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New year, new initiatives at Cincinnati Hillel On Wednesday, Oct. 2 Hillel will invite the community to its annual meeting “Consider the Possibilities” in the Amberley Room at the JCC at 7 p.m. A desert reception will follow the meeting. Cincinnati Hillel is beginning this new year with a new president, new board members, new interns, a new message, and several new initiatives. President Chase Kohn will complete his term of service and incoming president Ronna Schneider will assume the leadership. “I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to serve as President of Cincinnati Hillel,” said Chase Kohn. “In addition to being the center for Jewish life for students, faculty, and community members on campus, Hillel is a critical player in building the local young adult cohort that will assure a vibrant future for Jewish Cincinnati. I look forward to seeing Hillel continue to flourish for years to come under Ronna Schneider’s leadership and with the support of our dedicated board members, talented professionals and inspirational student leaders.” At its annual meeting, Hillel will welcome six new community board members: Samuel Alex, Lara Danziger-Isakov, Ethan Katz, Hagit Limor, Bryna Miller and Andrea Newman, as well as three new student board members: Michael Levy, Elana Pentelnik and Luci Simon. The Oct. 2 meeting will be hosted by student leaders. Community members will learn about Hillel’s new initiatives in support of Cincinnati 2020: the new student engagement interns, the Jewish values/community service experience in Guatemala, the Israel Fellow program, and the effort to connect students with personal growth and career opportunities in Cincinnati that will encourage them to live here, raise their families here and be part of tomorrow’s model Jewish community. “I am thrilled to be the incom-
Engagement interns with Paula Harlan (top left) at the Hillel Institute.
Cincinnati Hillel students enjoying Hillel’s Welcome Back BBQ.
ing President of the Hillel board,” observed Ronna Schneider. “We have several new board members who bring renewed energy and fresh ideas to the organization. In addition to the board, I am looking forward to working with Sharon, Paula, Gil, our interns, and of course the talented students, to cre-
More students enjoying Hillel’s Welcome Back BBQ.
ate an incredible year for Hillel.” “Much is new at Cincinnati Hillel,” observed Executive Director Sharon Stern. “But what has not changed is Hillel’s commitment to ‘enrich the lives and strengthen the Jewish identity of Jewish college students in greater Cincinnati by offering a broad
range of social, cultural, religious and personal growth experiences in an atmosphere that is creative, energetic, pluralistic and inclusive.’”
Editor/Writer Needed MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH QUARK, COPY EDITING, AND KNOWLEDGE OF AP STYLE. To apply, call Netanel “Ted” Deutsch at The American Israelite (513) 621-3145
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Wise Temple presents Nurturing the Faith of Your Child While Wise Temple children attend their first day of religious school, parents can also participate in learning at the same time. The Wise Temple Eitz Chayim (adult learning) Sunday Series adult education program presents, Nurturing the Faith of your Child with Rabbi Karen Thomashow on Sunday, Sept. 22. As children
develop in all sorts of ways, one of those ways is spiritually. Many wonderful rabbis, teachers, and professionals have dedicated books and guides to this topic. Quite often, parents desire more tools to respond to the faith inquiries of our children. Rabbi Karen Thomashow will explore best practices, favorite books and
most–asked questions. The program is designed for parents of children age 10 and younger. After taking your child to the classroom, come for coffee at 9:30 a.m. and stay for the program from 9:45 10:45 a.m. This program is open to Wise Temple members and non-members.
Rockdale’s Opening Day On Sunday, Sept. 8, Rockdale Temple’s Kehal Kodesh School enjoyed the beautiful weather as they held their opening day at Montgomery Park. The program started off with an innovative, exciting, camp-like experience as the students, teachers and parents gathered to sing and learn. Following the song session, Sigma Faye Coran, Senior Rabbi at Rockdale Temple, led the community in a Taschlich service. She asked students to reflect on something they didn’t do as well last year in Religious School as they would have liked and that they could improve upon this year. Following Taschlich, students were divided by age to participate in activities geared around the three pillars of the schools’ new Chai curriculum: Torah, Avodah (service), and G’milut Chasadim (acts of lovingkindness). For Torah, several of the students’ favorite stop of the day, teacher Rabbi Matthew Kraus dressed as Moses and shared midrash and enjoyed a lively discussion with each group. Following the spirit of
Rockdale Temple students are decorating the Kehal Kodesh panel for the Community Sukkah.
Avodah students decorated Rockdale’s panel for the community Sukkah. Card making was the final rotation as students created Judaic themed images intended to be sold to raise tzedakah as the community works toward G'milut Chasadim. The event was very well
attended and the Rockdale Brotherhood provided a picnic lunch for all participants. The new director of the school, Rabbi Meredith Kahan remarked, “It was so great to see all of our kids and families out enjoying music, art, and learning together as a community.”
Hadassah opening meeting geared to women of all ages The Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah’s Opening Meeting will take place Sunday, Sept. 29 from 5-7 p.m. at Trio Restaurant. The Opening Meeting was altered this year from the usual Monday lunch so as to accommodate the schedule of some of the new working women and those with young children, and also still provide a good time of day and locale to the long-standing members. The highlight of the program will be the guest speaker David Barashi, also known as Dush the clown, a medical clown from Hadassah. He will share with the attendees the work he does as a part of the ‘Dream Doctors project’ that integrates professional medical clowning into the medical services provided at Israeli hospitals. Israel is considered a leader in professionalizing the field of medical clowning and providing scientific evidence of its effectiveness. Barashi will actually be in Cincinnati at that time to work with staff at
David Barashi
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, sharing with them the benefits of what he and other Dream Doctors are doing in assisting the pace of children’s medical recovery. David describes what he does as providing the children with “a pleasant moment, a good laugh, or temporary relief from their condition.” The clowns create a fantasy world for the
children, in which they are in the center and in control. Clowning, he says, is used today as an assisting therapeutic tool in many medical treatments and procedures. It is a language that goes beyond borders, cultures, social status and religions, and is a universal language that makes it possible to communicate with anyone at anytime and anywhere. Also on the program at the Opening Meeting will be a brief overview by Chapter President Bonnie Juran Ullner on the upcoming 2013-2104 year. Bonnie has much to share including their efforts to encourage younger women to get more involved in Hadassah and the upcoming Leading Gifts Event in October. The Opening Meeting is chaired by Sherri Symson, Holly Wolfson, Tracy Levine, Ali Bernstein, Carol Ann Schwartz, Renee Sandler and Bonnie Juran Ullner. There is a fee to attend.
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JCC invites community to supper in the Sukkah on Monday, Sept. 23 In celebration of community and five years under one roof, the Mayerson JCC is inviting everyone to attend a buffet Supper in the Sukkah (5:30 – 6:45 p.m.), followed by the JCC Annual Meeting (7 p.m.) on Monday, Sept. 23. The unique JCC Sukkah will showcase an array of art designed and created by more than 40 organizations to form a unique structure, representing a visual interpretation of their organization’s own meaning of community. The buffet in the courtyard sukkah will include a variety of pastas and lasagna, a salad bar, garlic bread, and beverages. Seats are limited and advance online paid registration is required by Sunday, Sept. 22. “I encourage everyone to join us for our ‘Under One Roof’ celebration during Sukkot. In the spirit of community and giving thanks, the JCC is transforming our entire courtyard into a giant sukkah that will showcase an array of artwork created by over 40 organizations, visualizing what community means to them. We are excited to share this special project with the community as
we celebrate five years at the Mayerson JCC,” said Marc Fisher, CEO of the JCC. Participating agencies include both Jewish and secular organizations, local synagogues and various arts organizations. Throughout the week-long holiday, schools and organizations of all faiths will visit the community sukkah and learn about Sukkot. “Being involved in this project is great for the JCRC because our focus is creating connections throughout the Greater Cincinnati communities and that is exactly what ‘Under One Roof’ accomplishes,” said Seth Harlan, Associate Director of Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. “We are especially proud that many local Catholic and secular schools will have an opportunity to learn about the significance of Sukkot by sharing a meal in the JCC sukkah.” After dinner (7 p.m.), the JCC will present awards, news and a dessert reception. Awards include the Volunteer of the Year, Staff Service Awards for employees with over 10 years of
service to the J, the Kovod Award, the Cohen Award and the JCC Community Partnership Award. One of the highlights of this presentation is the announcement of the Sigmund M. Cohen Memorial Award recipient. This award was established in 1992 by Ruth Cohen and her children. The Cohen Award is given annually to a JCC member who has rendered distinguished volunteer service to the JCC, and who also volunteers in other Jewish community organizations in a selfless and quiet manner. Debbie Brant will be recognized as the 2013 recipient of the Sigmund M. Cohen Memorial Award at the JCC Annual Meeting. She is a lifelong member and active participant at the JCC. “Debbie has worked tirelessly for the JCC and was instrumental in helping secure grants from The Mayerson Foundation and The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati to enhance programming at the JCC,” said Marc Fisher. He continues, “Not only is she the JCC board president, but she has been a partner and mentor to me and the rest of our professional
leadership.” Debbie Brant has volunteered for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Ballet, Country Day School, and the JCC. She has served on the JCC board, the Jewish Federation’s executive committee, on the board of Most Valuable Kids, and she is a Wexner Fellow. She currently is the JCC board president, and is chair of Women’s Philanthropy for the Jewish Federation. Debbie is married to Jody Brant, and has two daughters, Samantha and Nora. Upon finding out she was the 2013 Cohen Award recipient, Brant said “I am so honored to receive this award, and I greatly respect all those who have received it in past years. I truly enjoy the work that I do for the JCC and for our community because I have always valued the opportunity to give back, in appreciation of what so many others have done for us. I want to help provide a strong, vibrant community for my daughters’ generation and beyond.”
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VOL. 160 • NO. 9 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 15 TISHREI 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 7:22 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 8:23 PM THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 Phone: (513) 621-3145 Fax: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISAAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900 LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher GABRIELLE COHEN JORY EDLIN Assistant Editors YOSEFF FRANCUS Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM IRIS PASTOR ZELL SCHULMAN PHYLLIS R. SINGER Contributing Columnists BONNIE ULLNER Advertising Sales Manager
MAIL: MAIL Send CD to The American Israelite, 18 W 9th St Ste 2, Cincinnati, OH 45202 or E-MAIL: E-MAIL production@americanisraelite.com Please make sure to include a Word doc. that includes the captions, if available, and a short synopsis of the event (date, place, reason, etc.). If sending photos by e-mail, please send them in batches of 3-5 per e-mail (16MB MAX). All photos should be Hi-Res to ensure print quality. THIS IS 100% FREE. For more information, please contact Jennifer at (513) 621-3145. All photos are subject to review before publishing.
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Chabad Jewish Center presents Simchat Torah festivites for children and adults It’s time to put on your dancing shoes and get ready to dance the night away on Simchat Torah at Chabad Jewish Center on Thursday, September 26, 2013. The evening begins with a children’s celebration, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. with a kid’s menu buffet dinner, Israeli dancing, and prizes for all ages, including stuffed Torahs and sandy candy flags! At 7:30 p.m. the adults’ party begins with traditional Simchat Torah celebration at Chabad Jewish Center. Holiday services,
sushi and martinis will gear everyone up for singing and dancing with the Torahs in the famous Chassidic spirit that is unparalleled elsewhere, as seven celebratory ‘hakafot’ (circling) are made around the Bimah. “Come and join us for an inspiring and happy holiday celebration,” says Rabbi Yisroel Mangel, “Just bring yourself, your children, grandchildren, friends, and lots of spirit, and we’ll proCHABAD on page 21
Jeremy Bettman of Dayton (left) and Kevin Rosenthal of St. Louis (Right)
Bettman family sets fund for Livingston scholarships When Jeremy Bettman approached the bimah for his Bar Mitzvah at Dayton’s Temple Israel in June, he carried with him the gratitude of Cincinnati’s Robert Krohn Livingston Memorial Camp as well as some of Dayton’s young people he has never met. Such is the result of his choice to designate a portion of his Bar Mitzvah gifts to ‘Jeremy’s Fund’, a new fund established through a generous donation by Jeremy’s parents, Jean and Todd Bettman, to provide financial assistance to Dayton families who might otherwise not be able to afford to send their children to Camp Livingston, the place that Jeremy describes as “my favorite activity for the past four years. I want to let other people enjoy camp long after my generation of campers.” He added, “being Jewish was important to me and my family, and it’s made me not only comfortable, but proud to say I’m Jewish.” “Those learning and fun and growth experiences are at the core of the Camp Livingston experience,” said Gretchen Meyer, President of the camp’s Board of Directors. “As a non profit resident camp since 1920, Camp Livingston, located in southeastern Indiana, has served the Jewish communities of Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington and cities across the United
States.” Although the Bettman family lives in Dayton, its connection to Camp Livingston and the Cincinnati Jewish community are long and deep. “My parents, Joe and Elaine Kruke Bettman were native Cincinnatians; my grandmother was an early Camp Livingston registrar, and, my Grandfather, Sam Kruke was the longtime JCC athletic and health club director,” said Todd. Many decades ago, the Mayerson JCC welcomed the family’s establishment of the Lt. Marcus and Lt. Paul Kruke Sportsmanship Award, named for two close family members who gave their all for our country, after having been very active in the community sports scene. In addition to this family history, Jeremy’s father, Todd, was a counselor at the camp from 1982-1985, as were his two brothers. “Like mine before him,” continued Todd, “Jeremy’s camp experience has had a profound effect on his Jewish identity, as well as his self-awareness and selfconfidence. Because Jean and I know we are blessed to be able to afford this experience for Jeremy, we want to do what we can so that other families in our community can also have this incredible life-enriching Jewish camping experience.”
