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JCC Jewish Film Festival returns to Cincinnati

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Portion of the Week – Mishpatim

Robbed of Our Name: Hip Hop and Holocaust Memorial dance concert Temple Sholom, Elementz Center for Hip Hop and Respect, and the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education proudly present a unique artistic and educational event, free-of-charge. “Robbed of our Name – Reimagining ‘Never Again’” is an original dance performance commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Cincinnati’s Studio Kre8v of Elementz performs five original Hip Hop dances inspired by music, artifacts and encounters with survivors of the Holocaust. “This is not just a show for the audience, but a show with the audience,” explains Dance Director Kasib Hasan.

The performance on Saturday, January 25, 2014, 7:30 pm at Temple Sholom’s Frisch Hall interprets several lessons of the Holocaust through dance. The event includes survivors of the Holocaust, postperformance conversation with Studio Kre8v artists, and a dessert reception.

“Robbed of Our Name is part of a justice partnership between a suburban synagogue and Elementz’ urban center of artistic expression,” explains Chris Kraus, JD, MTS, Director of Lifelong Learning

at Temple Sholom. “A justice partnership fosters understanding between groups of people in a community who do not usually engage with each other authentically,” says Kraus. “Together, we’ve done artistic programming with our religious school youth, a documentary film, community conversation with adult learners, and this culminating dance concert that is open to the whole community.” Tom Kent, Executive Director of Elementz, explains the significance of the concert and the justice partnership as an improbable and transformative experience. “It’s like Moses and a [burning] bush; I wasn’t expecting this but I was transformed.”

Studio Kre8v of Elementz toured exhibits at Cincinnati’s Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE) for an in-depth orientation to living history and contemporary lessons.

Their hip hop dances explore the inhumane classification of human beings, normative denial and fear, resistance and rescue from Jews and non-Jews, and the importance of remembering the names

Courtesy of Jim Gormley Photography

and stories of lives cut short. Elementz, a place in Cincinnati for hip hop and respect, fosters creativity and innovation opportunities for Cincinnati’s “unknown” inner-city young people: those who try to avoid the headlines, those who are trying to work out good life choices, and successfully navigate through their teen years and through neighborhoods that present attractive but negative influences.

In 2005, the United Nations established January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, urging every member nation to honor the mem-

ory of Holocaust victims, and encourage the development of educational programs about Holocaust history to help prevent future acts of genocide. It rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an event and condemns all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief.

For more information on how to bring this dance program into a school or community center, please contact The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.

Dr. Gary P. Zola appointed as Distinguished Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies Program at College of Charleston, Spring 2014 semester As quenelle spreads to pitch, British soccer bosses staying on sidelines

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Dr. Gary P. Zola, Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA), and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, has been appointed as the Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold Distinguished Visiting Chair for the upcoming Spring, 2014 semester at the College of Charleston’s Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program.

During his residency in Charleston, Dr. Zola will be teaching one course, Southern Jewish History, for students in the Jewish Studies program—as well as for his HUC-JIR graduate and rabbinic students who will participate in his lectures via the Electronic Classroom in the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati International Learning Center in Cincinnati. While in Charleston, he will also deliver a public lecture entitled, He Was Like One of Us: Lincoln

and American Jewry. The lecture will take place Sunday, February 9 at 10 am in Arnold hall on the College of Charleston campus.

“The contributions of Gary Zola to the writing of American Jewish History are legion—from his position as Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives to his prestigious publications on the Jews of 19th Century Charleston to his forthcoming work on Abraham Lincoln and the Jews,” noted Rabbi David Ellenson, Chancellor of Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion.

“Professor Zola is a most worthy and appropriate recipient of Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold Distinguished Visiting Chair at the College of Charleston and he will greatly enhance the lives of his students as well as the larger Charleston community. His selection for this position is a mark of great and well-deserved distinction!”

In addition to his duties as Executive Director of the AJA and

Professor of the American Jewish Experience at (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, Professor Zola edits The Marcus Center's award-winning biannual publication, The American Jewish Archives Journal—one of only two academic periodicals focusing on the total historical experience of American Jewry.

In April 2011, Dr. Zola was appointed by President Obama to the Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad. Dr. Zola is the first faculty member of Hebrew Union College to receive such an appointment by a U.S. president. In 2006 Dr. Zola became the first American Jewish historian and the first American rabbi to receive appointment to the Academic Advisory Council of the congressionally recognized Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

“Dr. Zola's appointment at the College of Charleston is altogether timely,” noted Dr. Martin Perlmutter, Professor of Philosophy and Director

Dr. Gary P. Zola

of the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program at the College of Charleston.

“Dr. Zola is our first Arnold Distinguished Professor since the College of Charleston established the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture in the fall of 2013.

What a wonderful beginning!”

Coming soon in The American Israelite

MatureLiving REACH THE JEWISH SENIOR COMMUNITY WITH YOUR ADVERTISING MESSAGE Deadline for ad submission is Thursday, January 23 Publishes on Thursday, January 30

To Advertise or For More Information, Contact Ted Deutsch at 621-3145 or publisher@americanisraelite.com

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

Rockdale Temple 190th gala celebration coming up in February Rockdale Temple will be hosting their 190th Gala Celebration on February 22, 2014. They are planning a year of festivities to reflect on their past, celebrate their present, and energize their future as a strong and growing community.

Highlights of the year’s celebration include: a January concert

by Dave Brubeck’s Gates of Justice; a discussion of 190 Years of Forward Thinking: Reform Prayers and Music, held in February; the Gala Celebration weekend, with special Shabbat

services on Friday and the gala dinner on Saturday, Februar y 2122; The Rabbis of Rockdale, a dicussion of Rockdale’s leaders through the years, to be held March 2nd and 9th; the annual Purim Schpiel on March 15th; a Scholar in Residence event April

25-27 with Cantor Bruce Ruben, director of HUC’s School of Sacred Music, and author of of a book on Rockdale’s rabbi, Max Lilienthal: Rabbi, Educator, and Reformer in Nineteenth-Century America; a Brotherhood-sponsored Bike Ride and Picnic on

May 18th; and a celebration of Rabbi Coran’s 10th year the weekend of June 5-7..

For more information about the Gala or any of the year-long events, please call the Temple office.

Northern Hills plans events to honor Rabbi Barnard Northern Hills Synagogue Congregation B'nai Avraham is planning a number of events over the coming months to honor Rabbi Gershom Barnard, who will be retiring at the end of June after 39 years of service to the congregation and the community.

A celebratory tribute gala on Sunday, May 11 will highlight the schedule. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the synagogue in Deerfield Township. The celebration will start with hors d'oeuvres and wine,

with classical music by the Price Hill String Trio. The evening's entertainment will feature musical performances by synagogue members and their children who are professional musicians. These include Gayna Bassin, Claire Lee, Elliana Kirsh, and Cantor Sharon Hordes of Congregation Keneseth Israel in Louisville. Following a tribute to Rabbi Barnard, participants will enjoy a deluxe dessert reception, accompanied by the jazz stylings of Dan Karlsberg,

who grew up at Northern Hills.

Rabbi Mark Washofsky will preside over the evening as Master of Ceremonies.

Other events honoring Rabbi Barnard include: a Scholar in Residence weekend February 1416, featuring noted author Rabbi Naomi Levy; the HaZaK seniors' luncheon on April 30; and a congregational luncheon on June 28, marking Rabbi Barnard's final Shabbat as Northern Hills' rabbi.

Joe Lazear, president of

Northern Hills, observed, "We are excited to have the opportunity to honor Rabbi Barnard, who has so devoted himself to serving the congregation and the community for so many years. We hope members of the entire Cincinnati Jewish community will join us on these special occasions."

For more information, please contact Northern Hills Synagogue.

Rabbi Gershom Barnard

Rethink your definition of reality in Israel starting February 11 From February through June this year, six social innovators from Israel will give first-hand accounts of their lives in a previously unknown and “unshown” Israel, through the ISRAELITY speaker series. All ISRAELITY programs are free and open to all.

Community Shaliach Yair Cohen said, “Our goal with this series is to highlight aspects of Israel that don’t usually make the headlines in the U.S. We spend a lot of time discussing Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians, its place in the Middle East and even its role as a ‘start-up nation,’ but we often forget that Israel is more than that.” He continued, “ISRAELITY aims to give Cincinnatians a fuller picture of the complexity and diversity of Israeli society.”

The series starts with a hands-on workshop with mixedmedia artist and illustrator Hanoch Piven, on February 11, at 7 p.m., at the Mayerson JCC. For more than 20 years, Piven has been creating art using a specialized collage technique.

He is best known for his color-

ful and witty portraits created with “upcycled” everyday objects.

Next is Dov Lipman, an American-born member of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and Orthodox rabbi who lived in Cincinnati for three years in

Israelis, many of whom have not been able to integrate into society, often facing racism and mistrust.

April 6 brings Sayed Kashua, an Arab citizen of Israel, who straddles the line between worlds. He uses that perspective— along with his deadpan humor—to write a weekly column in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and a wildly popular and award-winning primetime comedy on Israeli television, Arab Labor. Episodes of the show, which has been compared to All in the Family, were shown at the 2012 JCC Summer Cinema Series.

Also in April, on the 30th, is Gal Lusky, who founded Israeli Flying Aid, a non-governmental organization that aims to provide relief in countries that lack diplomatic relations with Israel or whose governments prevent the entry of formal humanitarian organizations.

ISRAELITY wraps up in June with Yaniv Weizman, a founder of Israeli’s Gay Youth and a council member in Tel Aviv, which was named the Best Gay City in 2011.

“Our goal with this series is to highlight aspects of Israel that don’t usually make the headlines in the U.S. We spend a lot of time discussing Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians, its place in the Middle East and even its role as a ‘startup nation,’ but we often forget that Israel is more than that.” the mid-1990s. Lipman has been at the forefront of combating religious segregation in Israel and is a leader in efforts to create Jewish unity. He will share his vision for the Jewish State on February 20, at 7 p.m., also at the Mayerson JCC. On March 6, EthiopianIsraeli Member of Knesset Shimon Solomon will tell the story of his life-threatening pilgrimage from Ethiopia to Israel at age 10. He will explain how that journey has fueled his work advocating for Ethiopian-

Weizman is also the mayor's special advisor on LGBTQ affairs in the city.

ISRAELITY is presented by the Israel Center and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, and the Mayerson JCC. Partners include Adath Israel Congregation, Congregation Beth Adam, Northern Hills Synagogue, Rockdale Temple,

Sha’arei Torah and Wise Temple.

The series is offered in collaboration with American Jewish Committee (AJC), Beth Israel Congregation, Cincinnati Hillel, Hebrew Union College, Jewish National Fund (JNF), Na’amat, Rockwern Academy, Temple Sholom and the University of Cincinnati Judaic Studies Department.

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Parenting group to discuss ‘The Blessing of a Skinned Knee’ by Wendy Mogel at the Jewish Discovery Center The sessions are free charge, and babysitting available with reservations a small fee. Please contact JDC for more information.

of is for the

VOL. 160 • NO. 27

wards. The sound of piano, violin and the human voice evoke passion, energy and a profound sense of mourning, bridging the historical distance between us and this film as eloquently as does Pola Negri’s extraordinary face."

“Variety was important to us when we carefully selected films for this year’s Festival. We included dramas, comedies, and documentaries, with plots ranging from a familyfriendly coming of age tale to part romantic thriller, part vigilante action film. There is something for every taste and interest.”

Here is the offical Mayerson JCC Jewish and Israeli Film Festival Schedule: 1. Saturday, February 8 at 8pm: Opening Night: “The Yellow Ticket” at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Scheuer Chapel. Stay after the film for a festive dessert reception and a private meet-and-greet with the musicians.

2. Monday, February 10 at Cinemark Oakley Station: “Eagles”.

Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival 2012 3. Thursday, February 13 at 8:00pm: “Kaddish for a Friend” at Kenwood Theatre.

Awards: Audience Best Feature Film: Miami Jewish Film Festival, 2013; Grand Prix Award: Warsaw Jewish Film Festival 2012 4. Sunday, February 16 at 3:30pm: “The Zig Zag Kid” at

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 JORY EDLIN BETH KOTZIN Assistant Editors YOSEFF FRANCUS Copy Editor JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor ROBERT WILHELMY Dining Editor MARIANNA BETTMAN NATE BLOOM IRIS PASTOR ZELL SCHULMAN PHYLLIS R. SINGER Contributing Columnists JENNIFER CARROLL Production Manager BARBARA ROTHSTEIN Advertising Sales ERIN WYENANDT Office Manager e Oldest Eng Th

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its time, the film explores antisemitism, gender bias, and human trafficking in Imperialist Russia. Svigals crafted a lush score, which she performs live with Lerner.

Klezmer and other Eastern European folk traditions, 20thcentury classical composers such as Béla Bartók and Ernest Bloch, European café music, and contemporary improvisation, inspire the composition.

The opening night includes a dessert reception and a private meet-and-greet with the musicians.

