AI
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 25 AV, 5774
Lion of Judah Luncheon 2014
CINCINNATI, OH Candle Lighting Times Shabbat begins Fri 8:07p Shabbat ends Sat 9:08p
p.12
VOL. 161 • NO. 5
The American Israelite T H E
O L D E S T
03
E N G L I S H
Camp Livingston Teen Foundation gives grant to Cedar Village’s Shalom Ctr.
LOCAL
p.4
Older adults in Mason sing and dance to support Israel in new music video
NATIONAL
p.5
Backed by Bloomberg, Genisis launches ‘big ideas’ competition
INTERNATIONAL p.9
Wanna kill me? Take a number
DINING OUT
p.14
Pasta and pizza at Pomodori’s are homemade, using fresh ingredients LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
SINGLE ISSUE: $1.00 J E W I S H
07
W E E K L Y
I N
A M E R I C A
Fifty years after Freedom Summer, civil rights volunteers reflect on lives
|
08
E S T .
1 8 5 4
|
For ‘hardcore’ Jews displaced by Ukrainian fighting, Israel beckons
“ L E T
T H E R E
20
B E
L I G H T ”
Documentary reveals Jewish mother’s ‘Little White Lie’
JCC invites community to annual meeting on September 16 The Mayerson JCC will host its 82nd Annual Meeting on T u e s d a y , September 16 at 7pm in the JCC Amberley Room. This event is open to the entire community and will feature the election of the 2014-2015 board and officers, a short video and a dessert reception. A number of awards will also be presented, including the Volunteer of the Year Award, the Kovod Award and the Sigmund M. Cohen Memorial Award. Beyond this, the event will discuss the JCC’s strategic objectives and highlight how the organization has been connecting, enriching and inspiring the community over the past year. From the “When Slavery Hits Home” collaboration with the N a t i o n a l Underground Railroad Freedom Center to the upcoming “What is a Hero?” community event showcasing the Cincinnati S y m p h o n y
Orchestra, 2014 has been a landmark year for connecting with G r e a t e r Cincinnati. A myriad of initiatives have also strengthened long-established partnerships with organizations such as the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and Jewish Family Service. In addition, the JCC has continued to enrich the lives of everyone who walks through its doors. It offers activities for people of all ages to learn, grow and socialize. Camp at the J, the JCC Senior Center, After Crew, YPs at the JCC: all of these programs and more make the JCC a diverse, welcoming neighborhood where members can find a home away from home. Going forward, the JCC aims to inspire the community with innovative programming that challenges participants to expand their horizons and get involved.
The Home Issue
Coming soon in The American Israelite Are you a Realtor, furniture store, home improvement store, pet sitter, interior designer/decorator, home sales agent, contractor, or decor store? This is the issue you will want to be in! Increase sales with an ad in our upcoming Home Issue. Reach the enormous potential of the entire Jewish community through The American Israelite’s readership with an advertisement in this special issue.
Artwork deadline: August 22 • Publishes: August 28 For more information contact Barb Rothstein at 315-3071 or Ted Deutsch at 621-3145 or publisher@americanisraelite.com
LOCAL • 3
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Camp Livingston Teen Foundation gives grant to Cedar Village’s Shalom Center
Camp Livingston Teen Foundation group
For the second year in a row, this summer Camp Livingston participated in the Jewish Teen Funders Network Camp Philanthropy program. Nineteen teens from Camp Livingston, aged 17, formed a foundation and learned about Jewish values, grant making, and philanthropy. The following essay was written by Andrea Goldstein, a Camp Livingston Teen Foundation member: As a part of the 2014 Hadracha (Counselor-in-Training) program, we were charged with donating a grant from the Jewish Teen Funder’s Network to a nonprofit organization of our choosing. This process taught us valuable lessons in compromising and working together as a group and showed some of us what we truly valued most. Instead of simply selecting a charity on a whim, we spent an entire week carefully crafting our decision. We began by discussing tzedakah and Jewish values, then moved onto mission statements, made a few site visits, and finally chose our charity. While it was a long process, each of these steps really helped our decision to be more meaningful in the end. During our first meeting for the foundation, we were asked to define which Jewish values we found most important. After smaller group discussions, we realized that many of us had chosen similar values. Among the most common were respect, community, charity, and dignity. Although many chose the same few values, they had a different meaning to each person, which led into our discussion of tzedakah. Most of us were familiar with Maimonides’ eight levels of giving, which notably has “to support a fellow Jew… in order to strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others” at its very top. This concept – “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. But if you teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” – ended up playing a large role in our final decision. Once we knew what values were
the most important to us and why, we began to think about mission statements. After discussing their function and use, we looked at the mission statements of various companies and nonprofit organizations around the world. With a good idea of what a mission statement was supposed to be in our minds, we began crafting our own. We listed out the values that we had deemed most important and worked with them to create a statement that would guide the rest of our process. Toward the end of our week, we got to pay a visit to two of the organizations between which we were deciding: Manifest Gallery and Cedar Village. We had read the grant proposals for both, as we had for all five of the organizations. At Manifest, speaking to their staff was helpful because their grant proposal did not really speak to the impact that the gallery had on the community. After looking through all the beautiful artwork and learning about the initiative they wanted us to fund, we headed over to Cedar Village. At Cedar Village, many members of our group felt a strong connection. We toured the building, visited with some of the residents and learned a lot about the program to which we could be donating: the Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention. Both of these site visits definitely had a strong impact on our perspective of the organizations. Finally, on the last day of our week, we had to make a group decision on where to donate our money. After a long and intense discussion in which we made “pros and cons” charts, debated cost-effectiveness, and how the organizations lined up with our values and mission statement, we selected The Shalom Center at Cedar Village. The program houses victims of elderly abuse to give them therapy, access to all facilities, and most importantly a home, all for free. While they are given all of this treatment, their identities are kept completely anonymous as they rebuild their confi-
dence at Cedar Village. We felt this program really aligned with our goal of teaching others to be self-reliant as a form of giving. This experience was very meaningful to our group because it not only brought us together to work toward a common goal but also taught us a lot about Jewish values and our own. Coming to a final decision was pretty tough at times, and we even considered splitting up the money to give to two different organizations. But when it came down to it, we wanted to make the biggest impact we could with the resources we were given, and we felt right about giving to the Shalom Center.
4 • LOCAL / NATIONAL
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
Older adults in Mason sing and dance to support Israel in new music video
AI
The American Israelite “LET THERE BE LIGHT” THE OLDEST ENGLISH-JEWISH WEEKLY IN AMERICA - EST. JULY 15, 1854
VOL. 161 • NO. 5 THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 25 AV 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 8:07 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 9:08 PM
Wise Temple collects for JCC Senior Center honors supporters, celebrates community Freestore Foodbank with “Click the Mitzvah” wish list is created with input from the Freestore Foodbank. Canned meats, vegetables and fruits and personal care items such as diapers, shampoos and toothpaste are some of the items that are needed most. Through Click the Mitzvah, the hundreds of items purchased by Wise Temple members will be delivered to Wise Temple and stacked in the lobby until Yom Kippur morning, when the Freestore Foodbank arrives with several trucks to pick it up. Click the Mitzvah runs September 1 through October 1. You can find the Wise Temple wish list by entering “Wise Temple” in the search on Amazon’s website. Most items are eligible for free shipping.
given to the Philada Home Fund, is given to an individual or group who has made a significant impact on the Senior Center’s ability to enhance the lives of its constituents. Amy Hirschman received the Together We Can Award for her close, ongoing relationship with the Senior Center. She has acted as a bridge between the Philada Home Fund and Senior Center, working with the center to make a difference in Greater Cincinnati. “We are so appreciative of the support we have received (from these recepients),” said Tsippy Gottlieb, Director of Senior Adult Services at the JCC. “Their faith in our services allows us to continue to enrich the lives of so many in our community. Through their generosity and dedication, we were able to increase our transportation services, allowing us to help seniors lead vibrant, independent lives.” To learn more about the Senior Center, please contact the JCC.
LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher BETH KOTZIN SAUNI LERNER Assistant Editors YOSEFF FRANCUS Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor ROBERT WILHELMY Dining Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM IRIS PASTOR ZELL SCHULMAN PHYLLIS R. SINGER Contributing Columnists JENNIFER CARROLL Production Manager BARBARA ROTHSTEIN Advertising Sales JULIE BROOK Office Manager e Oldest Eng Th
ewish N h-J ew lis
Each year during the High Holy Days, Wise Temple members donate food and personal care items to the Freestore Foodbank of Cincinnati. Wise Temple members have a consistent commitment to this important endeavor and continue to contribute food and personal care items for the needy of our region in record setting amounts. This year is the third year that Wise Temple members have the option of shopping online at Amazon for food and personal care items. This option, called “Click the Mitzvah” is for members who find it difficult to shop or bring in bags of food on Yom Kippur morning. They can have the same experience participating in this mitzvah by choosing from many items listed on the Wise Temple “wish list” on Amazon. The
On Thursday, August 7, the JCC Senior Center held the Power of One Award Luncheon, an annual community event that recognizes two major supporters of the Senior Center. Nearly 300 people came together to honor the Power of One Award recipient, the Philada Home Fund, and the Together We Can Award recipient, Amy Hirschman. At the luncheon, guests celebrated the award recipients and the Senior Center with an elegant meal and live entertainment. Students from the JCC Early Childhood School opened the performance, followed by the Israeli Shalom Dancers led by Idit Moss and the International Folk Dancers. This unique, multicultural show gave guests a taste for global dance and music and highlighted community support for Israel. Those in attendance included seniors and other community members, as well as representatives from a number of local organizations, including the Public Library of Cincinnati, Jewish Family Service and Cedar Village. The Power of One Award,
RABBI ISAAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900
•
the year Israel celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is a Jewish custom to place stones on gravesites and memorials out of respect for the dead. Cedar Village residents have strong connections to Israel because most are Jewish. Some also have relatives who live in Israel, including grandchildren in the Israel Defense Forces. Rossio, who entertains at Cedar Village from time to time, said he wrote the song to be timeless, something that could be performed on the anniversary of any Israeli war or any relevant Jewish occasion.
Est. 1854
chair. Those closest to her said her arms were shaking but she was determined to stand up. In the dementia unit, a resident sang the words with Rossio, despite her severe memory problems. Producing the video engaged other dementia patients as well, as they laughed and smiled. In several scenes, residents and staff are seen solemnly placing stones – one by one -- on a memorial to fallen Israeli soldiers, as an Israeli flag flies in the background. The 8-ton memorial, located on the Cedar Village campus, was made from a boulder brought from Jerusalem in 1998,
• ca
A video production crew spent a day at Cedar Village, recording residents – including Holocaust survivors -- in about eight locations on the residential campus. About 200 residents and staff members participated in the production. In many of the scenes, residents hold signs calling for “peace” in three languages – English, Hebrew and Arabic. Some of the most poignant scenes show residents rising from their wheelchairs to “stand for Israel” as Rossio sings. During the videotaping, one rehabilitation patient used a walker and two physical therapists on either side to lift herself out of her wheel-
r in Am ape er sp i
Residents of Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason are starring in a new music video that shows them dancing and singing for peace in Israel. Cedar Village commissioned singer-songwriter Marc Rossio of Columbus to write a song in which the staff and residents could show their support for Israel during these tumultuous times. Rossio wrote “I Stand for Israel,” a lively song in Hebrew and English with a catchy tune that calls for peace in Israel and compassion for civilians on both sides. “I stand for peace in Israel and all the world,” the song proclaims.
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
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $44 per year and $1.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $49 per year and $2.00 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.
LOCAL / NATIONAL • 5
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Dr. Tanya Siff to speak at Northern Hills Sisterhood event
Dr. Tanya Siff
Northern Hills Synagogue Sisterhood is pleased to welcome Tanya Siff, Ph.D., as the guest speaker at a sisterhood-sponsored brunch on Sunday, August 24, 2014.
Tanya recently moved to Cincinnati with her husband, Rabbi David Siff, who just assumed the position of rabbi at Northern Hills Synagogue. Tanya, a clinical psychologist, will present a program entitled Elul and the Process of Psychological Transformation. Her discussion will focus on how individual Jews can experience life changing transformations in relation to the High Holidays. Tanya grew up in the North Chicago suburbs and earned her undergraduate degree at Brandeis University. She then lived in Israel for three years and studied at Pardes Institute in Jerusalem and the Conservative Yeshiva. While in Jerusalem, Tanya met her future husband, David Siff. After returning to the U.S. Tanya earned her Ph.D. in
Clinical Psychology at Adelphi University in New York. Tanya and David have two children, Hannah, 5, and Daniel, 1. When asked about her recent move to Cincinnati, she commented: “Rabbi David and I are happy to be here in Cincinnati and to be joining the Northern Hills Synagogue community, and appreciate the warm welcome we have received.” Non-members and members alike are welcome to attend. The Sisterhood event will take place at Northern Hills Synagogue on August 24th at 10:30 a.m. RSVP by August 15 to the synagogue. Babysitting will be provided; reservations are required for this service by August 15.
Backed by Bloomberg, Genesis launches ‘big ideas’ competition By Anthony Weiss (JTA) – It is now open season for those who would like a chunk of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s change and think they have a big idea up their sleeves. On Tuesday, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced the launch of the Genesis Generation Challenge, a competition offering 10 awards of $100,000 each to teams that can successfully present innovative projects “guided by Jewish values to address the world’s pressing issues,” according to a foundation statement. Teams must have approximately 10 people and be led by someone aged 20 to 36. The money for the prize, which originally was announced in May, had been awarded to Bloomberg as the inaugural Genesis Prize recipient. Bloomberg, a billionaire and the former mayor of New York, promptly regifted the money to Genesis. He set on the competition model after first pledging the money to encour-
age Israeli-Palestinian trade, changing his mind at the urging of the Genesis Prize Foundation. The Genesis Generation Challenge is the latest in a series of prizes aimed at coaxing a “big Jewish idea” in some form or another. In 2007, philanthropist Charles Bronfman launched a competition for an innovative Jewish idea, with the reward of a book deal and a two-year appointment as the Charles R. Bronfman Visiting Chair in Jewish Communal Innovation at Brandeis University, with a six-figure salary. The first winner, to great fanfare, was Yehuda Kurtzer for “The Sacred Task of Rebuilding Jewish Memory.” The academic position has since lapsed due to lack of funds. In 2011, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles started a competition to select the Next Big Jewish Idea, awarding the $100,000 prize to Batsheva Frankel for the LaunchBox, a toolkit designed to
Courtesy of Haim Zach
Michael Bloomberg, right, receiving the Genesis Prize from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Genesis Prize Chairman Stan Polovets looks on,
provide materials to encourage Jewish practice and exploration. Frankel currently is attempting to raise funds for a second iteration of the LaunchBox via crowdsourcing. Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University and the chair of the selection committee for the Bronfman “big idea” competition, said the recent focus on major transformative ideas in the Jewish world was elicited by the success of Birthright GENESIS on page 22
From our first issue to last week’s issue, it‘s in our
ACCESS TO
online archives.
