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At Yom Ha’atzmaut, school shows it’s OK for Jewish, Arab students to have...
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How the JCC became the place to be for YPs
DINING OUT
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Cook like a ‘wok’ star, dine like a gourmet
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Beth and Louis Guttman host Israel bonds reception
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YPs at the JCC’s Fitness & Friends Workout Series p.11 J E W I S H
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Sarkozy falls in first round of French vote, but not in Jewish eyes
Jewish Federation’s Give a Day “It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to refrain from it.” This line from the Talmud refers to tikkun olam, or repairing the world, and it is what the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Give a Day (this year on April 29) is all about. Give a Day is a communitywide day of service. Congregations and agencies from all across the Jewish community have organized 35 social action projects that take place throughout the greater Cincinnati area. Some projects specifically benefit members of the Jewish community. For example, volunteers can garden at Cincinnati Hillel, Rockwern Academy or Cincinnati Hebrew Day School. Or they can paint at Jewish Vocational Service or spring clean at Ohav Shalom. But, with the recognition that it isn’t only the Jewish world that needs to be repaired, most Give a Day projects benefit the larger community. Volunteers can head to Valley Temple to make fleece blankets for children in hospitals and others in need. Or they can meet at Northern Hills Synagogue and then go out into the area to provide home repair for low-income families. Others can clean up at Drake Park or Sharon Woods with the Jewish Federation’s Young Adult Division
or even provide childcare or serve lunch at The Church of Our Savior’s morning service through Beth Adam.
“It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to refrain from it.”
Sam Lobar and Batya Boxt giving a day.
These organizations are relying on volunteers to make their Give a Day projects successful. And the individuals helped by the projects rely on the volunteers even more. Without you, Ronald McDonald House guests won’t have a homecooked meal that night, homeless people who are discharged from hospitals won’t have the companionship they need, the mural at Interfaith Hospitality Network will stay unpainted and homebound seniors won’t have the help they need with their household chores and yard work. Pick your project and register today.
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Answer the Call: Super Sunday gifts tripled by Jewish Foundation Jaguar XK— Re-awaken your primal side LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Super Sunday event, chaired by Tulane and Jack Chartock, will take place on April 29, as one of 35 volunteer projects offered on Give a Day, a community-wide mitzvah day (day of service). On Super Sunday, from 8:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m., volunteers from across the community will make calls to raise funds for the 2012 Community Campaign, which sup-
ports 39 programs, 25 agencies and 13 congregations in Cincinnati, in Israel and around the world. From now until Super Sunday on April 29, all new gifts and increases under $1,000 to the 2012 Community Campaign will be tripled by The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati. The one-to-one matching grant that has been in effect since the beginning of this year’s campaign will increase to two-to-
one for Super Sunday gifts only. After April 29, the match will revert to one-to-one until the May 31 deadline. Community members are asked to help in two ways: by volunteering to make phone calls and by donating to the campaign on or before Super Sunday. Volunteers can register for one of two shifts on April 29 or for a May 2 follow-up session by visiting the Super Sunday website. Donors
can give by answering the call on Super Sunday. The Community Campaign supports the programs that provide a safety net for the most vulnerable while nurturing and sustaining Jewish life. The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati brings our community together to care for Jews in Cincinnati, in Israel and around the world and develops opportunities for each of us to embrace a Jewish life.
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Rockwern’s Dor L’Dor program The Dor L’Dor (generation to generation) program at Rockwern Academy is in its 13th year. It was started by Yavneh Day School’s PTO in 1999. It has become an important part of the students’ day at Rockwern Academy. Once a week senior volunteers come into the classrooms and work with the students. These volunteers help the teachers, and are like grandparents to the children giving help, wisdom, advice and love. Dor L’Dor volunteer, Bobbie
Singer, assists gym teacher, Patty Smith, to lead classes of 3 and 4 year old children in exercises and games. Heroldine Ukelson volunteers in Deborah Birckhead’s preschool room and her husband, Lou Ukelson, affectionately known as Papa Ukelson, helps in Penny Baldwin’s first grade classroom. Lou (Papa) Weisser is a Holocaust survivor and volunteers in Miri Sadeh’s class and Shirley Nord volunteers in Sharon Haas’ classroom.
The Dor L’Dor program teaches our children about the Jewish values of respect for the elderly (Hidur P’nai Zaken) and gives different generations the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company. Many of our students do not have grandparents in the same city, and this allows the generations to interact. If you are interested in joining Rockwern’s Dor L’Dor program, please contact Carolyn Wetzler at Rockwern Academy.
Hearing Men’s Voice explodes onto national scene North American Jewry is facing many challenges. Men in general do not express or talk about their issues. Volunteerism and men’s participation in Jewish life is significantly down. Twenty years ago, men comprised 75-80 percent of volunteer boards. Today, that number has diminished to approximately 35 percent. The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC), the creative and innovative arm of the Conservative movement has implemented a program over the last five years called “Hearing Men’s Voices” (HMV). HMV is a signature program of the FJMC that meets the challenge of engaging Jewish men in Jewish life. FJMC is using HMV to redefine the culture of Jewish manhood. Art Spar and Paul Davidson of
the FJMC are heading a committee including Dr. Gary Smith from Adath Israel of Cincinnati and several other passionate Jewish men in implementing circle discussions centering on men’s issues. Rabbi Irvin Wise of Adath Israel, along with Hamilton Lempert and Joel Kling, have instituted several very successful circle sessions centering on men’s issues. We have had all generations of men involved. This is exactly what the program was intended to do, involve Jewish men in Jewish life. “It was amazing,” noted one participant. “I have been going to synagogue for many years and recognized guys as acquaintances and now I feel an amazing connection to those same people.”
Another wonderful asset to this program has been the recruitment of minimally affiliated young Jewish men, which is essential for the future growth of Judaism. FJMC is building a team of “Mentshcen” who are charged with implementing the HMV program nationally. The first 60 Mentschen were recruited and trained at FJMC’s national convention in 2011. This included three from Cincinnati: Kling, Lempert, and Smith. We are having retreats to further train more Mentschen men. If interested in becoming a part of this incredibly useful and fulfilling team, contact Dr. Gary Smith through Adath Israel Brotherhood. We would be glad to come and speak with your Brotherhood or Men’s club.
Wise Temple seventh grade B’nai Mitzvah class As the school year comes to an end, and we reflect on the successes of the past year, we at Wise Temple are particularly proud of our seventh grade B’nai Mitzvah program. Our seventh graders meet about once a month (in addition to Religious School on Sunday mornings) for engaging, interactive sessions rooted in experiential education. At the core of the program lies the idea that it is not enough to just merely teach values of responsibility, participation and integrity—we believe that children must discover them for themselves. Our main goal in this program is to provide the context in which the students can begin to experience the meanings of these essential Jewish values and how they fit into their own lives. It has been a great year for seventh grade, from the MiniMaccabi Day (color war) in
September to traveling to HUC to participate in the Reach for the Stars videoconference on April 22. In December, students participated in the “My Neighbors” program, in which they learned about how to respond appropriately to those who are different than themselves. The seventh graders took part in a wide range of activities, including a text study, art project, and a role play around the power of words, specifically the phrase “That’s so gay.” The session ended with a guest speaker from the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless who shared his own story of homelessness, which helped to personalize this important issue for our students. Each session is entitled “My ___” because we want the students to take ownership of the particular topic. Another memorable session, “My God,” included a
“God Mall” where students could shop at various stores for their personal theology. Our dedicated, knowledgeable staff assisted students in articulating their beliefs and questions about God, a subject that can be challenging for anyone (especially adolescents) to explore. The staff also helped to bring Jewish text alive in the “My Jewish Tradition” session, in which students tried to stump our expert panel by asking for advice from our texts to help with modern day problems. During the seventh grade year, the students discover what it means to be a part of the Jewish people, explore their developing Jewish identity and form a kehillah kedoshah (holy community) with their classmates. This program is just one component of Religious School at Wise Temple.
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How the JCC became the place to be for YPs
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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. 40 THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012 4 IYYAR 5772 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 8:09 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 9:10 PM THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 Phone: (513) 621-3145 Fax: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISSAC M. WISE 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
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member of the Mayerson J. Not only is it one of the nicest exercise facilities in Cincinnati, but the many social gatherings they offer have helped me to create a network here and to stay connected to people my age who share similar interests such as exercise, sports, music, etc,” explained Mitch Better, a frequent participant in many of the YPs at the JCC programs. “The programs also motivate me to exercise so I can stay connected to my friends and consistently meet new people.” Events and classes for YPs have been scheduled well into the spring and summer, including the upcoming Pilates and Slim Cooking in the Courtyard on Tuesday, May 1. The free event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a private Pilates class, taught by popular instructor, Nora Kirsh, geared for participants of every level from beginner to advanced. Then, at 7:30 p.m., Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian, Peachy Seiden will cook up a few simple, healthy meals in a snap and share tips and tricks on maintaining a healthier diet. Samples are included of course! YPs are invited to participate in one or both portions of the program. This event, and all other YPs at the JCC programs and classes are open to anyone 21-35 years old. For those who are not members of the JCC, free, no strings attached Day Passes are available through Josh Rothstein.
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appeal to this demographic, including Modern Dance, Ab Blaster, Aqua Bootcamp, Krav Maga, Knockout, SMACK, J-Soul Spinning, Couples’ Boxing and others, which are typically followed by some type of social event. For example, after a SuperSized high impact yoga class, YPs were treated to free Yagoot yogurt and a lululemon trunk show. In a similar fashion, a full Israeli lunch was served after a Krav Maga class, and an afterhours pool party was planned on the heels of a Pilates class, just to name a few. “Last winter, there was a Scuba Diving event where the entire indoor pool was converted into an underwater classroom where any young professional could try out Scuba Diving for free,” exclaimed Tracy Levine, who moved to Cincinnati from Cleveland this past summer. “Who knew that the JCC would become my home away from home? Not only do they offer fun events to attend after my work out, but they have given me a great way to cultivate friendships. Recently my friends and I went to a Slim Cooking demo after an exercise class where we learned delicious healthy eating tips. It was like a one-two punch!” she added. “Thanks to the JCC I have begun to build the kind of lifestyle I hope will carry me throughout my 20s and beyond.” “Out of all of the gyms in Cincinnati, I chose to become a
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use the Access model to create an innovative mix of social events and workout classes specifically aimed at this demographic. Through surveys, focus groups, one-on-one conversations and a little trial and error, a series of programs and events were developed, based largely on what people were asking for. It didn’t take long for word to spread that the Mayerson JCC was the place to be for Jewish YPs in Greater Cincinnati. Now, a year and a half later, this unique partnership between the two organizations has produced a thriving program for YPs at the JCC. To date, hundreds of YPs have participated in these specialized programs and classes, bringing in nearly 200 paid memberships and counting as a direct result of these efforts. “Like Access, the YPs at the JCC program is ‘consumer driven,’ making it easy for our constituents to give us ongoing feedback,” said Rothstein. “That way we can offer custom workout classes and other programs that we know will appeal to them. It also allows us to take calculated risks when it comes to offering ‘out of the box’ events and classes. With this demographic it’s critical for us to stay on top of the latest trends in health, fitness and of course, fun! The best way for us to do that is to be in close touch with our participants and really listen to what they want and need.” As a result, special group exercise programs have been created to
NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher
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A Super-Sized high impact yoga class for YPs at the JCC attracted more than 125 participants.
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Last week 26-year-old Daniel Schwartz joined the JCC! Normally something like that wouldn’t be considered big news. So why does it bear mentioning? Because two years ago when he moved to Cincinnati from Atlanta, he took a tour of the JCC and promptly joined Urban Active. “Don’t get me wrong, I thought the Mayerson JCC was a beautiful facility. It had everything I could have wanted—with the exception of one thing. Other people my age!” he explained. “But over the past year I started to notice that things had changed. Almost everyone I knew was joining the J. There was even a person on staff now who was dedicated to young professional programming. There seemed to be so much going on that I decided to check it out again,” he continued. “I was blown away by how many YPs I saw there this time around, and by how much they’ve got going on for my demographic any given week! I couldn’t believe how much had changed in such a short amount of time. I was so impressed, I dropped my other membership and joined the JCC right then and there!” Every day more and more young professionals (YPs) are joining the JCC, making it more than just a place to work out. It’s a place to connect to other young professionals who are looking for a fun and cost effective way to exercise and socialize with others just like themselves. Much of this new influx of YPs is due to an innovative partnership between The Mayerson Foundation and the Mayerson JCC, which resulted in the formation of a new program about a year-and-a-half ago called YPs at the JCC, geared primarily for Jewish young professionals, 21-35 years old. “For nearly a decade we have been successful in getting, and keeping, a significant percentage of YPs engaged and connected to one another and to the Jewish community through our Access initiative,” explained Pam Saeks, director of Jewish Giving for The Mayerson Foundation. “Over the years we have gained a certain expertise regarding this demographic by keeping our ear to the ground in order to spot trends, identify unmet needs and create opportunities where none existed before so when the JCC approached us to help them reach out to this audience we were thrilled to be able to use what we’ve learned to support their efforts and to increase the number of great offerings available for YPs in the Jewish community!” As part of the strategy to attract more YPs to the JCC, The Mayerson Foundation’s Outreach and Engagement coordinator, Josh Rothstein, was put in charge of YP programming there. His job was to
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.
