American Israelite - February 23, 2012

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012 30 SHEVAT, 5772

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CINCINNATI, OH Candle Lighting Times Shabbat begins Fri 6:07p Shabbat ends Sat 7:08p

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VOL. 158 • NO. 31

The American Israelite T H E

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E N G L I S H

Thanks to financial aid, Jewish summer camp enrollments rise, despite economy

LOCAL

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Valley Temple honors rabbi’s 10th anniversary

LOCAL

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Ten reasons to be a JYP in Cincinnati

NATIONAL

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Effort to change U.S. red line on Iran has Senate Dems...

DINING OUT

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Tony’s—totally terrific

SINGLE ISSUE: $2.00 J E W I S H

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In a Ukrainian Jewish orphanage, Tikva, economic downturn hits home

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David and Nancy Wolf make signature gift to Cinti Children’s

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Jewish community comes together to help Bari Levy Rubenstein

Carl Morgenstern, prominent Ohio attorney, dies at 90 Prominent Hamilton, Ohio, attorney Carl Morgenstern, a 1948 Harvard Law School graduate and former Miami University Trustee, whose life was devoted to public service, died Feb. 19, 2012 at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. He was 90.

“Dad never forgot the free opportunities he had growing up as the son of immigrants in Cleveland: a great public school education; and public tennis courts across the street from his home where he became an excellent tennis player, a sport he loved all his life,” said his daughter, attorney Barbara Morgenstern of Wyoming, Ohio.

Most importantly, as a World War II Army veteran who served in Europe, the GI Bill paid for his Harvard Law School education just decades after his parents, Henry and Lilien Morgenstern, emigrated from Kapulia, Russia in the 1920s, his daughter said. With that worldclass education, Morgenstern embarked on a life of giving back to the community.

“Dad was a community organizer and more often than not, a community agitator,” she said.

“All with good humor. His campaign symbol was a bulldog, and that really seemed to fit.” In his last years, Morgenstern was a resident of Farmington Hills, Mich. He died of complications related to pneumonia.

His son, attorney Michael Morgenstern of Bethesda, Md., remembers his father’s most important legacy: “Sure, Dad had extraordinary credentials and many accomplishments. But his life’s message, and the one that carried him forward for 90 years, was one of love. Dad loved his work as a trial lawyer, he loved his country and he loved, unconditionally, his family. It is the best message that a father can teach a son and he taught by example.”

Elected a Union Township Trustee in 1989, Morgenstern organized the citizens’ group CLEAN, “Citizens Lobby for Environmental Action Now,” in 1990 to oppose the BFI infectious medical waste incinerator in Butler County.

CLEAN closely monitored the emissions released and publicized violations of government standards.

“No one could hope for a better friend, nor fear a more formidable enemy,” said Catherine Stoker, president of the West Chester Township Board of Trustees and an original CLEAN member. “It took us five very stressful years to shoot the incinerator down. Carl was a huge help by coordinating the legal efforts and getting several lawyers to give CLEAN thousands of hours of pro-bono time.”

As a result of CLEAN, she said Morgenstern launched her political career in 1993 as the firstever Democrat elected to office in West Chester.

Stoker credits Morgenstern with helping save taxpayers millions of dollars through taxpayer lawsuits he spearheaded.

“Carl also put together the legal team of four attorneys who worked pro-bono for me when I

successfully sued the Transportation Improvement District in 1995 to kill the allegedly illegal $20 license plate tax in West Chester…so Carl has been saving West Chester vehicle owners between $1.6-$1.9 million per year ever since.”

Then in a referendum petition he organized with Stoker that gathered more than 26,000 signatures, she said Morgenstern’s opposition to a 2001 county sales tax increase saved Butler County shoppers more than $70 million over the next four years.

Carl Morgenstern

“Over the years, Carl taught many of us how to use the law to get the politicians to do what was right for the people of Butler County,” remembered CLEAN member Patty Thomas of West Chester, who described Morgenstern as an “all-around environmentalist way before the general public understood the importance of preservation.” “We all learned how to insist that laws be enforced. He was our ‘Bull Dog’ and he never gave up when he got a hold of an issue that needed attention. We were just happy to have his energy and enthusiasm working on our side of the issues and not against us.”

Morgenstern also was featured in the book, “Hometown,” by Peter Davis, an Academy Award winner who wrote about the small town after immersing himself in Hamilton for six years. The chapter featuring Morgenstern was excerpted in The Village Voice.

“Morgenstern framed his questions like the

short sharp jabs of a hungry welterweight,” wrote Davis, who attended a much-publicized, sometimes salacious hearing where Morgenstern represented the school board. The board had fired a popular high school choir teacher who had been arrested for public indecency. “[I]t was the law itself he loved, and the contest,” Davis wrote. “…Morgenstern had dark, resolute eyes and his hair, at fifty-seven, was still black. His mouth was firmly set, though he smiled easily, a cheerful egoist whose sense of humor was always playing tricks on his determination. Between his thin upper lip and his precise, assertive nose was a wide space that lent him the authoritative aspect of a Spanish grandee. At the Shie hearings, Morgenstern hid his twinkle behind dark glasses, resembling, for the duration, Mephistopheles on a moral mission.”

Services were held Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Weil Funeral Home, with burial following at the United Jewish Cemetery in Montgomery.

Aside from his daughter and son, Morgenstern leaves his daughter-in-law, Keiko Morgenstern of Bethesda, Md., and grandchildren Beth and Scot Krumbein of Wyoming, Ohio, and Emiko and Akira Morgenstern of Bethesda, Md. Morgenstern was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Marilyn Morgenstern, who died in a 1999 car accident.

Morgenstern was born in Charleston, W.Va. on Oct. 9, 1921 where his Russian parents, Henry and Lilien Morgenstern, joined relatives after making the journey to the United States. The family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where his father worked as an electrician. Morgenstern was preceded in death by his sisters, Sylvia Morgenstern Stein of State College, Pa., and Louise Morgenstern Lioce of Huntsville, Ala. “My grandfather’s inspirational life work has been a great motivator for me,” said his granddaughter Beth Krumbein, 20, a pre-law junior at the University of Arizona. “He has always been a strong presence in my life and those around him and I will always remember his one-of-a- kind personality that he was known for.”

His grandson, Scot Krumbein, 19, a freshman at Indiana University, said he feels lucky that “Grandpa Carl always has been there for me.”

“He’s always someone I could look up to and has passionately lived his life. I hope when I get to be Grandpa’s age, I’ll have his spirit and willpower.”

His grandchildren from Bethesda, Md., also described the closeness they felt to their grandfather.

“Grandpa always gave me really good advice about my tennis,” said grandson Akira Morgenstern, 9. “He always told me, ‘You can never learn something if you always win. If you lose you will learn and the next time you play your opponent, you will win!’ His words of wisdom gave me a head start on everything.”

MORGENSTERN on page 22

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Valley Temple honors rabbi’s 10th anniversary Weeks before Sept. 11, 2001, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick assumed the pulpit of the Valley Temple from of one of his mentors.

Rabbi Sol Greenberg retired, and the synagogue in Wyoming had its first new rabbi in over 30 years. Within weeks of Kopnick’s arrival, the drama of Sept. 11 made the challenges of becoming the new spiritual leader of a community even more tricky. Now, 10 years later, the congregation celebrates their first decade with Rabbi Kopnick.

“Rabbi Kopnick was anxious to innovate and engage our membership with new ideas and programming. He did so with great success, but always with sensitivity toward the Temple’s culture that had been created during Rabbi Greenberg’s long tenure,” said Mark Sass, past president and chair of the search committee which hired Rabbi Kopnick.

Kopnick’s tenure at Valley has been marked with a commitment to youth and to education for all.

Kopnick has implemented new family education programming, youth retreats starting in fourthgrade, a revamped b’nai mitzvah program, a middle-school program which is grounded with two weekend retreats and includes a monthly internet chat-room, mitzvah projects in the community, field trips to houses of worship of other faiths, and a schedule which allows the students to sleep in a

Dan Nichols

Rabbi Sandford Kopnick

few Sunday mornings a month.

Kopnick participates on the faculty of Kulanu, Cincinnati’s Reform Jewish High School, and is on the board and faculty of Goldman Union Camp Institute.

Kopnick also has helped Valley renew its commitment to adult learning. Three levels of adult Hebrew each week, combined with Saturday morning Torah study, monthly lunch and learns, and seminars featuring HUC professors, HUC students, and other instructors are well-attended.

“We celebrate Judaism with as much joy as we can,” said Kopnick as he recounted the additions of the Friday Night Live music format, the annual visits from musician Dan Nichols, the crazy Purim celebrations and the contemporary

Rosh Hashanah experiences geared to the unaffiliated.

“Rabbis have a unique opportunity to make a difference; to plant a seed for the future of Israel and Judaism in our children; to lift our members spiritually and intellectually; to console individuals and families in their times of need.

Rabbi Sandford Kopnick has made the best of his opportunities and the Valley Temple has flourished in these last 10 years,” said Robert Hiller, president of Valley Temple.

Valley Temple will be celebrating Rabbi Kopnick’s decade of service this weekend with a visit from nationally renown musician, Dan Nichols. Friday’s Service begins at 7:30 p.m., a Tot Service at 10:30 on Shabbat morning, and a celebration for temple members and invited guests on Saturday evening. Dan Nichols will also perform on Sunday morning at 11 and the community is welcome.

Mallory, Pillich speak about AJC seminars in Israel Last fall Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and Ohio Rep. Connie Pillich took part in bipartisan seminars in Israel sponsored

by American Jewish Committee’s Project Interchange. On Monday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Rockdale Templel, Mallory and Pillich will tell the community how Israel looks through their eyes. To make reservations for this dessert program, please contact the AJC office by Friday, March 2.

Project Interchange has brought more than 5,500 influential opinion leaders and policy makers to Israel in the past three decades to see the Jewish state for themselves. During a week of intensive travel and learning, participants experience Israeli society, connect with their Israeli counterparts and learn about Israel’s extensive contributions in their fields.

“The reality they see often differs from media views,” noted Jeff Goldstein, chair of AJC’s program.

Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Richard Ransohoff Wins 2012 John Dystel Prize for MS Research Neurology in New Orleans in April.

“Dr. Ransohoff has been a galvanizing figure in neuroimmunology research and a true thought leader,” said Benjamin M. Segal, MD (Univ. of Michigan) and Thomas Lane, PhD (Univ. of California, Irvine), who nominated Dr. Ransohoff to receive the Dystel Prize. “The insights that Dr. Ransohoff’s discoveries have provided could ultimately pave the way for the development of a new class of drugs in MS based on chemokines.”

Connie Pillich in the Old City of Jerusalem

Mark Mallory in Jerusalem

Mallory and his legislative assistant Ryan Adcock traveled with mayors of Houston, Miami, St. Paul, and several other cities, along with their senior staff. Pillich, who represents Cincinnati’s northern suburbs in the Ohio House of Representatives, traveled with Ohio Supreme Court Judge Yvette

McGee Brown and officials from several other states. They shared a common interest in job creation, high tech innovation, and immigrant issues.

Local alumni of previous Project Interchange seminars include Pat Coyle, president of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati; Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls; and Dr. O’dell Owens, President of Cincinnati State.

Richard M. Ransohoff, MD provided farreaching insights on immune activity in the central nervous system.

Professor Richard M. Ransohoff, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research, has been chosen by a committee of his peers to receive the National MS Society/American Academy of Neurology’s 2012 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research. Dr. Ransohoff is being honored for pioneering work that led to new insights on immune activity in the brain and spinal cord in MS, particularly the role of messenger proteins known as “chemokines.”

The $15,000 prize is being presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of

Dr. Ransohoff’s most far-reaching research contributions are in applying the study of the role of chemokines – messengers that act as attractants – in the immune attack on the brain and spinal cord that occurs in MS. In 1993, Dr. Ransohoff discovered that astrocytes – starshaped brain cells known for supporting the brain’s structure – actually produced chemokines that attracted immune cells toward the brain in mice with MS-like disease. He extended these studies to investigate chemokines in immune cells isolated from people with MS, meticulously analyzing MS tissues.

His results showed that cerebrospinal fluid levels of specific chemokines were in fact altered during MS attacks, and the docking sites for these proteins were detected on numerous cells involved in the immune response.

Dr. Ransohoff grew up in Cincinnati, attended Clifton School; graduated Walnut Hills High School as a Presidential Scholar; graduated Bard College and Case Western Reserve Medical School.

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Ten reasons to be a JYP in Cincinnati

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The American Israelite “LET THERE BE LIGHT” THE OLDEST ENGLISH-JEWISH WEEKLY IN AMERICA - EST. JULY 15, 1854

VOL. 158 • NO. 31 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012 30 SHEVAT 5772 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 6:07 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 7:08 PM

JYP on page 22

RABBI ISSAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900 LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher BARBARA L. MORGENSTERN Senior Writer YEHOSHUA MIZRACHI RITA TONGPITUK Assistant Editors ALEXIA KADISH Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor SONDRA KATKIN 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 e Oldest Eng Th

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on creating the perfect omelet and enjoy breakfast for dinner in this hands-on session sure to make any morning meal a show stopper.

4. Thursday, March 22 6:30 p.m.—Access’ JCafe presents: Sababa Israel: The Great State of Cool! This event is for anyone interested in getting a heaping helping of the “Homeland” right here in Cincinnati. First, guests will take a trip with Shaliach, Yair Cohen, and explore the hot spots and hangouts, music, food and film of today’s modern Israel, while uncovering the magic and mystery that makes this ancient land unique in all the world. From Jerusalem and Jaffa to Tel-Aviv and Tiberias, participants will get to know the Israel they don’t know without ever leaving the comfort of the Teller Lounge at HUC. Israeli drinks and dinner are included.

5. Thursday, March 22, YPs at the JCC present: March Madness —The JCC’s Amberley Room will transform into March Madness Headquarters for the night where YPs can catch all the action on the giant screen while relaxing in a lounge-like atmosphere complete with couches, cold beer, hot wings and other snacks. Plus they can play foosball, ping pong and face off with other YPs in a Nerf basketball tournament. And a bracket will be set up through Yahoo Sports so anyone interested in participating in it and following the scores can grab a seat at the special laptop station that will be set up for the occasion.

