislev, 5771.

HYMAN, Anita E., age 93, died on December 4, 2010; 27 Kislev, 5771.

FISHER from page 1 As a faculty member of the University of Cincinnati Judaic Studies department, where she teaches bible and law, as a scholar with the Wexner Heritage Foundation, as an instructor for the Florence Melton Adult MiniSchool offered at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center, as immediate past president of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and as a vibrant and active member of Cincinnati’s Jewish community, Fisher brings an energy and deep wisdom that is difficult to replicate. Since her arrival in Cincinnati in 2001, she has shared her professional and spiritual gifts with her students, colleagues and community.

“Valued colleagues come in at least two varieties. On the one hand, there are the expected fine professionals whose numbers fill the ranks of many selective institutions in this country. Most colMENORAH from page 1 By nightfall on the first night of Chanukah, the gate through which the Nazis marched and which for 28 years marked the dividing line between East and West Berlin had been transformed into a Jewish symbol.

In what was “the cold, dark center” of Nazi Germany, “we are here to say ‘Am Yisrael Chai!’” — the Jewish people live, said

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

“Steve has extensive experience in a wide range of areas that are important for this role, including master campus planning, financial performance, growth strategies and physician recruitment,” said Lee Ann Liska, COO of Mercy Health Partners, who led the search process and has been serving as interim president

of the hospital.

Holman will take over the role that opened when Aurora Lambert retired from The Jewish Hospital on Sept. 30 after more than 27 years at the hospital, including 12 years as president. Holman was one of 47 applicants for the position and was selected among four other finalists.

“I appreciate all of our physicians, leaders and staff who took

time from their busy schedules to participate in the extensive panel interview process as we worked to identify the ideal candidate to lead The Jewish Hospital,” said Liska.

Holman holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of Minnesota, a Bachelor of Science from Excelsior College in New York, and an Associate Degree in Electronic Technology.

The Jewish Hospital was acquired by Mercy Health Partners in March 2010.

Mercy is continuing to honor the Jewish traditions at the hospital and is building on the excellence that has been established over the past 160 years. Mercy has also pledged to re-invest in the hospital through new technology, equipment and possible expansion of the current facilities.

leagues one holds in high esteem fall into this category. On the other hand, if one is truly fortunate, one meets a teacher, not simply a person who knows how to teach well, but an individual who herself has a story to tell. Someone whose personal and professional history imbues her work with the kind of vitality that goes to the heart of education. Arna is such a person,” said Professor Gila Safran Naveh, Judaic studies department head at the University of Cincinnati.

As president of the Cincinnati Jewish Community Relations Council from 2006-2010, Fisher set the direction for a total reinvigoration of the organization’s mission and mandate. She raised the profile of the JCRC in the community, recruited dynamic Jewish leaders for the board, defined the JCRC’s issues profile, and elevated the overall quality and impact of JCRC programming.

A noted lecturer and educator, Fisher was the first individual to serve as a permanent, full-time scholar in residence for a Federation when she began her pioneering work as the Judaic Consultant of the Montreal Federation in 1993. In this capacity, she was the scholar,

teacher and advisor within the Federation and its 20 constituent agencies. The prestigious Avi Chai Foundation celebrated this work when it awarded this position the first prize for “Excellent Community Initiatives to Strengthen Jewish Commitment.”

At the Montreal Federation, Fisher taught classical Jewish texts to communal leaders and professionals in an open and inviting atmosphere, encouraging diversity of thought and approaches.

“As someone who has met and interacted with leaders in dozens of countries throughout the world, I can truly say that I have never met anyone with Arna’s rare combination of intellectual, oratorical and diplomatic skill—all mixed with such charm and grace!” said Gary Heiman, president of the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati. “Arna has been such an extraordinary gift to Cincinnati, and our community has benefited tremendously from her contributions and participation.

I feel very fortunate to consider her a close friend.”

“Arna is a woman of wisdom, vision, insight and grace whose qualities are truly without parallel,” said Rabbi Shena Jaffee, director of

Jewish Life and Learning at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center. She is a gifted teacher who conveys deep and complex ideas in such a way that it not only appears effortless, but also inspires all who learn with her to want to dig deeper and keep the conversation going. In her role on the Mayerson JCC’s strategic planning committee on Jewish learning and identity, Fisher’s guiding voice has been instrumental. She asks the tough questions that not only frame, but get to the core of what’s truly important about Jewish communal life.”

“I am grateful for Arna’s leadership in our community (and beyond through her teaching of so many other leaders). Arna is generous. She shares the spirit of her personal story and her great gift of scholarship in many levels. Arna garners kavod and she also gives respect. Arna listens to others’ stories and incorporates them into her own. Arna is open to the possibilities of the future and she is always helping us reach a more positive tomorrow. I have often listened to Arna, learned, been inspired and thought, ‘she is my rabbi!’” said Rabbi Sigma F. Coran, president of Greater

Cincinnati Board of Rabbis.