Hebrew Class For Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced Begins Thursday, October 3
• OPEN HOUSE • to meet the teacher and fellow students on Thurs. Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Rockwern immediately before class. If you cannot attend the open house please contact Mrs. Rendler. at Rockwern Academy 8401 Montgomery Rd. • Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 For beginners to intermediate levels. Anyone who would like to learn to speak Hebrew. The class instructor is Mrs. Rendler. Beginner class from 7-8 p.m. Intermediate/Advanced class from 8-9 p.m. For more information contact Mrs. Rendler at zrendler@fuse.net or publisher@americanisraelite.com or call 513-721-2220
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Initial reluctance gone, AIPAC makes big push on Syria response By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – ProIsrael officials rolled their eyes this week in response to the opposing spins about their support for President Obama’s drive to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad for his purported use of chemical weapons against his own people. Some suggested that once again, the tail was wagging the dog and Israel was leading the United States into another Middle East war. Others charged that the president’s armtwisting was forcing the pro-Israel community to take sides in a congressional debate it would rather avoid. Whatever the truth, Obama’s concerns about letting the alleged Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack go unpunished dovetailed with broader pro-Israel concerns about maintaining U.S. credibility in the region and the dangers of unconventional weapons. “A lot of folks are watching, friends and foes,” said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee. “If we blink, if we flinch, foes will draw their own lessons and the world will become a more dangerous place. “And friends are also watching, including friends in the Arab world, friends in Israel, elsewhere. They will draw their conclusions, fairly or unfairly, that they cannot necessarily
rely on the United States.” Jewish groups were hesitant initially to support Obama’s push to strike following an attack that is said to have killed more than 1,400 Syrian civilians, including several hundred children. But the reluctance all but evaporated after top Obama advisers outlined the administration’s proposed legislation in a conference call last week with Jewish leaders. The next day, Sept. 3, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee mobilized its grassroots to call members of Congress. On Tuesday, 250 of its top members held one-on-one meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The lobby’s talking points, as outlined by an AIPAC official who spoke anonymously, are twofold. “One, there is a very strong strategic case: If we are to deter Iran from obtaining an unconventional weapon, we must stop its proxy Syria from using them without consequence,” the official said. “Then there is the moral case: Barbarism on a mass scale must not be given a free pass. We have sent the photos and videos of hundreds of children being stricken, and it is imperative America must act.” Despite the forcefulness of AIPAC’s push and the lobby’s vaunted clout on Capitol Hill, Obama faces an uphill battle in gaining support from Congress for a strike. In the U.S.
Courtesy of Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Protestors rally Sept. 9 on Capitol Hill in support of possible U.S. military action in Syria.
House of Representatives, sentiment leans against authorizing a strike. The Senate appears to be split evenly. The nod from AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups could help shift the balance – in part because lawmakers tend to defer to groups considered expert on a given topic, but also because of the fundraising prowess associated with the pro-Israel community. AIPAC’s support is joined by other leading American Jewish groups, including the AntiDefamation League, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish
Jewish groups aiding Syrian refugees–sort of By Uriel Heilman NEW YORK (JTA) – When Georgette Bennett decided a few months ago to help refugees from Syria’s civil war, she wanted to do it in a Jewish way. Citing a passage from Leviticus she said her late husband often quoted, “Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor,” Bennett met with the CEO of a major Jewish aid group and quickly got him to agree to head a Jewish effort for the refugees. Bennett, a former professor, journalist and philanthropist, supplied the first $100,000. The CEO, Alan Gill of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, got more than a dozen Jewish groups to sign on to the campaign, dubbed the Jewish Coalition for Syrian Refugees in Jordan. So far, more than $344,000 has been collected, most of it allocated to groups working with refugees in Jordan. But though they constitute some of the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish organizations, most of the 16 groups in the coalition have done little to help the cause. They have not used the mechanisms they usually employ to rally Jewish support or raise money – mass emails and press releases, to name just a couple – even as many
Courtesy of IsraAid
Syrian refugees living in camps and tents in northern Jordan are receiving aid from Jewish and Israeli groups.
of them have posted conspicuous “calls to action” to rally support for a U.S. military strike against the Assad regime. Only three have posted prominent appeals on their websites. And only one, the JDC, has contributed any money of its own – $50,000, according to a spokesman. The biggest contributor so far has been Bennett herself, who has now put in a total of $150,000. “I found myself very much called by the Jewish imperative that commands us to act in the face of
human suffering,” said Bennett, president of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, which she founded two decades ago in memory of her husband. “What makes it near to my heart is I was a refugee. I come from a refugee family. I’m a child of Holocaust survivors. And I can’t help but relate to the plight of these refugees.” Jewish groups are not working with Syrian refugees directly – that’s being left to local partners on the ground, many of which asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of their work and the Jewish source of the money. In a separate effort, the Israeli group IsraAid has been providing mattresses and food-and-hygiene packages to refugee families in urban areas in northern Jordan for the last year. As with the coalition’s effort, IsraAid is working with locals, but Israeli staffers have been traveling to Jordan every few weeks to coordinate the effort. “We do distributions in concert with local partners – they know we come from Israel,” Shachar Zahavi, the group’s director, told JTA. “Most often they’re surprised, but there is thanks. We have not encountered any hostility. Everybody’s been wonderful. We’re not representaREFUGEES on page 20
Council for Public Affairs. Notably, both partisan Jewish organizations – the Republican Jewish Coalition and the National Jewish Democratic Council – are backing Obama. Despite the community’s caution to have the president lead lest it be blamed for another Middle East war, commentators already are fingering Israel as the catalyst for American military action. “AIPAC wants this war” was the headline over a string of posts by Andrew Sullivan on his influential Daily Dish blog over the weekend. And the conservative Jewish radio personality Michael Savage blamed
Israel outright on his syndicated talk show. “I’m sick of this slavish worship of Israel,” Savage said, according to the conservative website Newsmax. “No, it’s America first and Israel’s the tail, not the dog. We’re the dog, they’re the tail. And I’m sick and tired of America being yanked around like we’re the tail and they’re the dog.” Until recently, Israel had maintained a careful distance from pronouncing on the Syrian civil war, except to note that it would respond to any attack on Israel – by the government or the rebels. But The New York Times reported Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reaching out personally to some congressional leaders at Obama’s urging. Neither the Israeli embassy nor U.S. congressional leaders would confirm the Times report. But in the wake of the chemical attack, Israel has grown more vocal in supporting a response that would degrade Assad’s unconventional weapons capability. “Israel agrees with President Obama that the use of chemical weapons is a ‘heinous act’ for which the Assad regime must be held accountable and for which there must be ‘international consequences,’ “ Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren, wrote last week on a Facebook message.
Nate Freiman’s big year: Slugging for Israel to chasing a pennant in the big leagues By Hillel Kuttler BALTIMORE (JTA) – Last September, first baseman Nate Freiman was doing his best to help Israel secure a spot in the World Baseball Classic. Despite some super hitting from the towering slugger, the team fell short. Fast forward a year. Freiman, 25, now finds himself in another playoff chase. Only this time it’s as a rookie in the big leagues, splitting time at first base for the Oakland Athletics. Playing for the A’s has been “an amazing experience,” Freiman said in a locker room interview before a recent game here against the Baltimore Orioles with possible playoff implications. “The level of play is extraordinary, and I’m doing as much work as I can to compete and help the team.” Whether playing for Israel or Oakland, Freiman is described as a level-headed hard worker who manages to keep a low profile – despite being 6-foot-8. Pitcher Alon Leichman, who played with Freiman on the Israeli squad, called him a “quiet giant” seemingly oblivious to the pressure of the moment. Those traits came
Courtesy of Hillel Kuttler
Nate Freiman, a rookie first baseman for the Oakland Athletics, is trying to help his team make the playoffs.
through last September when Freiman slammed two home runs in a win over South Africa. It was all in a day’s work for the first baseman, who retreated to his locker after the game and read a book. “It’s not like he got fazed by anything,” said Leichman, one of two FRIEMAN on page 22
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
New hope for struggling Jewish day schools: Non-Jews By Uriel Heilman Contributing Columnist AKRON, Ohio (JTA) – During a High Holidays discussion about repentance in Sarah Greenblatt’s Jewish values class, not all the students are listening. One girl stares out the window at the azure sky. Another sits in the back doodling. But a boy in the front row wearing a creased black skullcap sits transfixed, notebook open, pencil poised. Why is reflection and repentance so important around Rosh Hashanah? Greenblatt asks. The boy’s hand shoots up. “The Torah, and also the Bible, tells us how to live right, how to get right and how to stay right,” he says. This might be a typical scene in any Jewish day school except for one thing: The boy isn’t Jewish. Fifth-grader Seth Pope is one of 58 non-Jewish students at the Lippman School, Akron’s only Jewish day school. Four years ago, the school – then known as the Jerome Lippman Jewish Community Day School – was teetering. Enrollment had tumbled to 63 students, 33 of them Jews, and it was unclear whether the school could survive in this Rust Belt city 40 miles south of Cleveland. Like a number of day schools in Jewish communities with dwindling populations, Lippman for years had been accepting a few non-Jewish students, but without any modifications to the Jewish-focused curriculum. With the 46-year-old school at a crisis point, however, board mem-
bers decided some fundamental changes were necessary. They changed the school's name, began marketing to non-Jews, and created a dual-track curriculum that offered a choice between Judaic studies and global studies. The school quickly saw positive returns. Enrollment climbed, and not just among non-Jews. This year, the school has 101 students; 43 are Jewish. “The fear was Jewish families would not want to participate,” said Sam Chestnut, head of the school. “In fact, we’ve seen the opposite.” Lippman is one of more than a dozen Jewish day schools in North America that accept students from non-Jewish families. In many cases, their presence is relatively small, at 5 or 10 percent, but at some schools non-Jews comprise 50 percent or more of students. For struggling schools, the issue often is survival. Non-Jewish students can be a lifeline, bringing in much-needed cash and helping schools with shrinking enrollment achieve critical mass. In other cases, schools accept non-Jews as a matter of principle. “The move toward more schools opening up in this way has been driven by the pragmatics of declining Jewish demographics in certain cities,” said Marc Kramer, executive director of Ravsak, a networking organization for 130 Jewish community day schools. Kramer said there has been a recent uptick in the number of nondenominational Jewish day schools that accept non-Jews. In a recent survey of 50 Ravsak schools, 18 reported accepting non-Jewish students.
Seth Pope is a fifth-grader at the Lippman School in Akron,
At Arizona’s Tucson Hebrew Academy, head of school Arthur Yavelberg says the 20 non-Jews among the school’s 164 students have boosted his school’s viability. “Between the money they bring in and accessing scholarship services, you’re talking about $200,000plus per year,” Yavelberg said. “A lot of families are concerned about social interactions as their kids get into adolescence, so the sheer numbers [of non-Jewish students] can make the school more attractive to Jewish families because they know there’s a larger social circle available.” In New Orleans, the local Jewish day school’s decision four years ago to market to non-Jews had the opposite result: The number of Jewish students plunged to 15 from about 50. Only 29 students overall remain. “There are going to be some hard decisions that the board is going to have to make to make,” said Deb Marsh, director of admissions at the school, which a year ago changed its name from the New Orleans Jewish Day School to Community Day School. “Is the Jewish day school a viable longterm school?” The success of opening a school to non-Jewish enrollment often hinges on proportion. A small percentage of non-Jewish students can help stabilize a struggling school. But if a certain threshold is passed, the non-Jewish presence can alter a school’s culture. “At what point does a notable presence of gentile children dissuade Jewish families from sending their HOPE on page 21
Dialing the dead: Rebecca Rosen is psychic to the stars By Talia Lavin (JTA) – Many Jews feel a connection with their ancestors, but how many have regular conversations with them? Rebecca Rosen, a 36-year-old mother of two, is one who does. Rosen lists her profession as “psychic medium,” and her specialty is communing with the dead, acting as “the bridge between the spiritual and the physical world.” Rosen is a far cry from most psychics, with their store-front tables, tarot cards and crystal balls. She has appeared on “Dr. Phil” and “The Rachael Ray Show” and writes a monthly column on Oprah’s website. Clients pay $1,000 an hour for Rosen to channel the spirits of loved ones from the great beyond, a rate that presumably includes the 30 minutes of meditation she undertakes first to ensure she and the spirits
Courtesy of Carl Studna
Rebecca Rosen believes everyone has the power to hear from spirits and guides.
are “vibrating on the same frequency.” Rosen says she has a nearly eight-year waiting list for her services. But those who need more immediate assistance can check out her second book,
“Awaken the Spirit Within,” which she’s currently promoting on tour. Unlike most book tours, however, each event also contains an “audience reading” in which Rosen detects the spiritual energies she perceives around her listeners. “We all have the ability to hear from our spirits and guides,” Rosen told JTA. “But because it sounds like something in your own mind, it can be hard to differentiate.” Rosen, who was raised a Conservative Jew in Omaha, first discovered her spiritual powers during a period of depression as a student at the University of Florida. “My parents were divorcing, and I was stuffing my feelings with food,” Rosen said. “That was my drug of choice. I was compulsively eating in my sleep.” DIALING on page 22
Ohio, which began admitting non-Jewish students in response to declining enrollment.