6. March 30 at 7 p.m., Access presents: Mexican-Style Shabbat —YPs won’t have to go south of the border to spice things up, because things are about to get muy caliente right here in Southern Ohio! From tacos and tequila to mariachi and margaritas, guests will experience the bright colors, cool customs and culinary delights of this amazing country. The event will feature authentic Mexican food, frozen drinks, a Mariachi band, piñatas and more.

ewish N h-J ew lis

specifically offered for YPs in the Jewish community in just the next two months. All are free or deeply subsidized and are open to Jewish young professionals ages 21-35, and non-Jewish significant others are always welcome: 1. Feb. 27 at 5:15 .p.m.—YPs at the JCC present: Fitness Center FUNdamentals & Cooking Demo for Foodies—This event provides the perfect one/two punch for those who are as concerned about how they exercise their bodies as they are about what they put in them. First, one of the J’s personal trainers will give an in-depth orientation to the fitness center and explain how, when and why each piece of equipment should be used. Then, the J Café will become a Demo Kitchen for the night where Registered Dietician, Peachy Seiden, will show the group how to prepare some simple, healthy meals in minutes. They’ll learn what’s best to eat before and after a workout and how to incorporate easy substitutions to make meals more nutritious. Of course there’ll be lots of food to sample and recipes to take home and try.

2. Thursday, March 7—Access’ HeBREW Happy Hour presents: I Love This Bar & Grill —YP’s can kick up their heels and head over to the best honky-tonk in town for a HeBREW Happy Hour sure to bring out the country boy or babe in anyone! Participants will get a chance to ride the mechanical bull, grab a cold one from one of the Whiskey Girls at the 88 foot guitar-shaped bar and be among the first to check out the hottest new hangout at the Banks.

3. Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m.—Access’ JGourmet presents: Bagel Making Breakfast Bonanza—Breakfast takes center stage at this special JGourmet which pays tribute to the quintessential Jewish food, the bagel. Join the bakers from Cincinnati’s own Pigasus Bagel and Bread, who will be at a Forkable Feast in Oakley to teach participants how to make bagels that are as organically delicious as they are iconically divine.

Plus, they’ll get some tricks and tips

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JYPs celebrate 10 reasons why they love Cincinnati.

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in Cincinnati. Pretty ironic!” he chuckles. “There’s more going on here for people my age than I ever would have imagined. Programs like Access and YPs at the JCC are the reason I was able to get connected so quickly, and the reason that I can’t see myself being anywhere but here!”

Ethan is just one of many hundreds of young professionals (YPs) who have taken advantage of the numerous things Jewish Cincinnati has to offer for this demographic. From the programs of The Mayerson Foundation, such as Access and YPs at the JCC, in partnership with the Mayerson JCC, to the Jewish Federation’s YAD (Young Adult Division) and LEAD programs, there’s literally something for everyone who is looking to meet new people and get connected. For example, the following are 10 great programs

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“Cincinnati, Ohio? He had to be kidding! The first thing that went through my head when my boss told me I was being transferred was, are there even any Jews there?” says 27-year-old Ethan Grossman. “I tried to calculate the minimum amount of time I’d have to ‘do my time’ in Cincinnati before I could put in for a transfer back to civilization, but there was no way it was going to be less than a year.

“Unfortunately in this economy it would be career suicide to give up the great job I had to stay where I was, so I decided to take my lumps and make the move,” he explains.

“Looking back I can’t believe that ignorant snob was me! I have lots more friends and a way better social life here than I did when I was living in Boston. Three years later I’m still here and loving it. In fact, I had a chance to transfer to Atlanta last year but I chose to stay

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $44 per year and $2.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $49 per year and $3.00 per single copy elsewhere in U.S. by The American Israelite Co. 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE, 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037.

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

NATIONAL • 5

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Day of Caring Pancake Brunch benefits community Dig into a delicious stack of pancakes and help others at the Day of Caring Pancake Brunch, hosted by Jewish Family Service and the Mayerson JCC, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26 at the JCC. When you enjoy this savory, kosher brunch your purchase will be helping members of the community obtain the basics of food and shelter. Eat-in or carryout options are available.

The Day of Caring, established in 1991, is an all-volunteer organ-

ization dedicated to increasing awareness of the pressing needs of the hungry and homeless and to supporting the agencies that provide for them. Day of Caring coordinates an annual, one-day fundraising event with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters across southwestern Ohio.

Last year, 46 sites participated in the Day of Caring Pancake Brunch and raised over $40,000.

The brunch held at the JCC is

one of many throughout the community that will benefit the Freestore Foodbank and the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Jewish Family Service Food Pantry is a member of the Freestore Foodbank network. Jewish Family Service Food Pantry is the source for free, kosher food, personal and household care items for individuals in the Greater Cincinnati Jewish community experiencing financial difficulties.

What’s happening at Rockwern Academy preschool Rockwern Academy preschoolers got a real treat recently. They were visited by the School House Symphony Ensemble as well as the Cincinnati Nature Center. To top it all off they got to experience the true meaning of charity when they set out to collect winter gear for those less fortunate.

The School House Symphony Ensemble visited the preschool classes at Rockwern Academy for a three year series of programs specifically designed for preschool children. These 30-minute programs introduce children not only to the instruments but to the very basic concepts of how music works. Through games and movement, the children begin to learn to distinguish high from low, to develop a feel for beat and rhythm and to listen for specific details in music. At each session, the musicians talk to the students and give students the opportunity to see the instruments up close.

The Cincinnati Nature Center visited the preschool classes as well. The topic was Native Indians. Students were shown clothes, musical instruments and tools Native Indians used. These programs are designed to give young students greater knowledge of the past.

Finally the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at Rockwern Academy, along with their teachers, met together and collected over 80 pairs of mittens, as well as gloves and hats to donate to a worthy cause.

The students drew mitten cards and wrote their names on each card. The mittens, hats and gloves were packaged and delivered to Santa Maria Community Services located in Lower Price Hill. This agency has been serving families since 1897. This is only one of many mitzvahs the students at Rockwern Academy are proud to support.

The School House Symphony Ensemble with Rockwern students.

Instructor from the Cincinnati Nature Center speaks to eager children.

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WiseUP social action projects for March, April Wise Temple congregants will have opportunities to feed the hungry and help the disadvantaged through ongoing WiseUP social action projects in March and April.

On March 10, Wise Temple members will help receive, sort and pack donated food items for the Freestore Foodbank, which distributes over 12 million pounds of food each year to help feed those in

need in the community. This ongoing WiseUP project is popular with Wise Temple members, who work together as a team, not only to sort and pack food, but also to prepare Power Packs. Power Packs are packages which contain healthy, kid-friendly foods. They are distributed on Friday afternoons to Tri-state area students who might otherwise have nothing nourishing

to eat over the weekend.

Continuing their commitment to help the homeless, Wise Temple volunteers will prepare and host brunch at the Bethany House on Sunday, March 18. Bethany House is an emergency shelter for homeless women and children, and is committed to education, job training and affordable housing.

“Wise Temple members have

been part of Bethany House’s dedicated volunteer corps over the last five years, participating several Sundays each year,” explained WiseUP co-chair Jody Tsevat.

On Sunday, April 15, Wise Temple volunteers will prepare and serve a hot lunch to Cincinnati’s homeless and less fortunate neighbors at the Over-the-Rhine Soup Kitchen.

“The Over-the- Rhine Soup Kitchen has as their mission serving the less fortunate with dignity and respect. For many years, Wise Temple volunteers have participated several Sunday mornings throughout the year to continue the WiseUP Social Action Committee’s goal of feeding the hungry,” observed WiseUP cochair Carol Kabel.

psychology, business and other sectors, asks: What can we learn from what you have achieved?

Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2001 he received the Prince of Asturias Award in Social Sciences.

From Pharaoh’s House to Maxwell House is the topic for a class offered on Tuesdays, March 20 and March 27, and April 3 from 12

–1 p.m. Next to the Bible, the Passover Haggadah is the most widely read and beloved Jewish text.

This course, with Wise Temple’s librarian Andrea Rapp, will look at Haggadah art, from medieval manuscripts to the present, and then at the development of the Haggadah’s text to see how the Four Questions, Elijah’s Cup, Dayenu, etc. became part of the celebration. Finally, the class will explore how the Exodus story has been adapted and adopted by people other than Jews.

Wise Temple Eitz Chayim classes Wise Temple is excited to announce its upcoming offerings for adult education sponsored by their Eitz Chayim adult education committee. On Tuesdays, March 6 and 13, from 12–1 p.m., Rabbi Lewis Kamrass will teach a class on “Purim through the Layered Lens of Jewish Texts.” Purim is one of the most fun and outrageous holidays in the Jewish calendar.

The story, from the Book of Esther, is filled with intrigue and melodrama. This fairytale story

has led to much debate among rabbis and historians throughout the centuries. This class with Rabbi Kamrass will seek to unpack the many layers of this topsy-turvy holiday by looking through the lens of multiple Jewish texts.

The 92nd Street Y returns on Tuesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. with George Mitchell and Howard Gardner. Mitchell, who was a key player in resolving the Northern Ireland conflict, was chairman of an international fact-finding com-

mittee on violence in the Middle East and served as U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. As one of the most respected and influential leaders of our times, he will discuss the many lessons of his extraordinary political and diplomatic career. Mitchell entered the U.S. Senate in 1980 and served as Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1995.

Howard Gardner, whose notable life and work have led to enormous influence in education,

Fanchon Shur presents ‘Spirit in Motion: Pulsing Through the Jewish Universe’ A journalist once described Fanchon Shur, Cincinnati based and nationally known dancer, movement therapist, performer and movement teacher, as a

“philosopher of motion.” Whether you like such labels or not, this one does aptly describe the centrality of motion and movement in her classes, therapy sessions,

dance performances and workshops. At the same time, it points to the spiritual aspects of her work with the bodies in motion.

Fanchon Shur will lead a two-

hour interactive workshop that will combine a talk and a good portion of movement. “Spirit in Motion: Pulsing Through the Jewish Universe” takes place on Sunday, Feb. 26, from 2–4 p.m. at Congregation B’nai Tzedek.

Shur teaches the use of the body’s motion to heal the self and others, to express emotion, to communicate effectively, to break psychological barriers, to create a sense of community and to deepen the human bonds. At the same time, Shur “the philosopher” reveals to us the mutual relations between our spiritual experiences, individual or communal, mental or emotional and their physical counterparts as they are acted out by our moving bodies.

While her approach to the improved integration of the body and spirit is quite universal and can be applied in a wide variety of circumstances and contexts, her work is grounded in and often inspired by Jewish tradition: the Jewish story and prayer text, Jewish ritual objects, music and rhythms.

Her husband, composer Bonia Shur, is the exclusive music provider for her performances.

Her goal is to leave us transformed by the experience; feeling energized and vital, feeling a deeper sense of belonging to our tradition and to our community, feeling more free and able to communicate our thoughts and emotions.

Many of us attempt, with var-

ied degrees of success, to integrate in our lives these different aspects of our existence. Many of us have to struggle against the routiniza-

Shur teaches the use of the body’s motion to heal the self and others, to express emotion, to communicate effectively, to break psychological barriers, to create a sense of community and to deepen the human bonds. tion of our daily lives that occurs while we are meeting our lives’ demands. Shur aims to give us the tools to access through motion the lost experience of being alive and connected.

NATIONAL • 7

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Effort to change U.S. red line on Iran THE AMERICAN has Senate Dems worried about war ISRAELITE

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Is America’s red line on Iran moving?

A new bipartisan resolution introduced Thursday on Capitol Hill is part of a growing effort to shift the longstanding U.S. red line from Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon to having the capability to build one. Such a shift would bring U.S. policy in line with Israel’s approach.

The resolution — a nonbinding Senate statement backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — calls on the United States to prevent Iran from acquiring even the capability to build nuclear weapons.

It was introduced by Sens.

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Robert Casey (D-Pa.) and has 32 co-sponsors, roughly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. In order to garner Democratic support, the resolution’s authors had toned down its original language.

“I’m trying to build a bipartisan consensus around something we all believe in,” Graham said when asked by a reporter why he had removed language that seemed to threaten Iran with military force.

But the bill is already provoking jitters among Democrats anxious over the specter of war.

As it now stands, the resolution “affirms that it is a vital national interest of the United States to prevent the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.”

The language that was removed would have affirmed

National Briefs Obama, Netanyahu to meet March 5 WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet early next month.

A meeting was expected, as Netanyahu is set to be in Washington to address the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 5.

In a statement Monday, the White House said the two leaders would meet the same day.

The statement came after Tom Donilon, Obama’s national security adviser, concluded a threeday visit to Israel in which he met with Netanyahu as well as Defense Minister Ehud Barak and

Courtesy of U.S. Embassy, Kabul

Sen. Lindsey Graham, shown attending Independence Day celebrations at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in July 2011, has authored a resolution that would make an Iranian nuclear capability a “red line.”

“that it is within the power and capabilities of the United States Government to prevent the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.”

Noting the “power and capabilities” of the United States seemed too close to saber rattling for some Democrats, insiders said. A number of senators asked Graham to include an explicit denial that the resolution authorized military action; he flatly refused.

Capitol Hill insiders say that if Graham had not changed the language at all he likely would have failed to garner more than nominal Democratic support.

“They couldn’t find any Democratic co-sponsors until they Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the military chief of staff.

The meetings, the statement said, “addressed the full range of security issues of mutual concern.”

Meetings between top U.S. and Israeli officials have been more frequent in recent months as tensions between Israel and Iran have intensified.

Thousands of female Chabad emissaries meet in N.Y. (JTA) — Some 3,000 Chabad women emissaries serving in posts around the world came to New York for an international conference.

The conference, which concluded Sunday with a gala banquet, brings together thousands of day school principals, Hebrew school directors, adult educators, counselors, motivational speakers and their supporters to provide several days of workshops, inspirational programs, networking opportunities and celebrations, according to Chabad.

addressed those concerns,” said Heather Hurlburt, executive director of the National Security Network, a think tank allied with foreign policy realists and liberals, and one of a number of groups that made representations to Democratic senators in recent weeks to tone down the resolution.

The threat of military action is key to the resolution’s potency, Lieberman said, but he emphasized that the resolution did not seek to authorize such action.

“We 32 original sponsors of this U.S. Senate resolution want to say clearly and resolutely to Iran: You have only two choices — peacefully negotiate to end your nuclear weapons program or expect a military strike to end that program,” Lieberman said at a news conference Thursday.

Were it not for the back and forth over the language, the resolution would have been introduced a week ago. The delay and the sensitive negotiations over language may presage tensions with Democrats as AIPAC leads the drive among pro-Israel groups to ratchet up pressure on Iran this year.