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Wise Temple Brotherhood presents Cabaret Night On Saturday, May 5, the Wise Temple Brotherhood will host its Cabaret Night. Magician and Wise Temple member Chuck Arkin will serve as the emcee for this program. A number of performances from some of the most talented members of the Wise community have been assembled for this special evening. The event will feature a wide variety
of entertainment, including jazz, pop, show-tunes, classical music, and even some amazing sleight of hand illusions. Several members of the Wise Temple band, Shir Chadash, will also perform that evening. In addition to the talent, there will be plenty of food. The Brotherhood will prepare a dessert buffet with plenty of snacks and refreshments.
There will also be complimentary beer and wine available at this Cabaret Night extravaganza. Cabaret Night is open to the community. Please note that there is a cost of admission for the event. The doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Seating will be limited, so it is best to come early.
Photographer of Hassidic communities in Israel visits Cinti
Photograph about the interior lives of Hassidic Jews in Israel
The Israel Center of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati is partnering with Rockwern Academy and Cincinnati Hebrew Day School to host a presentation by Gil Cohen-Magen based on his book Hassidic Courts, a one-of-akind collection of photographs about the interior lives of Hassidic Jews in Israel. The event will take place at Rockwern Academy on Thursday, May 3, at 7 p.m. The presentation—which has toured throughout Israel and the U.S., including in Chicago, New York, San Diego and St. Louis—is the result of a nine-year project by Cohen-Magen, a photojournalist whose photographs have graced the front pages of some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines. A graduate of the Hadassah College of Jerusalem's photography program, Cohen-Magen spent 10 years working with the news agency Reuters. Since 2001, he has been working on a series of photo essays on the Hassidic Jewish communities in Israel. He has been given exclusive access to observe and photograph the religious and cultural rites of these unique communities, ceremonies that have never before been photographed or shown to the outside world. In his book, Cohen-Magen
describes his journey and his understandings, “The spiritual magic revealed to me in Jerusalem’s Hassidic world captivated me, and I decided to explore it independently. I succeeded in gaining access to the most closed and orthodox of the Hassidic courts, including the antiZionists, and was fascinated by what I saw.” Rabbi Yuval Kernerman, principal of Cincinnati Hebrew Day School, says, “The Hassidic Courts presentation will hopefully provide us all with the opportunity to examine the beautiful—if not often misunderstood—world of traditional Judaism.” Etti Scheier, coordinator of Jewish outreach and programming at Rockwern Academy, agrees, “As a Jewish day school, we always look to enhance our education about Israel. This presentation will provide first-hand experience for our entire community into this unique component of life in Israel.” Yair Cohen, community shaliach (emissary) from Israel, responds to Cohen-Magen’s photographs, “This presentation shows the beauty of dialogue and teaches us that despite our differences, we (the Haredi and the secular) need to strive to understand one another. This is the responsibility of not
only all Israelis, but also Jews throughout the world.”
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Northern Hills Sisterhood closing luncheon features Wild Carrot The folk/pop singing group Wild Carrot will provide the entertainment when the Sisterhood of Northern Hills Synagogue–Congregation B’nai Avraham holds its closing luncheon of the programming year on Sunday, May 6. The event will take place at the synagogue, and begin at 11:30 a.m. The husband and wife duo of Spencer Funk and Pam Temple are Wild Carrot. This Cincinnatibased, award-winning group has
what it takes to please all types of folk music fans. Rooted in traditional American music, their repertoire branches in diverse directions: from award-winning original songs to swing, from traditional and not-so-traditional folk songs to show tunes and blues. Their performances have often been described as “honest, soothing, uplifting and fun all at the same time,” moving an audience from laughter to tears and back again in a way that makes the lis-
tener feel like they’re in a conversation with old friends. Wild Carrot has twice been selected by the U.S. embassy in Santiago, Chile as cultural ambassadors to that country. When they are not performing, Funk teaches private guitar and mandolin lessons and Temple is an on-air music host for radio station WNKU. The entire community is welcome. There is no charge for members, and a nominal charge for non-members.
Courtesy of Kobi Gideon / Flash90/JTA
Arab and Israeli students holding hands at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School for Bilingual Education in Jerusalem.
Camp at the J is now better than ever At Yom Ha’atzmaut, school shows it’s OK for Jewish, Arab students to have differences
Summer is almost here—are your children registered for camp? Camp at the J offers fun for children of all ages, all summer long, for up to 11 weeks of fun! Camp at the Mayerson JCC is very convenient for busy families and is open to the public —you do not have to be a member. There are a variety of camps designed specifically for children ages 18 months through grade 8. Advance registration is required, and spots are filling quickly, so register now! JCC camps run June 4 – Aug. 17 in 6-, 3-, or 1-week sessions. The regular camp day is 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Extended day options are available from as early as 7:30am to as late as 6pm. This summer JCC campers will get to practice their skills and have
fun on a brand new youth ball field, thanks to the generosity of the family of Joseph and Ellen Schneider. The new Schneider Ball Field has a baseball diamond, benches and a backstop. Also new at the J is a paved outdoor track, dedicated by Alan and Louise Wolf. These awesome, new sports amenities make Camp at the J better than ever! Camp at the J offers a broad range of age appropriate activities, including sports, crafts, Red Cross certified instructional and recreational swimming, music, nature, special events, outdoor cooking, archery, hiking and more. Older children entering grades 4 – 8 enjoy field trips, cookouts and overnight stays at the J, as well as at Camp
Livingston (in Indiana) and at another JCC in the tri-state area. Campers will enjoy special events and visitors like D & K Reptiles, Museum Center’s Programs-on-Wheels, Drake Planetarium’s Traveling Galaxy Show, and a fun family festival. Campers will show their skills in unique games and activities like Beach Bonanza, What’s Bugging Camp, Are You Smarter than a Camper and Sassy Glasses Day. This summer campers will also get to participate in producing an exciting multimedia music video. Sports Camp is a great summer opportunity for children entering grades 4 – 8. These 3-week sessions
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By Eetta Prince-Gibson Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — The two seventh-grade girls walk together down the hall, their heads touching as they talk excitedly. Dana’s dark auburn hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Waard’s head is covered by a hijab, the traditional Arab headscarf, held with a fashionable pin. Dana is Jewish and lives in the German Colony, a few miles away. Waard is Muslim and lives in the nearby neighborhood of Beit Tzaffafa. Best friends since the first grade, they tell JTA that they were talking about Wednesday’s upcoming school ceremony to mark Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers and Israeli Independence Day. Selected to read a poem by an Israeli poet, Dana is busy with rehearsals. Waard will not attend the ceremony, but instead will meet with the other Arab students to talk about the day’s meaning for them. Afterward, all the students, Arabs and Jews, together with their Arab and Jewish teachers, will join to discuss the significance of the day for them. “It’ll be Wednesday for both of us, but it doesn’t mean the same thing to us,” Dana explains. “One of my great-grandparents died in the War of Independence. And he was fighting people that Waard’s greatgrandparents probably knew. Maybe he killed some of them. And on Independence Day, I’ll be happy because there’s a Jewish state.” “And I’ll be sad because of the Nakba,” Waard says, using the Arabic word for “catastrophe” to refer to the military loss and displacement that resulted from Israel’s
War of Independence in 1948. “We’re really OK with this,” Dana says. “We’re friends and it’s chill.” “You don’t have to think the same to be friends,” Waard adds. Dana and Waard are students at the Max Rayne Bilingual School in Jerusalem, a K-12 public school with some 530 students, part of the Hand in Hand nonprofit educational organization. Hand in Hand sponsors two more bilingual schools, one in the Wadi Ara valley in central Israel and one in the Galilee in the north. (Two additional bilingual schools in the country are not part of the Hand in Hand network.) Founded in 1998, the schools are funded by private contributions and grants from several international foundations, as well as standard public education allocations from the Education Ministry. Throughout Israel, few opportunities exist for meaningful interaction between Jews and Arabs; schools are almost completely segregated. Bilingual schools, such as this one, seek to foster coexistence through cross-cultural learning. “Teaching two languages, nationalities and cultures, together with contradicting historical narratives, requires deep commitment and a sense of mission to meet the challenges,” said Max Rayne principal Nadia Kinani, an Arab Israeli from Nazareth who now lives in Jerusalem. The mission is especially challenging in the weeks that follow the Passover holiday. That’s when Israel marks, in rapid succession, Holocaust Memorial Day, the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Independence Day. In recent years, Arab Israelis have been marking the Nakba on May 15.
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With election months away, bids among Dems for top House committee spots already underway By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Courtesy of Dana Hansen/ Boston University News Service via CreativeCommons
The campaign for Mitt Romney, shown greeting the crowd in suburban Boston on March 6, 2012, is emphasizing his friendship with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his tough posture on Iran in distinguishing itself from President Obama.
Romney’s triumph smooths sharp edges of GOP Middle East policy rhetoric By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Republican primaries are effectively over, and gone with them is the sharp-edged rhetoric and departures from past U.S. policy on the Middle East. Gone is Rick Santorum’s pledge to strike Iran and his suggestion that West Bank Palestinians should be referred to as Israelis. Gone is Newt Gingrich’s suggestion that the United States is engaged in a “long struggle with radical Islamists” and reference to the Palestinians as an “invented” people. Instead we are left with Mitt Romney, the candidate who has tended to be relatively cautious in his foreign policy pronouncements, has emphasized the importance of America’s international alliances and drawn his foreign policy advisers from past Republican administrations Dan Senor, a Romney foreign policy adviser who was an adviser to the George W. Bush administration during the Iraq War, said Romney stood by principles that dated back to the Truman presidency. “America will stand by its allies, it will help dissidents fighting for freedom around the world, it will maintain a large enough defense budget to help the U.S. defend its own national security interests, defend its homeland, and advance these principles shared by America and its allies around the world,” he said, describing Romney’s foreign policy. Senor said that Obama has embraced these principles to any degree — particularly when it comes to standing by allies — only after failing in his efforts to appease adversaries. As an exam-
ple, he cited the administration’s emphasis in the first years of Obama’s term on Israel freezing settlements, as well as the president’s outreach to Iran in that period, and his refusal to back prodemocracy activists in that country. “It was this effort to stand equidistant between traditional American allies and American adversaries,” he said. Romney, he said, would have made clear to the Palestinians that preconditions were off the table and acted sooner to isolate Iran through sanctions and other measures, including seeking incitement to genocide charges against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “These are clear paths where the administration has chosen to go, and where Governor Romney would have gone another way,” he said. Romney supporters say his hands-on, problem-solving approach would clear away the hesitancy and lack of resolve that they say has marked the Obama presidency. Noam Neusner, a George W. Bush administration policy adviser who helped shape Romney’s foreign policy during his 2007-08 run for the GOP nomination, said Romney was more assertive than Obama and less inclined to rely on rhetoric as a diplomatic tool. “When everyone was talking about sanctions” five years ago, Neusner said, “he was looking at what kind of sanctions would work. He was looking beyond the rhetoric and seeing what specific ideas would work. In my view he comes to the table thinking about practical matters to have the impact we want to have. He won’t rely on speech and rhetoric as his primary or only weapon.”
