CJS ‘meet up’ for ‘Like’ The American Shep Englander Super Bowl party Israelite, win a gift receives ‘Non-Profit Cincinnati Jewish Singles (CJS) is holding a Super Bowl party on Feb. 6 at Willie’s Sports Café in Kenwood. They have reserved a private room for the party. At the party they will watch the game, “trash talk” about which team is best and get to know each other over food and drinks. Don’t like football? Come anyway, you can talk to the other non-football fans about non-football topics! The group will also brainstorm for some upcoming Meetups, so bring an idea or two to share. We want to be sure to have room for everyone and sports bar space is at a premium on game day so please RSVP if you can join us. To RSVP go to the Meetup website, search for “Cincinnati Jewish Singles” and register or sign in. Then click ATTENDING for the event. People may use just a first name if preferred, and a photo is not required, although it is helpful for people to get to know one another. The site also allows members to post suggestions, review events and more in addition to handling RSVPs.
certificate The American Israelite is on Facebook! You can get to our page from our website or by searching for The American Israelite on Facebook. Hit the “Like” button, and you can stay current with your friends and family and news all on your Facebook homepage. “Like” us on Facebook and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a gift certificate at Embers or Marx Hot Bagels — your choice. “Share” us with your friends, so they’ll have a chance to win, too! Restrictions apply. There’s no need to create an account on www.americanisraelite.com. Everything is free and accessible to anyone who wants to view it. If you already have a Facebook account, you’ll be able to get updates about community news and events in one convenient place, which saves you time! Plus, you’ll also be tuned into national and international Jewish news. Keep informed on Cincinnati’s Jewish news. Go to our new website or to our Facebook page, and let us know what you think.
Jewish moms taking offense to ‘Tiger Mother’ By Ben Harris Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — With her takeno-prisoners approach in “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” author Amy Chua has drawn the ire of mothers across America who take exception to the draconian measures she recommends to ensure successful, prodigious offspring. So it’s little surprise that prominent among her critics are another group famous for what they have to say about how best to be a parent: Jewish mothers. Chua’s book and a synopsis she wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Jan. 8, “Why Chinese Moms are Superior,” lay out her parental rules — no sleepovers, no play dates, no television — and admiringly
relate a story of how she once reduced her daughter to tears when she couldn’t play a piano piece. “If a Chinese child gets a B — which would never happen — there would first be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion,” Chua writes. “The devastated Chinese mother would then get dozens, maybe hundreds of practice tests and work through them with her child for as long as it takes to get the grade up to an A.” Chua’s article summarizing her book elicited a firestorm of criticism and became the most responded-to article in the Journal’s history. It also reportedly elicited death threats for Chua, a professor at the Yale University Law School. MOMS on page 22
Executive Director of the Year’ During a gala event at the Duke Energy Center on Tuesday evening, Jan. 25, 2011, Shep Englander, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, received the “NonProfit Executive Director of the Year” Award —one of several Pillar Awards given by Smart Business Cincinnati. The awards program is meant to celebrate individuals and companies that lead the way in improving the quality of life for all in the Greater Cincinnati area. Smart Business Cincinnati praised Englander for “helping the organization [Jewish Federation] fulfill its mission to care for those in need, rescue those in harm’s way and renew and strengthen the community in Cincinnati, in Israel and around the world.” In bestowing the award, the partners also noted that under Englander’s leadership, the Jewish Federation has ENGLANDER on page 19
Leaked maps show gaps in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — This time there are maps — not that they necessarily will help. After the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, the Israeli and Palestinian sides bickered about who had offered what, and the competing historical narratives were adopted by either side and around the world. This time, the proposed territorial concessions former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian negotiators discussed are visible in living color — in a set of leaked Palestinian Authority docu-
ments published by Al Jazeera. The maps are significant because they show how close the two sides are on some issues — who would control certain Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. But they also show that the gaps on other issues remain far from resolved, particularly regarding Jewish settlements deep inside the West Bank. Back in 2000, Dennis Ross, now the lead negotiator on the issue, talked President Clinton into not committing anything to paper as he said the controversy that would ensue from maps and percentage sheets outweighed MAPS on page 21
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In speech, Obama missed some Jewish priorities: poverty, abortion rights...
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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.
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WiseUP blood drive aims to double donations Dr. Mindy Hastie knows about giving. At the request of Rabbi Lewis Kamrass and Wise Temple, Dr. Hastie answered the call in 1990 and organized what has become known as the WiseUp Blood Drive. “When we started, I think we had 17 donors in our first year,” said Dr. Hastie “This past year we had over 150 blood and bone mar-
row donors participate.” This effort equals about 90 units of blood in addition to the 75 folks who registered with the “Be the Match” National Bone Marrow Registry. Held the first Sunday of each December, the WiseUp Blood Drive is headquartered across from Jewish Hospital in Kenwood. Dr. Hastie’s team of
volunteers, who have supported her efforts for many years, spend hours of time planning, making recruiting calls and assisting at the event. These volunteers (all Wise Temple members) include Cherie Logan, Deborah Birkhead, Craig Honkomp, Kim Toole and Denise Scheineson. The program, while having notable success, is taking it to the
next level. As Jews, giving is central to achieving happiness in life. This is the way to feel good about helping other people without having to open your checkbook or take a lot of time from your daily life. The blood needs of the greater Cincinnati area require 350 volunteer blood donors and 40 platelet donors each day. Our goal this
year is to double our current level of giving. We are asking, regardless of your congregational affiliation, to share your good health and make a blood donation. Visit any Hoxworth Blood Center and mention to them the WiseUp Blood Drive. Mark your calendar for the 21st WiseUp Blood Drive to be held on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011.
Nearly 130 participate in second Cincinnati 2020 Leaders Forum Effort to create destination community called ‘invigorating,’ ‘robust,’ ‘groundbreaking’ On Thursday, Jan. 13, the second Leaders Forum for Cincinnati 2020, which included lay and professional representatives from every community agency, congregation and organization — was held at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center. Cincinnati 2020 is a community-wide, long-term strategic planning initiative with the objective of making Cincinnnati a destination Jewish community. According to Andy Berger, vice-president of strategic planning for the Jewish Federation, who is leading Cincinnati 2020, this collaborative plan, once completed, will offer a framework within which all agencies, congregations and organizations can align their visions and efforts to collaboratively achieve an innovative and sustainable community. “This is going to be a transformed community,” said Berger. “When people look at communities of our type around the country, they will be able to look at Cincinnati and say, ‘This is a special place. They have really done some amazing things.’ We think that we can do that.” Like the inaugural forum held on Nov. 30, the community representatives gathered on Jan. 13 were asked to contribute their thoughts and ideas about ways to achieve long-term strategic goals that have been identified as necessary to realize the vision of a Jewish Destintation; a community that retains and attracts Jewish individuals and families and increases the region’s Jewish population. For each of these goals, representative teams of community members are working to develop strategies and measurable objectives for accomplishing them: • Jewish engagement • Jewish learning and identity • Quality of life • Community resources
• Jewish community leadership • Civic leadership • Israel and Jewish peoplehood Abby Schwartz, national coordinator of Jewish American Heritage month and a member of the Civic Leadership Goal Team, said that the collaborative structure of the entire process opens the door to exploring common challenges, even if they are seen from different perpectives. “The process is thrilling and engaging,” Schwartz said following the nearly three-hour session. “Everybody’s really ready to make this happen. You have different people representing different agencies and different synagogues; and we’re all at the same table. When you have diverse opinions, you have incredible ideas and creativity coming out of that. The process is perfect and it’s being led really well and it’s being done in a way that every opinion is valued and there are no judgments. It’s a process that I think will get us where we need to go.” This community planning process began in 2008 when the Cincinnati Jewish community conducted its first statistically accurate community demographic study of Jewish Cincinnati. Even before the data was analyzed, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati brought together all the pulpit rabbis and agency executives to begin planning a collaborative community response to what was learned in the study. “The community study was very uplifting because it had a different outcome than any of us could have predicted,” said Rabbi Sandford Kopnick, spiritual leader of Valley Temple. “We are a vibrant, wonderful community with unbelievable resources, but it’s the best kept secret in the world. Too many unaffiliated, and not enough people saying that Judaism has a place in modern life. We are just the community to be able to turn that around.” “There was a lot of energy in that room,” said Jack Rubin who attended as a representative of the
JCC board and as a member of the community resources goal team. “Everyone I spoke with around the table was beaming and talking about how this changed their view of the Jewish community. Even those deeply involved in the Jewish community said they met so many people in this, and in the previous forum, that they’d never met before. Imagine how that changes your perspective on what is the Jewish community.” “Thinking about how we make real these great visions for our community, for me it’s how does this impact our kids?” noted Barbara Dragul, director of education at Wise Temple. “What are we providing for them in terms of a community to grow up in?” Dragul added that she was moved by the amount of caring for the community she witnessed during the session. “What struck me over and over again was this sense of good intention; but more than good intention, it was this feeling of affection and caring for the community. That gives me great optimism.” “The Federation has brought us all to the table, to collaborate, and to work together to build a vision for success; to brainstorm and bring ideas to the table for innovative and creative ways to engage and enrich the lives of all segments of the Jewish community” said Rabbi Yuval Kernerman, principal at Cincinnati Hebrew Day School. “This process puts us on the cutting edge of community development, and will afford us the opportunity to shape the course of history for our great city.” The goal teams are now set to reconvene and consider the input gathered at the Leaders Forums. Then, they will develop drafts that will detail the strategy for achieving their specific strategic goal. A third Leaders Forum will take place in the spring at which a draft of the strategic plan will be presented to the community leaders. Progress and milestones will be reported to the community on an ongoing basis.
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Take me out to the ballgame By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor On Jan. 28, the opening reception of The Jewish and Israeli Film Festival got underway by bringing the warmth of the baseball season to the winter-bound occasion. The line outside the Amberley Room of the Mayerson’s Jewish Community
Center started forming after 6 p.m. and by 7 p.m., about 350 people were waiting for the baseballthemed reception, some in baseball caps and jerseys, for the baseball related movie. Once inside, different lines formed for the soft pretzels, ballpark franks and peanuts, served by JCC staff and volunteers. In addition to
the food, there was a raffle for Reds related bobble-heads, jerseys, prints, game vouchers and a CD from Bronson Arroyo. The items were donated by the Reds and the Reds Community Fund. Dave Ziegler, director of Group Sales for the Reds made an appearance as an in kind sponsor. Later the patrons started making
their way past the wall partition to the auditorium for the baseball film “The Yankles.” The nearly sold-out crowd was welcomed by Jeff Baden, executive director of the JCC, who then introduced the co-chair of the festival, Mark Meyer. Meyer thanked the BALLGAME on page 19
Center and travel by bus to the casino. Contact Susan Bradley, senior adult programs coordinator, for more information. Family Bingo at the J On Feb. 13, from 1–3 p.m., the JCC will host a bingo event for the whole family. Family Bingo will take place in the JCC’s board room and the JCC will provide the cards, bingo markers and numerous prizes for both kids and adults, which include gift certificates to local
stores and more. Matt Miller, the youth & family coordinator, was in charge of last year’s Family Bingo, which saw over 50 people and Miller hopes to see more at this year’s annual event. For more information, please contact Matt Miller at the JCC. Stagecrafters to perform “The Cemetery Club” at the JCC Beginning on Feb. 17, at 8 p.m., the community theater group
Stagecrafters will perform Ivan Mitchell’s “The Cemetery Club.” The production, which is directed by Steve Suskin, takes place in Queens, N.Y., and revolves around three widows who meet to pay their respects to their husbands who are all interred in the same cemetery. The women, who are friends, discover that they are more alike than they believed. It is a humorous story of vigor and emotional endurance. The play will run through March 3.
Madrichim at Wise Temple “92? 92! How is that possible?” This is a fairly typical reaction. The original question is always simple enough: “How many madrichim do you have at Wise Temple?” But the answer — 92 — is pretty shocking to most people. At a time when many congregations are struggling to keep teens involved past bar or bat mitzvah, Wise Temple has 92 high schoolers who dedicate their time and energy to working as madrichim in the religious school. Madrichim, which is Hebrew for guides, serve as teaching assistants and role models for continued Jewish involvement for younger
students. Madrichim work in every classroom, as well as the library, art room and office. The question of how they do it is not so easy to answer. What they do know is that being a madrich(a) at Wise is more than just showing up on Sunday mornings (or Wednesday afternoons) and handing out papers or making copies. The madrichim make it cool to be Jewish, and they take an active role in the classroom, from reading stories and leading games to developing and teaching their own lessons with the help of their mentor teachers. They refer to the madrichim as “Team Madrichim,” because they
truly are a dedicated, spirited group that works together, learns together and plays together. In addition to their regular work hours, madrichim are required to continue their own education at Kulanu, the Cincinnati Reform Jewish High School, as well as to attend ongoing professional development sessions. This year, a Kulanu class is offered for their freshman madrichim. The class allows them to gain valuable skills that will help the newest team members become stronger madrichim, as well as to begin forming a relationship with their “coach,” Rachel Kasten, the
faceted exploration of spirituality, ranging from special events to study sessions to creative services and outdoor events. Across all of these events, the goal is to develop tools to bring spirituality into daily living and enhance the meaning of prayer services, while providing a venue for the broader exploration of spirituality in a Jewish context. The Feb. 20 program will focus on how various cultures have dealt with spirituality through their art work. A wide variety of artists and art works drawn from a range of cultures will be examined. Among the works and artists to be examined will be artifacts used by ancient
peoples to re-unite themselves with the Divine, and art works done by a host of Christian and Jewish artists to express and advance the universally human spiritual longing. Background on the Cincinnati Art Museum holdings will be provided and then they will be discussed, examining such questions as: What is the artist trying to do with this object or painting? What is its spiritual purpose? Does the artist succeed? Do you find this art work emotionally or spiritually moving? There will be no cost for this program other than the museum parking fee for non-museum members. Those interested in participating
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assistant director of education at Wise who serves as the madrichim coordinator. And if all of that wasn’t enough, the teens truly enjoy spending time together outside of work. The madrichim program provides occasional social activities, such as a Madrichim Thank You Luncheon right before winter break. Many of the madrichim are also very involved in the high school youth group, (e)YGOW. Any member of Wise Temple entering ninth-12th grades is eligible to apply to the madrichim program. Applications for the 2011-2012 school year will be available in early May.