Jewish Democratic insiders note that the Democratic party remains spooked over the political fallout of its acquiescence a decade ago in the buildup to the Iraq War. “There are clearly plenty of people, especially in the Democratic Party, who are reluctant to drive to war with great rapidity,” a Jewish Democratic activist said.

AIPAC is expected to make the resolution an “ask” in three weeks when up to 10,000 activists culminate its annual conference with a day of Capitol Hill lobbying.

Since its establishment, the event has been held near the anniversary of the 1988 death of the wife of the last Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Chaya Mushka Schneerson died on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Shevat.

Adelson to give $10 million more to PAC supporting Gingrich (JTA) — Casino and hotel magnate Sheldon Adelson reportedly has plans to give another $10 million to a group supporting Newt Gingrich for the Republican presidential nomination.

The donation to Winning Our Future, an independent committee, or Super PAC, that is run by former Gingrich associates, reportedly will be delivered in the coming days, CBS News reported, citing an unnamed source close to Adelson.

CNN reported the same, also citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the donation.

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8 • NATIONAL

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How Jewish groups became involved in the contraception coverage debate

By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — What were the Jews doing becoming so involved in a debate over contraception?

It was a question that more than one Jewish official asked themselves over recent months as tensions between the Obama administration and leaders of the Catholic Church rose to the boiling point over the issue of contraceptive coverage.

The Catholic Church rejects contraceptive use as immoral, and Catholic bishops protested vigorously when the Obama administration established a federal regulation that would have required an array of Catholic institutions to cover contraception as part of their health insurance plans for employees. By contrast, Jews across the religious spectrum sanction the use of contraception under varying circumstances.

Yet Jewish groups ended up weighing in on both sides of the controversy.

How Jews became involved in the debate — even making suggestions regarding the eventual compromise proposal that the White House hoped would put the controversy to rest — is a tale of deep ties between some Jewish groups and

Courtesy of Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement’s religious Action center, played a role in consulting with the White House on a regulation mandating contraceptives coverage for all but the most strictly religious groups.

the White House, the interfaith alliances forged by the politically like-minded and the tendency of Jewish groups to involve themselves in narrow questions that may not affect them directly but have broader implications for the relationship between religion and state.

Speaking on background, a

number of Jewish organizational officials said at times they felt discomfited being drawn into a dispute between the White House and another religion.

Yet Jewish groups weighed in even before the Department of Health and Human Services first issued the regulation that provided only a narrow exception from the contraceptive coverage mandate for houses of worship and other institutions deemed to have a primarily religious purpose — an exemption that effectively excluded many other religiously affiliated institutions such as hospitals, universities and charities.

Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s executive director of public policy, said his group joined a loose alliance of religious groups in writing to the White House seeking reassurances about reports that such a rule was in the offing. When the groups’ fears were realized, the coalition again wrote to protest.

“We signed on with Catholic groups and other Christian groups expressing concern, and there were conversations over the ensuing time,” he said.

Diament noted that the OU does not reject contraception coverage per se.

DEBATE on page 22

Thanks to financial aid, Jewish summer camp enrollments rise, despite economy

By Dan Klein Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — Bills or bug juice?

With the economic recovery still struggling to take hold, many American Jewish families are finding they face a difficult question as deadlines for summer camp enrollment approach: Can they both pay their bills and send their kids to Jewish overnight camp?

“It’s a difficult decision,” said Shelly Zemelman, a school psychologist in Cleveland with four children. Her 16-year-old daughter, Batya, has spent four summers at Camp Stone, a modern Orthodox camp in Sugar Grove, Pa. that charges $3,500 for a four-week session. Other Jewish camps charge as much as $1,500 per week.

“It’s not a necessity like school — it’s a luxury,” Zemelman said.

“If we had to send all four kids at the same time, I don’t think we could have done it.”

She said she knows several families who are considering dropping camp; one family made it work by alternating the years their children attend camp.

Jewish summer camp is not for the faint of wallet. But with new

studies suggesting that the camp experience is a key component in boosting the Jewish identity of American Jews, it shouldn’t be expendable, say champions of camping.

A 2011 study “Camp Works: The Long-Term Impact of Jewish Camp,” paid for by the Foundation for Jewish Camp and conducted by Steven M. Cohen, Ron Miller, Ira Sheskin and Berna Torr, found that Jewish campers were much more likely to feel attachment to Israel, attend synagogue at least monthly, light Sabbath candles and donate to a Jewish federation than those who had not gone to Jewish summer camp. The study, which controlled for past Jewish experience, also found that camp attendance was correlated with moderate increases in the size of one’s circle of Jewish friends and the importance one ascribes to Jewish identity.

The study found that 70,000 kids attended Jewish overnight camp in 2010.

For many parents, the answer to the dilemma is in financial aid.

Camp industry insiders say applications for financial aid have risen sharply since the economic crisis hit in 2008.

“Absolutely there’s been an increase in request for financial aid,” Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, told JTA. “There are current campers who have fallen on hard times and families that want to join camp for the first time but can’t make it an affordable choice for them.”

The 150 nonprofit camps in the FJC’s network have reported increasing scholarship allocations by 25 to 100 percent — often in addition to support offered by local foundations, federations or synagogues.

Yehuda Rothner, director of Camp Stone, said that requests for financial aid at his camp have gone up by 10 percent, but that the amount requested has gone up significantly more.

“People are asking for more money,” he said.

Over the last five years, the camp has more than doubled the yearly allocation for scholarships, from $100,000 to $220,000. There also has been a slight increase in “bad debt,” in which the camp makes accommodation for families who between the first and second payments find themselves unable to pay.

Courtesy of The Israel Project

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi presents Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a plaque, August 2011.

Good cop advocacy marked Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi’s The Israel Project

By Uriel Heilman Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — Here’s what the international Jewish media conspiracy looks like: Two men and four women, all clad in dark suits, sitting around a table in a windowless conference room in a nondescript office in midtown Manhattan.

Together they run a global organization stretching from Washington to China that cultivates relationships with 240,000 thought leaders around the world — diplomats, elected officials, community leaders and, especially, journalists. They compile dossiers on each reporter, updating their database if someone gets a new job, is assigned a new beat or develops a new interest. They spend more than $1 million per year on polling and focus groups. They’ve met multiple times with each of the candidates for U.S. president.

It’s all geared toward one goal: generating sympathy for Israel worldwide.

Now the woman who has led the organization since its founding in 2002, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, is stepping down from her post as president of The Israel Project. Ten years ago, when the Washington communications strategist first dreamed up her strategy for Israel, it was hard to find backing.

“No one would take on the plan because ‘Mein Kampf’ said Jews control the media,” Mizrahi told JTA this week. “But we were ceding the battleground to the enemy and they were destroying us.”

Ten years on, The Israel Project has managed to carve out a leading role among dozens of other likeminded organizations trying to influence media coverage of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. It has done so by focusing on information and relationships rather than straightforward advocacy.

So, for example, while a group like Honest Reporting issues detailed critiques when journalists get a story wrong, The Israel Project facilitates meetings for journalists with Israeli officials — and Palestinian ones, too.

It offers helicopter tours of Israel to

convey the uniqueness of the country’s security challenges. It holds meetings in Ramallah and New York with Arab diplomats and reporters.

And its Arabic-language Israel Uncensored page on Facebook has garnered more than 40 million views and 300,000 “likes” — about half of them from Egypt, according to the organization.

“Our job is to engage in relationships,” Mizrahi says. “The Israeli government should be doing almost everything we’re doing. But they’re not, and I think that that is a tragedy.”

Over the last decade, The Israel Project has grown into a $16 millionper-year PR juggernaut with a staff of 84 and access to top officials in Washington and Jerusalem. But after 10 years at the helm, Mizrahi is calling it quits.

“I’m burned out on Israel,” Mizrahi said Monday, two weeks after announcing her plans to resign.

“I’ve been doing The Israel Project for 10 years without rest. Dayeinu.

I’m tired.”

It’s not that Mizrahi has lost her love for Israel, she says, just that she’s ready to move on. After a fivemonth transition period during which the organization will search for a new CEO, and then a twomonth summer break to spend time with her family, Mizrahi plans to relaunch Laszlo & Associates, the Washington-based strategic communications firm she ran before her detour with The Israel Project.

Mizrahi says she already has one prospective client: a certain prime minister who wants her to run his reelection campaign. She smiles slyly but won’t say his name.

It’s a rare occurrence in the Jewish organizational world for a successful chief to voluntarily cede the reins and walk away, particularly one so closely identified with her organization. The Israel Project is as inextricably linked with the dogged Mizrahi as the AntiDefamation League is with Abraham Foxman, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations with Malcolm Hoenlein and the Simon Wiesenthal Center with Rabbi Marvin Hier.

INTERNATIONAL • 9

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

In a Ukrainian Jewish New European Jewish parliament orphanage, Tikva, economic riles existing European Jewish leaders “Working with the EJU would Rabinovich wrote in a column last

By Toby Axelrod downturn hits home month in The Jerusalem Post: offend European communities, and I Jewish Telegraphic Agency

By Alex Weisler Jewish Telegraphic Agency ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — In a colorful room at the Tikva Children’s Home here, 30 young boys stand in two straight lines and wait for the cue signaling that they are to start singing.

The children, students in a music class, are performing “Mind Your Manners” by the Philadelphia-based duo Chiddy Bang. It isn’t just their singing voices they are developing. Their performance is being recorded on video to be sent to potential donors in the United States.

“Take a second look and you’ll see, there is no one like me,” they sing.

Part music education and part fundraising, the dual-purpose performance underscores the depth of the financial crisis facing Tikva, an orphanage that serves impoverished and orphaned Jewish children from Ukraine, Moldova and southern Russia.

The orphanage is struggling to provide for its nearly 2,000 charges in the midst of a global financial downturn that has decimated its budget. In 2008, the organization had a $12 million budget, but with donations down 30 percent, the budget is now $7.3 million, according to CEO Refael Kruskal.

“A few years ago I would pick up a phone and someone would give you $100,000, $200,000,” Kruskal told JTA. “Now it’s two or three meetings, and I have to get on a plane.”

The challenges facing Tikva are a sign of the toll that the global economic downturn is having on Jewish institutions in already financially strapped nations.

The organization was founded in 1996 as a project of the Orthodox outreach organization Ohr Sameyach, which dispatched Israeli-born Rabbi Shlomo Baksht to help invigorate Jewish life in Odessa. The organization is now independent, an Ohr Sameyach representative told JTA, though Baksht, who is also Odessa’s chief rabbi, remains vice president of Tikva’s board and a member of its senior staff.

Tikva also operates ancillary programs, including an adult education program, a synagogue, a newspaper and a television program. These, too, had been run by Ohr Somayach.

Over the last three years, the orphanage has had to cut back on its services and offerings. Kruskal says the hard part has been doing that without sacrificing the organization’s ability to provide for its young charges.

Courtesy of Alex Weisler

Tikva Children’s Home infants’ facility director Chava Melamed leads the orphanage’s boys’ music class.

“We can’t allow for children not to be saved,” said Kruskal, who has been at Tikva for 13 years. “We can’t allow for children to stay on the streets in an impossible situation. It would be easy to say, ‘OK, let’s make another cutback.’ But now it would mean cutting into the flesh of our organization.”

Tikva’s programs for the elderly have had to be outsourced to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. A school about an hour outside of Odessa was closed down, with its students now commuting to the city. And the number of hot meals for children in the orphanages has been scaled back.

Tikva’s orphanage directors say they appreciate the financial difficulties but try not to be distracted by them.

“My main goal is just to give them more love, more affection,” said Chava Melamed, who has been the director of the Tikva infants’ home, which serves children younger than 5, for four years. “When I came here I wanted to make this a home, not an orphanage.”

From the outside, the facilities appear somewhat bleak (with the exception of the new girls’ home built in 2006), occupying old buildings with gray facades in the Moldavanka neighborhood. But inside, the facilities are filled with life: toddlers babbling to each other as they build Lego castles, boys with yarmulkes participating in a dance class scored to Top 40 songs, girls lounging in a common room.

Taking a break from playing a video game in a brightly lit computer room that will soon become an athletics facility in the boys’ home, Sasha Tokarev, 13, says the impact that Tikva has had on his life cannot be overstated.

“For a lot of people, it’s easier for their parents to have them come here,” Tokarev, who has been at Tikva for seven years, said through a translator.

BERLIN (JTA) — A new European Jewish parliament is set to open in Brussels this week, the brainchild of two businessmen philanthropists on a mission to shake up the status quo.

Igor Kolomoisky and Vadim Rabinovich, the Ukrainian Jewish moguls behind the body, founded the European Jewish Union last spring and will fete their new parliament in ceremonies at the EU Parliament on Thursday. According to their invitation, 120 Jewish members of parliament have been chosen by 403,810 voters from all over Europe.

But who are these representatives? And what exactly will they do? That remains a mystery.

Among the candidates in the elections were soccer star David Beckham, filmmaker Roman Polanski, comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen and fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg, as well as other famous and less-famous European Jews — many of whom never expressed an interest in running and didn’t know anything about the planned parliament.

Two days before the EJU was to fete the new parliament, its website did not list the representatives’ names. EJU officials declined to respond to questions from JTA about the parliament before its launch.

But the agenda is simple,

European Jewry is “a broken record” and needs change.

“The same people have remained in power, and the word that describes the situation best is ‘monotony,’” wrote Rabinovich, who with Kolomoisky also founded a Jewish TV news station, Jewish News One, in September. “There is nothing horrible about change, despite the threat it poses to the elderly activists.”

The description riles European Jewish leaders who were elected by their local Jewish communities.

They have been telling their EU contacts not to take the newcomers seriously, including in an open letter in December that referred to Kolomoisky and Rabinovich as “two private businessmen from Ukraine.”

Critics see the EJU and its parliament as a joke at best, and at worst as a stab in the back from the two Ukrainian Jewish leaders after established groups have spent decades working to rebuild Jewish life in postwar Europe after the fall of communism.

The criticism escalated last week when word spread that the EJU had invited the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the umbrella organization for 51 U.S. Jewish groups on matters of foreign policy, to attend the parliament inauguration while spurning elected leaders of local Jewish communities.

am sure you would like to avoid that,” Meyer Habib, vice president of the French Jewish community, wrote in an email to Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Presidents Conference.

Hoenlein is leading the Presidents Conference mission to Brussels before it heads to Israel. He told JTA that his organization was coming to meet with EU leaders and would not be attending the opening of the EJU parliament.

However, Hoenlein did acknowledge that the Presidents Conference would be using the EJU’s facilities in Brussels and that his group had accepted an offer from the EJU to charter a plane to fly the mission’s participants from Brussels to Tel Aviv.