THE AMERICAN
To access go to,
ISRAELITE’S
www.americanisraelite.com
ARCHIVES
and click on this symbol.
6 • NATIONAL
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
Showbiz meets shtetl: Helping Hollywood get Hasidim right By Miriam Moster
Courtesy ofJulie Landreville
Luzer Twersky, right, consulted on and plays a Hasidic character in the forthcoming film “Felix and Meira.”
NEW YORK (JTA) – When it comes to Hasidic characters in movies, film consultant Elli Meyer believes that the real deal trumps a random actor in costume. But that approach isn’t without its challenges. Meyer, a New York-based Lubavitcher Hasid, recounted one occasion when he was hired to cast extras for a film but refused upon learning that shooting would take place on Yom Kippur. “Who told you to hire Jews?” one of the producers said, according to Meyer, though ultimately the shooting was postponed. Meyer is among a handful of
Jews from haredi Orthodox backgrounds who have carved out an unusual niche in show business as occasional consultants on films and TV shows aiming to authentically depict Hasidic life. These consultants often find themselves having to dispel misconceptions about Hasidim as they advise on language, costuming and plot, sometimes even stepping into rabbinic roles as explainers of Jewish law. Meyer, 59, has been doing this kind of work for a decade. In 2014 alone he has acted in, consulted on or done casting work for more than half a dozen TV shows or movies. He said he was motivated to
get into the consulting business because he was appalled by the sloppiness of many depictions of Hasidic Jews. “They think they can slap on an Amish hat and a long black robe, and they’ve created a Hasid,” he said of directors and producers in general. Isaac Schonfeld, a graduate of Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah high school in Queens and an Orthodox Jew, has consulted on several independent films. Most recently, Schonfeld consulted for the 2013 comedy “Fading Gigolo” directed by John Turturro, who stars as a novice SHOWBIZ on page 21
For ex-WNBA chief Donna Orender, NBA breakthrough for women a show of respect By Hillel Kuttler
Courtesy of Donna Orender
Donna Orender says she was "always waiting" for a woman to be hired for a prominent role in the NBA.
National Briefs Lauren Bacall, sultry film legend (JTA) — Lauren Bacall, a film legend best known for her sultry onscreen presence and her Hollywood romance with actor Humphrey Bogart, has died. Bacall, the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania, died Tuesday in New York. She suffered a massive stroke in her apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, TM reported. Born Betty Joan Perske in Brooklyn, Bacall was a first cousin of former Israeli President Shimon Peres (nee Szymon Perski), although they did not meet until they were both famous adults, according to the L.A. Jewish Journal. Bacall went on to perform in more than 40 films, including “The Big Sleep” and “How to Marry a Millionaire.”
BALTIMORE (JTA) – As a former WNBA president who played in what is considered the first U.S. professional basketball league for women, Donna Orender has been eager for a trailblazing female to join the National Basketball Association in a prominent role. So she was plenty pleased last week when the world champion San Antonio Spurs hired Becky Hammon, a point guard with the WNBA’s Stars of the Texas city, as a paid assistant coach – a first in NBA history. “Becky’s a special woman, a great player, a student of the game,” Orender said last week of the veteran backcourt ace. “I always thought that
the real breakthrough would be a woman coaching in the NBA because it would indicate a real level of respect. I was always waiting for it.” Waiting and helping to pave the way. Orender, an All-America guard at Queens College, was one of the few to play all three seasons of the Women’s Professional Basketball League, from 1978 to 1981. She led the Women’s NBA from 2006 to 2011, enjoying “incredible respect amongst those of us in the business,” recently retired NBA Commissioner David Stern said. Now with a nonprofit organization, Generation W, she is mentoring girls and young women, including by hosting an annual forum of experts in
politics, philanthropy, business and self-improvement. The group also provides guidance on getting into college and making a difference in the world through voluntarism. Orender, 57, herself serves on the boards of Maccabi USA and the V Foundation for Cancer Research (established in memory of collegiate basketball coach Jim Valvano), and was co-chair of the Sports for Youth committee of the UJA-Federation of New York. During Orender’s eight-year tenure, Sports for Youth more than tripled its annual fundraising, to $450,000 annually, said its director, Danielle Zalaznick. “She’s an amazing leader. She has very creative ideas,” Zalaznick said.
Orender puts those ideas to use now as the principal of Orender Unlimited, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm that conducts strategic planning and marketing for companies. Sports, however, remain central to her life. It was in that arena that Orender made her professional mark, despite setting out to be a social worker or sociologist. After doing research at ABC for such sportscasters as Jim Lampley and the venerable Jim McKay, Orender worked 17 years as an executive for the PGA Tour, the main organizer of professional golf tournaments primarily for men, before taking the reins of the WNBA.
According to her New York Times obituary, Bacall wrote that she felt “totally Jewish and always would.”
conflict with Hamas, was sponsored by various Boston-area organizations, including a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.
was a former professor of political science and social policy at Brandeis University, where he also taught Jewish studies.
Hamptons synagogue raises $1 million for Israel in one night (JTA) – Congregants at a synagogue in the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island pledged more than $1 million at a fundraiser for Israel. The money raised at the Aug. 9 gathering following Shabbat at The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach will go to the UJA-Federation of New York’s Israel Emergency Fund, which assists organizations that provide medical treatment and economic support for Israelis in the wake of conflict.
1,000 gather for Max Steinberg memorial service (JTA) – Fallen Israeli soldier Max Steinberg found “inner peace” in his army service, his mother told a crowd of 1,000 at a memorial service in his native Southern California. The service Tuesday night at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills paid tribute to Steinberg’s American childhood and his service in the Israel Defense Forces, according to the Times of Israel. Steinberg, 24, a sharpshooter in the Golani Brigade, was killed on July 19 while fighting in Gaza. He joined the Israeli army two years ago. Steinberg’s parents’ first trip to Israel was for his funeral in Jerusalem, which drew 35,000 mourners.
ond intifada in Israel are suing a Jordanian bank, claiming it offered benefits to terrorists. In a trial set to begin Thursday in Brooklyn, 140 plaintiffs injured in two dozen terror attacks from 2001 to 2004 are suing Arab Bank for allegedly funneling money from a Saudi fund to the Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to The Associated Press. Any family of a terrorist who died attacking Israel was to receive $5,000 from the fund.
1,000 attend BDS rally outside Boston HP conference (JTA) – Some 1,000 demonstrators marched to a Hewlett-Packard conference in Boston to protest the company’s sale of equipment to the Israel Defense Forces. Monday’s march, which also was protesting Israel’s conduct in its
Trial starting in suit against Arab Bank by terror attacks’ victims (JTA) – American victims of Hamas terror attacks during the sec-
Leonard Fein, liberal activist and scholar, dies (JTA) – Leonard Fein, a veteran Jewish activist and writer, has died at 80. Fein died Thursday morning, announced the Forward newspaper, where he was a longtime columnist. A prominent voice of Jewish liberalism and left-wing Zionism, Fein was the author of numerous books on Jewish issues and politics. Fein was the founder of Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger and of the National Jewish Coalition for Literacy. In 1975, he co-founded Moment Magazine with Elie Wiesel. Fein
EX-WNBA on page 22
U.S. officials: No change in procedure for arming Israel (JTA) – U.S. officials denied reports of a change in the procedure through which their government supplies arms to Israel. Speaking to reporters on Aug. 14, State Department Deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said, “Let me be clear: There has been no change in policy, period.” But she also said, “Given the crisis in Gaza, it is natural that agencies take additional care with deliveries as part of an inter-agency process.” Harf’s statements were in reply to questions based on a report that appeared last week in The Wall Street Journal saying that the White House is delaying the completion of a sale of Hellfire missiles to Israel and that the Obama administration has made even routine arms transfers subject to White House and State Department approval.
NATIONAL • 7
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Fifty years after Freedom Summer, civil rights volunteers reflect on activist lives By Dina Weinstein (JTA) – At the Freedom Summer anniversary conference in Jackson, Miss., the activists who registered black voters and taught in Freedom Schools under the threat of violence 50 years ago stood up to introduce themselves. It took three hours to hear what they did in the Magnolia State back in 1964 and have gone on to do in the half-century since. “Almost everyone had a social justice connection,” said Heather Booth, who went to Mississippi as a college freshman from New York before moving on to a career as a nationally prominent liberal activist. “The former volunteers went on to work as teachers, environmental activists and in the field of health care.” Organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, Freedom Summer sent mostly white college students to Mississippi to confront the violent racism in the state. In the summer of 1964, some 1,500 volunteers worked registering blacks to vote, teaching in Freedom Schools and organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which aimed to challenge the state’s all-white delegation at the Democratic National Convention that year. Jews were represented among the young civil rights volunteers in numbers far exceeding their share of the population.
Debra Schultz, the author of “Going South: Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement,” said that like other SNCC activists, Jewish Freedom Summer volunteers were motivated by a desire to hold the country to its full promise of democracy. Many were inspired as well by their Jewish and often left-leaning backgrounds. “Among particularly ‘Jewish’ motivations, we can cite: an identification with another racialized people and a passion for racial justice, born of the recent experience with the Holocaust,” Schultz told JTA via email. Booth said that she came to Mississippi a year after visiting Israel, where she made a commitment at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial to struggle for justice. Schultz noted that her synagogue had funded the $500 bail money required to participate in Freedom Summer in the case of an arrest. The first days of Freedom Summer saw the murder of three civil rights workers – Jewish New Yorkers Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner and black Mississippian James Chaney, who had been investigating the burning of a black church. During the weeks-long search for the workers, the bodies of eight murdered black men were found in the Mississippi countryside before the discovery of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner’s remains. Tension and danger lurked throughout the summer. There were another four people
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE Newspaper & Website is now hiring a
SALES REPRESENTATIVE TO APPLY, please contact Ted Deutsch at (513) 621-3145 or send your resume to publisher@ americanisraelite.com
AI
The American Israelite
Courtesy of Institute of Southern Jewish Life
Jewish civil rights volunteers Heather Booth, Mark Levy and Larry Rubin participating in a panel in Jackson, Miss., to mark the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, June 2014.
critically wounded, 80 activists beaten, 1,000 arrests, 37 churches and 30 black homes or businesses bombed or burned. Booth recalls feeling frightened all the time that summer. “But it was also very exhilarating,” Booth said. “There were nightly meetings at black churches, with a lot of singing.” In Shaw, Miss., where blacks were neglected, Booth said she felt honored that her hosts generously gave up their beds for her and three other volunteers. “In the black part of town, there
were no toilets, no sewers and no street lights,” Booth said Booth continued her activism after Freedom Summer. She became involved in the women’s movement, founding Jane, an underground abortion counseling and referral service in Chicago. She went on to serve as the founding director of the NAACP National Voter Fund and Americans for Financial Reform. She also coordinated grassroots efforts to win passage of President Obama’s first budget. Based in Washington, D.C., she currently consults for and advises a variety of liberal advocacy groups. At the anniversary conference in late June, Booth was one of more than 200 former Freedom Summer volunteers in attendance. They met with nearly 2,000 younger activists. Larry Rubin, a veteran labor movement activist who came to the reunion from Takoma Park, Md., worked on the SNCC staff as a young man from 1961 to 1965, first in southwest Georgia. In early 1964, he went to Mississippi to set up the infrastructure for Freedom Summer. Rubin said that when he trucked donated books to the Freedom Schools, he was pulled over, roughed up and arrested by police who expressed anti-Semitic sentiments. (But when he came back to Mississippi later as a labor organizer, he recalled, a policeman who had once threatened to kill him if he ever again showed his face in his town praised his efforts to unionize a local business.)
When local blacks faced harassment, he said, all the civil rights workers could do was offer to report it to the federal government. Rubin left the SNCC in 1965 as it was turning toward Black Power and whites were being pushed out of the organization. Rubin recalls feeling a sense of relief, like he was dismissed and could go home. He returned to university studies to learn more about his Eastern European Jewish roots, just as the Black Power movement was encouraging African-Americans to embrace their heritage. Rubin, who grew up in Philadelphia, said his civil rights work was influenced by his parents, who taught him to fight for social justice because of what his grandparents went through fleeing Europe. But while many volunteers were Jewish, their backgrounds were not necessarily at the forefront within the movement. “In the 1960s we didn’t discuss being Jewish, and we didn’t bring up our motivation for getting involved in the movement,” Rubin said. “There was no space to discuss Jewishness.” Bob Moses, the well-known black civil rights leader and Freedom Summer organizer, told JTA that he was not aware at the time of participants’ Jewish identities. “I didn’t know if Freedom Summer people were Jewish,” he said. At the anniversary gathering, however, it was a topic of discussion, FIFTY on page 19
HEBREW CLASSES 1st Hour 7-8 p.m., Beginner & Intermediate Class 2nd Hour 8-9 p.m., Hebrew conversation hour Every Tuesday night, classes begin September 2. Taught in 3 sessions, Fall, Winter, Spring Any level welcome from beginner to fluent. This is the class that will help you master reading, writing and speaking. Taught by Mrs. Zahava Rendler Rockwern Academy 8401 Montgomery Rd. • Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 Please register by August 28, 2014 For more information contact Mrs. Zahava Rendler at zrendler@fuse.net or publisher@americanisraelite.com or call 513-721-2220
8 • INTERNATIONAL
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
For ‘hardcore’ Jews displaced by Ukrainian fighting, Israel beckons By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) – Each time he dispatches a car into Lugansk, Rabbi Shalom Gopin readies himself for hours of anxious anticipation. The scene of brutal urban warfare between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists, this eastern Ukrainian city now has no regular power supply, running water or cell phone reception. Mortar rounds can fall without warning. Much of the population, once 450,000, has fled. But despite the risks, Gopin, the city’s exiled chief rabbi, has dispatched over a dozen cars to Lugansk, each one intended to quietly ferry Jews to a camp he runs for the internally displaced in Zhytomyr, near Kiev. More than 117,000 people are internally displaced within Ukraine, the United Nations reported earlier this month. Over the weekend, Gopin welcomed several cars to Zhytomyr carrying a total of 13 passengers. For Gopin, each arrival brings relief, but also sadness over the disintegration of a community he has spent 15 years building. Initially intended to provide temporary shelter for Jews fleeing the fighting in the east, the facility, which functions mainly as a summer camp, is now home to 250 displaced Ukrainians. Gopin says more than half have no plans to return.