Professor Tom Gunning of the University of Chicago said of the performance, "I believe this accompaniment to The Yellow Ticket is one of the most powerful I have heard. It evokes not only a sense of the contemporary context of the culture in which the film took place, but our awareness of what was done to it after-

Cinemark Oakley Station.

Golden Elephant Award Best Screenplay: International Children’s Film Festival in India 2013. Kid Friendly 5. Tuesday, February 18 at 7:30pm: “Besa: The Promise” at Kenwood Theatre.

Best Documentary: Washington Jewish Film Festival, Seattle Jewish Film Festival, and Jewish Eye Film Festival. With special guest, Sarah Weiss, The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, Executive Director.

6. Wednesday, February 19 at 7:30pm: “The Ceremony” at Cinemark Oakley Station.

With special speaker, Yair Cohen, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, Community Shaliach (Emissary) from Israel Audience Award: DocAviv 2013 7. Thursday, Feb. 20 at 1pm: “Kaddish for a Friend” at Mayerson JCC. Audience Best Feature Film: Miami Jewish Film Festival, 2013; Grand Prix Award: Warsaw Jewish Film Festival 2012 8. Tuesday, February 25 at 7:30pm: “Ameer Got His Gun” at Kenwood Theatre.

Israeli Academy Award Nominee 2012; Special Mention: Jerusalem International Film Festival 2011 9. Wednesday, February 26 at 1pm: “Besa: The Promise” at Mayerson JCC. Best Documentary: Washington Jewish Film Festival, Seattle Jewish Film Festival, and Jewish Eye Film Festival 10. Thursday, February 27 at 7:30pm: “Cupcakes” at Cinemark Oakley Station.

Best Feature Award: Iris Prize, UK. Enjoy cupcakes after the film.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014 22 SHEVAT 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 5:31 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 6:32 PM

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Marilyn Lerner. They bring to life this silent cinematic classic that portrays a woman’s struggle to overcome adversity in a story of secret identities, heroic measures, and triumphant love.

Remarkably progressive for

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

JCC Jewish Film Festival returns to Cincinnati The Mayerson JCC Jewish and Israeli Film Festival returns with eight films that organizers say are the best of the best. The Festival features the best of Israel’s thriving film industry from contemporary dramas to documentaries, from established and emerging filmmakers, as well as a selection of Jewish interest films produced outside Israel.

“Variety was important to us when we carefully selected films for this year’s Festival.

We included dramas, comedies, and documentaries, with plots ranging from a familyfriendly coming of age tale to part romantic thriller, part vigilante action film. There is something for every taste and interest,” said Cathy Heldman, Mayerson JCC Cultural Arts Manager.

The organizing committee watched over 50 films before deciding on the perfect ones.“When picking films, we search for ones that create an instant connection with the viewer. Whether they are documentaries or fictional stories, it is vital that you feel invested in the events that are unfolding on the screen in front of you. If that happens, then we have done our job,” Heldman said.

The 2014 Film Festival will present films on Saturday, Feb. 8 – Thursday, Feb. 27 at four convenient locations across Cincinnati: Kenwood Theatre, Cinemark Oakley Station, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Scheuer Chapel and the Mayerson JCC. The Opening Night Event at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion is a multi-media event featuring the acclaimed film “The Yellow Ticket.” A silent drama that includes a live, original score composed and accompanied by Grammy-winner and internationally renowned klezmer violinist & composer Alicia Svigals and jazz pianist

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“This is such good advice that after reading the book I drove to Cleveland to hear the author speak, “ said Melissa Helton, discussion group member.

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teachings will be facilitated by Rochel Kalmanson, director of Chai Tots and mother of 8.

Meeting over four Sundays in February, beginning the 2nd and ending on the 23rd, these talks will give you new insights to how to raise children in today’s increasingly complex society.

r in Am ape er sp i

A parenting discussion group will be featuring the book, “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee” by Wendy Mogel, in February at the Jewish Discovery Center.

The disucssion of this guide to raising self-reliant children of good character through the use of Jewish

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

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

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

With light, Moshe Safdie builds a global architectural legacy

By Edmon J. Rodman LOS ANGELES (JNS) – “Global Citizen: The Architecture of Moshe Safdie,” on display at Los Angeles’s Skirball Cultural Center through March 2, lets the light shine in on the famed Israeli-Canadian architect’s work around the world.

Through architectural models, photos, and renderings, the retrospective reveals how Safdie, who was born in Haifa in 1938 and moved to Canada with his family when he was young, has integrated culture, history, and modern design into his projects on three continents.

Safdie’s work encompasses more than 85 completed buildings, communities, and master plans, converting into structures the dreams and construction budgets of a surprisingly diverse clientele-including mid-westerners in Wichita, Indian Sikhs in Punjab, and the governments of Israel, Canada, and the United States.

His most significant commissions have been for the public

sphere: cultural centers, libraries, memorials, schools, religious facilities, and museums, including the Skirball Cultural Center, where two new buildings that he designedspaces for social gatherings, lectures, and meetings-have recently been added to his overall plan for the culture center’s campus.

A sense of place is built into his work, especially at a site like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., where low-slung pavilions are situated around reflecting pools, filled by a nearby stream.

“I can’t design without being on the site. I have to see the relationship,” Safdie, after taking a group on a tour of his recently completed Skirball structures, said in an interview with JNS.org.

Speaking of the Skirball, Safdie pointed out that “it’s not a building about religion.” It was the culture center’s “content” and “activities,” he believed, that would make a Jew identify with Judaism. “The architecture enhances the activity,” he explained.

The Skirball is “becoming increasingly social, not just Jewish,” said Safdie, who worked on the project from its inception with Skirball founding president and CEO Uri D. Herscher, who is also a rabbi.

“People have written generally that museums are becoming a replacement for houses of worship,” said Safdie, whose additions to the Skirball are being pitched by the institution as places for “social celebrations,” including bar and bat mitzvahs.

The new spaces, which are lightfilled and connected to outdoor patios and gardens, are clearly connected to his earlier work. Beginning with the groundbreaking “Habitat” he designed for Montreal’s Expo ‘67-the residential community of stacked, prefabricated, concrete blocks that eventually put him on the cover of Newsweek when he was 33-to his cathedral like tower of glass and steel entry way in the National Gallery of Canada, and the wall of glass reading area of his Salt Lake City public library, architectur-

Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore, designed by Moshe Safdie.

al models on display demonstrate how light is the central theme of Safdie’s work.

According to Donald Albrecht, the Skirball show’s curator who wrote the accompanying book,

“Global Citizen: The Architecture of Moshe Safdie,” Safdie’s “language of transcendent light, powerful geometric form, and metaphoric imagery produces building that are ceremonial and uplifting.”

Academic group won’t consider Israel boycott, but its mere discussion raises hackles

By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – Until recently, the rule of thumb in the proIsrael community was that the bigger the academic group, the less likely it was to consider a boycott of Israeli colleagues.

But with the 30,000-member Modern Language Association set to host a panel on BDS at its convention this week in Chicago, the rule may have to be reconsidered.

Supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement have scored some victories in recent months, mostly among smaller groups. The American Studies Association, which endorsed a boycott resolution last month targeting Israeli academic institutions, claims about 4,000 members.

Though the Modern Language Association will not consider an outright boycott of Israeli universities, it will consider a resolution calling on the U.S. State Department to oppose the “arbitrary denials of entry” to American academics seeking to teach or conduct research at universities in the West Bank and Gaza.

“They proposed the travel resolution as a fallback,” said Cary Nelson, an association member and former president of the American Association of University Professors. “They’re trying something else as a step toward a boycott resolution the next time. If they can win this, they will move onto the next one.”

In a conference call Tuesday organized by the Israel Action Network, Nelson argued that the Modern Language Association did not deserve the scorn it has weathered for hosting the panel, which will feature

five supporters of BDS and no opponents. The panel is among several hundred to be held at the convention, and Nelson said such panels typically reflect a single point of view and are not debates.

The Modern Language Association also is already on record opposing academic boycotts. In response to the removal of two Israeli scholars from a British journal, the group adopted a resolution in 2002 calling boycotts based on nationality or ethnic origins “unfair, divisive, and inconsistent with academic freedom.”

Still, activists on both sides of the issue say the success of individual boycott efforts is less important than the fact that boycotts are being discussed at all.

“The mere calling for a boycott will impede the free flow of ideas,” Russell Berman, a comparative literature professor at Stanford University and a past Modern Language Association president, said on the conference call. “The calling of a boycott will have a chilling effect on academic life.”

Rosemary Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association, said what is truly alarming is the notion that just convening a panel implicates the group as anti-Israel.

“It’s chilling, the idea that putting on a session is wrong, that it signifies foregone conclusions,” Feal told JTA. Samer Ali, the associate professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas in Austin who convened the panel, said the point is to shed light on Israeli practices.

“I think the only tangible benefit to come out of academic boycotts of Israel (and the ASA vote, the MLA roundtable, etc.) is generating discus-

sion about the daily effects of the occupation,” Ali wrote in an email.

Far from sparking a wave of proboycott measures, the vote by the American Studies Association has engendered a broad backlash, with more than 100 university heads speaking out against it.

“Some may argue that BDS is picking up momentum,” said Geri Palast, who directs the Israel Action Network, an initiative of the Jewish

Council for Public Affairs and the Jewish Federations of North America.

“The reality is that the broad academic community is rejecting BDS in terms of its singling out one country and saying there is only one narrative.

We are winning this debate.”

Nelson said he would attend the BDS panel to offer his opposition before heading to a nearby hotel to speak on a panel organized by the campus group Hillel and the Israel on

Campus Coalition.

Notably, there were signs of disagreement between academics opposed to BDS and pro-Israel groups over how best to counter such resolutions. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, for instance, in its appeal to universities to reject the American Studies Association boycott also called on them to cut off the group.

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Jewish Fraternity becomes full member of Conference of Presidents (JTA)The Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi has become a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

AEPi is the first college student organization to be a full member of the conference, an umbrella organization for more than 50 U.S. Jewish groups that focuses primarily on promoting pro-Israel positions. Hillel: The

Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is an adjunct member of the conference.

The members’ vote to admit AEPi came after a unanimous recommendation by the Presidents Conference membership committee.

“This is recognition by the Conference member organizations of the need to engage future leaders of our community and to give

them a voice in our deliberations,” Presidents Conference Chairman Robert Sugarman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein said in a statement.

“AEPi is a remarkable organization with affiliates on campuses across the country and provides an array of educational and advocacy training programs. We have seen first-hand not only the quality of the members but also their com-

mitment to promoting Jewish involvement and Israel on campus.”

Last August, AEPi made Hoenlein a fraternity brother at AEPi’s 100th anniversary dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. The ceremony did not include prolonged hazing.

AEPi’s international president, Elan Carr, and executive director, Andrew Borans, hailed the frater-

nity’s admission to the conference as a step toward making “an even greater impact on Jewish identity, Jewish leadership and Israel advocacy.”

“AEPi’s proven track record of Jewish leadership, philanthropy, and unequivocal support for the State of Israel will be an important asset for the Conference,” they said.

Mercava platform touting itself as future of Jewish education

By Julie Wiener

Courtesy of Mercava

Mercava’s “Daf Yomi” app displayed on an iPad Mini.

NEW YORK (JTA) – An Israel-based nonprofit boasts staff and board members from brand-name companies like Facebook and Disney. Its splashy fundraising video promises a customizable online platform for Jewish learning with a comprehensive digital library of Judaic texts featuring translations, links to related sources, maps and videos.

But is Mercava the future of Jewish education or mere vaporware, the tech term for overly hyped software that never fully materializes?

Founded with $1.5 million in private donations raised primari-

ly in Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community, Mercava hopes to raise another $1.5 million from North American Jewish foundations and federations. The goal, CEO and co-founder Yehuda Moshe said, is to make Jewish wisdom, culture and values “not just affordable and accessible, but also relevant to modern life and attractive in this media-rich and entertainment-driven age.”

The project remains a work in progress. Until late December, when its 8 1/2-minute fundraising video began circulating online, even American Jewish education leaders at the forefront of technology-based learning were unaware of its existence.

But in recent weeks, Mercava

has sparked discussion in some Jewish education forums over whether the project is just a lot of hype, if it has involved enough educators in the planning process and whether it will offer something new and useful. Others have raised concerns about the scarcity of women in the group’s promotional video. All of Mercava’s executives and board members are men, many of them Orthodox and Syrian.

“We can’t waste our resources on partial solutions developed in a vacuum,” Kohelet Foundation President David Magerman wrote on a popular Jewish education listserv. “We need to plan these kinds of projects with broad-based discussion

and support, so the product is acceptable and usable by as many as possible.”

Mercava is hardly the first piece of Jewish educational technology, but it may be the most ambitious. A start-up called Sefaria has begun enlisting volunteers to help put the entire Jewish canon online. The publisher Behrman House makes its textbooks available in digital form. And Israel’s Center for Education Technology has helped develop interactive textbooks for use in Jewish day schools.

