ai2011_03_10

The American Jackson Katz Ph.D. wants you to Israelite online 3.0 is live, this week’s ‘Take a Stand’ Facebook winner

By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor

On March 5, Jackson Katz, Ph.D., internationally noted author, educator and filmmaker presented his multi-media lecture “More Than a Few Good Mensches” in the Wise Temple sanctuary.

About 40 people braved the rain to hear the lecture presented by Jewish Family Service. Rabbi Michael Shulman of Wise Temple welcomed the audience and introduced Dr. Katz, and his lecture, the title of which refers to men allying with women on the issues of sexist attitudes and negative views toward women.

Dr. Katz began with a commandment from Deuteronomy, translated to say how people should not remain indifferent.

KATZ on page 19

The American Israelite online 3.0 is now available for the public to use. Photos and local news can be uploaded to the site. Thanks to focus group consulting, the website is now more user-friendly and inclusive than the first two website designs. The new site is now more aesthetically pleasing with color photos on its homepage and tabs of articles and materials for multiple age groups who use the site. All of your favorite columnists are directly on the homepage as well—all their tabs are on the left side of the page. This site is your site. Designed by you, for your usage. Remember to stick with the oldest for what’s new.

Also, congratulations to Deb LaFrance, this week’s “like” us on Facebook contest winner. Ms. LaFrance has won a $50 gift certificate to Embers Restaurant. Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook for your chance to win.

Northern Hills, Ohav Shalom join for Purim Continuing a tradition begun last year, Northern Hills Synagogue - Congregation B’nai Avraham and Congregation Ohav Shalom are again teaming up for an exciting and fun joint Purim celebration. Purim commemorates the saving of the Jews of ancient Persia from destruction by the evil Haman. As recorded in the Book of Esther, the plot was foiled by the efforts of Esther—the queen and a secret Jew—and her cousin, Mordechai. For thousands of years, Jews have celebrated their deliverance from this evil plot with an especially joyous celebration. As Rabbi Gershom Barnard of Northern Hills noted, “Purim combines the timeless story of the Book of Esther with good fun and fellowship for people of all ages.”

The festivities begin on Saturday evening, March 19, at Ohav Shalom, with the Maariv evening service preceding the reading of the Megillah, the Book of Esther, beginning at 8:30 p.m. A Klezmer band will entertain before and between the PURIM on page 19

New mall in Caracas provides It’s official: Jewish camp strengthens Jewish identity a safe haven for Jews

By Jasmina Kelemen Jewish Telegraphic Agency CARACAS, Venezuela (JTA) — Six teenagers sit laughing around barely touched platters of hamburgers and fries on a recent Friday afternoon, oblivious to the deli manager’s harried attempts to close out the cash register ahead of the rapidly declining sun.

One of the teens remembers to return a blue-and-white kipah the restaurant keeps on hand in case a customer forgets to bring his own.

“I’m leaving in exactly seven minutes,” the manager says politely but firmly. “Come back anytime after Shabbat.”

At a new mall in Caracas, where Cafe Hillel is among dozens of establishments catering to a primarily Jewish clientele, it’s

an extraordinary scene.

The Galerias Sebucan mall, which opened late last year just blocks from a grand new Sephardic synagogue in a wellknown Jewish neighborhood, has Jewish owners. Most, if not all, of the shop owners are Jewish. So are many of the patrons.

That has made the mall a place both where the diversity of Jewish Venezuelan culture is on vivid display and where Jews can feel safe in a city plagued by violent crime — and where Jews don’t always feel safe to appear identifiably Jewish.

But Coby Benzaquen, the owner of Cafe Hillel, said a key motivating factor behind opening the kosher deli was the desire to provide a safe, upscale environment for young Jews to hang out.

MALL on page 22

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Hundreds of thousands of Jewish camp alumni — and their parents — have long known that those halcyon weeks spent at Jewish summer camp don’t just cement lifelong friendships, they strengthen Jewish identity.

Now they have it in writing.

A new study on the long-term impact of Jewish overnight camp concludes that those who have attended camp are more Jewishly engaged as adults, according to 13 key variables, than those who did not go to camp.

“We finally have a tool that proves Jewish camp works, that it helps create a more vibrant Jewish future,” said Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, which advocates for more

Judah S Harris/Foundation for Jewish Camp

According to a new report, these happy kids at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires are more likely to be Jewishly engaged as adults than their friends who didn’t go to Jewish camp.

than 155 Jewish nonprofit camps in North America and sponsored the study.

CAMP on page 22

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Adath Israel holds two Purim events for all ages Purim weekend promises to fulfill Rabbi Irvin Wise’s goal of “celebrating Purim in an extraordinarily wonderful way when the holiday’s profound meaning is masked in frivolity and some craziness.”

To kick off the frivolity, Purim goers will use unique groggers.

Shaking boxes of kosher macaroni and cheese, they will drown out Haman’s name during the Megillah reading. “It will also provide us with a double mitzvah,” said Hillary Hirsch, director of Youth and Family Programs. “The dollar you pay for the grogger will go to tzedakah, and the macaroni and cheese will be given to the Jewish food pantry following Purim.”

Starting with a parade of costumed children and a Megillah reading by 20 teenagers, Adath Israel begins its annual Purim festivities on Saturday evening, March 19. A klezmer band, stilt walkers, balloons, refreshments and dancing will follow the Megillah reading at 7:45 p.m.

During the party, the synagogue’s USY high school youth group will also raise money for tzedakah

doing face painting.

The festivities continue on Sunday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Purim Palooza including lunch served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. “We are bringing back our popular carnival for all ages after several years absence,” said Hirsch, who has planned activities and games for everyone from ages 5-and-under to adults.

A celebrity horse race at noon features Hirsch, Rabbi Irvin Wise, Ritual Director Alan Weiner, Rabbinic Intern Daniel Bogard, Director of Education Sharon Wasserberg, and USY president Lainey Paul racing stick horses. By rolling dice, betters will decide which horse moves and how many spaces it moves. Adults may try their hand at blackjack, poker and roulette and win a chance for a restaurant gift certificate. “We will draw three names from a bucket of those who bet on a winning horse,” Hirsch said. “Money placed on bets goes to tzedakah.”

A cornhole competition for all ages, an airbrush tattoo artist and adult gambling are other activities

that will raise money for tzedakah.

The top three winners of blackjack, poker or roulette will get restaurant gift certificates.

“We also have 25 cool games for kids K-7 which will earn points that can be traded for prizes,” Hirsch said. Some of the games include Plinko, based on The Price is Right, and made by Dr. Hamilton Lempert; mini cornhole; dart boards; Purim Pong; horse race using laser guns; Pringle, Coke, penny, and trash tosses; parachute drop; spin the wheel; bumper car games; candy walk similar to a cake walk; knock down Haman’s seven faces; high low roll; and lollipop pull. Prizes range from rocket launchers and Frisbees to bouncy balls, whoopee cushions, invisible ink, mad scientist goo, overthe-door basketball set, bubbles, slinkies and water bombs.

For kids five and under Hirsch has planned activities including a duck pond, mini bowling, ride on toys, blocks and more. Prizes include water toys, rubber duckies, bubbles, finger puppets and musical instruments.

JCC Spring Break Camps start March 28 When school is out... the J is in.

Kids in grades K-6 can enjoy their days off school at the J with friends and fun activities. JCC Spring Break Camps are offered 9:30 a.m.

- 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday, March 28 – April 1; Thursday Friday, April 21 – 22 and Wednesday, April 27. Sign up for just one day or every day. And if the kids can’t get enough between 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., they can come early or stay late!

During JCC Spring Break Camps, kids get to take full advantage of the many popular facilities at the J. There is time to splash around in the indoor water park,

play games in the gym, create great art projects and have fun in the new Club J game room. Campers should bring a bathing suit and pack a lunch with a drink each day.

Families registering for the entire week of March 28 – April 1 save $50, which is like getting one day free. Before camp care begins at 8 a.m., with pick-up as late as 6 p.m.; either or both are available every day for an additional fee.

JCC Spring Break Camps are open to the public, and J Members get discounted rates.

Enrollment for JCC Spring Break Camps has already begun, and advance registration is

required. Parents may choose as many days as they like. Camp drop-off and pick-up is at the Club J game room on the lower level.

JCC Spring Break Camps are only some of the year-round school break camps offered by the J. When school’s out in the spring, summer, winter and even special holidays, the JCC offers fun, supervised programs for grades K-6. For more information, contact Matt Miller, JCC youth and family coordinator, at the Mayerson JCC on The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Campus.

More camp information is available on the JCC website.

JFS gift helps Holocaust survivor maintain independence Jewish Family Service recently gave Iosif Vak, a Russian speaking Jewish Holocaust survivor who has congenital eye disease, a visual monitor that allows him to read and write once again. Vak, who is a resident at Cedar Village, is known in the Russian community for his scholarship and his Russian poetry, which this machine helps him to write.

Because the visual monitor enlarges the text of books and papers, it allows him to read current events as well as write his poetry. This helps him maintain his independence, an objective of the Jewish Family Service Aging and Caregiver Services program.

“With older adults, increased isolation can increase depression,” said Gail Ziegler, Jewish Family Service

social worker. “The goal of these machines is to help keep older adults engaged with the world around them to decrease depression.”

Vak’s machine is the third Jewish Family Service has placed in the survivor community. He received instruction on its use from Lorraine Croft, a nurse liaison for the Bahmann Foundation that provided funding for this adaptive equipment.

Bs”D

SOBER PURIM CELEBRATIONS:

Megillah Reading, Hamentashen, The Works SATURDAY NIGHT, MARCH 19, 9:00 PM @ 7325 ELBROOK AVE, AMBERLEY VILLAGE 45237 *** SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 4:00 PM @ FRIENDSHIP HOUSE, 1546 KENOVA AVE, ROSELAWN 45237 SPONSORED BY CINCINNATI JEWISH RECOVERY • (513) 733-4400 JEWISHEDUCATE.ORG • RABBI@JEWISHEDUCATE.ORG

CONGREGATIONS B’NAI TZEDEK & BIET CHAVERIM and THE JEWISH SPIRITUALITY NETWORK

PROUDLY PRESENT

COLLECTIVE JOY: JEWISH SPIRITUALITY AND MUSIC AN INTERACTIVE PROGRAM

FEATURING

REN FAUGHT Indianapolis Musician and trained Jewish Spiritual Director

SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 1-4 pm REFRESHMENTS FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM

Register by March 13 Cost: $15 adv; $18 at door CONGREGATION B’NAI TZEDEK 6280 KUGLER MILL ROAD CINCINNATI, OHIO 45236 (513) 984-3393 www.bnaitzedek.us THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART

BY THE SEED EDUCATOR’S INITIATIVE OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF CINCINNATI

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Wise Sisterhood to host Playhouse’s artistic director Ed Stern for tea Wise Temple Sisterhood’s annual Library Tea is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16 from 1-3 p.m. at Wise Center. Ed Stern, the producing artistic director at

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, will speak on “Shakespeare, Cincinnati and American Culture.”

Sandwiches and desserts will be served, as well as tea and coffee.

This is a great opportunity for the multi generational women of our congregation to spend time together. All are welcome to come alone or bring a friend! There is no charge

for Sisterhood members, however there is a fee for guests. Co-chairs for this event are Eve Appleton and Karen Sim. For more information, please contact Wise Temple.

Film explores Jewish Civil War participation Exactly 150 years ago—on April 13, 1861—the first battle of the Civil War was being fought. Now, a new film – “Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray” – explores Jewish participation during the Civil War during the nation’s sesquicentennial commemorations.

The Cincinnati premiere of the film will take place on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 in the Amberley Room at the Mayerson Jewish

Community Center. A small donation is suggested.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m., with a pre-event brown bag dinner/discussion led by Dr.Gary P. Zola, of the American Jewish Archives.

The discussion will be followed by the screening of the film at 7 p.m.

“Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray” illuminates the sacrifices Jews made as they defended the

Union and the Confederacy.

This first-of-its-kind film reveals many of the little-known struggles facing Jewish Americans, both in battle and on the home front. The film presents a collection of photographic and lithographic stills, anecdotes, interviews with noted historians and dramatic readings of letters and historical speeches. The film is narrated by Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Milius. The

premiere event will also include a Civil War Artifacts Exhibit from the collections of the American Jewish Archives and a post-screening dessert reception featuring baked goods from Civil War era recipes.

The event—which heralds the approach of Jewish American Heritage Month in May— is presented as an off-season presentation of the Jewish & Israeli Film Festival.

Northern Hills ‘HaZaK’ plans musical theater program Northern Hills Synagogue Congregation B’nai Avraham will welcome soprano Shannon Alter and piano accompanist Claire Lee in a program of musical theater favorites when it holds its monthly “HaZaK” program for seniors on Wednesday, March 16. The program will take place at the synagogue beginning at 12 p.m. Lunch will be served.

Alter graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in Music Education — Choral Emphasis.

Among her favorite past roles are Lucy in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” the White Rabbit in “Alice in Wonderland,” and Lily

St. Regis in “Annie.” Alter served as Music Director of “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” with the Sunset Players, and currently teaches music at St. Martin of Tours School in Cheviot.

Lee, a member of Northern Hills Synagogue, is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s CollegeConservatory of Music, with a Master’s of Music degree in Piano Accompanying. She serves as an organist and freelance accompanist, directs the choir at Northern Hills, and accompanies the JCC Troubadours. For fun, Lee plays flute in the New Horizons Band and keyboard for the New Horizons Dixieland Band.

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

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

Lauded children’s books now in Wise Temple Library These award-winning children’s books for children in middle and upper grades have been added to the Wise Temple Library recently: Lost, by Jacqueline Davies A YA (Young Adult) novel set against the background of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. A Sydney Taylor Award Honor book.

The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser,

by Kathy Kacer Gabi’s world is turned upside down when the Nazis invade her Czech homeland and she must leave her farm community, family and friends, and go into hiding.

Based on the story of the author’s

mother. Winner of the Canadian Jewish Book Award and the Silver Birch Award.

Clara’s War, by Kathy Kacer Thirteen year-old Clara and her family are sent to Terezin in 1944.

Despite the terrible hardships, Clara makes friends and has a role in the children’s opera “Brundibar,” which was performed in the camp. Winner of the Red Maple Award and a choice of the Canadian Children’s Book Center.

The Other Half of Life, by Kim Ablon Whitney In 1939, 15-year-old Thomas sails on a German ship bound for

Cuba with more than 900 German Jews expecting to be granted safe haven in Cuba. Based on the story of the ship St. Louis. Winner of a National Jewish Book Award.

Life, After, by Sarah Darer Littman In the aftermath of the terrorist bombing of the Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Dani and her family move to New York City. There she forms an unlikely bond with a girl at school whose father died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. A Sydney Taylor Honor Book.

BOOKS on page 22

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VOL. 157 • NO. 33 THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2010 4 ADAR II 5771 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 6:22 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 7:21 PM THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 PHONE: (513) 621-3145 FAX: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com articles@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISSAC M. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1854-1900 LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher BARBARA L. MORGENSTERN Senior Writer MIKE MCCRACKEN 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

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B’nai Tzedek members stay in touch with Cedar Village residents On Sunday, February 27, from 10 a.m. to noon, several members of Congregation B’nai Tzedek went to Cedar Village to visit a number of former members and friends of B’nai Tzedek who are

now living at Cedar Village.

Time was spent on the second floor of the Oak View Apartments, in the building’s library area.

Those present were Arlene and Russ Rosen, Laura and Charlie

Enzer, Bob Mermelstein, Alex Cohen, Barbara Taggart-Milberg, Ruth Cohen, Susan Farber, Phyllis Saltzman, Greg, Audrey and Jonathan Saltzman (who were visiting from Ann Arbor, Mich.).

Also, Margot Nathan visited with Faye Horwitz, Ruth Kahn, Martha Saltzman, Juanita Egherman, Shoshie Grad, Etta Gepsman, and a few other residents who chose to be part of the interaction.

This was the second time the congregation spent time with Cedar Village residents who have a connection with B’nai Tzedek.

The gatherings are scheduled for every few months.

Hadassah ‘Coffee Talk’ presents Holocaust program, volunteer service organization Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah will present a special Coffee Talk program, “From Memories to History: Contemporary German Youth and The Holocaust” at Cedar Village in Mason on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 10 a.m. Gail Ziegler, Jewish Family Service program director of the Center for Holocaust Survivors, will speak about the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP), a German peace and volunteer service organization founded in the aftermath of World War II

to confront the legacy of the Nazi regime. She will tell us about this unique program, and we will have the opportunity to meet the young German volunteer, Christian Cramer, who is here in Cincinnati, working with Holocaust survivors and their families.

At its onset, the mission of the ARSP was to volunteer in countries affected by World War II and to work with the peoples who suffered during the Nazi regime. The founders of ARSP called upon young Germans to work for peace

through social services in these countries as a sign of atonement.

The mission now includes learning from Germany's history, taking a stand against racism and hatred today, and creating a positive future for everyone. By acknowledging the past and learning from our history, we can work for a better world.

The primary role of the ARSP volunteer at Jewish Family Service is to visit one-on-one with Jewish Holocaust survivors. This special time together often provides an opportunity for survivors to

educate a young person while reflecting on their life experiences and sharing their knowledge and history. Creating an environment for positive reminiscence and life review is a very important part of successful aging, but it can be a very difficult one for Holocaust survivors. The ARSP volunteer can be an important bridge in the facilitation of helping survivors through this process in a meaningful and positive way.

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is a vol-

unteer women’s organization whose members are motivated and inspired to strengthen their partnership with Israel, ensure Jewish continuity, and realize their potential as a dynamic force in American society. Membership in Hadassah supports two Hadassah hospitals in Israel, medical research, Hadassah College, three Youth Aliyah villages, and health and educational programs.

The program is free and open to the public. Please call the Hadassah office to RSVP.

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At Berkeley campus, Jewish students from left to right on Israel talk about their motivations

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) — It’s March, which means the days get longer and the IsraeliPalestinian conflict heats up on campuses across North America with the annual staging of Israel Apartheid Week.

Last year, pro-Israel activists countered Apartheid Week events ranging from anti-Israel speeches to the staging of mock Israeli army checkpoints with pro-Israel events on 28 campuses highlighting Israel’s diversity and progressive character. This year, more campuses are expected to join in.

One of the most politically

active campuses in the nation has been the University of California, Berkeley. Last year it was the scene of a protracted debate over an anti-Israeli divestment bill that tore apart an already fractured campus community and left many students shaken, others angry and still others too exhausted to care anymore.

In recent days, JTA spoke to four Jewish student activists at Berkeley about what motivates them on Israel-related issues. The students span the political and religious spectrum, from an ardent Zionist to a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, from Orthodox to secular. They all have

strong Jewish backgrounds — three are day school graduates, and the fourth is an Israeli army veteran.

Here are two of the four stories: Jacob Lewis, leader of Zionist student group While 100 people chatted noisily in the crowded room at Berkeley where Arab affairs expert Mordechai Kedar of Bar-Ilan University was about to start his lecture, Jacob Lewis was off in the hallway quietly unfolding more chairs for latecomers.

That’s his style. The 20-yearold sophomore isn’t the firebrand one might expect of the president of Tikvah, an avowedly Zionist student group that broke away from Hillel three years ago because its founders thought the established Jewish student organization on campus wasn’t pro-Israel enough.

“We’re the Zionist voice at UC Berkeley,” Lewis says firmly. “We advocate for Zionism as the national movement for self-determination of the Jewish people in their homeland, Israel. We were founded because no one else on campus was making that argument. No one was standing up to the rhetoric.”

Tikvah brings pro-Israel speakers to campus. Its activists distribute leaflets next to Israel Apartheid Week events and spearhead letterwriting campaigns to protest antiSemitism. But they also present the diversity of Israeli culture and society by hosting events like a recent demonstration of Krav Maga, a form of self-defense developed in Israel.

The point, Lewis explains, isn’t that Israel is all good, but that it’s not all bad either.

That’s his main beef not only with Israel’s detractors on campus, like the Apartheid Week activists, but also with Hillel-affiliated groups, like the one that brought to campus speakers from Breaking the Silence, a group of Israeli army veterans who oppose Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

Lewis said they “nitpicked details” of a very complex situation, and thereby generated anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hostility instead of thoughtful conversation.

“They make the delegitimization of Israel on campus much more legitimate because they’re seen as a mainstream group, part of Hillel,” Lewis charges of the group that brought Breaking the Silence to campus.

On the other hand, Lewis is wary of right-wing Jewish community members who spew antiIslamic hatred at meetings attended

by Tikvah students. He doesn’t want them controlling the Israel

dialogue on campus either.

“We don’t believe Islam is the cause of our problems,” he says.

Referring to the adults from the larger community, Lewis adds, “When people come and talk about ‘what all the Arabs want’ or ‘this is what Islam says,’ that’s difficult for us to deal with.

“We walk a very fine line,” he acknowledges. “Different elements from the community want us to do different things. But we’re 100 percent a student organization. We don’t really care what other people think we should do. We know what we need to do.”

Tikvah exists only at Berkeley, Lewis notes.

“Berkeley is an absolutely crazy place,” he says. “The rhetoric is much more venomous. The campus is much more sympathetic to a leftist worldview. And we don’t get the same support from the Jewish community that you might get on other campuses.”

Yet Lewis chose to attend Berkeley after 12 years of Modern Orthodox day school in Chicago precisely because of the Bay Area’s diversity.

“In high school I was surrounded by people who believed like I did, but I was usually to the left of my friends,” he says. “Then I got to Berkeley and I got involved with Tikvah right away. I feel like I’m wrong no matter where I am.”

Noah Stern, student body president active in Hillel Noah Stern has many demands on his time. The 21-year-old senior is an active member of Hillel, a fraternity brother at Delta Chi — and president of the student body.

Plus he tries to squeeze in a little skiing.

Stern is the third Hillel activist in 10 years to be elected student president.

“We’re all Jewish guys from Los Angeles, and all in the same frat,” he says.

As president, Stern must navigate between his responsibilities to the entire student body and his personal Jewish convictions. It was easier last year, he says, when as a student senator he could represent his own constituents during the acrimonious debate over an Israel divestment bill.

Stern voted against the bill and went on to co-author a substitute resolution that did not single out Israel. The first bill passed but was vetoed by his predecessor; the second was voted down.

Now as president, Stern is happy the issue hasn’t resurfaced this year.

“My feeling is there’s acknowledgment that perhaps the [student

assembly] is not the most appropriate venue for international politics,” he says.

Stern has a fine pedigree for a student activist: His father is a Reform rabbi, his mother works for the Jewish Federations of North America, and he attended Jewish day schools and Jewish summer camp throughout his childhood. He spent a year after high school in Israel with Kivunim, a Jewish program that encourages multicultural literacy and understanding.

In the same vein, last year he and a Muslim student co-founded Breaking Bread, an organization that sponsors coexistence dinner discussions on campus. The Jewish-Muslim dinner last December focused on cultural and religious similarities rather than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I won’t pretend it solved the conflict, but this is how I prefer to engage with the issue,” Stern says.

“In general I’m not a protester. It presents a black-and-white position on issues that are very gray.”

As student president, even if he liked holding signs on Sproul Plaza, the arena of choice for Berkeley protesters since the early 1960s, he would be enjoined from lending his voice to a particular cause.

Israel Apartheid Week doesn’t stress him out, and he’s equally sanguine about Jewish students who protest Apartheid Week events.

“These are students that believe adamantly in their causes and are visible about it,” Stern says. “That’s how we do it here.

Israel Apartheid Week, Israeli Peace and Diversity Week — it’s the Berkeley way.”

For his own part, he is way too savvy to speak, or act, off the cuff.

Asked about Peter Beinart’s New York Review of Books essay, which raised establishment hackles by suggesting that young Jews don’t have the same attachment to Israel and the Jewish community as their elders, Stern says Beinart was right on.

“I don’t think the adult Jewish community is as in tune with Jewish college students as they sometimes think,” he says, measuring his words carefully. “Strategies that might have worked in the past don’t necessarily meet the needs of today’s students.”

Not all Jewish students care about Israel, Stern says, nor should they be forced to. Those who do care don’t always agree, and that’s fine, too.

“The fact that different Jewish groups with difference stances on Israel exist on campus shows there’s a need,” he says.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

America’s new face in Tel Aviv?

Shapiro expected to garner ambassadorship

By Adam Kredo Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week) — When Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell sat down for an interview before a crowd of nearly 1,000 last year, his interlocutor, a New York Times columnist David Brooks, wondered why the political heavyweight had agreed to openly discuss a matter as sensitive as his diplomatic efforts.

“Dan Shapiro told me to come,” Mitchell told Brooks and the standing room only crowd at the District’s Sixth and I Historic Synagogue. “When he gave me the order, I saluted.”

Such is the stature of Shapiro, 41, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. He has long been regarded as one of President Obama’s most trusted Middle East confidants.

In the coming weeks, though, Shapiro is expected to emerge from behind the foreign policy curtain as the administration’s new public face in Israel.

According to numerous reports, Shapiro soon will be selected to succeed James Cunningham as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, though it is unclear when he will formally be nominated.

Shapiro, a Washington resident and prominent member of the local Jewish community, is expected to shine as a diplomat, say numerous foreign policy experts and Jewish communal officials across the partisan spectrum.

“You won’t meet anyone who’s a harsh critic of Dan,” said Steven Rosen, director of the Middle East Forum’s Washington project. He’s “one of the [administration’s] insiders and people like him.”

Shapiro has earned plaudits from White House officials, leaders of the American Jewish communal world and others for his sharp understanding of a complex and rapidly evolving region. Experts say his nuanced take on the Middle East will make him a vital asset not only to the White House, but also the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

“Shapiro is from the Jewish community, he is a committed Jew and makes no secret about it,” said Rosen, a former top official at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “The key Israelis already know him and he’s going to have a very easy time walking into the prime minister’s office and being taken seriously.”

With a nonfunctional peace process amplifying tensions between the U.S. and Israel,

Shapiro is viewed as a reassuring pick, said Kenneth Weinstein, chief executive officer of the Hudson Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

“This is someone who has played a key role in the relationship and, frankly, improving the relationship [between Washington and Israel] over the past year,” said Weinstein.

Shapiro was “the best person for the job,” offered former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), who himself was rumored to be in the running for the ambassadorship.

“He has been a centerpiece in every initiative and decision the administration has made since day one,” said Wexler.

Some of those decisions, however, have cost the White House some of its pro-Israel clout.

Since taking office, the Obama administration repeatedly has encountered turbulence in its dealings with the Israelis and has taken flak from the American pro-Israel community for, among other things, pressuring the Jewish state to halt settlement construction, including in Jerusalem.

“The administration’s policy has not produced the outcome it’s wanted, and it’s widely understood that the unusual approach they began with backfired,” said Josh Block, a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.

Yet somehow, Shapiro is seen as being separate from the administration’s most controversial policies toward Israel, despite having been a central presence in team Obama from the early days and a chief architect of its Middle East outlook.

He has escaped unscathed, observers say, because even the administration’s sharpest proIsrael critics see Shapiro as someone who genuinely cares about the Jewish state.

“As our ambassador, Dan is the kind of guy who can play a lead role in enlarging what is already our most important relationship in the Middle East,” said Block.

“An asset he brings is his clear commitment to Israel’s security and survival,” added former Rep. Mel Levine (D-Calif.), who worked with Shapiro while campaigning for Obama. “It’s a part of his persona that is unmistakable.”

Key players in both Israel and America “don’t think he has an ideological agenda,” said Rosen.

“The root of it,” said David Harris, president of the National Jewish Democratic Council, “is that Dan is profoundly a mensch.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and [his adviser] Ron Dermer see that, [Palestinian Prime

Minister] Salam Fayyad has seen this and [Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton has seen it,” said Harris, who has been a close friend of Shapiro’s for several decades.

In 2008, when then-Senator Obama began forming his campaign squad, Shapiro, a native of Champaign, Ill., was brought aboard as an adviser on the Middle East and Jewish community issues.

To that point he had gained a solid reputation on Capitol Hill, where from 1995 to 1999 he served as a senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Following that, Shapiro served on the NSC under President Clinton before becoming foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bill Nelson.

A longtime member of the Conservative Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, Shapiro enjoys the added bonus of being well regarded in the local Jewish community.

“He does very well in the Arab world, and he shouldn’t be penalized because he can explain Torah and lead Musaf and his kids go to day school,” said Steve Rabinowitz, a Democratic strategist who also belongs to Adas Israel.

“He’s just the nicest guy and there’s nobody who doesn’t like him.”

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Arab unrest alters power balance in as yet unseen ways

By Uriel Heilman Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — They were the devils they knew.

Though Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood, surrounded by countries whose leaders or people wish its destruction, over the years it had adjusted to the status quo, more or less figuring out how to get by while keeping an eye on gradual change.

But the sudden upheaval in the region that in a matter of weeks has toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and threatens autocrats in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and elsewhere, is forcing Israel to grapple with how to recalibrate for dramatic change.

For the time being, as Israel sits and watches how things play out from Tripoli to Manama, Bahrain, it’s not clear exactly how the game will change.

“The best answer is we don’t know,” Ron Pundak, the director of the Peres Center for Peace in Herzliya said this week at the J Street conference in Washington.

“The biggest change since 1967 is this tsunami rolling across the region whose end results no one really can foresee,” said Samuel Lewis, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who attended the conference. “Something new is happening in the Arab world.”

In some places, like Libya, the immediate effects on Israel are

Sierragoddes via Creative Commons

Demonstrator with an antiGadhafi sign outside the Libya Embassy in Cairo shows his solidarity for Libyans protesting their leader, Feb. 22, 2011.

minimal. Libyan strongman Muammar Gadhafi’s state has had no ties to Israel, so the dictator’s demise — if it comes — wouldn’t change much for Israelis.

“The civil war raging in Libya poses no immediate cause for concern in Israel,” Israeli journalist Avi Issacharoff wrote in Haaretz.

However, the cumulative effects of the Middle East unrest are prompting shifts throughout the region that may require dramatic strategic rethinking in the Jewish state.

Every time a protest move-

ment in the Middle East succeeds, protest movements elsewhere are emboldened, and that has put many regimes that for decades have not been hostile to Israel — including those of the Persian Gulf, Jordan and North Africa — on alert and at risk.

With Israel and the West engaged in a proxy war with Iran for regional hegemony, the fall of autocratic regimes allied with the West provides an opening for Iran to expand its power and sphere of influence.

And Iran is intent on doing so. It was no accident that just days after the fall of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, Tehran dispatched two warships to sail through the Suez Canal — something Iran had not dared to do since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The ships docked in Syria in what Iran’s Navy chief, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, described as “a routine and friendly visit” to “carry the message of peace and friendship to world countries.”

In truth, it was an exercise in saber rattling.

Iran is projecting “self-confidence and certain assertiveness in the region,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told CNN. Nevertheless, he said, “I don’t like it, but I don’t think that any one of us should be worried by it.”

When a pair of rockets fired from Gaza hit the Israeli city of Beersheba last week, some Israeli analysts saw it as another example

of Iran’s saber rattling. Iran has sent weapons to Gaza and seeks more influence there, even though the strip’s Hamas rulers are Sunni Muslims, and Iran is a Shiite power.

“I do not recommend that anyone test Israel’s determination,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the rocket attack.

The great fear is that regimes friendly toward Israel (Egypt, Jordan), or friendly with Israel by proxy via the United States (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain), or not actively hostile (Libya, among others), will be co-opted by elements with greater animus toward the Jewish state.

That hostility could come from any one of a number of places. On the Egyptian front, the long-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, an ally of Hamas, stands to gain greater power. In the cases of Tunisia and Libya, there is fear that al-Qaeda could capitalize on a power vacuum and take root. In Bahrain, which is overwhelmingly Shiite but ruled by a Sunni king, the concern is that genuine democracy could throw the country the way of Iran.

“The regional balance of power is changing, and not necessarily in Israel’s favor,” Robert Serry, the U.N. secretary-general’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said at the J Street conference.

National Briefs Kissinger calls for Pollard clemency (JTA) — Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has called for the release of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard.

Kissinger sent a letter to President Obama requesting that he commute Pollard’s sentence to time served.

Pollard was a U.S. Navy analyst when he passed classified information to Israel. He has been in prison since 1985.

“At first I felt I did not have enough information to render a reasoned and just opinion,” Kissinger said in a letter dated March 3, but released Tuesday.

“But having talked with [former Secretary of State] George Shultz and read the statements of former CIA Director [R. James] Woolsey, former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman [Dennis] DeConcini, former Defense Secretary [Caspar] Weinberger, former Attorney General [Michael]

But there could be some good news, too. The uprisings that have spread from North Africa to the Persian Gulf have been broadbased, loosely organized protest movements led by young people networking through the Internet and social media like Facebook.

They have not been dominated by Islamists, and the protesters have not made Israel a focal point.

Whether these young people really will take hold of the levers of power, and how they will relate to Israel in the future, are open questions.

For those concerned with Israel, the unrest is being interpreted one of two ways, depending largely on political leanings. Those on the right point to the instability as a reason for Israel to be more wary of concessions in any peace agreements, since their peace partner could disappear at any time.

“Why should Israel expect that another agreement would not be overturned by some new revolution, change of mind or cynical long-term plan?” columnist Barry Rubin wrote in The Jerusalem Post.

Those on the left say that if Israel does not resolve the IsraeliPalestinian conflict quickly with a peace deal, the new generation of leaders emerging in the Arab world won’t be able to see Israel as anything other than an occupier and repressor of Palestinian rights.

Arab commentators echo that thinking.

Mukasey and others whose judgments and first-hand knowledge I respect, I find their unanimous support for clemency compelling.

“I believe justice would be served by commuting the remainder of Pollard’s sentence of life imprisonment,” added Kissinger, who served as secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and as national security advisor from 1969 to 1975.

Last month, former Indiana congressman Lee Hamilton called for clemency for Pollard. Hamilton was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee when Pollard was sentenced.

In recent weeks, letters on behalf of Pollard have been received at the White House from former Vice President Dan Quayle, former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and Chicago Rabbi Capers Funnye, a cousin of first lady Michelle Obama. In addition, 39 House Democrats sent a letter to Obama seeking a pardon.

In January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a formal request for Pollard’s clemency to Obama. Also that month, more than 500 religious and community leaders asked Obama in a letter to commute Pollard’s sentence to time served.

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

NATIONAL

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What the Civil War meant for American Jews, then and now

By Jonathan D. Sarna The Forward WALTHAM, Mass. (the Forward) — The 150th anniversary of the Civil War is upon us. April 12 is the anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, the war’s opening shot.

From then, through the sesquicentennial anniversary on April 9, 2015 of Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House and five days later of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, every major event in the “ordeal of the union” seems likely to be recounted, re-enacted, re-analyzed and, likely as not, verbally re-fought.

The American Jewish community, meanwhile, has expressed little interest in these commemorations.

A few books, a play, a film and a forthcoming scholarly conference form the totality of the Jewish contribution to the sesquicentennial.

When I suggested a talk on the Civil War and the Jews in one setting, the organizers questioned the relevance of the topic. Only a small minority of Jews, they observed, boast ancestors who participated in the Civil War. By the time most Jewish immigrants to America arrived, the war was but a distant memory.

Fifty years ago, for the Civil War centennial, the level of interest within the Jewish community seemed noticeably higher. New York’s Jewish Museum mounted a grand exhibit titled “The American Jew in the Civil War.” Fully 260 photographs, documents and objects appeared in the multigallery show. It was the largest display of Jewish Civil War memorabilia ever assembled.

In the exhibit’s catalog, the late Bertram Korn, the foremost expert on American Jewry and the Civil

International Briefs Britain upgrading status of Palestinian diplomats (JTA) — Britain will upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation to the United Kingdom to a mission.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague made the announcement upgrading the status of Palestinian diplomats in Britain on Monday, a day before Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet with Hague and Prime Minister David Cameron in

War, examined “the major meaning of the Civil War for American Jews.” He listed five key themes: * The opportunity accorded Jews to fight as equal citizens and to rise through the ranks, something not granted them by most of the world’s great armies at that time. * Jews’ “total identification with their neighbors” — Northern Jews with the North and Southern Jews with the South. Jews demonstrated their loyalty and patriotism during the Civil War, and then boasted of it for many years afterward. * Jews’ tenaciousness in courageously fighting for their rights.

Soon after the war began, they organized to correct legislation restricting the military chaplaincy to “regularly ordained ministers of some Christian denomination.” In December 1862, they rushed to the White House to fight Ulysses S. Grant’s notorious General Orders No. 11 expelling “Jews as a class” from his war zone. In both cases they won empowering victories. * The forthright repudiation of anti-Semitism by Abraham Lincoln, who overturned Grant’s order (“to condemn a class is, to say the least, to wrong the good with the bad,” Lincoln declared. “I do not like to hear a class or nationality condemned on account of a few sinners.”). In the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis likewise repudiated antiSemitism and worked closely with Judah Benjamin, his Jewish and much-maligned secretary of state. * The acceptance by the president and Congress of the principle of Jewish equality. Notwithstanding considerable wartime anti-Semitism, Jews achieved equal status on the battlefield, and Jewish chaplains won the right to serve alongside their Christian counterparts.

A sixth and somewhat uglier theme, largely overlooked in the catalog, should now be added to this list: complicity with slavery. Korn, a pioneering historian who elsewhere penned an essay on the topic of “Jews and Negro Slavery in the Old South,” demonstrated that Jews were in no way exceptional when it came to the peculiar institution.

“Any Jew who could afford to own slaves and had need for their services,” he wrote, “would do so.”

In the North, meanwhile, Jews divided over the question of slavery.

Some advocated abolition, others sought peace above all else, even if that meant acquiescing to Southern slavery. Many Jews simply remained silent.

To be sure, Jews formed far less than 1 percent of the national population, and their contribution to the overall institution of slavery was negligible. Still, notwithstanding their ancestors’ slavery in Egypt and their own celebration of freedom on Passover, Jews basically followed in the ways of their neighbors when it came to slavery. As a group they did not oppose it.

All of this is worth recalling as sesquicentennial commemorations of the Civil War multiply. Far from being irrelevant to contemporary Jews, the anniversary provides a welcome opportunity to learn from our past, to recall the evolving relationship of Jews to America and to remember that following in the ways of our neighbors can sometimes lead us astray.

London.

Hague at a news conference said he would discuss the issue with Abbas, and “also confirm that given the extent of our aid to the Palestinian Authority and our work with them, we will join many other countries in upgrading the status of the Palestinian Delegation to London to the level of a mission.”

Hague also called for “an urgent return to negotiations based on clear parameters including 1967 borders.”

“It remains more vital than ever that we press for a just and lasting resolution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict,” he said.

In January, Ireland upgraded the Palestinian diplomatic status in the country to an official embassy. Several other European

countries, including France and Spain, have also done the same thing.

(Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History.)

JDC helping Christchurch Jews to rebuild (JTA) — The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is helping the Jewish community of Christchurch to rebuild following the city’s devastating earthquake.

JDC funding will contribute to Christchurch Jewish community efforts to repair a damaged local synagogue and homes, replace household goods, provide financial stipends and temporary relocation costs, and support community service or children’s programs for the wider community, the organization said in a statement.

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Settlers accusing Netanyahu gov’t of imposing silent building freeze

By Leslie Susser Jewish Telegraphic Agency J E R U S A L E M ( J TA ) — Although the 10-month moratorium on building in Jewish settlements in the West Bank was lifted last September, settler leaders complain that no construction is being allowed in the large urban areas and warn that a de facto freeze on all Jewish building in the West Bank is looming.

The settler leaders maintain that the Netanyahu administration is refusing to publish new tenders and that all current building is based on a limited number of permits issued years ago by previous governments.

“It’s like a pipeline into which no new water is being pumped,” Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council, the umbrella leadership of the setter movement, told JTA. “Water still comes out on the other side because there is still some inside. But it will soon dry up.”

According to Dayan, already there are no major building projects in large West Bank towns such as Ma’aleh Adumim, Ariel and Betar because the Netanyahu government has not published a single land tender for urban construction in the West Bank in the two years it has been in power.

“This has led to the absurd situation in which nearly all the building going on now is by private contractors in small isolated settlements outside the blocs slated to remain in Israel in any future agreement with the Palestinians,” he said. “And in the settlements on which there is a consensus, the freeze is still in force.”

With plans for more than 4,000 new housing units still awaiting government authorization, the mayors of Ariel and Ma’aleh Adumim recently fired off letters of complaint to Netanyahu, and settler leaders announced that they were considering launching a nationwide “save our towns” campaign.

But according to Peace Now, a group that is against the settlements and monitors construction in the West Bank, the settler claims are grossly misleading.

“Immediately after the freeze was lifted, we saw a flurry of building the likes of which we hadn’t seen for years,” Peace Now Chairman Yariv Oppenheimer told JTA. “Since the freeze ended, the settlers have begun work on about 1,700 housing units in 67 different settlements.”

Oppenheimer acknowledged, however, that the Netanyahu government is withholding permits for new building in the large urban areas. In his view, Netanyahu

Miriam Alster/Flash90/JTA

Settler leaders are accusing the Israeli government of imposing a de facto freeze on Jewish construction in the West Bank that will halt all new construction, like in Har Homa.

ended the freeze to please the settlers, but is not issuing new permits to please the Americans.

“It creates a situation in which no one is happy and the national interest is compromised,” Oppenheimer said In mid-February, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman seemed to confirm that the construction moratorium was still largely in effect.

At a meeting with U.S. Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, Morton Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America, asked whether it was true that the government was not issuing new permits in towns like Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel.

“I am going to answer, like many politicians do — no comment, no comment, no comment,” Lieberman replied. “But Morton, we’re going to change this.”

To some extent Lieberman may have been playing politics.

For some time he has been sniping at Netanyahu in a bid to usurp his position as the natural leader of the Israeli right, and last September Lieberman delivered a speech at the United Nations in which he implied that Netanyahu’s peace policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians was totally unrealistic.

Also, just a few weeks ago, Lieberman again publicly humiliated the prime minister by shooting down Netanyahu’s candidate for the key post of Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, outgoing National Security Adviser Uzi Arad.

The settler claims about a de facto freeze were grist to Lieberman’s mill, and it would have been surprising if he had let the chance slip by for another implicit broadside at the prime minister’s right-wing credentials while boosting his own.

Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the 10-

month moratorium on building and the quiet freeze on new construction permits have not won Netanyahu many points from the international community — so much so that he is now considering launching a new political initiative to redress the balance.

News of this first emerged during an angry telephone conversation in late February with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who accused him of not having done anything to promote peace with the Palestinians.

“There are discussions at the highest level on Israel taking a diplomatic initiative, including the possibility of another major policy speech by the prime minister,” a senior Netanyahu aide told JTA. “There is an understanding that we have to take the lead.”

The idea is that in what is being dubbed as a “second BarIlan speech,” Netanyahu will articulate in greater clarity his vision of peace. If this brings the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, well and good. If not, at least it will show the world that it is the Palestinians who are obstructing peacemaking, not Netanyahu, the aide explained.

The Israeli estimate is that Palestinians will return to the peace table only if they are disabused of the notion that they will be able to achieve their goals through unilateral moves in the United Nations.

“That is why Netanyahu was so pleased with the U.S. veto of the Palestinian-initiated Security Council vote against the building in the settlements and so disappointed with the European decision to go along with it,” the aide said.

But will Israel be able to get the Palestinians back to the negotiating peace table without imposing an official new settlement freeze — and is Netanyahu’s refusal to grant new building permits a move in that direction?

Israel Briefs Israel, UNESCO to jointly promote Holocaust education JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel and UNESCO have signed an agreement to promote Holocaust education and combat its denial.

The agreement signed Monday in Paris between Israel and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization commits to the establishment of a center within the organization devoted entirely to developing and promoting Holocaust education and combating its denial worldwide. The center will function in accordance with resolutions adopted at the U.N. General Assembly in New York and UNESCO, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Israel will fund part of the project “after reaching understandings with UNESCO regarding its treatment of political issues on the agenda,” according to the Foreign Ministry.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Nimrod Barkan, Israel’s permanent delegate to UNESCO, signed the agreement.

Raze illegal outposts, Israeli Cabinet orders JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Cabinet has ordered the demolition of all illegal West Bank outposts built on private Palestinian land by the end of the year.

Monday’s decision, echoing one announced earlier this month, comes in response to a petition submitted by Peace Now to the Supreme Court calling for the demolition of six outposts: Ramat Gilad, Mitzpe Yitzhar, Givat Har’eh, Givat Asaf, Ma’aleh Rehavam and Mitzpeh Lachish.

According to the document submitted Monday by the Cabinet to Israel’s Supreme Court, the state will raze 47 homes in five of the outposts. Mitzpe Lachish is located on state land and Givat Assaf is built on Palestinian land.

The other four outposts are built both on Palestinian and state land.

The decision exempts the home of slain Israeli soldier Eliraz Peretz, who was killed in Gaza more than a year ago.

The decision comes a week after Israeli troops and settlers clashed during and after the demolition of three structures on the Gilad Farm outpost.

Peace Now says that 64 other outposts are partially or fully built on private Palestinian land.

Danny Dayan, chairman of the

Yesha Council, a settlers’ umbrella group, called Monday’s announcement “an act of provocation that will only serve to incite and anger while serving no practical purpose in bettering relations with our Arab neighbors.”

“This is a situation which can be addressed through negotiations and solved amicably rather than through this provocative approach being proposed by the government,” Dayan said of the outposts on Palestinian-owned land. “We would implore the prime minister and his government to act sensibly and place the Israeli people’s interests before the constantly changing whims of the international community and a handful of Peace Now activists.”

Also Monday, nine Palestinians were reported injured after Israeli soldiers fired on Palestinian villagers during clashes with Jewish settlers near Nablus. One Israeli also was hurt after being hit in the head with a rock, according to reports.

Soldiers said they opened fire because they felt threatened by the Palestinians, according to Haaretz.

Palestinians say the clashes began after a group of settlers cut down a field of olive trees. Settlers say Palestinians armed with knives attacked them at the Eli Ayin outpost near the Shiloh settlement.

The Israeli military is investigating the use of live ammunition.

Meanwhile, the structures demolished at Gilad Farm have been rebuilt and four new structures are being set up, Ynet reported.

Outpost evacuation handled appropriately, Israeli probe finds JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli police forces acted appropriately and proportionately in evacuating a West Bank outpost, a police investigation found.

The investigation released Sunday found that last week’s demolition of three illegal structures at the Gilad Farm outpost in the northern West Bank, which led to settler protests throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, was carried out in a “proportional, restrained and professional” manner, according to reports.

Settlers said that police used unnecessary force, including rubber bullets and tear gas, in the evacuation; eight settlers were arrested and 15 wounded as the result of clashes with police.

Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch acknowledged later that police, fearing for their safety, had used plastic bullets — the first time they had been used against Israelis.

The investigation said the police used paintball guns.

SOCIAL LIFE

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

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A N N O U N C E M E N TS AWARDS eth Hicks of Evalie Road in Fairfield, OH has received a Dean's Award from Xavier University. Seth will graduate from Fairfield HS in this year and is active in debate team and JSA. He is the son of Deborah and Patrick Hicks and the grandson of Judy and Bernie Beraha. Seth plans to major in physics at Xavier.

S

even Hills School senior Aaron Markiewitz of Kenwood is one of 40 area teens who are recipients of 2011 YMCA Character Awards for demonstrating outstanding qualities of leadership and character and for working to strengthen their schools and communities.

The teens will be honored at the 14th Annual YMCA Character Awards on April 11.

Susan Marrs, Seven Hills Director of College Counseling, said, “There are many examples of Aaron’s social conscience in action.

He has volunteered through the Interfaith Hospitality Network to work through the night with homeless families.

Last summer his big heart led him to focus on an autistic six year old at the camp where he was working. Struck by the child’s extreme fear of water, Aaron—to the amazement of the boy’s mother as well as the trained and experienced staff—figured out a way to teach him to swim. It took enormous reserves of patience and caring and some old-fashioned trial and error, but that little boy can now enjoy safer, happier summers, thanks to Aaron.

“Social action informs another of his major commitments, NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth),” noted Marrs. “Aaron is

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Aaron Markiewitz

Regional President of this five-state area, a job that consumes 10 to 12 hours every

week, mainly in the planning of three- to six-day events for the hundreds of involved students in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and Tennessee. And he is a remarkably involved and effective leader: to nurture greater cohesion among his far-flung constituents, Aaron resuscitated a monthly newspaper, and he travels to youth groups far from Cincinnati to make sure they feel included and heard. Membership under his administration has risen by 50 percent!”

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

Pepa Kaufman Perel Tova bat Sima Sora

Daniel Eliyahu Daniel ben Tikvah

Murray Kirschner Chaim Meir ben Basha

Edith Kaffeman Yehudit bat B’racha

Ravid Sulam Ravid Chaya bat Ayelet

Roma Kaltman Ruchama bat Perl

Edward Ziv Raphael Eliezer Aharon ben Esther Enya

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2011 Wedding Guide The American Israelite newspaper is proud to present some of Cincinnati’s best vendors for weddings and other important events.

All Occasions All Occasions Event Rental dates back to 1979, beginning as a tool and equipment rental company. In 1984, recognizing a community need, a party rental division was added. Since then, All Occasions has evolved into a full-service event rental company with our sole focus on meeting the rental needs for a wide range of events throughout the Tri-State area.

In 1990, All Occasions Event Rental moved to Evendale in a 44,000 square foot facility. In 2006, we expanded to a 70,000 square foot facility featuring a state-of-the-art warehouse and comfortable showroom. This expansion also includes a new processing center with innovative equipment that helps to maintain our products in topnotch condition.

We feature a full array of rental items and decor, including tableware, tables, chairs, tenting and the largest selection of specialty linens in the area. All Occasions Event Rental stays ahead of trends by constantly updating their product inventory and design ideas. Through membership in professional organizations, frequent buying trips, continuing professional education and our extensive connections in

the rental community, they stay ahead of trends so your event will be perfect.

All Occasions Event Rental is nationally recognized as having the highest number of Certified Event Rental Professionals (CERP) of any rental company in the United States and Canada, with nearly 100 percent of our event consultant and service staff earning this designation. Plus, the majority of our consultant and service team members have 10 years or more in the event rental business. All this translates to top-notch service for you.

BAKING TALENT Chocolate Passion Operating out of a kosher kitchen, Chocolate Passion delivers “dessert bars” or “a personalized dessert shop” to weddings and other events.

In business since 2007, Chocolate Passion specializes in everything sweet – from fresh fruit dipped in the finest Belgian chocolate to exotic flavored truffles, heavenly cupcakes and gourmet desserts.

Like a dollop of warm chocolate, “...the business dropped into my lap,” explained its owner, Karyn Zimerman.

It all started when Zimerman came to Cincinnati from her home in South Africa to visit her Aunt Myrna—Myrna Rosen, famous South African cookbook author — and her daughter, “cousin Desiree.”

The ultimate dessert experience.

A memorable day, a memorable evening, made even more memorable with chocolate.

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Desiree had a chocolate shop in Roselawn and years later, Desiree helped Zimerman start and open Chocolate Passion “Because Chocolate Passion exclusively offers desserts and chocolates, the importance of visual appeal and superior taste and quality is intense,” said Zimerman.

“Creativity and artistry with chocolate comes easily to me, and I am fortunate to have found my chocolate canvas!” she added.

EVENT PRESERVATION Frameworks preserves memories For Ketubas, wedding photos and even invitations, Fameworks offers assistance in layout and framing.

Located in downtown Blue Ash, it has served the Cincinnati community for more than 33 years. They specialize in distinctive quality custom framing, with friendly, personal service, in a relaxed atmosphere. They emphasize creative design consultation, featuring a unique collection of frame styles, matting and glazing options.

Their goal is to create the perfect balance between the art or object being framed, and the framing itself, so that the framing treatment will enhance—not dominate—the art. They use upto-date techniques and quality materials to preserve and protect what they are framing.

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FrameWorks can transform and preserve anything from a child’s painting, to a collection of sports memorabilia, to a needlework, a family portrait, or the finest of paintings or graphics.

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Celebrating over 25 years catering Greater Cincinnati, they pride themselves on cutting edge cuisine and quality service.

Since the beginning, custom designing events has been their trademark. Jeff Thomas works closely with the clients to design a menu specifically suited to their needs and tastes. Buffet and seated dinners are available with a wide selection of custom options.

The most favored reception style is multiple stations. Among the favorites are Meat Carving, Mexican, Vegetarian, Pasta & Macaroni Bars and Desserts prepared by their pastry chef.

From small and intimate parties to large receptions, Jeff’s experience and professionalism shows through at any location. Their reputation has been built upon a courteous and efficient service staff.

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Happy Chanukah

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14

DINING OUT

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE ONLINE - MAKOR - THE SOURCE/CINCINNATI @ WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Fine Chinese dining at Johnny Chan 2

By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor I revisited the comfortable upscale Chinese restaurant in Harper’s Point on an unseasonably mild winter day at the end of lunch hour. The naked bushes, leftover clumps of darkened snow and the high noon sunlight exposed a shopping strip stirring to the first signs of spring. As I stepped into the busy eatery, I found it still full of smiling people, a group of four women playing mahjongg in the corner of the spacious cream colored and beige restaurant. The special lunch buffet, in hot pursuit by customers, shone like a jewel in another corner.

No winter doldrums in this place.

I was met by Frank Shi and his wife Sammie. When I asked Shi how things have been, and I was referring to the economic climate which has seemed to wallop the shrinking middle class, he grinned and said, “People like Chinese food.” I translated this into business has been good. But then again the restaurant offers abundance in food choices simmered or stir fried in up and coming spices that promote well being, a congenial atmosphere and convenient location with plenty of parking.

“Happy New Year,” I said to Shi, who promptly told me that the Chinese year was over. Over? In my culture the New Year has past, present and future components.

Greetings soon after or before the actual date are friendly gestures of good will. I learned more about the Chinese New Year from my recent trip to Las Vegas where the entry ways to the casino had elaborate displays, honoring and celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, with blooming landscapes, glass sculptures, and majestic ceramic designs so ornate that even artisans from ancient Rome would marvel. This sign of Rabbit was also the symbol for the lucky “good” gambler.

So while I was in Las Vegas, the Chinese New Year had passed on February 3, 2011. I still wished Shi good tidings and proceeded to link the influence from the Rabbit energy on his growing, glowing restaurant. Almost 13 years ago, it turned out to be an excellent decision to open a restaurant in the barely developed northeast suburb in Cincinnati. I smiled when I later

(Clockwise) Owner Frank Shi welcomes you to Johnny Chan 2; Authentic Chinese art is showcased throughout the restaurant; Chunks of sweet peppers mixed with chicken is one of the many items on the weekday lunch buffet; A spacious dining room attracts families of all ages.

learned that the year of Rabbit highlights good decision making. If last year was good for Johnny Chan 2, then this year should be even better.

With spring on the horizon and bathing suit weather looming

ahead, I was in hot pursuit of healthy, tasty eating that creates fullness but does not contribute to greater personal bulk. Shi grinned again when I asked about meal choices that offer this. Let me add

that Shi is a wiry, lively, high energy fellow, so whatever fuel he puts in his body is obviously effective in maintaining an ideal weight.

“Moo-Shu dishes,” said Shi, without hesitation. Moo shu is a

unique Mandarin style entrée which contains meat, cabbage, mushroom, wood ears (sounds like a magical ingredient), bamboo shoots, scallions and scrambled eggs. It is a traditional dish served with four steamed pancakes which are look alikes of flour tortillas. Choice of chicken or beef, priced at $9.35.

There is a special category on the menu, entitled “Diet Menu.”

Here, all dishes are steamed with no MSG, oil, corn starch or salt. Sauce is served on the side. Pair it with brown rice and this is a green light entrée for even the most stringent weight watcher.

“Party Trays to Go” are perfect carry out items when one has house guests or the adult children are visiting from out of town and they can’t find the right babysitter for the newborn. Starting at $29.95, one can purchase an entrée from a large selection of choices that serves 8.

For a cocktail party, ordering Chinese appetizers will save the host and hostess hours in the kitchen.

Two dozen vegetable egg rolls priced at $35.95, or 32 pieces of beef and chicken teriyaki for $35.95 are some of the available options.

Special daily entrees are on the blackboard that sits in the front of the restaurant entrance, next to the aquarium. Crispy duck and Chilean sea bass were listed on the day of my visit. There is also a hearty weekday lunch buffet with over 16 items. Chicken with pine nuts, scallion pancake, and vegetable lo mein, are some of the choices, $8.

Johnny Chan 2 has a full bar.

Shi also wants to encourage families to bring their children and has a “Kid’s Menu” category. Try the Bo Bo platter and expose the young ones to Chinese favorites such as egg rolls and fried chicken wings.

There is plenty of action at Johnny Chan 2. Shi’s sound business sense, culinary finesse (he is also the sushi chef), and commitment to pleasing his customers bode well for the future. Take the family to a place where all ages can enjoy comfortable dining in a spacious setting, and eat authentic Chinese food.

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OPINION

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE ONLINE - MAKOR - THE SOURCE/CINCINNATI @ WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

The silicon emperor’s new soul “A donkey loaded up with books.” That’s the term the Chovos Halevovos (Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Pekudah) uses to describe a scholar who has memorized much information but lacks the judgment, character and/or human insight to transform what he carries into wisdom.

Donkeys bray and smell bad.

Computers whir (at least if they have fans or rotating hard drives) and are odorless (though some keyboards are redolent of coffee).

But donkeys and computers share two things in common: Each can hold much, and neither approaches being human.

The media minions were gushing of late over the performance of an IBM computer that bested a pair of bright and well-versed human beings in a game show competition that tested knowledge in a broad array of areas.

Christened “Watson,” the computer brought to the podium a 15-terabyte data bank of facts. And it answered questions (or, better, supplied questions to proffered answers or hints, the conceit of the game show, Jeopardy!) with aplomb.

Just as it was programmed (by humans, of course) to do, “Watson” zeroed in on key words in the clue, combed its megamemory for associations and, if its program rated the result sufficiently likely to be correct, sounded the game buzzer in a tiny fraction of a second. The flesh and blood contestants didn’t really stand a chance.

Hosannas sounded from all directions. The accomplishment was hailed as a quantum leap toward Artificial Intelligence, the holy grail of some scientists who believe that a machine can be constructed that is indistinguishable in its cognitive abilities from a human being.

What Watson made me think of, oddly, was PETA, “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.”

The silicon scholar and the extreme animal rights group might not seem to have anything to do with each other. But both foster the same disturbing and deeply wrong notion: that human beings are not an utterly unique part of creation.

PETA morally equates animals with humans. Its “Holocaust on

Your Plate” campaign compared the killing of chickens and cows to the murder of men, women and children. Its president memorably lamented that “Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughterhouses.”

Watson’s inventors and promoters exhibit no such mental aberration. For all I know, they may well enjoy a good steak. But all the same, a subtle offense lies in the Artificial Intelligence crowd’s notion that a sufficiently advanced computer could achieve consciousness, sentience, selfawareness.

Because it, too, presupposes that humans are not qualitatively special beings, that, in our essences, we ourselves are just fantastically well-engineered pieces of software.

But we’re not. We may share our basic biologies with the animal world; and elements of our information-processing abilities may be mimicked (even bested) by machines. But we are neither wallabies nor Watsons. We don’t just feel; we emote. We don’t just compute; we conceive. We don’t just act; we choose. Our reflections in a mirror mimic us too. But they’re not us.

There’s a Purim thought here.

Because Amalek stands for meaninglessness.

From an Amalekian point of view, the world is, as they say, what it is; nothing more. It offers no reason to imagine that we are something beyond animals who speak and wear clothes (and so what?) and analyze things (though not even as well as computers). No reason to consider that there is good and bad, right and wrong, or some plan for history.

Klal Yisrael stands for the very opposite, the conviction that human beings are the pinnacle of creation, that they can consider and communicate not just wants, like animals, but ideas, concepts, truths. And that a nation was chosen to be an example to the world of a human being’s highest aspiration, holiness.

And so let’s be wary of Watson, or at least of Watsonism.

And, amid all the cheering of the silicon emperor, let’s declare unabashedly that he has no soul.

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

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

Dear Editor, American Jewish Committee welcomes the suspension of Libya’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council. The UN General Assembly approved the resolution without a vote, demonstrating widespread support for this unprecedented measure after the deadly violence unleashed by Colonel Qaddafi and his henchmen in a desperate effort to hold onto power. This is the first time a member state has been suspended from any UN human rights body.

Serial violators of human rights like Libya have no business serving on the 47-nation Human Rights Council, which is supposed to monitor and protect human rights around the world.

AJC was the first voice to propose Libya’s suspension from the Geneva-based Council. AJC declared that “The Qaddafi regime’s widespread use of brutal force against protesters makes a mockery of the UN Human Rights Council… Libya’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council is clearly incompatible with the noble aims of the world

body, as enshrined in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other relevant human-rights instruments.”

AJC’s involvement with the UN began with the drafting of the UN Charter in 1945.

Historians credit AJC leaders with including human-rights protections in the Charter. AJC’s Geneva affiliate, UN Watch, is concerned with the just application of UN Charter principles.

John M. Stein President AJC Cincinnati

Have something on your mind?

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

Send your letter by e-mail:

editor@ americanisraelite.com

T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: VAYIKRA (VAYIKRA 1:1—5:26) b.) Special sacrifice for his sins c.) Responsibilities of leadership

1. Besides animals, was anything else sacrificed? a.) Yes b.) No

4. What part of a sacrifice is thrown on the altar? a.) Blood b.) Meat c.) Fats

2. When does a person bring a “peace offering”? a.) When his wife gives birth b.) When he pays off his creditors c.) Anytime of the year

5. Which person from the book of Braishis is in the Parsha? a.) Adam b.) Noah c.) Joseph

3. What law is written about a prince? a.) Honor due to a prince leader brings a sacrifice for unintentional sins.

4. A 5. A 1:2 Adam, or man, teaches that a sacrifice can only be brought from money untainted by theft, like Adam, the first human, who owned everything. Rashi

By Rabbi Avi Shafran Contributing Columnist

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ANSWERS 1. A Chapter 2:1 A meal offering is brought by a “nefesh” or soul who is poor.

Hashem considers his inexpensive offering, like he is sacrificing himself 2. C 3:1 3. B 4:22-26 Rashi comments how fortunate is a nation (or tribe) that its

16

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

JEWISH LIFE

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

Sedra of the Week

17

MODERN ORTHODOX SERVICE

By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

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

SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT VAYIKRA • LEVITICUS 1:1-5:26

Kiddush follows Shabbat Morning Services

RABBI HANAN BALK

To a certain extent, every sin is Efrat, Israel — “When a person shall sin unintentionally …”

(Leviticus 4:2).

The book of Leviticus begins with the laws of sacrifices in the Sanctuary, the most well-known being the sin offering: “And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel: when a person sins unintentionally breaking any of the commandments of the Lord which should not have been done.’”

The Torah then makes it clear that the term “sinners” can include anyone from the High Priest and the elders of the Sanhedrin representing the entire nation to the King (or Prime Minister) of Israel, or any individual (nefesh) from among the people of the Land – “he shall slaughter the sin offering at the place of the whole burnt offering…” (Lev. 4:1-35).

There are two fascinating aspects involved in such sin offerings: Firstly, the transgression must have been committed unintentionally in order for the sacrifice to bring forgiveness (kappara), and secondly, the transgressor must repent with a confession (“A man or woman who commits any of man’s sins…. he/she shall confess the sin that he/she committed” (Numbers 5:6).

To a certain extent, every sin is unintentional, the transgressor is rarely aware of the full ramifications of his act when he perpetrates it; were he aware, he probably would not have committed the crime. Technically, however, shogeg (the term for an unintentional crime) is only used when the perpetrator was unaware of his crime, either because he was ignorant of the law or unmindful of what he was doing. Either way, such a lack of awareness reflects a carelessness which is not acceptable in a mature human being.

This seems to be the attitude of the Yom Kippur prayer book, which opens our requests for forgiveness with a general statement: “And it shall be forgiven to the entire assembly of Israel and to the proselyte who sojourns among them, for the entire nation acted unintentionally” (Numbers 15:26). Nevertheless, we all spend the next 25 hours fasting, confess-

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unintentional, the transgressor is rarely aware of the full ramifications of his act when he perpetrates it; were he aware, he probably would not have committed the crime. ing, repenting and seeking forgiveness from God! After all, unintentional sin is still sin.

The Hebrew word “het,” usually translated as sin, really means to “miss the mark” (Judges 20:16), which no one does on purpose. Moreover, repentance, or a returning, probably means a return to one’s truest essence (teshuva), while it also shares an etymology with the word for “penalty” or “punishment.” How can we see repentance as a penalty?

Maimonides defines the commandment to repent as meaning to confess: “When one does teshuva [repentance… after committing a transgression], he is obligated to confess before the Almighty blessed be He… this confession is the positive commandment [repent]” (Laws of Repentance 1:1).

This confession which Maimonides defines as the essence of repentance may be quite difficult to utter. We have seen over the past few years how many leading personalities in Israeli religious and political life have been found guilty of crimes, and yet how very few — if any— – have publicly confessed. Let me try to explain why.

According to Nahmanides, human beings are composite creatures, created from the earth like beasts but elevated by the spirit of God which is breathed into us.

The daily prayer book teaches us that the essential human being has a divine essence (“My God, the soul which You gave me is pure; You created it… and inspirited it within me”). Our bestial skin and instinctual drives are merely an outer shell, masking our truest selves – sometimes even from ourselves.

And humans often wear masks, pretending to be who we are not. Jacob put on an Esau mask to deceive his father Isaac — and almost turned into the aggressive charlatan Esau until he exorcised him during a nocturnal wrestling match within his own psyche.

David, sweet psalm-singer of Israel, who refused to harm Saul even after the mad king tried to take his life, David the great unifier of Israel, suddenly committed adultery and then sent the cuckolded husband to certain death.

Only when the prophet Nathan told him the allegory of the poor man’s single lamb, and thus demonstrated to David what he had become, did the king step down from his throne and willingly show himself to be naked and ashamed as he wept before the prophet. And only after that could David recapture his divine essence.

The most difficult thing — especially for an individual or group which has achieved an exalted position, is to confess that they have been pretending to be what they were not. They must show that the emperor is without clothes; they must discard the mask covering their bestial nature and — in Temple times — give it as a sacrificial offering, destroying the animal within them which had overtaken the Godly.

Paradoxically, only after the profound penalty of such a confession will they be able to return to their true essence.

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18

JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE ONLINE - MAKOR - THE SOURCE/CINCINNATI @ WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Jewz in the Newz

By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist YES, BROOKE MUELLER HAS A JEWISH MOTHER Charlie Sheen’s life is so outof-control that every day there are new shocking developments. So, I hope the following news isn’t dated by the time you read this. On March 1, BROOKE MUELLER, 33, Sheen’s estranged wife, and the mother of his twin, 23-monthold sons, filed a court petition for a temporary restraining order preventing Sheen from contacting her or the twins. Her request was granted, pending further hearing(s). In her court papers, Mueller laid-out Sheen’s history of domestic violence and drug abuse.

She also stated that Sheen (who was raised Catholic) recently sent her a text message that said: “I must execute mark b [MARK BURG] like the stoopid jew pig that he is.”

TMZ website reports that the text was apparently sent near the end of February, right after Sheen fired Burg as his manager. Sheen re-hired Burg on March 1. The next day, Burg, who is Jewish, told TMZ that Sheen’s three attorneys (including his divorce lawyer) are Jewish. He added, “I’ve known [Sheen] for 13 years.

I don’t believe that he actually sent that text…[and] for the record, since Brooke Mueller is Jewish that would make Charlie Sheen’s two sons also Jewish.”

I had never heard that Brooke Mueller is Jewish — and I thought, perhaps, that Burg had made a mistake or was lying — because if Mueller is Jewish — that would “tend” to undercut the claim that Sheen is anti-Semitic.

Although it certainly wouldn’t absolutely prove that the drugaddled Sheen didn’t send the text message or doesn’t harbor antiSemitic views.

Well, I checked a bunch of public records and Mueller’s mother MOIRA FIORE, 57, born Moira Roskin, IS Jewish.

Brooke’s late father, Allen Mueller, from whom Moira was divorced long before his death, was the son of two Lutheran parents. I have no idea if Brooke was raised in any faith. Brooke has worked as a TV entertainment news reporter and is currently described as a “real estate investor.” Sheen and Mueller wed in 2008 and filed for divorce last year.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE Opening on Friday, March 11, is the animated 3-D film, “Mars Needs Moms.” Nine-year-old Milo (voiced by SETH GREEN, 37) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack)

when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her “mom-ness” for their own young. Milo’s quest to save his mom involves stowing away on a spaceship and taking on the alien nation and their leader (MINDY STERLING, 57). Milo is aided by a tech-savvy, underground earthman named Gribble (DAN FOGLER, 34) and a rebellious Martian girl called Ki (Elisabeth Harnois). Sterling is best known for her role as “Frau Farbissina,” Dr. Evil’s aide, in the “Austin Powers” movies. Green, as you probably recall, played Dr. Evil’s son in the Powers films.

OSCAR FOLLOW-UP NOTES As you probably heard, best actress Oscar winner NATALIE PORTMAN, who has an endorsement deal with the Christian Dior fashion house, denounced in the strongest possible terms the antiSemitic statements made by (now fired) Dior chief designer John Galliano. Before that story broke, Portman created a minor stir in fashion circles by wearing a $50 dress from the new “H&M Conscious Collection” to a preOscar party. The line features ecofriendly cotton/recycled polyester clothes. Portman looked fabulous, and now tons of expectant moms are clamoring for the clothes in advance of their April 14 release.

I hate to be a spoilsport — but there’s no doubt that “The King’s Speech,” the big Oscar night winner, was not great history — Churchill’s role in the abdication crisis was totally distorted and the whole British royal family’s avid support of “appeasement” of the Nazis was virtually ignored.

Journalist CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS (an atheist with a Jewish mother) created a storm when he pointed this out about a month before the Oscars. This website article covers the whole controversy and links to articles

by Hitchens and others that set the record straight.

NORA’S WILL Amazingly enough, the 2009 winner of the Mexican equivalent of the best picture Oscar is a film about a Mexican Jewish family (directed and written by MARIANA CHENILLO, a Mexican Jew). It’s a comedy/drama about how a frayed family is unexpectedly drawn together when the funeral of the family’s matriarch is delayed by the Sabbath and Passover and they have to wait almost five days to bury her. The movie, not yet out on DVD, has received tons of rave reviews from American critics and you can catch its last showing on HBO if you record it at 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, March12 (HBO Signature channel).

FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Miss Stella Marx, of Melrose Avenue, has returned home after a pleasant visit with her cousin, Miss Hazel Blass, of Little Rock, Ark. Word has been received here that Louis Bettmann, former Cincinnati business man, died at San Antonio, Texas, late Sunday night. Mr. Bettman was 72. He was formerly connected with the wholesale clothing firm of Bettmann, Bloom & Co. When this firm dissolved about seven years ago, he went to St. Louis, Mo., where he organized the firm of Bettmann, Kleinhauser & Co. He was a member of the Rockdale Avenue Congregation and the B’nai

B’rith. He leaves a widow, Mrs. Rebecca Bloom Bettmann, and three sons, Attorney Alfred Bettmann, Assistant County Prosecutor; Attorney Gilbert Bettmann and Irwin Bettmann, of St. Louis, Mo. After an illness of four months, Prof. Lafayette Bloom, Principal of the Twenty-Seventh District School, died Sunday afternoon, March 5, at his residence, 945 Clinton Street.

Prof. Bloom had been Principal of the Twenty-Seventh District School for 25 years and was prominent in educational circles in Cincinnati.

The funeral took place from the Scottish Rite Cathedral. Dr. Louis

Grossmann officiated at the Jewish service and delivered the funeral sermon, the Masonic ritual being subsequently given by the officers of the Scottish Rite. Regret is expressed at “Lafe” Bloom’s untimely death, through which Cincinnati has lost one of its best and most valuable citizens. His school was closed all day Wednesday to enable the children, for whom he had worked so hard, to take a last look at his face while the body lay in state at the Cathedral.

The Association of School Superintendents attended the funeral in a body. — March 9, 1911

75 Years Ago The Chico Learsi Club has elected Messrs. Joe Meyer, president; Mathew Grinker, vice president; Pete Stein, treasurer; Sam Tessel, corresponding secretary; Harry Rubin, recording secretary. The Executive committee consists of Messrs. Hyman Kallas, Aaron Rubin and Harry Kahn.

Friends of Miss Loretta Ebner will be pleased to know that she has

recovered after an eight-month absence due to illness and has returned to Cincinnati. She spent the last three months of her convalescence in Florida.

Edward Rosenthal, widely known printer and publisher, passed away Tuesday, March 10, at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. He had suffered a heart attack Sunday. Mr.

Rosenthal was 88 and lived at 647 Forest Avenue.

He was a hunter, fisherman and trapshooter and was active in fraternal organizations.

Services were held Wednesday afternoon from the Weil Funeral Home with interment in United Jewish Cemetery, Walnut Hills. — March 12, 1936

50 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Goret (Eileen Wilson) 2413 Vera Avenue, announce the birth of a son, Stuart Alan, on Friday, Feb. 24 in Jewish Hospital. The maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Sam J. Wilson and the paternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Goret. The great-grandmother is Mrs. Belle Goretsky.

Mrs. Evelyn A. Maxwell of Newark, N.J., passed away Sunday, March 5.

A son, William A. Maxwell, 8420

Spring Valley Drive, is president of Temple Sholom here.

She is also survived by: two daughters, Mrs. Jack Heller, of Newark, N.J., and Mrs. Albert Laufer, of Caldwell, N.J.; another son, Myron Maxwell, of Cleveland; and nine grandchildren.

Mrs. Herman Lass, president of Division 2, Council of Jewish Women, announced a program of interest to the public will be presented Tuesday, March 14, at 8 p.m., at

Wise Center.

A panel discussion, “City Living 1961,” will be moderated by Mrs. Eugene M. Sterns, Jr. Panelists include: Marshall Bragdon, executive director, Mayor’s Friendly Relations Committee; Mrs. Dorothy Dolbey, Councilwoman; Charles Posner, executive director, Community Relations Committee; and Harry Lodge, director of child accounting, board of education. — March 9, 1961

25 Years Ago The Jews of South Africa will be discussed by Colin and Melanie Zadikoff in the first of a series of parlor meetings sponsored by the American Jewish Committee on Sunday, March 16 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

The Zadikoffs were born and raised in Johannesburg. Both attended King David School, a large Jewish Day school, from kindergarten through high school, and then entered the university of

Witwatersrand. Dr. Zadifkoff participated in Zionist youth organizations and directed Zionist youth camps throughout South Africa.

Mrs. Zadikoff went on to the Johannesburg Teachers’ Training College, and taught in local schools for five years.

The Zadikoffs are in close contact with friends and relatives in South Africa, and spent last summer in that country. They will share their impressions of conditions affecting the

South African Jewish community.

Belle Abrams Sherman of Dayton, formerly of Cincinnati, passed away March 6.

She is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Claire and Oscar Soifer and Ilene and Frank Marshall; a sister, Esther Rosenstein of Cincinnati; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Services were on March 9 in Dayton. Interment was in Schachnus Cemetery. — March 13 , 1986

10 Years Ago Deborah Finkelman of Cincinnati will be going to El Salvador March 11 with a relief project sponsored by the Bronfman Center, New York University’s Jewish Center.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) arranged the one-week group trip, which is funded by the students themselves through their synagogues, families and friends.

Finkelman, 21, is the youngest daughter of Fred and Anita Finkelman and a member of Temple Sholom. She is a senior at NYU with a double major in Jewish history and

civilization and African Studies. An experienced overseas traveler, she speaks Hebrew and a little Spanish.

Mondorf, Luxembourg, is a resort town bordering France and Germany. In the months following World War II, however, the victorious nations chose this idyllic and relatively anonymous site as the holding center for Nazis awaiting trial at Nuremberg. Representatives from the victorious nations convened an international tribunal and converted a four-story hotel into a bare-bones prison. The compound housed 42

German prisoners of war, 86 highranking Nazis and five military intelligence interrogators. John E. Dolibois served as one of those interrogators.

Dolibois related his experience interrogating Goering, Ribbentrop, Doenitz and others to a packed auditorium Feb. 27 at Miami University’s Hamilton campus. A 1942 Miami graduate, Dolibois served as a captain in military intelligence during World War II, assigned to the Nuremberg war crimes trials. — March 8, 2001

CLASSIFIEDS

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

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COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Access (513) 373-0300 • www.jypaccess.org 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 Fusion Family (53) 703-3343 • www.fusionnati.org 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 Shalom Family (513) 703-3343 • www.myshalomfamily.org 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 Chai Tots Early Childhood Center 513.234.0600 • chaitots.com Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net 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 Discovery Center (513) 234.0777 • jdiscovery.com 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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production@ americanisraelite.com KATZ from page 1 Numerous topics were brought up, one such was how domestic violence and rape, which he referred to as being of pandemic proportions, is labeled a “women’s issue,” when, according to Katz’s statistics, about 95 percent of such violence is perpetrated by men. On a similar note, Dr. Katz noted how preventative measures of rape on college campuses are actually, to use his term, “risk-reduction.”

When young women are told to walk in groups and to avoid certain routes to/from home, etc., such tactics do not address the root issue of why some men feel that harming women is okay.

Also, the lecture contained video media with clips from Dr. Katz’s movies showing how media itself gives people views on gender roles. To help prove his point about the far reaching PURIM from page 1 reading of the chapters of the Megillah, as well as accompany the singing of traditional Purim songs afterward. The Klezmer band includes Gayna Bassin, violin; Jeff Gushin, banjo, violin and mandolin; Doug Mossman, guitar; Hirsh Cohen, tuba; and Claire Lee, piano, with Howard Yasgur leading the vocals. There will be hamantaschen for all, prepared by the Ohav Shalom Sisterhood.

Everyone is encouraged to come in costume. Claire Lee noted, “I’m so glad Purim begins on a Saturday night this year so we can really party!”

On Sunday, March 20, the celebration resumes at Northern Hills Synagogue with the morning serv-

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(513) 531-9600 effects of domestic violence on children, Dr. Katz showed a video of actor Patrick Stewart getting emotional talking about his own abusive father.

The subject matter brought about a heavy response from the audience with people asking questions during the entire seminar, and not waiting for a Q&A at the end.

“If we can achieve a society where it is more normal for men to speak out against gender violence than it is for them to commit it, we’ll be a lot healthier society than we are today,” noted Dr. Katz.

Before leaving Cincinnati to continue his lecture circuit, Dr. Katz also spoke before the high school students of both Mercaz and KULANU on Sunday, March 6, as well as to mental health and domestic violence professionals and high school teachers on Monday. ice beginning at 9 a.m. Continuing an Ohav Shalom tradition, Rabbi David Weisberg will read the Megillah with a Purim Spiel (skits) performed by students of Kehilla, the congregations’ joint religious school. At 11:30 a.m., the Purim Carnival will begin, with games, food and fun activities for children.

Steve Segerman, Ohav Shalom’s president, observed that Ohav Shalom and Northern Hills have been able to work together on numerous projects, and not just the Purim celebration. “Any opportunity for one synagogue to work with another synagogue in bringing Jews together is a mitzvah. We are especially proud of Kehilla, our joint religious school. It’s been a pleasure to have the two synagogues working together.”

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TRAVEL

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Two historic hotels: Unforgettable Wandering Jew

By Janet Steinberg Travel Editor The song needed no introduction. The first word said it all.

“Unforgettable!”

“Unforgettable,” crooned Natalie Cole, “that’s what you are.

Unforgettable, though near or far…” No, I wasn’t in Las Vegas or at Monte Carlo Sporting in Monaco.

Believe it or not, I was savoring the moment at a place where history meets luxury, a mere 142 miles from Cincinnati…down home in French Lick, Ind. The totally restored French Lick Resort is now the Midwest’s premier resort and casino destination.

It offers two luxury hotels, three golf courses, two spas, 15 dining venues, and multiple recreation options on 3,000 acres of history and natural beauty that will blow any competition out of the water.

Forget the old French Lick Hotel you might have visited 50 years ago. A $500,000,000 (yes, that’s half a billion dollars) renovation has recently restored and enhanced the French Lick Hotel and the West Baden Springs Hotel.

For our four-day stay at French Lick Resort, we opted to stay at the historic West Baden Springs Hotel.

When the hotel first opened in 1902, journalists proclaimed it the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Saved from the brink of extinction, the West Baden Springs Hotel is no less a wonder today.

West Baden’s extraordinary 1902 design included a breathtaking six-story domed atrium and architectural elements that were modeled after the great spas of Europe. Over a century later (since being closed in 1932) this National Historic Landmark is once again the reigning grande dame of the Midwest.

Our balcony room, overlooking the free-spanned domed atrium, was a magical mélange of comfort and charm, extravagance and sophistication. Four floors below our room, a massive, Cincinnati-made, Rookwood fireplace dominated the circular court. Cassini Tile, also of Cincinnati, was responsible for the 12-million mosaic tiles that went into the original rotunda floor.

White wicker rocking chairs circle the hotel’s wrap-around veranda. Relaxing in a rocker, overlooking the manicured grounds, one might become disturbed by the small symbol that is part of the

(Clockwise) West Baden Springs Hotel was proclaimed the Eighth Wonder of the World when it opened in 1902; A massive, Rookwood Pottery fireplace dominates the circular atrium of West Baden Springs Hotel; Some 5000-square feet of gold leafing adorn the interior public spaces of the restored 1901 French Lick Hotel.

design of the hunter green railing that surrounds the veranda.

At the time the hotel was built, the symbol was associated with wholesomeness, well-being, good fortune, and renewal. It was a symbol appropriate to use in 1917 within the context of a health resort.

However, World War II drastically changed the way in which that symbol was viewed by the world. That symbol is the swastika.

Brass placards, intermittently placed around the railing, explain the swastika design with the following words: “The West Baden Springs Hotel veranda railing was constructed in 1902, long before the swastika symbol was used in WWII. Many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years utilized the swastika symbol to represent life, sun, power, strength and good luck.”