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Amid the election season tumult, behindthe-scenes campaigns are also underway for who will be the next top Democrats on two key congressional committees — with Jewish lawmakers in the running for both leadership slots. Two veteran congresswomen, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, are vying for the leadership of Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, perhaps the most powerful of the U.S. House of Representatives committees because it determines spending. And Rep. Brad Sherman (DCalif.), who is facing the Foreign Affairs committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), in a redistricting-fueled battle, has declared that he wants his fellow Jewish Democrat’s committee leadership post if he prevails. But if Sherman prevails in his House race, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), a Berman ally, says he would vie to become the committee’s top Democrat. Irrespective of which party ends up controlling the House after the 2012 elections, the two committee leadership fights are significant. If the Democrats win back con-
Courtesy of Code Pink, via CreativeCommons
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, seen here posing with Code Pink protesters in 2008, is stressing the economy in her bid for the top Democratic spot on the House Appropriations Committee.
trol of the House, they would be able to appoint the committee chairs, who have broad discretion in determining what legislation makes it out of the committee and onto the House floor, and what issues deserve oversight. The minority party’s leaders, while not as powerful as the chairs, may convene hearings and often work with chairs in shaping and advancing legislation. At this stage the campaigning — among other members of the caucus, the congressional leadership and donors, and to a degree in the media — has been more about who plays well with whom than it has been about issues. But bubbling below the surface of the contests are
two issues that are central agenda items for Jewish groups: abortion rights and Israel. Kaptur is in line to be the appropriations committee’s most senior Democrat now that Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) has announced that he is not running for reelection. Lowey is ranked fourth in seniority on the committee among Democrats. Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), who is one slot above Lowey and one below Kaptur, is not considering a bid. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who is ranked seventh, also is considering a bid but is considered a longshot. DEMS on page 22
8 • NATIONAL
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Jewish groups rethinking vouchers, tax credits to religious schools By Shira Schoenberg Jewish Telegraphic Agency BOSTON (JTA) — When the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized school vouchers in 2002, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs called it “a devastating blow to one of the foundations of our democracy”: the separation of church and state. Four years earlier, JCPA had conducted a yearlong study that affirmed its opposition to vouchers. But at JCPA’s annual conference next month, the organization will reconsider vouchers, tax credits and other public funding for Jewish day schools. Ethan Felson, vice president and general counsel for JCPA, said the reexamination stems from a meeting with Jewish leaders from around the country. “There was keen interest among a very broad range of leadership to take a fresh look at the issue,” Felson told JTA. As day school tuition costs are rising, a growing number of Jewish organizations are rethinking their opposition to public support for religious schools. Jewish federations are increasing efforts to
Courtesy of Ben Gamla Kendall
Students at the Ben Gamla Kendall charter school in Florida paint during an artist’s visit to the school.
obtain state money for things like technology and textbooks, while some Jewish groups are supporting state programs that give tax credits for donations to private schools. The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans recently became the first in the country to endorse private school vouchers. Even the
American Jewish Committee — long a bastion of opposition to public funding for private schools — is open to rethinking its position. But a sea change in Jewish opinion will not come easily; many Jews still oppose public funding of religious schools. Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League are worried about churchstate separation, the impact of government regulation on institutions that receive public money and the harm to public education. “If you’re creating a two-tiered system of education, does that undermine the system of public education, if we’re essentially balkanizing our schools?” asked David Barkey, religious freedom counsel for the ADL. Several factors have contributed to the renewed push for public funding. One is the growing realization in the community that Jewish education is vital to Jewish identity and involvement, says Yossi Prager, executive director of the Avi Chai Foundation in North America. More non-Orthodox families are sending children to Jewish day schools. SCHOOLS on page 19
From planting to blessings, Boulder gets into Jewish food movement By Dvora Meyers Jewish Telegraphic Agency BOULDER, Colo. (JTA) — The new Jewish food movement arose here organically, so to speak. No large federation or organization swooped in to make sustainable farming and eating within a Jewish framework a priority. Yet in this city of 100,000 — some 13,000 residents are Jewish — “green” has long been a way of life. So it's not surprising that interest in sustainability has led to a variety of Jewish grass-roots projects such as the establishment of greenhouses in food deserts, a chicken and egg co-op, community farms and an organic chicken schechting (kosher butchering) project, along with — thanks to a $335,000 grant from three foundations — the arrival of Hazon, a national Jewish environmental group. The grant, which brought Hazon to the region in December 2010, came from the Rose Foundation and the locally based Oreg Foundation and 18 Pomegranates. On April 29, the partnership among the local funders, activists and environmental organizations will culminate with the Rocky Mountain Food Summit, which will be held at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The event will feature presen-
Courtesy of Hazon
Participants gathered in Dec. 2010 for a Hazon food conference in Sonoma County, Calif.
tations from restaurateurs who use farm-to-table practices in their establishments, ways to adapt your bubbe’s recipes to meet your dietary and health needs, and information about GMOs, genetically modified organisms. The goal is to shine a light on local Jews and the food movement, and to provide resources available to groups and individuals who want to change their lives for the more sustainable. Participants will choose three sessions among 22 offerings throughout the day. Middle schoolers can attend classes geared toward their age group, including one in part based on the beloved childhood book “The Little Red Hen.” That
session will examine the seed-totable approach to farming and eating, from planting to blessings. Rabbi Elisheva Brenner, founder and CEO of Eco Glatt; Yadidia Greenberg, who founded the Boulder Kosher meat co-op; and Bob Goldman, whose company LoKo Chicken specializes in both kosher and locally sourced birds for consumption, will lead a panel discussion on eco-ethical kosher The day will conclude with a DIY (do-it-yourself) extravaganza where participants will get their hands dirty — literally in the case of the microgreens workshop — and leave with a new skill in addition to the information gleaned over the course of the three sessions they attended. “We have some of Denver and Boulder’s top chefs, some amazing, successful food entrepreneurs, leaders in the field of food justice, and experts on everything from gardening and baking, beekeeping, canning and beer brewing,” said Josh Dinar, the Hazon steering committee chair who is working on the conference. For Dinar, the connection to food is more than personal — it’s professional. He is one of the founding editors of the Dining Out magazine franchise and co-owns HBurger, a gourmet hamburger joint in Denver. MOVEMENT on page 21
Courtesy of sharonazrieli.com
Sharon Azrieli Perez, a Canadian-born opera singer, performs “Turandot” with the New Israel Opera in 2008.
Scion of Azrieli family goes from opera to cantor, and back By Alexandra Halpern Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — When Sharon Azrieli-Perez told her father — David Azrieli, one of Israel’s biggest real estate moguls — that she wanted to be an opera singer, he told her he’d pay for voice lessons only if she got into Juilliard. That was all the motivation she needed. “There was a fire in my belly,” Azrieli-Perez told JTA. After gaining admittance to the prestigious Juilliard School in Manhattan and years of hard work, Azrieli-Perez would go on to a career as a noted soprano, performing with orchestras in Tokyo, Montreal, Haifa and Jerusalem. She was described in The New Yorker magazine as “a mistress of merry inflections, piquant phrasing and pointed words.” But in her native Montreal, Azrieli-Perez may be best known for her work in another venue: the synagogue. For a time she was the full-time cantor at Temple Emanuel in Montreal. Now Azrieli-Perez is involved with trying to get a new Reform/Renewal synagogue, the Shir Chadash Community Synagogue, off the ground in the city. Azrieli-Perez, who is coming to the United States this week to perform Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” at the New Jersey Verismo Opera on April 20 and 22, says she always has had a passion for things Jewish. It started with her father, a Holocaust survivor who became one of Israel’s leading architects, real estate tycoons and philanthropists. Azrieli, 89, designed Tel Aviv’s iconic Azrieli Center, the largest real estate project in Israel, and established a charitable foundation on whose board of directors Azrieli-Perez serves. Azrieli sent his daughter and her siblings to Jewish day schools.
But the young Azrieli-Perez focused on opera after graduating from Vassar College, making jewelry, and working at a clothing manufacturer and art galleries to pay for voice lessons until she eventually made it to Juilliard. She went on to earn a doctorate in music at the University of Montreal, where she wrote her thesis on Jewish prayer modes hidden in Verdi’s music. “I’m not saying Verdi was Jewish, though he might have been,” Azrieli-Perez says. “He often dealt with Jewish themes in his opera. He wrote ‘Nabucco,’ and he worked with Jewish librettists.” “Nabucco,” which established Verdi’s reputation as a composer, follows the historical plight of the Jews as they are conquered and exiled by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Its best-known work is “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.” Azrieli-Perez launched her career in 1992 in a production of the Canadian Opera Company’s “Romeo and Juliet,” then quickly went on to bigger stages in North America, Europe and Asia, working with world-renowned conductors. But after an “unfortunate divorce,” as Azrieli-Perez puts it, her career took a Jewish turn. With two sons to raise on her own, Azrieli-Perez sought a career that would keep her close to home. So she enrolled at the Academy of Jewish Religion (she never finished) and started to work as a synagogue cantor. The synagogue work “was a way of singing and supporting a family,” Azrieli-Perez says. “I was fluent in Hebrew, had been brought up with all the prayers, and I loved being a cantor.” Azrieli-Perez says performing opera and singing as a cantor are not so different. She cites two stars from New York’s Metropolitan Opera in the 1950s and ‘60s, Richard Tucker and Jan Peerce — both also did stints as cantors.
NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012
For Lithuania, $50 million Neglect, new construction squeezing Holocaust compensation a historic Serbian Jewish cemetery step forward, but Jewish bitterness remains By Ruth Ellen Gruber Jewish Telegraphic Agency
By Ben Sales Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — Lithuania’s 800-year-old connection to its Jewish population broke down in 1941, when the Nazis invaded the country and murdered nearly all of its 200,000 Jews – often with the complicity of local Lithuanians. This month, 70 years on, Lithuania finally passed historic compensation legislation to provide some $50 million in compensation to Jewish families whose property was confiscated during the Holocaust. Jewish groups hailed the move as a milestone for Lithuanian-Jewish relations. But lingering bitterness on both sides over the discussion of Lithuanian complicity in the Holocaust remains an obstacle to better ties. Some Jews are concerned that Lithuania has yet to confront its own role in the Holocaust. “Relations have to be promoted within a context that is based on mutual respect and respect for historical truth,” said Jonathan Brent, the executive director of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which was founded in prewar Lithuania. “Everywhere you go searching for the truth, the truth cannot be found without conflict.” On the flipside, many Lithuanians say Jews focus too much on the Holocaust. Three years ago, during negotiations over Holocaust compensation between the Lithuanian government and the Jewish community, a Lithuanian tabloid ran a cover featuring an oversized American Jewish official demanding money from a miniaturized Lithuanian prime minister. “Give it now!” screamed the headline. The president of a Lithuanian museum in Chicago, Stanley Balzekas Jr., said Jews should not take Lithuanian anti-Semitic inclinations “personally.” “The Jewish leaders have to be sensitive,” he said. “The terrible consequences that happened with the Holocaust aren’t going to go away. That shouldn’t be forgotten. But it shouldn’t cloud the future.” Harley Felstein, an American Jew with Lithuanian roots who lives in Washington, wants to focus on positive aspects of LithuanianJewish history. Last fall, he launched a campaign called the Sunflower Project to promote Lithuanian-Jewish events in the United States and organized Jewish trips to Lithuania, including exchanges of high school students between Israel and Lithuania.
Last week, Felstein convened a group of Lithuanian and Jewish community leaders for a discussion in Chicago focused on improving ties. “If you’re going to do a reconnection between the Lithuanian and the Jewish people, you don’t want to enter into the situation through conflict,” Felstein said. “You want to do it through learning and nurturing. If our project is successful, there won’t be any negativity left.” The idea for the project was born when Felstein’s 16-year-old, Benjamin, traveled to Lithuania in 2010, found Jewish cemeteries in disrepair and sent photos to his father. Felstein, who works for a cemetery as a funeral counselor, was inspired. “We want to reconnect the Jewish world back with the Lithuanian people,” Felstein told JTA. “If we don’t take action now, the next generation won’t have that information available to them. Our time with survivors who have that linkage is limited.” Lithuania has a rich Jewish history. The country’s capital — Vilnius, known to Jews as Vilna— was the center of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe, home to the original YIVO and the hometown of Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, the 18th-century Jewish sage known as the Vilna Gaon. Today, only about 3,000 Jews live in Lithuania. In recent years, ties between Lithuania and Israel have been improving. Between 2009 and 2011, Israeli and Lithuanian diplomats visited each other 20 times. Last year, Lithuania designated 2011 as the year of commemorating the Holocaust. And this month’s compensation decision will send a portion of the $50 million to support the upkeep of Jewish heritage sites in Lithuania, including cemeteries and synagogues. The Lithuanian ambassador to the United States, Zygimantas Pavilonis, said he believes that differences between the communities will dissipate as Lithuania, which has been independent for about 20 years, moves away from the antiSemitic legacy of the Soviet Union. Just as it took countries in Western Europe decades to examine their roles in the genocide of the Jews, so too it will take time in Lithuania, Pavolonis said. “It took some time to build from scratch, from the distortion of reality,” he said. Already, Pavolonis said, the Lithuanian government is training teachers to educate schoolchildren about the Holocaust.