But none match Mercava in the sheer breadth of features, MERCAVA on page 19

Is food writer Mark Bittman going kosher?

By Uriel Heilman NEW YORK (JTA) – Mark Bittman is not a religious man by any stretch of the imagination, least of all his own.

A longtime food writer for The New York Times who three years ago shifted from cooking to food policy columnist, Bittman has made a living eating the kinds of things frowned upon by Jewish tradition.

As he told me recently, “Pork cooked in milk is an amazing dish.”

Though he was born and raised a Jew – going to synagogue, religious school and Reform youth groups at Manhattan’s East End Temple – Bittman says he pretty much has had nothing to do with Judaism since he graduated from high school in 1967.

But read his columns on food sustainability and the book he published last April, “VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health... for Good,” and you might see some religious echoes in Bittman’s food philosophy.

Bittman enjoins consumers to steer clear of food produced by companies that mistreat animals, exploit their workers or degrade the earth – values also reflected in Jewish law.

He rails against food waste large and small, from the inefficiency of using corn for ethanol fuel to the failure to

Food writer Mark Bittman wants you to eat more plants.

repurpose dinner leftovers as the next day’s lunch, tendencies that arguably also run afoul of the Jewish prohibition of “bal tashchis” – Do not waste.

Then there’s Bittman’s VB6 diet – basically, eating more plants and fewer animals with the goal of improving personal health and making food consumption more environmentally sustainable. Like Lent and the nine-day Jewish mourning period preceding Tisha b’Av, it eschews eating meat at certain times.

“VB6 is like being kosher till 6, basically,” Bittman said last month in a panel discussion at the biennial

conference of the Union for Reform Judaism.

But talk to Bittman one on one and it’s clear he finds the notion of a diet governed by religion as outlandish as a Hasidic butcher might find Bittman’s predilection for bacon.

“How can Jews observe these kashrut laws which, with all due respect, I don’t think make any sense from a health perspective or any other perspective?” Bittman said in an interview. “They’re just some cool – or not cool, whatever – tradition. I get that, but why would you do that when there’s evidence that

says there’s a smarter way to eat?”

Bittman, 63, has carved out a unique niche for himself. Though he has no formal culinary training, he hit the big time in 1998 with the publication of his cookbook “How to Cook Everything” and the launch of his Minimalist dining column in the Times.

Now with a cooking column in the Times Magazine, an Op-Ed column and his blog, he has turned himself into the only brand-name food writer in America taking on both cooking and food policy simultaneously.

“For decades, Americans believed that we had the world’s healthiest and safest diet,” he wrote in his inaugural food policy column in February 2011. “We worried little about this diet’s effect on the environment or on the lives of the animals (or even the workers) it relies upon. Nor did we worry about its ability to endure – that is, its sustainability.

“That didn’t mean all was well.

And we’ve come to recognize that our diet is unhealthful and unsafe.

Many food production workers labor in difficult, even deplorable conditions, and animals are produced as if they were widgets. It would be hard to devise a more wasteful, damaging, unsustainable system.”

In subsequent columns and in his new book, Bittman has not minced words. He predicted that Pepsi may ultimately come to be regarded as a killer as lethal as cigarettes and faulted singer Beyonce for endorsing the soda. He has written about the hazards of chemicals in cosmetics and how humans are treated as guinea pigs by the industry. He has called for an entire rethinking of the U.S. model of food production.

The central tenet of “VB6” is eating fewer animal products because, as Bittman writes, “the industrial production of animal products and hyper-processed foods creates devastating byproducts, from greenhouse gas emissions to land degradation to polluted water supplies.”

But Bittman doesn’t advocate strict vegetarianism, a goal he knows is unrealistic for most Americans, including himself. (He’s not Orthodox, after all.) Rather, he advocates veganism – foregoing meat, poultry, fish, dairy or eggs – until evening, though he readily acknowledges often breaking his own rule.

Bittman calls himself a “flexitarian.”

In the months since his book came out, Bittman told JTA, he has done some rethinking and, if he were rewriting “VB6” today, he’d make KOSHER on page 22

NATIONAL • 7

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

For lone socialist in Congress, pet issue finds the spotlight

By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont and the only selfdescribed socialist in Congress, has long been an outspoken voice in Washington on issues of economic inequality.

But with the vanishing middle class figuring prominently in the campaign for mayor of the country’s largest city, and President Obama last month calling the gap between rich and poor “the defining issue of our time,” Sanders’ pet political cause has moved to the forefront of the national discussion.

“There has been an understanding in the Democratic Party that now is the time to focus on protecting the collapsing middle class and the needs of moderate- to low-income Americans,” Sanders told JTA in an interview. “When the middle class is shrinking and the wealthiest people are doing phenomenally well, we do need revenue to come from the wealthiest people in the country.”

Sanders, 72, who has long caucused with the Democrats, is one of 10 Jewish members in the U.S. Senate. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., is the son of Polish immigrants whose father’s family was wiped out in the Holocaust, according to a 2007

New York Times profile.

After graduating from the University of Chicago, Sanders spent time on an Israeli kibbutz around 1963 – notably before the 1967 SixDay War, when it was not common for American youngsters to spend time in Israel.

But Sanders is hesitant to draw a connection between his Jewish background and his priorities as a senator.

With a series of observations about the Jewish history of rootlessness and oppression, Sanders begins to describe the role of his lower-middle-class upbringing in forging him Courtesy of JTA

SOCIALIST on page 22

Sen. Bernie Sanders addressing a rally on Capitol Hill in 2013.

Meet the Jewish matchmaker-in-chief: Tova Weinberg

By Beth Kissileff (JNS) – Tova Weinberg will do anything to make a match-even adopt a dog.

In an interview from her home in Pittsburgh, Weinberg, the matchmaker who co-founded the Jewish dating website SawYouAtSinai.com (SYAS), recalls her confusion when a man whom she thought was in a relationship asked to come to her Hanukkah party for singles. Asked why he would attend a singles party, the man said he wanted to marry the woman he was dating, but he hated her dog. Weinberg called the woman to let her know that her boyfriend wanted to marry her-sans

National Briefs Orthodox school in N.Y. allows girls to pray with tefillin NEW YORK (JTA) – An Orthodox high school in New York City is allowing girls to wear tefillin.

Rabbi Tully Harcsztark, principal of the SAR High School in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, last month began to allow two female students to wear tefillin, or phylacteries, during a women’s daily prayer service. The development was first reported in the school newspaper, The Buzz.

Jewish councilwoman in Oakland targeted with swastikas (JTA) – Fliers hung in the Oakland, Calif., neighborhood of a Jewish city councilwoman show a swastika drawn on her forehead.

The fliers hung throughout the Montclair district represented by Libby Schaaf read “Stop Schaaf.

Stop the DAC” (domain awareness center) – a reference to a city plan to build a combined surveil-

the dog. When the woman balked, Weinberg said, “I'll take the dog.”

Within a few months, Weinberg was a pet owner, and the couple was married.

Launched in December 2003, SYAS was one of the first Jewish dating websites. The site's approach is unique in that it fuses the old-school shidduch (matchmaking) strategies with new-school Internet dating.

Unlike most dating sites, in which users independently browse profiles, SYAS relies on a team of volunteer matchmakers who scour databases of users and suggest matches to the users they represent. Only matchmakers who are married and willing to devote

at least six hours per week to the project are eligible to volunteer. SYAS now boasts more than 30,000 users, and nearly 1,000 matches resulting in marriage have been made since the site's inception a decade ago.

At the helm of the operation is Weinberg, who works from what she calls “command central”-a small desk area in her kitchen. That space is where the “magic” happens, she says.

“Here is a profile. I look, think who is out there, who might be good,” Weinberg tells JNS.org.

As a shadchan (matchmaker), Weinberg deals with all kinds of clients with special needs, from Asperger's

syndrome-spectrum individuals, to widows and widowers, to divorcees.

She believes her toughest customer is a 30-year-old “Bais Yakov girl” (referring to the Brooklyn-based Orthodox school for girls) who is looking for a “Tom Cruise lookalike who says Tehillim (Psalms).”

Weinberg has also had male clients tell her that they are gay but haven't come out yet to their parents. Other men have told her they aren't interested in her matchmaking services because they have a shiksa (non-Jewish woman) girlfriend they don't want their families to know about. In those cases and similar ones, Weinberg stays quiet,

doesn't make a match, and leaves the client to sort out his or her issues.

In fact, Weinberg got into matchmaking not to help Jews who are already observant, but to help prevent intermarriage. When Weinberg and her husband Joel moved from New York to Pittsburgh, where he works as a physician, he kept bringing home Jewish doctors with non-Jewish spouses or girlfriends. Weinberg did not want to speak to the non-Jewish partners due to her distress about intermarriage, but Joel told her to stop complaining and instead do something about it.

lance center for police and firefighters.

sex with minors, an Israeli radio station reported.

Golan was slated to perform Jan. 19 at a concert that was advertised as late as Jan. 10 on the website of the Lawrence Family JCC. The show has since been removed from the website.

seat safe for his party. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.

obtaining a nuclear weapon. Zarif, seen as a relative moderate, leads the Iranian side in the talks.

Congress members blast ASA for boycott decision WASHINGTON (JTA) – A bipartisan slate of 134 U.S. Congress members wrote a letter to the American Studies Association protesting its decision last month to boycott Israeli universities.

Sharansky to Congress: Maintain public awareness of political prisoners WASHINGTON (JTA) – Natan Sharansky joined the parents and spouses of political prisoners in asking the U.S. Congress to speak of their loved ones during meetings with foreign officials.

Sharansky, imprisoned by the Soviets for nine years because of his activism on behalf of Soviet Jews, recalled at a hearing Jan. 16 that his jailers told him, “You are in our hands. If you disappear, no one will notice.”

Report: San Diego JCC drops Eyal Golan show over sex allegations (JTA) – A Jewish community center in San Diego canceled a concert by Eyal Golan amid suspicions that the Israeli singer had

House spending bill includes full $3.1 billion for Israel WASHINGTON (JTA) – Funding to Israel was restored to its pre-sequester levels in the spending bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill keeps funding for Israel at $3.1 billion for 2014, the amount designated in a 10-year memorandum of understanding from 2007 that guaranteed Israel an average of $3 billion a year in assistance.

Va. Rep. Jim Moran, known for clashes with Jewish groups, to retire WASHINGTON (JTA) – Rep. Jim Moran, a longtime congressman from Virginia who repeatedly clashed with pro-Israel and Jewish groups, is retiring.

Moran, 68, told the media on Jan. 15 that he would not run again in his northern Virginia district because it has become strongly Democratic, making his vacant

Congress budgets $13 million for security of nonprofits WASHINGTON (JTA) – Congress budgeted $13 million for a nonprofit security assistance program that mostly aids Jewish institutions.

The money was allocated in the $1.1 trillion budget passed this week by both houses of Congress.

Ex-envoy Michael Oren joins CNN WASHINGTON (JTA) – Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, will be a contributor to CNN. “Michael will be joining CNN as a Middle East contributor,” a spokeswoman for Oren told JTA in a statement.

White House slams Iran’s Zarif for honoring Hezbollah’s Mughniyeh WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Obama administration slammed the Iranian foreign minister for honoring a slain Hezbollah operations leader.

The condemnation comes as the United States joins other major powers in launching talks with Iran aimed at keeping it from

MATCHMAKER on page 22

Bill would link funding for Palestinians to incitement WASHINGTON (JTA) – A bill introduced by the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee would link assistance to the Palestinian Authority to its efforts to stop incitement.

Under the bill presented Jan. 15 by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the president would have to determine that the Palestinian Authority “no longer engages in a pattern of incitement against the United States or Israel; and is engaged in peace preparation activities aimed at promoting peace with the Jewish State of Israel.”

Report: Bulk of Jewish donations come from synagogue members NEW YORK (JTA) – The overwhelming majority of money donated to Jewish organizations

by American Jewish households comes from those affiliated with synagogues, even though they constitute a minority of the adult Jewish population, a new report shows.

8 • INTERNATIONAL

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Anti-Semitic violence frightens Ukrainian Jews amid Maidan protests

By Alina Dain Sharon (JNS) – Two violent anti-Semitic incidents that took place in Kiev, Ukraine, over the course of a week have alarmed the Ukrainian Jewish community. Some experts speculate that the events could be related to the political conflict that has engulfed the country since November 2013.

On Jan. 11, several men attacked Hillel Wertheimer, an Orthodox Jewish and Israeli teacher of Hebrew and Jewish tradition, after he left a synagogue at the end of Shabbat. On Jan. 18, a yeshiva student, Dov-Ber Glickman, was severely attacked by men with their fists and legs on his way home from a Shabbat meal.

According to the general EuroAsian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Council, the combat boots of Glickman’s attackers may have been outfitted with blades. Glickman dragged himself to a nearby synagogue’s ritual bath, where he was discovered and taken to a hospital.

Glickman told IDF Radio on Sunday that “people are now afraid to leave their homes.”