B’nai Tzedek holds Spirituality and Judaism program with Art Museum Congregations B’nai Tzedek and Beit Chaverim, and the Jewish Spirituality Network of Southwest Ohio are delighted to invite the public to the first program in its 2011 series on spirituality and Judaism. The art museum program will focus on art as a means of expressing spirituality and feature an examination of a number of art works in the Cincinnati Art Museum. It will be held on Feb. 20 at the Art Museum, starting at 11 a.m. and be led by Art Museum docents Beth Neiman and Ingrid Daoud. The series, entitled “Come and Explore with Us: The Hidden Jems of Jewish Spirituality,” is a multi-
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Events happening at the JCC Mayerson JCC senior Hollywood Casino trip Get ready to roll and try your hand at winning by spending time at the Hollywood Casino on Wednesday, Feb. 9, from 10:45 a.m. – 4 p.m. Intended for adults aged 60 and older, try the bigger and better grand buffet, then test your skills on the games, some needing a little bit of luck. There is a cost and reservations are required. Participants will meet at the Mayerson Jewish Community
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should register by Feb. 18 by contacting Congregation B’nai Tzedek. Participants should arrive at the museum in advance to park and then proceed to the lobby where the group will assemble to start the program promptly at 11. Future programs in the B’nai Tzedek series on Spirituality and Judaism will include a March 20 program about music, “Collective Joy,” led by Ren Faught of Indianapolis, an expert on Judiasm and Spirituality as well as an accomplished drummer, and a program on Spirituality, Judaism and Science to be held later in the spring.
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 IRIS PASTOR RABBI A. JAMES RUDIN ZELL SCHULMAN RABBI AVI SHAFRAN PHYLLIS R. SINGER Contributing Columnists LEV LOKSHIN JANE KARLSBERG Staff Photographers JOSEPH D. STANGE Production Manager ALLISON CHANDLER Office Manager
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $44 per year and $2.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $49 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 The American Israelite columnists do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the newspaper.
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Hadassah Donor Luncheon at Kenwood Country Club Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah will hold its annual Donor Luncheon on Wednesday, April 6, at the Kenwood Country Club. The doors will open at 11 a.m. for registration and the Hadassah Boutique, offering unique jewelry, Vasu vases, and Hadassah cards and certificates for sale. At 11:30 a.m., violinist Gayna Bassin and pianist Claire Lee will perform a program of Jewish melodies. At noon, a bountiful buffet luncheon will be served, and Rita Rothenberg will be honored for her many contributions to Hadassah and the community. Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is a volunteer women’s organization whose members are motivated and inspired to strengthen their partner-
ship with Israel, ensure Jewish continuity, and realize their potential as a dynamic force in American society. Hadassah members make a difference every day as Hadassah researches cures, protects children in need, promotes worldwide humanitarian relief and stands in solidarity with Israel. Donor funds support projects like health care (Hadassah Medical Organization), education (Hadassah College Jerusalem), youth programs (Young Judaea and Youth Aliyah/Children at Risk) and environmental resource development (Jewish National Fund). Rita Rothenberg, this year’s honoree, has been a member of Hadassah for almost 30 years. She became enamored with Hadassah after visiting Israel and seeing
Hadassah Hospital. She served as president of the Szold group three times, and was also chair for Szold’s fundraising and programming. After the local Hadassah groups merged into one Cincinnati chapter, she served as vice president of fundraising and programming. “I would like to thank Hadassah for this honor and the extraordinary journey I’ve had with its members and events,” Rothenberg said. “Hadassah medical research benefits the whole world, as does their example of healing the world, one life at a time. Please join us to celebrate Hadassah’s 100th Anniversary and learn more about the amazing work of Hadassah!”
“Conservative Jews also have a connection through Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who marched with Dr. King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy and others in Selma, Ala. Heschel was criticized by some for doing so to which he replied, ‘What I was doing in Selma was praying with my feet.’” Adath Israel’s breakfast preceding the Dr. King Day march featured Mark Kallick, Adath Israel board member and realtor, who shared his memories of growing up in Montgomery, Ala. “My uncle, who was one of the founders of the NAACP, spoke about desegregation, the sharecropper movement, and the civil rights movement at Dr. Martin Luther King’s church,” he said. “I remember a cross was burned in our family’s front yard.” Kallick, who is actively involved in human rights and equality, vividly recalled the harsh treatment of African-Americans: the reference to them as “boy” or “girl,” the reprimands and yelling directed at them, the public facilities marked “white” and “colored,” and the frequent use of the “N” word. “It was very tense and every minute you were reminded of the Civil War because of the presence of Confederate flags everywhere. It haunts you forever.” Following the breakfast a bus filled with Adath Israel families made their personal statement by participating in the march. “We haven’t had this many people in years,” observed Wasserberg. Added Hirsch, “We think it’s important to open the eyes of our members — younger and older —
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Adath Israel is committed to Martin Luther King Day Ever since Rabbi Irvin Wise arrived at Adath Israel 18 years ago he has led his congregation in the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day march from Fountain Square to Music Hall and related commemorative activities at the Freedom Center, Cincinnati Museum Center and Music Hall. Hillary Hirsch, youth and family education director, and Sharon Wasserberg, director of religious education along with Rabbi Wise planned this year’s program which started with a breakfast at Adath Israel. “I feel obligated as a Jew and a rabbi to contribute to this commemoration of a true leader and to commemorate it appropriately so that what we do during the day causes us to think and talk about issues of civil and human rights, racism, antisemitism, sexism and more,” Rabbi Wise told the day’s participants. “Certainly the main focus is to think about issues of economic and social justice in the context of Dr. King’s life. Regrettably, most Americans think of this holiday as a day off from school or work, a day to go shopping and to movies, not as a day for reflection, involvement and learning.” “For Jews,” Rabbi Wise said, “this holiday is especially significant given the Biblical story of the Exodus, enslavement, oppression and liberation which has inspired other movements of liberation including our own civil rights movement of the ‘60s. Because of this connection, many rabbis were and remain involved in these issues and causes,” he pointed out.
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to what is going on in the community. This day is important because the struggles African Americans have gone through in our country we have gone through in other places. If we don’t stand up for the human rights of all people what’s the world going to be? So we encourage all our students and their families to attend this day’s activities.”
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Adath hosts World Wide Wrap, Chicken Soup Brotherhood, Sisterhood events Cook-off results World Wide Wrap on Super Bowl Sunday The 11th Annual World Wide Wrap is Sunday, Feb. 6. Adults (men and women) will meet at 9 a.m. in Marcus Chapel, and fifth, sixth and seventh graders will meet with their parents at 9:30 a.m. in the Sagel Chapel in the Jarson Education Center. The day will include step-by-step instructions on how to put on tefillin, and plenty of extra sets of tefillin will be available to use. A fantastic breakfast will follow both services. Brotherhood meets for Bible and Beer The next Brotherhood Bible and Beer Torah Study will take place at Tandoor restaurant on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Bible and Beer meets monthly with Rabbi Wise at local restaurants. The parshah for the week is discussed over a few drinks and vegetarian hors d’oeuvres.
According to Dr. Gary Smith, “we have fun, socialize, drink, eat a little and learn a lot!” Anyone over 21 is welcome. The class is free of charge, but food and drinks are available for a fee. Sisterhood cooking class series Do you like to cook? Do you like to eat delicious food? Then Adath Israel Sisterhood’s three class cooking series is for you! Join Sisterhood for three exciting cooking demonstrations featuring guests chefs. Watch the experts in action and learn their techniques. Afterward, you’ll have an opportunity to taste their culinary creations. Tuesday, Feb. 8, South African cookbook author, Myrna Rosen, will charm attendees with her fish menu. The class meets at 11:30 a.m. in the Adath Israel dairy kitchen. The next two classes will be
with a Sushi Chef from the Blue Ash Kroger who will show us how it is done in his country and Jill Abromovitz Guttman will demonstrate Moroccan specialties. There is a fee for these classes, and reservations are required as space is limited. Reserve your spot now by contacting Adath Israel Sisterhood. Sisterhood open meeting and Jews of Switzerland presentation On Feb. 15, at 10:30 a.m., Adath Israel Sisterhood will hold an open business meeting, followed by a talk. The meeting is open to everyone. “Growing Up Swiss,” with Catharina Toltzis is part of a series of talks around the theme of “Jews Around the World.” The meeting will take place in the Adath Israel Goldsmith boardroom for the meeting and presentation, followed by a light lunch.
Camp at the J attains high standards with ACA accreditation Camp at the J has become a popular Cincinnati summer day camp. Recently, Camp at the J was awarded accreditation by the American Camp Association® (ACA), the nation’s only camp auditing agency designed to evaluate health, safety and program excellence. ACA accreditation has been achieved by less than 20 percent of camps nation-wide, as it heavily exceeds state regulations and involves inspection of over 300 health and safety standards, as well as an indepth review of camp activities. “ACA accreditation is voluntary, which means Camp at the J was willing to undergo a rigorous inspection from experts at our agency as well as from The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross and others, to assure that their camp reflects the most up-to-date, research-based standards in camp operation,” said Dennis Elliot, PhD., ACA Ohio Executive. “This extensive process assures families that Camp at the J has made a full commitment to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children.” This summer, Camp at the J will continue to offer high-quality programs and facilities with a broad range of camps for ages 18 months through grade 10. The six-week camp session (for ages 18 months – grade 3) and two, 3-week camp ses-
sions (for grades 4 - 8) run June 20 – July 29. There are also two new summer sessions offered in early June. To accommodate working families, the new JCC Summerstart Camp (for grades K – 6) will be available by the day on June 6, 7 and 10. Laffalot Summer Camp (for grades 1 – 6) will host a highenergy sports camp at the JCC from June 13 – 17. The Mayerson Jewish Community Center also offers a broad range of one-week specialty camps (known as S’More Camps), Aug. 1 – 19. These popular camps (for various age groups) include horseback riding, sports adventure, basketball, cooking, golf and soccer. Also in August are oneweek day camps for preschoolers. Campers in grades 4 – 8 can enjoy a week of outdoor activities at a different Hamilton County park each day in the new Park-a-Day S’More Camp. Daily Camp at the J activities may include sports, arts and crafts, Red Cross certified instructional and recreational swimming (for ages 3 and up), archery (for grades 1 and up), music, Shabbat celebrations, nature, special events, outdoor cooking and more. This summer, there will be special field trips and late day cook-outs for grades 2 – 8. All camps are open to the public,
and there are before and after camp options for grades K – 6. J Members pay discounted fees and are eligible for additional early bird discounts when they register their child(ren) on or before March 11. Financial assistance may be available to qualifying families when they register before April 15. For confidential financial aid information, contact Teri Herrmann at the JCC. Teens entering grades 9 – 10 may register for the new 6-week counselor-in-training (C.I.T.) program at Camp at the J. All interviewed and accepted C.I.T.s will receive benefits like usage of the JCC facilities, Red Cross CPR/First Aid training, American Red Cross Guard Start, and camp leadership training. C.I.T.s may attend weekly camp trips, overnights and late stays at the JCC, as well as traditional camp activities. Interested candidates should complete the counselor-in-training section of the 2011 Camp at the J registration form. Parents can get more information about Summer Camp at the J on Thursday, Feb. 24, between 5:30–7 p.m. (during Free Guest Day at the J) and at Camp at the J Parent Information Night on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. For more information about Camp at the J, or to receive a copy of the Summer 2011 brochure and registration form, contact the JCC or visit their website.
The Isaac M. Wise Brotherhood’s seventh annual Chicken Soup Cook-off was the largest cook-off ever with almost 1,150 attending and participating. In the pro division, Best Matzo Ball went to Kroger Blue Ash Chef Avi Rubinoff. Bravo! in Deerfield won Most Original. The award for Best Chicken Noodle went to Mongomery Inn. The Profressional Peoples Choice Award went to Izzy’s Deli. In the Amateur division, Best Matzo Ball went to Andy and Alexander Petty. Jeremy Richards
won Most Original. Ginny Minton Huntington Bank won Best Chicken Noodle. And the amateur Peoples Choice Award went to Louis and Lisa Claybon. Awards for table decorations were also given. Montgomery Inn won Best Hokey Americana, and Izzy’s received an award for best use of inexpensive but real flowers. An award for the best use of vegetables that didn’t make it into the soup went to Jags, and Alex and Andy Petty won an award for best use of Matzoh as an art form.
Cedar Village: a year in review The year just ending has been another successful and busy one for Cedar Village. As a continuing care retirement community, providing independent, assisted and long term care, we have met the needs of the nearly 300 individuals who live on our campus. We celebrated Cedar Village’s 13th birthday in 2010 and had a very special year of events to commemorate the occasion. Of course, we began with the B’nai Mitzvah Mission in late 2009, taking nine residents to Israel to celebrate their bar and bat mitzvahs in Jerusalem. We invited community rabbis to participate in a special educational series for our residents entitled “Thirteen Rabbis, Thirteen Tuesdays, Thirteen Principles of Faith, Thirteen Years at Cedar Village.” It was an extraordinary series of programs with great participation and interest. We also held a 13th birthday party in March and conducted a wonderful candle-lighting ceremony to honor all of our important constituencies—board, donors, residents, staff, clergy, volunteers, physicians, families and community. In 2010, we continued to grow and develop new programs and services to meet the needs of our community. Cedar Village Home Care, which provides a full range of non-medical home care services, grew both within Cedar Village and in the community. These services include companion services, such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, assistance with activities of daily living, errand services and much more. Using Cedar Village Home Care, individuals can get the help they need with the assurance of Cedar Village quality. We also began planning for the
expansion of our rehabilitation service, a project that started construction in late 2010 and will be completed in 2011. Short-term rehabilitation, following an injury or illness, has become a more and more significant part of our service and our outstanding team of nurses, therapists and physicians have helped patients to achieve optimal outcomes, returning to their homes and lives in the community. It’s been clear that our therapy gym was too small to adequately meet the demand and a great deal of planning has been done to determine next steps. As a result, a new inpatient and outpatient therapy department is being constructed on Cedar Village’s first floor. Two units in the Health Care Center, Apple and Azalea, will be renovated to become inpatient rehab space, with new lounge areas and updated rooms. And a new ambulance entrance and dedicated admissions/therapy elevator will improve the entire experience for our patients. April 1, 2010 marked the opening date of the Lewis and Dorothea Ginberg Comfort Care program at Cedar Village. Comfort Care provides hospice level services to individuals within Cedar Village, regardless of where they live within our Health Care Center. Comfort Care is the first step toward full Medicare certification for a Cedar Village hospice, an effort that will be completed in 2011. An experienced hospice nurse, dedicated aide, chaplain and social worker comprise the key members of the Comfort Care team and families and residents have already begun to use, and value, this important expansion of services. CEDAR on page 19
LOCAL
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011
Rockwern mitten drive is a success
Improv comedy night at Café Chabad
Over the past few weeks, Rockwern Academy’s preschool and kindergarten classes collected over 80 pairs of mittens and gloves to help keep children warm! The pre-kindergarten classes visited their “Big” kindergarten friends this past Monday and made cards to be sent along with
Café Chabad is back, Saturday, Feb. 5, with an evening of firstclass comedy. A team of comedians hailing from Columbus will lead an interactive improv experience for a night sure to be enjoyed by all from 8:30–10:30 p.m. “As the Jewish month of Adar comes in, the Sages tell us that we should increase in joy in preparation for the joyous holiday of Purim,” said Rabbi Berel Cohen, program director at Chabad Jewish Center. “So an evening of
each pair of mittens. The mittens are being donated to Jefferson Township Elementary School. The school is very grateful to receive the mittens. The teacher who is distributing the gifts, Ms. Lindsay Pryor, said they are excited to write the children at Rockwern a letter of thanks!