International Briefs 3 charged in scuffle at Calgary pro-Palestinian rally (JTA) – Three pro-Palestinian activists were charged with assault stemming from a rally for Gaza in Calgary that turned violent. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists had converged July 18 outside City Hall in the western Canada city when a small group of pro-Israel demonstrators gathered across the street. A series of scuffles broke out and three people were assaulted. Charges are also expected against a fourth man, whom police have identified but not yet found. Jewish man wounded in suspected hate crime in Switzerland (JTA) – An Orthodox Jewish man from Belgium was lightly wounded in an assault in
Courtesy of Olivier Fitouss
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, meeting with Jews who fled eastern Ukraine,
“It’s a sad reality,” Gopin told JTA. “Many people are now realizing the bad situation may remain, so people who never even thought about making aliyah are going ahead with it. The city, my home, is emptying of Jews as it slowly consumes itself out of existence.” The Jewish Agency for Israel, the quasi-governmental agency responsible for facilitating immigration to Israel, is expecting more than 3,000 arrivals from Ukraine this year – a 33 percent increase over the 1,982 Jews who immigrated in 2013. More than 1,550 individuals have immigrated from Ukraine in the first five months of 2014 alone, more than double the 693 who arrived in the corresponding period last year. Hundreds of the new immi-
grants hail from Lugansk, a city of 7,000 Jews. Many others come from Donetsk, a rebel-held city with more than 10,000 Jews that is under constant shelling as government forces prepare to storm it. “My sense is that 80 to 90 percent of the Jewish population of Donetsk already emptied out of the city, including my own family,” said Sasha Ivashchenko, who fled the city last month and is waiting to make aliyah with his wife. The couple married recently in a ceremony in Donetsk held with the background noise of bombardments by Ukrainian warplanes. In Zhytomyr, Alexander, a refugee in his 50s who asked to be identified only by his first name, fled Lugansk after three
Switzerland that witnesses called an anti-Semitic attack. The victim of the Monday evening assault in the Davos area is a 26-year-old tourist from Antwerp, according to a report published Wednesday in the online edition of the Swiss Jewish weekly Tachles. Identified only as A. Wachsstock, the victim was walking toward his car, where his wife and four children were waiting, when a man in his 60s began hitting him and shouting antiSemitic profanities, including “Juden raus,” or “Jews, get out” in German, the paper reported.
the summons served to Damian Ridgwell, a founder of the group. New South Wales police have made an application under the Summary Offenses Act 1988 to “prohibit the holding of a public assembly,” according to the report. The Israeli Film Festival, in its 11th year, will also screen in Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Byron Bay.
Sydney police aim to block pro-Palestinian protest at Israeli film fest (JTA) – Police in Sydney launched a legal bid to stop a proPalestinian protest at the opening of the Israeli Film Festival. Officials of the Palestine Action Group said members are listed for a hearing Monday in the Supreme Court of New South Wales ahead of the group’s planned protest outside the cinema on Thursday. The Guardian Australia reported that it had seen
British supermarket demonstrators throw Israeli food products (JTA) – Demonstrators in England attacked police and threw food products on the floor while calling on a local supermarket to stop selling Israeli goods. The protest occurred Saturday at the Tesco supermarket in Hodge Hill, Birmingham, the Telegraph reported. British Jewish paper responds to outcry over Gaza appeal ad (JTA) – Britain’s Jewish Chronicle responded to controversy over a Gaza aid appeal that it ran as an advertisement. The Disaster Emergency
men with rifles entered his small packing factory in the city’s industrial zone and informed him it had been “commandeered for the city’s defense.” One of the men, who Alexander believes were pro-Russian separatists, asked him to leave. “So now even if the fighting stops, I expect there will be very little for me to come back to,” Alexander said. “I stayed here because this was my place, my business. Now there’s no point.” When Alexander left the city late last month, public transportation was still operating. But rail traffic ground to a halt on July 26 following the shelling of the train station, effectively trapping much of the population – including hundreds of elderly Jews – in a city that many warn is the site of a looming humanitarian catastrophe. Currently there are 47 urgent cases of Jews in need of rescue, according to Eleonora Groisman, the founder of a nonprofit that maintains a database of Jews seeking rescue. Among them is a woman in her 80s trapped inside her Lugansk apartment. Getting such people out is a complex and risky operation that requires traversing a circuitous route through Russian territory and greasing the palms of forces encountered along the way. Using his contacts with rebel leaders, Gopin has established an escape route in which a driver picks up the evacuees in Lugansk, crosses
the border into Russia and then returns to Ukraine farther north in an area not held by separatists. “You have to understand, the rebel-held area and its surroundings are totally lawless,” Gopin told JTA. “So the car could get stopped and detained or turned back by rebels, suspicious government forces or even thieves preying on the helpless – complications that increase exponentially what is already a serious risk.” To deal with such possibilities, Gopin provides his drivers with an envelope full of cash for bribes. “Luckily, we’re talking about bribes at around the $50 or $70, so that’s still affordable,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the Jerusalem-based organization that has spent millions providing relief to Jews in Ukraine. To outsiders – and even to some Ukrainians – the decision by thousands of Jews to remain in a war zone seems incomprehensible. But it’s no mystery to Natan Sharansky, the Jewish Agency’s chairman, who was born in Donetsk. “The Jews that stayed, they are the hardcore,” Sharansky told JTA. “They’ve watched friends and family leave throughout the 1990s and after, choosing every time to stay. But there comes a time when reality trumps even the hardcore.”
Committee, a British umbrella organization for international aid organizations, began running the advertisement for its Gaza crisis appeal in various publications. In response to controversy over its decision to run the ad, The Jewish Chronicle’s editor, Stephen Pollard, issued a statement on Aug. 14 explaining that the ad was not an expression of the newspaper’s editorial view, which he said is separate from its commercial operations.
ed “a new era for the resolution of the complex issues surrounding the proper preservation of the Jewish heritage sites that sustained severe damage by totalitarian regimes,” Sheykhet said.
Ukrainian court nixes controversial Jewish heritage projects in Lviv (JTA) – A Ukrainian supreme court forbade the Municipality of Lviv from going ahead with controversial plans for commemorating Jewish heritage sites. The Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine issued its ruling on Aug. 13 against the city’s plans to design and build projects that would commemorate three Jewish sites instead of restoring them. In its ruling, the court found the city’s plan did not conform to international preservation standards. The Aug. 13 ruling represent-
Warsaw to restore 1,000 Jewish tombstones used for construction (JTA) – The City of Warsaw has agreed to return and preserve 1,000 Jewish headstones that were used to construct a recreational facility inside one of the ciy’s parks. The headstones, which are currently part of a pergola and stairs at a park in Warsaw’s Praga district, will be returned in the coming months to the Brodno Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw, according to a statement last Friday by From the Depths, the international commemoration nonprofit that led talks on the subject with city officials. An effort to locate headstones will begin this month with help from volunteers from the University of Warsaw.
INTERNATIONAL / ISRAEL • 9
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Putting up a shield: Guardian blocks Dershowitz ad on Hamas tactics By lina Dain Sharon (JNS) – The British newspaper The Guardian turned down an advertorial piece penned by famed Harvard Law School professor and pro-Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz. In the ad, whose rejection was first reported by JNS.org on Aug. 15, Dershowitz refutes statements by many media outlets that all of the Gaza Strip is densely populated, a claim that has been used to justify the use of human shields by Hamas in its recent conflict with Israel. “The British media is divided,” Dershowitz said in an inter-
view. “But The Guardian, which holds itself out to be a purveyor of diverse truth, clearly reflects a bias against Israel on its editorial pages, as well as in its presentation of the news. Now that bias has spread to the advertising pages.” The advertisement was based on an older editorial written by Dershowitz for the Gatestone Institute and was sponsored by the Wechsler Family Foundation, confirmed a New York City-based agency that specializes in overseas advertisement placements. Dershowitz told JNS that newspapers “have a right to
decide which ads to accept and reject,” but he questioned The Guardian’s decision not to run his advertorial. “My column was factually sound and not a personal attack on anybody. It simply laid out the geographic facts of the Gaza Strip and its implications,” he said. “Dershowitz was presenting a new point of view in this article,” Harry Wechsler of the Wechsler Family Foundation told JNS in an email. “Hamas was not forced into shooting their rockets from pads located in urban areas, thereby leading to unavoidable civilian
deaths,” wrote Wechsler. “They were not shooting from some of the densest population centers anywhere because they had no other choice. No—the choice was there. Though not large, Gaza had ample space that was not densely populated—farm land, empty spaces where rockets could have been stored and shot from. Furthermore, the U.N. could easily have developed temporary quarters in these same spaces for the sheltering of civilian refugees, far away from the sites of battle.” Click photo to download. Caption: Alan Dershowitz. Credit: Maxine Dovere.
The editorial board of The Guardian, which screens political or issues-based advertisements before they are published in the newspaper, “turned us down and refused to take our ad, even after working with their people for several days,” according to Wechsler. In response to a comment request by JNS regarding The Guardian’s decision not to publish the Dershowitz advertisement, a spokesperson for the newspaper said, “The Guardian reserves the right to reject any advertisement.”
Wanna kill me? Take a number By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) – My friend Alain Azria gave me a puzzled look when I told him, with some indignation and disbelief in my voice, that I had just heard talk of killing Jews at an unauthorized anti-Israel demonstration last month in Paris. A young black man with a Parisian accent told a dozen friends loudly, but without shouting, “OK, guys. Let’s go hunt some Jews.” His friend answered, “Let’s break their heads.” To which the first speaker replied, “Catch them fast, kill them slow.” The group blended into a mass of thousands of people who were marching toward the Gare du Nord train station while shouting slogans accusing Israel of genocide. My shock stemmed from the fact that while anti-Semitic violence accounts for a fair share of my reporting here in Europe, I have personally been insulated from it – perhaps because I live in Holland, where such occurrences
are rarer, or maybe because I had lived most of my life in Israel, where one receives only a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. But for Alain, a freelance news photographer who specializes in documenting France’s antiSemitism problem, this was just another day at the office. Which is to say he didn’t really have time for my astonished discovery of the banal. “OK, OK, welcome to Paris. Now let’s move it along,” he said as he took us on a shortcut designed to reach the station before the procession. Over the course of the following fortnight, as Israel’s fight against Hamas in Gaza continued to fan the already considerable flames of anti-Semitic violence and incitement across the continent, I would come to better understand Alain’s apparent nonchalance at the hate fest he was documenting. This understanding came through frequent visits to Paris – including the scene of one
attempted pogrom – and discussions with professed anti-Semites there. But it also grew out of observing unprecedented phenomena gripping the area around my own home in The Hague that the Dutch media have dubbed “the Sharia triangle.” Shocked by how acceptable anti-Semitism has become in France, I was glad to be back home in the Netherlands, a country where I chose to settle in part because of its strong tradition of tolerance. But in Schilderswijk, my neighborhood of The Hague where roughly half the population is Muslim, hundreds demonstrated three times since July 7 at rallies that featured flags of the ISIS terrorist group and calls to slaughter the Jews. On Sunday, the protesters were back on the street, hurling stones at police. Central to my understanding of the banalization of anti-Semitic violence in Europe were the July 20 riots in Sarcelles, a northern suburb of Paris with many Muslims but with a Jewish population large enough to earn it the
Courtesy of Cnaan Liphshiz
Protesters at an unauthorized anti-Israel rally in front of Paris’ Gare du Nord train station.
nickname of “little Jerusalem.” There I saw riot police fending off a predominantly Arab mob that, unable to reach the main local synagogue, had smashed the windows of Jewish and nonJewish businesses while chanting “death to the Jews” in Arabic and French. The avenue leading to the synagogue was shrouded in a cloud of tear gas and black smoke that rose from several fires that crackled on the asphalt and tram
tracks. Nearby, rioters hurled a firebomb at a synagogue, resulting in little damage. It was the ninth assault on a French synagogue since July 8, when Israel’s military operation against Hamas began. The temporary breakdown of the rule of law may seem strange to many Americans, but it is normal in France, where police often opt to contain rather than bust NUMBER on page 19
Worse than Hamas? Gaza’s other terror groups By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – After four weeks of a punishing Israel air and ground campaign that left nearly 2,000 dead and much of Gaza in ruins, Hamas has lived to see another day. For Israel, that might not be the worst thing. That’s because for all of Hamas’ violent extremism, it also governs a territory, maintains a social service wing and controls smaller, more extremist factions. Through mediators, Hamas and Israel have reached agreements in 2011 and 2012, and are negotiating another one now in Cairo. But many of Hamas’ fellow jihadi travelers in Gaza don’t have the same interests. For most, their sole
goal is to fight – not just against Israel, but to spread Islamist rule across the whole world. That’s why, in the thick of the conflict on July 28, outgoing U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency head Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said that ousting Hamas could bring on “something like ISIS,” the radical Islamist group now conquering swaths of Iraq and Syria. “If Hamas were destroyed and gone, we would probably end up with something much worse,” Flynn said, according to Reuters. “The region would end up with something much worse.” Who are these groups? Here’s a rundown of the other major organizations in Gaza that seek Israel’s destruction. Palestinian Islamic Jihad –
Sometimes known in Israel simply as Jihad, Palestinian Islamic Jihad is the second-largest militant group in Gaza after Hamas. Founded in 1979 as a break-away from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad resembles Hamas in many ways: It’s a Palestinian national movement, it receives funding from Iran and has a small social service wing that includes schools, hospitals and family mediation services, according to The New York Times. It is also party to the negotiations taking place in Cairo. A 2011 Reuters article estimated the Islamic Jihad’s militia, the AlQuds Brigade, at 8,000 fighters, compared to tens of thousands of Hamas TERROR on page 22
Courtesy ofAbed Rahim Khatib
Palestinian militants of the Al-Nasser Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, display their skills at their graduation ceremony in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 27, 2013.
10 • ISRAEL
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
How much has Israel’s war in Gaza cost? By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – After the missiles have stopped, after the troops have come home, even after most of the wounded are out of the hospital, Israelis will still be feeling the burden of Operation Protective Edge – this time in their pockets. With the recent expiration of a temporary cease-fire, the operation may not be over. (Another temporary cease-fire was put in place starting at midnight Monday.) But through last week, including both direct military expenses and indirect hits to the Israeli economy, the total cost of the four-week conflict is estimated at $2.5 billion to $3.6 billion. The government has maintained radio silence on the war’s military costs and estimates vary, but Israeli media report that they range from $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion. Lost economic activity amounted to an estimated $1.3 billion, with the tourism sector in particular taking a massive hit. “Along with soldiers, we won’t spare a shekel in reimbursements to residents of the south and reservists,” Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said at a news conference Thursday. “From our perspective they’re all soldiers, and all deserve special treatment from us.”
Israel Briefs Yazidi toddler undergoes heart surgery in Israel TEL AVIV (JTA) – A child from the persecuted Yazidi ethnic group of northern Iraq received heart surgery in Israel. The 17-month-old, Wisam, and his father arrived in Israel in June in advance of the surgery, which was performed Sunday. Wisam was born with congenital heart disease. Call for protest spurs Arab groom, Jewish-born bride to hire security for party (JTA) — An Arab man and his Jewish-born bride hired 14 security guards for their wedding celebration in Israel in response to an anti-intermarriage Jewish group’s call for a protest rally at the hall. Mahmoud Mansour, who is Muslim, and Morel Malka, who recently converted to Islam, reportedly are concerned for their safety at Sunday’s event in Rishon Lezion after the group, Lehava, posted photographs of
Courtesy of David Buimovitch
An Iron Dome missile defense battery near the southern Israeli town of Ashdod. Each interceptor missile cost Israel $50,000.
Ever the populist, Lapid promised not to raise taxes. But he admitted the money will have to come from somewhere and predicted the 2015 budget deficit would rise. Here’s a partial look at how all those shekels were spent. Israel’s pricey weaponry Iron Dome: The U.S.-funded star of the war, the Iron Dome missile defense system limited Israeli civilian casualties to three while shooting down 90 percent of the rockets headed toward Israeli cities, according to the Israeli miltheir invitation on social media and urged protesters to rally outside the hall with megaphones and banners, the NRG news site reported. U.S. stiffening oversight on missile sales to Israel (JTA) – The United States is tightening controls on military sales to Israel in the wake of the conflict in Gaza. On July 20, days after Israel began its ground invasion in Gaza, Israel requested and received a shipment of munitions from the Pentagon without prior approval from the White House, according to The Wall Street Journal. Thousands of pro-peace demonstrators gather in Tel Aviv JERUSALEM (JTA) – Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv to call for peace with the Palestinians. Signs at Saturday night’s rally in Rabin Square read “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies,” “When there is no peace war comes,” and “Yes to a diplomatic solution.” Israeli media reported the number of demonstrators ranged from 2,000 to the 10,000 estimat-
itary. Of the 3,460 rockets fired at Israel during the war, Iron Dome intercepted 584 of them – at $50,000 a piece. That comes to a total of $29 million, or about $1 million per day. Last week, the Congress approved another $225 million in funding for Iron Dome. Smart bombs: Israeli war technology isn’t limited to the home front. Israeli planes have bombed Gaza approximately 4,900 times during the war – roughly 150 times a day. Yiftah Shapir, head of the Military Balance Project at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, said ed by rally organizers. There was no significant counter-demonstration, according to reports. Arab man, formerly Jewish bride hold wedding reception despite protests JERUSALEM (JTA) – An Arab man and his Jewish-born bride held their wedding reception despite hundreds of protesters outside the banquet hall. Hours before the wedding on Sunday evening, the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court ruled that the Organization for Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land, or Lehava, could hold a protest no closer than 200 meters – slightly more than the size of two football fields combined – to the venue. Hundreds of police secured the wedding as security guards checked the invitations of the some 600 guests. Four people were arrested outside the wedding for violating the restraining order. Meanwhile, counterdemonstrators brought balloons and flowers to celebrate the union. Hundreds protest jailing of yeshiva student for evading draft JERUSALEM (JTA) – At
most of the bombs Israeli planes dropped were likely equipped with computers and cameras to increase accuracy. Shapir doesn’t know how many bombs Israel used and the IDF won’t say, but he said most Israeli ordnance was likely one of two missiles: the Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, a GPS-guided missile made by Boeing, and the Tammuz missile, an Israeli-made munition that locates its target with a camera and has a 15-mile range. According to Shapir, not including the bombs, each of the Air Force’s 4,900 sorties cost $15,000, for a total of over $73 million. Add on a $32,000 JDAM or a $140,000 Tammuz and the price skyrockets. Critics of Israel have accused the IDF of using imprecise – and far less expensive – artillery in strikes that have killed more than 1,000 civilians in Gaza. Calling up the reserves One of the unifying factors of this war was that almost every Israeli knew a few people in uniform. Israel has called up 82,000 reservists during the conflict – nearly half at the war’s start and 42,000 more as it went on. It’s hard to determine the exact cost of reserves because each soldier receives a reimbursement for least six protesters were arrested and a police officer was wounded in demonstrations protesting the arrest of a yeshiva student for ignoring a draft notice. The demonstrations took place Sunday in Jerusalem and other cities with large haredi Orthodox populations, including Bnei Brak, Modiin Illit and Beit Shemesh. The hundreds of protesters blocked busy intersections during the demonstrations. The yeshiva student has been arrested several times, the first time in March, for ignoring his call-up notice. He is being held in a military prison and reportedly has begun a hunger strike, according to The Jerusalem Post. Violence strikes Jewish and Arab drivers JERUSALEM (JTA) – A Jewish man driving in the West Bank was injured when rocks and a firebomb struck his car. The attack occurred on Saturday night near the Beitar Illit settlement, south of Jerusalem. The driver was wounded in the head by a rock and suffered from burn wounds; he was treated at Hadassah Hospital, Ynet reported. His car ignited during the attack.
lost salary pegged to his monthly paycheck. But according to the Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot, each reservist costs the army $174 a day – including food, shelter, a uniform and weapons. If the figure is accurate, the IDF spent nearly $200 million on reservists, not including the salary reimbursement. Direct hits to the home front Along with Israel’s 65 fallen soldiers and three killed civilians, 674 Israelis have been wounded in Protective Edge, 23 of them civilians. A Health Ministry spokesman estimated that treating the injured would cost $4.4 million. In addition, the government already has received 2,500 claims for property damage from the missiles and estimates a total payout of $14.6 million. Compensation for lost wages and property damage will come from a $1.5 billion fund taken from taxes on real estate transactions. The economic costs Israel also will compensate workers from the south who couldn’t do their jobs because of the rockets. The Manufacturers Association of Israel estimates that one in five workers in the HOW MUCH on page 19
Yahoo buys small Israeli start-up company JERUSALEM (JTA) – Yahoo purchased a small Israeli start-up company, ClarityRay, for an estimated $15 million to $25 million. The Tel Aviv-based Clarity Ray, founded in 2012, creates software to enable content publishers to dodge ad-blocking programs, and also focuses on ad security and fraud detection. “This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity We’re proud to call Yahoo ‘home, the company said in a statement on its website. The company is expected to remain in Israel. Israel-hosted Davis Cup match moved to Sunrise, Fla. JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel’s Davis Cup playoff with Argentina will be held in Sunrise, Fla., after being moved out of Tel Aviv. The Sept. 12-14 match was ordered out of Israel earlier this month by the International Tennis Federation at the request of the Argentine Tennis Association due to the conflict in Gaza.
12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
LION OF JUDAH LUNCHEON 2014
ANNOUNCEMENTS READING -year old Rockwern Academy student Zoe Binik-Thomas gets her news like everybody else - from the Israelite! Here she is catching up on reading about her Zaydie’s birthday.
2
On April 29, 58 women enjoyed a kosher fish taco buffet and sangria from Five Star Foodies, at The Barn in Mariemont, a new venue for Women's Philanthropy. Event chairs Anita Schneider and Robyn Miller personalized the space with artwork from students at Rockwern Academy and Cincinnati Hebrew Day School. The highlight of the event was hearing Gal Lusky, Founder of Israeli Flying Aid, tell her remarkable story. We welcomed 10 new Lions and three new endowments, and thanked Debbie Brant for her impactful two years as WP Chair.
Zoe Binik-Thomas
Debbie Brant, Sarah Weiss, Robyn Miller and Anita Schneider
Chrissie Blatt, Gina Blatt and Lindsey Wade
Suzi Brant, Chrissie Blatt and Judi Roth
Beverly Saeks and Felicia Zakem
CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Linda Greenberg and Michelle Rothzeid Greenberg
Suzette Fisher and Danielle Minson
Hayley Englander and Evelyn Fisher
Sherri Friedman and Wendy Pelberg
Rini Levy
Suzette Fisher and Debbie Brant
14 • DINING OUT
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
Pasta and pizza at Pomodori’s are home-made, using fresh ingredients By Bob Wilhelmy “I love our food!” said Sarah Matthews, assistant manager at Pomodori’s Montgomery location. This emphatic, enthusiastic statement came after we talked of pizzas and salads and house-made fresh pasta and several entries on the appetizer list. Matthews was quick to point out the differences she sees in the food at Pomodori’s and other places serving “Italian” food. “Our Alfredo sauce is made when you place your order. It’s a favorite here; my favorite and lots of guests. We combine the butter and heavy cream and garlic and salt, and we make it fresh every time. A lot of other places, they heat up a bagged sauce and put it on a dry pasta product that has been cooked already and then reheated.” Contrast that to fresh pasta, dropped and cooked at the time of the order, and sauce made, likewise, at the time you order. The taste and the quality of the dining experience are noticeably different. Matthews made the point that just about everything is done in that hands-on, from-scratch method. For instance, asked if the wood-fired brick oven was used to prepare anything but pizza, she said: “We roast our vegetables in there also. Like the red and green peppers on our roasted pepper pizza; we do them in there in the morning.” The special brick oven is fired by hardwood—oak, exclusively. Its baking area reaches 650 to 700 degrees, and the stone bake surface will hold five to six pizzas at a time, according to Mark Rysdon, pizza chef at the Clifton location. Tim McLane, Pomodori’s owner, said the wood-fired oven dates at least back to Roman times, and recent excavations of Pompeii revealed those folks were using such ovens more than 2,000 years ago. So, old technology, but oh what a pizza! McLane also mentioned that several johnny-come-lately restaurants have started to use wood-fired ovens, but that Pomodori’s was the first to do so in this region of the country. That above-mentioned pizza, the roasted pepper, is a heart-healthy veggie pizza, with red and green roasted peppers, hand-made crust, with garlic, olive oil and a blend of five cheeses. It is delicious, and along with the balsamic vinaigrette salad, the combo made a fine meal for me. The salad features sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pine nuts, red onion and a creamy, salty, tasty gorgonzola cheese over baby greens. It’s one of those salads that are delicious in every bite. What about other pizza and entrée choices? Some of your pizza choices are: the Roma tomato & basil; the goat cheese; with sun-
Sarah Matthews sliding a pizza out of the wood-fired brick oven.
The roasted pepper pizza and balsamic vinaigrette salad, at table and ready to eat.
dried tomatoes, fresh pressed garlic and EVOO; the 5-cheese; the Mediterranean, with spinach, red onion, tomatoes, feta cheese, along with mozzarella and provolone; and others such as the caramelized onion, the roasted pepper, the gorgonzola walnut, the eggplant and the sweet dessert apple pizza—all wood-fired and all very tasty and good. Other pasta dishes of interest include: the spaghettini classico, made with EVOO, sweet butter,
fresh garlic and parmigiano reggiano cheese; a classic eggplant parmesan; pine nuts and pesto with Roma tomatoes, billed as a strong and satisfying choice); a meatless marinara; gorgonzola and walnut pasta; a classic fettucini Alfredo; homemade cheese ravioli; and a bianco, combining fettucini with sautéed artichoke hearts, fresh mushrooms, red onion and garlic, topped generously with parmigiano reggiono. For Jewish diners, an interesting
The signage outside the Montgomery location
stat is that around 50 percent of the entrée dishes and pizzas on the menu are vegetarian, according to my quick scan of the choices at the Montgomery location. When asked what her favorite appetizers were, Matthews said: “I love them all. Two that top the list are: the crostini, which is toasted ciabatta bread topped with caramelized onions; and the bruschetta caprese, with cherry tomatoes, tossed with Greek olives, fresh basil, olive oil and fresh moz-
zarella, and served with ciabatta bread. Both are popular, and I love ‘em both too!” As Matthews said above, she likes the food at Pomodori’s, and I’m betting you will too. See you there! Pomodori’s Clifton: 121 West McMillian 861-0080 Montgomery: 7880 Remington Rd. 794-0080
DINING OUT • 15
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
RESTAURANT DIRECTORY 20 Brix
Over-the-Rhine
101 Main St
214 W. Main • 724-3865
Historic Milford
Williamsburg
831-Brix (2749)
891-8300
The Best Japanese Cuisine, Asian Food & Dining Experience In Town
Pomodori’s
9521 FIELDS ERTEL ROAD, LOVELAND
121West McMillan • 861-0080 Izzy’s
7880 Remington Rd
Ambar India Restaurant
800 Elm St • 721-4241
Montgomery • 794-0080
350 Ludlow Ave
612 Main St • 241-6246
Cincinnati
1198 Smiley Ave • 825-3888
Slatt’s Pub
281-7000
7625 Beechmont Ave • 231-5550
4858 Cooper Rd
4766 Red Bank Expy • 376-6008
Blue Ash
Andy’s Mediterranean Grille
5098B Glencrossing Way • 347-9699
791-2223 • 791-1381 (fax)
At Gilbert & Nassau
8179 Princeton-Glendale • 942-7800
2 blocks North of Eden Park
7905 Mall Road • 859-525-2333
Spicy Olive
281-9791
1965 Highland Pk. • 859-331-4999
7671 Cox Lane West Chester • 847-4397
Asian Paradise
Johnny Chan 2
2736 Erie Ave.
9521 Fields Ertel Rd
11296 Montgomery Rd
Cincinnati • 376-9061
Loveland
The Shops at Harper’s Point
239-8881
489-2388 • 489-3616 (fx)
Baba India Restaurant
Kanak India Restaurant
Montgomery • 489-1444
3120 Madison Rd
10040B Montgomery Rd
6200 Muhlhauser Rd
Cincinnati
Montgomery
West Chester • 942-2100
321-1600
793-6800
(513) 239-8881 asianparadiserestaurant.com
Dine-In / Take-Out / Delivery ✳EXOTIC DISHES✳ ✳ADJUSTABLE SPICE SCALE✳ ✳FABULOUS DRINKS✳ ✳VEGETARIAN - FRIENDLY✳
4858 Hunt Rd • Blue Ash, 45242 (513) 891-8900 • Fax 834-8012
www.BangkokTerrace.com
Specializing in traditional culinary dishes with a modern twist. Price: $30 and under Closed Mondays 4034 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio
513-541-9600
Stone Creek Dining Co. 9386 Montgomery Rd
Tandoor Bangkok Terrace
Keegans Specialty Seafood Market
8702 Market Place Ln
4858 Hunt Rd Blue Ash
2724 Erie Ave.
793-7484
891-8900 • 834-8012 (fx)
Hyde Park 321-0181
Bistro Grace
FAMOUS CORNED BEEF Uncompromised Quality at Popular Prices
Montgomery
(513) 369-0245 Izzys.com
The Cream of Caffeine Coffee Co. 4081 E. Galbraith Rd
4034 Hamilton Ave.
Marx Hot Bagels
Cincinnati
Cincinnati
9701 Kenwood Rd
793-0293
541-9600
Blue Ash 891-5542
Breadsmith
Tony’s 12110 Montgomery Rd
3500 Michigan Ave.
Mecklenburg Gardens
Cincinnati
302 E. University Ave
321-6300
Clifton 221-5353
Cafe Mediterranean
Montgomery 677-1993
"Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in America"
Chinese Restaurant News - 2004 Cincy Magazine Best of the North 2014
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER:
1/2
Banquets . Sushi Bar . Full Bar . Daily Specials • Lunch Buffet The Shops at Harpers Point . 11296 Montgomery Road
(513) 489-2388 Walt’s Hitching Post 300 Madison Pike
9525 Kenwood Rd
Padrino
Fort Wright, KY
Cincinnati
111 Main St
(859) 360-2222
745-9386
Milford 965-0100
Holtman’s Donuts
Wertheim’s Restaurant 514 W 6th St
1399 Ohio 28 • 575-1077
Parkers Blue Ash Tavern
Covington, KY
Loveland
4200 Cooper Rd
(859) 261-1233
1332C-2 Vine St. • 381-0903
Blue Ash
Now open under new management
Ask about our Specials!
STEAKS, SEAFOOD & PASTA OUTDOOR DINING • PRIVATE ROOMS Best Happy Hour in Town! Live Music on Friday & Saturday 12110 Montgomery Road (513) 677-1993 www.tonysofcincinnati.com
Famous for Our Ribs, Seafood, Steaks, Chops, Chicken and more! 3300 Madison Pike Fort Wright, KY (859) 360-2222 waltshitchingpost.com
In MainStrasse Village
Free Parking
EARLY-BIRD DINNER SPECIALS NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFERS.
LUNCH & DINNER SPECIALS COME ENJOY A WIDE VARIETY OF GERMAN & AMERICAN SPECIALTIES.
514 W 6TH ST, COVINGTON, KY
(859) 261-1233
16 • OPINION
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
Exploiting medicine for the politics of hate By Eliana Trink (JNS) – How credible are accusations about military tactics made by medical professionals who double as political activists? Not very credible, as recent outrage directed at The Lancet suggests. The British medical journal unethically politicized medicine when it published “An open letter for the people in Gaza,” providing scientific veneer to condemnation of Israel and its defensive actions in Gaza. The letter—written by Drs. Mads Gilbert, Paola Manduca, and Swee Ang, all of whom are associated with highly politicized nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—accuses Israel of carrying out a propaganda campaign that “justifies the creation of an emergency to masquerade a massacre.” It makes unfounded allegations that Israel deliberately massacred civilians and uses illegal weaponry. No mention is made of Hamas, or its use of human shields. Israel’s right and obligation to defend its citizens against indiscriminate targeting by rocket fire is absent. The article’s authors have no expertise in military law or tactics. Any sort of political, legal, or military analysis, such as an accusation of war crimes, is outside their competence. They have no evidentiary basis on which to allege that Israel is motivated by a desire to massacre civilians. It is a wonder how anyone, let alone a highly regarded medical journal, could take these doctors as credible sources on the conflict. What we are witnessing is the “halo effect”—where NGOs perceived to promote good principles are shielded from scrutiny. Providers of medical assistance and relief enjoy an added degree of credibility, a “double halo effect,” and are rarely challenged on their biases or questioned statements’ accuracy. This “double halo effect” was in full force for the letter writers, all of whom have extensive histories of acting as anti-Israel campaigners. Gilbert, a Norwegian anesthesiologist is a representative of the Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC), an NGO that has purportedly worked with Hezbollah-affiliated groups. He politicizes his humanitarian work to the extent of legitimizing terror attacks, including a defense of 9/11. In regards to the 2009 Gaza War, Gilbert stated there was “clear evidence” that the IDF was using Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME) munitions. In another interview, he admitted that he had no proof concerning his earlier convictions. Gilbert has made accusations
about weaponry he admits he has no proof for, falsely accuses Israel of targeting civilians, and denies Israel’s right to defend itself. Manduca is a geneticist with the New Weapons Committee (NWC), an organization that aims to examine weapons used in warfare. NWC has made multiple unfounded claims that about Israeli weaponry. NWC accused Israel of “experimenting new non-conventional weapons on civilian populations” in Gaza. Manduca also accused the IDF of using “white phosphorus, DIME, thermobaric bombs, cluster bombs and uranium ammunitions” in Gaza and in Lebanon in 2006. None of these accusations have any factual support. Swee Ang is a surgeon and founding member of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP,) an NGO that claims to be independent and non-political, but repeatedly accuses Israel of “indiscriminate attacks” and “collective punishment.” Given that these authors are in no way unbiased and credible observers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it seems unbelievable that a reputable medical journal could print such an article. But considering the political biases behind The Lancet’s alliances with several pro-Palestinian NGOs, it is not surprising. These partnerships, which date back to at least 1996, are exacerbated by the unconcealed and virulent political agenda of editor Richard Horton. In conjunction with these NGOs, The Lancet created the Lancet-Palestinian Health Alliance, to solidify their cooperation and amplify the politicized claims and objectives. The Lancet has since published numerous articles unrelated to medicine on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One of the most egregious examples was when The Lancet published Swee Ang’s introduction to her book, “The Wounds of Gaza,” on its Global Health Network website. Among many unfounded accusations and statements, she claimed that the IDF illegally used phosphorus shells and bombs in the 2009 Gaza War with the intent of harming civilians. Published without sources the piece was taken down a month later because of “factual inaccuracies.” Thus, it is clear that the entirely unprofessional anti-Israeli letter published on July 23 is consistent with many other such biased articles published by The Lancet. For the medical professionals who publish in and rely on this platform for credible peer-reviewed research, this behavior strongly suggests finding another publisher.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, Thank you for the important coverage you gave recently to the heroin addiction epidemic, and especially for helping to shatter the stereotype that Jews are largely immune to addictions. Rabbi Yaakov Karp, Executive Director, JEEP Dear Editor, Thank you for taking the time to contact me to express your support for Israel. It was good to hear from you, and I appreciate having the benefit of your views on this issue. As you may know, the United States has been a close ally of Israel, since its creation in 1948. Recently, I had the privilege of hearing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address a joint session of Congress. The prime minister’s inspiring words remind us all that our alliance with Israel in not based only on common interests such as fighting terrorism, but on the shared values that characterize our societies. As
Arab citizens throughout the Middle East take to the streets fighting despots and demanding their fundamental human rights, Israel offers shining proof that true democracy can flourish in any part of the world. Having just returned from Israel, I can affirm the prime minister’s characterization of the strength of the U.S.Israeli relationship, and I am proud to call myself a friend of Israel’s. Despite all the progress that has been made toward ensuring Israel’s continued security, challenges still exist. Nations like Iran and terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah continue to threaten Israel’s sovereignty and existence. Rejectionist elements within the Palestinian leadership still refuse to sit and negotiate in good faith even as Israel repeatedly reiterates its commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security. These elements spurn Israeli overtures and seek to establish a Palestinian state unilaterally through a vote by
the U.N. General Assembly. As the House continues with the budget process, please know that although I believe it is critical to reduce our federal deficit, spending cuts must not jeopardize the security of Israel. For this reason, I have opposed any cuts that would be detrimental to the defense of support of Israel, and I will continue to stand as an unwavering voice of support for Israel in Congress. Like the Prime Minister said, “Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel. We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism.” Again thank you for taking the time to contact me. Your views matter a great deal to me and I look forward to hearing from you again in the near future. Sincerely, Steve Chabot Member of Congress First District of Ohio
Grand strategy for the Middle East? We don’t know By Ben Cohen (JNS) – Strolling through Jerusalem’s historic Yemin Moshe quarter on a pleasant August morning, my ears caught a ringing, melodic sound emanating from within the walls of the Old City, perhaps half a mile from where I stood. This being a Sunday, the sound I heard was the chiming of church bells, welcoming Christian worshippers to morning services. Normally, there is something joyous about the sound of those bells, particularly in a city that contains the key holy sites of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But on this day, I felt a profound sadness upon hearing them. For Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is one of the few places in the Middle East where—despite what malicious anti-Zionist propagandists will tell you—Christians can practice their faith freely. In the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, about one day’s drive from here, only a minuscule handful of terrified Christians remain, the vast majority having been driven out by the savage terrorists of the Islamic State jihadist group. The ethnic cleansing of Mosul’s
Christians was accompanied by the destruction of numerous holy sites, including an 1,800-year-old church and the tomb of the prophet Jonah. As Mosul’s Patriarch Louis Sako mournfully observed at the end of July, “For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians.” On any Sunday morning in that beleaguered city, you will no longer hear the sound of church bells. The Islamic State’s onslaught has raged for several months now. Having spread from Syria into Iraq, the terrorist organization’s aim is to set up an Islamic caliphate in all the territories it conquers. It’s a mistake to believe that the national borders that we in the west recognize as sacrosanct are in any way respected by these modern day barbarians. As far as the Islamic State is concerned, there is certainly no place called Israel, and no place called Kurdistan, but there is also no Syria, no Iraq, no Lebanon, no Jordan. All these states are regarded as a contiguous territory where Islamic sharia law—as interpreted by a group of criminals, rapists, and torturers—will remain eternally supreme.
Unless, of course, we in the West wake up to the threat and understand that the only way to roll back the Islamic State is to pulverize it without mercy, killing as many of its fighters as we can, and seizing back some of the critical locations now under their control, such as the Mosul dam, which supplies water and electricity to northern Iraq. There are, thankfully, signs that this process is now underway. After months of ignoring a worsening situation, despite the persistent pleas of our Kurdish allies—along with Israel, the best, most loyal, and most reliable friends the United States has in the Middle East—the Obama administration is now gingerly offering sorely needed military and logistical support. Important European allies, like France and Britain, are following suit, sending weapons and advisors to assist the Kurdish soldiers, the peshmerga, who are the first line of defense against the Islamic State. Backed by U.S. air strikes, the peshmerga now appear poised to take back the Mosul dam. There was a horrendous irony in the fact that while much STRATEGY on page 21
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Sedra of the Week
SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT RE’EH DEUTERONOMY 11:26-16:17
“Through you all the families of earth shall be blessed.”
not specifically mentioned because this recognition of God as the guardian of justice and compassion, lovingkindness and truth is necessary not only for the people of Jerusalem, not only for all the tribes of Israel, but rather for the entire world. When God initially elects Abraham, the Almighty charges him and his descendants with a universal mission: “Through you all the families of earth shall be blessed”. (Gen. 12:3). The prophet Isaiah speaks of our vision of the end of the days, when the Holy Temple will rise from the top of the mountains, and all nations will rush to it to learn from our ways: “From Zion shall come forth Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem... so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation and humanity will not learn war anymore.” (Isa. 2:3-4) May the God who cannot be confined to any physical place reveal His teaching of peace and security from Jerusalem His City to every human being throughout the world. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel
T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: REAH 11:26-16:17 1. Which sin is mentioned by the curse? a.) Idolatry b.) Murder c.) Immorality 2. Which place does the Torah give directions how to reach? a.) The Holy Temple b.) Tabernacle in Shiloh c.) Mount Grezim and Eval 3. Which two descriptions describe the prohibition of eating blood? a.) An abomination
about collecting a loan of a non Jew during the Sabbatical year. Ramban 5. C 15:7 One should speak kindly to a poor person Talmud
I believe that in addition to Maimonides prophetic insights, there is even further significance behind Moses’ reluctance to reveal the precise name of the city. In the ancient world, every nationstate had its own god - whom the citizens believed lived within the boundaries of that nation-state. Jerusalem was to be the city which would house the Holy Temple of God - but God would exclusively dwell neither within the Temple nor within that city; God was the Lord of the entire universe, who could not be encompassed even by the heaven of the heavens, by the entire cosmos, so certainly not by a single structure or even a single city. One of the most difficult messages Moses had to convey to his people was that God is not limited by physical dimensions. Yes, Maimonides sets down in his Mishneh Torah that the sanctity of Jerusalem is the sanctity of the Divine Presence (Shekhinah), and just as the Divine Presence is eternal and can never be destroyed, so the sanctity of Jerusalem is eternal and can never be made obsolete (Laws of the Chosen Temple, 6:14). The great Sage’s point is that the Divine Presence can never be physically destroyed because the Divine Presence is not a physical entity, it is not in any way subject to creation or destruction. There is one place in the world, teaches Moses, where God has consistently been recognized as the Creator of the world and foundation of ethical monotheism for all of humanity. One’s name is not one’s physical being, but one’s name is the medium by which one is recognized and called upon. Malki-Zedek, ancient King of Jerusalem and identified with Shem the son of Noah, recognized God as the power who enabled Abraham to emerge victorious in his battle against the four despotic Kings and thereby rescue Lot from captivity; Abraham himself recognized God as the ultimate arbiter over life and death, the one to whom we must commit ourselves and our future, when he brought his beloved son Isaac to the akedah on Mount Moriah (Jerusalem). God’s name is on Jerusalem; it is the city in which the God of ethical monotheism is to be recognized and served! Finally, the name Jerusalem is
b.) A person should be strong not to it c.) A person should be straight d.) A person should keep blood at a distance 4.Can one collect during the Sabbatical year a loan made to a non Jew? a.) Yes b.) No 5. What is the negative commandment of not giving tzdekah a.) Cruelty b.) Lacking a heart c.) Closing one's hands, stiffening one's heart
because Hashem forbade it. Sforno 4. A 15;3 The verse means that if one collects a loan from a Jew during the seventh year he violates a negative commandment, 15:2, and a positive commandment. There is no commandment
EFRAT, Israel - “But the place which the Lord your God shall choose from among all of your tribes to place His Name there, for His dwelling place, shall you seek and shall you come there. And you shall bring there your whole burnt offerings and your sacrifices...” (Deut. 12:5-6). Apparently the Torah is here speaking of our Holy City of Jerusalem, because it appears in the context of Israel’s entry into the Promised Land and the necessity to destroy the altars of idolatry before establishing our Temple to God. But why is Jerusalem not named? The Bible has already identified Malki-Zedek as the King of Salem (Jeru-Salem the City of Peace) as far back as the period of Abraham (Gen. 14:18), and Mount Moriah had been designated as the place where the Almighty “would be seen” right after the Binding of Isaac (Gen. 22:14). Moreover, the Bible has no hesitation in identifying places; witness the specific geographic description of Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval (Deut.11:29, 30). So why the reluctance to name Jerusalem in this particular context of the Bible? Maimonides deals with this question in his great philosophic masterpiece, Guide for the Perplexed (part 3, chapter 45). He establishes the principle that Divine Service in the Temple was mainly directed against idolatry. Mount Moriah was the highest mountain in the region, so it was specifically chosen by God for the Holy Temple in order to attest to the superiority of God over all other idols! And this Divine intent had previously been revealed to Abraham, as we have seen. If so, why does Moses here hide the precise identity of the City of God? Maimonides offers three reasons. First of all, he felt that publication of the name of the unique city would only incite the other nations to make war against Israel in order to acquire Jerusalem for themselves. Second, the other nations might even attempt to destroy the city - if only in order that the Israelites not acquire it. And finally, Moses feared lest all the tribes would fight over it, each desirous of having Jerusalem within its own borders!
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. A 11:28 2. C 11:30 3. B,C 12:23,25 A person should not say I can not eat blood because it is disgusting, but only
by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist Emmy Time The Primetime Emmy awards, for excellence in television, are being presented, live, on Sunday, August 24, at 8PM (EDT) on NBC. Seth Meyers is hosting. Here are the confirmed Jewish nominees in most of the categories. ACTING LENA DUNHAM, 28, lead actress, comedy series, “Girls”; LIZZY CAPLAN, 32, lead actress, drama series, “Masters of Sex”; -also in this category--JULIANNE MARGULIES, 48, “The Good Wife”; MAYIM BIALIK, 38, supporting actress, comedy series, “The Big Bang Theory”; JOSH CHARLES, 42, supporting actor, drama series, “The Good Wife”; MANDY PATINKIN, 61 , supporting actor, drama series, “Homeland”. WRITING Emmys DAVID CRANE, 57, comedy series, “Episodes”;--also in this category--JENJI KOHAN, 48, “Orange is the New Black” (yes, “Orange”, a prison drama, is classed as a comedy.); DAVID BENIOFF and D.B. WEISS, both 43, drama series, “Game of Thrones”. BRAD FALCHUK, 42, mini-series or TV movie, “American Horror Story: Coven,” also in this category---LARRY KRAMER, 79, “The Normal Heart”. Note: the Emmy for writing a variety series includes the whole, usually large, writing staff. Three of the six nominated variety series have a Jewish star who also co-writes the show: JON STEWART, 51, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”; CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, 39, “Portlandia”; and AMY SCHUMER, 33, “Inside Amy Schumer”. “BEST OF” Emmys The Emmy for outstanding series in an individual category goes to the series’ many producers (the show’s creator is almost always a producer, too). Here are the series nominated for “outstanding” (best) Emmy with a Jewish creator or co-creator. BEST COMEDY series CHUCK LORRE, 66, and BILL PRADY, 54, “The Big Bang Theory”; also in this category---Jenji Kohan, “Orange is the New Black”; BEST DRAMA series “Games of Thrones”, Benioff and Weiss;-also in this categoryMATTHEW WEINER, 49, “Mad Men” BEST VARIETY series “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” BEST MINI-SERIES Brad Falchuk, “American Horror Story: Coven”;--also in this category-DAVID SIMON,53, “Treme”. BEST TV MOVIE Two of the nominees have Jewish writers: “The Normal Heart” (written by Larry Kramer)-and-”Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight,”
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
NEWZ
FROM THE PAGES
penned by SHAWN SLOVO, 64.
150 Y EARS A GO
At the Movies Matthew Weiner (see above), of “Mad Men” fame, is debuting as a feature film director with “Are You Here,” a comedy which he also wrote (opens this week). Steve (Owen Wilson) and Ben (Zach Galifiankis) co-star as close friends who return to Ben’s hometown when Ben’s estranged father has died. Ben, kind of a loser, is shocked to discover that he’s inherited the family fortune. Equally shocked are Ben’s sister (Amy Poehler) and Ben’s father’s gorgeous young widow (Laura Ramsey). They plan to vie with Ben for the moolah. “Tune in” next week when I think I will have completed my research and will be able to tell you if the late LAUREN BACALL and former Israeli President SHIMON PERES really are related, as many sources claim.
Wanted: a boy about 14 or 15 years of age who can make himself useful in a store. Must have good references. Apply at A. Hirsch’s, No. 109 West Sixth Street. The synagogue of Portsmouth, O, is to be dedicated today. Rev. Mr. Wechsler, the officiating minister will, we hope, furnish us with a graphic account of the solemnities. There are now eight permanent synagogues owned by the congregations in the State of Ohio, viz.: four in Cincinnati, two in Cleveland, one in Dayton, and one in Portsmouth, the rest of the congregations worship in rented localities. The oldest synagogue is that of K.K. Bene Yeshurun, on Lodge Street, Cincinnati, which was dedicated in the year 1848, and the oldest congregation in the state is K. K. Bene Israel of Cincinnati, which was chartered in 1830. Mr. Moses Bensigner of Nashville, Tenn., is betrothed to Miss Ellenorah Brunswick, of Cincinnati, O. No cards sent. – September 16, 1864
On Williams: A Mensch with a Yiddishe Kup When you read this, it will be a week or more since the shocking death of Robin Williams. Here are just a couple of things about his Jewish connections. Williams was born into an upper-class Episcopalian family, but he often referred to himself as an honorary Jew. I think it’s fair to say that his comedic streak was nurtured by mostly growing-up in Bloomfield Hills, a heavily Jewish, Detroit suburb. Last February, he tweeted: “When I was in 8th grade in Detroit, I went to 13 Bar Mitzvahs in one year.” Williams often used Jewish or Yiddish expressions, and always correctly. He didn’t throw them out to just show that he knew them. Mostly, he employed them to advance his clever comedy. An example is found in a tribute piece which the publisher of the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles wrote last week. He recalled that Williams spoke at a 2005 benefit for the USC Survivors of the Shoah Visual Foundation. STEVEN SPIELBERG, who founded the Foundation, was the benefit host. Williams was called upon to provide the guests with a little comedy. As the publisher pointed out, humor at a Shoah-related event is hard, but Williams rose to the occasion. He began his speech this way: “Ladies and gentlemen,” [Williams said in a Yiddish accent], ‘Welcome to Temple Beth Prada. This evening’s meal will be milchidik, fleishadik, and sushidik.” In the same tribute piece, the publisher recalled that most celebrities “duck out” of benefits early—not so Williams—he was at the Shoah benefit until the end. When the publisher asked him, as the benefit ended, about staying to the end—Williams told him “This means a lot to me. Of course.”
125 Y EARS A GO Mr. David B. Kaufman and Miss Sallie Lippman were married at the Grand Hotel by Dr. G. Deutsch last Sunday. Only the immediate families were present. Mr. and Mrs. Sol Goldsmith, of 1536 Chapel Street, E. Walnut Hills, announce the engagement of their daughter Laura to Mr. Joel L. Assur of this city. Mr. Isaac Frank of Cincinnati, well known in B’nai Brith circles, has patented a trap for rats and larger animals that is an exceedingly clever device. The trap is in three compartments. The top one is reached by an incline, and on the side away from it the bait is placed in a grated box. To reach it the animal must pass over trap doors held suspended in place by coil springs. These giving way beneth the animal’s weight precipitate it through a shoot in the second compartment into the bottom one containing a tank filled with water or an asphyxiating fluid. It is impossible for the animal to escape, and the trap door swings back into position ready for the next intruder. Mr. Frank seems to have a good thing. – August 31, 1889
100 Y EARS A GO Plans for a monster peace mass meeting in Music Hall a week from Sunday at 2:30pm were set on foot Tuesday afternoon at a meeting of 17 of the foremost peace advocates of the city in the
committee room of the Union Trust Building. Tentative arrangements are for the advertising of the meeting from every pulpit in the city next Sunday and for a number of speeches by prominent peace promoters. The general plans will be in the hands of a committee of five, one of who will be Dr. G. Deutsch, of the Hebrew Union College, who acted as chairman at Tuesday’s session. The four remaining members are to be selected by Dr. Deutsch. Each of those in attendance made a few remarks upon the situation abroad as it would affect this country and those nations participating. Dean Schneider of the University of Cincinnati, and Dean Holmes of the medical department of the university, were both unable to attend the meeting because of the pressure of other affairs. However, they sent their hearty accord in any action the body might take toward securing peace. – August 20, 1914
the U.S. Army and American citizens. He is assistant to Chaplain (Capt.) David N. Heifitz and is stationed at Baumholder Army Sub Post in Germany. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Louis R. Bernstein of 7265 Eastlawn Drive. Pfc. Bernstein is a graduate of Walnut Hills High School and UC University College. He was president of Wise Temple Religious School Mr. and Mrs. William Meister (Helen Skurow), 7954 Greenland Place, announce the birth of a daughter, Gayle Irene, Thursday, Aug. 13. The infant has a brother, Scott, and a sister, Sheri. The grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Greenberg and the late Mr. Gilbert Skurow, and Mrs. Rose Meister of New York, and the late Mr. Irving Meister. The great grandmother is Mrs. Sarah Skurow. – August 27, 1964
75 Y EARS A GO
The family of the late Tillie Nebolsky will hold a Sheloshim memorial service, the 30th day commemoration of her passing, on Wednesdasy, Sept. 13, at Ohav Shalom Congregation, 1834 Section Road at 8pm. Friends, relatives, and members of the community are invited to attend the service. A slide presentation by Susan Isacc, depicting “Tillie Nebolosky’s Nashery” will be shown. Several of the favorite Yiddish songs of Tillie will be played and the Ohav Shalom Choir under the direction of Rabbi David Barsel will chant the Moleh Rachamim, the Hebrew memorial prayer, at the service. Rabbi Stephen Marcu will officiate. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the service. – August 31, 1989
Miss Betty Behr, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Julian J. Behr, 741 Avon Fields Lane, was chosen Monday, August 28th, as the Cincinnatian most closely resembling the movie star Bette Davis. The contest was sponsored by The Times-Star in connection with the Pure Food Show at the Zoo. Miss Behr will broadcast over WCKY Wednesday, August 30th. Mr. and Mrs. Morris H. Tobias entertained with a family dinner Sunday, August 27th, in honor of the 80th birthday of Mr. Tobias. The affair was held at the Hotel Alms, where Mr. and Mrs. Tobias reside. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Kaplan announce the forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Rae, to Mr. Harry Katz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Katz, Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 5pm. The marriage will be solemnized in the presence of the immediate families at the home of the bride’s parents, 536 W. Blair Avenue. Rabbi Eliezer Silver will perform the ceremony. A reception for relatives and friends will be held at the Kaplan home from 7:30 to 11:30 pm. – August 31, 1939
50 Y EARS A GO On July 24, Pfc. Harold D. Bernstein went to Ireland to attend the International Students Convention at the Franciscan College at Gormanston, Ireland, 40 miles from Dublin. He was invited by Father Neall O’Brien, organizing secretary of the convention. Pfc. Bernstein was the only Jewish observer. He represented
25 Y EARS A GO
10 Y EARS A GO Jeffrey and Karen (Kraus) Greenberger proudly announce the birth of their son, Michael Scott, on Aug. 12, 2004. Michael has three brothers, David, Bradley and Andrew. Maternal grandparents are Dr. Herbert Kraus and the late Marlene Kraus. Paternal grandparents are Mark and Ellen Greenberger. Great-grandparents are Louise Greenberger of Sharon, Pa. and Al and Adele Katz. Mother and daughter Bertha Charkins and Beverly Richman will celebrate together becoming Bnot Mitzvah at Adath Israel Congregation on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2004 at 9:00 a.m. – September 9, 2004
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS 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 Chabad (513) 731-5111 • campchabad.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 •camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Cincinnati Community Kollel (513) 631-1118 • kollel.shul.net Cincinnati Community Mikveh (513) 351-0609 •cincinnatimikveh.org Eruv Hotline (513) 351-3788 Fusion Family (513) 703-3343 • fusionnati.org Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (Miami) (513) 523-5190 • muhillel.org Hillel Jewish Student Center (UC) (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 • jewishcincinnati.org Jewish Foundation (513) 214-1200 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 JVS Career Services (513) 936-WORK (9675) • www.jvscinti.org Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 Shalom Family (513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org
FIFTY from page 7 with a breakout session focused on Jewish participation. Also, concurrent with the reunion, the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life organized events on Jewish involvement in civil rights and social justice activism. Freedom Summer volunteer Annie Popkin said her family was very aware of discrimination because her father was shut out of Harvard Medical School due to quotas that limited the numbers of Jewish students. At times her family embraced their Jewishness. Other times they turned away from it, seeing it as a painful liability, she said. She said she was “so ready to go” south when organizers recruited students like her at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Mass. Popkin started early in her activism. When she was 12 or 13, Popkin said, her mother took her to a picket line to demand fair housing in her hometown on New York’s Long Island after a black family who moved into the white section had their house burned.
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 CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net B’nai Tikvah Chavurah (513) 284-5845 • rabbibruce.com Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Congregation Sha’arei Torah (513) 620-8080 • shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Shevet Achim (513) 426-8613 • shevetachimohio.com 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
Later, in ninth grade, she and a friend organized pickets of Woolworth’s in New York City in support of sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in the South. Once when she was picketing, Popkin said, a woman shouted at her, “You’ll make my husband lose his job, and that’s not nice of you!” “I realized I was not going to be a nice 1950s girl,” Popkin said in a telephone interview from her home in Portland, Ore., where she works as a counselor. By the time of her Freedom Summer orientation in Oxford, Ohio, Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner had already disappeared. Freedom Summer organizers feared the worst. But Popkin remembers feeling optimistic as hundreds of black and white SNCC volunteers locked arms, held hands and sang “We Shall Overcome. “Just imagine if everyone in the country could feel this spirit and see this vision. Wouldn’t people want to end segregation?” she recalled thinking. Popkin calls her optimism naive. “It was so moving to be part of
EDUCA 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 Sarah’s Place (513) 531-3151 • sarahsplacecincy.com Yeshivas Lubavitch High School of Cincinnati (513) 631-2452 • ylcincinnati.com ORGANIZATIONS 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 • mayersonjcc.org 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 (937) 886-9566 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org ORT America (216) 464-3022 • ortamerica.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com
the embodied vision of beloved community we were creating in working together, singing together, risking our lives together, believing together,” she said. “We knew what was right, and we spent our days and nights organizing for it.” She went to Vicksburg, Miss., where she gathered signatures for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She witnessed the threats and reprisals — economic and physical — that kept blacks from attempting to register to vote. “We got to see the strong consequences of what we were doing,” Popkin said. Popkin, who went on to become involved in the women’s movement and teach women’s studies at various universities, pointed to the value of recalling the experiences of rank-andfile civil rights activists like her. “There’s been a media emphasis on leaders in the civil rights movement and not the individuals who participated,” Popkin said. “All of our stories can be inspiration. If we could make change at 18, 19, 20, so can others today.”