“The frightening thing is that [the attackers] arrived by car, and were apparently organized,” Hillel Cohen, chairman of the Hatzalah Ukraine emergency services group, told Yedioth Ahronot.

In an additional incident on Jan. 18, yeshiva students detained a suspicious individual who, according to the students, was found to possess a detailed plan of the surrounding neighborhood.

Sam Kliger, the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) director of Russian Jewish community affairs,

believes the incidents could be a “sinister sign indicating that some are trying to use anti-Semitism in political confrontation in Ukraine.”

“Historically in this part of the world, a political confrontation sooner or later starts to exploit the ‘Jewish question’ and to play the Jewish card,” Kliger told JNS in an email.

Jan. 19 saw an intensification of the Maidan protests, which have been taking place intermittently since November. On Jan. 21, demonstrators clashed with police forces by catapulting Molotov cocktails. Police forces fired rubber bullets and smoke bombs. About 30 protesters were detained. Two-hundred people were injured and vehicles were torched, Bloomberg News reported.

In November, when the “Euromaidan” protests first began in Kiev’s Independence Square in opposition to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to freeze plans to join a free trade agreement with the European Union, some Ukrainian-Jewish leaders had canceled events out of fear that Jews may be targeted, especially since the ultra-nationalist Ukrainian political opposition party Svaboda, which is viewed as an anti-Semitic and neoNazi group by various Jewish organizations, was participating in the protests. But there was little indication of anti-Semitism among protesters at the time.

Given the two recent violent attacks on Jews, there are some who suggest that “some pro-governmental forces are behind the attacks in order to then blame the nationalists and ultra-nationalist groups associated with Maidan protesters to

Courtesy of Mstyslav Chernov via Wikimedia Commons

A “Euromaidan” protest on Nov. 27, 2013 in Kiev, Ukraine. Due to the ongoing protests, which began over Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to freeze plans to join a free trade agreement with the European Union, some Ukrainian-Jewish leaders canceled events out of fear that Jews may be targeted.

denounce their legitimacy,” Kliger told JNS. “Yet another version suggests the opposite, namely that some radical groups like neo-Nazis and ultranationalists are behind the attack, which they then can blame on the government,” Kliger said.

Historian, politologist, and EAJC member Vyacheslav Likhachev said in an EAJC op-ed published Jan. 19 that the former is more likely than the latter.

“The large-scale civil protests known under the title ‘Euromaidan’ really do include groups of radical youths whose slogans and actions repel even the nationalistic AllUkrainan ‘Svoboda’ Union Party,” Likhachev wrote. But he also wrote that such activists have been heavily occupied with protecting the center

of the Maidan protests and preparing for confrontations with government forces. On Jan. 20, President Yanukovych agreed to form a crossparty commission to try to bring an end to the conflict, but the opposition may not participate in talks without the president, according to reports.

“Considering the general direction of what is happening on the Maidan, I believe that even the most thuggish of the protesters are not interested in Jews at the moment,” Likhachev wrote.

But since the Ukrainian government has been portraying protestors as a threat to minorities, according to Likhachev, pro-government forces may be instigating anti-Semitic incidents to then be able to blame the protesters for them.

“It is possible that the second,

more cruel incident happened due to the first not having enough resonance in the media,” although “15 years of experience in monitoring hate crimes tell me that usually hate crime is just a hate crime and not an element of some complex and global political plot,” wrote Likhachev.

Josef Zisels, chairman of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities (Vaad) of Ukraine, emphasized in an official statement translated from Russian that the antiSemitic attacks were synchronized with the adoption of new legislation initiated by Yanukovych late last week that outlaws many forms of protests. The law bans wearing hardhats or masks, building tents or stages, and disseminating “extremist information” about the Ukrainian government.

“Journalists and public figures, including those acting on behalf of the Jewish community, rushed without any factual basis to tie the assaults with the campaign of peaceful civil protests,” Zisels said in the statement.

“Based on the fact that now the topic of anti-Semitism is being used heavily in the cynical political technology campaigns aimed at discrediting the political opposition and the public protest movement, the Jewish community must remain increasingly vigilant,” he said.

Both AJC and The National Conference Supporting Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia (NCSJ) issued statements condemning the anti-Semitic attacks and asking the Ukrainian government to investigate the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.

As quenelle spreads to pitch, British soccer bosses staying on sidelines

By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) – When West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka exposed British soccer fans to the vaguely Hitlerian salute now sweeping his native France, Jewish groups were confident a strong response was coming.

After all, Britain is considered a leader in the fight against xenophobia in sports thanks to its successful education programs and the tough stance of its soccer institutions, courts and police.

But their confidence has been shaken by the refusal of British soccer bosses to condemn Anelka for performing the quenelle in a match against West Ham on Dec. 28.

The quenelle, which many believe is designed to test the limits of laws banning explicit expressions of anti-Semitism, was invented by the French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, who has multiple convictions against him for inciting racial hatred of Jews.

Dieudonne says the quenelle is an anti-establishment gesture and

Courtesy of Christopher Lee/Getty Images

French soccer star Nicolas Anelka performing the quenelle after scoring a goal at a match in London, Dec. 28, 2013.

denies that it is anti-Semitic. Anelka said much the same in a series of Twitter posts defending his actions, writing that he was neither a racist nor an anti-Semite and had performed the quenelle as “tribute to my comedian friend Dieudonne.”

But while French leaders were

quick to condemn Anelka – France’s minister for sports, Valerie Fourneyron, called Anelka’s gesture disgusting and anti-Semitic within hours of the match – Britain’s Football Association and its main partner in combating soccer racism have resisted calls to follow suit.

The nonprofit Kick It Out, which partners with the FA in fighting racism, issued a statement on Dec. 28 saying only that it was aware of the incident and offered its support to the Football Association in any investigation.

Kick It Out spokesman Richard Bates declined to comment further, telling JTA that the matter is under investigation. A spokesman for the Football Association also declined to comment.

“Not good enough,” John Mann, the chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating AntiSemitism at the European Parliament, tweeted last month.

“You should be leading on challenging this racism. Your statement is weak and puny.”

The rebuke was unusual for an eminent body like Kick It Out, which has 20 years of experience in combating racism and conducts training programs for similar groups around the world. Leaders of the Israeli version, Kick Racism out of Israeli Football, were in England last year for five days of anti-hooligan-

ism training with Kick It Out. Since Dieudonne introduced the quenelle last year, hundreds have posted online photographs of themselves performing the gesture, which consists of pointing toward the ground with a flattened hand while folding the other arm across the chest.

Several photos showed people performing the quenelle near Jewish sites, including synagogues, Holocaust monuments and the school in Toulouse, France, where four Jews were murdered in 2012.

On Jan. 9, the 70th anniversary of the deportation of hundreds of Jews from Bordeaux to Nazi death camps, more than a dozen people participated in a group quenelle outside the city’s main synagogue.

At least 10 other prominent French athletes have performed the quenelle in recent months. One was Alexy Bosetti, who performed the gesture for cameras and then said on Twitter he was only showing off his tattoo. Bosetti ended his tweet with SOCCER on page 22

INTERNATIONAL • 9

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

Stephen Harper is one of Israel’s staunchest supporters—but why?

By Ron Csillag TORONTO (JTA) – It took seven years, but one of Israel’s staunchest allies among world leaders has made his maiden voyage to the Jewish state.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in Israel on Sunday with his wife, Laureen. On Tuesday, Harper and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to expand a free trade pact between their countries and signed a memorandum providing for increased cooperation in defense, business and academia.

“Canada supports Israel because it is right to do so,” Harper said in an address to the Knesset on Monday.

“This is a very Canadian trait, to do something for no reason other than it is right.”

Since his election in 2006, the Conservative prime minister has been full throated, unapologetic and seemingly indifferent to consequence in his support for Israel.

Harper was the first Western leader to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority following Hamas’ 2006 seizure of power in Gaza and the first to withdraw from the second U.N. World Conference Against Racism, known as Durban II, saying the event would “scapegoat the Jewish people.”

Canada has sided openly with Israel in every one of its military operations since 2006. Netanyahu,

calls him Stephen, and the two speak regularly. And earlier this month, Harper appointed Vivian Bercovici, a Toronto lawyer and an outspoken Israel supporter, as Canada’s ambassador to Israel.

Harper has backed Israel with such fervor that some scholars and diplomats “rank it as the most dramatic shift in the history of postwar Canadian foreign policy,” according to journalist Marci McDonald’s 2011 book, “The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada.”

The jolting change has left many of Canada’s 375,000 Jews swooning following decades in which Ottawa HARPER on page 19

Courtesy of JTA Staff

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Ottawa in 2012.

Upcoming Halimi movie part of wave of renewed interest in ‘06 murder

By Cnaan Liphshiz SAINTE-GENEVIEVE-DESBOIS, France (JTA) – The phone calls from Africa, the calm demeanor of the suspects and their extreme caution left no doubt in the minds of detectives working the Ilan Halimi case: They were up against an international ring of professional kidnappers.

It would be more more than three weeks after Halimi’s abduction, when the young Jewish phone salesman was found dying on a suburban Paris field in February 2006, that police finally realized their mis-

International Briefs Holocaust awareness program at Auschwitz museum launches in Arabic and Farsi (JNS) – The Auschwitz museum, which is located at the site of the former Nazi death camp in Poland, says it has launched an online program on Holocaust awareness in the Arabic and Farsi languages.

Pope Francis may open Vatican’s controversial WWII archive (JNS) – A close friend of Pope Francis believes that the pontiff will open up the Vatican’s sealed archives from World War II. The archive, which details the church’s activities during the war, has been a point of controversy for several decades. Many Jews accuse the Vatican and former wartime Pope Pius XII of staying silent during the Holocaust.

Al-Qaeda-inspired group fires rockets from Sinai toward Eilat (JNS) – Two rockets were fired on Monday night from Egypt’s Sinai

take: A gang of local amateurs had abducted Halimi for money and used basic hacking methods and some Hollywood tactics to conceal their identities.

The realization is the tragic climax of the first feature film about the Halimi murder. It is scheduled for release April 30 by Alexandre Arcady, one of France’s best-known directors.

The film is part of a renewed interest in France in l’Affaire Halimi, which early on was so shocking to the French public that many considered it a freak occurrence. But with a wave of antiPeninsula toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat. No injuries were reported.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem), a Sinaibased and al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist group, on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel and Egypt working together in Sinai and Gaza to defeat Hamas (JNS) – Israel and Egypt are working together to defeat Hamas in Gaza and in the Sinai Peninsula, according to reports.

“Cooperation is growing tighter on the intelligence and operational level – in fact, on all military levels,” an anonymous Israeli official told the Times of Israel.

Basescu expresses support for a secure Israel (JNS) – Romanian President Traian Basescu, during his second visit to Israel in less than four years, told Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday that both Israel and the Palestinians must jump on the chance for peace. Basescu expressed his support for a Palestinian state, but emphasized that any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must include a secure Israel.

Semitic violence convulsing France over the past year, and particularly following the 2012 slaying of three Jewish children and a rabbi in Toulouse, many have come to view the Halimi murder as a watershed moment.

“This film is about something that happened seven years ago but recent events have caught up to it, making it part of current affairs,” Arcady told JTA in an interview at his Paris office.

Halimi was kidnapped in Paris in January 2006 by a gang of at least 16 men and women led by Youssouf Fofana, a professed anti-Semite of Several European pension funds considering Israel divestment (JNS) – Several large European pension funds are considering divesting from Israeli banks.

According to the Financial Times, the pension funds are concerned “that the banks finance illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinianoccupied territories.”

Romanian President Traian Two violent anti-Semitic attacks alarm Ukraine’s Jewish community (JNS) – Two violent anti-Semitic incidents in Kiev have alarmed the Ukrainian Jewish community. On Jan. 11, two men attacked 26-yearold Israeli teacher Hillel Wertheimer when he left a synagogue after Shabbat. He did not suffer serious wounds. On Jan. 18, a 33-year-old yeshiva student from Russia, DovBer Glickman, was also attacked after he left a synagogue.

UNESCO decision to pull Jewish exhibit slammed by U.S. and Israel (JNS) – American and Israeli officials blasted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) decision

Ivorian descent who had Halimi starved, mutilated and beaten for 24 days in a cellar before dumping him in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.

Fofana was sure he would be paid ransom because Halimi was Jewish.

Halimi died on his way to the hospital.

The Arcady film, based on a book by Halimi’s mother, Ruth, is one of several about Halimi now in production. Filmmakers Richard Berry and Thomas Langmann are working separately on cinematic adaptations based on some of the other books written about the abduction. The release dates for the other

films are not yet known.

Interest in the Halimi story exploded following the Toulouse killings, as the French media embarked on a process of re-examining anti-Semitism that has yielded dozens of articles each month mentioning Halimi. The comedian Dieudonne, who has been much in the news lately for inventing a quasiHitlerian salute that has taken the country by storm, also frequently mocks Halimi in his shows and has called for Fofana’s release.