Courtesy of Uriel Heilman
8 • NATIONAL
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Jewish Foundation for Culture to shutter next year By Ezra Glinter NEW YORK (JTA / Forward) – Does Jewish culture need a central address in order to thrive? Not according to the people who work there. The Foundation for Jewish Culture, a New York-based organization that has given more than $50 million to Jewish scholars and artists since 1960, will cease its operations in the coming year. According to the FJC’s president and CEO, Elise Bernhardt, the organization will wind down its activities in 2014, work with attorneys to distribute its assets and seek new homes for its programs. “Our operating model isn’t really sustainable. We would rather see our programs grow and prosper, and they don’t need to be under our umbrella in order to do that,” Bernhardt said. “Our object is to find organizations that are mission appropriate and that will be able to help them.” Founded as a response to the destruction of European Jewish culture during the Holocaust, the FJC has gained attention in recent years for such programs as the Six Points Fellowship, a program for
National Briefs NCJW official arrested at immigration reform sit-in WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Washington director of the National Council of Jewish Women was among those arrested during an immigration reform sitin at the U.S. Capitol. Sammie Moshenberg represented NCJW and the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, an alliance of 26 domestic policy groups, at the sit-in Sept. 12 by more than 100 women. Separately, more than 1,200 rabbis from across the denominational spectrum wrote Sept. 12 to every member of Congress urging immigration reform. Thousands of kapparot chickens die in New York heat NEW YORK (JTA) – Thousands of chickens designated for the pre-Yom Kippur kapparot ritual died in New York due to unseasonable heat. An estimated 2,000 chickens died in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park on Wednesday, when temperatures climbed into the mid-90s, the New York Daily News reported.
Jewish artists that closed its New York branch in May; the Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film and the American Academy in Jerusalem, which began in 2011. Projects supported by the FJC include the Oscar-nominated film “Waltz With Bashir” and the film “The Law in These Parts,” which won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in Documentary at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. While the FJC is financially healthy – according to 2011 tax filings, it has net assets of more than $4.2 million – it has struggled to support its operating costs in the face of decreased funding. Since 2007, grants from the National Federation/Agency Alliance, a coalition of 28 Jewish federations, have decreased to $179,760 from $625,889. Currently the FJC has six full-time employees, down from 10 at the beginning of 2013. Joe Berkofsky, a spokesman for the Jewish Federations of North America, said that the change represents an overall decrease in the funding pool, as well as a renewed focus on organizations serving Jewish families that have young children and support Jewish education.
U.S. authorities issue Sukkot advisories WASHINGTON (JTA) – U.S. authorities released travel guidelines for Sukkot. “TSA’s screening procedures do not prohibit the carrying of the four plants used during Sukkot – a palm branch, myrtle twigs, willow twigs, and a citron – in airports, through security checkpoints, or on airplanes,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement, noting the dates of this year’s Sukkot holiday, Sept. 18 to 25. The TSA notice said, however, that all passengers undergo security screening at checkpoints. Jewish Federations gives to Colo. flood victims, opens online fund WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Jewish Federations of North America provided $50,000 in emergency aid to help Colorado flooding victims and opened an online donation fund. Jewish federations across North America are working with the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, which is taking the lead in assessing needs and distributing funds and supplies. Boulder-area synagogues suffer flood damage (JTA) – Several Boulder-area synagogues held Yom Kippur
“Jewish arts and culture might fit into those strategic areas, but there are shifting priorities,” Berkofsky said. “The agency is really evaluating organizations and allocating based on their alignment with strategic directions.” Rather than struggle to make up the difference, the board of the FJC decided that its programs would be better served in different institutional frameworks. According to Bernhardt and FJC board members, donor support for its programs remains strong, especially at the local level. “I think we’ve been very successful, encouraging lots of Jewish cultural enterprises all over the place. And it’s made it harder to raise money for a national Jewish organization,” Bernhardt said. “It just made a lot more sense in terms of how much we were able to spend on programs compared to how much we spend on making those programs happen,” FJC co-chair Allen Greenberg added. “It also makes sense leaving on a very high note.” FJC programs include the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Fund for Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships in Jewish Studies; the Jewish Studies Expansion
Program, which helps universities offer Jewish studies courses, and the New Jewish Culture Network, which commissions and tours music productions to cities around the United States. The latest project – “The Sarajevo Haggadah: Music of the Book,” by Bosnianborn accordionist Merima Kljuco – will go on the road in 2014. The American Academy in Jerusalem, which provides a 10-week fellowship for artists, architects and planners, will go ahead as planned this fall, and will possibly continue in coming years, though not under the auspices of the FJC. For artists who have received grants from FJC programs, the support has been crucial to their careers. “Support is the word, because they really believe in artists and respect artists,” said Alicia Svigals, a musician whose multimedia concert, “The Yellow Ticket,” was commissioned by the Foundation’s New Jewish Culture Network. “They were looking to support interesting projects that were great for Jewish arts.” “These are people who are incredibly passionate and energetic about supporting the arts and filmmakers at different stages of their careers,” added Jason Hutt,
whose FJC-supported film, “Sukkah City,” premieres in New York’s Union Square on September 22. “It’s very important in terms of recognition, knowing that you have the support of a major organization within the Jewish community.” As examples of a way forward for their programs, both Bernhardt and Greenberg point to organizations that were started by the FJC but have since become independent. These include the Association for Jewish Studies, founded in 1969, and the Council of American Jewish Museums, founded in 1977. Still, they acknowledge that disbanding the FJC will leave a void in the Jewish world. “The notion that artists are so central to who we are – I don’t know who’s going to make that their central argument,” Bernhardt said. “But there are people out there who understand that really good work can be part of the Jewish conversation. And that gives me hope.”
services despite continued rainfall and flooding that damaged some Jewish facilities. Some of the congregations rented facilities for the services because their buildings were too flood damaged. Members of congregations that were forced to cancel their services were welcomed at other services or were hosted at services in Denver, according to the Boulder Jewish News.
The state’s Department of Food and Agriculture on Friday shut down kapparot at the Ohel Moshe synagogue and the Beit Aaron outreach organization. They were accused of operating unlicensed slaughterhouses, according to reports. Animal rights activists had protested the act in the days before the closure orders.
and instead labeled all of the Jewish state’s territory as “Palestine.” Several students, following the usage of the map in Professor Ghassan Zakaria’s Arabic 101 class, sought out the assistance of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs following the appearance of the map.
CPA urges lawmakers to avoid government shutdown WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is circulating a letter on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to support a federal budget agreement and avoid a government shutdown. The two-page letter being circulated this week asks Congress to quickly approve a budget that would remove sequester cuts and restore funds to such safety net programs as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP; Women, Infants and Children, or WIC; Pell grants and Head Start, as well as all foreign aid, including money for Israel.
Protesters: ‘Close your wallets’ to NY Federation over funding of anti-Israel activity (JNS) – A group of between 50 and 75 protesters gathered outside the UJA-Federation of New York’s building on Thursday to burn their checks to UJA and to call on Jews to stop donating to the federation until it establishes new guidelines that prevent the funding of anti-Israel activity. JCC Watch, which partnered with Americans for a Safe Israel on the rally, previously staged protests outside the 92nd Street Y in New York over the Y’s invitation of anti-Israel celebrity speakers including Pink Floyd band member Roger Waters and author Alice Walker.
Calif. shuts down L.A. kapparot on eve of Yom Kippur (JTA) – California regulators ordered two Orthodox Jewish groups in Los Angeles to stop performing the Yom Kippur ritual kapparot.
San Diego State University class replaces map that labeled Israel as ‘Palestine’ (JNS) – San Diego State University (SDSU) agreed to replace a map from an Arabic language course that excluded Israel
This story originally appeared in the Forward newspaper. To read more, please go to their website.
D.C. Federation asked to end support for theater group due to ‘anti-Israel’ plays (JNS) – Robert Levi, chairman of the board of the National Council of Young Israel, has called on the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington to end its financial support for the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center’s Theater J, due to the theater group’s promotion of plays that “advance an anti-Israel point of view.” Theater J is scheduled to perform “The Admission” from March 20-April 27, 2014. The play is an Israeli homage to the popular Arthur Miller play “All My Sons.” Set in Haifa during the first intifada in the late 1980s, the play features an Israeli man engaged to a Palestinian girl. The man and his father confront wartime secrets and experiences, according to Theater J.
INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
Rabbi’s shooting shakes Russian community’s confidence in its future By Cnaan Liphshiz DERBENT, Russia (JTA) – Accustomed to the sound of gunfire at night, neighbors of Rabbi Ovadia Isakov were not particularly startled when a shot rang out on Pushkin Street on July 25. But unlike the volleys that partygoers often fire heavenward in this lawless corner of the Russian Caucasus, the shooters outside the
rabbi’s door had a terrestrial target. As Isakov walked from his car to his front door, a bullet struck his chest. Neighbors heard his cries and called emergency services. The next day, the rabbi was airlifted to Israel for surgery. Isakov, 40, is still recovering in Israel from his near-fatal injury. Meanwhile, Russian authorities continue to hunt for the Islamist separatists they believe attacked him as
part of their 13-year-long struggle to control the Russian republic of Dagestan, where about 2,000 Jews live among a predominantly Muslim population. Isakov says authorities have obtained a picture of one of the suspects and are “making serious efforts” to catch the culprits. But despite the government’s responRABBI on page 22
Courtesy of YouTube/Shneor Schiff
Rabbi Ovadia Isakov is recovering in an Israeli hospital after being shot outside his home in Derbent.
Syria chemical weapons deal brings Israelis short-term relief, long-term concern By Alex Traiman (JNS) – On the same day that the U.S. and Russia agreed to a deal stipulating that Syria must remove or destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by mid-2014, Israelis were happy to spend Saturday’s 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War in synagogue, and not on the battlefield or in safe rooms with gas masks. Yet Israelis’ long-term outlook on the situation in Syria isn’t as rosy. “Israelis are relieved in the shortterm but concerned in the longterm,” Mitchell Barak, an Israeli political pollster and director of Keevoon Research, told JNS. “Right now they don’t have to get their gas masks ready, and it
doesn’t look like there is going to be war in the region right now, but we still have a long-term problem,” he said. The long-term threat for Israel, according to Barak, is that Syria officially possesses chemical weapons. Syria in August deployed chemical weapons in a bloody, two-year civil war, but the fear is that those weapons could one day be turned on the Jewish state, either by the Syrian government or by other radical groups that may get their hands on them. “Syria has now admitted to having chemical weapons. Up until now, they were denying it. Now they’re admitting it. And that doesn’t sit well with Israelis,” Barak said. Syria’s usage and public admis-
sion of possessing chemical weapons has garnered newfound outrage from members of the international community, yet Israel has long been aware of sophisticated weapons movements and developments by its northern neighbor. Numerous experts have cited Syria as being a likely destination for Iraqi weaponry, evacuated prior to and during the Second Gulf War. Israel takes weapons movements in its neighborhood very seriously, considering any sophisticated weaponry in the region to be an existential threat. The Israeli government has admitted to launching a successful airstrike on a nuclear reactor in Syria in late 2007. More recently, Israel is believed to be behind an airstrike on
a convoy of anti-aircraft weapons moving from southern Syria toward Lebanon. “Israel has gone into Syria four times in the last few years to take out threats,” Barak said. As a result, many Israelis were welcoming the idea that the U.S. may have unilaterally succeeded in removing the Syrian weapons threat, while Israeli warplanes remained glued to their bases. On the other hand, many Israelis hold the oft-stated position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel can and must defend itself, by itself. The fear is that foreign military intervention can create region-wide instability and a potential host of worst-case scenarios, including a multi-front con-
frontation between Israel and several of its neighbors. “We can only rely on ourselves, but Israel has a problem going at it alone in certain instances, because there will similarly be repercussions toward Israel,” Barak said. While a U.S. strike on Syrian targets may have succeeded in eliminating the weapons cache, Israelis were bracing for the potential fallout. Both Syria and Iran insisted that any U.S. strike would result in punitive attacks on Israel. And Hezbollah, which had dispatched militants from Lebanon to fight against Syrian President Bashar alAssad, was likely to shift its attention back towards its favorite longtime target, Israel.
International Briefs
according to Ynet. The show’s producers in Israel were told of the decision over the weekend, the news site reported, citing an unnamed source.
ing the IOC presidency, he will quit several posts on Sept. 16 – including the presidency of Ghorfa, the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His announcement followed days of pressure from, among others, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee.
fer racist chants against others.”
has made it clear that to accomplish that, the threat of force remains.”
Syria transferred weapons to Hezbollah, Saudi paper reports JERUSALEM (JTA) – Syrian President Bashar Assad transported some of his country’s chemical weapons to the terrorist group Hezbollah, a Saudi newspaper reported. The daily Al-Watan, citing opposition leader Kamal al Labwani, reported Monday that the Syrian government hid some of its chemical weapons stockpile in trucks that transport vegetables. Some of the weapons also were smuggled to Russia, according to Labwani of the Syrian Coalition. ‘Homeland’ pulls out of filming in Israel, cites Syria JERUSALEM (JTA) – Parts of the third season of the television series “Homeland” will not be filmed in Israel as originally planned. The filming was switched to Morocco due to concerns over the uncertain situation in Syria,
Security camera may show Milan murder victim’s killer ROME (JTA) – Milan police reportedly have security camera images that apparently show the killer of an Iranian-Jewish businessman entering the victim’s carpet shop after hours. Parviz Gorjian, 79, was found dead on Thursday night in the shop in a pool of blood. The security camera images indicate that the suspected killer may have been there by appointment – Gorjian only met at his shop office with “known and select clientele,” the Milan Jewish community’s website reported. New IOC chief Thomas Bach says he’ll quit Israel boycott group (JTA) – Thomas Bach, the newly elected president of the International Olympic Committee, said he will resign from an Arab-German trade group that boycotts goods from Israel. Bach, a German lawyer, told the ZDF-Sportstudio TV program over the weekend that before tak-
Wiesenthal Center rips Argentina soccer squad with Jewish ties over slurs BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – The Simon Wiesenthal Center urged an Argentinian soccer association to sanction a team associated with the Jewish community for making racist chants. The center made its request in a letter late last week to the Argentine Football Association’s Disciplinary Court over chants by fans of the Atlanta Football Club in its Aug. 25 match against the Chacarita Juniors. Atlanta fans called Chacarita “Bolivians who belong in shantytowns, go back home.” “In the past we asked for sanctions for anti-Semitic chants that Atlanta fans received,” Sergio Widder, the Wiesenthal Center’s director, told JTA. “So now we cannot keep silent when they prof-
London soccer club’s fans use banned term ‘Yid’ at match (JTA) – Supporters of London’s Tottenham Hotspur team chanted “Yid Army,” a term banned by the governing body of English soccer, during a match on Yom Kippur. Spurs fans, who call themselves the Yid Army, also chanted “We’re Tottenham Hotspur, we’ll sing what we want” during the Premier League match against Norwich City on Saturday and applauded team stars with the chant “Yiddo.” Kerry, in Israel, says Syria weapons deal sets standard for Iran JERUSALEM (JTA) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Israel that the U.S.-Russia deal on the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons also will have an impact on Iran and the threat of force remains. Following a meeting Sunday in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kerry told reporters that the agreement “will only be as efficient as its implementation will be” and that “President Obama
Italy proceeds with masterpiece loan to Israel ROME (JTA) – Italy has gone ahead with the loan of a 15th century masterpiece by Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli to Israel that had been held up over the uncertain situation in Syria. The fresco was shipped to Israel under armed guard and will go on show at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on Tuesday as originally scheduled, officials said. Stick to Israeli settlement guidelines, ex-European leaders urge EU JERUSALEM (JTA) – Former European officials and heads of state called on the European Union not to relax new guidelines on Israeli settlements. Fifteen members of the European Eminent Persons Group sent a letter Monday to EU foreign ministers urging them to keep in place the guidelines, which make Israeli entities and activities in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights ineligible for EU grants and prizes.