The world-class Spa at West Baden features a two-level natatorium and sets the scene for ultimate serenity. Lisa’s aromatherapy massage was true relaxation and rejuvenation.

One mile away, with continuous complimentary shuttle service,

is the French Lick Hotel, originally built in 1901. It, too, has undergone a top-to-bottom restoration renewing more than 5000-square feet of gold leafing and other remarkable ornamental design features. Its high-action casino features 51,000 square-feet of slots and table games. Its signature restaurant, 1875:The Steakhouse, was the restaurant where we chose to celebrate our son-in-law’s birthday.

1875: The Steakhouse, under the watchful eye of the quintessential professional Food & Beverage Manager Thomas J. O’Connor, gets it right. Creamy Five Onion Soup is served in a colossal roasted Onion Bowl topped with melted Gruyere and Parmesan cheese; the Rosemary Crusted Rack of Lamb, and the Truffled Kobe Beef Steak Burger are memorable. And if you have a special occasion, like we did, tell it to Tom O’Connor and he will enhance your celebration.

Whichever hotel you choose to stay in, the amenities of both hotels will be available to you. The Spa at French Lick features 24 rooms offering a diverse menu of treat-

ments to relax and rejuvenate the mind and body while soaking in the legendary healing waters of a Pluto Mineral Bath.

Hold your horses! There’s something for everyone. Take the reins at the French Lick Stables and venture into the wild countryside on exciting trail rides. Or, travel by moonlight as a horse-drawn carriage leads you on an evening tour around the grounds.

Roll a strike at the hotel’s sixlane bowling alley or challenge yourself to a round of golf on the 9-hole, Tom Bendelow Valley Links; the fully-restored, 18-hole links-style, 1917-designed, Donald Ross Course; or the new 18-hole Pete Dye course.

We opted for the latter. Situated atop one of Southern Indiana’s highest points, Pete Dye stated that his French Lick Course “is on arguably the best inland site I have ever worked on.”

Overlooking the Hoosier National Forest, this 8102-yard course offers panoramic views of the countryside that extend for over 40-miles in all directions. The

course was carved into the hillside offering a variety of elevation changes and course terrain. Its narrow fairways and ever-changing bunkers are a challenge for even the best of players.

Personally, I just loved the ride and the post-game lunch at The Mansion, the former home of resort owner Tom Taggert that now serves as the Pete Dye Clubhouse. The “slot dogs” (Nathan’s hot dogs in a slotted bun”) were the best part of my game on a fabulous golf course that was way out of my league.

A bronze sculpture of Pete Dye stands in front of The Mansion. The plaque on an adjacent rock states Pete Dye’s feeling about the kind of golf course he built: “The ardent golfer,” stated Dye, “would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flagstick on top…golf is not a fair game so why build a fair golf course.”

French Lick Resort, you are “unforgettable, that’s what you are.

Unforgettable, though near or far…”

(Janet Steinberg is the winner of 38 national Travel Writing Awards.)

AUTOS/FOOD

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

2011 Audi A6 For 2011, Audi has updated the A6 so that every model now has the S Line exterior package. This package includes sportier looking bumpers, different door sills and headlight washers. All models of the A6 also come with the most recent Audi Multi Media Interface (MMI) and standard navigation.

The 2011 Audi A6 is available in two body styles: a four-door sedan and a wagon known as the Avant.

Audi offers three trim levels — Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige.

The Premium (3.2 and 3.0T) offers these standard features: 17inch wheels, automatic headlights and wipers, heated mirrors, a sun-

roof, automatic climate control, eight-way power seats, Bluetooth, Audi's MMI and a 10-speaker stereo with six-disc CD changer, satellite radio and an iPod interface. The 3.0T Premium adds heated front seats and, on the Avant, a power liftgate.

At the Premium Plus level, Audi adds: 18-inch wheels, rear parking sensors, self-leveling xenon headlights, LED running lights, autodimming exterior and interior mirrors, and driver memory functions.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the Audi A6 as “good” in both frontal-offset and side-impact tests.

The 2011 Audi A6 has an MSRP that starts at $45,200.

The life of a hamantashen All About Food

By Zell Schulman Recipe Editor Some 2,500 years ago, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar, the Hamantashen was born.

This year Purim begins at sundown, Saturday, March 19.

These traditional, triangular shaped cookies called Hamantashen, filled with fruit and nut fillings, derive their name from the three-cornered hat Haman wore, the three- cornered purse he carried or as others say, his ears which were shaped like a donkey’s ears.

Henrietta Dinerman’s Hamantashen Makes 3 dozen small ones or 1 dozen large ones Henrietta’s recipe was given to me by Iris White Diamond, a good friend and fabulous baker.

Dough 1 stick margarine 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tablespoon orange juice 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Filling One-pound box pitted prunes, finely ground 1 whole, medium navel orange 1/2 whole, small lemon.

1/2 lb.dried apricots, softened in hot water and drained or 1 10 oz. jar apricot preserves 1/2-cup raisins, softened in hot

water and drained.

Method for dough 1. In a large bowl or in your food processor, beat the margarine until smooth. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until pale yellow, light and fluffy.

2. Beat in the eggs (if using the food processor, with the motor running drop one egg at a time through the feed tube). Add the orange, lemon, vanilla and salt.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Slowly add to the batter. Depending on the weather, you may need more orange juice. Just make sure the dough comes together around the beater or processor knife and leaves the bowl clean.

4. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour until firm or up to 3 days.

Method for filling 1. To make the filling, use your food processor. Place the prunes, orange juice and zest, lemon juice and zest, apricots and raisins into the bowl of the food processor.

Pulse several times, then process until smooth. Remove to a bowl.

This may be refrigerated for 3 days.

Baking the hamantashen 1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes before assembling your hamantashen. On a lightly floured board, roll out each piece 1/4- inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter or glass, cut out rounds. Re-roll and cut the scraps.

2. Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Form into a triangle by pressing the edges together, leaving a little opening in the center.

3. Place the hamantashen 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake about 13 to 15 minutes or until the hamantashen are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

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OBITUARIES

DEATH NOTICES

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE ONLINE - MAKOR - THE SOURCE/CINCINNATI @ WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

BOOKS from page 4

LEVINSON, Herbert M., age 78, died on February 11, 2011; 7 Adar I, 5771.

Hiding Edith: A True Story, by Kathy Kacer The story of Edith Schwalb of Vienna, a Jewish child who fled with

COHEN, Harvey D., age 89, died on February 27, 2011; 23 Adar I, 5771.

MALL from page 1

LOFTSPRING, Marjorie, age 86, died on March 6, 2011; 1 Adar II, 5771.

POLASKY, Saul, age 81, died on March 7, 2011; 1 Adar II, 5771.

“The community didn’t have a place where families and young people could go and feel comfortable,” Benzaquen said.

For a community that has seen its numbers dwindle in the face of an economic crisis, rising crime, the stirrings of anti-Semitism and the strident anti-Zionism promoted by

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her family to Belgium, then France, and was sent to live in safe houses, protected by French citizens. Winner of the Yad Vashem Prize for Children’s Holocaust Literature, the Silver Birch Award, the Olive Branch

Book Award, and the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award.

Hot Pursuit: Murder in Mississippi, by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon

The story of the three civil rights advocates—Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Earl Chaney, murdered in Mississippi during the “Freedom Summer” of 1964.

A Sydney Taylor Notable Book.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the opening of a mall catering to Jewish Venezuelans would seem to be bad business.

Benzaquen is undeterred by such pessimism.

“You can’t give up your quality of life because of fear,” he said.

“The Jew is a fighter. He’s always moving forward.”

Families of all religious stripes pass through the compact, threestory commercial center.

On a given afternoon, young Orthodox families can be seen pushing strollers as they window shop and chase small boys with unshorn locks. Students from the local Jewish school, wearing navy blue sweat suits emblazoned with menorahs, stand around in clusters.

Deeply tanned young women sporting Hamsa necklaces scroll through their iPhones and meet for coffee and crepes. This being Venezuela, many of them are scantily clad, showing off their surgical “enhancements.”

The Jewish community has fallen to about 10,000 from a peak of 20,000 just before Chavez came to power in 1999. Many Jews cite rising crime, politics and anti-Semitic rants from government media as reasons for leaving.

Meanwhile, despite historically

high oil prices, Venezuela was among the few economies in Latin America to contract last year due to severe power shortages, strict foreign exchange controls and the ever-present threat of expropriation of private holdings by the government.

Benzaquen is the first to admit that opening a kosher establishment in a city that many Jews have abandoned and has become notoriously inhospitable to privately owned businesses is “a gamble.” But he says it’s not just about business.

“This isn’t really a business for us,” Benzaquen said, referring to himself and his partner, Mois Azerraf. “It’s more like a personal whim. We just really felt the need for it.”

Cafe Hillel, which has a huge mural of the Brooklyn Bridge and nearly a dozen flat-screen televisions mounted on the wall, offers American-style food such as burgers and sandwiches. It’s probably also the only place in Caracas where you can order a pastrami sandwich.

Benzaquen says the Galerias Sebucan mall is just one of two in Latin America that allows store owners to observe Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The other is in Buenos Aires, home to South

America’s largest Jewish community.

“Imagine being closed on Saturday — that’s the busiest day of the week,” Benzaquen said.

At Cafe Hillel, Adriana Coriat stops in for a bite at the behest of her 17-year-old daughter. The mall, Coriat says, is a welcome addition to the “Jewish bubble” at Club Hebraica, which is home to the community’s school and also serves as a social and athletic club. Many Caracas Jews point to the club as a symbol of their community’s unity.

“It’s how we survive here, in our bubble,” she said. “Crime follows us everywhere.”

For her, the Jewish nature of the mall is less important than its convenient location.

“It’s close to the house and, more than anything, a safe place for kids. They can’t just go out in the streets,” Coriat said. “I drop my daughter off here at the door and I pick her up at the same spot.”

Even more so than in North America, malls are a cornerstone of the social landscape in Caracas.

Here, malls also feature upscale bars, lounges and restaurants. The idea is that it’s safer to go out where club goers can bounce between night spots under one roof with secure indoor parking.

CAMP from page 1

of adult Jewish engagement, including the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey, to produce the first statistical look at the effect of Jewish camping on indi-

vidual as well as communal Jewish identity.

The report shows the most pronounced increase in Jewish engagement in four areas not typically associated with nonOrthodox Jewish behavior. Three of them have to do with Jewish communal identity: Camp alumni are 55 percent more likely than Jewish adults who did not attend camp to say they are “very emotionally attached to Israel”; they are 45 percent more likely to attend synagogue at least once a month; and 30 percent more of them donate to Jewish federations.

This is significant, says lead researcher Steven M. Cohen, director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at NYU Wagner, because those three behaviors indicate a certain level of Jewish communal commitment, and it is precisely that communal identification that many Jewish experts fear is most at risk.

“Where camp has had its strongest effect has to do with its creation of an intense, temporary Jewish community,” said Cohen.

That communal experience imprints on the individual, he surmised, leading to a greater propensity to view one’s self within a larger Jewish social network in adulthood.

“Camp Works: The long-term impact of Jewish overnight camp” used data from 26 national studies

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Place a personal holiday greeting in our Passover special issue!

SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINE: APRIL 7

Publishes

April 14, 2011 Call (513) 621-3145 Your personal message for Passover 2011 will be published April 14.

Fill out the form below and mail it to The American Israelite, along with your check/credit card information.

Deadline is April 7.

Name Phone Address

City

Zip

Message

2” = $180.00

3x

Size Price

3” = $270.00

Check Credit Card #

4” = $360.00 5” = $450.00

exp.

Signature Mail to: The American Israelite Passover Ad 18 W. Ninth Street, Suite 2 Cincinnati, OH 45202-2037 For more information on Passover Greetings Contact Netanel (Ted) Deutsch (513) 621-3145 publisher@americanisraelite.com