NIS, Serbia (JTA) — In some alternate universe, it might be a Jewish dream: a Jewish cemetery with a restaurant and discount department store on its doorstep. But in this old Serbian town about 125 miles south of the capital of Belgrade, it’s more like a nightmare, say leaders of the tiny Jewish community in Nis. A historic Jewish cemetery that long has been threatened by the encroachment of a growing Roma, or Gypsy, settlement that occupies one-third of the site is now being threatened by the encroachment of commercial enterprises into the domain of the old Hebrew gravestones. In the labyrinthine Roma village, or mahala, 800 to 1,500 people live in brick and concrete houses separated by narrow passageways and irregular courtyards. Laundry hangs from the windows, water drips from open taps and some roofs sport satellite TV dishes. At one end is a stable for horses, and at the fence that separates the village from the open part of the cemetery, sheep and goats peer out at the graves. Eight years ago, a well-publicized cleanup campaign cleared the cemetery of garbage and waste that had covered the tombstones and eliminated the open sewers that had run amid the graves.
Courtesy of Ruth Ellen Gruber
Ruben Fuks, president of the Federation of Serbian Jewish Communities, in the Nis Cemetery, with the new construction in the background.
But the campaign’s success proved to be fleeting and now new warehouses, a restaurant and other illegal construction, including a cutrate department store, intrude on another third of the cemetery, according to Jasna Ciric, the president of the Nis Jewish community, which numbers just 28 people. There also have been new cases of vandalism, and builders closed off the cemetery with an illegal 12foot high wall that made access difficult and sometimes impossible, Ciric said. The builders also prevented the
Jewish community from placing a plaque identifying the cemetery and commemorating local Jews wiped out in the Holocaust, she said. “All the established safeguards of the Jewish cemetery in Nis have remained only on paper,” said Ciric, 56, who has fought for the cemetery’s preservation since the early 1990s. “I was a fighter, but now I feel empty,” she said. “Our cemetery is being systematically destroyed; all of our longtime efforts and the money invested toward saving it are in vain.”
10 • INTERNATIONAL / ISRAEL
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Sarkozy falls in first round of French vote, but not in Jewish eyes By Cnaan Liphshiz Jewish Telegraphic Agency PARIS (JTA) — Jewish voters couldn’t put incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy over the top in the first round of presidential elections in France. The Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande eked out a 1.4 percent victory on Sunday over Sarkozy, the center-right president, although Jewish community leaders said Sarkozy was the undisputed favorite among Jewish voters. Hard figures on the Jewish vote are scarce, as French pollsters are not allowed to ask about religion in election surveys, and the number of French Jewish voters is negligible. Jewish representatives and politicians say they would have full confidence in Hollande as president, but not in his political associates. Hollande won 28.6 percent of the vote, Sarkozy had 27.2 percent and Marine Le Pen, leader of the French extreme right, had 18 percent — the best showing ever for the National Front party founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. The second and final round pitting Hollande against Sarkozy is scheduled to take place in two weeks; polls shows Hollande with a commanding lead. In Tel Aviv, voting results released Monday by the French Embassy showed Sarkozy receiving 81 percent of the 9,302 votes cast there. Eight percent voted for Hollande and 4 percent for Le Pen. Sarkozy, according to Richard Prasquier, president of the umbrella of French Jewish organizations known as CRIF, was the community’s favorite in the 2007 elections because of his firm stance on antiSemitism, positive attitude toward Israel and, perhaps, Sarkozy’s Jewish grandfather. French Jewry is approximately half a million strong, accounting for 0.6 percent of the national electorate, according to a study by the Cevipof polling company. Despite some disappointments during his term, Sarkozy regained the appreciation of the Jewish community with his quick response to the Toulouse shooting last month, in which a Muslim radical killed three children and a rabbi at a school. French authorities captured and killed the suspected perpetrator within two days, arrested dozens of suspects, barred radical preachers from entering and announced new anti-jihadist legislation. “For the general vote, the Toulouse shooting and the appearance of radical Islam in Europe played a minor role. Not so for the Jewish community,” said Ivan
Lawmaker can’t dance, a Facebook friends’ wedding and a businessman’s nude scene By Marcy Oster Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — Here are some recent stories from Israel that you may have missed:
Courtesy of Philippe Agnifili via CC
Supporters of Nicolas Sarkozy awaiting his arrival at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, April 15, 2012.
Rioufol, columnist in the French daily Le Figaro. Sarkozy would “have a tough time winning” against Hollande, but it was still possible, Rioufol added, depending on how the Le Pen voters cast their ballots in the second round. If Hollande is elected president, “France would be more politically aligned with the Arab countries, and this could have an effect on its relations with Israel,” he said. “Hollande represents the center-right wing of the Socialist Party,” said Joel Rubinfeld, a Jewish politician from Belgium. “If he becomes president, the question for French Jews and for Israel is which wing of the Socialist Party prevails.” Prasquier concurs, saying “We have absolutely no problem with Hollande as president, [but] if some leading members of his party appear to be more against Israel than the previous UMP party of Sarkozy, this might have consequences on the general opinion.” He added that traditionally, Jews tended to vote Socialist, but “It changed with Sarkozy.” In January, Socialist MP Jean Glavany grabbed headlines as the author of a parliamentary report accusing Israel of “water apartheid” and theft in the Palestinian territories. CRIF rejected the document, calling it biased. The French Jewish weekly Actualite Juive ran interviews with Hollande and Sarkozy last week in which both vowed to fight antiSemitism and support Israel as the Jewish state. Asked whether they regarded Jerusalem as the capital of that state, Sarkozy said Jerusalem should be the capital of both Israel and the Palestinian
state. Hollande said “the parties needed to decide on that.” On April 2, CRIF organized a meeting in Paris for the community with Pierre Moscovici, national secretary of the Socialist Party. “The Socialist Party has many rigorous men and women of principle who are both friendly and demanding when it comes to Israel. They firmly oppose antiSemitism,” said Moscovici, who is Jewish. But Professor Shmuel Trigano, an expert in French Jewry and lecturer at Paris-Nanterre University, speaks of “a near total silence of the Socialist Party on hundreds of anti-Semitic attacks.” In parallel, he complains of “disproportionate criticism of Israel.” Still, many Jews are displeased with Sarkozy. A study of Jewish voters by Cevipof showed that over the past two years, Sarkozy’s approval rating has dropped 19 percentage points among Jews — from 62 percent in 2007-09 to 43 percent in 2009-11. Among nonJews, Sarkozy’s popularity fell by 14 percentage points, to 32 percent in January. Prior to the election, Philippe Karsenty, a Jewish-French politician and media analyst said “There isn’t a single candidate the Jews can wholly welcome. Sarkozy has some responsibility for what happened in Toulouse because he let anti-Zionist propaganda of the French public media outlets grow.” Sarkozy has disappointed the French Jewish community in other ways, too: the French vote in favor of Palestinian membership in UNESCO, condemnations of Israeli settlements and when he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “liar.”
She should be dancing, yeah A member of Israel’s parliament who wanted to get closer to the people by participating in Israel’s version of “Dancing with the Stars” will have to find another way, the Knesset’s legal adviser suggested. Kadima lawmaker Nino Abesadze cannot join the reality show on Israel’s Channel 2, Eyal Yinon ruled, because it could cloud her judgment on media issues. He drew a distinction in his decision between appearing on a reality show, which promotes the commercial interests of the broadcaster, and on interview and roundtable discussion shows. Abesadze had agreed to donate to charity any winnings from the popular show and to remove herself from votes on media issues. The mayor of Bat Yam, Shlomo Lahiani, is reported to be a dancer on the program’s new season. Meanwhile, Abesadze says she’ll continue to seek a shot on the show. Barak looking for new apartment at $8,000 a month Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his wife are looking to rent a new apartment in a luxury Tel Aviv apartment complex for about $8,000 a month after selling their apartment in the city for about $7 million. They have already purchased a new apartment in Tel Aviv, which has not yet been built. Barak and wife Nili Priel are looking now to rent a flat in a tony Tel Aviv neighborhood until the new apartment is ready, Haaretz reported. They sold their space in the Akirov Towers last month. “My wife Nili and I decided we should sell the apartment, since we recognized that it distanced us from large portions of the population,” Barak wrote on his Facebook page. He added that it was “hard not to notice the public criticism of where I lived.” Facebook friends put on a special wedding An Israeli couple has hundreds of new friends thanks to a Facebook campaign that helped them raise money and receive free services in order to have a real wedding. The couple, from Bat Yam,
reportedly told friends that they would go to the rabbinate and get married without all the frills and fancy clothes. But one of the couple’s friends decided that the couple should have a special wedding day and opened a Facebook page called “organizing a wedding together” in order to help them out. Strangers volunteered such services as putting on the bride’s makeup and driving them to the wedding, Ynet reported. Bands and photographers also volunteered their talents. Volunteers also purchased electrical appliances, furniture and other necessities for the couple, and donated money to a bank account opened for them. Bono leaves Hope-full note at Jerusalem hotel U2 lead singer Bono’s left a Hope-full note at Jerusalem’s King David hotel following a surprise visit to Israel. The note, which offered the hotel “great thanks for great room in great hotel in great city,” centered on a poem which said that “Hope is like a faithful dog.” “In Jerusalem, Hope springs eternal,” the poem read. “Hope is like a faithful dog, sometimes she runs ahead of me to check the future, to sniff it out and then I call to her: Hope, Hope, come here, and she comes to me. I pet her, she eats out of my hand and sometimes she stays behind, near some other hope maybe to sniff out whatever was. Then I call her my Despair. I call out to her. Here, my little Despair, come here and she comes and snuggles up, and again I call her Hope.” The note also included Bono’s sketch of A Dog called Hope. Bono was on a personal visit to Israel. Insurance agent bares all at Eilat conference Call it high risk: An insurance company executive stripped down to his underwear to make a point for hundreds of insurance brokers at a conference in Eilat. Oren El-On of Phoenix Insurance was illustrating how fee reforms proposed by the Netanyahu government would affect the firms for whom the brokers work. After taking off everything but his underwear, El-On walked behind a screen and removed them, too, tossing them in the air, Haaretz reported. During a speech at a previous conference, El-On cut his hair with an electric clipper to make a similar point. Apparently it’s his policy to make his points graphically.
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012
YPS AT THE JCC’S FITNESS & FRIENDS WORKOUT SERIES The Mayerson JCC and Access have teamed up for a special workout series geared for young adults with intellectual disabilities who want to exercise and socialize with their typical peers. Fitness and Friends, where fun has no limitations, has been quite a hit! Originally intended to be an eight week series, the JCC has decided to continue the class indefinitely. For more information about this workout class, contact Josh Rothstein whose contact information is listed in the Community Directory in the back of this issue. Access is an initiative of The Mayerson Foundation.
SOCIAL LIFE • 11 ANNOUNCEMENTS BIRTHS BIRTHS essica (Fox) and Robby Levy, of Chicago, Ill., are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Audrey Faye, on March 4. Proud grandparents are Karen and David Fox of Blue Ash and Merle and Barry Levy of Northbrook, Ill. Great-grandparents are Sarah and Jack Fisher and the late Freda and Joseph Weiss and Dolores and Leslie Fox.
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rank and Julie Cohen of New York City are happy to announce the birth of a daughter, Lucy Maya on April 16, 2012. Proud grandparents are Harvey and Dena Solomon of Columbus, Ohio and Iris and Steven Pastor of Tampa, Florida and Gary Cohen, also of Tampa. Great-grandparents are Bev and Pike Levine and Hotche Pastor of this city and Dottie Cohen of Tampa, Florida. Lucy has a brother, Charlie and a sister, Sophie.
F
rina and Jeremy Kanter announce the April 5 birth of their daughter Maria (Masha) Lynn. Masha’s grandparents are Kathy and Fred Kanter, and Nadia and Valeriy Galkin, of Ryazan, Russia. Her proud greatgrandparents are Lynne and Bob Kanter, and Myrna and Irv Cushner of Cleveland.