Exciting news from JFS Big Brothers/Big Sisters joins Jewish Family Service Jewish Family Service is proud to welcome Big Brothers/Big Sisters Association—which recently celebrated 100 years of serving children and families in Cincinnati—into the agency. The program, which is now known as Jewish Big Brothers/Big Sisters, promotes the development of youth in the Jewish community through quality mentoring relationships. Caring adult role models help children reach their potential by guiding them toward making positive choices about their future. “The youth mentoring services offered by Big Brothers/Big Sisters are in perfect alignment with the
mission and vision of Jewish Family Service,” said Beth Schwartz, JFS executive director. The merger was facilitated with support by United Way of Greater Cincinnati. Jewish Family Service’s mission is to strengthen lives in times of need; its vision is to lead the way to a Jewish community where everyone lives with dignity, security and hope. There is an immediate need for Big Brothers and Sisters, known as “Bigs.” They can be young, old, working, retired, married or single. No special skills are needed — only a willingness to make a new friend and a desire to have fun with a young person. JFS on page 22
HUC offers film class “Jewish Film through an Interfaith Lens” provides a unique opportunity to explore the complexities of the interfaith world in which we live. Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) invites people of all faiths to this spring semester course viewing and discussing several films. All the movies have been chosen for their often funny, but underlying serious theme, of how people of various faiths see themselves and each other. Taught by award-winning educators, this course promises to be an eye-opening experience as each teacher will frame the films and encourage thought provoking discussions. Our teachers are: Rabbi Ken Ehrlich, dean of HUC and director of Homiletic Studies; Rabbi Dr. Haim Rechnitzer, professor of Modern Jewish Thought at HUC; Anne Arenstein, an awardwinning program director creating and overseeing successful cultural programs for audiences of all backgrounds; and Dr. Nathan Abrams of Bangor University in Wales, an international authority on Jewish culture, who will be joining the class via the Electronic Classroom in the American Jewish Archives. For decades HUC-JIR has provided the opportunity to Cincinnatians to take a variety of non-credit courses taught in a
relaxed atmosphere of free inquiry and open discussion with faculty and classmates of many faiths. HUC–JIR invites the community to enjoy our spring 2011 film class free of charge as a thank you gift for past support and a promise of good things to come. Registration is required. The faculty for “Jewish Films Through an Interfaith Lens” will introduce each film and lead the discussion afterward. Join us in Mayerson Hall on the HUC campus on selected Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Feb. 8—Annie Hall (U.S.)— Rabbi Kenneth Ehrlich Feb. 22—James’ Journey to Jerusalem (U.S.)—Rabbi Dr. Haim Rechnitzer March 1—West Bank Story (Israel)—Rabbi Dr. Haim Rechnitzer March 15—The Infidel (U.K.)—Dr. Nathan Abrams—5 p.m. in the American Jewish Archives March 22—Go for Zucker (Germany)—Dr. Nathan Abrams— 5 p.m. in the American Jewish Archives April 5—The Life of Brian (U.K.)—Anne Arenstein April 12—Wrap Up—details to be arranged To register for “Jewish Films Through an Interfaith Lens,” please call or e-mail Rabbi Jean Eglinton.
comedy is very appropriate this time of year.” Café Chabad has made a name for itself in Cincinnati for providing Jewish adults with social events that feature delicious food, great entertainment and good company. Held several times throughout the year, these evenings are a wonderful time to meet up with old and new friends in the Jewish community. The menu features an upscale soup and salad bar by talented
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local chefs, Lenny Loeb and Josh Freid. Gourmet hot drinks including various coffees, teas and hot chocolate by Chozen Chocolates as well as fine wines and beer will be available for purchase. Advanced reservations are recommended as past events have been sold out. Café Chabad is an adults only event and will be held at Chabad Jewish Center in Blue Ash. For reservations and more information contact Blue Ash Chabad Center.
JVS ‘Network’ gives job seekers a competitive edge As he looked for a job in Greater Cincinnati, Brian Monk tried online job listings. Then, he used a headhunter. Neither approach worked. But after contacting the Cincinnati Career Network, a program of the Jewish Vocational Service, he quickly secured a job. “Working with Cincinnati Career Network certainly became a turning point in my job search,” Monk said. Now Monk, 36, is director of operations for the Mayerson Jewish Community Center in Amberley Village. And he recommends CCN. “They gave me the one-on-one attention I needed and helped me tailor a strategy.” CCN, which receives significant funding from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, teaches people how to conduct job searches, giving them skills that empower them. It helps clients polish their resumes and cover letters, improve their ability to handle interviews, become more effective in networking and negotiating salaries. The services are available to anyone in Greater Cincinnati. Clients range from top-level executives to minimum wage employ-
ees. CCN also works with people seeking part time, temporary and summer jobs. “We help people move from where they are to a better place,” said Barry Wolfson, CCN’s manager. “Today, that may take a little longer than usual. But with our support and guidance, our clients are making progress in moving toward their employment goals.” Because of the recession, demand for CCN’s services is soaring. In 2010, it gained more than 130 new clients. To deal with the increasing caseload, CCN has added workshops, allowing it to work with clients in small groups, in addition to the traditional one-on-one settings. JVS is proud of the impact that CCN has made. More than 100 clients reported finding new jobs in 2010, including Monk. Monk says his career consultant oriented him to the style of the Cincinnati area business community, a more personal style than he had found in his prior job search in Atlanta. “I could see that she didn’t see me as a case file. She treated me as a person with a unique skill set and background,” Monk said.
“And she treated me with compassion, dignity and caring.” For Pam, a Sycamore Township resident, 2010 could not have been much worse. Her father died, her marriage ended in divorce and she lost her job. Like Monk, she turned to the Cincinnati Career Network for help finding a job. Kim Slaton, a CCN career consultant, helped Pam identify a career that would be personally satisfying. Slaton helped Pam revamp her resume. And Slaton encouraged Pam to attend Cincinnati Career Network job search workshops. Since then, Pam has found a job at a call center for a major Cincinnati area company. Though Pam still faces major challenges, including the loss of her home through foreclosure, she says the Cincinnati Career Network helped her regain some of her self-confidence and hope. Now, she’s again looking toward the future with optimism. People can make an appointment, attend a workshop, volunteer or donate to JVS. Cincinnati Career Network provides career and employment services for individuals and employers.
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NATIONAL
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE ONLINE - MAKOR - THE SOURCE/CINCINNATI @ WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
In speech, Obama missed some Jewish priorities: poverty, abortion rights, Israel By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Civility? Check. Clean energy? Check. Health care? Check. Immigration? Check. Education? You bet. Isolating Iran? Yes. Poverty, guns, reproductive rights? Israel? Ummm … President Obama’s State of the Union speech last Tuesday night was as notable for what it excluded as what made it in. Obama abjured the traditional checklist and delivered a speech centered on a grand theme, American renewal, after an election that left government splintered, with a Democratic White House and Senate and a Republican House. “What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow,” the president said. “We will move forward together, or not at all, for the challenges we face are bigger than party and bigger than politics.” That was a recipe for stirring rhetoric, but it left out the manna for groups that watch the speech to cheer on their special interests. “What NCJW missed?” the National Council of Jewish Women tweeted within seconds of the speech’s conclusion. “Mention of poor, middle class, reproductive
National Briefs Can Jewish giving weather the transfer? By Jacob Berkman NEW YORK (JTA) — The San Francisco-based Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, which has given out about $700 million since it was started by Richard Goldman in 1951, with most of the gifts benefiting environmental, health and Jewish causes, will close at the end of next year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. It is shining a spotlight on a major question in the Jewish philanthropic world: How will Jewish philanthropic giving weather the transfer of assets from one generation to the next? “The first generation of Jewish philanthropists are reaching the end of their life spans, and that manifests itself very differently from foundation to foundation,” JeffreySolomon president of, the
Courtesy of The White House
President Obama delivering the State of the Union address, Jan. 25, 2011.
rights, gun violence prevention — to name some.” The absences were telling. Obama focused on areas where he might persuade the Republicancontrolled House to join him. The missing pieces all portend clashes with the Republicans: There are increased demands to tighten regulations of automatic weapons in the wake of the shooting earlier this month in Tucson. Democrats want Obama to push back against
a national Republican campaign to further restrict abortion rights. House Republicans have vowed to slash funding to the Palestinian Authority, a key element of Obama’s efforts to prop up moderates in the region. Instead, Obama used the speech to emphasize bipartisan consensus issues, some of which are Jewish community priorities. He outlined a plan for education, including preparing 100,000 new
Avi Chai Foundation said. “Once you lose the knowledge of the original donor or granter, it becomes a different dynamic at the foundation.” Solomon pointed to a lack of preparation in the next generation of philanthropists. Asked if the Jewish world should be concerned about the major foundations’ closings, Solomon said no. “For every foundation that spends down, there are three or four or five foundations being created,” he said. “There continues to be growth in the foundation field, and especially the Jewish foundation field, and I believe that as newer business entrepreneurs come into the field, we are going to see greater support.”
Orange County Superior Court, accused the coaches of one of the Ducks' affiliate teams of making anti-Semitic remarks and harassment. Bailey said he was subjected to "a barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks regarding his Jewish faith" by Martin Raymond, head coach of the Bakersfield Condors. The suit says assistant head coach Mark Pederson also made antiSemitic remarks about Bailey. The suit claims that Bailey was the victim of religious discrimination, harassment based on religion, intentional infliction of emotional distress and retaliation. It asserts that he lost income, benefits and suffered humiliation, according to CNN. Bailey was drafted by the Ducks in 2005, but has not played in the NHL. He was traded last year and now plays right wing for the Binghamton Senators, a farm team for the Ottawa Senators.Accused Nazi dies before denaturalization trial
Jewish hockey player sues NHL team for religious discrimination (JTA) — A Jewish hockey player has sued the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks for religious discrimination and harassment based on religion. Jason Bailey, 23, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in California's
Accused Nazi dies before denaturalization trial
teachers of science and making a $10,000 tuition tax credit permanent. He called for 80 percent of electricity to come from “clean energy” by 2035 and for a million electric vehicles to be on the road in 2015. Obama did not leave out liberal causes. He offered some compromise with the Republicans on health care, but he vowed to leave in place coverage guarantees for people with preconditions, which became law with last year’s reform bill. Obama also pledged to revive his effort, failed in the last Congress, to create paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. He noted the success — spearheaded by Sen. Joe Lieberman (IConn.) — the last Congress repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that kept gays from serving openly in the military. Troops, he said, are “Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.” The slew of Jewish organizational news releases late Tuesday and early Wednesday were reduced to praising the speech’s general tone. What they’re really waiting for are the details of the president’s budget, to be released in early February. The Jewish
Federations of North America pleaded for special consideration for the elderly. “President Obama is right when he says we must be cautious of the deficit,” the Jewish Federations’ Washington director, William Daroff, said in a statement. “But there are certain social services that must be preserved now more than ever. Creating more crises for our seniors and poor is not the way to stop the crisis facing our nation.” The Jewish Council for Public Affairs sought to highlight the issue of poverty. “With the President’s budget forthcoming, we are anxious to see that he follows through on his call not to balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable,” the public policy umbrella group said in a statement. “President Obama must listen to his own advice and avoid a hatchet where a scalpel is called for.” Obama reassured Americans that he would not touch Social Security except to “strengthen” it, which got him plaudits from B’nai B’rith International. “The benefits to seniors are modest in the big picture, but a lifeline for too many individuals, and we must continue to provide benefits at fair levels,” B’nai B’rith said. “An across-the-board domestic spending freeze could have devastating results for many of our most vulnerable citizens.”
(JTA) — A retiree living near Seattle, Wash., accused of committing genocide and other crimes as a Nazi officer during World War II died a month before his denaturalization trial. Peter Egner, 88, died last week in an assisted-living community in Bellevue, Reuters reported Monday, citing a facility representative who did not give her name. Egner, a Yugoslavia native, is accused of joining in April 1941 the Nazi-controlled Security Police and Security Service in German-occupied Belgrade, a Nazi mobile killing unit that participated in the mass murder of more than 17,000 Serbian civilians during World War II. Egner came to the United States in 1960 and became a citizen six years later. The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit in 2008 attempting to strip Egner of his citizenship, saying he lied about his Nazi past on his citizenship application. Egner has admitted volunteering to serve in the Security Police and Security Service as well as guarding prisoners as they were
being transferred to concentration camps. He also admitted serving as an interpreter during interrogations of political prisoners that sometimes involved severe torture. Prisoners often were executed following their interrogations. Serbia's justice minister on Nov. 26 formally requested Egner's extradition to stand trial in Serbia. Meanwhile, on Monday, an immigration judge in Detroit ordered the deportation of John Kalymon of Troy, Mich., who is accused of committing violent acts against Jews during World War II as a member of the Nazisponsored Ukrainian Auxiliary Police in Nazi-occupied Lvov. Kalymon, who became a U.S. citizen in 1955 after emigrating from Germany six years earlier, had his citizenship revoked in March 2007. A federal judge concluded that Kalymon took part in wartime violence against Jews and lied about it to immigration authorities. Kalymon, whose former first name was Iwan, denies the accusations.