“It was their gesture, otherwise we would have been stuck in Brussels for Shabbat,” Hoenlein said, noting that the CEO of the EJU, Tomer Orni, is an old friend.

Orni declined to speak with JTA for this story.

It wasn’t clear whether there would be any meetings in Brussels this week between the EJU and the Presidents Conference. But the idea that American Jewry’s leading foreign policy umbrella organization might be lending credence to the EJU has riled even some American Jewish friends of European Jewish leaders.

10 • ISRAEL

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

A divided town, where the pursuit of bargains brings together Israelis and Palestinians

By Linda Gradstein Jewish Telegraphic Agency BARTA’A, West Bank (JTA) — In these days of frozen peace negotiations, most Israelis and Palestinians have little contact. Palestinians need a special permit to enter Israel, and Israelis need army permission to enter the parts of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

In fact, just a mile north of this small West Bank town, a large yellow sign reminds drivers that “it is illegal to hand over cars for repair to the Palestinian Authority or to enter Palestinian areas.”

But in Barta’a, Israelis and Palestinians mix freely. The town is legally divided, with West Barta’a inside Israel and East Barta’a in the West Bank. But there’s no physical barrier between the two sides, and East Barta’a has developed a thriving market of hundreds of small stores selling everything from coffee sets to sheets to food to special teddy bears for Valentines Day. “They have a good selection, and the prices are much cheaper,” said Sharon Ben Harosh, a 43-yearold Israeli Jew who frequently makes the four-hour trip from Eilat to buy textiles for his shop.

“There’s a feeling of authenticity here. I buy everything here — rugs, furniture, dishes, curtains,” he said. “I really feel at home here.”

Palestinian store owner Ali Hamarshi, 48, grins and nods his head.

“I bring things from many countries — China, Turkey, Italy, the Philipines, Vietnam,” Hamarshi said. “India and China make the best kitchen goods, and many Israelis come here to buy.”

His words are echoed by Yusuf Zahar-Din, 52, who came to Barta’a from the Israeli Druze village of Usfiyya with his wife Hediye.

“We changed the tires on our car, bought some gifts and had a great meal of lamb,” Zahar-Din said smiling. “The people here are so nice. I love coming here.”

He added that prices are 50-60 percent less than inside Israel.

But not everyone benefits equally from the throngs of Israelis driving into Barta’a, says Zidran Badran, the mayor of the Israeli section of Barta’a.

“The commerce is all over there, not here,” he said. “We just get all of the dust.”

Prices are higher in the Israeli section of Barta’a because store owners there have to pay higher taxes.

The shops line a narrow twisty road, and there is no designated parking lot. Badran says an estimated 80 percent of the shoppers are Arab citizens of Israel and 20 percent are Jewish Israelis.

“Before I knew about this place, I was really afraid to come,” said Ben Harosh. “Now that I know about it, I don’t want to leave. I don’t know anything about politics, but this is the way things should be.”

Most of the citizens of Barta’a are from one large clan, the Kabaha clan. On the Israeli side, there are almost 4,000 residents; on the Palestinian side, about 6,000.

From 1948 to 1967, East Barta’a was part of Jordan, and families here were divided. In 1967, when Israel took over the West Bank, families were reunited; many families are mixed, with one spouse from Israeli Barta’a and the other from the Palestinian side.

Rafat Kabaha, the head of town schools on the Israeli side, says about one-third of the students come from the Palestinian side. If one parent is an Israeli citizen, the children can study in the local Israeli school even if they live on the Palestinian side.

Kabaha says 62 percent of the high school students receive a matriculation certificate, which enables them to attend university. That figure is almost double the overall rate of other Arab citizens of Israel.

“Both our teachers and our students live here in the village, and our teachers are very committed,” Kabaha says.

Barta’a is easy to reach — it is just a few minutes away from a major Israeli highway. Badran hopes that Israelis will continue to come but that Israeli Barta’a will develop as well.

“I have a dream,” he said. “I’d like to see people from all nations over the world coming here. In China they’ve already heard about Barta’a because we buy so many Chinese goods. We could even build a hotel here.”

Courtesy of Nefesh B’Nefesh

Phillip Grossman, 95, and wife Dorothy, 93, of Baltimore, Md., on a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight to Israel on their way to becoming one of the oldest couples to ever immigrate to Israel, Feb. 14, 2012.

Couple married 71 years makes aliyah

By JTA Staff Writer Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Baltimore couple married 71 years is believed to be the oldest couple to make aliyah.

Phillip and Dorothy Grossman, 95 and 93 respectively, made aliyah last Tuesday on a Nefesh B’Nefesh group flight in cooperation with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and the Jewish Agency, together with 43 new emigres from North America.

One of their three children lives in Israel; another will be making aliyah this summer.

The Grossmans were met at the airport by some of their grand-

The view from home front command Israel

By B. Davidson JointMedia News Service

ASHKELON — A chilling wintry wind blows over a water tower on the outskirts of coastal Ashkelon on the evening of Feb. 8, as a full moon rises to the east. A small group of IDF soldiers shivers on the flat concrete roof as they scan the darkening skies and wait.

On the first evening of a twoday drill, Home Front Command (HFC) spotter teams, geared and trained to identify incoming missile fire from a foe to the east — presumably Iran — are here to methodically practice their responses and to test their reaction time.

Their mission is simple, but their role is crucial: using an advanced laser-guided spotter scope, they follow a rocket’s trajectory and alert waiting HFC ground units of its expected point of impact.

“Our role is to track an incoming missile attack against Israel and direct the troops on the ground to arrive as fast as they can (to the impact site), and handle the threat on the ground,” IDF Cap. (res.) and

ops commander Noam Ginzburg tells JointMedia News Service.

The decades-old white Mekorot Water Company structure overlooks a major north-south highway and a busy intersection leading into Ashkelon.

An operator of the tripod-mounted, GPS-synched device zeros in on the falling projectile, and follows its path. At the press of a button, the device fires an infrared laser beam at two points along the projectile’s falling arc. From that moment, internal programming extrapolates the full path into the ground and calculates to within a few feet where the projectile will hit within the heavily populated urban area.

Ginzburg, in his mid-30s, shoulders the responsibility of protecting the densely populated, target-rich coastal area stretching from Kassambattered Sderot alongside the Gaza Strip, some five kilometers to the south, to Ashdod and its strategic port several kilometers to the north.

Ashkelon, itself home to a major power station, oil and natural gas pipelines, wharves, and numerous other strategic infra-

structure facilities, has sustained dozens of Kassam and Grad rocket attacks by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza over the years. Luckily, however, none have managed to strike the facilities — yet.

The ground units “should be able to arrive at the affected area within a minute to a minute and a half,” Ginzburg says of the Hazmatprepped forces. On Feb. 9, an army source says, the teams planned to drill hits by non-conventional warheads, including chemical weapons.

Down below, in a open field alongside the tower and over at a nearby gas station, soldiers fire a series of red flares several hundred meters into the air in different directions, in order to randomly simulate a rocket’s fiery exhaust and give the spotters’gear something to lock on to.

The HFC has learned the hard way — from experiences during the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, 2009’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, and Iraq’s 39 Scuds fired at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War — that the ability to accurately and immediately identify the precise spot a rocket hits can be difficult.

Briefs Netanyahu’s bureau chief resigns over harassment scandal JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau chief resigned over a sexual harassment scandal.

Natan Eshel under a plea agreement signed Sunday resigned from his position and committed to never again working in civil service.

Eshel admitted to unprofessional behavior with a female subordinate. The woman, known only as R, has refused to press charges or testify against Eshel.

Netanyahu in a statement thanked Eshel for “his dedicated and good work over the years as head of the Prime Minister’s Bureau, and commend(ed) him for his important contribution to the successful work of the government.”

children, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren living in Israel.

Single olim in their 80s and 90s have previously made aliyah, including a woman, age 99, in 2010.

“Phillip and Dorothy are probably the oldest olim couple that the State of Israel has ever absorbed, and they are proof that it is never too late to fulfill your dream and make such a significant decision in life,” said Erez Halfon, vice chairman of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “We congratulate them and wish them many more years of health and happiness living together with their family in Israel.”

They will make their home in Jerusalem.

Some 16 co-workers testified to the Civil Service Commission that Eshel had an inappropriate relationship with R. He is accused of stalking R, reading her emails and taking inappropriate photos of her.

Eshel said in a statement that the plea bargain “lifts the cloud of indecent acts and/or pictures and sexual harassment off of my life once and for all, and puts an end to the devil’s dance around me.”

Bureau director Gil Sheffer was named to replace Eshel.

Arab Spring inflating Israel’s defense costs, Bibi tells U.S. Jewish leaders JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Islamistization of the Arab Spring movement has placed “enormous pressure” on Israeli defenses and progress in the peace process, Benjamin Netanyahu told American Jewish leaders.

The Israeli prime minister, speaking Sunday night to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations’ annual meeting in Jerusalem, said his country’s economy must continue to grow to support financing of the increased defense needs.

SOCIAL LIFE • 11

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

ANNOUNCEMENTS ENGAGEMENTS athy and Thomas Bergman of Cincinnati are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Alexis to Michael Wintrob, son of Janet and Joseph Wintrob of Cincinnati. Alexis is the granddaughter of the late Natalie Buka and the late Dr. Theodore Buka of Cincinnati and Thelma and Harvey Bergman of Cincinnati.

Michael is the grandson of the late Jane and Bernard Markstein of Cincinnati and Beryl and David Wintrob of Pittsburgh.

Alexis is a 2000 graduate of Indian Hill High School and a 2004 graduate of Washington University with a major in Art History and minors in Fashion Design and French. She currently lives in Cincinnati and works for Procter & Gamble.

Michael is a 1993 graduate of Wyoming High School and a 1997 graduate from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism. Michael received his MBA from the University of Cincinnati in 2007. Michael currently works at LPK in Cincinnati.

A March wedding is planned.

K

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Oliver Cooper shown in the middle in an argyle sweater.

Oliver Cooper—a rising star in Warner Bros. ‘Project X’ comedy

By Rita Tongpituk Assistant Editor The Warner Bros. comedy “Project X” — starring Toledo, Ohio native Oliver Cooper — opens in theaters Friday, March 2. “Project X” is produced by Todd Phillips, the Jewish director and producer of the mega-hit “Hangover” movies.

Cooper’s mother, Wendy (Fohlen) Cooper, was born and raised in Cincinnati and is a graduate of Walnut Hills High School. Cooper’s grandparents, Marian and Gene Fohlen, live in Cincinnati along with many other relatives. Oliver is also the nephew of Cathy F. (Weinberger) Heldman, program director of the Mayerson JCC. “Project X” follows three seemingly anonymous high school seniors (played by Cooper and newcomers Thomas Mann and Jonathan Daniel Brown) as they attempt to finally make a name for themselves. Their idea is innocent enough: let’s throw a party that no one will forget…but nothing can prepare them for this party. Word spreads quickly as dreams are ruined, records are blemished and legends are born. “Project X” is a warning to parents and police everywhere.

At age 17, Cooper started doing stand-up in Toledo. He attended Arizona State University for one year before dropping out and moving to L.A. to live with his aunt.

Within nine months, Cooper’s friend Shaun Weiss, a fellow

been busy working on my own projects.” He adds, “I recently raised money to make a feature film that my good friend Joe Burke and I wrote together and I starred in called ‘In Between Meals.’ It is a little indie which should be done

“Project X” follows three seemingly anonymous high school seniors (played by Cooper and newcomers Thomas Mann and Jonathan Daniel Brown) as they attempt to finally make a name for themselves. Their idea is innocent enough: let’s throw a party that no one will forget…but nothing can prepare them for this party.

actor who played Goldberg the Goalie from the Mighty Ducks franchise, got him his first audition with “Project X.” Now 22, Cooper says that he had never been on an audition before this movie. “I had nine auditions and got one of the leading parts in ‘Project X’ at age 20. Since then I have

soon and we’ll try and enter it into some festivals.”

Actors who inspire Cooper include Bill Murray, Robin Williams and John Goodman.

His favorite movie is “The Big Lebowski.”

Nate Bloom, columnist for Jewz in the Newz, also contributed to this article.

WEDDING eborah Rosen of Cincinnati and Michael Rosen of Paris, Ky. are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, BreeAnna to Michael Bergman, the son of Kathy and Thomas Bergman of Cincinnati.

BreeAnna is the granddaughter of the late Lois and DeVere Dove of Great Bend, Kan. and Henrietta and Maury Rosen of El Paso, Texas.

Michael is the grandson of the late Natalie and Dr. Theodore Buka of Cincinnati and Thelma and Harvey Bergman of Cincinnati.

BreeAnna is a 1999 gradu-

Alexis Bergman and Michael Wintrob

ate of Huntsville High School and a 2005 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in Communications and a minor in Fine Art. She currently works as the Marketing Communications Manager at Psion Corporation.

Michael is a 1996 graduate of Indian Hill High School and 2000 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Business. Michael received his J.D. from Emory University Law School in 2003.

Michael, who won first place in the Cincinnati Innovates competition, currently works as the Marketing and Social Media Manager at LPK in Cincinnati.

The couple were married October 29, 2011 by Rabbi Gary Zola. They currently reside in Cincinnati.

D

Michael Bergman and BreeAnna Bergman

12 • CINCINNATI SOCIAL LIFE

ACTout

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volunteers turned a local church in Over-the-Rhine into a restaurant complete with menus, table service, fresh flowers, tablecloths and more as a way

to provide a hot breakfast and a warm heart to those less fortunate. This program was a partnership between Access for Jewish young professionals, 21-35, which is a program of The Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation and the Jewish Federation. For more information about Access, see the community directory in the back of this issue.

Vlad Leytus and Emily Strupp stir enough pancake batter to feed almost 80 guests!

The group cooks up some bacon—turkey bacon, of course!

Breakfast was served restaurant-style, with volunteers taking orders and serving meals so guests could feel a sense of pride that they don’t typically get to experience.

CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Bernie Jacobson scrambles 10 dozen eggs!

Breakfast was served restaurant-style.

Volunteers enjoy socializing while giving back.

Many volunteers woke up early on a Sunday morning to participate in this heart-warming event.

14 • DINING OUT

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Tony’s—totally terrific

By Sondra Katkin Dining Editor “It’s impossible to be monogamous when you own a restaurant.”