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14 • DINING OUT
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Cook like a ‘wok’ star, dine like a gourmet By Sondra Katkin Dining Editor Come with me to the days of yesteryear, circa 1970. Do you remember when a Chinese restaurant was a “rara avis,” — a much sought after oddity? Susanna Wong Burgess, doyenne of the Wong restaurant family and manager of Oriental Wok at the Regency, explained, “Chinese cooking was such a mystery then, my dad started giving cooking classes. Mom invited neighbors and friends in Mason”... to taste the “exotic” cuisine. In that same family tradition, to facilitate cooking gourmet Asian entrees at home (your own facility), Susanna and her husband, executive chef Guy Burgess, began selling their most popular sauces, now available at Kroger, Jungle Jim’s and Remke biggs. Susanna recommends a two-step process that’s guaranteed to service the nervous or neophyte cooks, making many wonderful meals accessible to everyone. “Come and experience the sauces at the source; then buy and prepare them at home.” A sure recipe to give your food a “gourmasian” flair. They are both very enthusiastic about the new products. Guy explained that the idea began when a customer was praising the sweet and sour sauce and lamenting his inability to find anything like it. I sampled it with a crispy, crunchy spring roll. I mixed the fruity sauce with their new vibrant Hot Chinese Mustard Sauce—biting and tasty with just the right heat to be able to retain its full flavor when combined with the Sweet and Sour Sauce. Guy noted, “It’s not for the faint of heart but it can be adjusted by how much sweet sauce is added.” I was surprised to find the “sweet” was not the usual cloying, boring mix, but modestly sweet with an authentic fruity flavor. They use the pressings from apple cider, locally grown tomatoes, oranges, lemons and beet or cane sugar — no high fructose corn syrup. Each sauce has a recipe suggestion on the jar and additional recipes are available. The following is a recipe using Oriental Wok Sweet and Sour Sauce: Egg Rolls 8 oz. ground chicken 1/2 cup peanut butter 2 lbs. julienne cabbage 8 oz. julienne celery 1 tb. salt 2 tb. sesame oil 2 ts. 5 spice powder 8 oz. julienne carrots Blanch veggies for 2 mins. Remove from water, cool and drain. Mix peanut butter, 5 spice powder, salt and sesame oil and whisk until smooth and uniform. For the egg rolls to properly cook in hot oil, the excess water must be removed from the veggies. You can use a tea towel,
Manager Susanna Wong Burgess and Executive Chef Guy Burgess in beautifully decorated private party room; Archly inviting entry to one of Oriental Woks dining rooms; General Wok’s Sauce makes spicy Asian burger and tangy General Wok’s chicken; Classy and comfortable seating in the bar area; Oriental Wok’s easy recipe creating special sauces (Chinese Hot Mustard Sauce is also available now).
adding veggies in small batches and wringing (but not till overwrought) to remove excess water. Combine the chicken, veggies and peanut butter mix and stir until evenly distributed. Wrap in 7” x 7” egg roll wrappers and fry in 350 F oil, until golden brown. Serve with Oriental Wok Sweet & Sour Sauce and (O.W.) Hot Mustard Sauce. My “saucy” interview and tasting continued with General Wong’s Chicken, made with Oriental Wok’s General Wong’s Spicy Sauce. The white meat chunks of moist chicken, flavored with the savory sauce and surrounded by the onion, baby corn, water chestnuts and mushrooms were excellent with a balance of spicy, salty and sweet. When I mentioned that the vegetables retained their crunch, Susanna noted, “That’s the advantage of wok cooking.” Another use for the sauce is the spicy Asian burger. Slightly larger than a slider, the grilled patty is juicy with the tangy sauce, covered with onions sautéed
in the sauce — a double whammy of yummy! This would make a popular party item. No pity, patty party here. The recipes follow: General Wong’s Chicken 1 lb chicken breast cubed 1/2 cup red bell peppers 1/2 cup snow peas 1/2 cup baby corn 1 cup General Wong’s Sauce Cook chicken in wok or skillet until done. Add veggies. Cook about two minutes. Add General Wong’s sauce. Coat evenly. Enjoy. General Wong’s Spicy Asian Burger Mix 1/4 cup General Wong’s sauce into 1 lb ground beef. Form 4 quarter pound patties. Grill or pan fry burgers until desired temperature. Stir-fry 1 cup onions in 1/2 cup General Wong’s sauce, top burger and serve on bun. Other Oriental Wok sauces include Perfect Fried Rice, Sesame Stir-Fry, Volcano and Thai Peanut.
All the recipes are enticing and I plan to try the Sesame glazed salmon soon. It looks very simple and tasty. The Burgess’s agree, “People are busy now and don’t want to make their sauces from scratch.” Graeters and Skyline Chili had better make room, here comes another Cincinnati specialty going countrywide. Guy reported that their biggest market is Denver, Colo.—smart people! Each time I visit, the classy decor impresses me anew. I asked Guy, the former nuclear physicist (and no it doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to cook their signature dishes, but it doesn’t hurt) if Susanna had training as an interior designer. While she has not, the artistic warm colors, authentic Asian accents — carved arches, tables inlaid with enameled treasures, booths with pillows, tables and chairs arranged with a clear consideration for comfort, separate dining rooms, high ceilings, a baby grand, soft lighting and myriad
other details all lend themselves to a pleasing, harmonious ambiance. Burgess, who trained at the restaurant, became so accomplished, his cooking classes are well received and he teaches at Midwest Culinary Institute. Oriental Wok has many popular Asian specialties redolent with Eastern flavors and fragrances, where sugary, savory and fiery notes mingle. A full bar, including a banquette with soft pillows, features happy hours, Tuesday to Friday, 4 to 6:30 p.m. with discounted drinks and appetizers. There is a children’s menu and a large catering menu. Private rooms are available. They serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., dinner Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday from 4 to 9:30 p.m., on Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m. Oriental Wok 2444 Madison Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45208 513-871-6888
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16 • OPINION
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Open and shut case
There was, for instance, the older lady, herself behatted, though hers was a broad-brimmed floral affair, who, standing next to me on the outside deck one glorious spring day, turned to me and beatifically emoted: “Can’t you just see him walking on the water?” (I told her, no, actually I couldn’t.) Or the young man sitting a row in front of me telling his young lady friend how he had read an article about genetic engineering on humans and that he planned on “gettin’ some of them Jew genes for my kid —he be takin’ over the world!” The latest in my parade of memorables, the grunting lady, was clearly trying her hand at a similar one-way communication. She was middle-aged, perhaps a few years younger than I, looked Jewish—my Jewdar is in pretty good form—and was reading a book, a real one, with pages (remember them?). The volume
Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, It was about this time last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly and her Girl Scouts Troop from St. Francis Roman Catholic Church, located on the West Side of Cincinnati. Kelly had called the Golf Manor Synagogue office to ask if she and her girls could visit and learn about a “Jewish church,” explaining that her troop needed to visit different places of worship in order to earn a particular merit badge. So the following week Kelly and her troop of 10, including another adult, promptly arrived at the front door. After friendly introductions, I asked her why she chose to visit an Orthodox synagogue over the others in the area. She answered that they already visited HUC and it was there that they heard about the Orthodox Jewish laws and rituals and wanted to learn more about the “Orthodox Jewish faith,” clearly believing that Orthodoxy was altogether a separate religion. Inside the main sanctuary they all looked around. As they became aware of the Hebrew prayerbooks, the bimah, stained glass windows and the separate sections for men and women, questions were asked, I sensed with certain unease, and so I sincerely explained the value the Torah is for us religiously and the strength it provides for us nationally. In wonder of it all, they continued to ask more about our prayers and services; what it all
meant and why there were separate sections for men and women? Not surprised by the questions, I easily answered their why, at which duly noted, they asked about the dress code for women and once again why? In view of the question, I explained the Laws of Tzinus (Modesty) that Orthodox Jewish women and girls very carefully observe and as a matter of fact, their leader replied that they teach the same thing to each of their girls. They asked me next about kosher food. So I gave them the basic Laws of Kashrut, of how we don’t mix milk with meat and what pareve means. And just before ending, one more question was asked: “Do all Jewish people eat Kosher?” I only said “no,” of which in the silence I thought it odd that to this no one asked why? Before we finished, I got from the kitchen some freshly baked cookies, their first known taste of kosher and pareve at its best. With delight on her face, one little girl quickly spoke out, “That means we can eat it with meat or with milk, am I right?” Quite proud of her own insight, I acknowledged that she was right, then I asked the group what else they learned and what did they think? The answer I received which amazes me still, came from the other parent, Arlene, who until just then never said a word. She said that she couldn’t understand why there wasn’t peace in the world because from what she learned—even though quite obviously we are different—was that we all come from one place, that
is from one G-d. I agreed, my heart skipping beats, for truly I thought Moshiach is near. We said our goodbyes and were glad to have met, and they took a few photos to remember the day. And after they left, I thought how wonderful it will be when each person genuinely connects to Hashem and appreciates the merits of all faiths to the Divine, that a perfect balance of peace and unity will be achieved in Israel and in the world. Sincerely, Seena Rubenstein Cincinnati, OH Dear Editor, Alan Eichner says that to follow the rules of Orthodox Judaism the Center would close the first two and the last two days of Passover. I agree; however, even if they followed the Reform practice, they would still close the first and last day. When the Center was situated in Roselawn, it abided by a compromise it had made with the Orthodox community. I would settle for such an agreement. Further, secular recreational organizations do not normally close on national holidays. Indeed, since many are off work those days, these are busy days for those organizations. For secular reasons only the J and the Y would keep their recreational activities open. The only reason to close would be for some religious reason. LETTERS on page 22
T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: TAZRIA-METZORA (VAYIKRA :12:1—15:33) 1. Who brings the sacrifice to the Temple upon the birth of a child? a) Father b) Mother c) Father and the Mother 2. What type of bird is offered as a sacrifice after childbirth? a) Rooster b) Eagle c) Turtledove 3. What if a person can not afford the sacrifice for a newborn? 4. B 13:2 If a kohen does not the laws of tzaraat, he consults with a competent authority who teaches him the law. 5. B 13:45,46 Aside for isolation his garments are torn and his head is uncovered.
Calling the writer’s general view of Chassidishe life jaundiced, moreover, would be like calling Rush Limbaugh inelegant. Nevertheless, the book has been righteously embraced by people who wish to think poorly of the Orthodox world.
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a) Brings a less expensive sacrifice b) Borrows money to pay for it c) Is totally exempt 4. To whom are questions of tzarat brought? a) Moshe b) Aaron or a priest c) Moshe and Aaron 5. What is the punishment for a person with tzarat? a) Community service b) Isolation from the community c) Give charity to the poor
childbirth she might have thought to separate from her husband which she can not do. Ramban. 2. C 12:6,8 3. A 12:8 If she can afford she brings a lamb and a bird, if not two birds
The lady on the Staten Island ferry the other day was clearly grunting for my ears. With my unfashionable beard, dark suit and black hat, tagging me as an Orthodox Jew is pretty much a slam-dunk. And, having commuted, along with my beard and hat, on those huge orange floating shuttlecocks four or five days a week for the better part of two decades, I have many memorable (at least to me) stories to tell. I’ve never gotten around to setting them down in writing (though choosing the imaginary collection’s title, “Ferry Tales,” was easy).
she held was the latest in a series of aspiring exposés of Orthodox Jewish life that have become something of a cottage industry in a part of the Jewish world. The book, about which I had read, was written by a young woman who turned her back on her somewhat Chassidish upbringing. It was subsequently demonstrated that the author seems to have had an uneasy relationship not only with her family but with truth— committing small errors like falsely accusing a father of having murdered his son. Calling the writer’s general view of Chassidishe life jaundiced, moreover, would be like calling Rush Limbaugh inelegant. Nevertheless, the book has been righteously embraced by people who wish to think poorly of the Orthodox world. And that’s, unfortunately, a lot of folks. Including, I came to surmise, the lady on the ferry. She was standing near the doors that would soon open, after we docked, to disgorge the boat’s human cargo onto Staten Island at the end of a workday, and she seemed to be holding the book up so that I could see it. And—have I mentioned this?— she grunted. Repeatedly. It wasn’t really the sort of sound one would associate with a burly dockworker. It was more like a subtle rumble, communicating disapproval. I’m not terribly shy, and I considered acknowledging the lady’s nonverbal communication and asking her if she had any questions I might be able to address. I even readied a business card to hand her, in case she wanted to speak by phone at more length. But then I chickened out. Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe had I made a polite offer, she would have shared some of her chagrin with me and I could have disabused her of some of the untruths that elicited it. Or explained how some Orthodox practices and attitudes are wrongly regarded in the dark ways in which they are sometimes presented. Or we may have had a civil discussion about some of the things that had ostensibly pushed the writer over the edge (of Williamsburg). But, in the end, sensing raw anger, I was dissuaded. A more likely scenario, I feared, would have been the reader’s channeling the antagonism she felt for Chassidim at me. She might have loudly accused me of accosting her against her will, or made a scene by shouting out some of the more putrid passages from the volume she held aloft like a religious tract. That wouldn’t have been good. It would have only spread her ill will to the many bystanders. So I just went my way. And so, to my ongoing regret, the doors opened and a mind stayed shut.