10 • ISRAEL
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Oslo Accords debated, rather than celebrated, on 20th anniversary By Alex Traiman (JNS) – Twenty years after the signing of the fateful Oslo Accords between Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, Knesset members are heavily debating the merits of the peace process and the two-state solution paradigm. Parliamentarians from both Israel’s left and right agree that the process has not yielded the results anyone would have hoped for, including the deaths of more than
1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians, and agree that the Israelis and Palestinians are more skeptical than ever about the prospects for a negotiated settlement. Where Knesset members disagree is on whether the process was flawed from the outset, and on whether the principles that led to the signing of the interim peace agreement should still be applied. Consequently, the 20-year anniversary of the Oslo Accords – signed Sept. 13, 1993 – is not a celebration of the agreement’s outcome, but
rather a debate on its merits. “The main lesson is that the paradigm of the left, that land for peace will bring security to the region has failed, and this is the time to think clearly that we should not endorse a Palestinian state,” Member of Knesset and Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) told JNS. Member of Knesset Hilik (Yehiel) Bar, Secretary General of the Labor Party and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, said to think about
Courtesy of Flash90
Paramedics and police at the scene of a Palestinian suicide bombing, killing 19 and injuring 74, on a bus in Jerusalem on June 18, 2002.
OSLO ACCORDS on page 21
Two decades after Oslo Accords, Arava Institute seeks conservation over conflict By Robert Gluck
Courtesy of Arava Institute
Students from the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, situated in the heart of Israel’s Arava desert, at a stream.
Israel Briefs Report: Israel stopped producing nukes in 2004 (JTA) – Israel stopped producing nuclear warheads nine years ago when it reached a stockpile of 80, according to a new report. According to the SeptemberOctober issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which was released over the weekend, some 125,000 nuclear warheads have been built since 1945 – approximately 97 percent by the United States, the Soviet Union and Russia. Hundreds injured, fainted over Yom Kippur JERUSALEM (JTA) – More than 200 Israeli children were injured in bicycle-related accidents in Israel on Yom Kippur. With few if any cars on Israeli roads, Yom Kippur is a popular day for bicycling in the street. In addition, 130 people who fainted in synagogue were tended to by teams from the Magen David Adom. Some 145 women
(JNS) – Sept. 13 marked the 20th anniversary of the Oslo Accords, and Middle East peace remains elusive. But rather than focusing on the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) aims to train a new generation of environmental leaders and professionals to transform the Middle East from a conflict zone into a region of conciliation and sustainability. Located on Kibbutz Ketura near Eilat, in the heart of Israel’s Arava desert, the research and education institute offers academic programs who went into labor also were taken to the hospital in ambulances on Yom Kippur. Magen David Adom was called out for 2,566 medical incidents and took 1, 973 people to the hospital, a 9 percent rise over last year. Jewish cult leader convicted for rape, torture in Jerusalem (JTA) – A Jerusalem resident running a religious cult was convicted of rape, sodomy and physical abuse of his six wives. The 58-year-old defendant, who was convicted on Tuesday, was not identified. From 2000 to 2009, he lived in a house in Jerusalem with his wives, supporting himself by sending them out to beg, Haaretz reported. The women have given birth to 17 of his children since 1980. A minor earthquake rocked Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. JERUSALEM (JTA) – The temblor measured 3.5 on the Richter scale and was felt in Jerusalem and on the northern edge of the Dead Sea on Thursday morning, according to the Geophysical
(accredited by Ben-Gurion University) on cross-border environmental issues for undergraduate and graduate students from various backgrounds, including Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Americans, and others. “A justifiable concern for security and political justice overshadows long-term concerns for sustainable natural resource management and nature conservation,” David Lehrer, the executive director of AIES, tells JNS. “When you are concerned about your immediate future or if your current situation is intolerable, it is impossible to worry about conserving resources for the next generation. If left unaddressed, this
conundrum will lead to an everincreasing degradation of the very land that both sides are fighting over.” Ongoing AIES projects include the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, which works on developing crops and plants appropriate for arid lands suffering from desertification, limited water resources, and saline soil; the Long-Term Sociological and Ecological Research Platform, which partners with Jordanian researchers to study the Arava Valley, a shared desert eco-system between Israel and Jordan; the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, part of a renewable energy effort by
the residents of the Hevel Eilot region in the southern Arava Valley; and the Arava Center for Sustainable Development, which enables rural societies in the developing world to benefit from knowledge and technology developed in the Arava region. More than 75 percent of AIES students remain involved in environmental causes as professionals and lay leaders after graduation. Alumni projects – facilitated by an alumni network – include the implementation of sustainable energy and water purification techniques in off-grid communities in the Negev, the West
Institute of Israel. The epicenter of the quake was located north of the Dead Sea. It also was felt in some areas of central Israel.
JERUSALEM (JTA) – The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office is denying a report that Benjamin Netanyahu urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to talk to Russia about a deal to destroy Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons. The Wall Street Journal, citing American and Middle Eastern officials briefed on the exchange, reported Monday that Netanyahu and Kerry spoke about the issue on Sept. 11. During the conversation, according to the newspaper, Netanyahu said he believed Russia wasn’t bluffing about striking a deal on international inspection of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. On Monday, an official from the Prime Minister's Office told JTA the report was inaccurate.
the Knesset Interior Committee, Miri Regev, intervened on behalf of the couple, the ministry recognized both men as the child’s biological parents.
Peres to honor Spielberg, Wiesel with medal JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli President Shimon Peres will award his Presidential Medal of Distinction to Steven Spielberg, Elie Wiesel and five other recipients. The awards were announced Thursday with a statement from Peres’ office. Palestinians attack Jewish worshippers at Joseph’s Tomb JERUSALEM (JTA) – Palestinians threw rocks at Jewish worshippers and Israeli security forces at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus. A Palestinian man who opened fire at Israeli forces during the incident on Thursday morning was seriously injured after being shot by soldiers. Other Palestinians threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers. Netanyahu denies urging Kerry to reach deal on Syria
Transgender Israeli mother recognized as ‘father’ JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel’s Interior Ministry for the first time has recognized two biological fathers of the same baby. The baby was born to Yuval Topper-Erez, the first Israeli transgender man to get pregnant, and Matan Topper-Erez in December 2011. After Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar and the chairman of
TWO DECADES on page 19
Israeli Supreme Court voids law on holding illegal migrants JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel’s Supreme Court struck down an amendment to a law allowing the state to hold illegal migrants for up to three years without trial. In an unanimous vote, the nine justices on Monday deemed that the amendment to the Law for Prevention of Infiltration, which went into effect in June 2012, was unconstitutional. They also ruled that it violates the right to liberty. Obama’s handling of Syria means he won’t successfully deal with Iran, Israelis say in poll (JNS) In a new Israel Hayom poll, a majority of Israeli Jews – 66.7 percent – characterized U.S. President Barack Obama’s handling of the Syria crisis as “not successful.” Meanwhile, 65.3 percent said that given Obama’s conduct regarding Syria, he would not be able to successfully deal with the Iran nuclear program.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
ACCESS – JYP POOL PARTY Temperatures might have hit the high 90s this summer, but nearly 70 young professionals played it cool by the pool when YPs at the JCC hosted a Pool Party in July for the 21-35 year old set, featuring a burrito bar, ice cream, beer and other beverages. YPs at the JCC is a partnership between Access, an initiative of the Mayerson Foundation and the Mayerson JCC that offers social programs, special events, group exercise classes and more for young professionals, ages 21-35. For information about this program, please contact Access’ Briana Landesberg whose contact information is located in the in the community directory section of this issue. Photos continued on Page 12
SOCIAL LIFE • 11
12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE
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JCC POOL PARTY Continued from Page 11
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19,
CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13
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14 • DINING OUT
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Affection for place, tradition, cuisine attract me to Mecklenburg Gardens By Bob Wilhelmy Dining Editor When I was a sprout, a wee seven or eight years old, eating out was among the rarest of rare occasions for me. One summer night back then, my parents took me to Mecklenburg Gardens. We sat and ate beneath the arbor alive with grape leaves—an experience I remember to this day. Perhaps that is why Mecklenburg Gardens seems such a special place for me all these decades later. But there is more to the romance. Part of the attraction is the quiet but obvious affection owner Tom Harten has for his restaurant. His is a family business. If you know Tom, you know he is all in where Mecklenburg Gardens is concerned. He loves the place and he loves the heritage of German food and beer and customs he helps maintain in this city so ancestrally Teutonic. How can a person who regularly visits the restaurant scene not be favorably disposed toward Mecklenburg Gardens, based on Tom’s sincere commitment factor alone? Another part of my personal attraction to Mecklenburg Gardens is the food. I’m German by ethnicity, mostly. So I assume my DNA simply gravitates toward schnitzels and sauerbratens and strudels and wursts. I love to eat those dishes. To be fair, I love to eat, period. But the German dishes at Mecklenburg Gardens are good, wholesome, hearty offerings. With a cold beer, on a late summer evening, under the grape leaves of the arbor, it’s hard to beat a meal in Tom’s restaurant. With Oktoberfest downtown this very weekend, we all have a great chance to sample lots of the good German fare offered by Mecklenburg Gardens. Tom’s booth (#314) will be between Walnut and Main on the south side of 5th Street, facing Government Square. There will be fried pickles, sauerkraut balls, sausage samplers, brat and mettwurst sandwiches on buns slathered with tangy German mustard, a veggie German eggroll, and maybe a Bavarian crème puff or two for that sweet tooth. Pair some of those up with a crisp, cold brew, and that’s a delicious combo. But this time of year is wonderful at the restaurant as well. Nothing like the garden in the early evening, or even inside at the bar or in the dining room, having a weiner schnitzel, crisply fried, with German fried potatoes and red cabbage. Or you may wish to try two new schnitzel
The outdoor signage seen from across Highland Avenue in University Heights.
The outside dining area under the grape-vined arbor
favorites of mine: the eggplant, featuring breaded slices of eggplant with spaetzle and red cabbage, served with lemon-caperartichoke butter; or the paprika chicken, a breaded breast with roasted red pepper-tomato sauce, also served with spaetzle. Some house specials that rank well above run-of-the-mill restaurant fare are: the goulash, a Hungarian beef stew, loaded with root vegetables, and served over spaetzle; the aforementioned sauerbraten, which is a long-mar-
inated eye of round beef, sliced, with the classic gingersnap sauce, served with potato salad and red cabbage; and a bit more Nordic, the crispy fried whitefish, served with German fried potatoes and tartar sauce. Floor Manager Chris Koucky spoke about the special beers that will be on tap for the Oktoberfest season: “We’ll have the Spaten Oktoberfest, and Bell’s along with Paulaner Oktoberfest. They’re all good, especially at this time of year.” One other
Chris Koucky, floor manager, drawing a beer from one of the 16 draft taps available at Mecklenburg Gardens
favorite he mentioned that is on my ‘try’ list is the Kostritzer Schwarzbier, a German dark beer with a mild profile. Remember also that during UC football and basketball season, Mecklenburg Gardens runs a shuttle between the restaurant and UC, taking fans to the home games. Typically, we make a day of it, having a meal at the restaurant before or after the game, and a beer on the shuttle over to the game. What a way to enjoy this
“Oktoberfest” time of year! See you at Mecklenburg Gardens. Go Bearcats! Mecklenburg Gardens 302 E. University Avenue Clifton 221 – 5353
DINING OUT • 15
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
RESTAURANT DIRECTORY 20 Brix
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Parkers Blue Ash Tavern
101 Main St
4764 Cornell Rd.
4200 Cooper Rd
Historic Milford
489-4777
Blue Ash
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16 • OPINION
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In navigating Kotel conflict, be mindful of ancient etrog riot By Moshe Simon-Shoshan JERUSALEM (JTA) – The scene is familiar to us all. Women of the Wall come to the Kotel to worship in the shadow of the Temple Mount. Haredi Orthodox worshippers respond by disrupting their prayers, sometimes pelting them with eggs and other objects. Underlying these clashes are distinctly modern issues – the conflict between liberal and traditionalist Jewish movements and the proper place of religion in the Jewish state, among others. But the controversy surrounding women’s prayer at the Western Wall hearkens back to events that occurred but a few yards away some two millennia ago. The Mishnah (Sukkah 4:9) relates: “On a certain occasion, [a certain priest] poured out the water over his feet and all the people pelted him with their etrogs.” The traditional interpretation of this passage explains that the priest in question was a heretic who rejected the Oral Law. As such, he was opposed to the ritual of the water libation, which has no source in the written Torah. Spilling water on his feet was an act of contempt for the received Jewish practice, and the people, incited by what they saw as a sacrilegious act, assaulted him with their etrogs, the citrus fruit used on the festival of Sukkot. Understood this way, one might describe the Mishnah’s brief account as the “ultra-Orthodox” perspective. In this view, the priest not only rejected but mocked the divine command, and the people’s actions were not just understandable but perhaps even warranted. But there’s another version of this story. The Talmud (Sukkah 48b) includes a description of the aftermath of the etrog uprising: “The horn of the altar became damaged and the Temple service was halted until they brought a chunk of salt and put it there, so that the altar would not appear damaged. For an altar which lacks a horn or a base is invalid.” In their righteous rage, the people ended up damaging the sacred altar, leading to a temporary cessation of Temple rites. Attending priests quickly repaired the damage and restored the Temple service, but the scars remained visible to all: Crude pieces of salt replaced the regular polished stone of the altar. In the Talmud’s account, the priest is still a heretic who has committed a grievous sin. But this version is more nuanced than the Mishna. It shows us that the people’s assault on the priest, even if justified, came at a high price. Indeed, they too violated the sanctity of the Temple, perhaps even more than the priest. Though the rabbinic texts por-
tray the priest negatively, the priest himself certainly did not see himself as a heretic. The contemporary scholar Jeffrey Rubenstein has attempted to reconstruct the priest’s perspective on these events. He suggests that in spilling the water at his feet, the priest did not intend to mock the traditional Temple service. Rather, according to the teachings he had received, spilling the water was the correct way to perform the ritual. In this reading, the etrog throwers were seeking to impose their interpretation of Jewish tradition on the priest and delegitimize any other understanding of the proper way to conduct the service. The priest can now be viewed as a victim, if not a hero, and the people as the villains. Finally, Flavius Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, records a very different account of what is apparently the same incident. In his “Jewish Antiquities,” he relates that the priest was none other than King Alexander Jannueus, of the Hasmonean dynasty. In this version, the etrog riot was not a result of a theological dispute. Rather, it was a political protest expressing the people’s rejection of Alexander as their leader. This suggests a far more cynical understanding of events: The Temple is not a closed sacred space but a stage on which larger political conflicts are played out. How little has changed. The holiness of the Temple Mount and its environs continues to generate conflict and violence as well as inspiration and unity. Like the great etrog riot of ancient times, the story of Women of the Wall has been told from many perspectives. Some vindicate the haredi Orthodox and vilify the women, others do the opposite. Some see both sides as behaving disreputably, or see the whole matter as a political conflict masquerading as a religious dispute. Whatever the case, the similarities between these two conflicts, ancient and modern, should serve as a warning to us all. The rabbis teach that violent incidents at the Temple ultimately led to its destruction. In our own day, it is important to remember that no single story captures the full complexity of real-life events and that even the stories told by those whose practices and beliefs we reject can be as coherent and compelling as our own. Such awareness will not resolve these controversies, but they may help prevent them from consuming us. Moshe Simon-Shoshan teaches Judaic Studies at the Rothberg International School at The Hebrew University and is the author of “Stories of The Law: Narrative Discourse and the Construction of Authority in the Mishnah” (Oxford, 2012).
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, In the article about polio in Israel, in your Sept. 5 issue, an Israeli doctor discussed the pros and cons of the vaccines developed by Salk and later by Sabin. The doctor correctly noted that Salk was Jewish but neglected to
mention that Sabin, too, was Jewish. In addition, as Cincinnati’s Jewish newspaper, it would make sense to note that Sabin was a Cincinnatian. I was one of the children who lined up to receive the oral polio vaccine on a sugar cube back in the late 50s, and Amy Sabin was a
classmate of mine at Walnut Hills. Sincerely, Marion Hattenbach Bernstein San Antonio, Tex.
How Jewish education can make us the ‘Choosing People’ By Simon Klarfeld (JNS) – I'll never forget the words of my Hebrew school teacher: “While we may have once been the Chosen People, now we are the Choosing People.” This has been a guiding principle throughout all my years as an educator, one that has accompanied me from my tenure in the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1980s and early ‘90s right up until my present-day position as the director of America’s oldest Zionist youth movement, Young Judaea. This time of the year is all about evaluating ourselves as the “Choosing People.” What choices have I made this past year, and did those choices impact the world I live in positively or negatively? On a larger scale, the High Holy Days are not just about individual selfreckoning. As Jews, we must also ask ourselves what choices we’ve made as a community – in particular, what educational choices we have made and are offering to our community members. The sad fact is, when it comes to deciding the best way to impart Jewish values onto the next generation, the writing on the wall indicates that the choices we have made as a community have often been the wrong ones. Mass exoduses from Jewish institutions after the age of bar or bat mitzvah point to a disturbing issue – that far too many decide that their Jewish learning is done, complete, at least from the perspective of formal education. The question is why. Part of the answer has to do with the pedagogy behind many of our educational institutions. Too much of it is either spoon-fed or else with too much focus on handed-down Jewish practice like rituals. Too much emphasis is on the “what Jews do” instead of the “why Jews do.” As leadership trainer Simon Sinek points out: “Those who know their Why are the ones who lead. They are the ones who inspire.” Too often
throughout my career I have interviewed candidates for critically important educator positions, only to be met with blank faces when I ask them, “Why does being Jewish matter to the average American Jew anymore?” Ultimately, graduates of the American Jewish educational system come no closer to answering the question, why be Jewish? This is because Judaism is taught in a vacuum, where one’s Jewish identity is entirely separate from the rest of one’s identity. Instead, children should be inculcated with the ideas and knowledge that allow their Jewish identity to not only function in a wider environment, but also serve to enhance that environment. Our students should grow up believing that their Judaism has added value for the rest of their lives – not just until they’re done with their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The Jewish educational system today is in a state of, if not stagnation, one in serious need of invigoration. It isn’t enough to guilt-trip children into being “good Jewish kids,” they want to know why. Oversimplification just doesn’t cut it anymore. Children – and especially tweens and teens – have a more nuanced understanding of the world; for them, things aren’t as black and white as some educators might have you think. Children are far more ready to understand the grey areas than we give them credit for. For instance, we shouldn’t be afraid of introducing them to a discussion about God in a universe where bad things to happen to good people – to the God of the Book of Job and not only to the omnipotent, “long-white-beard” God of Genesis fame. We must inspire them to question, to think critically and most of all to know how engage in a conversation that started 3,000 years ago and will continue – with their voices as part of that conversation – for thousands more. Good education should be about teaching children how to have an active voice in
their own communities and the community at large. “Forming, norming, storming and performing” is a phrase we use in staff training coined to demonstrate the trajectory of the educational process. All too often, our formative years are hijacked by the educational system’s attempts to “normalize” us-usually resulting in a predictable outcome. But in experiential education – that is, all education that is non-formal – a stage called “Storming” happens and is often even encouraged somewhere along the line. Storming refers to the extraordinary events in a youth’s life that ultimately make the most impact and that lead to optimal “performing.” Sadly, many of today’s educators are afraid of the uncertainty of “storming” – seeing it as a rebellion or rejection of our community’s norms – and prefer instead to stick to a rigid curriculum. Rather, Storming should be seen as a great educational opportunity – as a challenge that we can engage with and bring our students into the process as full actors and not as passive recipients. After all, our very name as a people “Yisra-El” is “to struggle.” What an amazingly empowering message with lifelong resonance to teach our youth. In the arena of informal education (like summer camps and Israel trips), we often see the “Storming” phase unfold. This is because camp environments are more likely to be punctuated with life-changing moments that have a personal impact on the participant. For example, a camper with a Jewish mother and a Catholic father might have an epiphany about his Jewish identity through his first experience of Shabbat. I’ve often heard program alumni remark, “Oh, camp was where ‘I did Jewish.’” Whatever the case is, these transient experiences often play a far greater role in defining our children’s Jewish identity than 12 years in the Hebrew school. EDUCATION on page 22
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
Sedra of the Week
SHABBAT SHALOM: SUCCOT
“the difference between the human being and the animal is not at all, for everything is a breath.” by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin both of these visions are true; which one will emerge victorious in every single human being depends upon that human being himself. So it is with the succa. It appears to be a flimsy structure that hardly protects against oppressive heat and is not at all impervious to rains and winds. Nevertheless, when we bring into the succa the Special Guests (ushpizin), our patriarchs and matriarchs, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and King David, and when we decorate the succa with pictures of the Holy Temple and the High Priest at his sacred service, and when we sanctify the succa with blessings over the four species, kiddush wine, songs of praise and words of Torah which accompany our Succot meals, and most of all when we fill the succa with familial and universal love, we transform that flimsy structure into the rays of splendor of the eternal House of God which unites heaven and earth. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel
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LITTLE KNOWN CINCINNATI FACTS Where is the new JCGC cemetery and when will it be open? The new cemetery is located on Loveland-Miamiville Rd., in Loveland, about a mile from the Ward’s Corner exit on I – 275. The cemetery is in the very early stages of development planning and will not have grave sites available for sale for at least three years. This quiz provided by Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati.
T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: ZOS HABRACHA (DEVARIM 33,34) b.) Shmron c.) Gilaad
1. What is the city of dates? a.) Jericho b.) Hebron c.) Kadesh
4. Which land did Moshe pass away in? a.) Ammon b.) Emori c.) Moav
2. Where is the Negev? a.) Central Israel b.) Southern Israel c.) Sinai Desert
5. Why are all these places mentioned in the Parsha?
3. Which area in the north of Israel is mentioned? a.) Valley Jezreal Jordan River in the territory of the tribes of Reuven and Menashe, and half was west of the Jordan River. Ramban 4. C 34:6 He was buried near ÅgPeorÅh to atone for The Children of Israel who sinned
there. Rashi 5. So that Moshe could bless the land in this life time. Sforno
vidual worthy of being commanded by God and is therefore able to give his life ultimate and even transcendent meaning by dedicating himself to the performance of God’s commandments. Which is the correct interpretation, not only of Kohelet but also of life itself? I believe that the answer to our query will come from a critical verse describing the creation of the first human being, which occurred on Rosh Hashana: “And the Lord God formed the human being of dust from the earth and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the human being became a living creature.” In effect, that part of God within each of us is the breath of God which He exhaled. And when this verse of creation concludes with the words “and the human being became a living creature,” the officially accepted commentator Onkeles renders this to mean “a communicating spirit.” Such a translation implies that the ability of a human being to communicate, to expel breaths in conversation, may be a most exalted expression of the image of the Divine within each of us. The Ten Commandments created by Divine speech were far more powerful than the Egyptian pyramids. The Gettysburg address had a far greater affect than military weaponry. And so the hassidim have an amazing interpretation for the liturgical statement in our Ne’ila Prayer on Yom Kippur, “the difference between the human being and the animal is not at all, for everything is a breath.” The hassidim take the line as follows: the difference between the human being and the animal is infinite, ein sof, the infinite God whose Divine breath is within every human. After all, everything is within that breath. Apparently, there is room to view the human being as a broken shard, a passing dream, a fleeting breath; but at the same time we can see the human being as the carrier of the very breath and stuff of the Divine, who has the ability to transcend himself and his generation by means of the spoken and written word and who can influence God by his prayers and his actions. He is “only a little lower than God crowned with glory and majesty” (Psalms 8: 5-6). And the truth is,
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. A 34:3 2. B 34:3 The Negev also refers to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Rashi 3. C 34:1 Half of the Gilaad was east of the
EFRAT, Israel – “You shall dwell in booths for seven days… So that your generations will know that I caused the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt…” (Leviticus 23:42-43). Why do we sit in the succa for seven days? This question is most significant because of the introductory verse, “so that your generations may know.” Although Maimonides rules that the reason for a commandment does not necessarily have to be understood in order for it to be fulfilled, many important religious personalities (like Reb Haim of Brisk) maintain that knowing the proper reason for the commandment of succa is mandated by the words of this verse. Of course, what makes this problematic is that there is a difference of opinion among our Sages as to what the succa symbolizes: Does the succa remind us of the simple desert huts within which the Hebrews lived during their various desert encampments, primitive dwelling places that did not always protect from the torrid heat by day and the freezing cold by night? Or rather, is the succa a symbol of the clouds of glory, the rays of splendor by which the Divine Presence encompassed the Hebrew nomads, a foretaste of the Holy Temple that would eventually connect heaven and earth (See Talmud Succa 11b)? In a similar fashion, Ecclesiastes 1:2 seems to have two different visions of life, one of which is epitomized by the opening verse, “A breath of breaths, says Kohelet, a breath of breaths, everything is a breath,” versus “The end of the issue, everything having been heard: fear the Lord and observe His commandments for that is the whole of the human being” (12:13). The key word in the opening verse is “breath” – hevel in Hebrew. “Hevel,” which literally means a breath and generally refers to the oxygen vapor that emerges from an individual’s mouth on a cold day, is very much devoid of substance and disappears almost as quickly as it comes. It seems to represent the emptiness and flimsiness of human existence. Indeed, many English translations render the Hebrew “hevel” as “futility” or “vanity.” The concluding verse, on the other hand, seems to view the human being as an indi-
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist Emmy Time The Primetime Emmy Awards will be shown live on CBS on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 8PM. Here are “confirmed” Jewish nominees in the “marquee” categories. ACTING: LENA DUNHAM, 27, lead actress, comedy series (“Girls”). Dunham is also “up” for a directing Emmy – and for an Emmy as the producer/creator of “Girls” (best comedy series); MAYIM BIALIK, 37, supporting actress, comedy series (“Big Bang Theory”); MANDY PATINKIN, 60, supporting actor, drama series (“Homeland”); MICHAEL DOUGLAS, 68, lead actor, miniseries/movie (“Behind the Candelabra”); DAN BUCATINSKY, 47, outstanding guest star, drama series (“Scandal”). WRITING: PAMELA ADLON, 47, and Louis C.K. (who has one Jewish grandfather), the co-stars of “Louie”, vie for the comedy series (“named” episode) writing award with DAVID CRANE, 56 (“Episodes”); competing for the Emmy for best script, mini-series/movie are: DAVID MAMET, 65 (“Phil Spector”) and TOM STOPPARD, 76 (“Parade’s End”). Mamet is also up for a directing Emmy for “Spector”; and DAVID BENIOFF, 42, is nominated for penning a ‘named’ episode of the drama series “Games of Thrones”. Note: all the shows up for best writing in the “Variety, Music, or Comedy series” category, like “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report,” have some Jewish writers – like JON STEWART, 50, himself. Best show/movie awards go to the show’s producers. What follows are the “best of” created by a tribe member: Best Comedy Series: “Big Bang Theory” (CHUCK LORRE, 60), “Girls” (Dunham), and “Modern Family” (STEVE LEVITAN, 51); Drama Series: “Homeland” (based on an Israeli series; American creator HOWARD GORDON, 52); “Game of Thrones” (Benioff); and “Mad Men” (MATTHEW WEINER, 48); Best Variety, etc. series: “The Daily Show” (Jon Stewart) and “Saturday Night Live” (LORNE MICHAELS, 68) ; Best Mini-Series/Movie: “Phil Spector” (Mamet) and “American Horror Story” (BRAD FALCHUK, 40.) Falchuk’s mother, NANCY, by the way, used to be national head of Hadassah. New TV Season: Jewish Thespians and “Mom” Here are the “scripted” broadcast TV shows with a Jewish costar that premiere this month. In my
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
NEWZ
next column, I’ll cover HBO/Showtime and October premieres. Fox: “Dads”. SETH GREEN, 39, and Giovanni Ribisi play business partners and friends.Their lives change when their difficult elderly dads move into their homes. PETER RIEGERT, 66, plays Green’s dad. Green and Riegert’s characters are supposed to be Jewish. This series has already been subject to a lot of blowback: the two dads, critics say, sound like Jewish and WASP versions of Archie Bunker. Also: “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” ANDY SAMBERG, 25, stars as a NYPD detective whose effectiveness is often obscured by his wisecracking, laidback manner. His new boss wants him to tone down his style. CBS: “The Crazy Ones”. Robin Williams and SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR, 36, costar as a father and daughter who run a Chicago ad agency. JAMES WOLK, 28, co-stars as copywriter at their agency. The handsome Wolk appeared as the mysterious Bob Benson, an ad agency employee, in the last season of “Mad Men.” It looks like he’ll continue in both shows for the foreseeable future. Nice to note: Wolk recently said he wants to visit Israel, for the first time, in the next year or so. He expressed some regret that he has gotten too old to take a Birthright trip. ABC: “Back in the Game”. A single mom (Maggie Lawson) gets her estranged father, played by JAMES CAAN, 72, to coach a baseball team of Little League rejects that includes her young son. Also on ABC: “The Goldbergs.” This sit-com takes place in the 1980s. The Goldbergs don’t shy away from arguing, but underneath are a very loving family. JEFF GARLIN, 51, plays the father, with GEORGE SEGAL, 79, playing his father-in-law. The family, which includes three kids under 18, wasn’t identified as Jewish in the pilot I viewed; but I expect that will come later. Gotta root for a show named “The Goldbergs,” but there weren’t as many funny lines in the whole pilot as in the five-minute preview clip of the new CBS series, “Mom”. Created by Chuck Lorre, it stars Anna Faris as a single mom/recovering alcoholic who works as a waitress at a fancy Napa Valley restaurant. Her mother (Alison Janney) is also in recovery and her teen daughter is a handful. Her 8-year old son is played by child actor Blake Garrett Rosenthal. I’ll let you know when I find out if he’s Jewish or not.
FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO The large and commodious double house now occupied by the Institute, (capable of accommodating 100 boarding pupils,) with a play-ground attached containing four square lots, offers rare advantages to those seeking a school for their children. The internal arrangements of the school are also adjusted in the most satisfactory manner; for the principal having had considerable experience in preparing pupils for college and for business, has separated the classical and commercial departments. He believes that better attention may be thus secured. Special care given to moral and religious culture. For particulars apply to the Principal, Dr. J. Ridskopf No. 225 West 22d St., N.Y. – October 9, 1863
125 Y EARS A GO “Mazulm,” Imre Kiralfy’s grand spectacular combination will present the Ravel Pantomime, “Mazulm,” at Heucks, Sunday evening September 23d. The Philadelphia Press speaks of it in the following glowing terms: “Much ado has been made by Imre Kiralfy’s management as to what the veteran spectacle producer would do with the old Ravel pantomime, “Mazulm, of The Night Owl.” At the Academy of Music last evening the question was settled, and again success perched upon Imre’s banner, the production scoring a big success. “Mazulm” as given now depends more upon the ballets, marches, gorgeous accessories and specialities, than when presented the Ravels, they making pantomimic acting, tricks, etc., the chief features. It was a dazzling sight to look upon last evening. Everything that color, light, form, scenery, costumes, ballet, comic pantomimic tricks and specialities can do has been done to make this production a success. The scenery is very fine, that of the Mystic Tomb by Moonlight, Banano’s Palace, the Bosphorus and the Palace of Jewels being works of scenic art. Mazulm’s abode, at the close of the pantomime, was unique and beautiful. The Ballet of Sports is novel and cleverly arranged and the costumes gorgeous; Lawn Tennis, by eight seconds, pretty, young and graceful. – September 21, 1888
100 Y EARS A GO Grand.– Will present for the remainder of the week Klaw and Erlanger’s latest scenic triumph, “The Winning of Barbara Worth” from the book of the same title by Harold Bell Wright. It is a present-
day drama, that touches humanity at many vital points. Beginning next Sunday, Thomas Dixon will present his latest success “The Sins of the Father” supervised and managed by this noted author and dramatist in person. Seats on sale to-day. Lyric.– The Lyric’s season began last Sunday night with the production of “The Tik Tok Man of Oz.” This fairyland spectacle will continue for the rest of the week, to make room on Sunday for William A. Brady’s splendid and old time favorite production of “Way Down East.” This simple tale of New England rural life has endeared itself to many theatre goers and continues to draw large crowds nightly. – September 18, 1913
75 Y EARS A GO The Bake Shop of the United Jewish Social Agencies has surprises in addition to thanks for past patronage in store for its friends during the Rosh Hashonah season. Mrs. Sidney J. Eisman, chairman, announced that desserts will be made to order for those desiring New Year’s refections. Quick delivery is assured. Suggestions for holiday dinners will be given by the Bake Shop staff on application. Desserts, dinner rolls and noodles will be available. The Bake Shop is prepared to cater to almost any dinner need. Its gift trays are in demand for New Year’s presents. Mrs. Mitchell J. Lederer will address the chapter Wednesday, Sept. 28th, at 2 p.m., at Wise Center. The chapter is at work on its first major project of the season, midnight supper-dance for Monday, Oct. 17th, at New Lookout House, when Lou Holtz will be the attraction. Mrs. Howard Stuhlberg, Avon 8975, is chairman. She is also program chairman. Mrs. Ben Rifkind, Avon 6123, is in charge of tickets for the Lookout House party. – September 21, 1938
50 Y EARS A GO The marriage of Miss Mitzi Ann Lowenthal, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Lowenthal, to Mr. Edward Traurig, son of Mrs. Milton Traurig of Oak Park, Mich. took place Sunday, Aug. 8, at Ohav Shalom Synagogue. Rabbis Bernard Greenfield of Cincinnati and Shubert Spero of Cleveland officiated. Mrs. Stephen Shapiro, of Riverdale, N.Y., was her cousin’s matron of honor. Miss Cherie Mozkowitz and the bride’s sisters, Miss Emily Lowenthal and Miss Nancy Lowenthal, were her other attendants. The bridegroom’s brother, Dr. Allen Taurig, of Oak Park, was best man. Ushers were Mr. Meyer Segal,
Mr. Abe Selesny, both of Oak Park, and Mr. Jack Zwick of New York City. After a honeymoon in the east, the couple will reside in Oak Park. The marriage of Miss Elaine Alice Friedenn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip R. Friedenn, to Mr. William Jospeh Kanter, son of Mrs. Sallee Kanter and Mr. Edward Kanter of Duluth, was solemnized Sunday, Sept. 1, at Ohav Shalom Synagogue. – September 19, 1963
25 Y EARS A GO The wedding of Karen Beth Wurzman and Steven Krieger took place Aug. 28 at the Fairmount Temple, Beachwood, Ohio. Rabbi David Starus officiated. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wurzman of Beachwood. The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Krieger. The bride is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and with ChoiceCare. The brudegroom is a graduate of the Ohio State University and receieved an M.B.A. from U.C. He is with NCR, Dayton. The couple reside in Cincinnati. The wedding of Sharon Lee Mandel and Joel Robert Peerless took place Aug. 7 at Taylor Road Synagogue, Cleveland. Rabbis Stanley Peerless. David Abramson and David Zlatin officiated. Mrs. Peerless is the daughter of Jack and Elsie Mandel of South Euclid, Ohio. Dr. Peerless is the son of Dr. Sidney and Miriam Peerless of Cincinnati. The bride is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, and works as a staff reporter for the Cleveland Jewish News. The bridegroom is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. – September 29, 1988
10 Y EARS A GO “We are very excited to have Kim Streiffer join the JCC staff as our new director of youth, family, and camping services,” said Roz Kaplan, interim JCC executive director. Her extensive progrmming background will serve Streiffer well at the Cincinnati JCC where she will be responsible for developing and managing a variety of recreational programs for preschool-age children through teens, as well as programs for families and young professionals. “I am excited to use my experience to create really great programming at the JCC,” said Streiffer, “I look forward to providing a welcomiing environment where Jewish families can come togerther.” – September 25, 2003
COMMUNITY CALENDAR / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
COMMUNITY CALENDAR September 20 6:15 p.m. – Rockdale Sukkot Service Rockdale Temple 8501 Ridge Rd. (513) 891 - 9900
September 29 5 p.m. - Hadassah Opening Event Trio Bistro 7565 Kenwood Rd. (513) 821 - 6157
September 23 5:30 p.m. – Sukkah City Sunday Schoolhouse Restaurant Camp Dennison 8031 Glendale Milford Rd. (513) 703 - 3343
October 3 6:30 p.m. – Hebrew Class Open House Rockwern Academy 8401 Montgomery Rd.
September 23 7 p.m. - JCC Annual Meeting Mayerson JCC 8485 Ridge Rd. (513) 761 - 7500
October 9 5:30 p.m. - AJC Community Service Award honoring Jay Price Mayerson JCC 8485 Ridge Rd. (513) 621-4020
September 26 5:30 p.m. – Chabad Jewish Center’s Simchat Torah Celebration Chabad Jewish Center 3977 Hunt Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45242 (513) 793 - 5200
November 3 Sarah’s Place Women’s Retreat Embassy Suites Conference Center4554 Lake Forest Dr. Blue Ash
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY
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 • shalomcincy.org Jewish Foundation (513) 214-1200 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 JVS Career Services (513) 936-WORK (9675) • cincinnaticareer.net Kesher (513) 766-3348 Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 Shalom Family
(513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org CONGREGATIONS 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 Ohr Chadash (513) 252-7267 • ohrchadashcincinnati.com Congregation Sha’arei Torah shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Zichron Eliezer 513-631-4900 • czecincinnati.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com EDUCA EDUCATION Chai Tots Early Childhood Center (513) 234.0600 • chaitots.com
Send an e-mail including what you would like in your classified & your contact information to
business@ americanisraelite.com or call Erin at 621-3145 TWO DECADES from page 10
September 26 8 p.m. – No–alcohol Celebration of Simchas Torah The Arthur Schreiber Building 1995 Section Rd. Golf Manor, OH (513) 733 - 4400
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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 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234.0777 • jdiscovery.com Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (513) 204-5594 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com Women’s American ORT (513) 985-1512 • ortamerica.org
Bank, Gaza, and Jordan, as well as cross-cultural environmental education for Jewish and Arab pupils. Many of the undergraduate classes at AIES, and the institute’s research departments, focus on water. Rabbi Michael Cohen – who became a founding faculty member of the institute in 1996, while he was on sabbatical from the Israel Congregation in Manchester Center, Vt. – notes that one AIES initiative to address the Middle East’s water challenges involves the distribution of small-scale solar powered desalination kits for basic neighborhoods and homes. “AIES is a place with all my passions in one place. Peace, the environment, cross-cultural education,” Cohen tells JNS. Boston-based Friends of the Arava Institute (FAI) works with lay leaders overseas to develop resources for the institute in Israel, through the stewardship of donors, foundation and government grant applications, student recruitment, and public relations. “Critical to our success in the U.S. has been the development of our fundraising partnership with the Jewish National Fund, which raises over $500,000 a year for the Institute,” Cohen says. “Another FAI initiative, partnered with Hazon (a Jewish nonprofit), is the Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride, which brings over 100 bike riders to Israel for our annual fundraising ride from Jerusalem to Eilat to ride for peace, the environment and cooperation.” Temple Anshe Hesed in Erie, Pa., became the first carbon-neutral synagogue in the U.S. through collaboration with AIES. Anshe Hesed neutralized its carbon footprint – the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions for which it is responsible – by collaborating in a carbon-offset program with AIES. Through a carbon-offset program, an organization pays for technology to meet another organization’s energy needs without creating carbon emissions. Anshe Hesed purchased solar panels, which were installed by AIES, to generate electricity for its campus. The Pennsylvania synagogue enlisted Tara Fortier, at the time a student at Allegheny College, to develop a plan to participate in the AIES offset program – a program Anshe Hesed’s rabbi, John Bush, learned about during
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(513) 531-9600 a summer 2007 visit to Israel. Fortier, a double major in environmental studies and religious studies, found that Anshe Hesed emitted 36.5 tons of carbon dioxide in 2007 from the use of electricity and natural gas. Bush tells JNS that his congregation would like to inspire other synagogues to “offset our impact on the environment while having a positive impact on our religious movement.” In Israel, meanwhile, Arava seeks to help Jews and Arabs cooperate when it comes to environmental challenges. “Though water is often cited as a scarce resource in the region, it is not the scarcest,” says Arava’s director, Lehrer, who worked as a business consultant for kibbutzim and twice served as an emissary for the Jewish Agency for Israel in the U.S. “The scarcest resource in the region is trust.” Lehrer says Arava aims to build that trust through the Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS), a once-a-week required seminar for all students consisting of a combination of outside speakers, Arab and Jewish facilitators, student-run programs, and field trips. Discussions center on “things that students don’t want to talk about,” such as religion, history, politics, borders, war, and terrorism, Lehrer says. “Since this is the Middle East, these sessions are not quiet, often ending with students screaming and yelling at each other, slamming the door and stomping out of the room back to the campus,” he says. “What is unique about the Arava Institute is, as angry as the students are at each other after a PELS session, they all have to go back to the same small campus where 30 to 40 students a semester are living together sharing text books, coffee, tea and space,” Lehrer adds, explaining that many students “do not necessarily enjoy the PELS program” but ultimately conclude that it was “the most important thing they did while studying at the Arava Institute.” Lehrer believes that Arab-Israeli peace “cannot be made over the Internet” and also requires more than the signing of peace treaties by political leaders. “Only by putting a human face on the enemy will trust be restored in the region, and this can only be accomplished when enemies meet face to face,” he says.