INTERNATIONAL
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011
International Briefs Full stories can be found on our website. Ireland’s Labor Party eyes Israel for economic inspiration (JTA) — One of the parties expected to form part of Ireland’s next governing coalition is looking to Israel for economic inspiration. The left-leaning Labor party, which is second in the polls and expected to be the junior partner in Ireland’s government following the Feb. 25 general election, has said Ireland should follow Israel’s example of technologyled growth and development to help regain the competitiveness it has lost since the dot-com bubble burst a decade ago. In a policy paper published this week, Labor said Israel was “a clear model to follow” in driving productivity and employment through innovation. The document also pointed out Ireland was falling behind “competitor economies” such as Israel in technology absorption, research and development, and government procurement of advanced technology products. American rabbi sues Australian synagogue (JTA) — An American-born Orthodox rabbi is suing the board of an Australian synagogue for wrongful dismissal. Rabbi Yossi Engel, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who served at the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation for seven years until his contract ended in 2006, is claiming more than $600,000 in compensation. Engel believes his termination was a breach of halachah, or Jewish law, which he says guarantees life tenure for rabbis. But in 2007 a judge found that Engel’s contract had indeed legally terminated, and the judgment was upheld on appeal by the Australian Supreme Court. The Adelaide Hebrew Congregation, the only Orthodox synagogue in South Australia, will “vigorously defend” the legal action, according to a report in the Australian Jewish News. Engel could not pursue the suit earlier because in 2009 he and his wife, Chana, were charged with 39 counts of dealing dishonestly with documents to obtain a $50,000 grant for Hebrew classes. The charges were dropped last year.
Irish activists preparing Gaza-bound flotilla (JTA) — Several Irish politicians and adventure travel writer Dervla Murphy will join a group of Irish anti-Israel activists on a boat bound for Gaza next month. The group, which is expected to sail for the Palestinian territory from an undisclosed Mediterranean port on March 30, will be led by two protesters who took part in the Gaza-bound flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli commandos last May, leading to the death of nine Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara. One of the politicians scheduled to travel on the Irish ship is Aengus O’Snodaigh, who in 2009 compared Ireland’s only Jewish parliamentarian to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. O’Snodaigh was prevented from boarding last May’s flotilla. Murphy, who is writing a book about the Middle East, including her impressions of Israelis and Palestinians, said she contacted the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign because she felt “so strongly about the whole situation in Gaza.” “I think the flotilla is a good way of drawing international attention to what is going on there,” she told the Irish Times. “I hate publicity of any kind, and this is the last thing I would normally do. It shows how passionately I feel about Gaza.” New Brazilian president remembers the Holocaust (JTA) — New Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony that “The Holocaust is not and will never be just a historic moment.” “The duty of the memory should not be mistaken for passiveness of the ordinary remembrance,” said Rousseff, who started her term a month ago, at the Jan. 27 ceremony. “Memory is the human weapon to prevent the repetition of the barbarism.” The ceremony was held by Jewish officials in Porto Alegre, the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul state and home of Brazil’s third largest Jewish community with some 12,000 Jews. The state also has a large number of German descendants and has been the site of several neo-Nazi attacks. “We must not allow any kind of human rights violation in any country, and especially in Brazil,” added Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president. “The Jewish tradition and dignity integrate the Brazilian nationality in a special way.”
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20 years on, Russians in Germany flocking to big cities By Toby Axelrod Jewish Telegraphic Agency BERLIN (JTA) — When Yuri Rosov immigrated to Germany from Ukraine in 1997, the city in which he ended up, Rostock, had no synagogue, no infrastructure and no money. Rosov now heads that Jewish community in the former East Germany, which has about 700 members, nearly all of them Russian speakers. “We have a synagogue and a strong community,” said Rosov, 50, who works for the Maccabee sports association. In recent years, however, a new challenge has emerged that threatens the future of the Rostock Jewish community and many other similar ones across Germany populated mostly by Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants and their families: Young people are leaving. “Many people leave to find jobs in Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt,” said Rosov, whose own children have left Rostock. “We are losing our young and active members.” Two decades since the beginning of a Jewish migration from the former Soviet Union that transformed German’s remnant Jewish community of 30,000 into Europe’s third largest with an influx of about 200,000 people, the Jewish community of Germany again is undergoing dramatic
Courtesy of Phillip Hambach
Young Jews of former Soviet background in Berlin attending the shooting of Levi Salomon’s new film about former Soviet Jews in Germany titled "Doswidanja – Schalom – Guten Tag."
change. This time it’s the consolidation of Jewish communities. The Jews from the former Soviet Union who began coming here 20 years ago, were placed in small cities and towns throughout the country according to quotas set for all immigrants. However, a combination of factors is sending the young Jews away to a handful of big cities: the search for a job, growing Jewish engagement that spurs a quest for larger Jewish communities, and the lure of the big city. The epicenter is Berlin. “Berlin is becoming like a Mecca for younger Russian-speaking Jews,” said Alina Gromova, 30,
who moved to Germany with her family in 1997 from Ukraine and is writing a dissertation on the urban spaces and practices of young Russian-speaking German Jews. Those coming from smaller cities may be looking for jobs, she said, but many “come to Berlin to look for Jewish life.” While Berlin’s official Jewish community has 11,000 members, the actual number of Jews in the city is likely higher. Germany’s capital has 13 active synagogues and a variety of community organizations. But what really draws many young Jewish Russian-speaking RUSSIANS on page 20
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ISRAEL
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Unrest in Egypt could lead to Israel’s worst nightmare By Leslie Susser Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — For Israel, the popular uprising against the Mubarak regime raises the specter of its worst strategic nightmare: collapse of the peace treaty with Egypt, the cornerstone of its regional policy for the past three decades. That is not the inevitable outcome of the unrest; a modified version of the Mubarak government could survive and retain the “cold peace” with Israel. But if, in a worst case scenario, democratic or Islamic forces were to come to power denouncing Israel and repudiating the peace deal, that could herald the resurrection of a military threat on Israel’s southern border. The largely American-equipped and American-trained Egyptian army — by far the most powerful military in the Arab world — numbers around 650,000 men, with 60 combat brigades, 3,500 tanks and 600 fighter planes. For Israel, the main strategic significance of the peace with Egypt is that it has been able to take the threat of full-scale war against its strongest foe out of the military equation. But a hostile regime change in Cairo could compel Israel to rethink its military strategy, restructure its combat forces, and, in general, build a bigger army, diverting billions of shekels to that end with major social and economic consequences. A hostile government in Cairo
Israel Briefs Full stories can be found on our website. Arsonists strike Tunisian synagogue (JTA) — The Torah scrolls at a Tunisian synagogue were burned in a fire reportedly set by arsonists. The synagogue in the southern Gabes region was set ablaze Monday night. Jewish community leader Perez Trabelsi told the French news agency AFP about the scrolls and criticized police for not stopping the attack. “I condemn this action and I believe those who did it want to create divisions between Jews and Muslims in Tunisia who have lived for decades in peace,” Trabelsi told Reuters. Trabelsi is the head of the Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. Al-Qaida terrorists bombed the synagogue in 2002, killing 21 people, including 16 tourists.
could also mean that Egypt would be aiding the radical Hamas regime in Gaza, rather than, as at present, containing it. Worse: If there is a domino effect that also leads to an anti-Israel regime change in Jordan, with its relatively large Islamic political presence, Israel could find itself facing an augmented military threat on its eastern border, too. That could leave it even worse off than it was before 1977, facing a combined military challenge from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians — with the added menace of a fundamentalist Iran that seeks to acquire nuclear weapons. The strategic importance of the peace with Egypt has come to the fore during a number of crises over the past decade. Without it, the Second Palestinian Intifada (20002005), the Second Lebanon War (2006) and the Gaza War (20082009) could easily have triggered wider regional hostilities. But in each case, in the teeth of regionwide popular sentiment against Israel, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak adamantly rejected calls to commit Egyptian soldiers to the fray. On the contrary, Mubarak was critical of Hezbollah in Lebanon and of Hamas in Gaza for provoking senseless killing, and he played a significant role in achieving postwar ceasefire arrangements. “Not everything Mubarak did was right,” President Shimon Peres declared Monday. “But he did one thing for which we all owe him a debt of grat-
itude. He kept the peace in the Middle East.” Because Mubarak has served as a bulwark against regional chaos and was for decades a central pillar of American strategy against the radical forces led by Iran, Israelis found it baffling that President Obama turned his back on the embattled Egyptian leader so quickly. Pundits argued that Obama’s stance sent a deeply disconcerting message to America's moderate allies across the region, from Saudi Arabia to Morocco, that they, too, might be as peremptorily abandoned in time of need. That message, might drive those equally autocratic leaders elsewhere for support, even possibly toward America's regional foe, Iran. Secondly, the pundits insisted that by distancing himself from Mubarak, Obama was encouraging the would-be revolutionary opposition in Egypt in a gamble that could prove counterproductive to American and Western interests. Clearly, the president was hoping for democracy in Egypt and a concomitant increase in popular support for America in the region. In his Cairo speech in June 2009, Obama offered the Muslim peoples of the Middle East a new beginning. Now, he seems to be using the Egyptian crisis to underscore that appeal to the Muslim masses. But Israeli pundits warn that this is most unlikely to work. They maintain that instead of democracy in Egypt, there could
well be a two-stage revolutionary process — an initial quasi-democracy, overtaken within months by the emergence of an autocratic Islamic republic under the Muslim Brotherhood. It would be similar to what happened when the United States supported pro-democracy forces in Iran in the 1970s, only to see the emergence of the fundamentalists. Moreover, in the event of an eventual Muslim Brotherhood victory, the regional winner would be Iran. Israeli diplomats across the globe have been instructed to make the case for the importance of stability in Egypt. Careful not to exacerbate an already delicate situation by saying anything that might be misconstrued, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has merely reaffirmed Israel's desire to preserve regional stability. But it is safe to assume that his government would be relieved to see power remaining in the hands of Egypt's current ruling elite — say, through a peaceful handover to Mubarak's recently appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman. The Israeli hope is that Suleiman, the former head of Egypt's intelligence services and a major player in everything related to Egyptian-Israeli ties, would be able to continue Egypt's proWestern alignment and its support for the peace deal with Israel, while allowing a greater degree of democracy in Egypt and preempting the rise of an Islamic
republic. But it is unclear how much popular support he can muster, given his close ties down the years with Mubarak, who seemingly overnight has become the most hated man in Egypt. However the events in Egypt play out, they will clearly have an impact on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The very notion of a threat to the peace with Egypt will almost certainly further reduce the Netanyahu government's readiness to take risks for peace. In a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu re-emphasized the importance he attaches to the security element in any peace package — "in case the peace unravels." As for the Palestinians, the Egyptian protests could trigger Palestinian demonstrations pressing for statehood — without peace or mutual concessions. As usual, events seem to be reinforcing both sides of the Israeli political divide in their core beliefs. The right is already saying that Israel should not make peace unless it can be assured of ironclad security, and the left maintains that if only Israel had already made peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world, then unrest such as the protests in Egypt would not be potentially so earth-shattering. Either way, the events in Egypt are not good news for those advocating Israeli-Arab peacemaking. They could push efforts to resolve the conflict back several decades.
Ten Tunisian Jews made aliyah to Israel with the help of the Jewish Agency in late January amid political upheaval and violence in Tunisia that led to the overthrow of President Zein el-Abbadin Bin Ali. About 1,500 Jews are living in Tunisia. Some 1,100 Tunisian Jews live in Djerba, with the rest in the capital city of Tunis.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — With Lebanon in turmoil and a Hezbollah-backed P.M. poised to take power in Beirut, Israel is concerned. Israeli officials do not expect a new round of fighting. The primary strategic concern of Hezbollah’s ascent is the potential spread and strengthening of Iranian influence. The so-called Shiite Crescent stretches from Tehran to Shiite-ruled Iraq, through Shiite-friendly Syria and into Lebanon, where Hezbollah, Iran’s Shiite proxy, is in power. This extension of Iran’s influence poses a threat to Israel from both the east and the north. In Israel’s view, Hezbollah’s gambit — engineering the collapse of Saad Hariri's pro-Western government and pulling the strings to get its own candidate, billionaire business tycoon Najib Mikati, in line to replace him — constitutes a significant step toward moving the moderate, majority Sunni-Christian country into the radical Shiite Iranian orbit. “The situation in Lebanon is dangerous. Hezbollah is not just another terrorist organization. It is a terrorist organization in control of a country,” Silvan Shalom,
Israel’s minister for regional cooperation, said on Israel Radio on Wednesday. “The international community should do everything it can to prevent a situation in which Lebanon becomes a hostage to Hezbollah and Iran.”
through the secretary-general” of the United Nations. It’s not clear that other countries will be as receptive to the Turkel Commission’s findings released Sunday. “The Turkel committee was established mostly for external consumption, and even if the United Nations gives some weight to the panel's findings, it’s hard to believe that the international community will accept them as is,” Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz. Israel’s land and naval blockade of Gaza does not break international law, the report found, and Israeli soldiers acted in selfdefense while intercepting and boarding the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish ship in the flotilla whose passengers attacked Israeli naval commandos when they tried to board the ship. The report concluded that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, “in view of the security circumstances and Israel’s efforts to comply with its humanitarian obligations, was legal pursuant to the rules of international law.” But the report also suggested that Israel should find ways to focus its sanctions on Hamas while not harming the civilian population of Gaza.