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. B 12:6,7 She brings two sacrifices: a burnt offering and a sin offering. One is for purifying her body because the body needs time to rejuvinate after childbirth. A sin offering because during
By Rabbi Avi Shafran Ami Magazine
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012
Sedra of the Week
SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT TAZRIA/METZORAH • LEVITICUS 12:1-15:33
Rav Yisrael Salanter would often by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel - “This is the law of the Metzorah…he is to be brought to the Kohen-Priest” (Leviticus 14:2). Over the last year, in Israel and the Diaspora, we have suffered the unedifying sight of politicians and civil servants exposed for crimes including sexual harassment and corruption. In Israel, these crimes extended to the prime minister’s bureau and it’s only a year since our President was sentenced to seven years in prison for rape. Many of these crimes have been exposed by the newspapers leading to public debates about the role of the media. Do they interfere too much in our society or are they a healthy watchdog? How does the Torah view this? Metzorah is usually identified as a plague of leprosy, however, many if not most biblical commentaries reject this identification: first of all, a physical illness must be attended to by a medical doctor rather than a religious Kohen-Priest; secondly, the walls of a house cannot be affected by a physiological disease and thirdly, a physical plague spreads most rapidly in a crowded situation, however no “lepers” were to be quarantined even temporarily—in Jerusalem during the Pilgrim Festivals; precisely the time when the streets are overflowing with visitors and a physical plague can spread with wild abundance. Hence, our Sages (most notably Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch) maintain that tzaraat was a spiritual malady brought about by speaking or listening to slander. Rav Yisrael Salanter would often explain that the Biblical portion of Metzorah follows the Biblical portion of Shmini, which concludes with the forbidden animals, birds and fish in order to teach us that what comes out of our mouths results in far greater damage than what we put into our mouths! Maimonides lists three forms of forbidden talk: “Firstly a rohel,
explain that the Biblical portion of Metzorah follows the Biblical portion of Shmini, which concludes with the forbidden animals, birds and fish in order to teach us that what comes out of our mouths results in far greater damage than what we put into our mouths!
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someone who conveys words about someone else, going from one to another saying ‘so have I heard about so and so’. Even if the words are true and even if they are not negative, the talebearer is still considered as one who destroys the world. There is a much greater transgression than this which is called evil speech (lashon hara), this occurs when one speaks in a derogatory fashion about someone else even if what one says is true. And thirdly, one who spreads evil falsehoods about someone else is a motzi shem ra.” Maimonides adds that, “Such evil speech will result in the death of three individuals: the one who says it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is spoken. And the one who listens to it is worse than the one who propagates it” (Laws of Proper Ideas 7, 1-3). From this perspective, how can we justify the publicity of the fourth estate, which so often judges events without even being certain of the facts? Perhaps such slanderous reporting ought to be prohibited! I would maintain that a free press remains one of the glories of Israeli society and dare not be tampered with. Even Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan (known as the Hafetz Hayim), who wrote an important work on the evils of slander, maintains that for the common good—
for example, when one is asked about the suitability of a person for a marriage (a shidduch)—one must tell the entire truth, even if the report is a negative one. Jewish tradition encourages everyone—from childhood on— to study our legal texts, because such studies create a climate of “social non-acceptability” of legal infraction. A dangerous culture of male “macho” chauvinism and corruption seep into the highest echelons of our political and military elite. When such an evil spirit of acceptance of sexual harassment rears its ugly head it is crucially important that our press step in and express public revulsion. Obviously they must do so responsibly—and hopefully the laws of libel protect the innocent from unfair attack by the media. It must be remembered, however, that fame and public office engenders added responsibility—not added privilege! One dare not turn on the public in whose adulation one basked the moment it displays its disappointment and disgust. Our society owes a vote of thanks to public media, one of whose tasks must be the safeguard of morality in the most sacrosanct corridors of power and influence. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel
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18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist HEBREW MAJOR LEAGUERS The following is a list of Jews in the major leagues as of April 18. Jewish Sports Review magazine helped me with this list: RYAN BRAUN, 28, outfielder, Milwaukee. Braun was the 2011 National League MVP; CRAIG BRESLOW, 31, pitcher, Arizona; IKE DAVIS, 24, first base, NY Mets; SCOTT FELDMAN, 29, pitcher, Texas; IAN KINSLER, 29, second base, Texas; JASON MARQUIS, 33, pitcher, Minnesota; KEVIN YOUKILIS, 33, first base, Boston; and DANNY VALENCIA, 27, third base, Minnesota. Braun, Kinsler and Feldman are the sons of Jewish fathers/nonJewish mothers. Braun and Kinsler were raised secular, while Feldman’s family belonged for a time to a synagogue. Valencia and Davis have Jewish mothers. Davis was raised secular, while Valencia was raised religiously Jewish and had a bar mitzvah ceremony. Breslow, Youkilis and Marquis have two Jewish parents and all three came from moderately religious homes. It’s possible that Tampa Bay outfielder SAM FULD, 30, will return this season. A wrist injury in spring training will sideline him at least for most of 2012. Look for these players, who had some major league time last season, to possibly be called up: JOSH SATIN, 27, second base, NY Mets, RYAN LAVARNWAY, 24, catcher, Boston; and MICHAEL SCHWIMER, 26, pitcher, Philadelphia. (Pitcher JOHN GRABOW, 33, who had been in the majors since 2003, was cut by the Dodgers during spring training and there’s only a remote chance another team will sign him.) SUNNY SAN FRANCISCO TO SNOWY MICHIGAN Opening on Friday, April 27, is the romantic comedy, “The Five Year Engagement.” The movie opens in San Francisco where Tom (JASON SEGEL, 32) and Violet (Emily Blunt) have fallen in love and get engaged. Violet is Catholic and Tom is Jewish, which provides fodder for a semicomic scene where their respective fathers argue about the amount of their religious traditions that will be at their kids’ wedding. (Tom’s father is played by DAVID PAYMER, 57.) However, the wedding is delayed when Violet gets her dream job at the Univ. of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The job is only supposed to
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last two years, but it is extended to five, and their wedding plans are repeatedly put on hold. Violet enjoys her job, while Tom unhappily works at a bakery (the bakery scenes were shot at Zingerman’s, a famous Ann Arbor Jewish deli and bakery). ALISON BRIE, 29, (“Community”) plays Violet’s sister. The screenplay is by Segel and NICHOLAS STOLLER, 36, who also directed the film. Stoller also directed Segel in the hit films, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Muppets” movie. Segel wrote “Marshall” alone and the two guys co-wrote “Muppets.” Nice touch: the San Francisco and Michigan scenes were actually mostly shot on location. I do wonder if Stoller picked Michigan for a specific reason: his father-inlaw is NICHOLAS DELBANCO, 70, a well-known novelist/prose writer of Sephardi/German Jewish ancestry. He was director of the MFA Program at the U. of Michigan until his retirement in 2002. Some of his works have a Jewish theme. FUN FOOTNOTE ON DICK CLARK’S AMERICAN BANDSTAND When Dick Clark died on April 18, I began to think that he must have had much more than a minyan of Jews on American Bandstand during its long history. I looked up his list of guests and sure enough—tons of “tribe members” were on Bandstand. I looked at the roster of acts from the very first season (Aug. 1957-Dec. 1957) and the first two Jewish acts on Bandstand are both interesting for what they later did. On August 23, STEVE KARMEN, then 20, appeared on Bandstand to sing a hard-rocking song called “Wild Eyes and Tender Lips.” Karmen met future star singer Bobby Darin while both attended the Bronx High School of Science. They were lifelong friends and Karmen wrote (2003) a memoir about their friendship. Karmen went on to become the “king of the jingle writers.” The list of his really famous ad jingles is huge, but perhaps the most famous is the “I Love New York” song that accompanied tourism ads. The next Jewish act to appear on Bandstand (Nov. 22) was “Tom & Jerry,” who sang their hit song, “Hey Schoolgirl.” Tom and Jerry were the stage names of PAUL SIMON and ART GARFUNKEL, who had both just turned 14 when they were on Bandstand. “Schoolgirl” was their only hit as “Tom & Jerry,” so they went back to school full-time. They re-formed as a folk act in 1963.
FROM THE PAGES 100 Y EARS A GO In Plum Street Temple last Saturday morning after Rabbi Louis Grossman had delivered a very sympathetic and touching address on the Titanic disaster, which moved nearly every one of those present to tears, the whole congregation arose and said kaddish in memory of those who went down with the ill-fated ship. “There is good in everything, even in evil. The Titanic disaster is a horror which thrills and haunts us, but who is not equally thrilled by the courage and fortitude of some of the victims! It seems almost as if the awful event had to come in to remind us who are heedless that the men and women we know are capable of nobilities and that we can trust one another (and ourselves) under the greatest stress. “We live, most of us, from day to day, from hand to mouth, superficially, with not much broader imagination or sympathies than our work, or trade or profession allows. It is such a terrible event as this of the Titanic that shows life, after all, not commonplace, and men and women can become magnificent even in the presence of death.” “Mr. Straus was one of the best citizens of the City of New York, and though his charities were much admired, none was more modest than he. And his wife? Few had heard of her before outside of the circle of her family. For she was a quiet woman who filled her life with service to her husband and her children. But when the great calamity came that was to sweep them into death, Mr. Straus led his wife to the lifeboat and an officer bade her to hasten. But she shook her head and ran back to her husband: ‘We have been together these many years’, she cried, ‘we shall stay together now!’ And the ring of her loyalty is heard all over the world today, wherever women love and men are worthy of them.”— Louis Grossman. — April 25, 1912
75 Y EARS A GO The NBC (WCKY) “Our Neighbors” radio feature of each Sunday noon at 12:30 was broadcast April 25th from the Cincinnati residence of Alfred Segal, nationally known writer who is a member of the staff of The Cincinnati Post, The American Israelite and The B’nai B’rith Magazine. Jerome Belcher conducts the program. Sunday’s participants included Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Segal; his brother Eugene (also of The Post); sons, Joseph, Bernard and Millard, Mrs. Joseph Segal, and the Post radio editor, Paul Kennedy. Members of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team will be at Deer Creek
Common Sunday, May 2nd, at 9:30 a.m., to usher in what is expected to be one of the most successful seasons in the history of the Little Brothers Baseball League. Big Brothers are urged to attend. When the league organized Monday evening, April 26th, at the Jewish Community House, Richard Bray, WKRC sport commentator, spoke. Harold Raab, Big Brothers’ baseball chairman, presided. The boys will have a major and minor league. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Bortz, 3557 Glenwood Avenue (Reva Breslau), are parents of a boy, born Tuesday, April 20th. — April 29, 1937
50 Y EARS A GO Leo A. Gutman has been appointed advertising manager for Paramount Pictures Corporation, with headquarters in New York City, Martin David, director of advertising, publicity and exploitation, announced. Mr. Gutman will assume responsibility for administration and creation of Paramount’s advertising programs, including national and local. He has created and produced many outstanding campaigns on behalf of Ziv program series on radio and television. Mrs. David Joseph, first president of the Craftshop of the Handicapped, congratulated her great-granddaughter, Miss Cynthia Sturm, upon completing her ribboncutting ceremonies at the new Craftshop headquarters on the sixth floor of Shillito’s. The Craftshop was founded in 1929 by 46 women’s organizations to provide an outlet for sale of articles made by handicapped people. Mrs. Joseph’s daughter, Mrs. George Newburger, now serves on the board. Board members also include Mrs. Jeffrey L. Lazarus Sr., Mrs. James L. Magrish, Mrs. Martin M. Cohn, Mrs. Stanley S. Steinharter and Mrs. Oscar Silberschmidt. The wedding of Mrs. Elsa-Lee Schiff Golding and Mr. Andre Carlon was solemnized April 21 at Dayton, Ohio, in the home of Rabbi and Mrs. Selwyn D. Ruslander. Mayor Somers of Dayton officiated at the ceremony in the presence of the family. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Max M. Schiff of Cincinnati. Mr. and Mrs. Carlon will be at home at 1335 Westminster Drive after May 1. — April 26, 1962
25 Y EARS A GO Harry S. Sudman has been nominated to serve as the 25th president
of the Jewish Community Center, announced Albert R. Fingerman, nominating committee chairman. Sudman will head the slate to be presented to the Center’s membership at the agency’s 55th Annual Meeting Sunday, May 31, at 6:30 p.m. A vice president since 1981, Sudman has been involved in Center activities since his youth. The 11th annual Jewish Folk Festival, sponsored by the Hillel Jewish Student Center, will take place on Sunday, May 17 at the Burnet Woods Bandshell in Clifton. At the festival will be a children’s Stage to entertain children from the ages of five through 10. Mr. and Mrs. Michael B. Ganson (Ellen Bernstein) announce the birth of a daughter, Sarah Naomi, April 11. Sarah has a brother Adam Joshua. Maternal grandparents are Dr. and Mrs. I. Leonard Bernstein. Paternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ganson. Great-grandmother is Clara Goldman. — April 30, 1987