Tony Ricci of Tony’s was not making a scandalous statement, but referring to the passion a restaurateur must have to achieve the high standards he maintains. For great steak and outstanding seafood, Tony’s will satisfy and gratify. I was so impressed after my previous visit, I brought friends and family there to celebrate my birthday last summer. The food was as wonderful this time. Harvey Germain, Ricci’s new, creative chef has adapted Tony’s standards to his beautiful presentations and delicious flavors. Needless to say, the steaks were perfect with a seasoning that required no tweaking.

They are chosen from prime midwestern cattle. Ricci explained that there is a better quality of beef raised in the areas close to us because the animals aren’t strained from the prevalent heat and sun out west. “Our strip is the best in town.

The quality of prime beef we buy is the absolute best from the best sources,” he noted.

Ricci grew up in an Italian family and loved watching his mother’s pleasure while serving wonderful food to her family. He has inherited the nurturing gene. When my gigantic strip was served, he actually cut it for me, and was pleased with my reaction. Of course it was time “stoppingly,” crescendo “playingly,” consummately worth consuming. Perfectly cooked and seasoned with the flavor that only prime beef can deliver, its moist steak “liquors” were almost dizzying. “Enquirer” food critic, Polly Campbell commented that the steak had “flakes of salt in the crust that provoked the taste buds as the meat satisfied them. It was an excellent steak.”

What a supreme delight to have the top of the line done so well.

Tony’s 10 ounce hamburger is a mix of the same prime beef — 30 percent tenderloin, 70 percent strip.

It’s topped with a unique and savory herb aioli of mayonnaise, garlic, parsley, cilantro, green onion, chives and a subtle touch of anchovy paste. Chef Germain, who praises his mom’s Passover seders as “second to none,” encases the huge patty in a traditional brioche of challah. I gave him the pronunciation test on the “ch” in challah and he scored 100 percent. He said that Tony is a “mencsh” to work for.

Tony replied, “Harvey and I make a good team. He’s a very creative chef and has done some wine dinners that were absolutely fantastic.”

The burger was rated among the top two in Cincinnati by Paul Dougherty, “Enquirer” sports writer. My husband Steve and I shared it, but he couldn’t have the challah (he must be gluten free). We agreed it had a rich, moist, meaty

(Clockwise) Owner Tony Ricci, Chef Harvey Germain and Manager Shane Keeton; Moist, sweet and artfully presented Chilean sea bass; Strip steak so perfect, it speaks for itself; Prime burger, fries and aioli, a truly heavenly trio; Gracefully elegant dining room; Handsome, comfortable bar area.

flavor that most slim slivers of ground beef can’t approach. For me, hamburger rolls have long been objectionable, flawed, flavorless fillers of doughy white paste that I immediately strip to save the calories. But this wonderful challah, with its sweet crust and fluffy body, was the correct cover to complete but not compete with the quality of the burger. The accompanying french fry truffle wedges truly taste of truffles with more body and crispness than any fries I’ve experienced. Germain explained that “they are fried at low heat, then higher heat after they ‘rest.’ We try to perfect our craft here so it becomes art.”

The seared yellow fin tuna was memorable on my last visit, tasting similar to Steve’s filet. They probably used the same wonderful steak seasoning on the thick (about three inches) portion. This time the chef prepared Chilean sea bass that was seared in hot oil just before its flash

point, giving it a caramelized surface, then finished in the oven. It was complemented by scallion, frisee and cilantro with a “veil” of cardamom subtly imparting their flavors to the fish. A sweet corn puree was a piquant base for the bass. My fork just fell through the moist, perfectly prepared “poisson” (fish). Its sweetness rivaled the corn, creating an excellent partnership. Other entrees include organic Scottish salmon, oven roasted chicken, rack of lamb and a wide variety of steaks and chops with six succulent toppings to choose from.

The restaurant is also known for its high quality salads; Tony puts great emphasis on fresh preparation. Pastas are also prominently featured on the menu with the authentic feel that only an Italian mother can give. There may even be a gluten free selection in the near future since the chef and Tony have close relatives who can’t eat gluten.

They are sensitive to allergy limited

diners and will accommodate them.

Don’t skip dessert. It’s no wonder Tony’s mother’s cannoli recipe won “Best of Cincinnati.” A crisp shell surrounding a dream cream, it’s superior to the ones I tried in Boston’s Italian pastry shops. A new dessert Chef Germain recently added to the menu is a fruity masterpiece that was still unnamed.

Dice shaped pieces of caramelized apple gleam like gems in a flaky half shell. The rum glaze is so good you will pause to let it melt over your taste buds. A whipped white cream mousse adds an extra richness. This dessert will be the peak of pleasure from a perfect repast.

An equivalency of elegance exists between the food and the decor. The dining room has high ceilings with art deco accents. There are tall white booths and white banquettes on the sides, and sleek dark chairs and tables in the center. The spacious granite topped bar with its own menu of gourmet appetizers

and heartier fare shares the music area with the restaurant. Guests will enjoy soft jazz enhanced by a dark mahogany piano on Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Happy hour discounts are Monday to Friday, from 4 – 8 p.m. The restaurant also offers a large, lovely room for private parties.

Being a bit directionally challenged, I relied on a Google map and found it lacking. Tony said that the best and simplest way is to proceed north on Montgomery Road from Harper’s Point. I left during heavy evening traffic and reached 275 in about five minutes. It’s not quite two miles and no turns necessary. Tony’s is open Monday to Thursday from 5–10 p.m., on Friday and Saturday from 5–11 p.m., and on Sunday from 5–9 p.m.

Tony’s 12110 Montgomery Road Montgomery, OH 45249 513-677-1993

DINING OUT • 15

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16 • OPINION

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

The ultimate badge of honor

Rabbi Rudin is the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser.

Reading your Feb. 9 article “JCC Management Restructures” and then reading Edward Paul’s Feb. 16 response to the article prompts my, and I assume many other JCC members and Jewish Federation contributors, confusion and concern. It doesn’t make “cents” to terminate an executive director like Jeff Baden when the Board in their own words states he “has many accomplishments” and replace him with a more expensive CEO. It causes one to wonder if the Board action is symptomatic of an undisclosed problem and Jeff is the fall guy.

Don’t get me wrong , I appreciate the volunteer efforts of the Board members and they are all honorable persons. Maybe, it is just a case of the Board poorly communicating their decision internally and externally. Nevertheless to promote “shalom bayis” within our community, the Jewish Federation—since it allocated $598,908 to the JCC in 2012— needs to intervene to clarify the matter and to ensure Jeff Baden is treated fairly and equitably.

Respectfully, Bob Schneider Cincinnati, OH Dear Editor, I am writing in response to the article dated Feb. 9, 2012 refer-

Dear Editor, This letter is in regard to the firing of Jeff Baden. We and probably the great majority of the members of the JCC are appalled at the sudden decision by the board. We have received many signatures on a petition supporting this claim. In fact no one we spoke with was in agreement with the board’s decision.

Jeff was hired three years ago to make the J a desirable place for all ages of our members. He instituted many programs which attracted new members. The community responded by increasing the membership far above all expectations. We are very proud of the work which Jeff has accomplished. He has made a wonderful cohesiveness within the Jewish community as well as the nonJewish community. He certainly has done an outstanding job and is loved by everybody.

The shortfall of funds is a mere 25 of the gross income. Removing Jeff and replacing him with a top CEO who is oriented toward profit and also the search for such a person is going to be very expensive.

There are many ways of saving—one of which would be to suggest that members pay by checks instead of by credit cards.

(Non payment by check would cause the credit card to be charged.) Less use of credit cards would be a considerable savings.

Natalie Wolf Amberley Village, OH

LETTERS on page 22

T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: TERUMAH (SHMOT 25:1—36:32) 1. What items were contributed to build the Mishkan? a) Money b) Animals for sacrifices c) Materials 2. Is there a minimum or maximum amount that could be donated? a) Yes b) No 3. Who drew up the plans for building the Mishkan? a) Hashem 4. A. 5. B. 25:2. Hashem wants a person to give with a good desire. Rashi When it is given with a good heart it can become Hashem's in the Mishkan R Bcahi

(RNS) Even though men and women from every faith have been members of our armed forces since the Revolutionary War, the struggle for Catholic and Jewish chaplains to gain equality within the American military has been long and difficult.

It’s not a new fight.

In 1775, the Continental Congress restricted military clergy to Protestant ministers. Rabbis and Catholic priests were banned from serving as chaplains until the Civil War. And even then it was not easy.

It required the personal leadership of President Abraham Lincoln to enact legislation that was adopted 150 years ago, on July 17, 1862: “No person shall be a chaplain in the United States Army that is not a regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination,” the new law said.

The only requirement was presenting “testimonials of his present good standing as such minister” from a religious denomination that had at least “five accredited ministers.”

The key word was “some,” and there was no specific definition of what constituted an acceptable or recognized “religious denomination.”

Catholic and Jewish soldiers were at last guaranteed their spiritual leaders would accompany them into battle. Indeed, Rabbi Ferdinand Leopold Sarner of Congregation Brith Kodesh in Rochester, N.Y., was wounded at Gettysburg in July 1863. And at least two rabbis also served as chaplains in the Confederate army.

In the years that followed, it became commonplace for pastors, priests and rabbis to work together in the military. The most dramatic example of such cooperation took place on February 3, 1943 in the icy North Atlantic when a German submarine torpedoed the U.S.S. Dorchester, a small jam-packed American troop ship carrying 902 men, headed for Greenland.

The four chaplains on board — Protestant ministers Clark Poling and George Fox, Catholic priest John Washington, and Rabbi Alexander Goode — had become close friends at the Army Chaplaincy School. As the ship

ring to the “JCC Management Restructures” and would like to reiterate the sentiment that was previously expressed by Ed Paul.

How does the JCC board “restructure” the executive director under whose leadership the JCC membership has grown “by more than 20 percent?” As vice-mayor of Amberley Village, I have worked with Executive Director Jeff Baden on several projects and he has been nothing but supportive of the community in which the J is an active participant. Under Jeff’s leadership, the J has become a comfortable/hamish place for families, singles, teens and youngsters to meet, eat and participate in all aspects of community life. I like to think this is because of Jeff’s own strong ties to our local community. His vision trickles down to his excellent staff who see the JCC as a true “community” center and allow such programs as Girls on the Run and BBYO to operate at the J because they benefit so many young people in our community.

In my opinion, this “restructuring” is going to take the J in a backwards direction. After years of dedicated hard work by many lifelong supporters of the J, we have a JCC and a brand that we can be proud of. Why mess with it now?

Dear Editor,

b) Moshe c) Aaron 4. Did the Mishkan have a courtyard surrounding it? a) Yes b) No 5. Which part of a person’s body gave donations to the Mishkan? a) Head b) Heart c) Hand

2. B. 25:2 3. A. 25:8,9 Verse 8 Hashem commands to build a Mishkan, and verse 9 to build it the way he commands. Rashi

by Rabbi A. James Rudin

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

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

ANSWERS 1. C. Materials were donated to build the Mishkan (tabernacle). Money (half shekel) was donated to purchase sacrifices. Rashi

Point of View

began to sink, the clergy colleagues helped move men onto lifeboats.

When it became clear there were not enough life jackets for all aboard, the four chaplains gave their own life jackets to others. The four men, holding hands in solidarity and reciting prayers, went down with the ship. They were among the 672 who died that night.

As a result of their heroism, the so-called “four chaplains” were posthumously awarded medals for bravery, and a foundation was established in their memory to strengthen positive interreligious relations. A monument in Philadelphia commemorates the chaplains’ act of courage.

In 1945, after the bloody battle to capture Iwo Jima, Navy chaplain Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn spoke at the dedication of a cemetery on that tiny Pacific island. His address endures as one of the great sermons in American history.

“Here there are no quotas of how many of each group are admitted. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy,” Gittelsohn said. “Any man among us, the living, who lifts his hand in hate against another or thinks himself superior to those who happen to be a minority makes this an empty mockery.”

Yet, it was not until 1972 that a non-Protestant, the Rev. John J. O’Connor, was appointed senior chaplain at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. O’Connor later became Chief of all Navy Chaplains.

The world later came to know him as Cardinal John O’Connor, the archbishop of New York. Next month, in a ceremony at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI will elevate another former Army chaplain, former Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, to the College of Cardinals.

I served as a U.S. Air Force chaplain in Japan and Korea. Living day in and day out with my fellow chaplains provided me an important introduction to Christian-Jewish relations. At the time, my seminary classmate, Rabbi Philip Schechter, was an Air Force chaplain stationed in New Mexico.

Today his daughter, Sarah, is also a rabbi and wears the Air Force blue uniform as a chaplain. She has already completed seven years of active duty, including several deployments to Iraq.

Since 1862 all American clergy representing “some religious denomination” have been able to serve their country and their faith communities as military chaplains, both in times of war and times of peace. Thank you, President Lincoln.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

JEWISH LIFE • 17

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Sedra of the Week

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).

“The word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, ‘this Temple that you build – if you follow My decrees, perform My statutes and observe all My commandments to follow them, then I shall uphold My word with you that I spoke to David your father. I shall dwell among the Children of Israel and I shall not forsake My people Israel.” (1 Kings 6:11, concluding verse of the Prophetic reading – Haftorah – for Terumah).

How secure should we feel about the future of the State of Israel? Certainly, our future is far more secure in Israel than in any diaspora community. If there is anything to be learned from history, it is the precariousness of Jewish life in any “host” country, no matter how long we enjoy relative freedom and prosperity within their borders. Witness Babylon, Spain and Germany—countries where Jews experienced “golden ages,” only to find that the gold could turn into the ashes of crematoria under a cruel tyrant who “did not remember Joseph.”

I believe—and insist on proclaiming in the Prayer for the State of Israel every Sabbath and Festival—that this is the “beginning of the sprouting of our redemption.” There are many facts which would assuredly buttress this pronouncement: our phoenix-like return to Israel after almost 2,000 years of exile, our miraculous victories on the battlefield, the ingathering of the exiles from the four corners of the globe, the phenomenal growth of our agriculture and economy alongside of the amazing development of our scientific and high-tech industries after only six decades of Statehood. Moreover, despite anti -Zionist, anti-Semitic canards, many countries and many Christian leaders stand squarely in our corner, an amazing seachange after the last 2,000 years of persecution and enmity.