DO YOU WANT TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED? Send an e-mail including what you would like in your classified & your contact information to
business@ americanisraelite.com or call 513-621-3145 NUMBER from page 9 illegal behavior by Arabs from the suburbs of large cities – to “let sleeping dogs lie,” as Sammy Ghozlan, a French former police commissioner and founder of the National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, told me. “We call these areas ‘the lost territories’ because they are nogo areas for police, who fear the escalation of a minor incident into a repeat of the 2005 riots,” he said. “You have such areas in Israel, too,” he reminded me. More than the breakdown of public order, I was surprised by the drilled response of local Jews. Within minutes of the eruption of the riots in Sarcelles, 100 of them gathered with baseball bats and other weapons. Surrounding the besieged synagogue, they started singing the French anthem. I asked several of them when they began relying on their own strength for their defense. The older ones said it has been like this for many years. The teenagers added, “Since forever.” Stuck at the train station of Sarcelles – the riots disrupted train traffic, and taxi drivers generally avoid the area after dark – I overheard an Algerian man explaining to a Congolese woman that it was the Jews of Sarcelles who struck first. “Like always, first they attack or steal or kill, then they bring
HOW MUCH from page 10 south stayed home because of the war, but it couldn’t estimate the total amount of lost wages. Israel’s biggest civilian cost by far will be the $1.3 billion in lost gross domestic product, an estimate provided to JTA by Moshe Asher, the director general of Israel’s Tax Authority. Asher said the war affected industries across Israel, but one of the hardest hit was the tourism business. Of the 600,000 tourists expected to come on organized tours from July through the end of 2014, the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association expects
SENIOR SERVICES
• • • • •
Up to 24 hour care Meal Preparation Errands/Shopping Hygiene Assistance Light Housekeeping
(513) 531-9600 the media to lie about it,” said the man, who identified himself to me as Mohammed abu-Chaich, a security guard at Charles de Gaulle Airport. “I hate Jews, I’m not ashamed to say it. “They initiated the war in Algeria just to kill Arabs,” abuChaich, who is in his 40s, told me of his country’s civil war, waged by Islamists. “Hitler killed them for similar reasons,” he added loudly as others around him nodded approvingly. Feeling sad from my conversation with abu-Chaich (I didn’t tell him I was Jewish), I went into a Cameroonian restaurant for dinner. It wasn’t long before I ended up chatting with some of the patrons about Africa – a continent where I have worked and which I love. Ten minutes into the conversation, two of my interlocutors invited me to stay with them during my next visit to Yaounde. I was feeling tipsy from the cheap banana beer and happy to have my new Cameroonian friends restore my faith in mankind when one of them began speaking hopefully of the bright future that lay ahead for his country when it finally taps its massive reserves of liquid gas. “It will be heaven,” he said. “I just hope the Jews don’t take it away from us like they did in Germany before Hitler used that gas to kill them.”
only 300,000 to make it. Overall, the tour operators group estimates that organized tours will lose $350 million from July through December, similar to the $375 million loss estimated by the Israel Hotel Association. But the cancellations may have been toughest on private tour guides, who depend on summer tours to make it through the year. “These months are the months where I make money,” said Gil Shemesh, 28, who lost a quarter of his summer income when a bar mitzvah trip and a Christian pilgrims’ tour canceled. “It took out a whole month. I won’t be working at all in August.”
20 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
Will Larry David’s Broadway show add to his Jewish file? By Ami Eden NEW YORK (JTA) – In Larry David’s fake real-life world on the HBO sitcom “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” he is tapped by Mel Brooks to take over the Zero MostelNathan Lane role of Max Bialystock in the megahit Broadway adaptation of “The Producers.” Just as Max and accountant Leo Bloom set out to make money by producing a surefire bomb, Brooks picks Larry with the (secret) goal of killing the Tony Award-winning musical and getting his life back. But in an art-imitates-art twist, Larry (like “Springtime for Hitler”) miraculously becomes a hit. Now comes news that the real real-life Larry David is set to make his Broadway debut in 2015 with a play titled “Fish in the Dark.” David wrote the script and will star in the show. David isn’t saying much about the details except that it is a comedy about a death in the family. Before the official announcement, the buzz was that the show would be called “Shiva.” So odds are good that David will be adding to his already sizable Jewish canon.
Courtesy of Dave Kotinsky
Larry David says his Broadway debut will take a comical look at a death in the family.
OK, he’s not Philip Roth. But who is? Few in showbiz have tackled as many Jewish topics with as much attitude and as prominently as David has on “Curb” and as the cocreator/lead writer of “Seinfeld.” Among the highlights: Survivors and making out during ‘Schindler’s List’ It was fitting that in 2004, David dedicated the entire fourth season of
“Curb” to the Larry-gets-cast-in-”The Producers” plot line. Few have followed as boldly in Brooks’ footsteps as David when it comes to turning the Holocaust into a punch line. In fact, you could argue that David has attempted a far more daring (some would say offensive) maneuver – whereas Brooks deployed comedy as a weapon against Hitler, David has taken aim at the hallowed status of survivors and Holocaust memorialization. First came the “Seinfeld” episode (“The Raincoats”) when Jerry is caught making out with his girlfriend during a screening of “Schindler’s List.” As it turns out, the roots of the gag were actually the doldrums of synagogue. “I think it must have come from sitting in temple,” David said several years ago in an interview packaged with the release of the series on DVD. “I would sit in temple wondering what would happen if I reached over and touched my wife’s breast now or something like that. I can’t pay attention; my mind wanders.” Count Jerry Stiller, fictional father of George Costanza on “Seinfeld,” among those who was a little squeamish about the bit. “I just felt that they had gone over
the line with that one,” Stiller, who is Jewish, once commented about the episode. But he quickly added with a laugh, “Then I said, ‘Well, Jews go over the line.’ “ David would cross the line again – this time in an episode of “Curb” featuring a showdown between a Holocaust survivor and a contestant on the reality show “Survivor” over which one had it rougher. Israel activism and tribal loyalty In 2011, between the last two large-scale Israel-Hamas conflicts, David gave us a “Curb” episode titled “Palestinian Chicken.” A lesser artist would have settled for interethnic feuding between supporters of the Jewish deli and the new Palestinian chicken place, but David also delivered a biting take on the often tedious sniping between Jewish universalists (Larry, who has a yen for the chicken and lusts after the Palestinian owner of the restaurant) and tribalists (a yarmulke-clad Marty Funkhauser disgusted by Larry’s betrayal). Bonus factoid: Funkhauser is played by Bob Einstein, whose brother is Albert Brooks (yes, that’s right, real name: Albert Einstein). Mohels and rabbis Jewish clergy haven’t fared too well in David’s creative hands (then
again, few people do). The rabbis on “Seinfeld” and “Curb” are always flawed, either incapable of keeping a secret or self-absorbed. And then there’s the shaky-handed mohel from “The Bris” episode of “Seinfeld.” The seder On “The Seder” episode of “Curb,” Larry takes “Let all who are hungry come and eat” to a new level – inviting a registered sex offender at the last second. Jewish self-hatred “Curb” ended its fifth season with a multi-episode arc featuring Larry being told he was adopted and tracking down his supposed birth family – a collection of decidedly un-neurotic and extremely kind religious Christians. In short, the exact opposite of Larry. The result is a new, gentile, gentler Larry. Until he discovers it was all a mistake, at which point he returns to his old self (following a brief trip to heaven). Implication: The Jews and the Jewish are responsible for all of Larry’s loathsome characteristics. It’s hard to think of a more decidedly anti-Jewish message on television. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – as long as it’s funny.
Documentary reveals Jewish mother’s ‘Little White Lie’ By Rebecca Spence SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) – When Lacey Schwartz celebrated her bat mitzvah more than two decades ago in her hometown of Woodstock, N.Y., a synagogue-goer turned to her and said, “It’s so nice to have an Ethiopian Jew in our midst.” Never mind that Schwartz, a striking 37-year-old with long black curls and a megawatt smile, is about as American as they come. Raised by two Ashkenazi Jewish parents in a largely white, upstate New York town, Schwartz’s complexion – darker than that of her relatives – had long been attributed to a Sicilian grandfather. Despite lingering questions, she believed the story. But when Schwartz enrolled at Georgetown University and the Black Student Alliance sent her a welcome letter based on a picture she submitted, Schwartz could no longer deny something was amiss. She confronted her mother, Peggy Schwartz, only to discover that her biological father was a black man named Rodney with whom she had had an affair. The discovery of her family secret and Schwartz’s coming to terms with her newly complex racial identity serves as the basis for “Little White Lie,” a moving documentary that had its official world premiere at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival last Sunday following screenings in Cape
Courtesy of JTA
Lacey Schwartz’s film "Little White Lie" tells of her discovery in adulthood that her father was black.
Cod, Mass., and Philadelphia. “I started from a place where being Jewish equaled being white,” Schwartz told JTA. “So I had to push myself to expand my idea of what being Jewish was.” Upon launching the project 10 years ago, Schwartz thought she was making a film about black Jews. At the time she was living in what she called a “racial closet.” Schwartz identified as black in the broader world, but at home she behaved as though nothing had changed. Many therapy sessions and a degree from Harvard Law School later, Schwartz decided to hone in on
her family’s story. Her biological father had passed away just shy of her 30th birthday, and she realized that if she didn’t investigate her own narrative, she was skirting the issue. “I wanted people to be having these conversations, but I wasn’t even talking about things in my own life,” Schwartz said. “I felt strongly that I couldn’t talk the talk unless I walked the walk.” Schwartz’s mother has been supportive of the project since its inception. Peggy Schwartz, 67, said she initially had some trepidation about how others might perceive her (“Will people think I’m a raving lunatic?” she
quipped in a New York Jewish accent), but that quickly faded and she felt safe spilling her secrets on camera. “I owed it to my daughter to no longer be deceptive about what my life was like,” Peggy Schwartz said of her participation in the film, which is slated to air next year on PBS. “She needed to go on her path, and she invited me to go on mine. I’m very grateful for that.” Still, it wasn’t easy. Years of silence had built emotional walls that were hard to break through, and Schwartz had to push her mother to engage in conversations about the real circumstances of her birth. Schwartz’s father, Robert, long divorced from her mother, also agreed to participate, but with markedly less enthusiasm. During a lively Q&A session following the San Francisco screening, Schwartz said that while the man she’d always known as “Daddy” went along with her process, it was not the path he might have chosen. In a particularly moving, if awkward, scene in the film, Schwartz’s father calls her mother’s years-long affair and Lacey’s ensuing paternity – neither of which was divulged to him – “the ultimate betrayal.” While Schwartz the filmmaker has embraced her black identity, it has not been at the expense of the strong Jewish cultural identity she developed during her formative years. Some of the earliest stirrings of the film came
through her work with Reboot, a hand-picked collective of Jewish creative professionals who come together to explore meaning, community and identity. “Reboot is a space that encourages you to ask the questions you really want to ask about your Jewish identity,” Schwartz said. “It has been inspirational.” In addition to winning grants from major Jewish funders – the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, the Jewish federations of New York and San Francisco, and the Righteous Persons Foundation, among them – Schwartz’s film has also received long-term support from Be’chol Lashon, a San Franciscobased nonprofit that promotes racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in Jewish life. Schwartz, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her husband and twin 1year-old sons, serves as the group’s national outreach director and its New York regional director. Diane Tobin, Be’chol Lashon’s founder and executive director, said the organization plans to use the film to educate teens and spark conversations about Jewish diversity. Schwartz said that she hopes the film will catalyze discussion not only around race, but also the consequences of keeping family secrets. “This is a very personal story, but it’s also universal,” she said. “It’s a project about family secrets and the power of telling the truth.”
FIRST PERSON • 21
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014
Incidentally, Iris Incidentally Iris
by Iris Ruth Pastor One of the perks of staying in a hotel in the heart of Manhattan is that every morning, without fail, two newspapers - the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal - are stacked on a mahagony table facing the elevators, free to each hotel guest. Just getting up in the morning and knowing a clump of newly printed pages of news and STRATEGY from page 16 bien-pensant opinion in the West was bemoaning a fake “genocide” in Gaza, a real one was taking place with ferocious rapidity in Iraq, beginning with the Christians and then extending to the Yazidis, an ancient faith of some 500,000 people who are ethnically Kurdish. And had it not been for the astonishing courage of a female Iraqi parliamentarian, Vian Dakhil of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the world may well have remained stuck in its myopia. Earlier this month, Dakhil took to the floor of the Iraqi parliament, delivering an impassioned speech on behalf of her people that ended with her breaking down and sobbing. Many of those who watched the speech were also in tears as she choked out those desperate, final words; as I listened to Dakhil, my first thoughts were of the Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski and the Jewish Bund international representative Szmuel Zygielbojm, both of whom attempted to alert the Allied powers to the Holocaust befalling Jews under Nazi occupation. Then, a few days later, when I learned that Dakhil had been injured in a helicopter crash while delivering aid to Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, my heart sank even more. Thankfully, however, Dakhil is alive, and continuing to raise her voice against this grotesque genocide. The horrors of northern Iraq have compelled the Obama administration to both quell its isolationist instincts and to delay the muchvaunted policy “pivot” from the Middle East to East Asia. However much we try, the Middle East will not let us go. And yet we still have no grand strategy for the region, no sense of how we want it to evolve,
features will soon be in my plump little fingers fills me with anticipation and glee. I know I’m old fashioned. I know the number of people garnering the majority of their news both hard and soft - from newspapers has dwindled dramatically over the years. Take an early morning walk in any suburban neighborhood across the country. You are sure to see an abundance of driveways FREE of plasticencased newspapers waiting for a homeowner to saunter out, clad in a bathrobe and slippers, to retrieve it. Realizing my son and his wife no longer get a daily newspaper, I assumed they were avid TV news watchers. One afternoon last week my son was working from my husband’s hospital room while he was in surgery. “How,” I innocently inquired, “do you keep your kids (ages 7 no doctrine to bring stability to its suffering peoples. Do we want to preserve Iraq’s integrity as a state? We don’t know. Do we want to encourage Kurdish independence? We don’t know. How far are we prepared to go to prevent the crucifixions, beheadings, and enslavement of women that have become the hallmarks of the Islamic State? We don’t know. If we are bombing the Islamic State in Iraq, albeit cautiously, then why are we allowing the atrocities in Syria, carried out by both the Islamic State and by the Iranian-backed Assad regime, to continue? No one, apparently, has an answer. I’ve heard it said many times that one of the reasons President Barack Obama doesn’t like foreign intervention is that he believes political change can only come from the people whom intervention is intended to benefit. Obama is not alone; the great British political philosopher, John Stuart Mill, argued much the same against the background of the Crimean War of the late 1850s. Very well, then—let us reframe the concept of intervention in defense of human rights so that the liberators themselves are those would otherwise be liberated by outsiders. Within these parameters, we would not send in troops. But we can provide air support, military training, and weapons, and the expertise to create and sustain postwar democratic institutions by working with politicians like Vian Dakhil. Such a strategy will mean staying in the Middle East a while longer. It will also mean, when we are finally able take a back seat, that we will have left this region a much healthier and happier place than when we found it.