10 Y EARS A GO The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati (VAE), a professional chorus under the direction of Earl Rivers, and guest artist The Percussion Group Cincinnati, will present a Spring Concert Saturday, May 4, at 8 p.m. at the Plum Street Temple, Eighth and Plum Streets, downtown. The concert is sponsored by KeyBank and Thompson Hine LLP. The concert will feature Dominick Argento’s I Hate and I Love. Regional premiers include Talmud Suite by Sid Robinovitch and three Hebrew settings by Italian Renaissance Jewish composer, Salomone Rossi. Rose Feldman, 83, passed away April 15. Mrs. Feldman was born in Chicago, Ill. She was a daughter of the late Max and Celia (Murofchik) Abelson. She was the wife of the late Ben Feldman and the mother of the late Robert Feldman. She is survived by a son and his wife, Marvin and Charlene Feldman of Potomac, Md.; and her grandchildren, Traci and David Weinstein of North Potomac, Md.; and Jamie and Barry Freedman of Gatorsburg, Md. Also surviving Mrs. Feldman are her great-grandchildren, Sidney and Alexis Weinstein of North Potomac, and Brandon Freedman of Gatorsburg. Mrs. Feldman graduated from high school in Chicago. She served as president of the Cincinnati chapter of the Jewish National Home for Asthmatic children. Until the age of 77, she worked as a sales person. In her last position, she was associated with Lane Bryant. — April 25, 2002
FINANCE / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 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 BBYO (513) 722-7244 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
Beware the Bond Fund: this ‘safe’ investment alternative isn’t always so By Pamela F. Schmitt, CFA, CDFA Contributing columnist Individual investors have become more skittish in recent years…and for good reason. After experiencing nothing but a positive stock market for 17 of the 18 years from 1982 to 1999, the illusion of virtually guaranteed returns from stocks was obliterated in the decade that followed. The bursting of the tech bubble in 2000-2003 and the financial crisis in 2008 made it a decade many would like to forget. The result of this traumatic experience (for many investors) has been an increase in demand for “safe” investments that will hold their value in a crisis, even at the cost of giving up future growth. This trend toward safety can be seen in the broad increase in bond investments among U.S. investors, replacing a portion of the stocks once held in portfolios. Even amid record-low interest rates, investors have continued to pour more money into bond mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) to the tune of more than $100 billion in the 1st quarter of this year. While the quoted yield on many bond funds may look attractive at 3 or 4 percent versus a CD or money market fund at less than 1 percent, there is an inherent danger that will catch some investors off guard once interest rates begin to rise. Bonds are generally considered safe investments when issued by corporate or government entities in solid financial health, i.e. not much risk of defaulting on
their debt. This “credit risk” can be easily controlled by investing in high quality bonds. However, since most bonds are issued with a fixed rate of interest, there is another type of risk that must be considered: “interest rate risk.” This is the risk that after purchasing a bond, the market may experience an increase in general interest rates, rendering the fixed-rate bond less valuable. If an investor wants to sell a bond after interest rates have risen, it will most likely be at a loss, with the realization that it was not such a “safe” investment after all. The good news is that when investments are made in individual bonds, the investor can choose to hold these bonds until they are fully repaid at maturity, even if their values decline in the interim due to rising interest rates. If relatively short-term in maturity, then the negative impact of rising rates can be minimized. On the other hand, when investments are made in bond mutual funds, there is no maturity date for the individual investor’s commitment. Rather the fund manager, whose job it is to buy and sell bonds, may very well have to sell bonds at a loss, particularly if the fund’s investors are withdrawing their money. In this situation, all of the investors in the fund suffer a loss, and there is no opportunity to wait for repayment in full, as there is with the investment in individual bonds. In a low-interest rate environment such as we have today, a diversified mix of individual highquality bonds with short-term maturities is likely to prove a much “safer” approach.
Simultaneously, the high cost of day school tuition is hurting families and schools. Day school enrollment saw a 3 percent drop in 200910, and approximately a dozen schools closed in 2011, according
to the Avi Chai Foundation. Legally, a landmark 2002 Supreme Court case over vouchers in Ohio found that vouchers are constitutional under certain conditions. (In some states, amendments to the state constitution prohibit government aid to religious schools.)
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Beth and Louis Guttman host Israel bonds reception Beth and Louis Guttman hosted a campaign meeting and reception for Israel Bonds at their home on March 13. Dr. Matthew Levitt, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, briefed the group on the situation in Israel and the Iranian nuclear threat. More than $2.5 million in Israel bonds investments were announced. At a luncheon earlier that day at the Queen City Club, corporate and institutional investors in Israel Bonds were also briefed. Representatives included PNC Bank, KeyBank, Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank, US Bank, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, and Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati. The event was hosted by Ralph “Mike” Michael, regional president of Fifth Third Bank.
(L- R) Thomas Lockshin, executive director, Israel Bonds; Ralph “Mike” Michael; Dr. Matthew Levitt
Beth and Louis Guttman
Zell shares the secrets Fur Ball will raise vital funds for SPCA Cincinnati of Pesach cooking Recently several local Sisterhoods came together for a PrePesach Program featuring Cincinnati’s well-known chef, Zell Schulman. On March 15, Zell shared tips and tidbits with women from Adath Israel, B’nai Tzedek, Beit Chaverim, Northern Hills and Temple Sholom as they tasted her delicious recipes. All the participants enjoyed a night of food and friendship and came home with Zell’s recipes for make and take foods for mid-week Passover, including Tomato Soup, Cauliflower Fritters, Assorted Muffins and Rocky Road Candy. Many of the
Zell Schulman
women also had the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Zell’s cookbook, “Let My People Eat.”
Kindness to animals is an important tenet of Judaism. The SPCA Cincinnati “Fur Ball” on April 28 offers Cincinnati’s Jewish community a very fun opportunity to fulfill this guideline for living. The goal of this 10th annual gala event is to raise money to save, nurture, heal and protect our community’s abandoned, neglected and abused animals, and to give so many a chance for a happy new “forever” home. The Fur Ball will be held on Saturday, April 28, at Xavier University’s Schiff Conference
and Banquet Center. Co-chair Barbara Lichtenstein, member of Wise Temple congregation, says that guests will particularly enjoy mingling with adoptable animals and the crowning of the fourlegged “Best in Show” with announcer Cammy Dierking, Local 12 news anchor. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction of unusual and very desirable items and experiences including jewelry, sports tickets and memorabilia, fitness and beauty, art, golf outings, vacations, and of course pet lifestyle items. Dancing to the
tunes of the very popular band “Airwave” will delight guests until the evening draws to a close at midnight. SPCA Cincinnati operates two shelters, the original shelter in Northside and the new humane center and shelter in Sharonville. The nonprofit also conducts humane education outreach programs, programs which encourage the bond between animals and people, and raises awareness about animal issues at the local, regional, state and national levels. For information or tickets, call or visit the website.
JDRF Southwest Ohio honors Cynthia Marver Marmer at ‘Cincinnatian of the Year’ Gala JDRF Southwest Ohio Chapter will honor the legacy of Cynthia Marver Marmer at its annual Cincinnatian of the Year Gala Saturday, May 12 at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati. Beginning at 6 p.m., the gala will feature a “Night in the City” theme, a live and silent auction, Fund A Cure, dinner and dancing, and live entertainment from the band Swampthang. Event chairpersons are Carla and Mark Palmore, Lori and Frank Jones, and Laura and David Cramer. The event was named the top gala in Cincinnati by the Cincinnati Business Courier in 2011. Cynthia Marver Marmer, along with her late husband Bob Marver, helped to establish the JDRF Cincinnati Chapter in the 1970s. Her devoted commitment to funding the JDRF mission was evidenced in the many ways she contributed to the
chapter over the years. She worked tirelessly on past Cincinnatian of the Year Galas by helping with the auction committee, hosted a Walk Team —Grace’s Groovy Gang—and wrote personal acknowledgements for every honorarium and memorial donation to the chapter. Cynthia also attended Promise to Remember Me meetings and represented JDRF at many health fairs. Cynthia’s passionate and steadfast commitment to our JDRF chapter, with support from her husband Mel Marmer, was an inspiration to everyone who knew her. Cynthia was a loving mother of five children and grandmother of eight, including one with Type 1 diabetes. She was also a devoted stepmother and grandmother to Mel’s children. Nothing was more important to her than her family and her desire to find a cure. On many occasions, she stated that she didn’t
Proceeds from the event will go directly toward research that seeks to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes and its complications. want to leave this earth until a cure for diabetes was discovered. Cynthia was also a beloved and active member of the Jewish Community. She worked for 16 years at Hebrew Union College both as an executive assistant to Dr. Alfred Gottschalk and as a valued member of the Dean’s office staff. She was a proud member of Isaac M. Wise Temple, serving on their Board of Trustees, teaching third graders at Sunday school, partici-
pating in the Eitz Chayim Adult Learning Programs, as well as holding several Chair positions with the Senior Adult Committee and a Life Member of Sisterhood. Tickets are available. Registration is accepted online. Proceeds from the event will go directly toward research that seeks to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes and its complications. JDRF is the leading global organization focused on Type 1 dia-
betes (T1D) research. Driven by passionate, grassroots volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is now the largest charitable supporter of T1D research. The goal of JDRF research is to improve the lives of all people affected by T1D by accelerating progress on the most promising opportunities for curing, better treating, and preventing T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners who share this goal. Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research. Past JDRF efforts have helped to significantly advance the care of people with this disease, and have expanded the critical scientific understanding of T1D. JDRF will not rest until T1D is fully conquered. More than 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education.
FOOD / AUTOS • 21
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012
Bring a strudel Zell’s Bites
by Zell Schulman Brit, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, graduation, engagement and weddings all play significant roles in the lifecycle of our families. It is for these celebrations we find ourselves baking and cooking special dishes. The day you want to make strudel “You don’t plan anything except to bake strudel, have all the ingredients measured and ready before you begin to bake your strudel and have nothing else on your calendar except baking the strudel.” AUNT HANNA’S SOUR CREAM STRUDEL Makes 3 dozen My aunt, Hannah Jacob, baked this strudel recipe for all of our family events way into her 90s. Here, I have adapted it for the food processor. Dough 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 sticks unsalted butter 1 cup sour cream Filling 1 cup yellow raisins 1/2 cup hot water 2 cups chopped pecans One 12-oz jar seedless red raspberry jam 1 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar mix Powdered confectioner’s sugar Prepare Dough 1. Use metal blade. Place flour in bowl of processor with 1 stick of butter which has been cut into 8 pieces. Process 5 seconds. Scrape bowl and process 5 seconds more. 2. Cut second stick of butter into 8 pieces. Add this and sour cream to the flour mixture. Pulse 1 or 2 times. Scrape the bowl and MOVEMENT from page 8 “An interesting thing about being kosher — it makes you be conscious of what you are eating,” Dinar observed. “And the rest of the country is catching up to the idea that you can’t just trust that because someone calls it food, you can put it in your
process until mixture begins to form a ball around the blade. Remove from the processor bowl and wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for two to three hours or overnight. Prepare Filling 1. Soak the raisins in hot water 3 to 4 minutes to plump. Drain and set aside. Place the pecans in the processor bowl. Chop with 3 or 4 pulses. Remove to small bowl. 2. Remove jam from the jar and place in small bowl. Stir with spoon to loosen it for easier spreading. Line up strudel filling in small bowls: cinnamon-sugar, jam, raisins, nuts and coconut. Assembling and Baking the Strudel 1. Remove dough from the refrigerator. Cut into 4 pieces and roll into balls. Preheat the oven to 375º. Place a cookie sheet next to the area where you will be rolling the dough. 2. On a floured board, roll out one ball of dough into a 1/4 inch thickness. Sprinkle with cinnamonsugar mix, then thinly spread jam evenly over the entire surface of dough. Evenly distribute 1/4 of the raisins, 1/4 of the nuts and 1/4 of the coconut over the entire surface. 3. Beginning at the widest side of the studel, roll the dough tightly away from you like a jelly roll. Be sure to tuck in the ends when finished. Place seam side down on the cookie sheet. Continue in this way with the remaining balls of dough and filling. You will have 4 strudel rolls. 4. Brush each roll with a little melted butter or vegetable oil. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown in color. Remove from the oven. Let cool 5 or 10 minutes. Remove to board and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice into 1 inch pieces with a serrated knife. Place in paper liners and serve. Zell’s Tips: 1. Apricot or pineapple jam may be used instead of raspberry. 2. The dough can be cut into 4 pieces and frozen, and the strudel can be finished and baked at a later time. 3. The strudel can be frozen after baking. If this is done, do not cut the rolls or sprinkle with the powder ed sugar until ready to serve. mouth.” While Dinar does not observe the rules of kashrut — he urged a reporter to try the bacon-wrapped figs at a local eatery owned by another foodie Jew — he certainly is mindful of the food he eats and its origins. His family owns seven chickens that hatch eggs for the household.