Fisher has lectured in over 120 communities throughout North America and was featured on the cover of the international edition of “Lifestyles” magazine, which described her ability to provoke and inspire diverse Jewish audiences, “irrespective of affiliation or level of Jewish knowledge.” “Good teaching requires communication, empathy and the ability to make ideas feel compelling and exciting, and all of those helped me in my leadership role at the JCRC,” Fisher explained in a recent article in “Jewish Woman” magazine.

Graduating from Yeshiva University with degrees in both Jewish education and medieval Jewish philosophy, Fisher continued her graduate work in the doctoral programs of both the University of Toronto, and McGill University, where she later taught.

She has been a frequent guest on national radio and television and has published on subjects pertaining to the relationship of Jewish law to contemporary society. Fisher has participated on the board of Jewish Family Service, and currently sits on the boards of the JCRC and the University of Cincinnati Hillel.

Teichtal, his voice booming across Unter den Linden Boulevard. A few hundred revelers answered in kind.

The menorah lit Wednesday will stay up for the full eight days, with a public candle-lighting ceremony held each night of the holiday.

It marks the sixth year that Chabad of Berlin, with the support of numerous Jewish organizations, has hosted a Chanukah first-night celebration at the Brandenburg

Gate. In 2004, Teichtal won permission from the German government, arguing that this would be an event of national importance worthy of such a location.

Sure enough, the image of rabbis dancing in front of the menorah at the Brandenburg Gate appears in newspapers and on websites around the world.

The message is clear: In Germany, the Jews live again.

More than 200,000 Jews are living now in Germany, the major-

ity of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union who came after 1990.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, nobody would believe that this would happen here,” said Arkady Schwarz, deputy chair of Konigs Wusterhausen, a Jewish congregation in Brandenburg.

“I like what this light represents,” U.S. Ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy told the crowd gathered Wednesday, Chanukah’s first night. “And I

also like the length of the holiday: My kids want to know why certain other holidays can’t be as long.”

Murphy also hosted a small Chanukah reception at the embassy.

The ceremony on Chanukah’s first night was the culmination of a day filled with holiday activities ranging from a parade through Berlin of cars with menorahs strapped on top to visits to Jews in hospitals, prisons and senior centers.

FIRE from page 1

age to assist damaged communities, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that each person whose home suffered severe fire damage be given an immediate aid disbursement of about $700.

Calls came from many quarters for the resignation of Interior Minister Eli Yishai, whose ministry is responsible for the state’s firefighting forces. Yishai also is accused of refusing fire truck donations from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Yishai said his ministry was not funded well enough to purchase needed equipment — in 2001, he noted, Ariel Sharon’s government

voted to eliminate air support for firefighting — and told Israel Radio that he was a target because of his Sephardic heritage.

Israel has 16 firefighters per 100,000 residents. By contrast, the United States, Japan and Greece have five to seven times that number per capita, The Associated Press reported. In total, Israel has 1,400 firefighters.

A 14-year-old resident of the Druze village of Ussfiya was arrested Monday after admitting to starting the fire. The teen reportedly said he was smoking a nargila water pipe and threw a live coal into an open area before returning to school.

PRESIDENT from page 1

The damage to the area of the Carmel Forest in northern Israel was estimated at about $75 million, including damage to towns and kibbutzim, destroyed forests and damaged roads. Yemin Orde, an aliyah youth village founded in 1953 that has served as a home and school to thousands of immigrant youths, most recently Ethiopians and Russians, was severely burned. In the artists’ village of Ein Hod, 10 houses and an art gallery were destroyed.

On Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet approved a $16.5 million aid pack-

2010 CALENDAR Special Issues & Sections J ANUARY

F EBRUARY

M ARCH

7

4

4

14

Kids/Summer Camps

Wonderful Weddings

11

11

21

18

18

28 Mature Living/Senior Lifestyles

25

A PRIL

M AY

J UNE

1

6

3

8

Health & Beauty

25

Purim

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Planning Issue

The Car Issue

13

10

15

20

17

22

27

Real Estate / Home & Garden

29

24

Celebrations

Passover

Best of Jewish Cincinnati

Lag B’Omer

J ULY

AUGUST

S EPTEMBER

1

5

2

8

12

9

15

19

16

22

26

23

29

Back to School & Shopping Guide

Rosh Hashanah Jewish Year in Review

30

Mature Living/Senior Lifestyles

O CTOBER

N OVEMBER

D ECEMBER

7

4

2 Gift Guide 2 Chanukah 9 16 23 30 Year in Review

Medical Directory

Event Planning Guide

14

11

Travel Guide

21

18

Gift Guide

25

Gift Guide

28

Dental Directory

1st week: Legal | 2nd week: Trav el | 3rd week: Ar ts & Enter tainment | 4th week: Business | 5th week: Varies DEADLINE

FOR

SPECIAL SECTIONS – 10

DAYS BEFORE PUBLICATION

Business: publisher@americanisraelite.com | Editor: editor@americanisraelite.com | Production: production@americanisraelite.com Phone: 513.621.3145 | Fax: 513.621.3744 Dates of Special Issues & Sections may change without formal notice.