and 3) from freaking out from hearing all the bad things reported on TV that are going on in the world?” He looked at me as if I had asked him an outlandish question. “Mom,” he impatiently replied, “do you think we listen to CNN all day?” I got a little defensive. “I know I am what you and your brothers jokingly refer to as a geezer, but when I’m home puttering around the house, yes, I do keep CNN on,” I replied curtly. “Well,” he countered, somewhat less stridently, “the only channels our TV is turned to is Disney, Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. Jenny and I get all our news online.” It made me inexplicably sad to realize that the nightly news broadcasts and the all-news channels too are suffering - just like the printed page - from a dearth of fol-
lowers. But I do kinda get it. Last week a good friend sent me an email with a link to a site called skimm. I double clicked and was enthralled by what I glimpsed: short snappy tidbits guaranteed to keep you in the know - current and relevant. I freely admit I am now hooked on their 6:35 am feed that pops up daily in my e mail in box. I can’t resist their allure. They tweeze out the the essential in a fierce, but whimsical way. Days after drafting this column, I was walking from my hotel room in mid town Manhattan to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where my husband was recovering from two back surgeries. As usual, I wasn’t in the greatest of moods. Care-taking can drag you down. A bedraggled homeless woman approached me, begging for some change. I frantically searched in my purse for a crum-
pled dollar bill to give her. And along with the dollar bill, I pulled up the remnants of an article I had stashed in my purse days ago. Circled in black magic marker was the following: Recognize your own instincts. Nurture your own desires. And don’t let anyone - nor anything, nor any idea, nor any fear - lead you astray or starve your soul. Ah. The daily newspaper. For all its limitations in this digital world, you still gotta love “what”s black and white and ‘red’ all over” and what pops up at just the right moment when you need a little dose of both encouragement and inspiration.
SHOWBIZ from page 6
pared to another conundrum: finding a word for “pimp” in Yiddish to be used in a scene before a rabbinic court where Allen’s character is accused of providing a male prostitute for a Hasidic woman. Finding the one word, “alfons,” rarely if ever used in contemporary Hasidic parlance, required a significant amount of research on Schonfeld’s part. When it comes to meticulousness, “Fading Gigolo” does not stand alone. “Felix and Meira,” a forthcoming independent Canadian film that follows a Hasidic woman from Montreal who engages in an extramarital affair with a nonJewish man, also required significant research, consultation and visits to the haredi community. Several former Hasidim consulted for the film in varying capacities. Rivka Katz, formerly a Lubavitcher Hasid, consulted on the script, while Luzer Twersky and Melissa Weisz, who attended Satmar Hasidic schools growing up, both acted and consulted. Twersky plays the protagonist’s husband and Weisz has the part of a Hasidic woman, a minor character in the film. They pointed to the verisimilitude of a scene set during a Shabbat meal. “The shtreimel [fur Hasidic hat] was real, the bekeshe [frock coat] was real, the chicken soup was real,” Twersky said of the scene. Even though it was not shot on the actual Sabbath, the scene seemed so authentic that Weisz, who acted in the scene, said that on a visceral level it felt wrong to be engaging in un-Shabbat-
like activity like filmmaking. Afterward, when conversation turned to the movie, “I got mad,” Weisz recalled, “because they shouldn’t be talking about that on Shabbos.” But film consultants do not always agree with one another on what makes for the most authentic depiction of Hasidim. On Twitter, Twersky had criticized the 2010 movie “Holy Rollers,” starring Jesse Eisenberg as a drug-running yeshiva student, for its costuming choices and other issues. He tweeted: “guys with peyos don’t wear short suits and fedora hats.” Meyer, who worked on the film, says he advises a “mishmosh look,” piecing together the hat from one Hasidic sect and the side curls of another, unless the director has a particular sect in mind. To Twersky, that was one of several of the film’s failings. But he acknowledges that departures from authentic portrayals of Hasidic life are not always such a bad thing. “We need to get over the fact that we don’t own the story of Hasidic Jews,” Twersky said. He noted that artistic considerations often result in departures from reality. “Nobody wants to see regular people doing regular things,” Twersky said. “That’s not a movie.”
prostitute being pimped out to female clients by a friend played by Woody Allen. One of the major plot lines focuses on a budding romance that develops between Turturro’s character and a lonely Hasidic widow who hires him as a masseur. Schonfeld brought Turturro and several crew members to a regular social gathering he runs in New York called Chulent that is popular among many former Hasidim and others on the margins of the haredi world. Other acquaintances of Schonfeld also helped with the film. One, Malky Lipshitz, contributed religious artwork and consulted with Vanessa Paradis, the French actress who played the Hasidic woman in the film. Others submitted voice recordings for actor Liev Schreiber to use to practice his inflection in his role as a member of a Hasidic community patrol vying for the widow’s affections. Schonfeld pointed to one significant change that resulted from his advice. He said that Turturro had planned to name the Hasidic widow after a friend’s wife named Avital, wrongly believing it to be an authentic-sounding Hasidic name. Schonfeld noted that some people have a tendency to believe that Israeli and haredi names are interchangeable. Schonfeld recommended similar alternatives that would be more plausibly Hasidic but would still accommodate Turturro’s attachments and artistic considerations. In the end Avital was named Avigal. But the naming of characters was a minor challenge com-
Keep coping, Iris Ruth Pastor
22 • OBITUARIES D EATH N OTICES NADLER, Gerald, age 90, died July 28, 2014; 1 Av, 5774. HEYMAN, Dr, Richard B., age 66, died August 13, 2014; 17 Av, 5774. BALTERMAN, Alice Heyn, age 94, died August 15, 2014; 19 Av, 5774. FIERMARK, Shirley, B., age 94, died August 16, 2014; 20 Av, 5774. SIEGEL, Anne R., age 93, died August 18, 2014; 22 Av, 5774. LEVEY, Victor M., age 80, died August 19, 2014; 23 Av, 5774.
O BITUARIES NADLER, Dr. Gerald Dr. Gerald (Gerry) Nadler was born on March 12, 1924 to Samuel and Minnie (Krumbein) Nadler in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Walnut Hills High School, graduat-
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
ing in 1941. Dr. Nadler earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University in 1949. He was an IBM Chair Emeritus in Engineering Management at the University of Southern California. Before his departmental chairmanship at USC, he was Chairman and Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Washington University in St. Louis. He also served as President of the Center for Breakthrough Thinking, Inc., an international management consulting firm of affiliates. He wrote over 200 published articles and 15 books, several of which have been translated into nine languages, and delivered more than 900 invited presentations. His research interests were study of methodologies and reasoning processes used by leading engineers, planners, designers, and other professionals who create new and restructure existing systems and solutions (products, operating procedures, organization structures, information flows, facilities, and so on in any type industry or sector of society). The purpose: synthesize teachable principles, questions, and
action steps for use by those (approximately 92% of the population) who do not intuitively use them. (citation – USC online directory) In 1986 Dr. Nadler was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. His election citation reads “For technical and educational leadership in industrial engineering, interdisciplinary systems planning and design methodologies, and for technological literacy programs for non-engineers.” Dr. Nadler received over 25 honors and awards from around the world as a result of his persistence, diligence and hard work in hope that he would leave more than he took from all of those in the world with whom he came in contact during a most exciting life. He will be dearly missed by his family and all those whose lives he touched. Dr. Gerald (Gerry) Nadler, 90, passed away peacefully at his home on July 28, 2014. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Elaine, his brother Melvin, and his three children, Burton Nadler (Barbara Sard), Janice (Stuart) Cutler and Robert (Deborah) Nadler, as well as by eight grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. Donations can be made in Dr. Nadler's honor to the USC Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering. Send a check made out to USC (note in the memo section it is for ISE-Gerry Nadler) to Georgia Lum, c/o USC Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, 3715 McClintock Avenue, GER 240A, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0193. TERROR from page 9 fighters. Islamic Jihad executed a number of terror attacks during the second intifada a decade ago, including the 2001 abduction and murder of two 14-year-old boys in Gush Etzion. It has frequently fired rockets at Israel from Gaza, including during the three rounds of conflict between Israel and Hamas in recent years. Popular Resistance Committees – The Popular Resistance Committees, or PRC, is a breakaway from the Palestinian Fatah party that governs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The PRC was founded in 2000 and opposes Fatah’s peace process with Israel. Unlike many groups operating in Gaza, the PRC is not Islamist. In 2012, Yediot Acharonot estimated that it was the third-strongest militia in Gaza and that it receives much of its funding from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran. The PRC also executed terror attacks during the second intifada. In 2006, it collaborated with Hamas on the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier.
GENESIS from page 5 Israel – what he called “Birthright envy.” Sarna also argued that the focus on innovative breakthroughs was spurred by the modern culture of rapid technological change. “People got used to the idea that there are big things – a cellphone, the iPhone – that would truly change our world,” said Sarna. “I do think there is a sense that the world is changing faster than it used to change. It may not be true, but that’s the view.” Wayne Firestone, president of the Genesis Prize Foundation, said the competition’s focus on big ideas came in part from looking at Bloomberg’s own experience in starting competitions to attract the attention of young talent. Firestone noted the Bloomberg-initiated NYC BigApps competition, which triggered the creation of smartphone apps using city data to locate highquality child care, encourage teacher collaboration and trade information about subway service. “Bloomberg saw the benefit of reaching into the target population to come up with target answers,” Firestone told JTA. The Genesis competition also EX-WNBA from page 6 Established by the NBA nearly two decades ago, the WNBA remains the most prominent female sports league in the country. It was her track record from the playing and financial sides that appealed to Stern when he hired Orender for the post. Orender, he told JTA, understood basketball “from the ground up.” “She was a great basketball player. She was an early player in a league back then and has a passion for the game,” Stern said. “She was a ranking person in the PGA who got to know everything about our sponsorship and our business, and had an understanding of production and production values.” Ann Meyers Drysdale, a longtime friend with whom she starred in the backcourt of the WBL’s New Jersey Gems, says she and Olender still talk about the WNBA and its role in further advancing women’s athletics. Meyers Drysdale, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, is an executive with both the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. For Orender, basketball also holds importance for her family and its Jewish identity through involvement in the Maccabi movement. “I love the game,” she said. “It’s a passion of mine. It helps me stay close to youth, Judaism and also connect with my own kids.” Orender accompanied her 17year-old twins, Zachary and Jacob, and their Maccabi USA youth team on a nine-game, 12-day trip earlier this summer to play Maccabi and club teams in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Their itinerary included Jewish heritage sites and a game
will focus on encouraging collaboration and communication among the competing teams, and on offering mentorship, support and expertise to teams as they develop their proposals. The Genesis Prize, which will be given out annually, is awarded to an accomplished, internationally renowned professional who is a role model in his or her community and can inspire the younger generation of Jews worldwide, according to the Genesis Prize Foundation website. Although the prize was launched with the explicit purpose of inspiring young Jews, the Generation Challenge is open to applicants of all backgrounds, and teams are encouraged to address global problems. But Firestone was confident that the competition would nonetheless attract the interest of young Jews. “When you go looking in the innovation space, you will find young Jews,” said Firestone, noting that the competition’s online portal already was attracting one of its strongest concentrations of visitors from Tel Aviv. “We think you’re going to find lots of Jewish individuals, but not only by asking people ‘are you Jewish?’ against a Dutch team of wheelchairusing athletes, with the able-bodied Americans also using wheelchairs. Basketball was a means of “spreading good will, developing relationships and meeting some of our Maccabi brethren overseas,” said Orender, who also has two stepchildren. Last summer, the Orender twins played in Israel in the Maccabiah, a quadrennial international sports festival, just as their mother had in 1985. As they entered Jerusalem’s Teddy Kollek Stadium for the opening ceremony, her sons grabbed Orender’s hand and said, “This must be a dream for you.” “It absolutely is,” she responded. Hammon, whose 15-year WNBA career will conclude this summer, was “one of my kids’ favorite players,” Orender said, and they saw Hammon in action numerous times when Orender led the WNBA. Mother and sons often shoot baskets and break down game film. Orender concedes that “it’s very hard” to keep mum during games and let the boys’ coaches do their jobs. She’ll offer help if they ask, and they do, often seeking tips on ingame strategy, shooting and making decisions on passing in the flow of a game, Orender said. She seems to revel in the entire sports experience. Orender recalls an Indiana Fever home playoff while serving as WNBA president when she climbed to the top rows and gazed upon the sold-out arena. “It was a very proud moment that really showcased the fan passion, the ability to grow a business, the athletes,” she said.
AI
2014 CALENDAR FOR SPECIAL ISSUES & SECTIONS
The American Israelite
JA N UA R Y 2
F E B RUA R Y
MARCH 6 Wonderful Weddings *SECTION
6 13 Kids/Summer Camps *SECTION
13 Purim
16
20
20
23
27
27
M AY - JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
JUNE
9
30 Mature Living *SECTION
APRIL 3
1
10 Passover
*ISSUE
8 Celebrations
5 *SECTION
12 The Car Issue *SECTION
17
15
19
24
22 Bar/Bat Mitzvah *SECTION 29 Travel Guide *SECTION
26
J U LY
AU G U S T
SEPTEMBER
7 Back To School *SECTION
3
4 Best of Jewish Cincinnati *SECTION
10 Health & Beauty *SECTION
14
11
17 The American Israelite at 160
21
18
24
28 The Home Issue
*SECTION
31 Mature Living *SECTION
O C TO B E R 2
N OV E M B E R 6
9 Financial Planning *SECTION
25 Rosh Hashanah *ISSUE Jewish Year in Review *SECTION
DECEMBER 4 Gift Guide #2 *SECTION
13
11 Chanukah *ISSUE
16
20
18 The Car Issue *SECTION
23
27 Gift Guide #1 *SECTION
25 The Year in Review
*SECTION
30 Event Planning *SECTION
1st Week: Legal | 2nd Week: Travel | 3rd Week: Arts & Entertainment | 4th Week: Business | 5th Week: Health & Fitness Business: publisher@americanisraelite.com | Editor: editor@americanisraelite.com | Production: production@americanisraelite.com | Phone: 513.621.3145 Dates of Special Issues & Sections may change without formal notice.