Grad rockets from Gaza strike Israel (JTA) — Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel. Long-range Grad missiles fired Monday night struck the cities of Ofakim and Netivot. In Netivot, four people were treated for shock, and a parked car and a road were damaged when the rocket landed near a residential neighborhood. The rocket landed near a hall where a wedding was taking place, according to Ynet, sending guests running for cover, Ynet reported. Also Monday, a Kassam rocket landed in an open area in the Eshkol regional council, reportedly causing no damage. Is Hezbollah in charge of Lebanon, and what does it mean for Israel? By Leslie Susser
Israeli commission’s flotilla report: Preaching to the choir? By Marcy Oster (JTA) — The response was predictable when Israel released the findings of its commission of inquiry into the May 2010 Turkish flotilla incident: Israel’s defenders heralded it as absolving Israel of wrongdoing, Turkish critics of Israel dismissed it as not credible. Now the question is how the international community will view the report, which found that the Israeli Navy was not at fault in the May 31confrontation aboard one of a flotilla of Gaza-bound ships that left nine Turkish passengers dead. “We think that this is an independent report, credible and impartial and transparent investigation that has been undertaken by Israel,” U.S. State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley said late Monday. “It will contribute to the broader process that continues
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Mecklenburg Gardens, beer and good cheer By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor A long, long time ago — 1865 to be precise — Louis Mecklenburg, a very civic minded restaurateur, purchased a dining establishment in the heart of a growing Queen City and turned it into a charming eatery specializing in German cuisine. This restaurant became a haven for newly arrived German immigrants to meet, eat and learn about the ways of America and their Appalachian neighbors. Today’s Mecklenburg Gardens retains the ambience of the 19th century with the original Germanic architectural elements, heavy timber beams, stained glass windows, fireplace, mahogany bar and several wood paneled rooms. In summer, the 100-year-old grape vines bloom abundantly in the outdoor bier gardens and people from the universities, hospitals and social service agencies dine happily outside. A victim of changing neighborhoods and suburban development, the restaurant has seen good and bad times and eventually found itself in foreclosure. Chris and Thomas Harten, local Cincinnati brothers who specialize in rehabbing older homes, with the help of their mother Carol, rescued the landmark eatery in 1996 at a sheriff’s auction and revived this dining spot, maintaining the charm of yesteryear and staying true to the taste of German cuisine. It is still a favorite of beer connoisseurs. The ceramic mugs and steins that decorate the walls add a colorful dimension to the rustic interior. Besides its romantic history, the restaurant of today has lighter German food favorites flavored nicely with mustards, horseradish and sauerkraut specials. I met with Mark Fullman, the new chef at Mecklenburg’s. Originally raised in Madeira, Fullman began here in April 2010. He has lightened the hearty menu, provided more varieties of fish, and included a goat cheese salad, with pickled beets, toasted almonds, dried cranberries and served with raspberry balsamic vinaigrette, priced at $10.50. Salad add-ons can be anchovies or smoked salmon.
Tom Harten (left) and Mark Fullman (right) are your hosts; Old style German charm makes the dining experience special at Mecklenburg Gardens; Luscious sauerbraten and potato dumplings are a favorite and filling entree.
Fullman is self taught in the culinary arts. His father owned a restaurant in Oakley so he was exposed to the complexities in this business at an early age. Fullman attended the University of Washington, majoring in English literature, and cooked in restaurants to pay the bills. He worked in fine dining, observed the masters’ techniques and developed his own palate and style. Fullman said, “My cooking is contemporary American. I use fresh, organic ingredients which I incorporate
into regional cuisine.” Fullman likes braised foods and plans to have beer braised short ribs in the near future. The menu offers small plates for smaller appetites. The potato dumplings in a roasted garlic cream sauce with marinated portabellas is $8.50. But first you might want to order fried pickles—beer battered pickle spears served with ranch dressing for $6—which would be fun to share with a dinner companion. Maybe you want to stick with an old favorite, potato
pancakes served with caramelized apples and sour cream. Or the famous soft pretzel, a favorite among Taste of Cincinnati goers, served with bier cheese, for $4.00. Paired with one of the many beers that Mecklenburg is known for, it makes a dynamite meal starter. Entrees are equally intriguing. I once had Mecklenburg’s tender Wiener Schnitzel, served with a sunnyside egg on top of the meat. Weiner Schnitzel is still on the menu, served with spaetzle and apple braised cabbage, for $20;
add a potato pancake side for only $2.50. Sauerbraten and Bavarian goulash are other authentic German favorites. Fish dinners include baked salmon served with crusted grain mustard, ginger and horseradish over sautéed asparagus with roasted red pepper coulis and lemon basil oil for $19. Vegetarians also have an interesting choice in the portabella spaetzle tossed with root vegetables in a parmesan cream sauce for $18. Dessert is Mecklenburg’s pie. The authentic recipe made its debut 30 years ago and the combination of toffee, chocolate chips, pecan crust and chocolate butter cream, topped with mocha cream, takes your taste buds into a heavenly dimension. Mecklenburg’s offers a lunch menu until 4 p.m. during the week. Portabella burger, grilled onion, roasted red pepper mayo and marinated tomato on a rye bun for $8, or beer- (what else!) battered fish and chips with French Fries for $12 are good choices, and an easy way to get your Omega-3 oils and veggies in at midday. Take the family here anytime as there is a children’s menu for ages 10 and under for $4. The young ones can dine pleasantly on grilled cheese and carmelized apples or spaetzle and cheese in an historic German atmosphere. Beer, beer, beer! I applaud Mecklenburg’s in its authenticity and variety. Beers from Germany, Belgium, England, Holland, North America and our own Zinzinnati are everyday choices, with a rotating selection in features biers. The wine menu is extensive too, with Rieslings at the top of the list. Mecklenburg’s has a weekday happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m., featuring $1 off drinks and half-off appetizers. Another civic perk is a free bus ride to UC home games. So grab a beer and a pretzel, douse it (the pretzel, not the beer) with mustard and join the party. Toast the Queen City and the Harten family for their attention to detail and desire for urban renewal, and have a good time. Mecklenburg Gardens 302 E. University Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45219 513-221-5353
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Winds of Change
Elijah Plymesser is a recent immigrant to Israel from the Cincinnati area and is currently pursuing a master’s thesis degree in Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel. He is a graduate of Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, In Cairo, Mohammad El Baradei, a Nobel laureate and former head of UN’s IAEA, has emerged as an opposition leader. The protests have already led to the resignation of Mubarak’s cabinet and the appointment of a new Vice President and Prime Minister. This shakeup can be interpreted in different ways. 1. Mubarak knows his rule is over and is setting up a graceful exit while avoiding anarchy. 2. By appointing military men long part of his inner circle, Mubarak is signaling that his regime is staying. The new VP, Omar Suleiman, is a former general and head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service since 1993. The PM, Ahmed Shafik is a former air force commander (like Mubarak) and headed Egypt’s Civil Aviation since 2002. Thus Mubarak is also informing the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood that a strongman policy against them will continue. 3. The appointments are necessities of internal politics, imposed by the military as a prerequisite for crowd control and protecting Mubarak. A similar scenario happened in the “bread riots” of 1977 when the army agreed to step in to quell protests only after President Anwar Sadat agreed to reinstate bread subsidies. The military has been a political institution since a military coup overthrew King Farouk I to establish the republic in 1952. As part of the military establishment, Suleiman and Shafik may
now have greater power than Mubarak. What are the consequences? The Muslim Brotherhood is not behind the demonstrations but has joined in and will look to take advantage of the turmoil in order to position themselves as the leading alternative to Mubarak’s regime. They are the best-organized political opposition group with strong grassroots support propagated mostly through mosques and religious institutions. Their adoption of the freedom agenda and support for democracy reflect the sense that a popular vote will be to their benefit. Khomeini espoused democracy in Iran’s 1979 revolution only to do away with it once in control. Should the Brotherhood gain significant power, their moderation and commitment to democratic ideals are likely to evaporate as they advance their agenda. They espouse sharia law and have strong anti-American and antiIsrael undertones. Egypt’s alliance with the U.S., peace treaty with Israel, and embargo against Hamas (an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza) are likely to disintegrate under the Brotherhood’s leadership. However, the Brotherhood’s ascendancy to power is not a forgone conclusion. The secular national army has so far avoided clashing with the people, generating some sense of solidarity. The military establishment may still be able to assuage public sentiment and maintain power, at least as part of an interim government. The longer the chaos continues,
the more the Egyptian middle class will seek stability, which the army can provide, but it is not clear how the military can diffuse the situation without arranging Mubarak’s departure, romising fair elections, or enacting sweeping reforms. The opposition is strong but diffuse. Since El Baradei is a public persona, the opposition (including the Muslim Brotherhood) is uniting around him for now. However, he has been out of the country for too long to have deep support and may be seen as opportunistic and too “intellectual” to generate wide appeal for post-transition leadership. The Brotherhood has smartly toned down its Islamist rhetoric and will use the moderate El Baradei as a poster boy for the anti-Mubarak movement as it tries to generate internal consensus and international legitimacy. The ideal scenario for the U.S. is anything that tempers Islamism and keeps Egypt in a proAmerican alliance. But any such solution must also be seen as legitimate by Egyptians. It is unlikely that any transitional government will be able to accomplish this short of allowing for real elections in the not too distant future. The U.S. must work to ensure fair elections while giving the secular pro-American (or at least not anti-American) voices the financial means and tacit support to organize. This does not mean the U.S. should bet on one horse in this race. Rather, it LETTERS on page 22
T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: TERUMAH (SHMOT 25:1—27:19) 1. Was anybody exempt from giving a donation to the funding for the Mishkan a.) Yes b.) No 2. Does the Torah mention prayer in the Mishkan? a.) Yes b.) No 3. What does the word “terumah” a.) Sacrifice b.) Atonement 3. C 25:2 “Terumah” means to set aside money 4. B 30:8 5. B 27:9-19
would traverse the entire length of the city to get to the American University’s shining new campus in “New Cairo,” almost an hour away and built for the nouveau riche, only to see my own neighbors from my downtown neighborhood slaving away for the prospect of a wage. Those denizens of my neighborhood are the same souls risking everything for a better life, and the first step to a better life is loosening the stranglehold of the Mubarak government to allow for the natural growth and opportunities we take for granted in America (and to a lesser degree in Israel). Freedom in Egypt will provide a shining example to the rest of the authoritarian regimes of the region that oppression cannot go on forever. While many in the Israeli security establishment have reason to doubt the positive outcome for regime change in the region, there is a more constructive light in which to view this upheaval. Rather than allowing for the continued demonization of Israel in the Arab world, Gaurdian reporter Mona Eltahawy, provides a brave interpretation: “Meanwhile, the uprisings are curing the Arab world of an opiate, the obsession with Israel. For years, successive Arab dictators have tried to keep discontent at bay by distracting people with the IsraeliArab conflict. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in 2009 increased global sympathy for Palestinians. Mubarak faced the issue of both guarding the border of Gaza, helping Israel enforce its siege, and continuing to use the conflict as a distraction. Enough with dictators hijacking sympathy for Palestinians and enough with putting our lives on hold for that conflict.” I believe her assessment is accurate; scapegoating Israel is not a tactic of oppressed peoples, it is the tactic of oppressive regimes struggling to maintain power. In a recent Twitter post earlier today from Cairo (approximately at 4 p.m. local time), New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof summarizes the choice succinctly and realistically: “American talk of democracy vs. stability is a false choice. Continued Mubarak rule means more instability.” This is not a choice between Israeli security and democracy— the choice to support Mubarak is a choice between freedom and oppression.
c.) Contribution 4. How often was the Menorah lit in the Mishkan a.) Every morning b.) Every evening c.) Only for Shabbat 5. What surrounded the court yard of the Mishkan? a.) Nothing b.) Wall of curtains c.) Wall of boards
2. B 25:8 The Mishkan was a place where a person could connect to Hashem, including prayer.
As I write these words, there are currently over one million protesters gathering in the heart of the largest city in the Arab world. The place in which they are gathering is known as “Liberation Square,” and this week the citizens of the Arab Republic of Egypt are putting real meaning behind those words. Only 250 miles away from my current location in Israel, a revolution is about to boil over, and without the Internet, I would not be aware of any of it. Luckily for me, my rights to expression and communication have not been abruptly removed by my government like those of my neighbors to the southwest. This is by no means a reason to expect stability — as a friend put it “We are living on top of a Volcano” currently — and the relative security that Israel has enjoyed over the past 30 years could dissipate rather swiftly. While the protests in Cairo are neither the first, nor the last bouts of social upheaval we will see in the region, they are the centerpiece of change, the true catalyst following Tunisia’s spark provided by the oust of Dictator Ben-Ali. Cairo and Egypt are at the cusp of reasserting themselves as the heart of the Arab world, as the source of the revolutionary spirit that swept through the Middle East prior to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War in 1967 that served a crushing blow to then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s tough rhetoric and Pan-Arabist designs. Since then, Egypt has languished in poverty and explosive population growth, two elements that do not make for a happy citizenry. Contrary to similar past occurrences, these revolutionary winds call for democratic change rather than the destruction of Israel. The youth of Egypt have grown up knowing no quarrel with Israel; their dissatisfaction lies with Israel and America’s ally, Hosni Mubarak. While Mubarak plays well into the designs that Western, stability-minded powers prefer to see on their television screens, he has ruled his country with a lead fist that has led to the poor getting poorer and the rich joining the ranks of the super wealthy. Power in Egypt is concentrated in the elite, with the poor being even more disenfranchised than they were under Nasser. The introduction of American style capitalism into a deeply socialist minded community has led to “trickle-up” instead of the other way around, whereby the wealthy companies (who are nearly always in cahoots with the government) exploit the massive unemployment to drive labor wages even lower. This was something I witnessed very blatantly while living in Cairo as an exchange student last year. I
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. A 25:2 The donations to build the Mishkan were voluntary Rashi
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SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT TERUMA • EXODUS 25:1-27:19
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Efrat, Israel — “And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary, so that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:7). The portion of Teruma opens with God commanding the construction of what amounts to the first Temple (structure dedicated to the service of the divine) in Jewish history. Even in the desert, the Israelites apparently had the required materials: gold, silver, copper, acacia wood, precious stones, ram and tahash skins (Exodus 25:3-6). So why was the tabernacle a tent with walls made from skins, rather than a portable building? Such a building could have been constructed in segments like “Lego,” but would have looked more like a permanent structure. The answer is found later in the Bible. After King David returns from his battles, he summons the prophet Nathan with a proposal to build the Temple: “See now, I am dwelling in a house of cedar-wood while the Ark dwells in the midst of hanging curtains!” (II Samuel 7:2) Initially, the prophet tells the king to use whatever materials he wishes to house the Ark, but that night God appears to Nathan in a dream; “Go and say to My servant, to David…. Shall you then build for Me a house? I haven’t dwelled in a house from the day I brought the Israelites from Egypt until this day. Instead, I have moved about [like a wanderer] in a tent. Wherever I moved among the children of Israel, did I ever say one word to any of the tribes asking “Why did you not build for Me a house of cedar?’ “And now so shall you say to My servant, David: thus says the Lord God of Hosts: … I shall be with you wherever you may go… I shall make a place for My nation Israel… and wicked people will not continue any more to afflict them, as they did before… And the Lord is telling you that He shall make for you a house… only the one who shall come forth from your loins and with whom I shall establish a permanent kingdom, only he shall build a house to My name, and I shall establish the throne of his kingship forever” (II Samuel 7:1-17).