Jaguar XK—Re-awaken your primal side The Jaguar XK is not just a sports car but it brings the luxury of a touring car. This rare combination allows you to tap your inner wild side while still feeling sophisticated and dignified. Prepare yourself to be the king of the concrete jungle. The XK gives the driver direct connection to the road as if you were one. The 6-speed fully adaptive shift system delivers smooth and lightning fast gear changes with optimized performance and economy. For maximum driver involvement, gears can also be selected manually using paddles mounted behind the steering wheel. JaguarDrive Selector™, which rises into the driver’s hand once the “Start” button is pressed. The driver only needs to turn the selector to engage transmission settings, or to move from Drive to Sport mode. JaguarDrive Control™ offers further driving modes—Dynamic for a more responsive experience, and Winter for more progressive control in slippery conditions. To help you stay connected and feel in full control the XK has The Active Differential. The Active Differential will proactively apportion power between the rear wheels to aid cornering. In addition, on loose surfaces it is designed to detect wheel slip and vary the power supplied to each rear wheel to help keep the car as stable as possible. The Active Differential is standard on the XKR and XKR-S models.
www.jaguarusa.com
2013 Jaguar XK
The interior gives you the best of options allowing you to decorate and design to your own specification. A wide choice of colors, materials, trims and veneers gives the XK driver an opportunity for a high level of personalization. Seventeen interior color themes and 10 veneers are available, depending on the model chosen. Leather is used extensively throughout the cabin, adding a luxurious feel to the seats, doors, dash and center console. The leather steering wheel houses thumboperated switches on either side of the center hub to operate the in-car entertainment system, cruise control and optional Adaptive Cruise Control. The steering wheel also features heating as standard. With a 7-inch touch-screen, portable audio interface, Satellite and HD radio, Bluetooh telephone connectivity as well as navigation
system all built in, you’ll be missing nothing. Amplify that with Bowers & Wilkins™ 525W system with Dolby® Pro-Logic II Surround Sound for extraordinary sound quality throughout the cabin. Don’t be scared of a roll-over. After all you are unleashing your primal side, you should feel no fear. Jaguar makes sure of that. The XK Convertible has its own array of safety features, including a roll-over protection system. If the car’s on-board sensors detect an impending roll-over, two strong hoops—normally hidden under the rear tonneau—are triggered, deployed and locked behind the rear seats within 65 milliseconds. With a starting MSRP of $90,400 it may seem a bit pricey, but it’s a whole lot safer than a full blown African Safari. So go wild in the convenience of luxury.
22 • OBITUARIES D EATH N OTICES JACOBSON, Ralph, age 83, died on April 16, 2012; 24 Nissan, 5772. LEVITAS, Dr. John R., age 87, died on April 17, 2012; 25 Nissan, 5772. KANDELSON, Mildred “Millie”, age 89, died on April 21, 2012; 29 Nissan, 5772. CLAYBON, Mollie K., age 98, died on April 22, 2012; 30 Nissan, 5772. JOSEPHSON, Robert M, age 76, died on April 18, 2012; 26 Nissan, 5772.
O BITUARIES JOSEPHSON, Robert M. Bob Robert M. (Bob) Josephson, 76, of Louisville, Ky., passed away peacefully on April 18, 2012. He was born in Albany, N.Y., to the late Louis and Sarah Josephson. Mr. Josephson served in the Marine Corps during the Korean LETTERS from page 16 Mr. Eichner suggests that more Jews should join the J. Does he ever wonder why they don’t? Why do some Jews who actually live in or near Amberley Village drive past the J to go elsewhere? Why are many Jews disaffected or uninterested in affiliating with the J? Why is the J called “The J?” When I was a child growing up in Detroit, the Jewish Center was called the Center or the JCC, and I practically lived there. While I belonged to the Jewish Center in Roselawn for at least 30 years, we
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War, and went on to attend the University of Louisville’s Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. Mr. Josephson’s career as an attorney spanned over 45 years, during which time he served as a District Court Judge in Jefferson County and represented numerous clients in private practice. A 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason, Mr. Josephson was elected Grand Master of St. George Masonic Lodge. He also held the offices of District Deputy Grand Master and Grand Marshal, Commander of Sojourners #512 and Heroes of 76 Zachary Taylor Camp, and served on the Board of Directors of the Masonic Homes of Kentucky. Mr. Josephson is survived by his brother, Bernard Josephson, sister Judith Seltzer, and maternal aunt, Lillian Butchkes. He was the uncle of nieces Sharon, Karen and Kathy Josephson and nephews Steven, Michael and Richard Seltzer. Memorial services are to be announced. Memorial contributions can be sent to Masonic Home of Louisville, Sam Swope Care Center, 3503 Moyers Circle, Masonic Home, Ky. 40041. all called it the JCC. The only reason I can see for the “J” is to emulate the “Y.” What is the psychology for emulating another, competing, organization? I cannot speak to all the reasons various Jews have for being disaffected or uninterested in the current JCC. I do know why I am so classified. I left the JCC in Roselawn when I took a job in another city for a number of years. When I came back, I settled in Montgomery and the JCC was still located in Roselawn, long past the time when most Jews had left the area. While they had not yet solid-
Camp for grades 5 – 8 will venture to local attractions such as Coney Island, a Reds game and other great spots. The J also offers a broad range of 1-week specialty camps (S’More Camps), July 30 – Aug. 17. These popular 1-week camps include a wide range of fun, summertime activities. Before summer camp starts, the J is offering a free event for
families that is open to everyone. Mark your calendar for Thursday, May 10 to enjoy Family Field Fest from 6 – 8 p.m. at the J. The fun will include a bonfire, cookout and games for all ages. This Family Field Fest on May 10 celebrates Lag B’Omer, a time for parties and picnics between the Jewish holidays of Passover and Shavuot.
Asked to describe their respective bosses’ pitches, staffers for Kaptur and Lowey, the senior Democrat on the committee’s foreign operations subcommittee, used similar terms, describing longstanding and productive relationships with other lawmakers. Kaptur’s communications director, Steve Fought, said of his boss, “She has an ability to get results to work in a bipartisan fashion and with some of the disparate elements of the Democratic caucus, which runs from left to right.” A staffer in Lowey’s office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lowey had “good relationships across the caucus and worked well with members across
the ideological spectrum.” Lowey, 74, who was active in Jewish women’s groups before she launched her congressional career in 1989, is making her support for abortion rights an issue in her outreach, her staffer said. Republicans, the Lowey staffer said, tend to flood appropriations bills with amendments that would inhibit abortion as an option in the United States and overseas. “It’s important to have someone who is willing to stand up for women’s health and who can be relied on,” said the staffer. Kaptur, a Roman Catholic who represents a relatively conservative northern Ohio district, has been rated as “mixed choice” by NARAL Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights advocacy group,
while Lowey scored a “fully prochoice” rating. Lowey’s reputation as a premier pro-Israel lawmaker also may figure in the calculus of who gets the spot, although she is not making it an issue in her campaign. She has been a leader in securing assistance for Israel and has an unusually strong partnership with the foreign operations subcommittee chairwoman, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), based in part on their commitment to the Israel-U.S. relationship. Kaptur is closer to J Street, the liberal Israel advocacy group. In January 2009, in the midst of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, she said that “the proportionality of Israel’s response to Hamas’ incessant terrorist rocket launches is lamentable.”
ified a new location, they had an option on property on Deerfield Road in Blue Ash. I was going to rejoin the JCC when they built on Deerfield, and joined the Y in the meantime. Instead the powers that be dropped that option, and closed the JCC in Roselawn with no other full service location in place. This condition lasted for several years. Then, I have been told, they had several options on property in Blue Ash, off of Reed Hartman, that they, also, allowed to lapse. I have also been told that they looked at property in Montgomery. While the Jewish population in Greater Cincinnati is dispersed, the population trend, particularly among the younger set, is moving north and east; witness Chabad Jewish Center in Blue Ash, Ohav Shalom on Cornell, and Northern Hills on Fields Ertel. The options men-
tioned above recognized this shift in Jewish movement, although the one on Deerfield did suffer from poor egress, but then whoever took out the option must have known this. Then they built in Amberley, a move back from the shifting population. It would seem not enough Jews in the Loveland direction have any interest in providing a viable Jewish majority at the J. Loyalty to the Center is a two way street. Why should any Jew be loyal to an organization that seems indifferent to the views of the general community? I recall, just a few weeks ago, a number of complaints from Center members when a director they liked was removed. In the 47 years I have lived in this area, I cannot recall anyone from “Jewish leadership” polling the general community as to their likes or dislikes. They seem to make all their
decisions devoid of any input from the general community. Further, my main activities at the JCC in Roselawn were racquetball and swimming. While my racquetball days are behind me, I still swim for exercise. The Y has two indoor pools, each six lanes wide and 25 yards long, standard for high school indoor swim meets. The outdoor pool is 50 yards long with a center portion that has a width of 25 yards, and can provide six lanes in the side to side direction, when the rest of the pool is closed for other water activities. For some inexplicable reason, the J built what looks like a 60 foot long pool with 4 lanes, not really suitable for serious lap swimmers. It does have nice aquatic features for children, but not for adults. If I had young children, I would probably belong, for my children’s sake. My own children were heavy users of the Center in Roselawn. As it is, my children now have children. I joined the Y when I had no Center to go to, and I now have no good reason to leave. I also have had conversations with non Jews I have come to know at the Y who used to belong to the JCC in Roselawn, but joined the Y when the JCC closed. They had no problem with the JCC closing on holidays and were proud that they had come to know the various Jewish holidays. Even though some live closer to the J, they are satisfied with the Y and have no desire to switch again.
CAMP from page 6 include professional instruction by recognized sports leaders as well as sports led by JCC professional staff. Sports Camp includes an overnight stay at the J and Camp Livingston, as well as three different day trips which may include batting cages, roller skating, and/or a Reds game. Trek DEMS from page 7
Sincerely, Jerome C. Liner Cincinnati, OH
Dick Weiland Miracle League Field at Dunham Recreation Complex
T
he Miracle of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati Recreation Commission unanimously
voted to name the Miracle League Field at Dunham Recreation Complex, the “Dick Weiland Field.” There will be a dedication and celebration ceremony at the field Sunday, May 20, at 3 p.m., at 4356 Dunham Lane, Cincinnati, Ohio 45238. The ceremony will feature some of the special athletes from the
(L-R) Charley Frank, Dick Weiland, and Owen Wrassman
Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s “Miracle
lanthropist Richard C. Weiland has spearhead-
League” program as well as donors and an
ed the efforts with support from Ann and Mort
appearance by representatives of the
Zeff; Eugene Rose; Energy alliance; PNC Bank;
Cincinnati Reds. Halom House is a co-sponsor
the Simply Money Foundation; the Health
of the event.
Foundation of Greater Cincinnati; the Jewish
Phase One of the project was completed in
Foundation; Halom House; Jim Miller; Manuel
the spring of 2009 with major support from the
D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation and many
Cincinnati Reds; the Reds Community Fund;
others. Weiland has six other places named
the Cincinnati Recreation Commission and the
after him including the Dick Weiland Hall at
Rotary Club of Cincinnati.
the American Jewish Archives, a room at the
The second and final phase will be complet-
Talbert House, Weiland/Rosedale Kollel House,
ed this spring, featuring a new pavilion with
Weiland/Zeff Halom House, Weiland
concessions and permanent restrooms, light-
Scholarship Fund at Cincinnati State and a
ing and a scoreboard. Local lobbyist and phi-
gate at Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem.