Community members launch new congregation A new Modern Orthodox congregation serving the Amberley Village and Golf Manor area began holding its first services in recent weeks. Congregation Sha’arei Torah, “The Village Shul,” held its first services March 25. During its first week, the new shul’s leadership organized Friday night, Shabbat morning and evening services, daily morning services, Torah Youth groups and a Shaliach Tzibur club to help youth learn various tefilot sung during Shabbat. Norman Frankel, the congregation’s president, said he believes Sha’arei Torah’s warm, welcoming atmosphere is already attracting individuals from across the spectrum of Judaism. “One participant who recently experienced our Shabbat service called it the most inspirational davening they have ever experienced due to the communal feel that the congregation
The American Israelite becomes local major media sponsor of JAHM, this week’s Facebook winner
Cincinnati to host major JNF conference in September, will draw noted speakers
The American Israelite has become the major media sponsor for the local coverage of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM). Since its introduction in 2006, May is the national month of recognition of the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The American Israelite print edition, which has covered 157 years of that history, and now the website, is proud to provide its readers all the latest news and information on upcoming JAHM events. Some of the local events will highlight Jewish contributions on a national level, such as baseball and the New York style deli, and in addition, some will focus on Jewish Cincinnatians and local innovations. The topics range
Cincinnati will host one of the country’s largest and most important conferences about the Jewish State of Israel – Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) National Conference, from September 18-19, 2011. The September conference is expected to draw people from all over the United States and parts of the world, including Israel, who will be treated to high-level briefings on “Freedom and Democracy: Israel’s and America’s Shared Values”; “JNF’s 9/11 Memorial in Jerusalem: Commemorating 10 Years Since 9/11”; “Turmoil in the Middle East: What it Means and What are the Implications.” Expected speakers include: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner, Israel Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Minister of
ISRAELITE on page 19
CONFERENCE on page 19
CONGREGATION on page 19
Wasserman Schultz brings Conservatives take kashrut Jewish identity to top party role challenge up a notch By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency
By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s first day as a sophomore in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Jan. 8, 2007, was marked by a number of extraordinary achievements for a woman barely out of her first term. Named to the Democratic caucus leadership. Named to the all-powerful Appropriations Committee. Named as a major fundraiser — $17 million — for the party’s breakthrough 2006 election. Named by a tabloid as one of the 50 most beautiful people on Capitol Hill. Yet dominating her victory party were blow-ups of headlines from Jewish newspapers: Wasserman Schultz had led the passage of the act establishing Jewish American Heritage Month.
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — The Conservative movement’s ethical kosher initiative may not have been intended as a wedge into the Orthodox monopoly over kosher supervision. But the planned rollout this summer of the Conservative-backed seal of ethical kosher production, the Magen Tzedek, coincides with an increase in the number of Conservative rabbis acting as kosher supervisors. “I see an uptick,” said Rabbi Paul Plotkin, chairman of the kashrut subcommittee of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, the legal body of the Conservative movement. At a time of growing activism in the Conservative movement around the issue of kashrut, the Conservative rabbinate seems
Courtesy of Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, right, with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at a Capitol Hill reception for Jewish American Heritage Month, May 19, 2009.
WASSERMAN on page 20
Courtesy of Kosher Michigan
Rabbi Jason Miller of Kosher Michigan re-koshers the kitchen at the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization’s Bittker Center in Holly, Mich.
to be moving into the kashrut business like never before. CONSERVATIVES on page 20
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011 17 NISSAN, 5771 CINCINNATI, OHIO LIGHT CANDLES AT 8:02 SHABBAT ENDS 9:03 VOL. 157 • NO. 39 $2.00
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After Santa Monica bombing, shuls ponder openness vs. security
Brooklyn Jew played key role for Pope John Paul II
Young Leaders and a Vision for the Future Lauded at Major Gifts Dinner
Padrino, family fun at the neighborhood pizzeria
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PASSOVER
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
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THE ART OF PASSOVER
Join the Young Professionals like Michael Israel, Dan Sharff, Kerry Hendel, Erica Efron, and Jamie Dalin and help cook up a happy Easter on April 24.
Jewish young professionals to make Easter eggs? What’s this world coming to— Jewish young professionals going to church on Easter Sunday? Dozens of them will be descending upon Nast-Trinity United Methodist Church to help make the holiday happier for some of Cincinnati’s less fortunate when ACTout presents The Easter Egg and Pancake Brunch on Sunday, April 24 at 9 a.m. A partnership between Access, an initiative of The Mayerson Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, ACTout offers a wide variety of social action projects throughout the year that give Jewish young professionals the opportunity to give back to their community in meaningful ways. “For those of us who don’t
celebrate Easter, there’s typically not a lot to do that day,” says Rachel Plowden, Access Coordinator. “That’s why we thought it would be a great idea to bring together the ‘tribe’ to help make the holiday special for those who do celebrate it,” she adds. Some participants will work in the church’s kitchen cooking up a festive brunch with all the fixings, including pancakes, eggs, juice, toast and more, while others will be serving and visiting with the guests, most of whom are living below the poverty level, or who are homeless. From building butterfly gardens at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center and doing odd jobs for homebound seniors, to working with young adults with disabilities
and packaging yartzeit candles for 1,500 people in commemoration of Yom Ha’Shoah, ACTout offers opportunities to give back in a Jewish context. “We are glad we can help make programs like this possible,” says Rebecca Hoffheimer, Development Officer of the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation. “Not only do these social action events make a difference in our community, they make an even bigger difference in the lives of the ACTout participants themselves!” To RSVP, or for more information about this event, please contact Access or The Jewish Federation, whose contact information is located in the Community Directory listing in this paper, by April 21.
NA’AMAT Donor Luncheon On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, The Esther Ida Schmidt Cincinnati Chapter of NA’AMAT will honor Juanita Egherman for her commitment to NA’AMAT, Cincinnati’s Jewish community and to Israel. Born in Brooklyn, Nita, as she is known to her friends, has lived in Cincinnati most of her life. Her family came to the city in 1932 when her father took a position as Cantor at the synagogue that is now Adath Israel. In 1947, Nita married Harvey Egherman. She met him at a party for returning soldiers after the end of WWII, and for Nita it was love at first sight. They shared nearly 60 years of a happy marriage, until Harvey’s death in 2006. Nita has three children, Leslee, Rini and William (who passed away in 2010); five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. For 11 years, Nita was a member of the High Stepping Dancing Grandmas troupe, dancing her way around the city.
Juanita Egherman
Harvey and Nita both loved entertaining, travel, music, bridge and Israel. As Nita describes it, she married Harvey and the Zionist movement. But love of Israel was
in Nita’s blood too. Her mother had been a long-time member of the Zionist organization Chalutz, and Nita has been active in NA’AMAT for many years. The Cincinnati Chapter of NA’AMAT—part of the International Movement of Zionist Women—chose Nita as their Donor Luncheon honoree because of her long-standing dedication to Israel and to NA’AMAT’s mission: supporting the women and children of Israel. To carry out its mission, NA’AMAT, through its sister organization in Israel, provides a broad range of social services, from day care centers to domestic violence shelters, from legal aid to alternative high schools. The speaker at the luncheon will be Liz Raider, president of NA’AMAT USA. For more information about the luncheon, please use the NA’AMAT contact infomation in this issue’s Community Directory.
Rosh Hashanah Cover Coloring Contest entries can be seen at Marx Hot Bagels 9701 KENWOOD ROAD • BLUE ASH
THE JEWISH OVERNIGHT CAMPING PROGRAM FOR THE JEWISH CHILDREN
OF
CINCINNATI
The Jewish Overnight Camping Program provides grants for Jewish children from the greater Cincinnati area to encourage them to attend a Jewish overnight camp. Children who have never attended a Jewish overnight camp can apply for a grant. For the summer of 2011 the value of the grants will be up to $1,000 for camp sessions of three weeks or more and up to $500 for camp sessions of two weeks. A grant from the Jewish Overnight Camping Program is a gift. It is not need-based or contingent on other scholarship or financial aid dollars. To qualify under the Program, the overnight camp must be sponsored by a non-profit Jewish organization. Application forms for the summer of 2011 are available online on the Jewish Federation website, www.jewishcincinnati.org/camping. APPLICATION DEADLINE IS MAY 15, 2011 For further information please consult a congregational rabbi or Barbara Miller at bmiller@jfedcin.org or 985-1528 or Prof. Getzel Cohen at getzel.cohen@uc.edu or 556-1951 This program is made possible with funding from Shelly Shor Gerson and Sylvia Shor, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati and the Foundation for Jewish Camp and is administered by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
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AJC hosts hundreds at community seder American Jewish Committee celebrated Passover, the festival of freedom, with hundreds of nonJews at the 18th annual AJC Community Intergroup Seder on April 14. The lunch-time event, chaired by Andrew Heldman, introduced the Jewish holiday to people of varied religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds, including students from St. Xavier and Moeller High Schools, Mercy Montessori, and Cincinnati Hills Christian and Ursuline Academies. All who attended read from the Haggadah, while AJC hosts at each table encouraged guests to join in the ritual. Charoset was a favorite, but horseradish won few friends. Grape juice replaced wine. AJC Cincinnati President John M. Stein explained why AJC shares Passover with the commu-
Over 100 St. Xavier High School students took part in AJC’s Community Intergroup Seder last week, along with community leaders, church groups, and students from five other Christian schools. In the photo, two St. Xavier students learn to dip parsley, following instructions by Seder leader Dr. Gary Zola.
nity: “We want to take away any mystery historically attached to the holiday at the same time that we build relationships with our friends and neighbors. Those who join us appreciate the Jewish commitment to freedom.” After the Seder, many of the guests toured the sanctuary of Rockdale Temple. AJC is a global Jewish advocacy organization which seeks a secure Jewish future in a more just world, fights all forms of bigotry, supports human and civil rights, works for a secure and democratic Israel, and improves intergroup relations. In Cincinnati, AJC sponsors the Community Intergroup Seder, Thanksgiving Diversity Luncheon, and the Simon Lazarus Human Relations Awards for high school volunteers.
groups of families travel to different stations doing hands-on activities related to the day’s theme (Shabbat, Mitzvot, Israel, etc). Many of these activities show our families how to bring Jewish rituals into their homes, such as braiding challah in 3rd grade or making tzedakah boxes in 2nd grade. These programs also provide some of our students’ most lasting memories. In 5th grade, two students from each 5th grade class
exchange vows under the chuppah, in a mock wedding ceremony “officiated” by Rabbi Kamrass. The morning ends with a reception (with wedding cake, of course) so that all of our families can celebrate together. In 4th grade, our teachers really get into the spirit of the program by pretending to be famous figures from Israeli history, and in 6th grade, our teachers have dressed up as everything from 1st century rebels
sored its very first Shabbaton more than eight years ago in Stamford, Conn., no one knew what to expect. “We’ve introduced a new concept of events for singles,” said Weissman. “The idea of events where the focus is not on getting married as soon as possible, or figuring out what’s wrong with singles, but rather quality people enjoying a positive experience together without the pressure and awkwardness of singles events, is almost nonexistent in the Orthodox Jewish community nowadays.” The Shabbaton was an unqualified success, and since then EndTheMadness has organized several dozen other weekend programs in West Hempstead, Teaneck, Lawrence, Elizabeth, Linden, Monsey, Baltimore, West Orange, Kew Gardens Hills, Passaic, and other communities. What makes an EndTheMadness Shabbaton different than other singles Shabbatons? “First of all, we intentionally
limit the size of the group,” said Weissman. “Only 48 singles can attend, and applicants are carefully screened to make sure they are the kind of people with which other participants and members of the community will enjoy spending a Shabbos. The participants are also integrated into the community as guests for Shabbos, not as singles at a meat market.” “At our Shabbatons, we break up participants into groups of six—three males and three females—for the meals, which are hosted by members of the community. This creates a much more comfortable, relaxed, and nonpressurized environment for singles to meet and mingle.” Weissman also noted that sometimes in interacting with the singles at meals, hosts think of other singles they might know who might be suitable dates for singles at their tables—an additional benefit of the format. The group davens with the rest
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011 17 NISSAN 5771 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 8:02 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 9:03 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 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
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against the Romans to 19th century immigrants to America. In addition, family programs allow our parents to interact with teachers, madrichim (teaching assistants) and staff while modeling continued Jewish learning for their children. These wonderful, engaging programs are just one component of our Religious School curriculum. To learn more, please contact Wise Temple.
‘EndTheMadness’ to sponsor first Midwest Shabbaton in Cincinnati “EndTheMadness”—the grassroots effort that gives observant singles an alternative to the typical singles events that are planned by traditional organizations—has sponsored almost three-dozen successful Shabbatons for singles during the last decade. This summer it will be hosting its very first Shabbaton for singles in the Midwest, on July 1-3, at the Golf Manor Synagogue in Cincinnati. “I’m delighted that we are able to organize a Shabbaton west of the Hudson,” said Chananya Weissman, the founder of EndTheMadness and the point person for the Cincinnati Shabbaton. “Not only will it give some of the singles who live in the Midwest a chance to attend a Shabbaton a bit closer to home, but it will also allow those who live in the New York area a chance to plan a summer trip and meet other like minded folks whom they ordinarily might never meet.” When EndTheMadness spon-
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HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985
Wise Temple family programs Few things are more rewarding than watching parents and children experience Jewish learning together, and the grade-level family programs at Wise Temple provide this opportunity for our families with students in Open Room (Pre-K & Kindergarten) through 8th grade. The programs take place during Religious School and are always a highlight of the school year for each grade. Most of our family programs involve rotations, where
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of the community members, and often will attend a rabbi’s class or discussion group Shabbos afternoon. A Friday night oneg and Saturday night activity give singles additional opportunities to socialize with each other. The Shabbaton in Cincinnati is geared toward observant singles aged 25-35 years old. There is a cost, which includes dinner and lunch on Shabbos, shalosh seudos, a Saturday night activity, and a Sunday breakfast. There will be an optional event on Sunday afternoon (“Ride the Ducks”). “Why should singles spend hundreds of dollars on hotel weekends that promise the world but deliver very little, when they can enjoy themselves with a small select group of singles in a hospitable suburban community?” said Weissman. If you are interested in making a reservation for the Shabbaton, please visit the EndTheMadness website.
MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher BARBARA L. MORGENSTERN Senior Writer NICOLE SIMON RITA TONGPITUK 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 MICHAEL MAZER Sales ERIN WYENANDT Office Manager
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $44 per year and $2.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $49 per year and $3.00 per single copy elsewhere in U.S. by The American Israelite Co. 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE, 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037.
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YPs work out and connect at the J The best thing about an early morning workout is that you can get it out of the way and enjoy your day. YPs (young professionals, ages 21 - 35) can do just that on Wednesday, May 11 at 6:30 a.m. at the Mayerson JCC. Breakfast follows an outdoor Boot Camp style workout, and the program is free for J Members (YP non-members may request a guest pass). This “Get Up & Go” morning workout is just one of many
YP programs offered at the J. “Moving back to Cincinnati and knowing very few people was difficult for me,” said Mitch Better. “Since joining the JCC and attending the awesome YP events there, I have met some quality friends and contacts” Several recent programs at the J attracted large groups of YPs. About 60 people attended the NCAA Championship Happy Hour, when YPs enjoyed dinner
and drinks and watched the basketball game. The first Get Up & Go morning workout program offered in early April attracted about 54 YPs. It was so popular with the attendees that the J plans to offer more Get Up & Go programs. After a rigorous workout, Get Up & Go participants are invited to the J Café for a special Grab and Go breakfast that includes foods like egg and cheese wraps, yogurt parfaits, juice, fresh fruit and cof-
fee. These healthy items are easy to eat “ala car” during the morning commute, or while relaxing for a few minutes with friends at the J before heading off to work. Another popular series for YPs at the J is the Wednesday Night Rewind, which features a workout followed by games in the gym. The next Rewind is May 25, when YPs will meet for the JCC’s popular S.M.A.C.K. group exercise class at 6:30 p.m., followed by vol-
leyball at 7:30 p.m. The combination of exercise and socializing is very appealing to many YPs. “Working out around other young professionals makes it much more fun, and gives me more motivation to exercise!” said Chelsea Golding. Non-JCC member YPs who would like to check out the programs are encouraged to contact the JCC young professionals outreach coordinator to get a free guest pass.
Northern Hills installs new officers, trustees Northern Hills Synagogue Congregation B’nai Avraham will hold its annual meeting on Sunday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. Elected officers and trustees will be installed at Friday evening services on May 6, which will begin at 8 p.m. As prepared by the nominating committee, Karroll Miller will serve a second one-year term as president. Other officers will include Joe Lazear, president-elect; David Goldstein, Brian Leshner, Barry Wolfson and Oded Zmora, vice-presidents; Phylliss Shubs, treasurer; Matt Lee, financial secretary; Judy Knapp, corresponding
secretary; Roz Shapiro, recording secretary; and Matt Yosafat, cemetery warden. Trustees selected for two-year terms include Mark Bratslavsky, Lisa Crawford, Amy Frankel, Kathy Hart, Fred Joffe, Sonia Milrod, Henry Spitz, Margie Stayton and Joe Zukor. They will join continuing trustees Jeff Bassin, David Bernstein, Arnold Horowitz, Dennis Manes, Ron Richards, Orly Rumberg, George Smulian and Warren Shapiro. Past presidents, Barbara Goldstein, Steven Pentelnik and David Zucker will also serve on the board.
Northern Hills’ Sisterhood and Men’s Club will also install their boards at the May 6 service. The Sisterhood board includes Gayna Bassin, Candy Gellen, and Sandy Richards, co-presidents; Roberta Handwerger and Sandy Spitz, coprogramming vice-presidents; Diana Fenichel, treasurer; Sophia Ziburtovicz, financial secretary; Eileen Metz, recording secretary; Ellen Warm, corresponding secretary; and Grace Lehrer, Michelle Shapiro and Carolyn Swillinger, trustees. The Men’s Club Board includes Ron Richards and Jerry Shubs, co-
presidents; Hal Winkler, vice-president; Bob Stayton, treasurer; Norm Nevins, secretary; and Jeff Gushin, Mitch Weisberger and Joshua Frankel, trustees . Brett Handmaker will continue on the Men’s Club board as immediate past president. “I experienced many joys as President of Northern Hills Synagogue-Congregation B’nai Avraham this past year,” noted Karroll Miller. “The commitment of our many hard working volunteers, the dedication of Rabbi Barnard and Tracy Weisberger, our director of education and programming, and the rest of the staff is amazing. We
enthusiastically celebrated our 50th anniversary this past year. I am honored to be asked to serve as president another year as we begin our next 50 years, and look forward to continuing the proud traditions that define Northern Hills. Northern Hills is a dynamic, vibrant kehilla committed to Conservative traditions. I invite everyone in the Southwest Ohio Jewish Community to celebrate Shabbat and holidays with us.” Both the annual meeting and installation will take place at the synagogue and are open to the public. For more information, please call the Synagogue office.
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Rockwern’s early childhood program continues to expand Early Childhood Education Class Options
Toddler Class
Two year olds make and bake matzah in Deborah Birckhead’s class.
In Deborah Birckhead’s early childhood classroom at Rockwern Academy, the 2-year-olds are sitting around a table together making matzah, singing songs and learning about Passover. Each child gets a turn to stir the dough and then pound out their piece into a flat piece of matzah while they sing with delight (to the tune of Row, Row, Row your Boat): “Roll, roll, roll your dough, make it nice and round, make it flat, poke lots of holes and bake it till it’s brown.” Watching Ms. Birckhead interact with the children, it is immediately clear why the 2-year-old classes are filling up for next year. She bustles about with energy and enthusiasm giving out hugs and
assistance wherever needed. “Toddlers learn through play, and the space we create for them is so very important,” insists Birckhead, who has been teaching at Rockwern for four years. “In my class I create a rich and varied environment with lots of possibilities for learning. We take a childcentered approach here. We believe that every child deserves to be seen holistically, understood deeply, and nurtured without reservation.” Although the current 2-year-old classes at Rockwern are filled, a waitlist has been started for an additional class of students. Meanwhile there are just a few spots open for the 3 and 4-year-old programs.
A special Preschool “Open House and Art Show is scheduled for May 11 at 5 p.m. This is a great opportunity for prospective parents to meet the teachers, tour the entire school and enroll their children for the fall. It is open to children and parents. Serving children from age 18 months to age 4-years-old, the early childhood education program at Rockwern provides a warm environment geared to preparing children academically, socially and emotionally for kindergarten and beyond. Classes are small, and there are opportunities for gym, Jewish holiday celebration, music, art and even Hebrew language instruction.
18 Months
Morning Class
2 Years
Morning Class with Lunch
2 years 3 years 4 years
Full Day
2 years 3 years 4 years
8:15AM - 11:15AM or 8:15AM - 12:15PM
Monday, Wednesday, Friday or all 5 days
8:15AM - 11:15AM
Monday, Wednesday, Friday or all 5 days
8:15AM - 12:15PM
Monday, Wednesday, Friday or all 5 days
8:15AM - 3:30PM
Monday, Wednesday, Friday or all 5 days
A love of Judaism and the foundation for learning begins at the earliest age. Rockwern is dedicated to building vibrant, joyful Jewish identities in each and every child in its program. Because of the nurturing environment the teachers create, the children of Rockwern and their families become a mini-community where
friendships are formed between the children, parents and teachers. The strong educational curriculum and warm environment prepares all of the children for kindergarten and lays the groundwork for a strong Jewish identity. For more information or to see the school, please contact the Rockwern admissions office.
Education inspires fundraising, thanks from Auschwitz-Birkenau The Summit Country Day School’s honors-level World War II and Holocaust History class, taught by Mr. Jeff Stayton, so intrigued Summit junior Sara Kate Wiser, that she wanted to learn more. Mr. Stayton helped arrange for her to begin volunteering at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. At the same time, her sister Emily, a Summit 8th grader, was reading Elie Wiesel’s “Night” and “The Diary of Anne Frank” in Mrs. Rosie Alway’s English class. The girls’ studies led to intense dinnertime conversations with their parents and brother Sam, a Summit 6th grader. It didn’t take long for the children to cook up a plan that earned their parents’ approval – a World War II study trip to Germany and Poland for spring break, to deepen their learning. According to Sara Kate, “We were motivated by the unanswered questions from our school work.” In researching their trip on the Internet, the Wiser children learned about the “INtervene Now” capital campaign to preserve the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps, which cover several miles, include many buildings and countless human artifacts. Admission to these important museums – which
host 250,000 people each year – is free, but tourists and time are taking a toll on what remains of the camps. The $165 million campaign will preserve the camps for future generations. “It didn’t seem right to go there and take away our learning without giving anything back,” says Emily. She and brother Sam approached Mrs. Alway about doing a school fundraiser and found a helpful supporter in their teacher, who visited Auschwitz-Birkenau herself last summer to enhance her own curriculum. “Nobody had to give,” says Sam, “but so many of our classmates wanted to. I felt proud of my school and excited that we could do something important.” The effort, together with older sister Sara Kate’s fundraising, resulted in $1,200 for the campaign, which was only recently launched online. “We were stunned, in a happy way. Out of the blue we hear from a school in Cincinnati, Ohio — The Summit Country Day School — reaching out to us to contribute,” noted Auschwitz-Birkenau International Relations Manager Anna Miszewska. “We just couldn’t believe it. This was the first response we received from a group to do fundraising for us. I asked
(L-R) Mr. Rafal Pióro, Deputy Director of the Asuchwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oswiecim, Poland; Marzena Korzec, student at Stanislaw Konarski’s High School in Oswiecim, Poland; Ms. Anna Miszewska, Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation International Relations Manager, Warsaw, Poland; Elizabeth Wiser, Summit mom; Sam Wiser, Summit 6th-grader; Emily Wiser, Summit 8thgrader Sara Kate Wiser, Summit junior; Anna Kadziolka, student at Stanislaw Konarski’s High School in Oswiecim, Poland.
the Wiser children how The Summit heard about our capital campaign and they told me, ‘The power of the Internet!’” The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation showed its gratitude to all the children of The Summit Country Day School by presenting the school with a certificate of appreciation, as well as two books on the Holocaust for the school library. The Wiser children
received the gifts in person, on behalf of the school, during their spring break visit to the camps. In a meeting with officials from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, the children received words of encouragement from Rafal Pióro, deputy director of the AuschwitzBirkenau State Museum, who talked about the museum’s role in teaching peace and tolerance to people the world-over. These les-
sons, he explained, are timeless and more important now than ever, given the state of global politics today. Representatives from the local newspaper “Gazeta Krakowska,” were on hand to cover the meeting and presentation, as were students from a nearby high school, who interviewed the Wiser children for their school newspaper to learn more about The Summit and its students, who seem, “so aware of the world and generous,” according to Marzena Korzec, student of Stanislaw Konarski High School in Oswiecim. “Meeting the students and the officials from the AuschwitzBirkenau foundation was an amazing experience,” says Sara Kate. “I can’t believe some traveled all the way from Warsaw just to say ‘Thank you’ to The Summit!” But did the experience help answer her questions about World War II and the Holocaust? “Actually, no,” she says, “the experience only served up more questions. But one thing I know for sure. I will do my part to promote peace and tolerance by continuing to help the AuschwitzBirkenau Foundation. My spring break trip is over, but my fundraising work has just begun!”
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Shabbat wine-tasting at Wise Temple Wise Temple members will join together for the Fourth Annual Congregational Shabbat Dinner and Wine Tasting on Friday, May 6 at Wise Center. Immediately after services, attendees will enjoy a deli-
cious dinner followed by a wine tasting session and presentation by Wise Temple member, Dr. Jim Greenberg. This year there will be a “blinded” tasting of wines from both the U.S. and Israel. Participants will try to
identify the origin and grape varietal used to make each wine. This is one of the most popular events of the year and a fun way to celebrate Shabbat. For more information, contact Wise Temple.
Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month in Cincinnati On April 20, 2006, President George Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM). Next month, check out the contributions of Jewish Americans who have helped weave the fabric of America through local events. For example, on April 29, 30 and May 1, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will host Neil Sedaka at downtown’s Music Hall. The legendary hit-maker will sing his Top 40 hits and other pieces with the Pops. Sedaka has written, performed and produced music ranging from pop songs to piano concertos.
The legendary hit-maker will sing his Top 40 hits and other pieces with the Pops. The Mayerson JCC will present “A Comical, Culinary History of Jews in America” on May 5. Los Angeles comedy writer Seth Front will offer an interactive history and also discuss the challenging future the America Jewish deli faces. A deli style dinner will be available. On May 8 at 2 p.m.at the downtown branch of the Public Library, Rabbi Kenneth Ehrlich, dean of the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, will review the American Jewish experience through words and images created by Jewish literary artists, including work from Cincinnati poet, Amy K. Blank. On May 10, HUC will take everyone out to the ballgame with “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story.” At 4:30 p.m. ballpark cuisine will be avaible, the Jews and Baseball documentary will be shown at 5:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m. there will be a discussion with Martin Abramowitz, “America’s Custodian of Jewish Baseball Memory.” “Jews and Baseball” explores the connection between Jewish Americans and baseball, our nation’s most iconic institution. More than a film about sports, it is
a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions, and the shattering of stereotypes. Space is limited and registration is required. Contact HUC for more information. On May 11, the Taft Museum of Art will hold an informal 10minute conversation on “Jozef Israëls, The Sewing School at Katwijk” at 1:15 p.m. There, learn about the masterpiece painted by the Jewish artist dubbed the 19thcentury Rembrandt. A similar event will occur on May 18 regarding Pierre Courteys’ Standing Dish with Samson and the Philistines, also at 1:15 p.m. A free Jewish view of the Cincinnati Art Museum will be given on Sunday, May 22 at 1 p.m. A docent led tour will show art from ancient times that relates to Jewish history; paintings of biblical stories and themes, and works by Jewish artists. No reservations necessary. On May 16 at 3 p.m. there will be a free lecture called “The Nature of Jewish Life in America” held at the Cedar Village in Mason. In this talk, Rabbi Matthew Kraus, director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Cincinnati, presents the impact of the move to the suburbs on Jewish spiritual life— how Jews pray, how Jews practice, and how Jews relate to the Almighty. Open to the public. Also on May 16 at 6:30 p.m. the Jewish Young Professionals will have an interactive discussion with Dr. Gary Zola, director of the American Jewish Archives (AJA), and hear “The History of the JQC (Jewish Queen City) 101” at HUC. There will be a pre-event reception with dinner and drinks starting at 6:30 p.m. Pre- or post-event tour of the AJA’s Jewish Cincinnati exhibit is included. This event is open to Young Jewish professionals 21-35 and their non-Jewish significant others welcome. For more information, contact Access. On May 20, Cedar Village will host the free event entitled “Memory and Jewish Identity” at 10 a.m. Dr. Adrian Parr, associate professor in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and affiliate faculty, Department of Philosophy and Judaic Studies at the University of Cincinnati will use the narrative of
her grandmother’s survival of the Holocaust and her own subsequent discovery of her Jewish identity to explore the importance of Jewish cultural memory for keeping Jewish identity alive amidst adversity. Open to the public. On Sunday, May 22 at 4 p.m., Rabbi David Ellenson, president of HUC-JIR, and a scholar and speaker, will frame the Jewish seminary in the context of American life and scholarship. In addition, they will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Clifton Campus of HUC. Hebrew Union College was founded in 1875, but moved to the Clifton area in 1911. Reception to follow. This event is free and open to all. Local congregations will also be celebrating JAHM with special Shabbat services on May 27 and 28. Contact your congregation for details. Keep up with The American Israelite to find more in depth coverage of events in coming weeks.
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N. KY hosts 16th annual Yom Hashoah observance The annual Northern Kentucky Yom Hashoah observance was held at the Florence Christian Church on April 10. Held in various Northern Kentucky churches and parishes for the last 16 years, this is one of the first and longest running observances in America by an inter-demoninational association of Christian churches and communions. The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation has provided rabbinic and lay leadership and resources to the Northern Kentucky Interfaith Commission. Rabbi Robert Reiner and Ellen Fettner participated in the program last year. The Northern Kentucky Children’s Ensemble Prep Choir sang three Jewish song: “Dodi Li” (My Beloved Is Mine), “Dona
Werner Koppel, Auschwitz survivor, lighting the Six Yellow Memorial Candles for all those who perished in the Holocaust.
Dona,” arranged by Sholom Secunda, which was created for
Yiddish Theater. Christina Nam, a 10-year-old violinist accompanied
the choir in “Who Has Seen the Wind,” by Victoria Ebel-Sabo. Her mother, Esther Nam, directed the children’s choir. Mark Hart, mayor of Falmouth, Ky., introduced the guest speaker, Heinz Blumenstein, an 85-year-old retired Cincinnati social worker and grandfather. He was saved from death by being hidden for three years with a poor Dutch Catholic family with eight children, six cows and a horse. At age 4, he was one of the 935 passengers of the ill-fated voyage of the German transatlantic liner, The St. Louis, the only ship of refugees from Europe that reached the territorial waters of the United States. Blumenstein’s chance for freedom was dashed when President Roosevelt refused to allow the passengers to stay in the
country. The ship sailed again for Europe on June 6, 1939. The passengers did not return to Germany, however. Four countries agreed to take the refugees; three of the four were later invaded by the Nazis. The highlights of Blumenstein’s life and personal odyssey from Vienna, to Holland, to the U.S.A. have been featured in the award-winning documentary film “Finding Family” produced by the Cincinnati-based Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. Werner Koppel, an Auschwitz survivor, lit the six yellow memorial candles signifying the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Covington Commissioner, Steve Frank also participated in the service. Two of the four Covington Commissioners are Jewish.
JAHM — a nationwide celebration in May By Rita Tongpituk Assistant Editor Major cities across the country are making final preparations to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) this May. Through a variety of engaging events and programs, JAHM is an annual event that recognizes over 350 years of contributions made by Jewish Americans to our country’s history, culture and society.
Courtesy of Bruce Guthrie
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who sponsored the 2006 legislation making May Jewish American Heritage Month, speaking at an event at the National Archives in Washington DC, May 2010.
Since the first settlers arrived in 1654, when a boatload of 23 Jews sailed into New Amsterdam (renamed New York in 1664) to establish the first Jewish community, Jewish Americans have contributed to American culture through diverse achievements ranging in fields from medicine to business to science, sports, arts and entertainment, government and military service. As of 2010 there are about 14 million Jews in the world; 7 million in the Americas, 5
million in Asia, 2 million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa. Some prominent Jewish Americans include Isaac Mayer Wise, Estee Lauder, Sandy Koufax, Edna Ferber, Barbra Streisand, Mel Brooks, Elizabeth Taylor, Molly Picon, Emma Lazarus, Uriah Levy, Jonas Salk, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Joachim Prinz, Ann Landers and Garrett E. Reisman. Thanks to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), the Jewish Museum of South Florida, and the South Florida Jewish Community, President George W. Bush signed JAHM into law in 2006. Since its inception, raising the national consciousness regarding these contributions has grown significantly from local celebrations to nationwide events. On April 30, 2010, President Barack Obama declared, “As leaders in every facet of American life… Jewish Americans have shaped our Nation and helped steer the course of our history.” In May 2010 President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama held the very first White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month. Five years since Wasserman Schultz initiated the congressional/legislative resolution to make JAHM a reality, the congresswoman states, “Jewish American Heritage Month recognizes that the foundation of our country is built upon the strengths of our unique cultures and backgrounds. By drawing attention to all of the varied ways in which Jews have contributed to American culture and history, Jewish American Heritage Month strives to create a national conversation about Jewish identity in the United States. Through better understanding and recognition of the importance of the multi-cultural fabric that com-
Courtesy of National Museum of American Jewish History
(L-R) Gwen Goodman, director emerita, National Museum of American Jewish Heritage, Michael Rosenzweig, president and CEO, National Museum of American Jewish Heritage, Dr. Garrett E. Reisman, NASA astronaut, Marcia Zerivitiz, founding executive director and chief curator, Jewish Museum of Florida, Abby Schwartz, national coordinator, Jewish American Heritage Month.
prises this country, Jewish American Heritage Month will not only influence Americans’ perspective of Jews, but of all minorities as well.” JAHM 2011 is anticipated to be even more comprehensive in scope than last year. Abby Schwartz, the first national coordinator for JAHM, announced that there are almost 50 dedicated events throughout the country in May. “We are confident that we can grow awareness of, enthusiasm for, and participation in JAHM and enlighten Americans about Jewish heritage in order to increase tolerance and understanding and decrease antiSemitism,” said Schwartz. Some highlights of exciting exhibitions, programs and events for 2011 include: New York, New York — An exhibition called “Stitch in Jewish Time: Provocative Textiles” explores issues of Jewish history, culture, social justice, ritual, and sacred texts, featuring 41 signifi-
cant international textile artists including Yaakov Agam, Andi Arnovitz and Helen Aylon. The exhibition is open now until June 30, at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion. New York, New York — American Jewish Historical Society presents the 2011 Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award Dinner on May 5 honoring Machal and Aliyah Bet, all North American women and men who volunteered in Israel’s War of Independence between 1947 and 1949, and Ralph Lowenstein, Ph.D., founder of the Machal/Aliyah Bet Archives; Machalnik; Dean Emeritus, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida. The event will be held at the Center for Jewish History. Denver, Colorado — The film “Civilizing the West: Early Colorado Jews in the Arts,” will premier at the 17th Annual Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society Heritage Award Dinner. The event
on May 2 will be held at Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society. Cleveland, Ohio — An illustrated presentation “Flight to Freedom — A Tribute to Jewish Artists” on May 4 will feature four European artists who fled the Holocaust and immensely enriched American art. The event will be held at Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. Seattle, Washington — A twopart series, “A Taste of Sephardic Foods,” on May 11, to be held at Washington State Jewish Historical Society. Miami, Florida — “Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue,” a panel discussion on May 15, will feature notable Floridians who have served the public, including former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. The event will be held at the Jewish Museum of Florida. Chicago, Illinois — Jewish EdVentures, a series of programs and field trips in connection with the exhibition “Uncovered and Rediscovered: Stories of Jewish Chicago,” an evolving eight-part exhibit, will explore the Chicago Jewish experience. The exhibit will unfold over time in a series from May 31 to June 3, to tell tales of Chicago’s Jewish pioneers and politicians, artists and anarchists, authors and entrepreneurs, and even Jewish boxers. The event will be held at The Spertus Institute. Cincinnati, Ohio — There are a number of programs locally, some of which include: April 29, 30 and May 1 — The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will host Neil Sedaka at Music Hall and feature the legendary hitmaker’s Top 40 hits and other works with the Pops. Sedaka has written, performed and produced music ranging from pop songs to piano concertos. JAHM on page 21
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
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After Santa Monica bombing, shuls ponder openness vs. security By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE IS CURRENTLY HIRING FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS:
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Nobody thought much about the shabby but quiet middle-aged man who showed up last weekend at an Orthodox study hall in suburban Cleveland. But when police came Monday and arrested the man, Ron Hirsch, 60, on charges of setting off a bomb next to the Chabad synagogue in Santa Monica, Calif., it sent shock waves throughout the Jewish community. It also raised the question of how Jewish institutions should balance openness with security. “You want people to feel safe, but still welcome,” said Howard Lesner, executive director of Sinai Temple, a large Conservative congregation in downtown Los Angeles. Jewish institutions in the United States have beefed up security since 9/11, following the lead of Israeli embassies around the world as well as synagogues and Jewish centers in Europe and South America. But measures designed to thwart terrorists can make worshipers feel uncomfortable and newcomers unwelcome. No one wants to pray in a fortress, religious leaders say. “It’s a dilemma we face every
- S TAFF W RITERS - B OOK R EVIEW COLUMNIST - F INANCIAL A DVICE COLUMNIST - T ONGUE - IN -C HEEK COLUMNIST To apply, please contact Ted Deutsch at 621-3145 or send your resume to publisher@americanisraelite.com
Courtesy of Chabad of Yorba Linda
Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie, left, shown here with students and faculty of his North County Chabad Hebrew High School, says synagogue security shouldn’t be so tight that it keeps out unaffiliated Jews looking for connection.
day,” said Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie, director of Chabad of Yorba Linda, Calif. Cleveland-area Jews were particularly disturbed that Hirsch, a transient who often slept near the Santa Monica Chabad shul and asked for handouts at Jewish doors, sought out an Orthodox neighborhood when he fled Los Angeles for Ohio last Friday. Those interviewed surmised that Hirsch knew he would
be welcomed as a fellow Jew, with few questions asked. “He felt comfortable enough to come into a community that offered him shelter and offered him money because the Orthodox community is very hospitable and takes care of its own,” Rabbi Sruly Wolf of Cleveland Heights told The Associated Press. SHULS on page 22
Jewish groups debate ways to thwart U.N. recognition of ‘Palestine’ By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — The path to international recognition of Palestinian statehood by September — when the Palestinians plan to bring the matter before the U.N. General Assembly — seems clear. The question before Israel and its supporters who oppose such recognition is how to create a detour. Some say the way to go is through diplomatic suasion. Others say there needs to be a push forward with peace initiatives. Still others believe that threatening counteractions is the best way to derail the Palestinian plan. Israeli officials have warned that unilateral recognition of Palestine could be countered by unilateral Israeli steps, like West Bank annexation. The only certainty is that Israel expects the fallout from such recognition of Palestine to be disastrous. Several weeks ago, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, called it a “diplomatic tsunami.” At the moment, the Palestinian plan is to get a sympathetic nation
on the 15-member U.N. Security Council, where decisions carry the weight of international law, to propose recognition, and at the same time get two-thirds of the General Assembly to recognize the state of Palestine, in itself a propaganda victory. Should the United States, as expected, veto a Security Council resolution recognizing Palestine, the Palestinians would try to invoke the rarely used General Assembly Resolution 377, also known as the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, which allows the General Assembly to override the Security Council. The latter scenario is what Israel and its friends want to avoid; its use in 1981 set the legal framework for a decade of boycotts of South Africa that ultimately helped topple that country’s apartheid regime. Israel and its allies are in agreement on the technical approach to running the Palestinian Authority approach off the road. Step one is to avoid the necessity of a U.S. veto in the Security Council by thwarting the nine votes that any initiative needs to pass the 15-member Security Council, absent a veto. Failure to get such a
majority on the Security Council likely would inhibit Palestinian efforts to bring the matter to the General Assembly, which meets in September. Alan Elsner, senior communications director for The Israel Project, has been meeting in New York with U.N. diplomats this week. He counted off what he believed would be five sure votes against the proposal on the current council: Permanent members France, Britain and the United States, and rotating members Germany and Colombia. “If they can’t get it through the Security Council, they would lose a lot of momentum,” he said of the Palestinian statehood push. The focus then would be to draw in at least one more Western or Western-leaning country from among the rotating 10 members. There are three possibilities, according to Elsner. One is Portugal. The second is E.U. aspirant Bosnia & Herzegovina, a Muslim country that is likely to side with the West given its lingering distrust of Russia for backing Serbia during the Yugoslav GROUPS on page 21
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Brooklyn Jew played key role for Pope John Paul II By Ruth Ellen Gruber Jewish Telegraphic Agency ROME (JTA) — When hundreds of thousands of people converge on the Vatican for the beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1, a Brooklyn-born Jewish orchestra conductor will have an honored place among them. Gilbert Levine, whose grandparents emigrated from Poland and whose mother-in-law was a survivor of Auschwitz, is a distinguished conductor who has performed with leading orchestras in North America, Europe and Israel. For 17 years Levine enjoyed a unique, and unlikely, relationship with the Polish-born John Paul, one that led him in 1994 to become the first American Jew to be granted a papal knighthood. Levine says it also played a role in his deciding to become more involved in his own Judaism. The connection between the pontiff and the maestro had much to do with the fostering of JewishCatholic relations that was a cornerstone of John Paul’s papacy. But it had little to do with formal meetings or dialogue sessions. Instead, from 1988 until John Paul’s death in 2005 at the age of 84, Levine worked closely with the Polish pope to produce a series of landmark classical music concerts at the Vatican and elsewhere. Their
aim was to use music as a tool to foster religious dialogue and reconciliation.
Courtesy of Wiley PR
Gilbert Levine with Pope John Paul II in an undated photo.
“The pope ennobled and enabled me to think that this was a mission that I should take with me for the rest of my life,” Levine told JTA in a telephone interview from his home in New York. “And I do, very gladly.” The performances included the unprecedented Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah held at the Vatican on Yom HaShoah in 1994. At the beginning of the concert, which featured the recitation of Kaddish by the actor Richard Dreyfuss, six Holocaust survivors lit six candles — one representing each of the 6 million Jewish vic-
tims. One of the survivors was Levine’s mother-in-law, Margit, who was born in Czechoslovakia and had lost 40 members of her family in the Holocaust. The pope “believed that wordless prayer was incredibly important, and I believed that music gave voice to that wordless prayer,” Levine said. I think he understood and came to understand through me that art can do a tremendous amount.” Levine recounted the story of his years working with John Paul in an intensely personal memoir titled “The Pope’s Maestro,” which was published last fall. The book traces a relationship that Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul’s longtime secretary, termed “a deep, spiritual friendship.” “If a Jewish kid from Brooklyn can have a spiritual friendship with the pope, then the world can learn something,” Levine said in a video presentation about the book. The friendship began in 1988, in the waning days of communism, when John Paul summoned Levine to a private audience at the Vatican shortly after Levine had become director of the philharmonic orchestra in John Paul’s beloved Krakow, the city that had been his archdiocese before he became pope in 1978. ROLE on page 22
In Prague, balancing MuslimJewish ties with shul leadership By Symi Rom-Rymer Jewish Telegraphic Agency PRAGUE (JTA) — On a cold December evening in 2009, 26year-old Karel Goldmann faced an uphill battle and he knew it. He had just proposed to his fellow synagogue board members a low-key, meet-and-greet between the members of Bejt Simcha, one of Prague’s progressive synagogues, and Emir Omi, the imam of Prague. Goldmann’s idea was to give members of his community a chance to learn about Islam from a Muslim leader. “I wanted to have Imam Omi over for tea and have him speak about Islam and its similarities with Judaism,” Goldmann told JTA. “I wanted members of Bejt Simcha to know that not all Muslims are terrorists.” But when the matter came to a vote, there was only one voice on the seven-member board in favor of the proposal: Goldmann’s. Self-effacing and with an easy laugh, Goldmann does not seem
the controversial type. Yet he has become one of the Jewish community of Prague’s most outspoken grassroots advocates of JewishMuslim dialogue at a time when such ideas are unpopular among many Czech Jews. In the Czech Republic, where the small Jewish community is apprehensive of Muslim-Jewish interaction, interfaith activities like those Goldmann supports are viewed with skepticism. “I want to be on good terms with Muslims, but can they claim the same?” asks Ivan Kohout, Bejt Simcha’s cantor. “Islamic fundamentalism is growing, and I have reservations about such dialogue.” It’s not too hard to find JewishMuslim dialogue in the United States, from national programs to events at individual synagogues. But in the Czech Republic, the little formal Jewish-Muslim interaction that exists is limited to top religious leaders. As with other communities in Europe, Jews in this community of 3,000 to 4,000 people are mostly
wary of Muslims. Muslims have been linked to anti-Semitic incidents on the continent, and many Europeans view Muslims as threatening the European way of life. But not Goldmann. He blogs for Idnes, the Czech Republic’s second-largest newspaper, about how prejudice and xenophobia plague both Jews and Muslims. He contributes to a magazine called Secrets of Islam. He writes articles in his synagogue’s magazine about similarities between Judaism and Islam and the insidiousness of anti-Islamic rhetoric. Even in his progressive congregation, it’s often a tough balance between being an advocate for Muslim-Jewish ties and a synagogue leader. Goldmann said his rabbi recently pulled him aside and said, “Karel, I know you and your articles are interesting, but I do hope you are not in touch with extremists.” PRAGUE on page 22
Courtesy of GPO/Flash90/JTA
Palestinian teenagers Amjad Mohammad Awad, left, and Hakim Mazen Awad have been arrested and allegedly confessed to murdering five members of the Fogel family in the Jewish West Bank settlement of Itamar, which is near their home in the Awarta village.
Arrest of two Palestinians for Itamar killings can’t console Fogels’ kin By Marcy Oster Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — They came armed with knives and wire cutters looking for a Jewish target. It was a Friday night, the Sabbath eve of March 11, and Palestinian teenagers Amjad Awad, 19, and Hakim Awad, 18, both from the Palestinian village of Awarta, hurried through the dark before climbing over the fence of the nearby Jewish settlement of Itamar, in the West Bank. The first house they entered was empty of people, but they found an M-16, magazines and a flak jacket. They took the materials with them. Next they entered the Fogels’ home. The attack that took place there would shock Israel and reverberate around the world. First they murdered 11-year-old Yoav and his 4-year-old brother, Elad. They continued on to the bedroom where the children’s parents, Ruth and Udi, were sleeping with 3-month-old Hadas. The Fogels struggled, but to no avail. It wasn’t until the killers heard Hadas cry that they realized a baby was in the room; they murdered her, too. Before leaving the house, the two men stole another M-16. Two other Fogel children — sons Roi, 8, and Yishai, 2 — were sleeping in a side bedroom and were spared. A daughter, Tamar, 12, returned home at about midnight from a youth group activity to discover the grisly scene. Meanwhile, the two killers returned to Awarta on foot and went to the home of Hakim’s uncle, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member Salah E-Sin Awad, and told him of their attack. The uncle helped them hide the stolen weapons and knives, and burn their bloody clothes. These were the allegations the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office
made Sunday, just before Passover, releasing details about the Fogels’ murders after the two Palestinian teens were arrested for the attack. Police said the teens confessed to the killings. The arrests close a circle but bring no consolation, relatives of the Fogels told Israeli media.
The arrests close a circle but bring no consolation, relatives of the Fogels told Israeli media. “We are very proud of the state and the security services,” Ruth Fogel’s brother, Yochai Ben Yishai, told the Israeli news outlet Ynet. “But on a personal level, there is no consolation. The pain remains sharp.” The Israeli military announced Sunday that Israeli security services — including the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security service and police — were involved in the teens’ arrest. “For the family this is not a complete answer, but without it they could not be given even a partial answer,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that “We will reach murderers anywhere.” Amjad, who worked as a laborer in Israel, and Hakim, a high school student, were arrested several days apart earlier this month. Amjad, who is not related to Hakim, reportedly said that he went to Itamar to “die a martyr’s death.” ARREST on page 19
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
SOCIAL LIFE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
11 BIRTH
and David Levine are YOUNG LEADERS AND A VISION FOR THE Patti pleased to announce the of their daughter FUTURE LAUDED AT MAJOR GIFTS DINNER birth Madyson (Maddy) Danielle
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Major Gifts Dinner was held on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 in the Amberley Room at the Mayerson JCC. Attended by 160 key community stakeholders, the event was an opportunity to thank the community’s many Major Donors who contribute generously to the Federation’s Community Campaign, providing essential funding for community programs that help families, youth, seniors, Jewish Life and Learning, Jewish community relations, Israel and more.
John Lipps, son of Harold and Debbie Lipps. An August 27 wedding is planned at the Anderson Center, Anderson, Ohio.
Levine, born on January 24, 2011. Maddy has a big sister Paige, who is four. She is the granddaughter of Rita Lucas and the late Millard Lucas and Sue and Gilbert Levine, all of Cincinnati, Ohio.
ENGAGEMENTS
The event began with the presentation of the Young Leadership Awards, given annually to outstanding young lay volunteers who have accepted key leadership positions in the community; and who demonstrate the capacity to carry the community forward into the future. Debbie Brant was presented with the Clara Greller Award, Danny Lipson received the Kate S. Mack Award; and the Allen A. Cowett Award was given to Chase Kohn. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PG.12
Aaron Binik-Thomas and Alyssa Moss
hyllis Binik-Thomas and Michael Thomas of Cincinnati announce the engagement of their son Aaron Binik-Thomas to Alyssa Bethany Moss, daughter of Caroline Moss and Howard Moss of Cleveland. A summer 2012 wedding is planned.
P Melanie Wiener and John Lipps
orry and Michele Wiener of Cincinnati, Ohio announce the engagement of their daughter Melanie Rachel Wiener of Cincinnati, Ohio, to
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L-R: Danny Lipson, Deborah Brant, Chase Kohn - Young Leadership Award Winners
Tedd Friedman and Nina Paul - 2011 Jewish Federation of Cincinnati Annual Community Campaign Co-Chairs
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FUTURE LAUDED
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Ken and Leslie Miller, Fran Coleman (Women’s Philanthropy Chair) and Craig Coleman
Harry Davidow, Abby and Danny Lipson, April Davidow
Eric and Jennifer Dauer, Mona and Dick Kerstine
Susan Harris, Beth and Louis Guttman, Jeff Harris
David Slaughter, PNC Bank; Tedd Friedman, 2011 Annual Community Campaign Co-Chair; Tom Luzietti and Catherine Bradford, PNC Bank
Mark and Marcie Kanter, Janet and Ken Cohen
Nathan Bachrach, Bonnie and Michael Fishel
Barry and Patsy Kohn, Hank Schneider
Arna Fisher, Guest Speaker Cindy Chazan, Bret Caller
Linda and Gary Greenberg
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Padrino, family fun at the neighborhood pizzeria By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor Real family restaurants are not extinct. Yes, we have the chains, the fast food, drive throughs, take outs, all bulging with convenience as well as sometimes questionable ingredients. What happened to the family neighborhood restaurant? These far and few between dining spots are scattered throughout the villages and towns. But they are hard to find unless you are familiar with the neighborhood. You won’t see them in downtown Cincinnati. Those dining spots do have charm, but it wouldn’t be a great place to take the youngsters as they probably wouldn’t recognize the food choices on the menu. Welcome to Padrino in Milford, on the picturesque Main Street. Another gem—from clever culinary man Hunter Thomas—is alive and well on the eastern side of town. For folks who have been following the dining scorecard in the Greater Cincinnati area, Thomas also owns 20 Brix, three doors down the street. These dining spots are so impressive that I lamented his location and asked if he would consider setting up eateries in my part of town. In 2010, Cincinnati Magazine named Padrino one of the top 10 new restaurants. This family gem of an eatery has only been in existence for two years. I know it isn’t politically correct to discuss pizza during Passover so I apologize. Our urge for that crusty divine taste is often suspended for many during these eight days and nights. But if there was an award for the crispiest thin crust, I’d gladly nominate Padrino. In fact, I asked Thomas how he managed to have such a snap crackling base for his pizza. Thomas shrugged slightly, a smile spread across his amiable face and he said, “I prick holes with a fork in the crust before baking. It prevents the dough from fully rising.” I believe this process is called “docking.” Such a simple explanation and voila, the outcome yields a crunchy carb lover’s delight. Food, fun and spirits make this restaurant shine. Pizza lovers must try the vegetarian option: fresh tomato, spinach, fresh mushrooms, roasted red and yellow peppers, green and black olives, house cheese blend and marinara sauce; an individual 10-inch is $11 or the larger 15-inch for $15.50. For lighter menu options, the L.L. Salad will satisfy — fresh salad mix, feta cheese, craisins, candied almonds, tomatoes, red onion tossed in balsamic vinaigrette, served with a garlic knot; a roll with a crisp topping of parmesan and olive oil, for
(Clockwise) Hunter Thomas creates space age hot sauce; Padrino offers comfortable dining with family and friends; Delightful salads are a lighter choice; Don’t forget dessert; Crisp and crunchy crust yields tasty pizza combinations.
$7. For daring appetites, the meatball sliders sounded tasty — four garlic knots thick and overflowing with handmade meatballs and fresh basil for $7.50. Tired of red sauce on your pizza and pasta? Padrino won’t allow your taste buds to be bored. The White Pizza — a blend of whole milk ricotta, house cheese blend, fresh mushrooms and peperoncini might be to your liking. Or try Pasta Agli Olio Pasta — baby spinach, Roma tomato, fresh garlic, crushed red pepper and olive oil with parmesan will also tempt the gourmands. Of course, the roasted vegetable open face melt sandwich is sure fire comfort food. Spinach, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers on grilled garlic bread with marinara
sauce and mozzarella will likely yield a day’s requirements of fruits and vegetables. Thomas wants you to know about the Padrino chicken wings and Dark Star sauce. No, this is not a science fiction match up. Thomas has created an organically made hot sauce of “stellar proportions.” In four flavors, mild, parmesan garlic, hot honey mustard and hot, this sauce perks up any food. All Dark Star sauces are available for purchase. Food isn’t the only showstopper at Padrino. Live entertainment is on the marquee every Saturday night. Put the young ones to bed, hire a babysitter for a few hours and stroll to Padrino. The music begins at 9:30 p.m., with NO COVER charge. The kitchen shuts
down but pizza is sold by the slice, and wine and beer are available to quench your inevitable thirst. Matt Snow “The Cincinnati Sinatra,” sounding like the original crooner himself, performs for two seatings the last Tuesday of the month. With showtimes at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., R.S.V.P. to guarantee your seat. The wine, liquor and beer selections at Padrino reveal Thomas’ sophistication with affordable choices merged with good taste. “Best wine list of any inexpensive Italian restaurant in the city,” says Thomas. “I chose a popular grape in Italy, Gru-Montepulciano d’abruzzo, $5 a glass, known as the pizza wine.” The favorite craft beer—frequently ordered— is an oddly named one called
Smutty Nose. Happy Hour is from 4 – 6 p.m. Thomas is also experimenting with cocktails. He infuses vodkas with sage and natural flavoring. By soaking lemon and pomegranate, he has created a basil lemon martini. Catering options are available. Wow your friends and family with your cooking via Padrino. Check the website for menu items. Family friendly festive dining — now that is Italian. Filling and fun, three cheers for eating in the neighborhood. Mr. Rogers himself would be proud. Padrino 111 Main Street Milford, OH 45150 513-965-0100
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OPINION
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Springtime for Hamas It wasn’t reported in The New York Times or Washington Post for some reason, but on March 19 Hamas security agents raided the Gaza offices of Reuters, seized reporters’ cameras, beat an employee with a metal bar, and announced their intention to throw another (employee, that is, not metal bar) out a window. What brought about the theft, assault, and threatened defenestration was the fact that a reporter in the building had filmed a demonstration taking place on the street below. A demonstration, it should be noted, in favor of reuniting Hamas, which is pledged to Israel’s destruction, with its current rival Fatah, which administers the West Bank and is, at least in principle, at peace with Israel. Mere days later, the atmosphere had clouded — maybe cleared would be a better description. First, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that his boss considered unity with Hamas so important that even the withdrawal of American aid to the Palestinian Authority — currently hundreds of millions of dollars annually — would not derail a planned re-alliance of the two Palestinian parties. Then a prominent Hamas leader, Mahmoud al-Zahar, visiting Egypt for the first time since its former President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation, announced that Egypt is actively involved in forging a reconciliation between his group and Fatah. Shortly thereafter, the Arab League moved to endorse the effort, offering to host the necessary talks. It’s springtime for Hamas. And the season has never smelled so bad. The end of March brought us something else too: Hamas’ and Fatah’s reaction to reports that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)—the U.N. arm that provides services to “Palestinian refugees”—was planning to include a short study of the Holocaust in its schools’ human rights curricula. The notion that the 200,000 children in U.N.-funded Gazan schools and thousands more in other UNRWA-administered areas might be apprised about what happened to the Jews of Europe in the 1930s and 1940s was apparently too much for the Palestinian parties to digest. “Playing with the education of our children in the Gaza Strip is a red line,” Hamas Education Minister Mohammed Asqoul declared, adding that this group
would block any such plan “regardless of the price.” Zakaria al-Agha, the leader of Fatah in Gaza and a member of Fatah’s central committee, put it boldly: “Teaching the Holocaust to Palestinian students in U.N. schools is unacceptable.” The Associated Press reported that approximately a dozen Gazan schoolteachers who were interviewed decried the plan too, and “warned of rebellion” were any attempt made to implement it. None of them need worry. Holocaust education no longer seems to be on the UNRWA’s plate, if ever it seriously was. The agency’s representative in Jordan was quoted by a paper in that country as asserting that no curricular changes, in the end, were being planned. Witnessing such unhidden contempt for history puts one in the mind of recalling part of President Obama’s 2009 speech in Cairo. After declaring that America’s “strong bonds with Israel” are “unbreakable,” he took pains to remind the Islamic world about the Holocaust. Noting that he was headed the very next day to Buchenwald, “part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich,” he pointedly pointed out that the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust was greater “than the entire Jewish population of Israel today.” And he continued, equally pointedly, that denying the Holocaust “is baseless, ignorant, and hateful,” and that “threatening Israel with destruction — or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews — is deeply wrong.” Some observers criticized Mr. Obama for, as they chose to see it, eliding the inherent Jewish claim to Eretz Yisrael. (Presumably he should have quoted the first Rashi in the Chumash.) But, to less jaundiced ears, his words were a worthy rebuke of Arabdom’s willful ignorance and Jew-hatred. Not to mention, a worthy introduction to his main point: “Palestinians,” he said, “must abandon violence.” Should Hamas’ fetid springtime indeed bloom, and we become witness to the recreation of its unholy alliance with Fatah, one hopes Mr. Obama will well recall Hamas’ foundational pledge to destroy Israel, the Palestinian non-narrative of the Holocaust — and his own trenchant words in Cairo. (Rabbi Shafran is an editor at large and columnist for Ami Magazine. This column is reproduced with permission from Ami Magazine.)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, I was distressed to read the “Opinion” by Rabbi Rudin in the March 24 Israelite about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unfortunately, it was too much opinion and too little factual. I lived in Hiroshima and researched and published with the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) for three years in the 1960s, not simply Dr. Rudin’s monthly visits to these sites. Facts that are wrong in the Opinion piece include that ABCC (always consisting of mostly Japanese employees) was not “closed in 1975” but rather renamed into the Radiation Effects Research Facility (RERF) under Japanese leadership and has continued in its work from then until now of evaluating the dangers from radi-
ation. The cooperation of the Japanese people in these studies has been excellent. The U.S. Public Health Service was not the originator but rather the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Most importantly, the results from radiation quoted by Rabbi Rudin are closer to that reported in the fantasy press than in scientific publications. While we know that radiation has the capability of producing birth defects, the current RERF website states “Our studies have not [repeat: “not”] found thus far any inherited genetic effects from parental radiation exposure among the children of A-bomb survivors.” Note, for one example, that a picture of a child born with a birth defect appeared in the popular press but without commenting that an older sibling with precisely the same defect was born several years before the bomb.
The comment that the medical problems were “far in excess of the non-exposed group” is an exaggeration of the actual facts. None of these statements are to imply that there are not important dangers in using radiation, including especially increased cancer rates, even as there are dangers in air pollution and global warming. The best answer I know is to carefully balance the risks and advantages of each technology using the best facts that we have available. Rabbi Rudin may be an expert in “building the Tower of Babel” but has demonstrated that he does not know the facts about nuclear radiation. Ralph Buncher, Sc.D. Professor (Emeritus) of Biostatistics and Epidemiology University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
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T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: SPLITTING OF RED SEA (SHMOT 13:17—15:21) 1. Who would be honored before Pharaoh? Why? a) Hashem b) Moshe c) Pharaoh’s generals 2. How large an army did Pharaoh take to chase the Children of Israel? a) 600 chariots b) Infantry only c) The whole army 3. What promise did Moshe make to plague of hail. Rashi In addition, Pharaoh took his whole army. 3. C 14:13 The Talmud learns that it is a prohibition to live in Egypt. But, it is permitted to go for business. Maimonides 4. A, B 14:31 Fear can be interpreted as fear of Hashem’s awesome greatness and belief that Hashem would take care of them in the desert.
By Rabbi Avi Shafran Contributing Columnist
the Children of Israel? a) Hashem would provide Manna in the desert b) They would reach Canaan in less than a year c) They would not return to Egypt 4. How does the Torah describe the Children of Israel's relationship to Hashem? a) Belief b) Fear c) Love ANSWERS 1. A 14:4 Hashem’s name becomes great when he exacts punishment of the wicked. Rashi 2. C 14:7,9. Most of the animals were killed in the plague of hail (Shmot 9:25). The Egyptians who feared Hashem hid their animals before the
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Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
JEWISH LIFE
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
17
Sedra of the Week By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
SHABBAT SHALOM: SHABBAT CHOL HAMOED PESACH
Efrat, Israel — On Seder night, we are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Mishna tells us that the retelling should be done in response to questions posed by the children. If they have no questions, we teach them the four questions, which form the “Ma Nishtana.” Today, at every seder table the questions are asked and the answers discussed. But there is one question which has always disturbed me: “On all other nights we do not dip even once and on this night of Passover we dip twice.” This particular question is never answered within the Maggid portion of the seder. The fact that we do have “dips” as a kind of ‘forshpeis’ to our seder meal is certainly in keeping with the Passover feast, but why our specific dips of karpas (green vegetable) in haroset; (haroset was used by the Rambam, Yemenite community and many other communities as well) and then the Bitter Herbs in haroset? Another question. We all enjoy a spirited singing of “Dayenu,” the quintessential thanksgiving to G-d for every step through which He guided us on the road to redemption. “Had He taken us out of Egypt and not wrought so many judgments against the Egyptians, it would have been sufficient – dayenu … had He given us their money but had He not split the sea for us, it would have been sufficient — dayenu.” However there is one line in this song of praise which has always troubled me: “Had He brought us in front of Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah, it would have been sufficient — dayenu.” In what sense would it have been enough? What value could there have been for G-d to have taken us close to the mountain without revealing to us His laws?! The fact is that the entire drama of the servitude and exodus from Egypt began with an act of “dipping” and concluded with an act of “dipping.” The Israelites initially made their way down to Egypt as a result of the fact that Joseph the son of Jacob, was sold into Egyptian servitude by his brothers. Since the brothers had to offer some explanation for Joseph’s mysterious disappearance, they dipped his special coat of striped colors which his father had given him (the very word “karpas” is used in the Scroll of Esther 1:6 to describe such a fancy cloth and is probably the ini-
Hence, some Jews have the tradition of dipping the karpas not only in salt-water symbolizing the tears that the Jewish people shed but also in the red haroset, which according to the Jerusalem Talmud symbolizes blood, expresses the tragedy of Jewish internal hatred — the root cause of our exiles and persecutions. tial derivation of the Biblical Hebrew passim) in the blood of a slain goat. When Jacob saw the bloodied garment of his beloved son, he assumed that Joseph’s body had been torn apart by a wild beast. Our Sages teach us that it was the sin of the brotherly strife and hatred which was responsible for the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt (B.T. Shabbat 10a). Hence, some Jews have the tradition of dipping the karpas not only in salt-water symbolizing the tears that the Jewish people shed but also in the red haroset, which according to the Jerusalem Talmud symbolizes blood, expresses the tragedy of Jewish internal hatred — the root cause of our exiles and persecutions. The second dipping took place at the end of the Egyptian enslavement, and the beginning of the Hebrew emancipation. At this time, each Hebrew family slaughtered a lamb in preparation for their exodus; “You will then take a bunch of hyssop and dip it into the blood (of the lamb) which will be placed in a basin. Place some blood on the beam over the door and the two doorposts after you have dipped your finger in some of the blood in the basin. Not a single Israelite may go out of the door of his house until morning.” (Exodus 12:22) The blood of the lamb represented the willingness of the Israelites to sacrifice an Egyptian god (for such was the lamb) to their higher belief in the Lord of redemption and freedom. They performed this Pascal sacrifice during the time of the killing of the first born of the Egyptians — a plague from which the Hebrews were saved by the blood that was on their doorposts. The Israelites were all united in their
commitment to the Almighty and fulfillment of this command, including their all remaining in their homes despite the fact that the Egyptian streets were ripe for looting in the frenzied hysteria which most certainly accompanied the death of the Egyptian first born. The second act of dipping served as a tikkun or repair of the first; the sin of brotherly strife found its repentance in the form of brotherly unity, by which merit we were redeemed from Egypt. This explains both dippings at the seder and intensifies the fact that if only we as a nation could be united together, no force on earth would be able to harm us. When the Bible describes the momentous Revelation at Sinai, we are told, “They had departed from Rephidim and had arrived at the Sinai desert, where they (the Israelites, in the plural) encamped in the desert; and Israel encamped there (in the singular) opposite the mountain” (Exodus 19:2). The change from plural to singular within one phrase is quite remarkable. The classical commentator Rashi comments, “As if they were all one individual with one heart.” It was their very unity of purpose and commitment — their togetherness as a nation which enabled them to merit the Revelation. This I believe is the meaning of the “Dayenu” song: Had the Almighty merely brought us in front of Mount Sinai with singleness of goal and united in spirit, even before He gave us the Torah, that unity would have been sufficient!
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JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
Jewz in the Newz By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: ON TV AND BLU-RAY Every year, for decades, ABC broadcasts the 1956 movie, “The Ten Commandments,” starring Charlton Heston as Moses. It usually beats all the competition in the ratings. This year, the showing will be on Saturday, April 23, starting at 7 p.m.. Late in March, a special edition of the film was released on BluRay disc. The new edition was made with the participation of Fraser Heston, a director and writer who is the son of the late Charlton Heston. He says the new edition is not simply a re-issue. Rather, “it was a painstaking job, a complete shot by shot restoration.” Fraser Heston, by the way, was three months old when he appeared as “Baby Moses” in the 1956 film. DONALD TRUMP “INVESTIGATES” Donald Trump is getting a lot of publicity for his embrace of the “birther” movement — the ludicrous claim that President Obama was born somewhere outside the United States. Trump seems to imply that he has the resources to find some “smoking gun” that has eluded others who have found nothing (substantive) that contradicts the documentation provided by the State of Hawaii that the President was born in Hawaii. Meanwhile, “the Donald” has portrayed himself as a big opponent of Islamic terrorism and those in the “constellation” of that movement. But the “big investigator” couldn’t be bothered to check-out actor Gary Busey before giving him a plum slot on the current edition of Trump’s NBC program, “Celebrity Apprentice.” Busey costarred in the big-budget 2006 Turkish film, “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq.” He played a JewishAmerican doctor who worked with a sadistic American army officer (played by Billy Zane). Busey’s character removed body organs from living Iraqi Muslims and shipped their organs to Orthodox Jews in London, New York and Tel Aviv. Labeled viciously antiSemitic by many media outlets, the film didn’t get a general theater release in America. So, Busey and Zane’s immoral decision to appear in this film isn’t well known. Maybe “the Donald” should stop looking for official seals on birth certificates and ask Busey if he has any comment about taking a big paycheck to star in a “blood libel”
film (A film which Islamic terrorists must have loved and probably have used as a recruiting tool.) CASTING AND CHANGES NOTES WOODY ALLEN, 75, still has a great reputation among actors even though most of his films since 1995 have not been critical hits. So, when Allen asks a fairly big-name actor or actress to be in an upcoming movie, they usually happily accept, although they know they will only earn union-scale for the role. It was just announced that Allen’s next film, to be made in Rome this summer, will co-star Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page (“Juno”), and Oscarnominee JESSE EISENBERG, 27 (“The Social Network”). “Law and Order” creator Dick Wolf (who isn’t Jewish, by the way) upset a lot of people, and virtually every New York-based actor, by pulling the plug on the original “Law and Order” series last year in favor of his new series, “Law and Order: Los Angeles.” Cost seems to be the main reason — it is cheaper to film in Los Angeles (especially outdoor scenes). Every broadcast network show is looking to go cheaper because competition from cable, the internet, etc., has reduced ratings and ad revenue. You might notice that even though “Law and Order: SVU” is still filmed in New York; there are far fewer outdoor scenes than there used to be. (Also cut to the bone are the roles — and therefore the salaries — of “SVU” supporting actors like RICHARD BELZER, who plays Detective Munch). The Los Angeles version was launched last fall to pretty bad critical reviews and fairly anemic ratings. Wolf decided to re-configure the show and pulled it from the air in January. It was re-launched on Monday, April 11 (10PM, NBC). Several actors were dropped from the cast and Alfred Molina, who played an asst. district attorney, “decided” to go back to being a police detective (his former job). Still around, however, are RACHEL TICOTIN, 52, as Detective Gonzales, and COREY STOLL, 35, as Detective Jaruszalski. Ironically, both are native New Yorkers. Ticotin, who has been married to Jewish actor PETER STRAUSS, 64, since 1998, is the daughter of a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother. Stoll was mostly a New York theater actor before landing this TV role. His first big-time stage role was in “Intimate Apparel,” (2004) in which he co-starred as a Jewish lingerie manufacturer.
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FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Joseph Schwartz of Wabash, Ind., en route from a four month’s sojourne at Palm Beach, Fla., was in the city for a few days, to visit his sister, Mrs. Mendel Swarts, of East Walnut Hills. Mr. and Mrs. Huttenbauer, 3406 Harvey Avenue, Avondale, have announced the engagement of their daughter, Clara, to Mr. August Levy, of this city. They will receive, Sunday, April 30, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Magnus have sent out invitations for the marriage of their daughter, Miss Kate Alexander
Magnus, to Henry Gustav Mosler, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Mosler, of Avondale. The wedding will be handsomely celebrated at the Sinton on the evening of April 27. A public Seder was given at the Jewish Settlement on Thursday evening, April 13. The affair was the most striking illustration of what the Settlement is achieving in breaching over the differences in the various classes of social standing. The humble peddler sat at the side of the banker, the educated next to the ignorant. There were
215 guests, among whom were a number of prominent families, with their children, who came to participate in the old-time ceremony. The services were conducted by Dr. G. Deutsch and Dr. J. Mandelberg. Mr. Robert Marx was toastmaster for the evening. Dr. Phillipson made an eloquent address; the other speakers of the evening were Mr. Nicholas Klein, Dr. Nathan Isaacs, Mr. A. A. Landesco, Dr. Bogen, Miss Minnie Goldberg, Mr. W.S. Homes and Mr. A. Block, who spoke in Yiddish. — April 20, 1911
75 Years Ago Among the Cincinnati artists who will have paintings and sculpture on display in the third annual exhibition of American Art, at the Cincinnati Art Museum this week and through May 10th, are Messrs. Kenneth Brown, Albert Sway and Dr. Josef Warkany. Mrs. Richard Morse (Marjorie Mosler) and young son of Newton Center, Mass., are the guests of her mother, Mrs. Walter Greenebaum. Dr. Edward Alberts, 3547 Rosedale Place, has been appointed first lieutenant in the U. S. Medical Reserve Corps.
Miss Beverly Auer Dana, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Dana, gave a dramatic reading over WCPO Monday afternoon, April 20th, in the Conservatory of Music program. She is a pupil of Reba Gill Borland of the Conservatory. Betty Huttenbauer, 8-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Huttenbauer, won first prize in the original composition group of the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs. For the past several years, Betty has been under the tutelage of Miss Jane Snow, teacher and pianist.
On Sunday, April 19th, in Atlanta, Ga., the wedding of Miss Hermina Baum and Mr. Julian Wolf, formerly of Cincinnati, was solemnized at the Standard Club, Dr. David Marx officiating. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Baum, of Atlanta. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Moses Wolf, of Burton Woods Lane. Their son and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Richard, and little son, W. Arthur Richard, Jr., accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Wolf to Atlanta for the marriage and its attendant festivities. — April 23, 1936
50 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Schneider announce the engagement of their daughter, Harlene Ann, to Dr. William Cohen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Max Cohen, of Toledo. Miss Schneider attended the University of Illinois and is a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi. She is a graduate of the Jewish Hospital School of XRay Technology. Dr. Cohen is a graduate of the Ohio
State University College of Medicine. He is completing his residence in dermatology at General Hospital here. Mrs. Ida Okrent, 7337 Brookcrest Drive, passed away Sunday, April 16. She was 99. Survivors include six sons, David L., Julius H., Sam, Max, Herbert and Milton, all of Cincinnati seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Okrent was born in Russia dur-
ing the reign of Czar Alexander II, and would have been 100 in October. Joseph Salinger, Hotel Sheraton Gibson, passed away Thursday, April 13, at Jewish Hospital. He was 94. Survivors include a nephew, Sidney Hessel, Washington, Conn. Mr. Salinger was Cincinnati representative for several New York textile firms for 60 years before his retirement in 1950. — April 20, 1961
25 Years Ago Gerald (Jerry) Springer, anchor newsman of WLWT’s “News 5,” and Sylvia Samis, assistant concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, will be among the participants at the Yom HaShoa Memorial Service of the Six Million, Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. at Golf Manor Synagogue, 6442 Stover Avenue. Mr. Springer was born in London, England, the son of German-Jewish refugees parents, who immigrated to New York when Jerry was 5. He graduated from Northwestern University Law School in 1968 and soon thereafter was appointed as presidential campaign aid to Sen. Robert F.
Kennedy. Upon Kennedy’s death, he moved to Cincinnati and joined the law firm of Frost and Jacobs. Mr. Springer was first elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 1971 and was elected mayor in 1977. In November 1982, he joined Channel 5 as political reporter and commentator. Fran Cohen, Ruth Claire Feibel, Selma Marcus, and Elise Mesh will serve as honorary co-chairmen of the special tribute dinner honoring Mona Kerstine, announced Ellen Greenberger, chairman of the dinner. Brandeis University Women’s Committee will install their new officers and board at the spring luncheon-auction
sale on Monday, May 5, at 11:30 a.m., at the carrousel Inn Regency Ballroom. Nominating committee chairman, Peggy Wolf, announced the following slate of officers: Honorary president, Evelyn Pollak; president, Thelma Tash; study groups vice president, Anita Marks; membership vice president, Sheri Levin; budget vice president, Dian Deutsch; financial secretary Helen Cohen; recording secretary, Anne Heldman; correspondence secretary, Carol Demetrion; treasurer, Mimi Moskowitz; assistant treasurer and parliament, Joyce Weiner; publicity, Rita Edlin; nominating committee chairman, Evelyn Pollak. — April 24, 1986
10 Years Ago After 76 years at the same location, Weil Funeral Home has relocated for the second time. The funeral home will open its new facility April 29 at 8350 Cornell Road in Symmes Township, and a public open house will be held Sunday, May 6. Weil Funeral Home was founded in 1912, and originally was located on Central Avenue in the West End. In 1925, the Weil family purchased the present site on Reading Road in North Avondale. “In order to serve the public in the
best possible manner, we feel it is very important to be located in the area where our families now reside,” said Robert Weil. “I also believe our new facility will help us serve the public in a more professional, convenient manner.” Eugene Pridonoff, an internationallyacclaimed pianist and Wyoming resident, will perform his second solo piano recital in two years Tuesday, May 1, at 8 p.m. in Werner Recital Hall, located in the College Conservatory of Music complex at the University of Cincinnati.
His program will include Haydn’s “Sonata in C Major,” Beethoven’s “Sonata Op 109,” Bartok’s “Three Rondoson Folk Tunes” and Liszt’s “Sonata in B Minor.” Admission is free. Pridonoff has performed internationally and with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic. Later in May, he will go with his wife, Elizabeth, to Korea to perform and teach, and in July, they will go to Prague for the 2001 Prague International Piano Master Classes. — April 19, 2001
CLASSIFIEDS
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 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 YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.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
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CONGREGATION from page 1 exudes,” said Frankel, a lifelong Cincinnati resident. “For a congregation that literally has been in existence for just a few weeks we have accomplished more in that time period than one could ever have imagined.” “Our goal is to have a permanent location in a relatively short time line to accommodate the tremendous number of people that have been joining us.” Shabbos morning services will take place at 9 a.m. at the congregation’s interim location, the Regional Institute for Torah and Secular Studies, on Losantiville Road. Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, as well as Shabbos Mincha/Ma’ariv on Saturday will be held in a congregant’s home. Each week, a guest speaker from the congregation delivers a Torah ISRAELITE from page 1 from lectures and events on sports, arts, entertainment, literature and more. “We are delighted The American Israelite is partnering with us to help promote all the wonderful events that we are offering for Jewish American Heritage Month,” noted Abby Schwartz, JAHM’s Cincinnati-
• • • • •
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(513) 531-9600 insight following Shabbos morning services. A daily Shacharit minyan takes place at 6:35 a.m. at a congregant’s home on Elbrook Avenue. Next on the new congregation’s post-Pesach “to do” list is finding a site for its rapidly expanding membership and conducting a nationwide search for a rabbi to serve as its spiritual leader. Dr. Nachum Klafter, another member of the congregation, who is serving as secretary for its board said the name “Sha’arei Torah,” means Gates of Torah. “We chose this name to reflect our belief that there are many paths to a life of Torah, and we hope to create a synagogue where people from many backgrounds would feel comfortable,” Klafter said. For more information on Sha’arei Torah, visit the Sha’arei Torah of Cincinnati website. based national coordinator. “It is fitting that The American Israelite is our local media sponsor, as they are the oldest Jewish publication west of the Alleghenies.” Also, congratulations to Jim Levinson, this week’s “like” us on Facebook contest winner. Jim has won a $50 gift certificate to Embers Restaurant. Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook for your chance to win.