God is telling David that He is not interested in a fancier dwelling dedicated to His Name unless it will be a house to also bring “the gentile from faraway lands… in order that all the nations of the earth shall know Your Name to revere you like Your nation Israel” (I Kings 8:41-43, 54-60). Until the final Redemption, God’s presence cannot fully dwell in a building. God is telling David that He is not interested in a fancier dwelling dedicated to His Name unless it will be a house to also bring “the gentile from faraway lands… in order that all the nations of the earth shall know Your Name to revere you like Your nation Israel” (I Kings 8:41-43, 54-60). Until the final Redemption, God’s presence cannot fully dwell in a building. He will, however, provide a house for a good sovereign like King David and He will shepherd his nation and provide the Israelites with shelter despite persecutions and pogroms. In other words, God’s presence will not fully dwell in a luxurious Temple as long as Israel and the world are not yet redeemed. I believe that God, through Nathan, was hinting at one more important message. When explaining to King David why God had never requested a cedar house, he adds that “wicked people will no longer continue to afflict them as they did before” (II Samuel 7:10). Clearly, this refers to oppressors like Pharaoh, who forced the Israelites to build stone houses. But, perhaps in a lesser way, it is referring to King Solomon, David’s son and successor. For when King Solomon builds the Temple to God, he taxes the Israelites heavily, and even uses forced labor for the construction: “And King Solomon levied a tax from all of Israel; additionally he sent 30,000 men to work in Lebanon for one out of every three
months, 70,000 carriers of burden [reminiscent of Egyptian enslavement, Exodus 2:11], 80,000 who dug deeply into the mountain and 3,300 taskmasters who were the overseers of the men doing the work.” (I Kings 5:27-30). Moreover, the biblical text maintains that King Solomon built cities of storage houses reminiscent of Exodus 1:11. Due to the building of an exquisite Temple to the Lord, Israel is pictured as a junior Egypt; prosperous, but resorting to slave labor to produce its magnificent edifices. No wonder God does not want such a House! And the folly goes from bad to worse when the next monarch in line from the Davidic dynasty, King Solomon’s son Rehoboam, refuses to reduce the burdens, even adding to them. This sparks the rebellion of the Ten Tribes, divides the Kingdom of Israel, and ultimately leads to the destruction of the Temple. Moses was indeed the wisest of men; he built a Sanctuary to God in the form of a modest tent, without compromising the freedom of human beings created in God’s image. He didn’t even levy a tax, but merely called on “every person with a generous heart to take up his offering” (Exodus 25:2). Shabbat Shalom Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi — Efrat Israel
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JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
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Jewz in the Newz By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist GLEE’S SUPER BOWL SPECTACULAR The “Glee” episode airing on Fox on Sunday, Feb. 6 (right after the Super Bowl ends) is a real blow-out: costing $3-$5 million, and sponsored by General Motors (with limited ads)—most of the musical numbers take place during the half-time of a championship high school football game. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” will be performed. (Anticipate it going on the air about 10PM EST.) “The Glee” Super Bowl episode is directed by BRAD FALCHUK, the show’s co-creator. His mother, NANCY FALCHUK, is national president of Hadassah. Featured in the episode is recurring character Dave Karnofsky, a big bullying football player. It was revealed in a November 2010 episode that the Karnofsky character is a “deeply closeted” gay teen. I recently was able to confirm that actor MAX ADLER, 25, who plays Karnofsky, is Jewish. Last November, Adler and fellow cast member JOSH SUSSMAN, 27 (who plays Jacob Ben Israel), conarrated the Anti-Defamation League’s “Concert Against Hate” in Washington, D.C. The event honored those who stood up to bullying based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. CBS news anchor Katie Couric, 53, is the guest star on the Super Bowl episode and she plays herself. Couric’s father is Presbyterian. Her mother was born Jewish. However, Katie’s mother converted to her husband’s faith shortly before her marriage (1944). Katie Couric didn’t publicly reveal her Jewish background until 2004 and even most of her oldest friends didn’t know about it before then. In 2007, former NY Times reporter EDWARD KLEIN, in his biography, “Katie: The Real Story,” discussed the conversion. He wrote that the conversion was very rarely discussed in the Couric household and the mother’s reasons for adopting her husband’s faith remain somewhat mysterious. However, Klein asserts that Katie and her three older siblings came to believe that their mother became a Protestant to make her children’s lives easier (the family lived in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. that was very Southern/ WASPy in the ‘40s and ‘50s). FUN OSCAR NOMINEE I didn’t know until last week,that LEE UNKRICH, 43, the director of “Toy Story 3,” is Jewish. But my friends at the Cleveland Jewish News tipped me off. Unkrich grew up in the
Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls. (Doesn’t that sound like a town name you’d find in a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon?) He studied acting in Cleveland and then got a degree (1990) in cinema from the University of Southern California. In 1995, the new Pixar animation studio, located near San Francisco, asked him to take a temporary assignment — editing some of the footage of the first “Toy Story” movie. He stayed-on with Pixar, and in 1999, he was promoted to co-director of “Toy Story 2”. He was also the co-director on two other Pixar hits: “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo.” He was the sole director of “Toy Story 3,” and was one of the co-writers of the film. Unkrich appeared at the 2011 Golden Globe awards to accept the Globe for “Toy Story 3” (best animated film). He is personally nominated for two 2011 Oscars: best animated film and best original screenplay. Unkrich and his wife have three children and belong to a San Francisco area synagogue. Some years back, he showed an early preview of a Pixar film (“The Incredibles”) as a special fundraiser for his local Jewish Federation’s early childhood education programs. His daughter, HANNAH, became a bat mitzvah last May. Hannah did the voice of Molly, the sister of Andy, the lead “human” character, in “Toy Story 2.” REAGAN RECOMMENDED The 100th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s birth occurs on Feb. 6, 2011. HBO and the BBC have combined to put together what appears to be an excellent documentary on the late president. It premieres on Monday evening, Feb. 7 (multiple showings.). The director is EUGENE JARECKI, 41, an acclaimed documentary maker. Eugene’s (Jewish) father was a child when he fled Nazi Germany in 1939 with his parents. His Jewish mother is a second generation American of Russian Jewish ancestry. The Hollywood Reporter review says: “In this probing and fascinating HBO documentary, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki impressively distinguishes Reagan the man from Reagan the myth. With its astute political and psychological observations, it will impress both sides of the political aisle.” Likewise, a critic who saw the film at the Sundance Film Festival writes: “It presents Reagan as a complex, multi-faceted figure while simultaneously acknowledging his failings – such as willfully ignoring the AIDS crisis – and his accomplishments – working toward nuclear arms reductions.”
FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Mrs. J. J. Ciener, of Helena, Ark., who has been the guest of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. Loth, C17, Landon Court, Avondale, has returned home. Sidney Joseph, the beloved son of Mrs. Minnie and the late Joseph Joseph, who met his death while mountain climbing in Saxony, was buried last Sunday afternoon from the mortuary chapel, Walnut Hills Cemetery. Dr. Philipson officiated.
The chapel was completely filled with the friends of the family. Sidney Joseph was a young man of fine qualities of mind and heart. His lovable disposition endeared him to a wide circle of friends, who mourn his untimely taking away deeply. Mrs. Louise Allen Johnson, relict of the late Samuel J. Johnson, was buried Monday morning from the residence of her daughter, in
Hutchins Avenue, Avondale. The services were held in the mortuary chapel, Walnut Hills Cemetery, Dr. Philipson officiating. Mrs. Johnson was a gentlewoman of the old school, whose charm and manner and distinction of bearing impressed vividly all who came in contact with her. She is survived by a son, David W. Johnson, and a daughter, Mrs. S. M. Rosentiel. — February 2, 1911
75 Years Ago Announcement is made of the engagement of Miss Jean Hiudt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isadore Hiudt, 201 Forest Avenue, to Mr. Chester Swillinger, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Swillinger. The fiancé makes his home at 1504 Merrimac Street, Walnut Hills, with Mrs. Gertrude Swillinger, widow of his father. Miss Hiudt is a member of Junior Hadassah and Mr. Swillinger is a Mason. The wedding will be solemnized this spring. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wolf and their daughter, Mrs. Bernard S. Hirschorn, are sailing on the S.S. California from
New York Saturday, Feb. 8th for a cruise through the Panama Canal to California. They expect to remain in Los Angeles for several weeks and will spend the balance of the winter in San Antonio, Texas. Mrs. George Mehl, of Reading Road, has left for Pittsburgh to visit her son and daughter, Dr. and Mrs. Irvin Makrauer (Janet Mehl). Dr. and Mrs. Makrauer were married last November. Breaking a tradition that has endured since the Russian Revolution, King Edward VIII received in private audience Maxim Litvinoff, Soviet
commissar for foreign affairs. The half hour meeting marked the first time that a British ruler officially had received a Soviet diplomat since the death of Czar Nicholas, who was related to the late King George V. The latter always refused to meet any Soviet representative. Litvinoff’s presence at Buckingham Palace recalled that during the early days of the Russian Revolution, when he was Soviet charge d’affaires in London, he was arrested and held as a hostage for the safety of a British agent in Russia. — February 6, 1936
50 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Leo Kurtz announce the forthcoming bar mitzvah of their son, Mark Alan, Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10:45 a.m. at Wise Center. A kiddush will follow. Mark is a grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Daid Baverman and the late Mr. and Mrs. I. Kurtz of Brooklyn. Miss Bertha Sachs, 3561 Wilson Avenue, passed away on Sunday, Jan. 29. Survivors include a sister, Miss
Anna Sachs, and three brothers, William and Hyman Sachs of Cincinnati and L.H. Sachs of Brookville, Ind. Miss Sachs served as secretary to Dr. Julian Morgenstern, during his presidency of the Hebrew Union College, from 1925 until his retirement in 1954. She continued to be associated with HUC until her retirement in July 1956. Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Brill, 3833 Winding Way, announce the forthcom-
ing bar mitzvah of their son, Edwin, Friday, Feb. 3rd, at 8:15 p.m., at Temple Sholom. A reception will follow. Friends and relatives are invited. Pierre Monteux will be guest conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in an all-orchestral concert at Music Hall Friday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. “Papa” Monteux is 85 and considered the dean of conductors. — February 2, 1961
25 Years Ago Emma Schaengold will be honored as “Woman of Achievement” at Adath Israel Sisterhood’s annual Torah Fund Luncheon, Wednesday, March 12, at 11:30 a.m. in the Lerner auditorium of the Synagogue. Wife of the late Ernest Schaengold, Emma is the mother of Judy (Mrs. Marvin) Aronoff, Adell (Mrs. Mal) Coleman, both of Cincinnati, and David Schaengold of New York City; grandmother of Debra, Michael and Daniel Aronoff and Jeffrey, Craig and Cindy Coleman.
Mrs. Elsa Wise Fleischer of 739 Betula Avenue passed away Jan. 31. Mrs. Fleischer was an organizer of blood donor services of the American Red Cross during WWII and later helped establish the Gift Shop of The Jewish Hospital’s Women’s Auxillary. She was an active member of Rockdale and Valley Temples. She is survived by two daughters, Betsy J. Karpen and Dr. Joan F. Reckseit; six grandchildren, Linda Karpen Nachman of Paradise Valley, Ariz.; Peter Fleischer Karpen of Darien, Conn., Anne Karpen of Cincinnati;
David Reckseit II of Worthington, Ohio, Lucy Wise Reckseit, of Oakland, Calif., and Margo Stoller Reckseit of Summit, N.J.; and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Fleischer was the wife of the late Jacob I. Fleischer. Albert Pearl of Bal Harbor, Fla., formerly of Cincinnati, passed away Jan. 29. He is survived by his wife, Rae; a daughter, Ellen Gale Mazer; a sister, Ann Pfeffer; two granddaughters, Marjorie Golub of Cleveland and Lauren Silbar; and several nieces and nephews. — February 6, 1986
10 Years Ago Elaine Weintrub Rudd, 78, passed away January 18, 2001. Mrs. Rudd was born in Atlantic City, NJ, and was the daughter of the late Philip and Sylvia (Gellman) Cogan. She was the wife of the late Myron S. Rudd. She is survived by her children: Kenneth Weintrab, Jo Anne Neeme, Debra Tibbits, Michael Rudd, and Nancy Rudd McCoy. Surviving grandchildren are Crystal Weintrub, Lauren Neeme, T.J. Neeme, and Justin Collins. Mrs. Rudd is also survived by two sisters, Martha Saul and Ruth Kavesh. She is the sister of the late Samuel Cogan. The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
board of trustees approved a long-debated proposal on the governance of a new campus agency at its Jan. 25 meeting. The proposal’s success represents the culmination of more than 10 months of negotiations between representatives of the Federation, Jewish Community Center and Jewish Family Service. This is the first step in a multi-million dollar campaign to build a new Jewish Community Center on Deerfield Road. The Federation recently purchased the property for that purpose. The proposal establishes a new board of trustees for the campus agency, which is not yet formally
named. The board will be compromised of four representatives each from the JCC and JFS, two representatives from the Federation and three community members, who will be selected by the other representatives. The governance proposal is the recommendation of the vision council, a committee established by the Federation. When during discussions about building a new JCC, it became apparent that other agencies that rented space at the JCC or elsewhere were interested in space in the new building, the council was formed. — February 1, 2001
CLASSIFIEDS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011
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COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc. (513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Beth Tevilah Mikveh Society (513) 821-6679 Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7226 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 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 Kehilla - School for Creative Jewish Education (513) 489-3399 • kehilla-cincy.com Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Reform Jewish High School (513) 469-6406 • crjhs.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org
ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati-hadassah.org Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (513) 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
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ENGLANDER from page 1 become a national leader, established many productive, strategic partnerships with premier organizations, and was named a winner of the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America’s national cost-savings contest for implementing innovative optimization initiatives in the form of measures that can be duplicated among other organizations. This is the first time these awards have been given in Greater Cincinnati. They recognize both for-profit and non-profit leaders and organizations for their ability to work together to advance the quality of life in the region. Englander said that for the region to be strong, it has to be diverse and welcoming; and that Cincinnati’s Jewish Community has long contributed to that goal. “For over 150 years, Cincinnati’s Jewish community has played a CEDAR from page 6 Opening Minds through Art (OMA) grew as well in 2010, expanding from one weekly session to two. This program, a partnership with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University, uses art as the tool to reach those with even the most advanced dementia. Through thoughtful programming and volunteer assistance, residents whose disease process interferes with all of their normal functions can still make choices and use art as a vehicle for communication. OMA art is on display in the Art Gallery hallway at Cedar Village and the exhibit will amaze you. Two major awards were part of Cedar Village’s 2010 success. The first was a national programming award presented by the Association for Jewish Aging Services which recognized the B’nai Mitzvah Mission to Israel. The second, a state award from AOPHA, the association for nonprofit senior housing and services BALLGAME from page 4 sponsors for making the event possible and noted how he was glad to bring to Cincinnati films that “reflect Israeli society and Jewish culture.”
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(513) 531-9600 unique and prominent role in shaping American Jewish life nationally, while at the same time playing an integral role in the proud history of our city.” Over the past year, the Jewish Federation received national recognition for its Community Efficiencies Group initiative, which included developing innovative collaborative strategies, and assisting partner agencies and congregations to save money and operate more efficiently. Englander says that the Pillar Award he received is really one he shares with the entire community. “The strength of our community is its tradition of leadership, passion and hands-on-involvement. Today, this is reflected by thousands of volunteers at the Jewish Federation, at our synagogues, and at our partner agencies. Every day, they give of their knowledge, their expertise, their talent and their dollars.” for Ohio, was presented to Cedar Village for Excellence in Communication, specifically for the B’nai Mitzvah Mission coverage. Other events included a great Eight Over Eighty celebration in May, honoring Florence Lieberman, Florence Zaret, Sue Ransohoff, Wilbur Cohen, Dave Jacobson, Lou Nidich, Bob Kanter and Dick Weiland. The Cedar Village Golf Classic in August also had another successful year. And, of course, we ended 2010 as we did 2009, with a joyous Cedar Village music video that involved residents, staff and volunteers in a celebration of aging and of Cedar Village. Cedar Village continues into 2011 with an abiding commitment to our mission, that aging be an enriching and fulfilling experience. We remain dedicated to proactively meeting the needs of our elders in the Cincinnati community, to providing health and residential services to ensure an optimal quality of life. “It was a huge success,” said Courtney Cummings, Cultural Arts coordinator and the festival’s manager. “Also it was a great showing of the community’s support for the cultural arts programs.” The festival continues through Feb. 3.
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LEGAL
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The Hamilton County Juvenile Court election Legally Speaking
By Marianna Bettman Contributing Columnist On election night, Nov. 2, 2010, in the race for Hamilton County Juvenile Court, Republican John Williams was ahead by 2,847 votes—10,500 provisional ballots were not included in that count. A provisional ballot is one cast where there are questions about a voter’s eligibility. For example, voters who don’t have the right form of identification, or who recently changed their name or address and didn’t update their registration can cast a provisional ballot. Whether a provisional ballot gets counted depends on verification of the voter’s eligibility. On Nov. 16 the Board of Elections met. The members of the Board are: Alex Triantafilou, chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party; Tim Burke, chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party; Caleb Faux, executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party; and Chip Gerhardt, former vice chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party. Any tie votes are broken by the Ohio Secretary of State, which at the time, was Democrat Jennifer Brunner. After the election it was Republican John Husted, whose term began Jan. 9, 2011. See any problems brewing? At the Nov. 16 Board of Elections meeting, the Board took up the question of the provisional ballots. Most of the 10,500 proviHADASSAH from page 5 Gayna Bassin is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Indiana University, where she studied with famed violin pedagogues Ivan Galamian, Josef Gingold, Jascha Brodsky and Jaime Laredo. She was a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s First Violin section for 20 years and has been a soloist with the Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony and the Cincinnati Community Orchestra. She has performed in many international music festivals, including Tanglewood, Blossom (Kent State University) and the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. She performs locally with the Musica Sacra orchestra,
sional ballots were fine and were counted. But the Board unanimously agreed that 850 of the provisional ballots were invalid and should not be counted because they were voted in the wrong precinct. Under Ohio law, ballots cast in the wrong precinct cannot be counted, regardless of the reason. Nevertheless, the Board unanimously decided to count 27 provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct at the Board of Elections itself during early voting because the wrong ballots were given to the voters by Board staff. When voting at the Board of Elections, an employee hands you the ballot for the precinct you live in when you show your ID. So the only possible reason for voting in the wrong precinct at the Board of Elections, which doesn’t actually have “precincts” was because of a mistake by one of the election workers there. How did the Board figure out that there was a mistake in those 27 ballots? Just by looking at the provisional ballot envelopes. It turns out that this seemingly simple decision started this incredible not-yet-ended saga. After counting all the rest of the valid provisional ballots, the final count indicated Williams won the election by 23 votes. On Nov. 21, Tracie Hunter, Democratic candidate for Juvenile Court judge went to federal court and filed a lawsuit arguing that the Board had violated her federal constitutional rights to due process and equal protection by counting some mistakenly-cast provisional ballots, but not others. She asked Judge Susan Dlott, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, to order the Board of Elections to investigate whether poll worker error caused the other 850 provisional ballots to be cast in the wrong precinct through no fault of the voter. Judge Dlott granted this request, and directed the Board of
Elections to determine whether poll worker error contributed to the rejection of those ballots, and to count any ballots miscast due to poll worker error. Secretary Brunner issued a series of directives to the Board on how to go about this process. Unlike ballots wrongly cast at the Board of Elections, where pollworker error could be determined by simple clerical review, this set of ballots required extensive questioning of poll workers. The Board began issuing subpoenas to poll workers to testify under oath. Brunner directed the Board to count any of the 850 provisional ballots for which there was evidence that poll-worker error caused the voter to cast a ballot in the wrong precinct. In response to this directive a Hamilton County elector, John Painter, along with candidate John Williams, filed an action directly in the Supreme Court of Ohio to stop all of this. Meanwhile, back at the Board of Elections, having concluded its investigation, the Board unanimously approved the counting of 16 of the disputed 850 ballots, unanimously rejected 565 of them which were cast at the wrong polling place, and disagreed 2-2 about the other 269 ballots cast in the right polling place but wrong precinct. Brunner broke the tie by ordering about half of these counted. On Jan. 7, the Ohio Supreme Court weighed in. The fundamental principle the Supreme Court underscored is that Ohio law does not authorize the counting of any provisional ballot cast in the wrong precinct. There is no exception for ballots cast in the wrong precinct due to poll-worker error. The court found Secretary Brunner’s directives to investigate the 850 provisional ballots for poll worker error to be contrary to Ohio law. But here’s the rub. If Ohio law does not have any exception that allows for counting ballots cast in
the wrong precinct due to poll worker error, those 27 wronglycast ballots at the Board of Elections never should have been counted, but they were. It is absolutely clear from reading the Ohio Supreme Court decision that the Court believed the counting of any provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct to be contrary to Ohio law, would gladly have said don’t count any of those ballots, and as a result then declared Williams winner of this election. But it couldn’t do that, with 27 wrongly-cast ballots already counted. Why? Remember Bush v. Gore? Federal due process and equal protection principles tell us that you cannot count some provisional ballots disqualified because of poll worker error, but not others. And furthermore, why should a voter be disenfranchised if poll workers directed them to the wrong precinct in a polling place? So, in order not to have all out warfare with the federal court, the Ohio Supreme Court said ok, you can review the 850 provisional ballots that are the subject of Judge Dlott’s order, but only with the same kind of superficial, look at the paper-only kind of review that you did with those other 27 provisional ballots. No more subpoenaing or questioning poll workers. Secretary Husted issued some directives to conform to this ruling. Meanwhile, Hunter asked Judge Dlott to enforce her injunction and order the Board to count the ballots where they had already found poll worker error. Judge Dlott agreed and ordered the Board to count 165 ballots. The Board of Elections thought it was stuck between disobeying either the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling or Judge Dlott’s order, so it appealed Judge Dlott’s order to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which sits here in Cincinnati. The appeals court heard argu-
ments on an expedited basis, and issued a ruling Jan. 27. In a panel on which two judges were appointed by President Clinton, and one by President Bush, the Court unanimously held that it was a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution to count some ballots cast due to poll-worker error, but not others. But the Court also held that it was premature for Judge Dlott to have identified exactly which of the disputed provisional ballots should be counted, and sent the case back to Judge Dlott to allow all affected parties to weigh in on this issue. It seems clear, more provisional ballots are going to be counted, and because most come from heavily Democratic precincts, this decision is favorable to Tracie Hunter. As a matter of law, what happens if a state supreme court says one thing and a U.S. district court another? Here’s what the Ohio Supreme Court said: “It has long been settled that the Supremacy Clause binds state courts to decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court on questions of federal statutory and constitutional law. But as for decisions of lower federal courts, this court has observed that we are reluctant to abandon our role in the system of federalism created by the US Constitution until the US Supreme Court directs us otherwise....We are not bound by rulings on federal statutory or constitutional law made by a federal court other than the U.S. Supreme Court. We will, however, accord those decisions some persuasive weight.” Translation: unless you are the U.S. Supreme Court, you can’t tell us what to do. And the response from the federal appeals court? It is not the state court’s business to resolve a federal equal-protection claim filed and pending in federal court. Things are heating up. Bush v. Gore 2 anyone?
enjoys playing chamber music with friends, and teaches violin and viola at Cincinnati Country Day School, the Center for the Arts in Wyoming and her home studio. She has been a Life Member of Hadassah since 1984 and has served on the Cincinnati chapter board since 2006. She is also on the Hadassah central states region board as regional webmaster. Claire Lee is a graduate of UC’s College-Conservatory of Music with a Master of Music degree in Piano Accompanying. She is an organist and free-lance accompanist, directs the choir at Northern Hills Synagogue, and accompanies the JCC Troubadours. For fun, she plays flute in the New Horizons Band
and keyboards for the New Horizons Dixieland group. The Kenwood Country Club is located in Madeira. Complimentary valet parking will be available. A minimum donation to Hadassah Donor Campaign plus a couvert per person is required to attend. An optional Plus Gift will go to Jewish National Fund to plant trees in the Carmel area of Israel devastated by the recent fire. Reservations are required. Donors who RSVP by March 15 will be included in the program book. For more information, please call the Hadassah office, email the Cincinnati Hadassah chapter, or visit the Hadassah website.
RUSSIANS from page 9
munities in small towns. “My view is that we will have maybe eight to 10 communities in larger cities within the next 10 to 15 years,” said Lagodinsky, whose family immigrated to Germany from Russia in 1993. The trend is accelerated by the immigration policy changes Germany introduced in 2005 that reduced all immigration, to a trickle, as well as by the aging of Jewish populations in smaller German cities. Irene Runge, a former East Berliner whose Jewish Cultural Association helped the first Russian-speaking Jews adjust to life in Germany, says the new communities formed by the quota system “are going to die out because they are getting old."
Germans here are the jobs and cultural life. Young Jews are “discovering the bigger cities,” Gromova said. Furthermore, some of Berlin’s Jewish circles are open even to those who do not qualify as Jews according to traditional interpretations of Jewish law, or halachah. That wasn't the case in Moscow, says Matvey Girschgorn, 25, who came to Berlin four years ago from there. “I found it quite astonishing, very liberal, and I like it,” he said. Sergey Lagodinsky, a Berlin attorney who handles integration matters as a member of the board of representatives of the Berlin Jewish community, says it's not sustainable to have Jewish com-
FIRST PERSON
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011
21
This Year in Jerusalem Israel Live
By Phyllis R. Singer Contributing Columnist It’s been a while since I’ve written regularly for The American Israelite, so perhaps I should bring readers up to date about our lives in Jerusalem. Allen and I made aliyah 11-1/2 years ago: We arrived in Israel Aug. 26, 1999. Things have changed a great deal since then — in the country and in our lives. When we arrived, Ehud Barak was prime minister; next came Ariel Sharon, who was elected in 2001 and 2003. Sharon, who suffered a massive stroke in 2005 and is still in a coma, was succeeded by Ehud Olmert, who resigned in fall 2008 because of corruption charges. Olmert was succeeded by current MAPS from page 1 the value of getting things in writing. He especially distrusted the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. However, the absence of written proposals and maps stoked controversy. Now the leaked maps will help keep the Palestinian and Israeli positions straight. The map detailing Olmert’s alleged offer to the Palestinian side shows Israel giving 5.5 percent of territory in Israel proper in exchange for 6.8 percent of the West Bank. The swaps that Ahmed Qureia, a former PA prime minister and a top negotiator, reportedly proposed in January 2008 to thenIsraeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were a 1:1 ratio and amounted to trading to Israel less than 2 percent of the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority accounts of meetings with Israeli and American interlocutors reveal many areas of agreement, most of which have been known widely for years. The Palestinians want recognition of the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendants from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, but they also acknowledge that the refugees ultimately will remain where they are living now. “If the Arabs will be part of the solution, there will be no problem in this issue,” Qureia told Livni in 2008. “We have to engage coun-
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lots of change in less than 12 years! During the same time, the United States has seen three presidents: Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama. The main difference is that the U.S. system mandates a four-year term for president unless the president dies, resigns or is removed from office. In Israel, with a parliamentary system, the Knesset can bring down the government and force new elections at any time. On a personal level things have also changed — beyond the fact that we are 11-plus years older! We have moved several times — not always at our choice. At first we lived in a furnished apartment in Rehavia in the center of Jerusalem. We rented a furnished apartment purposely because we wanted to make certain where we wanted to live in Jerusalem. After we decided on the neighborhood of Talbieh, also in the center of Jerusalem, we rented another apartment. After several years, we decided to move again to a larger apartment, also in Talbieh, the neighborhood with our synagogue and lots of Anglos (it doesn’t help the Hebrew, but we have lots of
friends). We thought we would be able to stay in that apartment forever (forever is subjective!), but it wasn’t meant to be. Three years ago, our landlord informed us he was not going to renew our lease; his daughter had gotten married, and he wanted her to have the apartment. Unfortunately, that’s a common phenomenon in Israel: Apartments are privately owned; there are no rental complexes. Many people buy apartments as investments and rent them out, but sometimes owners decide they want the apartment for family members. We hope our current landlord will not decide she wants the apartment for her family! Our children are amused at the fact that in less than 12 years, we have lived in four apartments. In Cincinnati, we lived in our house for 34 years; at one point, as young marrieds with little children, we were the youngest family on the street. When we left, we were among the oldest! Personally, Allen and I do many of the same things we did here in our first few years — go to classes and lectures and do some volunteer work. But there have been some changes. First of all,
Allen had a major illness and is no longer able to do everything that he did here in the first few years. Thankfully, he has recovered most of the way, but there are restrictions about what he can do (more about that in another column). And I am working again — allegedly part time, but sometimes it’s more than that. I work as an English-language editor for an outsourcing company that has clients in Europe and America. I like to work about 25–30 hours a week, so that I have time to go to some Judaic Studies classes and some exercise classes. But the outsourcing business is often feast or famine: Sometimes I’m working more than 30 hours and sometimes less. I’ve had this job since August 2007. Before this one, I had two others. First, I worked as editor of the e-mail newsletter for AACI (the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel); when AACI’s funding was cut by the Jewish Agency, my position was also cut. Then I worked as an editor for a company that helped young Israelis applying for MBA programs in Europe and the United States. I left that job to join
the company where I now work. I liked working with the young people, helping them with their essays and their applications, but the job had tremendous stress, especially in the fall of the year when first deadlines always seemed to coincide with the Jewish holidays. So here I am, still editing — something I’ve been doing since I was in high school! We still feel life here is very rewarding. It’s the culmination of leading a committed Jewish life. The epitome of Judaism is Jerusalem, and Allen and I consider it a blessing to be able to live here. But, I must admit, there is one shortcoming. Our family is split: We have five children; one of them and his family live in Israel; the other four and their families are in the States. We are not able to travel to the States as much as we would like. Hopefully, they are able to come here, so we can share each other’s lives on an ongoing basis. Meanwhile, there’s Skype — with video!
tries that host the refugees.” Such compromises appear contingent on the relationship between Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Ties between the Palestinian Authority and the Olmert government in 2008 were better than they are now between the Palestinian Authority and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. In 2008, direct negotiations were a matter of course, not an aspiration. How mutual suspicion affects talks is made evident in the leaked report of an October 2009 meeting between George Mitchell, the top U.S. envoy to the region, and Saeb Erekat, the lead PA negotiator. Erekat says that if Netanyahu insists on rejecting refugee rights at the outset, the “Palestinian leadership can only respond by insisting on full exercise of right of return.” The same dynamic, in which friendlier talks lead to more expansive proposals, applies to territory. In May 2008, in another meeting with Livni, Qureia apparently outlined a deal that would allow Israel to retain a chunk of Gush Etzion, the bloc of Jewish settlements south of Jerusalem, near Bethlehem, as well as nearly all of the Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. In the October 2009 meeting with Mitchell, Erekat says construction in some of those neighborhoods is inhibiting talks. The most striking theme that recurs in the documents is how far apart the parties are when it comes
to balancing Israel’s reluctance to relocate settlers with Palestinian demands for territorial contiguity in the West Bank. “In the end the whole matter isn’t merely the value of exchange but the reality of those Israelis and where they live,” Livni says in an exchange from the Jan. 27, 2008 meeting between Livni and Qureia in Jerusalem. Qureia responds, referring to Maaleh Adumim and Givet Zeev, large West Bank Jewish settlements that serve as bedroom communities for Jerusalem, “I can’t accept Maaaleh Adumim settlement as a reality because it divides the West Bank, and the same goes for Givat Zeev settlement.” If anything, the documents shatter the illusion that there is a bottom-line consensus about certain settlements being annexed to Israel in a final-status agreement. Many refer to these as the “everybody knows” settlements, such as Maaleh Edumim and Efrat, both near Jerusalem. In fact, the gap is broader than expected, and helps explain why PA President Mahmoud Abbas turned down Olmert’s offer in mid-2008. Olmert refused to give Abbas the map, so Abbas scribbled it on a paper, and it became known as a “napkin map,” which is what Al Jazeera published this week. Another “everybody knows” myth shattered by the leaks is the notion that the Palestinians would accept as swaps Negev desert
lands adjacent to the Gaza Strip. In the leaked documents, the Palestinians scoff at such swaps and want equally as arable land as the lands they would cede. The Olmert map, in its attempt to maximize the amount of settlers Israel would retain, resembles a proposal advanced last week by David Makovksy, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a leading proIsrael think tank in Washington. Makovsky, who is close to Ross, says he has presented the map to officials in the Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. governments. “The goal of ‘Imagining the Border’ is to present a menu of options for resolving the territorial component of the conflict, meeting Palestinian demands of minimal land swaps with a 1:1 ratio while allowing Israel to annex areas containing the majority of West Bank settlers,” Makovsky says. Makovsky manages to narrow the gap between Olmert’s 6.8 percent and Qureia’s 1.9 percent to 3.7 percent, but he retains the “fingers” Olmert’s map thrust into the West Bank to capture large Israeli settlements. The Palestinians insist those are unacceptable. Sticking points seem neverending. The Palestinians regard Latrun, an area southwest of Jerusalem secured by Israel in one of the Independence War’s bloodiest battles, as “no man’s land” because of its designation as such on some maps. They regard its
retention by Israel as a concession. Israel and the international community view it as Israeli territory. Such nitpicking has a toll. According to the documents, Livni starts the May 4, 2008 meeting at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem dryly: “Based on what I have heard in the trilateral meeting with Condoleeza Rice, I believe that your offer will not be exciting,” she tells Qureia, referring to the then-U.S. secretary of state. The Palestinians are unrelenting in pleading with the Americans, to press the Israelis to freeze settlement growth. “Everyone is saying look at what they get from violence, etc.,” Qureia tells Rice in a July 16, 2008 meeting in Washington. “Please. We need your help on settlements” and on the removal of roadblocks and other Palestinians demands. Settlements continue to dog the talks today. The Palestinian posture now is not to return to direct talks until Israel reinstates a freeze on Jewish building in the West Bank. Palestinian allies are circulating a resolution in the U.N. Security Council that blasts Israel for settlement building and urges a return to talks. The Obama administration is opposed to the resolution but has not said whether or not it will veto it. Occasionally, however, the leaked documents show a surprising concession emerges from talks that the sides thought were secret.
Phyllis Singer, former editor/general manager of The American Israelite, can be reached by email at apsinger@netvision.net.il.
22
OBITUARIES
DEATH NOTICES
gram coordinator of Jewish Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
CISNASKI, Saralee (Seidenman), age 62, died on January 7, 2011; 2 Shevat, 5771.
JFS — HUC collaborative now offers Pastoral Care A new free service offers a visit with a rabbi when you need more than a social visit. Pastoral Care is available to Jewish individuals who are in extended care communities, homebound, disabled, elderly, or ill — and are not affiliated with a congregation. This service is available through a partnership between Jewish Family Service and Hebrew Union College. “For decades Jewish Family Service volunteers have offered friendly visits to Cincinnati’s Jewish sick and isolated residents through our Jewish Visiting Initiative: Bikur Cholim Project,” says Pat Rosenberg, project coordinator. “But Pastoral Care fills a void beyond social visits.” Student rabbis Elana Dellal and Jessica Barolsky, who are in their fourth year at Hebrew Union College, have each specialized in pastoral care by completing over 60 hours of chaplaincy training. They are just a phone call away and look forward to bringing comfort and a rabbinic presence to our unaffiliated Jewish Community. For more information, contact Pat at Jewish Family Service by phone or e-mail.
WHITE, Esther Edith, age 105, died on January 27, 2011; 22 Shevat, 5771. JFS from page 7 Bigs do not take the place of a parent. They are simply a friend and extra shoulder for a child to lean on as they do mutually enjoyable activities such as reading, biking, homework or trips to the zoo. The emphasis is on friendship and spending time together. Children ages 6–17 are eligible to be “Littles.” They may be in a single-parent home, or in a home where one parent may be ill or often be out of town. Children matched with a “Big” show real differences in their personal and academic lives. They are: More successful and confident in school. Better able to get along with friends and family members. Less likely to become aggressive by 35 percent. Less likely to begin using alcohol by 35 percent. To volunteer as a Big Brother or Sister or to recommend a child as a “Little,” please contact Mary Poole, Jewish Family Service proMOMS from page 1 A stream of offended Jewish mothers have waded into the debate, among them Ayelet Waldman, who drew some motherly opprobrium when she made a scandalous admission of her own some years ago when she confessed in The New York Times to loving her husband, novelist Michael Chabon, more than she loved her children. “The difference between Ms. Chua and me, I suppose — between proud Chinese mothers and
Aging Checklist ambivalent Western ones — is that I felt guilty about having berated my daughter for failing to deliver the report card I expected,” Waldman wrote. “I was ashamed at my reaction.” Ironically, Chua, who is married to fellow Yale law professor Jed Rubenfeld, is raising her children as Jews. Rubenfeld has yet to weigh in on the brouhaha over his wife’s article — Rubenfeld did not respond to a JTA interview request — but Chua acknowledged they don’t always agree. “It’s more my story,” she told
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More and more senior adults are staying in their own homes or moving to apartments where they maintain independent lives. As they age, you as their spouse, adult child, or neighbor, may notice changes in their health and day-to-day activities. Failing vision, the inability to drive, memory loss are just a few obvious alarms. But sometimes you just aren’t sure if you are over-reacting — or not recognizing a potentially serious problem. Jewish Family Service professionals are Your Experts in AgingTM who can help. “Jewish Family Service skilled and sensitive geriatric care managers are experienced with the special physical, emotional, and practical needs of older adults,” says Ann Sutton Burke, MPA, CMC, director of aging and caregiver services at Jewish Family Service. “We visit with senior adults in their home for an assessment that focuses on strengths and coping skills, as well as their ability to care for themselves physically, socially, financially, and psychologically. Then, together with their spouse or children, we develop a specific plan to ensure they are safe, live with dignity, and make their independent living easier.” Jewish Family Service has 18 dedicated experts in aging including licensed social workers, educators, and care managers. Their experience covers insurance bene-
fits, community resources, counseling, Holocaust survivor issues, long distance care management, public benefits, Russian-speaking concerns and more. To help determine when it is time to call for an assessment, Jewish Family Service created a checklist for aging parents, categorized by types of concerns. Examples of questions are: Emotional Issues: Have you noticed less interest in activities they once enjoyed? Have they experienced a recent death (spouse, friend, pet)? Environmental Issues: Is there clutter that has begun to accumulate? Does the car have unexplained dents or scratches? Financial Issues: Is there unopened mail? Does there appear to be frequent package deliveries? Intellectual Issues: Is their clothing inappropriate to the season? Physical Issues: Are there a large number of different and/or expired medications from different doctors? Do they appear not to be brushing their hair or shaving as often as in the past? Social Issues: Have they dropped out of a card group or other regular social gatherings? Has their television viewing increased or decreased? Spiritual Issues: Do they talk about end of life issues? Vocational Issues: Has their interest in their hobbies or favorite pursuits declined?
The full checklist is available on the Jewish Family Service website. “A lot of times there is a gap between knowing services are available and the older adult being ready to accept the service. We can bridge that gap,” says Burke. Jewish Family Service is now located in the Mayerson Jewish Community Center on The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Campus.
the Times. “I was the one that in a very overconfident immigrant way thought I knew exactly how to raise my kids. My husband was much more typical. He had a lot of anxiety, he didn’t think he knew all the right choices.” Writing in the Huffington Post, Wendy Sachs, editor of the parenting website, Care, claimed that Jewish and Chinese mothers aren’t in fact so different. The difference is one of style more than substance. “Chua says that Chinese moms don’t mince words when it comes to their children’s appearance either,” Sachs writes. “They can say, ‘Hey fatty — lose some weight.’ The Jewish mom would more likely kvell over her daughter than insult her, no matter how fat she had become.” Echoing a similar theme, Allison Kaplan Sommer, writing in
the Forward’s Sisterhood blog, claimed that Jewish and Chinese mothers are both uncompromising when it comes to their kids — they just don’t measure achievement the same way. “It is their broader definition of ‘success’ — one that treats social status as important to climbing the American Dream ladder as academic success — that leads to their different ground rules,” Sommer writes. “Chua’s ‘Tiger Mother’ model dismisses activities that are crucial to gain social skills important for climbing the ladder in modern America. If one doesn’t master the politics of play dates and sleepovers, how are they going to handle dorm life and office politics?” That was the line as well taken by the most prominent Jewish father to weigh in on Chua: New York Times columnist David
Brooks. In a piece titled “Amy Chua is a Wimp,” Brooks writes that Chua is actually channeling her children’s attention into less mentally challenging tasks by depriving them of vital social outlets. “Practicing a piece of music for four hours requires focused attention, but it is nowhere near as cognitively demanding as a sleepover with 14-year-old girls,” writes Brooks, the author of a book on how brain chemistry impacts human achievement. “Managing status rivalries, negotiating group dynamics, understanding social norms, navigating the distinction between self and group — these and other social tests impose cognitive demands that blow away any intense tutoring session or a class at Yale. Yet mastering these arduous skills is at the very essence of achievement.”
LETTERS from page 16
transition out of government, if not immediately then soon. It must not publicly pressure or denounce Mubarak. For all his faults, Mubarak has been a U.S. ally. Other Arab governments, autocratic and with similar faults, will be judging U.S. reliability based on how Mubarak is treated in his time of peril. Still, the U.S. cannot stay behind the curve as events emerge and must work
behind the scenes with emerging players. As a new government emerges, the U.S., together with the international community, should insist on the development of strong civil institutions that would temper extremism and extend democratic reforms beyond one election.
should quietly align itself with all groups that would maintain good bilateral relations. This includes the current military establishment as Suleiman (a graduate of the U.S. Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg). At the same time the U.S. can use whatever leverage it has left to privately urge Mubarak to
Council on Aging selects Jewish Family Service Jewish Family Service emerged from a competitive bidding process as one of only two agencies chosen by the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio (COA) to provide Independent Living Assistance to area senior adults. Independent Living Assistance refers to activities such as banking, bill paying, arranging appointments, managing health insurance, applying for benefits, and assisting with correspondence. The service is offered through COA’s Elderly Services Program, which provides in-home care for eligible seniors who might otherwise be forced to leave their homes and enter a nursing facility. “Being selected among a crowded field of bidders is a real vote of confidence in the quality and professionalism of our social work staff,” said Ann Sutton Burke, director of aging and caregiver services.
David Bratslavsky Mason, Ohio
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