20 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
“HOPE, NOT FEAR: A Path To Jewish Renaissance” by Edgar M. Bronfman By Sue W. Ransahoff Book Reviewer Edgar Bronfman is a Jewish leader, philanthropist, and activist, best known as the founder of Hillel, the Jewish presence on many college campuses. In this book, co-authored by Beth Zasloff, a writer and teacher of writing, he delineates a dividing line in Jewish history; a blurred and lengthy line, true, but a significant one, which started slowly, during the past three or four decades – a line between when Jews were ashamed of their Judaism, or if not ashamed, at least adjured to live privately; taught to keep a low profile. Now, he asserts, Jews are far more accepted, and the Holocaust – although never to be forgotten – is long past. And so is the fear. Much of the Jewish vision of how to live was based on fear; fear of exclusion, of persecution, of barriers to opportunities – and far worse: imprisonment, torture, and death. Fear became a way of life that persisted past the time when there was a need for it. It permeated the community, which clung together emotionally and geographically, and then it was realized that it no longer served a purpose. Bronfman has tied together the somewhat alarming fact that the numbers of Jews in this country is diminishing, (only partly because of intermarriage) and the need for a
new approach for members of our Jewish community – a more meaningful and enriching way of belonging. How does he suggest that we do that? He has many thoughts and ideas they start with his formation of Hillel, the Jewish presence on campus, and the realization that college students did not want a Temple or Synagogue at college; what did they want? Learning. Community. A sense of being a part of a meaningful gathering. It was also found that the students were energized by the concepts of “tzedek” (justice), and tikkun olam (repair of the world). As a result, Jews on campus were to be seen working in soup kitchens, organizing art shows, debating Talmudic texts – and a continuing
variety of activities. “A practice of Judaism,” he writes, “should not isolate us… it should reach out and transform the world.” Although the directions Bronfman proposes are many and intricate, an overriding theme is that of change from the earlier position of Jews in America to a new and much more robust one. On another subject, and a knotty one, in discussing intermarriage, he asks that we not make it a subject of distress and concern (and even odium) but that as in Abraham's tent, an experience of welcome. He quotes Rabbi Ellenson: “If you tell people that it [intermarriage] is a disaster, and rip off your coat… it is unlikely that people will remain in your community.” Similarly, Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, executive director of the Jewish Outreach Institute, says: “As soon as the organized Jewish community sees a Christmas tree… they write off that family. That's the biggest mistake.” And Bronfman adds: “Instead of chastising them for their choices, we should try to show them the value of Jewish tradition.” In a sense these writers and speakers are saying: We can enrich others, and in turn be enriched by what we learn and accept. Not all of us will follow or like this line of thinking; it is presented here as that of the writers and others who have joined him. Similarly Bronfman and Richard Joel, director of Hillel International, visited Hillel on many campuses;
House call from the doctor of soul By Ben Harris NEW YORK (JTA) – Few figures in the last hundred years – if any – have had as broad an impact on Jewish life as Shlomo Carlebach. Despite the controversies that dogged Carlebach in his lifetime, today there is nary a quarter of the Jewish world where his melodies have not entered the canon, embraced by everyone from Reform summer camps to Brooklyn hasidim. Which may be what lends an air of the inevitable to the central dramas of “Soul Doctor,” the musical about Carlebach’s life that opened last week on Broadway. The show is not a biopic. There is little effort made at a comprehensive portrait of the man and his influence, nor even to stay very true to the historical record. The father-son struggle over Carlebach’s path in religious leadership, played up to great dramatic effect in the show, is probably untrue. So, I suspect, is the pained struggle (at first) to break with Orthodox modesty strictures and embrace women. And certainly not Carlebach’s
Courtesy of Carol Rosegg
Eric Anderson as Shlomo Carlebach in the Broadway production “Soul Doctor.”
monastic abstention from romantic love in the name of ministering to his “holy beggars,” a particularly odd choice by the producers considering the history. But watching these struggles unfold on stage, one cannot escape the shadow of vindication we all know to be coming. Today there is little that’s controversial about the life’s work of Carlebach, even in the deeply conservative corners of Orthodoxy that once shunned him. The minyan of white-shirted
Brooklyn haredim who waved their hands to the music at a recent performance are proof enough of that. In the show, Carlebach’s critics come off as either naive (if well intentioned), angry or ignorant. Whatever the case, they wind up on the wrong side of history. Nevertheless, there’s much for the fan of Carlebach’s music (and even the sappy musical theater lover) to savor here. The lustrous arrangements of Carlebach melodies are among the most gorgeous ever done. And there are a number of delicious ironies, like setting Timothy Leary’s admonition to “tune in, turn on, drop out” to the tune of Carlebach’s “Lord, Get Me High”; or Carlebach’s father announcing he went to Selma to “pray with his feet” (a civil rights activist, Heschel plagiarizer AND an opponent of the folk revival? the mind reels); or the rhyming of hora with “Sodom and Gomorrah.”
talked with the students, and initiated discussions and text study. Moving from this country to Israel, he asks: “Why should there be a Hillel in Israel? Why is it needed in a country that is already Jewish”? This is an intriguing question, why, indeed? Bronfman and Zasloff say: “The troubling thing about this generation of Israelis is that they… are not Jewish enough” [even though they live in a Jewish state.] Hillel seeks to offer students the chance to experience Judaism either through arts, social action or through Jewish study. Throughout the experience of Hillel – here or abroad, but especially in Israel, – Jewish students become dynamic international communities. Bronfman is one of those philanthropists who are not only generous with their resources, but who spend time and thought on how that funding is spent: is it doing what he projected it to do? Was his original aim the right one, or does it need thoughtful alteration in the service of achievement? As has already been pointed out – the latter is true. Bronfman and Joel visited ninety American Hillels, and found varied responses and degrees of participation. And they realized that, to encourage students to take part, they must offer much much more than traditional services. Throughout the balance of this book, a number of subjects are
described through which Jewishness may be achieved: Jewish camps – and on this subject the writers are joyous. “ “There,” he says: “Kids live Judaism every day.” There are many other resources and organizations. Birthright Israel, which sends young Jews from around the world on a ten-day visit to Israel, has proved most effective in drawing in youngsters. How and why? Bronfman confesses that it is not clear how this movement is so successful, but clearly this program, which (a) is free, and (b) encompasses learning and study, has inspired most of the thousands who have benefitted from it. It is, he says, a gift from one generation to the next. Although it remains unclear why it has been so successful, it may be that meeting Israelis in their home country passes along their pride in their Jewishness and their accomplishments. There are many other sub-topics in this rich book; the Jewish Home is an important one. Occasionally, the adjurations: “We should…” “We need to…” become less than welcome, but one cannot avoid respecting and honoring Bronfman and Zasloff for both the excellence of the writing (I suspect Zasloff) and the depth of his sincerity and passion for the Jewish Renaissance, to which he has been so thoughtfully and generously dedicated.
REFUGEES from page 6
Ve’ahavta, a Canadian group dedicated to “tikkun olam,” the Jewish concept of repairing the world; the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative movement; Mazon, the Jewish hunger relief organization; the U.K.-based World Jewish Relief; World ORT; the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; the World Jewish Congress; the American Jewish Committee; and the JDC. Ve’ahavta and World Jewish Relief both have posted prominent calls on their websites to help with the refugee crisis. “Each group decided what they want to do based on their constituencies,” JDC spokesman Michael Geller said. “They all participate in the calls. They participate in the allocations conversations.” Aside from the contributions by Bennett and the JDC, the coalition has gotten $25,000 each from two anonymous donors, $75,000 from the California-based Leichtag Foundation and about $20,000 from grassroots donors. “The Jewish community understands tikkun olam, understands humanitarian responsibility,” said Will Recant, an assistant executive vice president at the JDC. “When they were made aware, they started to step forward just as they did for Darfur, Rwanda and other areas of humanitarian need.”
tives of the Israeli government. We’re a civil society organization.” IsraAid, which says it has spent tens of thousands of dollars so far, is funded in part by North American Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Committee and Toronto’s Jewish federation. HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is also planning on dispatching team members to Jordan to help the Syrian refugees find new homes overseas, including in the United States. The effort, for which HIAS has received $50,000 from the coalition (HIAS is also a member), is not yet operational. The plan is to have people on the ground by 2014. “As a Jewish organization, we have to be very careful in terms of how we participate in the response,” HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield told JTA. “But now we’ve found a way to participate constructively, and it’s clear our community needs to be represented in response to the Syrian refugee crisis.” Aside from HIAS, the members of the coalition – itself a subgroup of the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief – include the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; the Union for Reform Judaism and its affiliated Religious Action Center; the Jewish Federations of North America;
FIRST PERSON • 21
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
Incidentally Iris Incidentally Iris
by Iris Ruth Pastor It’s Sunday morning and my mom has overslept. Usually she is up and about by 7:30 a.m. She jumps out of bed too fast and becomes dizzy, but catches herself before she falls. “Ah, these golden years!” she thinks. “As Bette Davis said, ‘Old age ain't for sissies.’” She feels guilty about sleeping late and wonders why. It’s not like CHABAD from page 5 vide the rest!” Friday morning, September 27, 2013, will celebrate the conclusion of the yearly cycle of reading the Torah, and the starting of a new year’s Torah reading, with more singing, dancing and rejoicing. Simchat Torah literally means, “Joy of the Torah.” On this holiday, it is customary to dance and rejoice while holding the Torah scrolls. Each person may have a different capability when it comes to learning Torah, but when it
OSLO ACCORDS from page 10 the alternatives to the Oslo Accords and to Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations “is foolish, unfair, and it will not happen.” “There is no other option than to have a Jewish state and a Palestinian state that is based on the 67 borders,” Bar told JNS. Currently, details of the new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations, which were announced in July, are largely being kept from the public. The negotiations are being advanced by Secretary of State John Kerry and Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Indyk has come under scrutiny for serving on the board of the New Israel Fund, a left-leaning NGO that heavily funds anti-settlement and anti-religious activity. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appear to be entertaining the possibility that a peace settlement can be reached through the current round of negotiations,
she has anyone waiting for her, nor is she on a timetable anymore. She is responsible only for herself and she finds that unbearable to comprehend. Her golden years are not so golden anymore – they have become tarnished. From the outside, my mom still looks the same – still puts on foundation and lipstick every day and still weekly concocts, with the help of her faithful manicurist, funky designs for her nails. ‘Glitzy’ is how she describes it. She continues to joke with cashiers, make friends with waitresses wherever she dines. She still drives on her errands, plays maj with the ‘girls’ and paints in her spare time. And she faithfully keeps in contact with her children and her grandchildren via e-mail. But life has changed in unimaginable ways for my mom, Mrs. E. Pike (Bev) Levine. And here’s why: “After 85 years of being a
devoted daughter, loving war bride, busy housewife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, here I am, in my too immaculate, too quiet apartment, all alone,” she muses. “My husband of 68 years passed away and left me without warning. We had made a pact when he finally returned from overseas after World War II that we would never be separated again. We stuck to that pact through good times and bad. This is not the way it was supposed to be. I wanted to go first, but now I realize how selfish that would have been on my part. “In my generation, the wife took care of the home and the children. The husband was responsible for ‘bringing home the bacon,’ so to speak. Nothing more. Consequently, my husband, Pike, couldn’t boil water, no less prepare a meal for himself. He never learned how to work the washer or dryer or heaven forbid – sleep
alone – without me beside him. What would have become of him, I wonder? “I was led to believe that we women are the weaker sex. Not so! I have a large group of childhood friends – all widows. I see how they have survived without their mates. They amaze me with their zest for living. They are still attractive, interesting and active in many charities. They call it ‘giving back’ because they are so grateful to be in fairly good health and still able to drive. And they intend to continue reaching out as long as they can to those less fortunate. I want to be like them when I grow up. “Meanwhile, I am trying to survive one day at a time. When I shut the door to my apartment, I am completely alone. I no longer have Pike to share the events of the day with. I hear no ‘Mom’ from the kids. I hear no bark from Schlep, our beloved dog. I am sur-
rounded by echoes, but no real voices. So, I keep in mind words that were said to me at the funeral of my 55-year-old mother: ‘Whatever you are thinking has been thought before and whatever you are feeling has been felt before.’” My mom is 86 years old. What more could I wish for her? Celebrity Billy Crystal, who met his wife, Janice, when he was 18 years old and still reeling from the death of his father, says it far better than I could: “I’d like to think there is a heaven and it starts from the happiest day of your life. I’ll be 18 and Janice Goldfinger will walk by me in a bikini and I will follow her and it will start all over again.”
comes to rejoicing with the Torah, everyone can join in as one. Simchat Torah is a holiday where we rejoice in our unity as Jews. The festivities will be held at Chabad Jewish Center in Blue Ash. RSVP and donations are appreciated. For further information contact the Chabad Jewish Center in Blue Ash.