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
CONFERENCE from page 1 Strategic Affairs Moshe Yaalon, Wall Street Journal Foreign Affairs Columnist Bret Stephens; and Jewish Educator Arna Poupko Fisher. TV superstar Larry King will receive a special award at Sunday night’s Tree of Life™ gala. ARREST from page 10 The suspects have been identified as members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, like their uncle and several members of their families, some of whom were arrested as accomplices. But Israeli authorities said it appears the two murderers did not act on behalf of the terrorist organization. Dozens of residents of Awarta had been detained by Israeli security services in recent weeks in an effort to identify the Fogels’ murderers.
The conference is open to the public and will be held at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. Local activists Nina and Eddie Paul will be given the Tree of Life™ award at a dinner during the conference which marks the first time this major dinner has been held at a National Conference. Awarta village council chief Kais Awad, speaking to Ynet, demanded an international inquiry into the arrests, saying he has “major doubts over the Israeli findings” and that the murder confessions were obtained under duress. “They’re children; it isn’t possible that they committed this awful act,” he said. Several Israeli lawmakers from the Likud and National Union parties reportedly called for the death penalty, which has never been used in Israel in terrorism cases. Israel’s only judicial execution was of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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Pinter’s ‘Ashes to Ashes’ to be performed, discussed at HUC By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor On April 30 and May 1, Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter’s play “Ashes to Ashes” will be performed in the Scheuer Chapel of Hebrew Union College. The 1996 one act piece focuses on a modern London pair — played by local
actors Dale Hodges and Kevin Crowley — where one character interrogates the other, and the interrogated person relates not only their abusive past to their examiner, but all worldly hostilities. Central to “Ashes to Ashes” is the memory of an episode of political violence in a setting evocative of the Holocaust. According to the play’s
brochure, “Ashes to Ashes is ambiguous and layered, exploring trauma, the plasticity of memory and what it means to be human.” The play is about 40 minutes in length. Both performances will be followed by a discussion led by Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute’s (CPI) Dr. Jacob Lindy acting as moderator, with
University of Cincinnati’s Judaic Studies Holocaust expert Dr. Gila Safran Naveh as a discussant. On April 30, the dialogue will be followed by light refreshments and an introduction of documents from the American Jewish Archives, and on May 1, in addition to the AJA documents, there will be a full buffet reception.
Mary VanAusdall, CPI’s executive director, hopes both evenings will be “mentally and socially stimulating.” “We who watched the trauma of the last century and who see this play find our associations taking us in highly individual directions, yet we all, witnesses and participants, share a whole,” noted Dr. Lindy.
‘Positively Ninety’ exhibit opens in Sharonville A photo exhibit by Connie Springer centering on the resilience of people in their 90s is having its seventh area showing. The exhibit will be on view at the Sharonville Fine Arts
Center’s Westheimer Gallery until May 21. On Sunday, May 1, the kickoff of Aging Month, there will be an artist reception and book signing from 12 - 2 p.m. at the gallery.
First designated in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy as “Senior Citizens’ Month,” it has traditionally been a time to acknowledge the contributions of older persons to our country.
Springer has published a book based on the exhibit and will have copies on hand for purchase as well as posters featuring all the nonagenarians. The hours of the gallery are Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and by appointment. For further information, call The Sharonville Fine Arts Center.
WASSERMAN from page 1
“She is so, so excited to be Jewish,” said Shelley Rood, who worked as a legislative assistant in Wasserman Schultz’s office and is now a senior legislative associate at the Jewish Federations of North America. “She really enjoys working with Jewish organizations because she believes their priorities for America are right on.” Wasserman Schultz arrived at politics through Jewish activism, which has been a centerpiece of her career. The same year Wasserman Schultz was running for her first legislative position, the Florida House in 1992, she joined the National Jewish Democratic Council as a staffer leading its Florida operation. “It was a regional office where you had one person on her own,” Steve Gutow, then the NJDC director, said of Wasserman Schultz, who was just 25 at the time. “But all the things we wanted to happen, happened. She had a strong sense of self; she had a mind of her own.” That single-mindedness and willingness to work with what she had shepherded her through stints in both Florida houses, and then for Congress after her old boss, Peter Deutsch, quit his Fort Lauderdalearea district for an unsuccessful
U.S. Senate run in 2004. She won handily and was immediately picked by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), then the minority leader in the House, as a leader. Pelosi asked Wasserman Schultz to push potential first-timers past the finish line in 2006. That’s the year Wasserman Schultz formed friendships with Kirsten Gillibrand, who won a seat in upstate New York, and with Gabrielle Giffords, who won an Arizona seat (Gillibrand is now a U.S. senator). Wasserman Schultz’s tireless work with both women was critical to winning both races in districts that might easily have swung Republican. That helped Democrats sweep the House that year and won Wasserman Schultz the chief deputy whip job in her second term, and the plum spot on the Appropriations Committee. It also led to close friendships and regular lunches for the three relatively young female lawmakers. When an assailant shot Giffords in the head in January, Wasserman Schultz and Gillibrand were among the first to fly to her bedside, and they were there when she pronounced her first words since the shooting: a request for toast.
Giffords’ chief of staff, Pia Carusone, says Wasserman Schultz has been “invaluable” in supporting the staff. Wasserman Schultz and Giffords shared many interests, Carusone said, but exploring their shared Judaism was critical. “There are not that many women in office, and not so many Jewish women, so it has been a nice friendship,” Carusone told JTA. Wasserman Schultz is seen as a team player. She was a strident leader in the 2008 primary campaign for Hillary Rodham Clinton, and easily shifted to Team Obama when Clinton withdrew — a shift Obama has now repaid. Republicans deride her as a partisan. Hours after the announcement that she’d be the next party chair, the Republican Jewish Coalition issued a statement citing her connection with J Street, a liberal group that calls itself proIsrael, pro-peace but which the RJC describes as marginal and anti-Israel, to question her bona fides. “In blindly conferring legitimacy on fringe groups like J Street, she has raised serious questions about her own credibility and judgment,” RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said.
Wasserman Schultz has praised J Street a handful of times, and she had addressed the organization at least once. Capitol Hill insiders dismissed the flap as RJC politicking — Brooks’ statement resulted in immediate praise for Wasserman Schultz from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and from the Jewish Federations of North America. Neither organization is prone to praise promotions to hyperpolitical jobs, so the mere issuance of the statements was a clear establishment message to the RJC to pipe down. As for Wasserman Schultz, she’s not afraid to take hard shots. Last October, appearing on “Fox News Sunday” with Rep. Eric Cantor (RVa.), then the minority whip and the only Republican Jewish lawmaker in Congress, she chided him for not repudiating a Republican candidate in Ohio who had dressed up in Nazi regalia for SS re-enactments. Cantor repudiated the candidate, and then Wasserman Schultz suggested he was succumbing to her on-air pressure. “You know good and well that I don’t support anything like that,” an annoyed Cantor said.
Conservative interest in promoting kashrut, rabbis in the movement say. “Our rabbis are as knowledgable about kashrut as their Orthodox colleagues, and care about it as much as they do,” said Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the movement’s main rabbinical group. “But our emphasis is on raising Jewish adherence to kashrut observance rather than professional ritual kashrut supervision. Magen Tzedek is our unique contribution to building awareness around the impact that kashrut is intended to have upon our full development as Jews.” The Magen Tzedek is being tested at three kosher plants to see how well the auditing process works.
Once testing concludes after Passover, those three manufacturers will go through the actual Magen Tzedek evaluation procedure, and the first kosher foods carrying the new seal should be on supermarket shelves before Rosh Hashanah, according to commission co-chair Rabbi Michael Siegel. The identity of the companies involved in the trial is being kept under wraps, but at least one is a “major food producer,” according to Rabbi Morris Allen, Magen Tzedek’s program director. Conservative Judaism, like Orthodoxy, accepts the Torah’s commandments as obligatory, including kashrut. While the same general laws of kashrut apply, there
are some distinctions — notably the standards governing wine, cheese and certain fish. In recent years, Conservative kashrut certification has grown. In 2008, Rabbi Jason Miller of Detroit founded Kosher Michigan, which certifies nearly 30 products and establishments. In addition to the bakeries and ice-cream parlors typically supervised by Conservative rabbis, Miller oversees a company that makes dried wheat used as an ingredient in other kosher products, and in March he opened the glatt kosher dining plan at Michigan State University. “I got into this reluctantly, but once I did, it became a passion and a mission to show that kosher-obser-
vant individuals need not rely on Orthodox hashgachah,” he said, using the Hebrew word for kosher certification. “I wasn’t waving the banner five or 10 years ago, but once I became part of the kosher certification world, I realized the injustice of the Orthodox monopoly.” In Minneapolis-St. Paul, a group of Conservative rabbis launched MSP Kosher last July. Headed by Rabbi Avi Olitzky of Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, the agency does not charge for its service, which Olitzky says is aimed at providing more kosher food for Jews who do not necessarily adhere to the stricter standards required by Orthodox supervision, such as glatt kosher meat.
President Obama last week named Wasserman Schultz (DFla.), 44, to the most powerful party position, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Even before she has formally assumed the job, the question of her Jewish identity has stirred speculation. Jewish Democrats say Obama’s choice of a successor to former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine in the top party fundraising spot is a signal of Obama’s commitment to a loyal constituency: the Jews. “I guarantee you that her being a woman played a role in the choice, I guarantee you that her being from Florida played a role,” said David Harris, the president of the National Jewish Democratic Council. “But I also guarantee you that her being Jewish played a role.” The question remains open of what role, if any, Wasserman Schultz’s Judaism will play as she leads the Democratic Party into the 2012 elections, when it hopes to reelect Obama, maintain the majority in the Senate and erode the Republican majority in the House. Wasserman Schultz declined to be interviewed for this story. CONSERVATIVES from page 1 Conservative rabbis for years have been giving kosher supervision to their own synagogue kitchens, as well as to local caterers and retail establishments patronized by their congregations. But they largely left commercial kosher supervision to the Orthodox. That’s beginning to change, say Conservative rabbis active in the field. It’s partly due to the energy generated by the Magen Tzedek initiative, which will rate kosher food manufacturers according to prescribed standards of ethical behavior regarding workers, animals, the environment and financial dealings. It’s also a natural extension of
FIRST PERSON
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
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‘Rabbis rape children and G-d hates Israel’ Incidentally Iris
By Iris Ruth Pastor Contributing Columnist I work on a campus which houses a Jewish Federation, a Jewish Community Center and a Jewish assisted living facility. Unlike the JCC/Federation in Cincinnati, this campus is located in an area sparsely populated by Jews. And unlike Cincinnati’s tucked away JAHM from page 8 May 5 — The Mayerson JCC will present “A Comical, Culinary History of Jews in America.” Los Angeles comedy writer Seth Front will offer an interactive history and discussion on the challenging future of the American Jewish deli. A deli dinner will be available. May 10 — The film “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story” will explore the connection between Jewish Americans and baseball, a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions and the shattering of stereotypes. There will be a reception before showtime,
location on a winding side street, our campus is in clear view of a very busy thoroughfare. A few days ago, as I turned into the facility, I spotted a group of eight to 10 people holding signs directly adjacent to the facility’s entrance. At first no alarm bells went off. The election for my city’s mayor and for members of my city’s Council is just days away. The entire metropolitan area sports walls of supporters parading with signs for one candidate or another. And because my son was one of the candidates for Council, I’m even more attune to the signs and sign holders. Upon closer inspection, however, I noted that this spectacle was somehow different. The signs were hand printed, not glossy and
sleek. And the people who were holding them appeared to be grim, scraggly looking and disengaged. They were unlike the political sign holders, who, for the most part, are always smiling broadly and waving enthusiastically at the motorists passing by in an enthusiastic effort to positively engage. Curious, I began reading their signs. One sign read “Rabbis Rape Kids.” Another sign read “God Hates Israel.” I abruptly stopped reading. Appalled, sickened and terrified, I put my foot to the gas pedal and shot on by. Once inside the building, I unloaded my angst and disbelief upon the first employee I saw, attempting to garner any information I could about these
blatantly anti-Semitic lunatics parading around at the entrance to our campus – in plain sight of our security guard – within yards of our electronic gate. I was quickly informed of the facts: They come around every year. We knew a few weeks ago they were coming. They have a permit to stand there for 35 minutes. Then they will be gone. Nevertheless, I couldn’t settle down. “I need a picture of this,” I gasped to myself. I suppose, in retrospect, it was the reporter coming out in me. A few minutes later, camera in hand, I rushed back to the scene. Just as I had been told, the protesters were gone. No traces of their poison and venom remained – except in my mind, and body and sinew.
Regrettably, I didn’t get the picture. But I have resolved to keep this memory intact. So that the next time an “enlightened” Jew smugly says to me, “Oh there’s no anti-Semitism in our country – it’s all overblown,” I can tell them with vigor and veracity, “it exists, baby. It’s out there.” And so that, in years to come, when my four grandchildren are old enough to ask me why it’s so important to support Jewish causes and to be a savvy watch dog for our people, I have a story to back up my point of view. Rabbis Rape Children. And G-d Hates Israel. It’s etched in me. It won’t disappear soon.
and a discussion afterward with Martin Abramowitz. Sponsored by The American Jewish Archives, The American Jewish Committee in Cincinnati, and the Mayerson JCC, the event will be held at Hebrew Union College. May 11 — An informal 10minute conversation at the Taft Museum on “Jozef Israëls, The Sewing School at Katwijk” will highlight the masterpiece painted by the Jewish artist dubbed the 19th-century Rembrandt. May 16 — “The Nature of Jewish Life in America,” a free lecture, will discuss Jewish spiritual life — how Jews pray, how Jews practice, and how Jews relate
to the Almighty. Leading the talk will be Rabbi Matthew Kraus, director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Cincinnati. The event will be held at Cedar Village. May 22 — A free Jewish view of the Cincinnati Art Museum, with a docent led tour, will explore art from ancient times that relates to Jewish history, paintings of biblical stories and themes, and works by Jewish artists. No reservations necessary. The event will be held at the Cincinnati Art Museum. 50 Stories/50 States — A dedicated JAHM website with a story
and photograph for each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The site highlights Jewish American men and women who share a common thread of their entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropy in giving back to their communities once they have reached success in their respective fields. Nationwide — “BIO Classroom,” a series aimed at educators and students nationwide, will feature well-known Jewish Americans. On May 3 – Ben & Jerry of ice cream fame; May 10 – Jon Stewart; May 17 – Henry Winkler; May 24 – Adam Sandler; and May 31 – Albert Einstein. The
“BIO Classroom” series, a joint effort of JAHM Advisory Committee and the BIO Channel of A&E Network, will air JAHM profiles every Tuesday during the month of May in classrooms across the country. Schwartz adds that JAHM 2011 plans include increased educational outreach and resources; a public service ad and media campaign; a national speakers bureau; a traveling exhibition of Jewish American history; a national writing contest for middle school students; expansion of the JAHM website; as well as a national infrastructure for JAHM including point persons in each state.
settlement as the best resolution for the conflict?’ They say ‘Yes.’ Then we say, ‘Why would you prejudge the outcome for recognizing a Palestinian state before contentious issues have been decided?’” Mariaschin noted that every peaceful outcome in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict has been the result of negotiations, starting with the Egypt-Israel accords negotiated by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. “Now we’re turning the clock back pre-Begin and Sadat, and it’s not a prescription for success,” Mariaschin said he tells these leaders. Aaron David Miller, a longtime negotiator for successive U.S. administrations, outlined in a recent Washington Post Op-Ed how the initiative could boomerang on the Palestinians, causing Israel to take unilateral action. “The Palestinian campaign will also prompt intensified Israeli settlement activity in an effort to remind Palestinians that Israeli actions are real, not virtual,” he wrote. “Should the Palestinians declare statehood, Israel will probably act to demarcate what part of
the West Bank it intends to keep.” Unilateral Palestinian action also would likely alienate the Obama administration and spur Congress to cut off funds, Miller said. Those advocating the peace tracks say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to counter the Palestinian statehood push with a peace initiative serious enough to prompt allies of the Palestinians to nudge them back to direct talks with Israel. “How Israel engages in its public diplomacy with regard to the resumption of the peace talks and how it engages in its private diplomacy will have real impact in shaping how other countries react,” Harris said. “Israel must convince the world it is absolutely dead serious about moving the peace process forward.” On Thursday, Netanyahu joined Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in announcing plans for an Israeli prime ministerial address to both chambers of Congress in the first week of May. That’s a signal of Netanyahu’s intention to present a new peace initiative.
GROUPS from page 9 wars of the 1990s. The third is Gabon, an oil-rich West African autocracy that has close relations with France and that has been cultivated in recent years by Jewish leaders, including Jack Rosen of the Council for World Jewry. The other members of the council are permanent members Russia and China and rotating members India, Lebanon, Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa. The parallel strategy, Elsner said, is to lay the groundwork now by explaining to diplomats from 120 nations who routinely favor Palestinians that even a symbolic recognition of Palestine is no ordinary rebuke of Israel. “The trick is to make countries aware that this is not a routine vote,” Elsner said, noting that such an effort already was underway in Congress. Key congressmen from both parties are reaching out to ambassadors to explain that such a vote would have repercussions in terms of relations with the United States. David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee, which focuses on U.S.
Courtesy of UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz
Israel and its supporters are trying to fend off plans this September for U.N. recognition of Palestine by the General Assembly, seen here during a moment of silence for the victims of the Japanese tsunami, March 15, 2011.
Jewish outreach internationally, said European opposition to Palestinian statehood was not a sure thing. “How the European Union will behave matters greatly,” Harris said, noting that the world’s 192 nations look to its 27 members for moral leadership. “Whether the E.U. will take a single unified position or will break down into national positions remains to be seen.”
Daniel Mariaschin, the executive director of B’nai B’rith International, said that when he meets with diplomats, he points out the long-term harm to peace that U.N. recognition would bring, in the absence of a real peace deal. “The question at the beginning of the meeting goes like this,” he said, describing his approach with foreign diplomats and leaders. “‘Do you believe in a negotiated
Keep coping, Iris Ruth Pastor
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OBITUARIES
DEATH NOTICES NAHEM, Albert, age 89, died on March 25, 2011; 19 Adar II, 5771. BEN-ZEEV, Moshe, age 71, died on April 15, 2011; 11 Nisan, 5771. BARASCH, Bertha, age 91, died on April 17, 2011; 13 Nisan, 5771. SHULS from page 9 Churches traditionally have kept their doors unlocked round the clock on the principle that the house of G-d should be open to all, but few U.S. synagogues follow that practice over concerns about everything from petty vandalism and Torah thefts to anti-Semitic attacks.
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At the same time, some rabbis fear that overdoing security will keep away precisely those unaffiliated Jews they want to attract. “We should not send the message to a Jew that walking into the synagogue is dangerous,” Eliezrie told JTA. A year ago, he said, half a dozen unfamiliar young men walked into his synagogue right before Saturday morning services. He went to the lobby to check them out — “I was welcoming, but wondering,” he recalls — and learned that they were being initiated into a Jewish fraternity and had to visit five Chabad centers on one Shabbat. Eliezrie invited them in for kiddush and wouldn’t let them leave until they listened to his 6-year-old grandson pontificate on the weekly Torah portion. “If I would have overreacted, I would have driven them away,” he said.
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Eliezrie said metal detectors and security guards do more harm than good — but he’s in a quiet suburb. Those in the big city, where transients are more common, have more to worry about, he acknowledges. At Sinai Temple, in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, visitors are screened, wanded and eyeballed by a bevy of security personnel. Members of the congregation get a special decal allowing them to park in the building’s secure parking lot. The temple employs a full-time security director and brings in nearly three dozen guards for High Holiday services that draw upward of 5,000 people. “On Shabbat we have 1,000 people at services,” Lesner said. “More than half of them are not members. They’re all screened, but we do it in a dignified manner. I’ve never had anyone refuse and walk away.” Temple Beth Sholom, a large
Reform synagogue in Miami Beach, Fla., also runs a tight ship. The synagogue was rebuilt four years ago, and a perimeter wall of Jerusalem stone was constructed around the building. “It looks very pretty, but we did it on purpose,” Rabbi Gary Glickstein said. “There is just one entrance, so we can control access.” Glickstein said it has the optimal balance between security and openness. Beginners’ services, also called learners’ minyans, are particularly confounding for security concerns because they are consciously trying to attract newcomers rather than congregants who know each other. “Too much security and people get turned away,” said Rabbi Yitzchak Rosenbaum, associate director of the National Jewish Outreach Program, which sponsors services for unaffiliated Jews throughout the United States. “We
have beginners’ services, so that means you have all kinds of strange people walking in.” The key, he says, is to keep tight security outside and a discrete watchfulness inside. “We have a committee of lay leaders who keep an eye out to make sure nothing untoward occurs,” Rosenbaum said. In general, rabbis say, worshipers who seem suspicious have to be watched, but discretely, so they and everyone else in the room is unaware of the surveillance. Eliezrie says no one would be denied access to the kiddush or not counted in a minyan because of such suspicions. “A human being is a human being,” Eliezrie said, adding that he’s never had to ask someone to leave his synagogue. “I’m going to treat everyone with respect. I have to welcome him in and just wonder a little bit.”
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condemned anti-Semitism, commemorated the Holocaust, and met with Jewish leaders and laymen. In 1986 he crossed the Tiber River to Rome’s Great Temple to become the first pope to enter a synagogue. There he embraced Rome’s chief rabbi and paid respects to Jews as Christianity’s “elder brothers in faith.” A few years later John Paul oversaw the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel, and in 2000 he visited the Jewish state. John Paul’s death triggered an unprecedented outpouring of tribute from Jews around the world, and Jewish leaders joined the millions who crammed Rome for his funeral. There, in St. Peter’s Square, many faithful raised the cry “Santo Subito!” — a demand that John Paul II be made a saint right away. The process ordinarily can take decades, even centuries. But John Paul’s successor, Pope Benedict XVI, put the Polish pontiff on a fast track toward sainthood, waiving the usual five-year waiting period after a candidate’s death before the process may begin. Beatification is a venerated status just one step away from sainthood. It can be granted after a candidate
for sainthood is judged to have interceded to cause a miracle. In John Paul’s case, the Vatican declared that a French nun said to have had Parkinson’s disease recovered after praying to him. A second miracle must be recognized before John Paul can be canonized, or made a saint. “Miracles after the death are the ones that count toward beatification and canonization,” Levine explained. He said John Paul as pope had wrought a sort of personal miracle in his own family — by “bringing peace” to Levine’s mother-in-law, who had been deeply scarred by her experiences during the Shoah and the annihilation of her family. “The pope reached out to her, wanted to see her,” Levine said. The pope spoke intensely with her during a private audience, Levine said, “and he showed her that he understood, and that he heard her. The voice that was inside her, he heard it.” After this, he said, “She was a changed woman. It wasn’t that it made everything all right — of course it couldn’t. But finally someone had heard and it was just so powerful. She felt this reaching out to her, and she died at peace.”
Judaism played almost no role in the Goldmann family’s identity. Goldmann’s grandfather, an assimilated Jew with German roots, abandoned his family and fled to Germany after the Communist coup in 1948. Those he left behind suppressed any connection to Judaism. As the Iron Curtain came down, Czechoslovak Jews won the freedom to practice their religion. But the history of assimilation and Community repression had made its mark. Although occasionally teased about his Jewish-sounding name at school, at no point during Goldmann’s childhood did his family ever talk to him about his
Jewish roots. He only learned of them in his late teens when his father mentioned it in a conversation about religion, in which Goldmann had developed an interest. Goldmann soon embarked on a quest to discover what being Jewish meant. He turned to Orthodox Judaism, the denomination of the official Jewish community here, but found it too restrictive. Although he eventually underwent an Orthodox conversion so that he could participate fully in religious services — Goldmann’s mother is not Jewish — Goldmann found his true home among progressive Jews.
From the early days of his pontificate, John Paul had signaled that outreach to the Jewish world would be one of his priorities. Born Karol Wojtyla in the small town of Wadowice in 1920, John Paul had had Jewish friends and neighbors, and he was an eyewitness to both the Holocaust and totalitarian communism. Rabbi A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, recalls that at an audience at the Vatican with an AJC group in 1990, the pontiff “became very mystical and began to sway a bit and began talking about Friday afternoons in his hometown during the 1930s. He spoke of ‘candles in the windows, psalms being chanted.’ “He was clearly recalling erev Shabbat in Wadowice and his vivid remembrance of Jewish life in Poland before World War II,” said Rudin, author of the new book “Christians & Jews, Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future.” As pope, John Paul prayed at Auschwitz on his first trip back to Poland in 1979, and he repeatedly PRAGUE from page 10 “Sometimes my opinions about Muslims are really different from the community,” Goldmann says with characteristic understatement. “I question everything. I don’t like firm opinions. If you can’t change your opinions, you are ideological but it doesn’t mean you are right.” He adds, “Almost everyone looks at me like I’m lost.” Goldmann’s outspokenness on Muslim-Jewish issues is the culmination of a pair of personal journeys that began when he learned of his Jewish roots at the age of 18.
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