Indeed, I am thrilled every time I read Chief Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevy Herzog’s response to a

Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Terumah Exodus 25:1-27:19

If there is anything to be learned from history, it is the precariousness of Jewish life in any “host” country, no matter how long we enjoy relative freedom and prosperity within their borders. Witness Babylon, Spain and Germany—countries where Jews experienced “golden ages,” only to find that the gold could turn into the ashes of crematoria under a cruel tyrant who “did not remember Joseph.” delegation of prominent American Rabbis, who came to the New York airport to attempt to dissuade the great Torah luminary from boarding a plane to return to Israel after the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1947 (when it looked as if the State of Israel would die before it was born). He assured them that they need not worry; “Our Bible only mentions two destructions (in the portion of Behukotai in the Book of Leviticus, and in the portion of Ki Tavo in the Book of Deuteronomy); this third Commonwealth must lead us to the days of the Messiah and will never be destroyed.”

Nevertheless, “the beginning of the sprouting of redemption” is a rather modest declaration.

Sprouts do not always develop to fruition, other variables can interfere. And although the classical commentaries would seem to take our verse, “They shall make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them” as a promise and a guarantee, we dare not forget that the desert sanctuary was only temporary, the two Holy Temples were destroyed and we were forced into exile after the demise of each of the two commonwealths.

Yes, our prophets promised eventual return, repentance and even world redemption, but these are clearly dependent upon our repentance, as Maimonides rules in his Mishneh Torah (Kings 11: 12). Take note once again of our Biblical verse: “They shall make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them.” Not so that “I may dwell in it,” but rather “in order that I may dwell in each and every one of them.”

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch

links our verse to a verse sung by the Israelites in the Song of the Reed Sea; “This is my G-d and I shall become like His house.” My being and my body must be vehicles to express His unconditional love, His compassion, His lovingkindness and His Truth. The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt’l writes that just as the skins and the walls of the sanctuary housed the presence of the Divine, so must our human skin and our mortal bodies manifest G-d’s will in our every word, in our every action. G-d’s sanctuary will endure only as long as we —His people—express his message of compassionate righteousness and moral justice; “I shall make you a great nation, and through you must be blessed all the nations of the earth” (Genesis 12:3).

Hence in the Prophetic reading cited above, King Solomon is clearly told by G-d that the existence of the Temple is dependent upon the Israelites’ fealty to His words. The Midrash Rabbah to the Biblical words “And I shall dwell among them” links our verse to the prophecy of Jeremiah “Mend your ways and your deeds and I will cause you to dwell in this palace” (7:3). The prophet of the destruction of the First Temple warns that we dare not listen to the lying words of those who claim that since the Temple is G-d’s, so He will never destroy it. They are false prophets! The Jews must become the expression of G-d’s compassion for all the weaker vessels and then, only then will our presence in the Temple and in the land endure.

Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone

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18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

JEWZ

IN THE

By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist FEATURE FILM NOMINEES: “8 OUT OF 9 AIN’T BAD” The Academy Awards ceremony, hosted for the ninth time by BILLY CRYSTAL, airs on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 4PM, PST. Last week, I listed the Jewish nominees in the best foreign film and documentary categories. The following is a list of Jewish nominees in the English language, feature film categories (other than technical fields, like sound.)

The Jewish feature film nominees all happen to be associated with a film nominated for best picture, so I have listed the nominees by film. (“The Descendants” is the sole best picture nominee without a Jewish nominee. The Oscar for best picture goes to the film’s producers.)

(1) “The Artist” (best picture).

Producer: THOMAS LANGMANN, 39. He’s the son of the famous, late French Jewish filmmaker CLAUDE BERRI (born Claude Langmann). Thomas’ mother is not Jewish. The film’s director, Frenchman MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS, 44, is nominated for three Oscars: best director, original screenplay, and film editing.

2) “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” (best picture).

Producer: SCOTT RUDIN, 53.

3) “The Help” (best picture).

Producer: MICHAEL BARNATHAN, 53.

4) “Midnight in Paris” (best picture). Producers: LETTY ARONSON, 68, and STEPHEN TENNEBAUM, 75. Aronson is the sister of WOODY ALLEN, 76, who directed the film and wrote it. Allen is nominated for best director and best original screenplay. Tennebaum has long been Allen’s agent.

5) “Hugo” (best picture). The film’s Oscar-nominated score is

by HOWARD SHORE, 65. He won three Academy Awards for his music for the “Lord of the Rings” films.

(6) “Moneyball” (best picture).

Producers: RACHAEL HOROVITZ, 50, and MICHAEL DELUCA, 46. Horovitz is the daughter of famous playwright ISRAEL HOROVITZ, 72, and the sister of ADAM HOROVITZ, 46, of “Beastie Boys” fame. (Her late mother wasn’t Jewish.) DeLuca is the son of a Jewish mother/nonJewish father.

“Moneyball” co-star, JONAH HILL, 28, scored a best supporting actor nomination and he is the only nominated Jewish actor or actress this year. “Moneyball” is (also) nominated for best adapted screenplay and two of its three writers are Jewish: STAN CHERVIN, 54, and AARON SORKIN, 50.

7) “Tree of Life” (best picture): EMMANUEL LUZBEKI, 48, who was born and raised in Mexico, is nominated for best cin-

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ematography for his work on this haunting film. He’s a five-time Oscar nominee and is universally respected as a great innovator.

(8) “War Horse” (best picture). It was co-produced by STEVEN SPIELBERG, 65, the film’s director.

Special Note: “Hugo” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” are based, respectively, on novels by BRIAN SELZNICK, 45, and JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER, 34. But neither wrote the film adaptation.

Because readers “wonder”: Yes, every person identified as Jewish, above, was “verified” by this writer using good sources. In the case of two of the producers (Tennebaum and Barnathan) I had to look for “verification” in sources like family events mentioned in Jewish papers and found them. Nice to note: I learned that Tennebaum, unlike his colleague and client, Woody Allen, is active in the organized Jewish community and often participates in Jewish charitable events. By the way, the Academy doesn’t nominate a producer unless he/she really is “a hands-on” producer of the film.

MORE MOVIE STUFF “Wanderlust” is described as a “raucous comedy.”

PAUL RUDD, 42, and Jennifer Aniston co-star as a Manhattan couple (George and Linda) whose lives hit the skids when George loses his job. Their only option seems to be move-in with George’s awful brother in Atlanta. On the way there, they stumble upon an idyllic “hippie” town where clothes are optional and money isn’t important. The town may be the couple’s paradise or it may create even more problems for them. (Opens Friday, Feb. 24.)

Rudd previously co-starred with Aniston in the hit 1998 film, “Object of My Affection” and he was a regular during the last season of “Friends,” the show that made Aniston a star. Aniston’s current boyfriend, actor Justin Theroux, co-stars in “Wanderlust,” which is directed and written by DAVID WAIN, 42. He and Rudd co-wrote the hit movie, “Role Models” (2008) and Rudd starred in that flick.

The Independent Spirit Awards, for indie films, airs on the IFC cable channel on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 10PM. The host is SETH ROGEN and while many of the nominees are the same as the Oscars — some others of “Jewish interest” standout: “50/50” is nominated for best film. Its director (JONATHAN LEVINE), writer (WILL REISER) and co-stars (JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT and Rogen), are all Jewish. Also: ALBERT BROOKS (“Drive”) and COREY STOLL (“Midnight in Paris”) are both up for best supporting actor honors.

FROM THE PAGES 100 Y EARS A GO Bernard Levy has been unanimously nominated for Exalted Ruler of Cincinnati Lodge of Elks, which is tantamount to an election.

Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Fechheimer entertained with a dinner and reception Wednesday evening at their residence, 301 Albany Avenue, in honor of the 75th birthday anniversary of Mr. Fechheimer. In addition Mr. Fechheimer was surprised the same evening with a masquerade party.

Meyer Opatowsky, an actor who was playing at the Standard Theatre last week, whose stage name was Max Abbott, was shot

by George Stone, a brother of Fred Stone of the well-known Montgomery and Stone combination. The shot was the result over a trivial matter. Opatowsky , who was 27 years old, and whose home was with his sister, Mrs. Rosa Freilberg, at 130 E. One Hundred and Seventeenth Street, New York City, was taken to the hospital where he died within a few hours as a result of his wounds. Stone claims that he fired the shot in self-defense. The weapon used was a small-bore rifle taken off the counter of a nearby shooting gallery. — February 22, 1912

75 Y EARS A GO Mr. Irving S. Benjamin of the Belvedere has purchased the home at 690 Clinton Springs Avenue, for occupancy later by himself and family.

On Sunday, February 28th, at 4 p.m. at the Netherland Plaza Jessie Straus Mayer will present her pupil, Ruth Griszimer, in a violin recital, with Gertrude Englander at the piano.

Miss Mimmie Skurow, of Oak Street, was married to Mr. Robert Cohen, Middletown, Ohio, Sunday, Feb 21st.

The Misses Bluma and Sophie Franklin have returned from Detroit, where they were the guest of their brother and sister, Rabbi and Mrs. Leo M. Franklin.

Mrs. Bertha Leshner, 62, Hamilton, OH., passed away Friday, Feb. 12th, in Hamilton Hospital. Services were held from the residence Sunday with interment in Price Hill.

She is survived by her husband, Jacob Leshner; four sons, Leo, Harry, Nathan and Garry, of Hamilton, and a daughter, Mrs. Harry Brenner, 3565 Van Antwerp Place, Cincinnati.

Mr. and Mrs. Meyer Zwerin, 925 Blair Avenue, will be at home Sunday, Feb. 28th, from 7 until 11

p.m., in honor of the bar mitzvah of their son, Harvey. Services will be held the preceding morning at Avondale Synagogue.

— February 25, 1937

50 Y EARS A GO Herbert R. Bloch, Jr., is the new chairman of the Community Chest’s General Budget Committee.

He succeeds Walter L. Lingle, Jr., who was appointed deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Mr. Bloch is a board member of the Community Chest and Cincinnati Area Chapter of Red Cross; president and board member of Associated Jewish Agencies, and secretary and board member of HUC-JIR. Rabbi and Mrs. Hyman J. Cohen of Stillwell Road, Roselawn, announce the engagement of their daughter, Elinor Ann, to Mr. William S. Ziv, son of Mr. Frederic W. Ziv and Mrs. Malvin Rae Ziv of Cincinnati.

Miss Cohen is a student in the UC College of Education. Mr. Ziv is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles where he is affiliated with Zeta Beta Tau. Dr. Abraham Cronbach, professor emeritus of Jewish social studies at the Hebrew Union College, was honored last week by the faculty at a luncheon at the college to celebrate his 80th birthday.

He is a native of Indianapolis and was ordained at HUC-JIR in 1906. He received his doctorate in 1915.

Jerry Stolar, 534 Clinton Springs, passed away Thursday, Feb. 15.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary Stolar; a daughter, Miss Maxine Stolar; a sister, Mrs. Rose Seltzer; and a brother, Mr. Sam Stolar. — February 22, 1962

25 Y EARS A GO Rabbi Bernard Greenfield has announced his retirement as rabbi of Ohav Shalom Congregation.

He has been the synagogue’s spiritual leader for 40 years.

In a recent letter to the congregation, Greenfield wrote, “I have now concluded, with mixed emotions, that the time has come to announce my retirement as rabbi of Ohav Shalom, to take effect on a date mutually agreeable to the synagogue and myself.”

Florine Mark, nationally recognized authority on diet and nutrition, will address the Business and Professional Women of the Jewish Federation at a dinner meeting at the Regency Party

Room on Monday, March 9.

Mark, president and chief executive officer of the Weight Watchers Group with headquarters in Detroit, heads the single most profitable operation within the Weight Watchers organization.

She directs more than 1,000 meetings with over 50,000 members participating and employs more than 1,600 people.

Mark has received numerous honors and awards for her work on obesity as well as her philanthropic endeavors. Most recently, she was named as one of the “Outstanding Business and Professional Women” by the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce. Presently, she serves as co-chairman of the Women of the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit. — February 26, 1987

10 Y EARS A GO Ruth Zeligs, local and national community leader who served as the first woman Federation general campaign chairperson and the first woman to be president of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, has passed away.

She is predeceased by her husband of 56 years, Dr. I. Mark Zeligs, a brother, David Graham and a sister, Freda Baker. One brother, Dr. Gilbert Graham of Woodbury, N.Y. and her two children, Mrs. Betsy Goldberg of Mequon, Wis. and Dr. Joseph D. Zeligs of Bethesda, Md., survive her.

Applause! Magazine’s 12th Annual Imagemaker Awards Ceremony was held Feb. 17 at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Michelle Hopkins, WLWT news anchor, and Jim Scott of 700 WLW hosted the event which honored a diverse group of individuals who have contributed positively to the greater Cincinnati community.

Sallie Elliott, publisher and CEO of Applause! Magazine, explained that this year’s finalists represented an even broader and more diverse mix of individuals.

Barbara Glueck, executive director of the American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Chapter and chair of the Cincinnati Citizens Police Advisory Commission, was awarded with an Imagemaker Award in the field of Advocacy.

Michael Rapp, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, professor of Theology at Xavier University, and member of the Steering and History Committee of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, was honored as a finalist in the field of Public Service. — February 21, 2002

FOOD / CLASSIFIEDS • 19

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Access (513) 373-0300 • jypaccess.org Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc.

(513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7258 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Cincinnati Community Mikveh 513-351-0609 • cincinnatimikveh.org Fusion Family (513) 703-3343 • fusionnati.org Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati 513-961-0178 • jcemcin.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) 514-1200 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 • 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

Congregation Ohr Chadash (513) 252-7267 • ohrchadashcincinnati.com Congregation Sha’arei Torah shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Zichron Eliezer 513-631-4900 • czecincinnati.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 Kulanu (Reform Jewish High School) 513-262-8849 • kulanucincy.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org

ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234.0777 • jdiscovery.com Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (513) 204-5594 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com Women’s American ORT (513) 985-1512 • ortamerica.org.org

‘Fresh and Easy’ Zell’s Bites

by Zell Schulman I must have collected more than a hundred cookbooks over the years while I’ve been writing “About Food.” Several weeks ago, Lea Schapira’s “Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking” arrived in the mail. With one glance at the beautiful photographs in the cookbook, I was rushing into my kitchen to try one or two of the 170 recipes.

Her refreshing and interesting approach in creating recipes, menus and cooking techniques using seasonal ingredients provides an exciting opportunity to try new things.

Her Kitchen Information Guides from What’s in season Fall & Winter, Spring & Summer carry us through the year with great anticipation.

I learned how the shapes of the pasta I cook go better with different types of sauces. As well as how the size of my cooking pots and pans each have a special purpose. How to freeze, not to freeze and keeping your foods freezer fresh were an added plus.