HOPE from page 7 kids there?” Kramer said. “Some families enroll their children in Jewish day schools because they want their environment to be defined by Jewish classrooms, Jewish values, Jewish conversations on the playground. What happens when the conversation about what did you do this weekend includes did you go to church?” Tehiyah Day School in El Cerrito, Calif., just north of Berkeley, has had non-Jewish students since its founding in 1979. Head of school Bathea James says the diversity of the 250-strong student body – about five percent of whom are not Jewish – reflects the
school’s values. “I don’t believe you should take non-Jewish students purely for financial reasons,” James told JTA. “If you believe it enhances the community of your school somehow, then I think you should do it. If we can expose the beauty of Judaism to more people in the community, why wouldn’t we?” At Tehiyah, all students study the same curriculum. About 30 percent of the day is spent on Judaic subjects, Hebrew or prayer. Non-Jewish families are among those chairing an upcoming Sukkot dinner. At Lippman in Akron, 65 percent of students are in the Jewish track, including more than two dozen non-Jews, and
some Jews have chosen the global studies track. Even those in the global program study some Hebrew, thanks to non-Jewish parents who requested it. Yarmulkes at Lippman are optional, except in Jewish studies classes. But a few non-Jewish boys don them even outside of Jewish class. “They wear it because it feels like a positive expression here,” Chestnut said. When it comes to prayer, which is mandatory in the Jewish track, balancing Lippman’s inclusive philosophy with Jewish law can be a bit tricky. If a non-Jewish student wants to be called to the Torah, for example, he might be partnered with a Jewish classmate.
most Israelis and Palestinians alike are not paying much attention. In an unusual turn of events, members of Israel’s governing coalition and the prime minister’s party are coming out against negotiations, while members of the opposition are supporting the government’s initiative. “The prime minister said clearly that he supports negotiations without preconditions. Yet he hasn’t said where he stands on the outcome of negotiations,” said Likud’s Danon. “I think the Israelis are waking up and they have understood that the idea is not valid anymore, and we see more and more Israelis shifting. We should not endorse any idea that we will give land to the Palestinians,” he said. Labor’s Bar, however, believes it is the very distrust between Israelis and Palestinians that makes segregating Israel into two separate states a necessity. Bar insists that if peace efforts had played out only slightly differently, the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank provinces of Judea and
Samaria could have resulted. “We had three major attempts to make peace,” said Bar. “One was Rabin-Arafat. The treaty was signed. But as we know, Rabin was shot down by a Jewish terrorist. There is no way to know what would have happened if Rabin were still alive.” The second attempt was between Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat, according to Bar. During those negotiations, Barak offered Arafat more than 95 percent of the West Bank for a Palestinian state. Arafat famously rejected the offer, and embarrassed mediating U.S. President Bill Clinton in the process. “Arafat chose to die as a shahid (martyr), not as a peacemaker. That was his choice,” Bar said. In the third round, between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas, “Both sides say that it was Olmert’s legal complications within Israel that prevented the negotiations from going all the way,” Bar said. While the three rounds of negotiations ultimately resulted in increasing distrust, intifadas, Israeli military operations, and a unilateral
Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Bar suggested that Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations may still deliver results. “This current Knesset has a very clear majority for the two-state solution. I think that more than 70 Knesset Members would vote for a two-state solution if brought for a vote,” Bar told JNS. “The status quo is unsustainable,” she said. Other Knesset members are not as optimistic that negotiations will cure decades of unrest. “Everytime you try a certain medicine and it doesn’t work, you need to either realize the medicine doesn’t work or reanalyze the disease,” said Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotevely (Likud). “Oslo was based on three incorrect assumptions,” Hotevely said. “The first assumption is that the conflict is about territory. The second assumption is that Arabs and Jews should not live together, and that segregation and separate states can create peaceful existence. The third assumption was that the conflict was
about 1967.” “[Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon proposed segregation, with the unilateral disengagement from Gaza,” she said. “The result was radicalism. Hamas took over. Gaza didn’t become Singapore like many hoped it would. Instead, rockets started falling on Sderot.” As to whether the current peace talks will yield results, Hotevely is certain they won’t. “I’m sure Bibi Netanyahu has goodwill, but the talks will fail. The reason is because the conflict is not about [Israeli territorial expansion in] 1967, it is about Israel’s independence in 1948,” Hotevely said. “The conflict is not about territory. The conflict is religious. It may be difficult for liberals to realize that the conflict may not have a logical solution.” “We’ve been there, we’ve done that. We’ve tried it. It failed. We need to try something else,” she said. Meanwhile, the debate on Oslo continues.
Keep Coping, Iris Ruth Pastor
22 • OBITUARIES
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D EATH N OTICES
FREIMAN from page 6
WATZMAN, Jacqueline M. age 86 died September 12, 2013; 8 Tishrei, 5774.
natives playing for Israel. Freiman is now applying his cool demeanor to the most electric period of a Major League Baseball regular season: a September pennant race. For the second consecutive season, Oakland is running neck and neck with the Texas Rangers for the American League’s Western Division lead. The Athletics stand an excellent chance of at least gaining a wild-card entry into the postseason. Last year, when Oakland was winning eight of its final nine games to overtake the Rangers for the A.L. West title on the season’s final day, Freiman was in the San Diego Padres organization and playing for Israel. By spring training this year, he had moved on to the Houston Astros and then was acquired by Oakland. Freiman made his major league debut April 3 with two hits against the Seattle Mariners. So it’s been an eventful year for the former Duke University star, who holds the school record for home runs. Now the right-handed hitter has settled into a platoon at first base with Brandon Moss. Entering
GINGELL, Ronald age 67 died September 14, 2013; 10 Tishrei, 5774. TAFT, Hope age 95 died September 14, 2013; 11 Tishrei, 5774.
EDUCATION from page 16 As educators, we need to find ways to take what happens in an educational environment that is more personal (such as the relationship between counselor and chanich at a summer camp) and bring it into our classrooms. And in the world of informal education, we need to better adapt cognitive skill development (utilized by master teachers in the classroom) to better equip students with the knowledge and tools to engage fully in the ancient-andcontemporary community dialogue. We need to allow for probing and inquiry, and not sweep the gray areas under the carpet. We need to make our children secure in their Judaism so that one day they’ll take pride in it. We do this by first injecting the inspiration and only then teaching the particulars – not the other way around. Let’s hope that 5774 ushers a new dawn for Jewish education. One that will see as many kids and their families opt to go on waiting lists for Jewish schools, as they currently do for summer camps. In order to be the “Choosing People,” the least our children deserve is to be presented with real, compelling choices. Simon Klarfeld is the executive director of Young Judaea, America’s oldest Zionist youth movement.
DIALING from page 7 Rosen found herself channeling her deceased grandmother Babe while writing in her journal. Her grandmother, who had committed suicide several years earlier, presented her with a plan for curing her depression through a trance-like technique called automatic writing. This advice later formed the basis for her first book, “Spirited.” Rosen graduated college with a degree in advertising but found that profession “not flowing.” She began doing psychic readings for friends in a coffee shop in West Bloomfield, Mich. Her first brush with fame came when the Detroit Jewish News featured her on its cover in 2001, touting her efforts to comfort those who had lost loved ones by “bring[ing] energies from the
Tuesday’s action, Freiman was batting a solid .285 with four homers and 24 runs batted in. His manager, Bob Melvin, says he is impressed by the rookie spending hours in the batting cage and studying film of opposing pitchers. Freiman “prepares as hard as any young player I’ve had [who] is used to playing every day,” Melvin said. “The hard part for a young player is acclimating to a non-everyday role. “On top of that, he’s a great kid and fits in well,” the manager said. Melvin points to one highlight of Freiman’s season: his 18th-inning game-winning single June 13 against the New York Yankees’ star relief pitcher, Mariano Rivera. Dan Otero, an Oakland pitcher, says he’s partial to Freiman’s fourhit game against the Houston Astros on Aug. 15 that included a double and a home run. The two have been close friends since they were teammates at Duke, when their fathers would attend games together. Now their wives hang out together. Freiman’s love of books is rubbing off on his buddy: Otero is reading Dan Brown’s “Deception Point” based on a Freiman recommendation. Freiman’s pick these days is the
Ayn Rand classic “Atlas Shrugged.” At Duke, Otero says, Freiman was “pretty much the same guy he is now – one of the most sincere and genuine guys not only in baseball but in life in general.” Otero adds: “He’d be a bad card player because he’s bad at bluffing.” Freiman, a Boston native, attended countless Red Sox games at Fenway Park as a kid because his family had season tickets. So it was an extra thrill earlier this season to be playing in the fabled ballpark – “something I never thought I’d get to do” – but he pushed such thoughts aside “to focus on what I could do to help win the game.” Despite such career highlights, he still counts playing for the Israeli team as an “extremely special experience” – although being knocked out in the WBC qualifiers was “extremely disappointing.” It wasn’t lost on him, he says, that the Israeli team members were playing at around the time of the High Holidays. (Another member of the Israeli team, pitcher Josh Zeid, made his major league debut in July with the Astros.) This year, Freiman says, attending synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur was
unlikely, given that his team is fighting for a playoff spot. He’s not alone. Another Jewish player, Josh Satin of the New York Mets, told JTA that while the holidays are “definitely” important, “at this point in my career I can’t really ask [to take off]. I’ve got to be here.” Still, Freiman says, the High Holidays carry great meaning for him. He grew up attending Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, Mass., and vividly recalls a 2001 Rosh Hashanah sermon delivered by his rabbi a few days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “It was packed – the most people I ever saw there,” he said of the service. If things work out well for the Athletics in the season’s final few weeks, their home stadium, normally so deserted that the upper deck is sealed off, could be crowded, too, with the hard-hitting Freiman playing an important role. “It’s always an exciting time of year,” he said, referring to the High Holidays (though most baseball fans wouldn’t disagree if he was talking about the pennant race). “It definitely feels like a new beginning
other side.” Since then, Rosen, who now lives in Denver, has built a clientele that includes celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette and Vanna White. “I’m not a fortune teller,” she said. “I don’t work with ghosts either, spirits who are trapped in limbo between here and the other world. I work with those who are happily crossed over and want to ease the anxieties of the living.” Rosen’s powers, she maintains, come from her highly developed “clair-senses” – the ability to see, hear and feel spirits, which often present to her as “sparks or orbs of light.” In her new book, she teaches techniques to develop this capacity – including “clairgustance,” the ability to sense phantom tastes from the spirits, and “clair-cognizance,” the ability to gain knowledge unavailable through ordinary senses.
Rosen is also working to develop the psychic intuition of her children – Jakob, 8, and Sam, 4. “My boys are very intuitive and have shown many psychic abilities over the years, and if it’s nurtured they’ll continue to develop that muscle as they grow,” Rosen said. “I encourage both of my boys to pray to their angels and guides and feel comforted in knowing they are never alone.” Rosen’s brother Baruch HaLevi, a Conservative rabbi at Congregation Shirat Hayam in the northern Boston suburb of Swampscott, is also enthusiastic about her profession. He occasionally promotes her work on his blog and has vouched for her authenticity. The siblings are contemplating creating a series of retreats that will combine yoga, meditation, Jewish spirituality and
Rosen’s readings. “All religion aside, it’s really, spiritually speaking, connecting people to their truth,” Rosen said. In the meantime, she continues to work with clients and is contemplating creating group sessions to shorten the waiting time for her services. Group sessions would include 12 clients and cost $500 per person for two hours, garnering Rosen $6,000 a session. Rosen says there is no difference whether sessions are conducted in person or over the phone. But asked whether she was sensing any psychic energy during a recent phone interview, she demurred, saying that she was improperly prepared. If any spirits were eager to get through, she said, “they would be like pounding down my doorway right now.”
RABBI from page 9
in this Caspian Sea city for more than a millennium. At one point, the community was said to have numbered at least 19,000 and, according to community archives, the city’s three main streets were entirely Jewish. But decades of communist repression reduced the Jewish community to a shadow of its former self. Now a simmering Islamist insurgency threatens to weaken it further. “The shooting has made many young people realize we’d better leave sometime in the very near future,” said Hava, 20, who asked that her last name not be published. “I would not want to start a family here.”
Under communist rule, interethnic tensions in this fractious region were kept under a lid. But with the fall of the Iron Curtain, local identities began to reassert themselves and a nationalist movement seeking independence from Russia gained steam. “People who lived in the mountains, rural and deeply Muslim folks, came to the city,” Rubinov said. In August 1999, local extremists and their Chechen allies killed several Russian troops in a cross-border raid. Ever since, Russian troops and separatist Islamist groups have been engaged in a guerrilla war that has claimed hundreds of lives, according to a report by the World Security Network Foundation.
siveness – not to mention the recent opening of a flashy Jewish community center and the deep cultural roots that Jews have established here – the shooting is prompting Derbent’s 1,200 Jews to reconsider their options. “There is no future for Jews here,” said Angela Rubinov, head of the Derbent office of Atzmaut, a nongovernmental organization funded by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. “It seems that every day there are explosions or violence. I’m staying because someone needs to turn off the lights.” Jews have lived in relative peace
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