“Today, after Toulouse, we

to pull an exhibit on the Jewish connection to the land of Israel after the Arab League objected to the display.

The Arab League had expressed “deep worry and great disapproval” about the “People, Book, Land-The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel” exhibit, a Simon Wiesenthal Center project.

ful conviction of Raphael Levy in 1670 for murder.

British soccer body charges Nicolas Anelka over quenelle (JTA) – England’s Football Association charged player Nicolas Anelka for performing an “abusive” gesture during a match.

On Tuesday, the F.A. charged Anelka, a French national playing for the West Bromwich Albion British soccer team, with making a “gesture which was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, contrary to FA Rule E3[1].”

Germany to pay Amsterdam Jews for ‘voluntary’ ghetto labor (JTA) – More than 1,000 people have applied for new compensation money from Germany for labor performed in Amsterdam’s Jewish ghettos during the Holocaust.

344 years after his execution, French Jew cleared of blood libel (JTA) – Nearly 350 years after his wrongful execution, a French Jew who had been convicted of a blood libel was exonerated and declared a martyr.

The village of Glatigny in the eastern district of Moselle set the record straight Sunday on the wrong-

HALIMI on page 22

Chile’s Palestine soccer team fined over map uniform BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – Chile’s top soccer league fined the Palestine Football Club for wearing uniforms showing the entire map of Israel as Palestine.

Romanian president: Israel must be recognized as Jewish state BUCHAREST, Romania (JTA) – Romania supports in principle Israel’s demand for Palestinian recognition of Israel as the Jewish state but encourages compromises on this and other issues, Romanian President Traian Basescu said.

Speaking to JTA at his presidential palace two days before an Israel visit that began Sunday, Basescu said that “if they [the Palestinians] want peace, they must follow the request of the Israeli people.”

10 • ISRAEL

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Nothing personal: Kerry-Ya’alon stir indicates policy differences

By Alex Traiman (JNS) – Leaked comments Israeli Defense Minister Moshe [Bogie] Ya’alon made about U.S. Secretary State of State John Kerry’s approach to IsraeliPalestinian conflict negotiations caused a diplomatic stir last week.

Yet Ya’alon’s reported remarks – which characterized Kerry’s approach as an “obsession” and as “messianic” – appear to have less to do with any personal dislike of Kerry and more to do with how Kerry’s pursuit of a two-state solution is at odds with the defense minister’s understanding of Israel’s security needs.

“Bogie is worried about Israeli withdrawal to lines where Israel will be in a difficult strategic and military position to defend itself against future attacks. He believes Kerry does not understand the complexity of the conflict,” Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, told JNS. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Ya’alon as saying, “Secretary of State John Kerry-who came here very determined, and operates based upon an unfathomable obsession and a messianic feeling – cannot teach me anything about the Palestinians.”

“The only thing that will ‘save’ us is for John Kerry to win

Israel Briefs New visa allows ‘X Factor’ winner to work in Israel as singer JERUSALEM (JTA) – Rose Fostanes, the Filipina caregiver who won Israel’s “X Factor,” will be allowed to work in Israel as a performer.

Some Ashdod schools closed over rocket fears JERUSALEM (JTA) – Classes at schools in Ashdod not fortified against rockets were canceled over fears of retaliatory attacks into the southern Israel municipality from Gaza.

Some 4,000 students stayed home Monday; there are about 54,000 schoolchildren in Ashdod.

Israel begins transferring bodies of Palestinian terrorists to West Bank JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel began a court-ordered transfer of the remains of 36 Palestinian terrorists to the Palestinian Authority.

Courtesy of Flash90

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe ‘Bogie’ Ya’alon gives a statement to the media during a visit to the IDF Central Command on Jan. 7, 2014. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Jan. 14 quoted Ya’alon as saying U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s approach to Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations is an “obsession” and “messianic,” igniting a diplomatic stir.

a Nobel Prize and leave us alone,” Ya’alon reportedly said.

The remarks drew strong rebuke from the United States, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – known to have a rocky relationship with the Obama Administration – is being asked to distance himself from the comments.

“The remarks of the defense minister, if accurate, are offensive and inappropriate, especially given all that the United States is doing to support Israel’s security needs,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, said in a stateLast year, the remains of 91 Palestinians were transferred to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and to Gaza.

Wounded Syrian couple treated in Israel (JNS) – Israel Defense Forces troops brought a wounded Syrian couple to Poriah Hospital near Tiberias last week. The couple, residents of the embattled town Daraa, arrived with gunshot wounds in their legs. The male is 27 years old, and his wife is 23.

Two months ago, the couple lost their daughter two weeks after she was born.

IDF on alert after more Gaza rocket fire (JNS) – Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired another rocket into southern Israel on Thursday night, after five rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome system over Ashkelon on Thursday morning. The rocket on Thursday night exploded in open territory, causing no injuries or damage, Israel Hayom reported.

Military officials said the Israel Defense Forces was prepared for any scenario and that the IDF had raised its level of alert due to the rocket fire.

ment.

“To question [Kerry’s] motives and distort his proposals is not something we would expect from the defense minister of a close ally,” she said.

Halevi told JNS that Ya’alon’s remarks were intended to be part of a “closed discussion.”

“It wasn’t intended to be said in public,” Halevi said.

Following a lengthy meeting with Netanyahu, Ya’alon’s defense ministry issued an apology.

“The defense minister had no intention to cause any offense to

Israeli security forces thwart terror plan to kidnap Israelis (JNS) – The Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said last week that it thwarted a plan by a Hamas-affiliated terrorist cell in the West Bank to kidnap Israelis in December.

According to the Shin Bet, the plot was organized by Muhammad Bel, a terrorist from Gaza who has been incarcerated in Israel’s Eshel prison since 2008.

Bel recruited two Palestinian terrorist prisoners in the West Bank, Ali Harub and Rajab Salah al-Din, with the purpose of recruiting Palestinians outside of prison to kidnap Israelis.

The plot idea was hatched by a Gaza terror group called the Holy Warriors Brigades.

Report: Israel Hayom continues as Israel’s most widely read daily newspaper (JNS) – Israel Hayom continues to be the most widely read daily newspaper in Israel, according to a report published Monday that reviewed media consumption in the second half of 2013 in Israel.

The Target Group Index,

the secretary, and he apologizes if the secretary was offended by words attributed to the minister,” the statement read.

“Israel and the United States share a common goal to advance the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians led by Secretary Kerry. We appreciate Secretary Kerry’s many efforts towards that end,” the ministry stated.

Other Israeli officials, like the U.S., lashed out at Ya’alon’s remarks. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who leads Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinians, wrote on Facebook, “You can oppose negotiations professionally and responsibly without tongue-lashing and destroying relations with Israel’s top ally.”

But rather than being perceived as a judgment of Kerry’s persona, Ya’alon’s comments should be understood from a policy perspective, according to Halevi. Ya’alon specifically objected to a security plan pitched

by Kerry in December that proposed an Israeli withdrawal framework in exchange for a package of enhanced security equipment and technology.

Ya’alon in his comments raised doubts about the effectiveness of such technology “without our forces being present on the ground.”

“And I ask you – how will your technology help us when a Salafist terror cell, or one from the

Islamic Jihad, tries to carry out a terror attack against Israeli targets? Who will take care of them?

What satellites will take care of the rocket industry that is developing in Shechem (Nablus), and [the rockets that] will be launched at Tel Aviv and the central region?” said Ya’alon.

In Halevi’s estimation, Ya’alon believes that the Palestinians are adhering to a phased plan to try to bring about Israel’s destruction.

The first phase is to acquire all lands that Israel conquered from Egypt and Jordan during the war of 1967. The next phase will be to flood the rest of Israel with Palestinian refugees.

“The Palestinian Authority is saying that it has no authority to negotiate on behalf of refugees, claiming that the right of return this is the personal right of refugees,” Halevi told JNS. A law passed in 2008 by the Palestinian Authority states, “The right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes and their property and their receipt of compensation for their suffering is a basic, holy right and is not subject to buying and selling, and is not subject to personal judgment [to make major changes], interpretation, or referendum.”

The law goes on to state that anyone who defies it “will be considered as one who has committed

which reviews the Israeli public’s exposure to newspapers and radio, determined that 38.6 percent of the public read Israel Hayom on a regular basis over the past six months, a 5-percent rise compared to the first six months of 2013.

more than 800,000 households which do not meet the [construction safety] standards-meaning that millions of citizens are at risk during an earthquake,” Erdan told the Knesset Interior Committee.

“Included among the dangerous structures are 1,600 schools that do not meet the standards,” said Erdan. “The government is not doing its job responsibly, because responsibility is dispersed between too many authorities.”

Ya’alon apologizes for criticism of Kerry after U.S. rebuke (JNS) – Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon apologized for remarks published by Yedioth Ahronoth that called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s approach to Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations “messianic.”

“The defense minister had no intention to cause any offense to the secretary, and he apologizes if the secretary was offended by words attributed to the minister,” Ya’alon’s office said in a statement.

Millions of Israelis at risk in event of earthquake, minister warns (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS) Millions of Israelis are at risk in the event of an earthquake because of unsafe buildings, Homefront Defense Minister Gilad Erdan warned Monday.

“Across Israel today, there are

PERSONAL on page 20

Israel to create kosher supervision authority (JNS) – Israel’s Religious Services Ministry intends to create a kosher observance authority to put an end to the practice of business and restaurant owners having to pay individual kosher inspectors directly, Israel Hayom reported.

According to the plan, expected to be presented for government approval in the coming weeks, business and restaurant owners seeking kosher certification will pay a fee to the government, which will supervise and pay the inspectors. The authority will function under Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, which answers to the Religious Services Ministry.

12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE

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SUMMIT COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL HONORED On August 24 The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE) honored The Summit Country Day School as a Voice for Humanity. During a dinner and program that raised more than $150,000 for The Center, Summit upper school history teacher Jeff Stayton and middle school language arts teacher Rosie Sansalone Alway were recognized, along with Holocaust survivor Werner Coppel, for their pioneering voices in Cincinnati Holocaust education.

CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Alan Leon Mordoh and Ilycia Malbry Kahn

ENGAGEMENT illiam and Nancy Kahn of Cincinnati are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Ilycia Mallory

W

Kahn to Alan Leon Mordoh, son of Elaine Mordoh Weiner (Dr. Jason) of Chicago, Illinois and Mallah Mordoh (Ilana) of Indianapolis, Indiana. Ilycia is the granddaughter of Jule & Sonia Gildenblatt and the late Roslyn Gildenblatt and Judith Kahn and the late Sylvan Kahn all of Cincinnati. Alan is the grandson of Alvin Mordoh and the late Evie Mordoh and Charlotte Goldstein and the late Sidney Goldstein all of Indianapolis.

Ilycia is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and is a freelance photography stylist.

Alan is a graduate of Arizona State University and is the coowner of Meridian Hills

Apartments and controller/partner of Ron's Quality Auto Care in Indianapolis. A November 2014 wedding is planned in Cincinnati.

The couple will reside in Indianapolis.

ENGAGEMENT abbi Tom and Joani Levi Friedmann of Cincinnati, Ohio, are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Joshua Levi, to Lindsay Baach of Tampa, Florida. Lindsay is the daughter of Judith Diamond and Steven Baach. Josh is the grandson of the late Catherine and Stanley Levi of Cincinnati.

Josh and Linsday currently live in New Orleans, LA. A sum-

R

AUTUMN ACCESS YPs enjoyed a Texas Style Shabbat at the Horseshoe casino, this is just one of the fun activities from fall.

Access is an initiative of The Mayerson Foundation for Jewish young professionals, 21-35. For more information about Access, please consult the community directory in the back of this issue.

mer wedding in New Orleans is planned.

PLAYER SELECTED laire Ruben of Loveland High School was selected to compete in the Queen of Diamonds Showcase North (QDSN) at Kent State University that took place on January 4th and 5th, 2014.

The QDSN, now in its 19th season, is the largest fastpitch softball showcase of its kind in the U.S. This event attracts athletes from over 30 states and 2 Canadian Provinces. Over 2,000 athletes applied of which less than 300 were selected.

Selection is based upon many

C

Claire Ruben

criteria including ability, potential, academics, grad year, coaches' requests, and referrals.

Claire plays center field for the Cincy Slammers fastpitch organization.

14 • DINING OUT

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Marx Bagels puts more TLC and quality into every bagel

by Bob Wilhelmy Let’s talk bagels. Of course, we all know the shape of a bagel. John Marx, owner of Marx Hot Bagels, says a bagel is a donut, dipped in cement. “A good bagel is one you can throw at the wall and it leaves a dent,” he says, kidding, but only a little.

A good bagel, a real bagel made the way Jewish bagel shops in the Big Apple or in the Old Country bake them, is dense and chewy and features an almost leathery crust or skin to it. A good bagel will stand up to cream cheese or smoked salmon or egg salad or tuna salad or white fish or what-have-you.