There are so many things to choose from. In the front of the cookbook are four amazing pages filled with a montage of colored photographs for recipes from appetizer ideas to Passover menu ideas, to make ahead suggestions, followed by photos of recipes that freeze well.

Soups, sauces, brunch and lunch, sandwich ideas you can’t wait to taste, like Spinach Grilled cheese. There are more ways to fill pita pockets than you ever thought of and desserts that will melt in your mouth and have your guests asking, “Can I have the recipe?”

The Chocolate Mousse with Pear Chips had my mouth watering.

Needless to say, “Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking” is a gift you want to give yourself.

1 cup heavy cream Salt and pepper to taste Method: 1. Preheat oven or toaster to 350° 2. To prepare creamed spinach, squeeze excess liquid from thawed spinach. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream, lower heat, and cook for 8 to10 minutes or until sauce is reduced and mixture is creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Slice baguette into 1-inch slices. Top with a tablespoon of creamed spinach and sprinkle with cheese. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

4. Serve warm CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH PEAR CHIPS Makes 8-10 servings Ingredients: 8 eggs, separated 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Not baking chocolate) 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules dissolved in 3 teaspoons of boiling water 1/4 cup of sweet red wine 1-4 pears Method: 1. In a mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

2. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the coffee. Beat egg yolks with a fork and quickly add to double boiler, mixing well. Add the red wine. Remove from heat.

3. Fold in the egg whites until combined. Place in individual cups for serving. Refrigerate.

4. To prepare pear chips, preheat oven to 325° 5. Thinly slice the pears and lightly coat each side with sugar.

Place the pear slices in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Turn the pears over and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Turn off the oven and leave the pears in the oven to cool and dry.

6. Before serving, garnish mousse with chocolate shavings and caramelized pear chip SENIOR SERVICES

SPINACH GRILLED CHEESE Makes 5-6 servings: Dairy Ingredients: 1 loaf french baguette 1-1 1/2 cups Mozzarella and cheddar cheese, shredded Creamed Spinach 2 tablespoons oil 1 small onion diced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained

• • • • •

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

(513) 531-9600

20 • FINANCIAL / BUSINESS

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Does fear really trump the need for growth?

By Pamela F. Schmitt, CFA The economy is a cyclical thing. Uncertainty is a fact of life.

These two realities can have a significant impact on movements within financial markets on a dayto-day, week-to-week or month-tomonth basis, as investors react to new information and anticipate what it means for the future.

While understanding long-term trends can be helpful for determining profitable investments, it seems that more often, in our culture of instantaneous communication and immediate gratification, investors are being driven to react emotionally to short-term phenomena losing sight of the long-term value poten-

tial that can be realized by focusing on high-quality investment securities trading at reasonable valuations.

So what is it exactly that compels an investor to purchase a U.S. Treasury bond that locks in a return of less than 1 percent per year for the next five years, or less than 2 percent per year for the next 10 years? This at a time when the average dividend on the stocks in the S&P 500 is more than 2 percent, and the valuations on these stocks are low enough to offer the potential for significant appreciation over the next five or 10 years?

The answer, for many, is short-term fear and uncertainty. Fear that a stock purchased today might go down over the next few weeks, concern about the next economic data

release that might impact “market sentiment” over the next month. But is fear over these short-term fluctuations really worth giving up the potential for long-term growth?

Consider the following examples: Emerson Electric is a global industrial company based in St. Louis, with projected long-term earnings growth of 12 percent per year. Its stock pays a dividend of 3.2 percent and is available for purchase at just 14.2x next year’s earnings. Even if earnings only grow at 10 percent and the P/E multiple does not change, that is an expected average return of 13.2 percent per year. If the P/E multiple were to expand toward its historical average of 18x, the additional return could be up to 25 percent more.

PepsiCo, a global food, snack and beverage company, has projected long-term earnings growth of 7 percent per year. Its stock pays a dividend of 3.2 percent and is available for purchase at 14.5x next year’s earnings. With a constant P/E multiple, we would expect the stock to provide a long-term annualized return of about 10.2 percent, but there is also the potential for P/E expansion, based on the stock’s historical average multiple of 20x, in which case even greater returns could be realized.

For these companies and many others, we know that there is always risk of economic issues, company issues, global issues, some of which can be mitigated by diversification.

But even if these stocks experience short-term declines, we can have reasonable confidence in the stability of their operations, their sound financial quality, the value inherent in their products and capabilities. Their dividends alone pay more than bonds, so with even modest growth over the next decade, a focus on such highquality dividend-paying stocks should provide solid value to a welldiversified investment portfolio.

Ms. Schmitt is a Senior Portfolio Manager with RiverPoint Capital Management, a $1.2 billion investment advisory firm in Cincinnati. She has nearly two decades of experience and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Michelman CEO appointed to TechSolve Board of Directors The Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce recently announced that Mr. Steven J. Shifman, president and CEO of Blue Ash, Ohio headquartered Michelman, Inc., has been appointed to serve on the TechSolve Board of Directors.

“Steve is an outstanding business and community leader and TechSolve is fortunate that he has agreed to serve,” said Gary N. Conley, president of TechSolve.

As a TechSolve Board member,

Mr. Shifman will provide guidance on TechSolve’s overall strategic direction, mission and growth plan. He will also participate in delegating responsibilities to the TechSolve Executive Committee, Officers and Staff.

Since joining Michelman in 1992, Shifman has held multiple corporate positions in Sales Management, Business Unit Management, Chief Financial Officer, and since 2003 has been

President and CEO. He has an active community portfolio serving, or having served, on the boards of various civic, philanthropic and arts organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and the Mayerson Jewish Community Center where he is currently the Board President.

About Michelman Michelman is a global developer

of water-based barrier and functional coatings for flexible film packaging, paperboard and corrugated cartons; and water-based surface modifiers, additives and polymers for numerous industries including wood care, industrial coatings, inks, fibers, composites and construction products. Michelman serves its multinational and regional customers with production facilities in the U.S., Europe and Singapore, and a worldwide network of highly trained field

technical support personnel.

About TechSolve TechSolve is a lean production and process management consultation company located in Cincinnati.

For 25 years, TechSolve has helped small to mid-sized companies implement business building process improvement and advanced manufacturing solutions that deliver measurable top-line and bottomline results.

David and Nancy Wolf make signature gift to Cinti Children’s David and Nancy Wolf have pledged a leadership gift of $500,000 to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to create new formal training programs as part of the medical center’s Israel Exchange Program.

The Wolf’s partnership will help strengthen the close bonds Cincinnati Children’s has formed with the scientific and medical communities in Israel—helping to improve child health in our community and around the world.

“The Wolfs’ gift will create the David and Nancy Wolf Israel Exchange Training Program, which will help Cincinnati

David and Nancy Wolf

Children’s leverage Israel’s entrepreneurialism and innovative spirit,” said Michael Fisher, president and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s.

“It will further our robust educational exchange with the best and brightest Israeli researchers and clinicians, and allow us to expand the reach and impact of some of our most complex pediatric services.”

David, a real estate developer, and his wife Nancy, a retired occupational therapist, have supported Cincinnati Children’s for more than 30 years. This gift, their largest ever made to the medical center, focuses on a key goal of

the Israel Exchange Program: recruitment of the best and the brightest scientists, pediatric medical professionals, and medical students from Israel to train at Cincinnati Children’s in both clinical and research specialties. Their support over the next three years will provide critical funding for: Training 12 Israeli medical students, beginning with four students who will arrive this spring from Tel Aviv University.

One post-doctoral research position for three years, including a one-time take home grant for the individual to continue their

research upon return to Israel.

Clinical fellowship positions, of varying lengths, to serve the areas of greatest need in Israel.

The program will also work to integrate the Israeli trainees into the Cincinnati Jewish Community.

These relationships will allow Jewish community members the opportunity to draw closer to Israel and their Jewish heritage.

The Wolfs and Cincinnati Children’s hope that this generous gift will enable Cincinnati Children’s to leverage additional support for the Israel Exchange Program.

Lori Krafte of Wood Herron & Evans named to Super Lawyers list Lori Krafte has been named to the Ohio Super Lawyers and the Top 25 Women Cincinnati Area Super Lawyers lists as one of the top attorneys in Ohio for 2012. No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased

process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

“This recognition is a true testament to Lori’s hard work and dedication to her clients and the profession,” said David Stallard, Senior Partner, Wood Herron & Evans.

“Her talent and passion are evident, and she is a considerable asset to the firm and her peers. Lori’s selection for theSuper Lawyers lists is well-deserved.”

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super

Lawyers magazines and in leading city and regional magazines across the country. Super Lawyers magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law.

The first Super Lawyers list was published in 1991 and by 2009 the rating service had expanded nationwide. In February 2010, Super Lawyers was acquired by Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals.

Wood Herron & Evans has served businesses, trade associa-

tions, universities, foundations and individuals since 1868. Our practice is committed to aiding clients in the acquisition, development, protection, licensing, defense and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Our attorneys and their well-trained professional support staff understand the value of our clients’ intellectual property assets. We focus on in-depth involvement with clients.

We anticipate legal issues that might threaten or compromise IP assets.

And when our clients’ rights require enforcement, we handle necessary negotiation and litigation effectively

and vigorously.

Our experience gives us a seasoned and informed view of technology, identity, branding and of the complex laws which protect innovation and intellectual property rights in business, manufacturing, entertainment, sports, publishing, electronic media and commerce. We work closely with our clients to devise strategies for intellectual property acquisition, licensing and protection that fit and enhance their business objectives and that increase shareholder and owner value.

BUSINESS • 21

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Kosher for Passover—yes, there’s an app for that This year Kosher for Passover abounds with new and innovative foods and beverages, and enters the technology age.

The Orthodox Union is the

leading global kosher certification agency. Their new OU Kosher App allows you to search for complete listings of all Kosher for Passover OU-P prod-

ucts, as well as those that do not need special certification, newly certified products, and get product alerts. And, look for the OU’s Digital OU Guide to

Passover.

This information and more about Kosher for Passover products comes from Kosherfest, the largest kosher food and beverage

trade show, and KosherToday, the bi-weekly kosher food industry newsletter.

This year Passover starts at sundown on April 6.

Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown installed to Board of Trustees of American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Local plastic surgeon, Mark Mandell-Brown, MD and director of the Plastic Surgery Experts, has been recently installed as a Board of Trustee for the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. As a trustee, Dr. Mandell-Brown will help oversee the largest organization of cosmetic surgeons with 2,500 mem-

Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown

bers. Dr. Mandell-Brown will serve a two year term and was also appointed to head the fellowship training programs committee.

“This is truly an honor,” stated Dr. Mandell-Brown. “The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, with headquarters in Chicago, promotes safety, education and scientific

advances in the field of cosmetic surgery.”

As head of the fellowship program, Dr. Mandell-Brown will oversee the 25 fellowship cosmetic training programs throughout the United States. These one year fellowships provide in-depth training for surgeons interested in cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Mandell-Brown has been instrumental in the educational program for the AACS. He holds a yearly breast or tummy tuck workshop at the Mandell-Brown Plastic Surgery Center. Physicians as far as from Singapore, England and Canada have attended his surgery workshops.

Jewish community comes together to help Bari Levy Rubenstein Former Cincinnati resident Bari Levy Rubenstein, the mother of four children ages 6 and younger, recently suffered a major trauma to her spine, which has left her unable to move from the neck down and on a ventilator. Bari, who was born and raised in Cincinnati with her parents and four siblings, was an active member of the Cincinnati Jewish community in high school and as a young adult. Rubenstein currently lives in Chicago.

Rubenstein, 40, is a Baird & Warner certified relocation professional. In early September, she was hospitalized and is now recovering at the Rehab Institute of Chicago from a staph infection that attacked her spine. Bari’s tragedy has brought the community together. On Jan. 29, friend Dedra Goldhoff Perlmutter organized a

fundraiser in Cincinnati which raised over $5,000. Friends and relatives of Bari attended. “There were people who attended that we haven’t seen or heard from since our childhood, over 30 years ago,” said her brother Brad Levy, who lives with his wife, Barb Berg Levy, and daughter Marisa in Amberley Village.

Bari and her family have had strong ties to the Jewish community for over 60 years. Her grandmother, Ethel Jane Callner, worked for Jacob Rader Marcus.

Marcus was the founder of the Center of the American Jewish Archives and former graduate and professor at the Hebrew Union College. Callner worked for Marcus for over 40 years. Callner worked as his assistant and organized his annual Passover seder for

rabbinical students. Ethel Jane died 12 years ago and was eulogized by Rabbi Lewis H. Kamrass of Wise Temple and Rabbi Gary Zola, Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati.

Bari’s mother, Susan Levy, moved to Cincinnati in the third grade. She was a member of Rockdale Temple for over 40 years. Susan is a retired real estate agent and moved to Chicago a year and a half ago to be close to her daughter Bari, her other daughter Cathy and her six grandchildren.

Susan was a strong member of the Jewish community and served as ORT president over 50 years ago.

Bari’s uncle, Marty Callner, producer and director, is the creator of HBO’s series Hard Knocks, which featured the Cincinnati Bengals. Callner, who watched the Bengals as a child play at Nippert Stadium, created the HBO reality series. “I lobbied to get Cincinnati on the show,” Callner says. The 1964 Woodward High School graduate is best known for directing HBO’s concerts. He’s the award-winning director-producer behind HBO shows starring Jerry Seinfeld, Justin Timberlake, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, George Carlin, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight and the recent George Lopez concert.

Callner has been very involved with his niece’s progress.

“Bari has been resilient and has been fighting every step of the way. She has a long journey ahead of her, we can only hope for the best,” says Callner. The money from “Bling for Bari,” was collected for the Friends of Bari Rubenstein Fund. This fund has raised over $40,000 which will first go for Bari’s care for such items as private nursing duties, personal care and/or equipment not covered by insurance. This is a small fraction of what she will need to get her through this tragedy as a quadriplegic.

“Everyone we talk to feels for Bari and her family,” said friend Perlmutter. “Her story touches everyone.” If you would like to contribute to the fund, call The American Israelite for further information.

need to do something for himself and others in the IBD community.

The initial focus of CDSN was on Crohn’s Disease. As CDSN progressed Jason expanded it to include multiple IBD’s such as Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease, Diverticulitis etc. People’s personal comments have been incredibly supportive and moving which led to his WEGO award. “I strongly feel that this support along with the support I witness within the CDSN community motivates me every day with the goal of helping at least one person. It is an honor to be considered a Health Activist; something I feel I have grown to become thanks to the members of CDSN and the health community,” he said.

Winning this award will help Jason with his future goals: offering support to IBD patients and caregivers while spreading awareness, holding a CDSN sponsored fundraiser with the proceeds going to IBD research, establishing a program with pharmaceutical compa-

nies to aid patients in receiving medications when they cannot afford them, and finally, working with political leaders to get Medicare to cover dental care for Crohn’s and IBD patients.

The CDSN offers patients a social network experience where they can share their stories, research and post education, and read about other patients’ experiences. Everyone involved is a volunteer. CDSN offers patients their own personal customizable page where they have a profile, pictures, videos, a journal/blog, unique groups, a forum, and the network has a chat room. CDSN also offers support to patient’s family and friends because watching someone you love live with a disease like Crohn’s can be incredibly difficult.

By reading what other patients experience hopefully they can have a better understanding of what their loved one is going through.

Currently CDSN has members in over 20 countries and growing.

Jason Leitman, Health Activist Hero EGO Health is a nonprofit organization that empowers and celebrates the top 10 percent of online health social media contributors to connect with each other and with healthcare companies. One way of celebrating these Health Activists was by holding their first WEGO Health Activist Awards. Jason Leitman had the honor of being named the Health Activist Hero for 2011. He was nominated and voted upon by the peers in his community, making this honor even more special. Jason was up against 139 nominees. The awards were announced on Jan. 31.

Leitman was born and raised in Cincinnati. He is 31 years old. At the age of 19, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s. As with most Crohn’s patients, he went undiagnosed for many years. He was sick from the age of 5. At 10 he was admitted to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy, but his stomach issues continued. When he was 19, he woke up exhausted and with stomach pains. Jason’s doctor sent

him for a barium follow-through.

He was diagnosed with Crohn’s.

That year Jason had his first bowel resection in May 2000. From the time of his diagnosis in 1999 to 2005, Jason had between 17 and 20 abscesses drained. In that time he had three major surgeries. In August 2010, Jason began to retain fluid that would not go away. In October 2010, Ascities was discovered. He was immediately admitted to the hospital for 32 days and was told he had Hepatitis B. The doctors believed he contracted Hepatitis B from one of his hospital admissions through cross contamination.

Jason now has Chronic Hepatitis B, with Stage 4 liver failure. The combination of a medication for Crohn’s and the Hepatitis is destroying his liver which is causing several other complications. He has Hepatopulmonary syndrome—a rare condition which causes broadening of the veins in the lungs, and Portal Hypertension—both caused by cirrhosis of the liver. The only

treatment for Hepatopulmonary Syndrome is constant use of oxygen. The only cure for both complications is a liver transplant, which Jason is going to have at the University of Cincinnati. He needs a full liver and the wait can be anywhere from months to a year.

Jason became a Health Activist in September 2009, when he along with family and friends created the Crohn’s Disease Support Network (CDSN) a free, nonprofit support network for people with Crohn’s and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

“When creating CDSN I never imagined it would evolve the way it has, having such a positive impact on people’s lives including my own,” Jason said. Having lived with Crohn’s Disease since he was a child, he found that support was something he searched for with little success. He also witnessed the effect the disease had on his loved ones.

The entire ordeal was rough on his parents. Seeing the look of helplessness so many times, Jason felt the

22 • OBITUARIES D EATH N OTICES AUERBACH, Stanley, age 77, died on February 14, 2012; 21 Shevat, 5772.

GREENFIELD, Mitchell, age 56, died on February 15, 2012; 22 Shevat, 5772.

SEGEL, Leonard, age 89, died on February 15, 2012; 22 Shevat, 5772.

STEIN, Emily, age 88, died on February 16, 2012; 23 Shevat, 5772.

BECKER, Esther, age 90, died on February 17, 2012; 24 Shevat, 5772.

KAPLAN, Bernice, age 89, died on February 18, 2012; 25 Shevat, 5772.

MORGENSTERN, Carl, age 90, died February 19, 2012; 27 Shevat, 5772.

MORGENSTERN from page 1 “My Grandpa inspired me to do my best and motivated me to try my hardest,” said his 15-yearold granddaughter, Emiko Morgenstern. “He understood me.

He could relate to me and he could communicate to me in a way no one else ever could. When he gave me a gold Star of David necklace for my bat mitzvah, it was not the gift that was so memorable, but the words that came along with it.

He told me to ‘take hold of the JYP from page 4 7. Wednesday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. Access’ No Boyz Allowed presents: Ready… Aim…Fire!

Guns aren’t just for the guys! The ladies of No Boyz Allowed will set their “sights” on learning a new skill when they take over Target World Shooting Range for the night. First, they’ll find out how to handle their weapon at the mandatory safety training session. Then they’ll head onto the range for target practice.

LETTERS from page 16 Jeff was hired because he is an excellent people person with great compassion. He is not a ruthless top executive and the J is not a profit-making organization.

Some adjustments can be made without an abrupt change in management. New management may institute changes which are unpopular with the members and which may result in loss of memDEBATE from page 8 “Our concerns are less contraception than that some organizations are deserving of protection” from government mandates “and

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Golden Ring.’ Because of my Grandpa, I will continue to strive to reach my goals and always keep looking for my opportunity to take hold of that Golden Ring.”

With his much-beloved wife, Marilyn, Morgenstern created a warm and open home in Hamilton where the couple’s many friends often gathered for spirited political debates or to relax after tennis, always accompanied by good food.

Several years after his wife’s passing, he reunited with Rose Werney of Detroit, whom he had known in Cleveland when he was a young man. Until the end of his life, they found great happiness together.

Morgenstern operated his own general practice law firm in Hamilton for more than 50 years and was known for taking controversial cases. His clients from every walk of life adored him and trusted him implicitly to do the right thing for them from cradle to grave. Sometimes clients brought homegrown produce to the office and it was not surprising when one couple, of modest means, who sought Morgenstern’s help to adopt a baby, named their son “Carl” after their trusted attorney.

“Carl and I have been friends for at least 40 plus years or more,” said photographer Jack Woods of Fairfield, who turned to Morgenstern for everything from leases for his business to adoptions in his family. “He is in my heart a great and wonderful friend whom I will always treasure. He has taken me and our family through many difficult situations.”

A leader in the bar and a men-

tor to many young lawyers, Morgenstern was president of the Butler County Bar Association in 1979 and a member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Executive Committee.

Judges frequently called on Morgenstern to serve as a mediator in difficult cases.

“Carl was frequently involved with what I called ‘lost causes’ but somehow he, through his Bull Dog persistence, converted these ‘lost causes’ to causes celebre,” said Retired Judge John Moser of the Butler County Common Pleas Court. “I told Carl more than once he took cases where angels would fear to tread. Principle was his motivator.”

Public education was Morgenstern’s passion. For 10 years in the 1960s he served on the school board of the Hamilton City Schools. Later he served as attorney for the school board, developing a specialty in education law, which led him to teach the subject as an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law for nearly a decade.

He hired one of his law students, Roger S. Gates, now chief of the civil division in the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, and the two were a team for 26 years.

Morgenstern also practiced law with his daughter, Barbara, for 15 years.

Former Ohio Governor John Gilligan appointed Morgenstern as Trustee of Miami University in 1973. As a trustee, he captured headlines when he called for Miami to divest itself of stock holdings in South Africa because

of his opposition to apartheid.

Hugh Morgan, professor emeritus of English at Miami, remembered Morgenstern as a “voice of conscience.” “[A]t a time when South Africa was still segregated, he led a drive by the trustees to demand the administration boycott the stock ownership of companies doing business with South Africa,” recalled Professor Morgan. “I once talked to him at length about this and I was deeply impressed by his humanity.”

Always student centered, Morgenstern relished being accessible to students during the turbulent ‘70s and believed in finding justice through debate. He often quoted the saying “If everyone agrees, no one is thinking.”

A star debater in high school, Morgenstern also founded the high school mock trial program in Hamilton and financed student competitions through a fund he established. He also supported the mock trial program of the Wyoming, Ohio City Schools where his granddaughter, Beth Krumbein, participated on the team.

For the mock trial competitions in Hamilton, Morgenstern “commandeered the Butler County Court House,” remembered his daughter Barbara, so the high school students could argue their cases in real courtrooms before real judges. “It was difficult to say no to my dad and all the judges had extreme affection for him,” she said.

The Hamilton Journal News selected Morgenstern as a “Citizen of the Year” in 1997 and his nomination statement described him as

a “fierce advocate for the citizens of Hamilton.”

Reflecting his love of tennis, Morgenstern served as president of the Ohio Valley Tennis Association and as grievance chair of the Western Tennis Association.

In the family’s Vista Cruiser station wagon, Morgenstern frequently took youngsters to out-oftown tennis tournaments. He also was part of the “D” Street Gang in Hamilton, a single court on “D” Street where members, for nominal dues, showed up for impromptu tennis play with particular rules, such as, no warm-up allowed.

Morgenstern was an ardent supporter of Israel and a life-long member of B’nai B’rith and Hillel.

He was a founding member of Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Deerfield Township. He was the patriarch, principal benefactor and most importantly, trusted friend and counsel to the new congregation.

Morgenstern always was grateful to Jewish Family Service for helping his family through a crisis in the early 1950s. His wife Marilyn gave birth to their two children, both in 1952, and then contracted polio while Morgenstern was a struggling young lawyer in Hamilton. Jewish Family Service provided a nurse to take care of the babies and he always remembered how his wife Marilyn had to look down from her hospital room window to see her children on the sidewalk.

To honor Morgenstern’s memory, his family asks that memorial contributions be made to Congregation B’nai Tikvah, P.O. Box 35, West Chester, Ohio 45071; 513-759-5356.

Pizza and pop will be provided.

8. Wednesday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. Access’ No Ma’am presents: Operation Paintball—It’s an actionpacked evening just for the guys at Cincinnati’s most popular paintballing field, Paintball Country, where they’ll face off in a faux battle to the finish. All participants will receive a paintball gun, mask and 500 paintballs. But first, there’s a mandatory Boot Camp training session. Pizza and pop will be provided.

9. Saturday, April 21 at 9 p.m.

Access presents: Cirque du Soiree—It’s the greatest show on earth…but this time, the guests will be the stars! YPs are invited to run away and join the circus for the night and experience life under the big top in a whole new way. It all starts with a three-ring show where professional circus performers will demonstrate their skills, then they will teach party-goers the how-to’s involved in juggling, plate spinning, tight rope and stilt walking, balancing on a giant ball and more.

Trapeze demonstrations and fire breathing will also be featured, but unfortunately, will not be available for guests to try. Adult beverages and all the circus food everyone loved as a kid will be available. It’s Access’ first big event of 2012 and hundreds of YPs from all across the region are expected to attend.

10. April 29 at 12:30 p.m.— Access and the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati present: ACTout’s Helping Hands YP Workforce—As part of this year’s Give-A-Day ini-

tiative YPs can help brighten the day of homebound seniors and others in need of a helping hand by working in teams doing light chores such as flipping mattresses, switching out seasonal clothing, changing batteries and light bulbs, yard work and more. However, tackling these tasks for them is just part of the mitzvah…visiting and socializing together is what makes it even more meaningful for everyone involved.

Participants will meet up afterward for coffee and conversation.

bership. We are urging the board of directors to reconsider their decision.

If you are in agreement, please state so in a letter, email or fax addressed to the Mayerson JCC.

saw/heard him in an early debate.

He has more of the “it” factor— an engaging smile, sincerity in mannerisms and speech and a relaxed presence. He comes off as a guy you could walk up to and “B.S.” with.

Sans name-calling or dissing fellow candidates, he pressed the Republican mantra that the size and power of the government is out of control. A concept that everyone (except socialist and

Marxists) would agree on.

However, the fact remains government workers and those directly or indirectly impacted by government funds are the largest voting block of Americans and voters, since “The Great Society” choose what’s best for them as individuals rather than what’s best for the country, per se.

Brown

County Republican dinner last night to hear keynote speaker Rick Santorum. There were 750 in attendance (seemed like the entire population of the county).

He did not attack his fellow Republican opponents, instead concentrating on what he believes America should be. He was very strong on his beleif that America should stand with Israel.

Of all the candidates, I have liked Santorum best since I first

others are not,” he said.

Agudath Israel of America, the haredi Orthodox umbrella group, also weighed in against the rule. Its Washington director, Abba Cohen, cast the implications as broader

than contraceptive coverage.

Government mandates conceivably could extend to end-of-life issues, he said, where Orthodox practices at times clash with those of the medical community.

“Fundamentally, we believe that constitutional rights of free exercise [of religion] must be honored,” Cohen said. “It’s not just birth control and abortion, it’s the larger issue of health and medical ethical issues.”

At the same time that Orthodox Jews were joining with other critics of the new regulation, another important Jewish organizational constituency, Jewish women’s groups, were praising it.

Sincerely, Sandy and Ed Destanik Cincinnati, OH Dear Editor, We attended

the

Chuck Klein Georgetown, OH

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2012 CALENDAR SPECIAL ISSUES & SECTIONS

The American Israelite

MARCH

J ANUARY

FEBRUARY

5 12 19 26 Mature Living *Section

2 Kids/Summer Camps *Section 9 16 23

1 8 Wonderful Weddings / Purim 15 22 29

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

5 Passover *Issue 12 19 26 Travel Guide

3 Bar/Bat Mitzvah *Section 10 Lag B’Omer 17 24 31

7 The Car Issue 14 21 28

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

5 Health & Beauty 12 19 26 Mature Living *Section

2 9 Back to School *Section 16 23 30

6 13 Rosh Hashanah *Issue 20 Jewish Year In Review 27

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

4 Financial & Estate Planning 11 18 25

1 Event Planning 8 15 22 29 Gift Guide *Section

6 Gift Guide *Section 13 Chanukah *Issue 20 27

1st week: L EGAL | 2nd week: T RAVEL | 3rd week: A RTS & E NTERTAINMENT | 4th week: B USINESS | 5th week: VARIES DEADLINE

FOR

SPECIAL SECTIONS – 10

DAYS BEFORE PUBLICATION

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

WONDERFUL WEDDINGS 2012 S PECIAL S ECTION If your business/organization wants to reach the greater Cincinnati Jewish community regarding weddings, this is the issue to do it!

• Bands/DJs • Banquet Halls • Bridal Shops • Caterers • Event Rentals • Florists • Photographers To advertise, contact Ted Deutsch at 621-3145 or publisher@americanisraelite.com Deadline is March 1st Publishes on March 8th

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