If one harkens back—tradition!—not so long ago, a bagel was smaller, weighed about two-and-ahalf ounces, and was made of highgluten flour, salt, water, malt and yeast. Today, the bagel game has changed, with a number of shops, chains mostly, that produce “bagel impersonators.” That is Marx term for bagels which are larger, softer, and made in a way that takes much of the labor out of the make-bake process.

Marx adheres to the old way of bagel-making.

The process includes boiling the bagels before baking them. Also, a higher quality, richer flour is used to make good bagels. “Really, the softer bagels (from the impersonator crowd) are more like a bun or a bread product, not like bagels,” he said. “When you make them the proper way, you have to account for the ambient temperature and the weather when you mix the dough, then refrigerate the dough for 12-24 hours, and so on.”

Marx has adjusted the size of his bagels, making them larger.

But what has not changed is his commitment to the quality of the finished product. His bagels are more labor-intensive, but from my perspective, I know I can tell the difference. A Marx bagel is what I expect a bagel to be—chewy, tough-skinned, tasty, and like no other bread product out there.

Bagels are the focal point of Marx eatery, but the other fact, more important to the Jewish community, is that Marx Hot Bagels is and remains a kosher restaurant.

The kosher bakery and deli are watched over by Cincinnati Kosher (Vaad Hoier). The food is prepared by strict dietary laws.

Because of the kosher nature of the place, many families rely on Marx Hot Bagels for catering of food trays for holidays, shivas and special occasions. “We make food trays for times when people gather,” said Danielle Marx, the other half of the husband-wife team.

“For instance, we do the food trays with all the vegetables, the sliced tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions,

John Marx, owner/operator of Marx Hot Bagels with a tray of bread loaves.

pickles and olives around, and the tuna and egg salad and white fish and cream cheeses, including flavored ones. We can even provide the hard boiled eggs if they want, and the lox.

“Then we have the bagels that go along with the trays in a basket on the side. And we can do these (orders for trays) very quickly (24 hours notice is appreciated) and have them ready to go.”

“The downside to the food trays for shiva is that every time we make one, we are losing a valued customer,” John Marx said. “Of course, those older customers, they know what a quality bagel should be, because they have been buying them for decades.”

One of those old customers who passed away was a dear friend of Marx, as well as the attorney who put together the deal that brought the original bagel shop on Reading Road out of bankruptcy around 1970. Steve Cohen was the attorney who did that, and Marx was in business as Cincinnati’s premier bagel-maker as a result.

Cohen’s picture hangs on the wall of the dining area at Marx Hot Bagels today. “He was a really good man,” said Marx.

A new product in the bakery

The exterior of the bagel shop, on Kenwood Road in Blue Ash.

these days is Italian bread in three types. There is the plain loaf, as well as a loaf topped with sesame seeds and one topped with poppy seeds. Those loaves, along with an herb bread, challahs and a wheat

bread, are on the tray seen with this article.

Marx Hot Bagels features dining tables and counter service for breakfast and lunch diners, with a full kosher menu.

See you at Marx Hot Bagels.

Marx Hot Bagels 9701 Kenwood Rd. Blue Ash 891-5542

DINING OUT • 15

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

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16 • OPINION

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On the rights of nonOrthodox rabbis, where’s the outrage?

By Rabbi Julie Schonfeld NEW YORK (JTA) – The good news is in: Rabbi Avi Weiss’ conversions will be accepted in Israel.

I am glad to see that the religious integrity and leadership of Rabbi Weiss has been acknowledged. Undoubtedly, this course correction on the part of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is due in part to the hue and cry of influential Jewish leaders, many of whom are not Orthodox, who are to be praised for speaking out.

Of course, my conversions are not recognized in Israel. Nor are those of my 1,700 Conservative colleagues, my 2,000 Reform colleagues and my 300 Reconstructionist colleagues. The fact that Jewish leaders and major organizations are stepping up to address the issue of pluralism is a wonderful step forward and one that we should all applaud and encourage.

But why does this only happen when an Orthodox rabbi’s character is at stake? Where is the statement on behalf of the nearly 4,000 rabbis and the 85 percent of Diaspora Jewry we represent when the derogation of our Judaism is black letter law in Israel?

Weiss himself wrote in October in the Times of Israel that “Israel as a state should give equal opportunities to the Conservative and Reform movements. Their rabbis should be able to conduct weddings and conversions.”

Leaders of Jewish organizations and public figures have criticized Israel in defense of Weiss, something far too few have been willing to do for the Conservative and Reform movements. This double standard was expressed stunningly by U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel.

“If Rabbi Weiss’ credentials are rejected – an Orthodox leader with decades of experience – what does that portend for other strands of American Judaism?” asked the New York lawmaker, who represents Weiss’ district in the House of Representatives. What indeed?

To those who issued statements in defense of Weiss that were both bold and effective, I thank you. And I call upon you to now issue a statement for Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis. Notify your board members and donors that the rabbis who married

them, bar mitzvahed their children, buried their parents, and converted their sons and daughters-in-law do not deserve to be called rabbis in the eyes of the Israeli rabbinate. Tell them that none of their life-cycle events count and that the State of Israel does not really think they are Jews for religious purposes.

The American Jewish establishment will not stand for the discrediting of someone known as an Orthodox rabbi. Better than nothing, I suppose, but far less than the Jewish public deserves. Where is the outrage for us? Has the Chief Rabbinate exported its hatred of the streams? Has the Israeli political leadership exported its willingness to ignore the mistreatment of the vast majority of the world’s Jews by an extremist minority?

If we take a long, hard look at ourselves, the best explanation probably comes from a paraphrase of the famous Pogo cartoon, “We have met the enemies and they are (also) us.”

Structural intolerance and discrimination do not only harm the abused but obscure the human dignity of every individual. Such intolerance, allowed to not only survive but thrive, engenders an atmosphere in which it is impossible to treat even your friends and colleagues as your equals. In the words of Maimonides, “A rabbinic prohibition is always and everywhere superseded for the sake of human dignity.”

No one is asking any rabbi or Jew to hold personally by the interpretations of a community or a rabbi with whom they do not agree. But all must be equally respected and acknowledged.

American Jewish leaders derive legitimate authority only on the basis of their integrity and willingness to seek and grasp the convictions of the people they represent. In my experience, the colleagues I serve with are dedicated beyond measure to these ideals. That is what has made this chapter so chilling.

We are becoming invisible to ourselves.

As it is written in Ethics of the Fathers, “Other people’s dignity should be as precious to you as your own.”

Rabbi Julie Schonfeld is executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative and Masorti rabbis.

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Three nasty memes about Jews and Israel

By Ben Cohen (JNS) – Here are three disturbing memes about Jews and Israel that I’ve noticed in three separate-butrelated news stories recently.

Meme Number One: “You’re Ungrateful” Here’s State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf responding to reported remarks by the Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon, attacking Secretary of State John Kerry. “We find the remarks of the defense minister to be offensive and inappropriate, especially given all that the United States has done to support Israel’s security needs and will continue to do,” said Harf.

Now, one can certainly argue that Ya’alon’s description of Kerry as “obsessive” and “messianic” was injudicious – after all, he’s a government minister, not a newspaper columnist. Rightly, Ya’alon apologized. But what’s striking about Harf’s response is that she doesn’t defend Kerry’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which was what sparked Ya’alon’s overly candid criticism. Instead, she effectively accuses the Israelis of biting the hand that feeds them, a theme beloved of the extremists on left and right who argue that Israel is an unconscionable drain upon the U.S. Treasury.

As Israelis know well, the principal and most valued defender of Israel is not the United States, but the Israel Defense Forces. Additionally, the vital strategic relationship between Israel and the U.S. is much more balanced than Harf’s comments suggest. The United States doesn’t have to risk its troops by stationing them on Israeli soil, in marked contrast to other Middle Eastern countries. Meanwhile, Israel enhances American security by,

among other things, exporting more than $1 billion worth of military technology to the U.S. every year.

Meme Number Two: “You’re Warmongers” The Obama Administration’s trashing of anyone expressing doubts about the deal struck last November with the Iranian regime over its nuclear program contains, of course, an Israeli dimension. Objecting to the new Iran sanctions bill coauthored by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), veteran California Senator Dianne Feinstein opined that the proposed legislation was bolstering a “march to war.” And who is directing this heinous agenda? Feinstein once more: “We cannot let Israel determine when and where the United States goes to war.”

What Feinstein’s statement insinuates is that Israel has, in the past, done just that. Those who supported the survival of Saddam Hussein’s barbaric regime in Iraq consistently argued that Israeli pressure was a key reason why the U.S. went to war there in 2003; hence the need to prevent a repeat of that pattern more than a decade later in the case of Iran.

In one stroke, all the complexity of the Iran situation – the disquiet among Arab countries over Obama’s Iran policy, the strengthening of Iran as a regional power with dire consequences for Syria and Lebanon, the summary dismissal of successive U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that Iran end its uranium enrichment activities – simply disappears. All we are left with is the impression that the Israelis are pushing us into another unwanted war, aided by their dupes on Capitol Hill.

Meme Number Three: “You’re Israel-Firsters” I’ve lost count of the number of

times that I’ve encountered, over the last few years, the slanderous notion that pro-Israel American Jews (the vast majority) are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. So frequently has this accusation been voiced that it has added a new term – ”IsraelFirster” – to the political lexicon.

So do we come to the recent New York Times op-ed by former FBI official M.E. Bowman urging that Jonathan Pollard, who has spent almost 30 years in an American jail after being convicted of spying for Israel, remain incarcerated. Much of the evidence that Bowman cited against Pollard is, at best, tenuous.

Nor did he explain why Pollard should not be entitled to clemency, given that he didn’t kill or harm anyone, and that the Cold War is long over (compare that with Israel’s decision to release nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu after he served an 18 year sentence).

It’s therefore difficult to disagree with Tablet magazine’s courageous assertion that “in order to cover their own incredibly damaging mistakes and failures, the national security establishment is keeping Pollard in prison on the apparent grounds that Jews are especially prone to disloyalty.” As the magazine goes on to point out, what’s involved here is “a real injustice whose perpetuation is clearly intended to suggest that all American Jews are, inherently, potential traitors to their country.”

Separately, all these three examples are alarming enough. Taken together, they demonstrate that American public discourse about the Middle East is much more receptive to ideas that we thought had been discredited by history. That’s why, when the next instance of Iranian nuclear duplicity surfaces, get ready for the chorus proclaiming that it’s all the fault of Israel and its supporters.

JEWISH LIFE • 17

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

status of the judge rather than the character of the judgment – he concludes, “And it is as though he cursed and blasphemed [God], and lifted his hand against the laws of Moses” (Laws of the Sanhedrin 26: 7).

Apparently, Maimonides takes umbrage with a religious Jew going outside the system of Torah law, thereby disparaging the unique assumptions and directions of the just and righteous laws of God. In order for us to understand what is unique about the Jewish legal system, permit me to give an example of the distinctive axioms of Torah law from another passage in this week’s portion, the prohibition against charging or accepting interest on a loan.

“If you lend money to my nation, to the poor person with you, you may not act as a creditor to him, you may not charge him interest. And if you accept your friend’s cloak from him as security for the loan, you must return the cloak to him before sunset.

Because it may be his only cloak and [without it], with what [cover] will he lie down? And if he cries out to Me, I shall hear because I am gracious” (Ex. 22:25-27).

Maimonides believed very profoundly in the compassionate righteousness of Jewish law, a law derived from a God of love and compassion taking into account the necessity of ameliorating human suffering, hence he rules that anyone who trades our legal system for a secular one is “a wicked individual, cursing and blaspheming God, lifting his hand against the Laws of Moses.”

Indeed, in his Laws of Slaves, Maimonides clearly sets down a meta-halachic principle that must take precedence over biblical and talmudic laws such as permissibility to work a gentile slave with vigor: “Even though the law is such, the trait of piety and the path of wisdom insists that an individual be compassionate and a pursuer of righteousness, understanding that from one womb emanated both the master and slave, that one womb formed them both” (Job 31:15). And he concludes by insisting that we are commanded to emulate God’s traits and to be compassionate (as God is) toward all His creations. “And it is that principle of compassion which we must always express in executing our laws” (Laws of Slaves 9:8).

As I study the Talmud, pore over our responsa literature throughout the

generations and ponder the halachic decisions I heard from my master and teacher Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik and from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (with whom I was privileged to spend a year of Friday mornings discussing practical halachic issues), I could not agree more with Maimonides’s prohibition of eschewing rabbinical courts in favor of secular ones.

But when I study many of the recent responsa of the rabbinical courts of the Chief Rabbinate, when I see how many of the Israeli rabbinical judges rule in accordance with the stringencies of Rav Elyashiv and refuse to obligate recalcitrant husbands to grant divorces to their suffering wives, when I watch the emotional torture (yes, torture) many sincere converts must undergo at the hands of some insensitive judges blind to the biblical command of loving the stranger, my heart weeps to think that there might be more compassion on the part of the secular courts. I write these words with sighs and sobs; and I believe that God and the Torah are sighing and sobbing as well.

Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel

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T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: MISHPATIM (SHMOT 21:—24) 1. How did a servant show he would work more than six years? a.) Have an ear pierced b.) Wear an amulet around his neck c.) Write a document to his master 2. Can a female servant work more than six years? a.) Yes b.) No 3. What if a person gets caught in a tunnel? a.) Pays a fine to the owner

tied to the agricultural season. A person should give praise to Hashem for sustaining him at those time. R'Bchai

EFRAT, Israel – “These are the statutes which you [the Israelites] shall place before them [the religious judges]” (Ex. 21:1).

If two religiously observant Jews are engaged in a disagreement that has financial ramifications, are they permitted to go to a secular court to arbitrate their dispute or must they go to a religious court (beit din)? Is the law different in Israel, which has both religious and secular court systems, but where even the secular court judges are Jewish? And if, indeed, Jews are religiously ordained to go exclusively to religious courts, why is this so? After all, the nonreligious judicial system in Israel and the secular courts in America are certainly fair and equitable.

Our Torah portion this week provides interesting responses to these questions. It opens with the command quoted above: “These are the statutes which you [the Israelites] shall place before them [the religious judges].”

Rashi, the biblical commentator who lived in France from 1040 to 1105, cites the talmudic limitation (B.T. Gittin 88): “Before the religious judges and not before gentile judges.

And even if you know that regarding a particular case they [the gentile judges] would rule in the same way as the religious judges, you dare not bring a judgment before the secular courts. Israelites who appear before gentile judges desecrate the name of God and cause idols to be honored and praised.”

According to this passage, it would seem that the primary prohibition is against appearing before gentile judges who are likely to dedicate their legal decision to a specific idol or god; it is the religion of the judge and the idolatry involved, rather than the content of the judgment, which is paramount. From this perspective, one might conclude that Israeli secular courts – where most of the judges are Jewish – would not be prohibited, and this is the conclusion of Rabbi Prof. Yaakov Bazak. Secular courts in America – where there is a clear separation between religion and state in the judiciary – would likewise be permitted.

However, the great legalist and philosopher Maimonides (11351204) would seem to support another opinion. Although he begins his ruling: “Anyone who brings a judgment before gentile judges and their judicial systems is a wicked individual” – emphasizing the religious or national

“...anyone who trades our legal system for a secular one is “a wicked individual, cursing and blaspheming God, lifting his hand against the Laws of Moses.”

b.) Is sold to slavery c.) Could be viewed as an intruder 4. Is there a mitzvah to loan money as opposed to giving it? a.) Yes b.) NO 5. Three times a year a person says Hashem is? a.) Merciful b.) Vengeful c.) Master

intruder he can possibly kill him for threatening him with breaking and entering.

4. A 22:24 Even though the word when implies voluntarily, here is a mitzvah to lend money.

5. C 23:17 Passover, Shavout, and Sukkot are

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT MISHPATIM EXODUS 21: 1- 24: 18

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

ANSWERS 1. A 21:26 A servant's ear is pierced because he takes on a master other than Hashem 2. B 21:7-10 3. C 22:1,2 If a homeowner confronts an

Sedra of the Week

18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

JEWZ

IN THE

By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist Music Notes: Grammys and More The Grammy Awards will be broadcast, live, on Sunday, Jan. 26. Only a smallish number of awards in the biggest selling categories are presented on-stage.

There are a handful of tribe-affiliated performers/producers up for ‘TV worthy’ Grammy awards.

DRAKE, 27, is up for a Grammy for best rap performance and best rap song (“Started from the Bottom”) and might perform at the ceremony. PINK, 34, is nominated for co-writing “Just Give Me a Reason,” a “song of the year” nominee (she also sung the hit version of the song). Pink will perform on-stage at this year’s Grammys.

Drake – born Aubrey Graham Drake – and Pink – born Alecia Beth Moore – are both children of a Jewish mother and a nonJewish father. Pink has always been secular, while Drake was raised Jewish.

Vying for best song of the year honors is “Locked out of Heaven,” which was sung by Bruno Mars. Mars, whose paternal grandma was Jewish, cowrote “Locked” with ARI LEVINE, 30, a nice Jersey guy who I talked to last year. (Mars will headline the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 2) Last, but not least is LUKE GOTTWALD, 40, AKA Dr. Luke, a mega-pop producer and songwriter. He’s the tonic behind big acts like Katy Perry and he co-wrote “Roar,” a Perry tune up for the Grammy for song of the year.

Worthy of note, but not presented on TV: singer/songwriter REGINA SPEKTOR, 33, is nominated for her original theme song for the Netflix series, “Orange is the New Black,” Also nominated in the same category (“song for visual media”) is veteran DIANE WARREN, 57, who has won a slew of Grammy awards. She wrote the theme song for the hit film “Silver Linings Playbook”.

The Grammys Foundation is taking advantage of the fact that tons of musicians will be in Los Angeles for the awards and its filming an all-star tribute to the Beatles the day after the Grammys ceremony. The tribute will air on the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ Ed Sullivan Show appearance (Feb. 7th). No doubt, some Jewish musicians will be on that program – but names of performers haven’t been released yet.

Israeli media sources are saying that Justin Timberlake will

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play Tel Aviv on May 28 and that Neil Young will perform in Tel Aviv on July 17. If these concerts do happen – which seems to this observer pretty likely – they will represent a big setback for the campaign to culturally boycott Israel.

However, big name stars have cancelled Israeli concerts before with very little notice. So nothing is certain until the Timberlake or Young take the stage in Tel Aviv.

On Pam Anderson and Rick Salomon: I suspect that if more celebrities did visit Israel, there would be less coverage of the Israeli vacation trips of the dubiously or weirdly famous. In these fame categories, I would place actress Pam Anderson, 46, and her new (Jewish) hubbie, RICK SALOMON, 45. The two married around January 12 and shortly thereafter boarded an El Al flight to Israel. Their Israeli honeymoon got more than a bare mention in many Israeli and Jewish media outlets.

Anderson has visited Israel before: in 2010 she filmed some ads in Israel and, in 2011, she served as a judge for the Israeli version of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Salomon, to be frank, is a pretty cheesy guy. His father was a pretty important Warner Brothers executive (it’s unclear if Rick inherited any big bucks).

He is ‘reported’ to be a big-time poker player, playing “house games” in the Los Angeles area.

(Maybe true, maybe not.)

He absolutely made money off of a 2004 tape featuring him and his then girlfriend, Paris Hilton. Whether parts of the tape were genuinely stolen will remain a mystery. Ultimately, however, Rick and Paris made a lot of money off the tape and the tape gave Hilton’s dubious show biz career its biggest boost.

Anderson’s “Baywatch” TV show fame was fading when, in 1995, a tape with her then husband, rock musician Tommy Lee, was supposedly stolen and released to the Internet.

Anderson ultimately profited bigtime from legit sales of the tape and she pioneered the path that Hilton/Salomon and, a bit later, Kim Kardashian followed – fame/money based on risque and very little talent.

Well, I guess it’s appropriate, somehow, that these “tape pioneers” found each other.

FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO Pike’s Opera House: Mlle.

Vestvali, the Italian cantatrice, stepped upon the boards at this theater on Monday evening last in “Gamea, or the Jewish Mother,” a play possessing very little merit either in a dramatic or literary sense. This Friday evening she takes a benefit, appearing in the play of the “Brigand,” as Allesandro Massaroni.

Monday evening “The Duke’s Motto” will be presented with Mlle.

Vestvali as Capt. Lagadere. Saturday afternoon there will be a matinee as usual.

Bethrothed: Mr. Leonard Mack, of Cincinnati, Ohio to Miss Rosa Rau, of New York. – February 19, 1864

125 Y EARS A GO On last Sunday afternoon Miss Matie Weil, of W. Eighth Street, entertained a number of her freinds, the occasion being her birthday.

Among those present were: Florence Blatt; Gusta Schmalinski of Alexandria, La.; Hortense Long; Hettie Loewenstein; Sadie Lev; Flora Newburgh; Amy May; Blanche Greenfielder; Florence Silberberg; May, Grace, Jessie, and Gertie Frieberg; Millie Meiss; Cora Oettinger; Clara Etlinger; Retta Schroeder; and Jessie Weil. The presents were very elaborate and numerous.

Emanuel Moritz, 64 years of age, an old and respected citizen of Cincinnati, was buried from his late residence, 560 Freeman Ave., last Monday, Dr. Phillipson officiating.

Mr. Moritz was a resident here for 40 years, a member of K. K Benai Israel and of various Jewish and other orders. He was a man of very charitable disposition and leaves a host of friends to mourn for him. His wife survives him. There were no children born to them.

Cards are out for the wedding of Mr. David Kufferman, to Miss Esther, daughter of Herman Wolff, Esq., all of Cincinnati, to take place on February 10th. – January 24, 1889

100 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs. J. Silberberg of 244 Shillito Avenue, Mt. Auburn, announce the engagement of their daughter, Rosetta, to Mr. Bertram Strauss. All of Cincinnati, O. At home Sunday January 25. No cards.

Hon. Alfred M. Cohen of Cincinnati, was a guest of honor at the meeting of the Mobile (Ala.) B’nai B’rith lodge last Sunday, January 11, and delivered a talk which was thoroughly enjoyed by those present.

The Jewish Labor Organization of this city called a meeting for Sunday afternoon, January 25, at 2:30 p.m., to protest against the pro-

posed restrictive immigration laws.

The meeting will be held at the Synagogue, corner of Richmond and Mound Streets. Dr. Deutsch will preside and various prominent speakers will address the audience, among whom are: Mayor Spiegel; Hon. Alfred Bettman; Judge Max B. May; and Mr. Max Senior. Some good musical selections will be rendered.

The public is cordially invited.

Mr. and Mrs. William Mosler have presented to the medical college of the University of Cincinnati a portrait of the late Dr. Frederick Forchheimer, painted by Henry Mosler, a brother of the donor. The artist was in the city to attend the formal presentation. – January 22, 1914

75 Y EARS A GO Mrs. Louis Weiland, chairman of the Bake Sale for the Daughters of Israel, expresses her appreciation to all members and friends who helped make the sale a success. The organization also wishes to thank the Atlantic & Pacific Super Market, Reading Road and Lexington Avenue, for providing space for this sale.

Mrs. Louis Kaufman is the new president of the Robert Krohn Livingston Memorial Camp, of Remington, O., near Cincinnati, succeeding Joseph Ullman. Chosen with her are Mrs. Charles Tobias, and Mrs. Herman Semmons, vice presidents, and Henry C. Segal, secretary. New directors are Maurice W. Jacobs, Mrs. Albert Mann, Miss Mary Stix, and Bert Wallenstein.

Julius Katz, 750 E. Ridgeway Avenue, passed away Saturday, Jan. 7. Surviving are his widow, Marian Katz; two sons, Leonard and Hirschel; one sister, Mrs. Henry Shiff; and three brothers, Stanley, Walter, and Milton Katz, all of Cincinnati.

Services were held Sunday, January 8th, from the Weil Funeral Home. Interment was in Judah Tuoro Cemetery. – January 26, 1939

50 Y EARS A GO Northern Hills Synagogue (Congregation Beth-El) has purchased a two-acre tract of Fleming Road near Winton Road in Finneytown for construction of a synagogue.

This Conservative Congregation, led by Dr. Bertram Mond, was organized in 1960.

Construction is to begin in the spring with completion in time for the High Holy Days.

Charles Specter, president, announced facilities will be provided for religious, cultural, and social activities. Classrooms for the Sunday School as well as three-day a week Hebrew school will be included. The Religious School is under auspices of the Cincinnati Community Hebrew Schools.

Arthur Klein, facilities chairman, announced the building will be constructed by the Hamilton Construction Corporation, George Zuckman, president, from plans drawn by Arthur J. Reichert, Architect.

Born, to Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Magenheim (Eileen Steinberg), 7866 Dawn Road, a son, Andrew Jay, Sunday Jan. 12. The infant has a brother, Douglas Alan.

The grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Steinberg of Cincinnati and Mr. and Mrs. Morris Magenheim of Newark, N.J. – Janaury 16, 1964

25 Y EARS A GO Rabbi and Mrs. Gershom Barnard are pleased to announce that, G-d willing, their son, Noam Yaakov, will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on February 4, Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim, at Northern Hills Synagogue, Congregation B’nai Avraham.

Grandmothers are Edith Barnard of Cincinnati and Dorothy Allbright of Toronto, Canada.

Noam is sharing his Bar Mitzvah celebration with Feliks Avshulumov of Baku, U.S.S.R., since Feliks is unable to observe his coming of age with a religious ceremony.

Stanley M. Chesley, well-known attorney and Jewish community leader, was elected to his second oneterm as chairman of the University of Cincinnati board of trustees, Jan. 24.

Chesley was named to a nineyear term on the board in 1985 by Gov. Richard Celeste.

Long active in the Jewish community, Chesley is vice-president of the Jewish Federation and served as chairman of the 1988 Federation campaign. A member of the board of overseers of Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, Chesley is a trustee of the Friends of Plum Street Temple, a board member of Israel bonds and a member of Wise Temple. He is past president of Camp Livingston and a former member of numerous other community organizations and boards. – February 2, 1989

10 Y EARS A GO Jeffrey and Julie (Wright) Cohen of Westchester announce the birth of their daughter, Zara Ruth, Dec. 9, 2003.

Edith Shapiro, age 85, died Jan. 19, 2004. She is predeceased by her husband, Raymond Shapiro. She is survived by her children, Steven and Eileen Shapiro, William and Saundra Shapiro, and Michael and Karen Shapiro.

Jillian Goldberg, daughter of Bill and Suzy Goldberg, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah Saturday, Jan. 31, 2004, at Isaac M. Wise Temple. – January 29, 2004

COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

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

(513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7258 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Chabad (513) 731-5111 • campchabad.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 •camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Cincinnati Community Kollel (513) 631-1118 • kollel.shul.net Cincinnati Community Mikveh (513) 351-0609 •cincinnatimikveh.org Eruv Hotline (513) 351-3788 Fusion Family (513) 703-3343 • fusionnati.org Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (Miami) (513) 523-5190 • muhillel.org Hillel Jewish Student Center (UC) (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati 513-961-0178 • jcemcin.org Jewish Community Center (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org Jewish Community Relations Council (513) 985-1501 Jewish Family Service (513) 469-1188 • jfscinti.org Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (513) 985-1500 • shalomcincy.org Jewish Foundation (513) 214-1200 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 JVS Career Services (513) 936-WORK (9675) • www.jvscinti.org Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 Shalom Family (513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org

MERCAVA from page 6 services, texts and other media it plans to make available in one central hub. The scale of the site’s ambitions is evident in its marketing rhetoric, which touts the project as “the biggest thing to happen to Talmud since Talmud.”

Moshe said Mercava has been in development for nearly five years and that most of the “underlying work” is done. A basic version of its Daf Yomi program providing free access to the Talmud already is available and has been piloted in almost 100 schools, mostly in Australia and England, he says.

Additional products will begin rolling out in July with the release of 1,000 interactive books in Hebrew and English. A lesson builder tool for teachers will be released soon after.

It is not clear whether Mercava will be open source, but Moshe emphasized that most of its contents will be offered for free.

The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org CONGREGATIONS CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net B’nai Tikvah Chavurah (513) 284-5845 • rabbibruce.com Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Congregation Sha’arei Torah (513) 620-8080 • shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation 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 Shevet Achim, (513) 602-7801 • shevetachimohio.com Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com

Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Kehilla - School for Creative Jewish Education (513) 489-3399 • kehilla-cincy.com Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Kulanu (Reform Jewish High School) (513) 262-8849 • kulanucincy.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org Sarah’s Place (513) 531-3151 • sarahsplacecincy.com Yeshivas Lubavitch High School of Cincinnati (513) 631-2452 • ylcincinnati.com ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 BBYO (513) 722-7244 • mayersonjcc.org Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234.0777 • jdiscovery.com Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (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

EDUCA EDUCATION Chai Tots Early Childhood Center (513) 234.0600 • chaitots.com Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com

“Think of it like [Apple’s] app store,” Moshe said. “As much as we can, we’ll make available for free. However, other organizations and companies can build their own products on the platform or integrate existing products, and they can choose whether to make the products available for free or to charge for them.”

Rabbi Tzvi Pittinsky, a Judaic studies teacher at a Modern Orthodox high school in New Jersey and the author of the Tech Rav blog, wrote recently that Mercava may have finally figured out how to bring Jewish education into the digital era.

Pittinsky specifically praised its Talmud app for ease of use with students of varying levels and plans for a lesson building tool that allows teachers to create interactive lessons with guided readings, embedded notes and the option to display or hide translations.

“It might just just be the future of Jewish education,” he wrote.

As to the dearth of women in the Mercava promotional video, Shira Epstein, an education professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, wrote on a Jewish educators Facebook page that she was “dismayed.” Moshe said that some of the initial funders of the project were women and that more women will be brought on, including as board members, as the project continues.

Rachel Abrahams, a program officer at the Avi Chai Foundation, which has funded numerous Jewish educational technology projects in recent years, said that while her foundation is not investing in Mercava, there’s a need for the kinds of resources and features it is promising.

“They have very big goals,” Abrahams said. “The question is how they get there and will they deliver.”

DO YOU WANT TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED? Send an e-mail including what you would like in your classified & your contact information to

business@ americanisraelite.com or call 513-621-3145 HARPER from page 9 sought a more neutral posture toward Israel. And they have repaid the good will: Polls showed that for the first time, more than half of Canadian Jews (52 percent) voted for Harper’s Tories in the 2011 election, a historic departure from their traditional base in the Liberal Party.

Observers agree that Harper, an evangelical Christian, stands to gain little by supporting Israel and in fact may be paying a price. Canada failed in its 2010 bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council for the first time, a result some attributed to its foreign policy in general and support for Israel in particular.

Politically, Harper also has little to gain and much to lose. The shift in Jewish voting has helped Conservatives only in about 10 of Canada’s 308 electoral districts, though Jewish voters in three key Toronto-area districts helped replace Liberal members of parliament with Conservatives, two of whom are Jewish themselves. Among Muslims, a community roughly triple the size of Jews in Canada, Harper won a meager 12 percent in the last election.

“I do think his support for Israel is a principled one because he will stand to lose more non-Jewish votes than gain Jewish ones by his forthright defense of the country,” said Henry Srebrnik, who got to know Harper when he taught at the University of Calgary in the early 1990s and Harper represented the city in the House of Commons. “I doubt there was any sudden epiphany when it comes to Israel, but more likely a growing, and probably somewhat religiously based, admiration for the Jewish state.”

Harper is Canada’s first evangelical prime minister in 50 years, and most observers accept that his faith plays some role in his support for Israel. Toronto Rabbi Philip Scheim, who will accompany Harper to Israel, dismissed the notion that Harper’s support for Israel is part of an “end-ofdays, apocalyptic scenario.”

“I sense that he sees Israel as a manifestation of justice and a righting of historical wrongs, especially in light of the Holocaust,” Scheim said.

In speeches and interviews, Harper has credited his late father, a teetotaling accountant who raised his son in the mainline liberal United Church of Canada, with being his

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(513) 531-9600 greatest influence. Joseph Harper spoke favorably of the Jewish people, teaching his three sons of the Jews’ biblical status as the chosen people and that in the wake of the Holocaust, they deserved kindness.

According to McDonald’s book, the younger Harper shifted to evangelicalism after being encouraged to read the works of Christian thinkers C.S. Lewis and Malcolm Muggeridge. He joined the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical denomination headquartered in Colorado that stresses the authority of the Bible and the physical healing powers of Jesus but does not have an especially strong Zionist component.

McDonald paints an alarming picture of a right-wing, Christian takeover of Canadian politics. Others aren’t convinced.

“I haven’t seen signs that [Harper] is motivated all that strongly by anything distinctively Christian,” said John Stackhouse, a theology professor at Regent College in Vancouver and one of Canada’s top watchers of evangelicals. “On two of the main issues from his purported religious constituency – namely abortion and homosexuality – he has done next to nothing and prevented others, actually, from doing anything.”

Harper was exposed to Middle East policy issues when he was first elected to Parliament in 1993 under the banner of the Western-based, populist Reform Party, many of whose members were pro-Israel evangelicals who saw Israel as an oasis of democracy surrounded by dictatorships.

The Reform Party begat the shortlived Canadian Alliance, which Harper led briefly before all rightleaning parties were united in the current Conservative Party of Canada.

But in its three years of existence, the Canadian Alliance worked to broaden its base by forging close ties with the Jewish community – notably B’nai Brith Canada, according to Lloyd Mackey’s book “The Pilgrimage of Stephen Harper.”

Norman Spector, who served as Canada’s ambassador to Israel from 1992 to 1995 under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, offers a simple reason for Harper’s pro-Israel stance.

“I think it’s simply that he is an intelligent man who has read widely and thought deeply about the issue,” Spector said.

20 • FOOD / ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Zell’s Bites: Party time!

Zell’s Bites

Make sure everyone shares in the responsibility and the expenses.

When at a complete loss, take everyone out!

Shelly's Noodle Kugel Serves 2-4

by Zell Schulman One of the joys of entertaining is bringing friends and family together at a party. Throwing your first party can be both an opportunity and a challenge. You may wish to ask people you volunteer with, work with, or those who live in your condo or apartment building. You may find they're great company and fun to be with. It’s a great way to reach out and share more quality time together, yet get to know them in a fun and new environment. If you're hesitant about giving your first party, especially if you’re single, a new bride, a widow or widower, talk your party ideas over with a family member or close friend. Keep the numbers to no more than twelve and no less than six. Be comfortable with those you invite.

Should you decide not to do it in your home, you may consider taking everyone out for lunch or tea, or a light supper bite after an event you have all attended. You may want to call the manager or maitre’d ahead of time to make a reservation and tell them these people are your guests, and you will be picking up the check. If you’re planning to use a credit card, you may wish to give them your card when you arrive.

Feeling good about yourself and having the right energy level adds to the success of any party. If you want to plan a large party, consider co-hosting it with a married couple or other single friends.

Choose a neutral place to give the party, and allow each person to pick the area they enjoy working in whether it be invitations, menu planning, decorating, or setup.

When I entertain in my condo, one of my favorite menu items is a noodle pudding or “kugel”. It is a good “make-ahead” addition that has become a favorite for both my faamily and my friends. I can’t count the number of times I have besen asked for this recipe. It is served at all my cousins’, the Greenberg families’ "pot luck" gatherings and is a perfect accompaniment for seafood. You may wish to cut the recipe in half for smaller gatherings and bake it in a 9 x 13 -inch oven -proof container.

Ingredients One 16 ounce pkg. extra wide Inn-Maid noodles One 16 ounce pkg. cream cheese 1 stick margarine or butter 1 cup sugar 8 large eggs, well beaten 4-1/2 cups milk 2 teaspoons vanilla Method 1. Grease an extra large, oblong, baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Place the cream cheese and margarine in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat the cream cheese and margarine together until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. On low speed, slowly add the eggs. Beat 1 minute. Add the milk and vanilla. Beat 2 to 3 minutes more.

3. Pour over the noodles and blend together. Place into the prepared baking dish. Bake 1 hour.

15 minutes or until browned slightly on top. Allow the kugel to cool 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Zell’s Tips: The kugel may be prepared a day ahead, covered well and refrigerated, before baking. It also freezes well after baking.

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Freedom Center premieres film ‘Hate Crimes in the Heartland’, a groundbreaking new documentary on race relations in America The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center presents a Lioness Media Arts film, Hate Crimes in the Heartland, a groundbreaking new documentary that explores the history of race relations in America through the lens of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and the 2012 Good Friday murders. Cincinnati is one of seven cities nationwide selected to premiere the film Feb. 24 in the Harriet Tubman Theater during Black History Month. The special screening begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a panel discussion featuring national and local civil rights leaders, who will explore ways in which we can unite as a nation through healing and understanding.

"There has been a sharp increase in violent hate crimes, whether based on religion, sexuality or most often based on race. The film and outreach project speaks to media, race, crime and punishment in a way that encourages constructive dialogue," states producer/director Rachel Lyon. "Tulsa's story can help America heal our seemingly intractable racial wounds and help halt the cycle of violence that erupts all too often," asserts Co-Producer, Pi-Isis Ankhra.

The Freedom Center, a natural partner to the film, is an ongoing reminder of the region's long history of ensuring basic freedoms and human rights. The Freedom Center, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement seek to engage minority, student and interfaith community members at Hate Crimes in the Heartland. The event includes a dialogue on the impact of hate crimes in America over the past 100 years. The film allows audiences to focus on solutions, local heroes and distinguished

speakers.

"Participants have the opportunity to hear from filmmakers, scholars, survivors, historians and policy makers in an intimate setting," said C.G. Newsome, Ph.D., president of the Freedom Center. "This eyeopening film provides a unique platform for open and engaging discussion with the community at large about race, human rights and how we can combat the ill of hate-based crime in America."

The film examines hate crimes on a national basis and through the lens of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here, two hate crimes, the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and the 2012 Good Friday murders, still impact human rights, education and community relations today. Lyon explains: "Sparked by compelling stories that depict devastating and violent race history in Tulsa; America can take a step in the right direction to eventually achieve a post racial society."

The film begins in Tulsa in April 2012, when two white males drove through the African-American Greenwood neighborhood targeting blacks at random, killing three people and leaving two others in critical condition. Terrified community leaders united with government and law enforcement, who led a successful manhunt. The film follows the murders, social media uproar, manhunt and capture of the suspects, who are currently on trial and face the death penalty. The film compares this current hate crime to the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. In 1921, the white-led attack on the black community, the largest race riot in America, burned down the wealthy "Negro Wall Street" district of Greenwood, leaving up to 300 dead and more than 10,000 homeless.

This event was not recorded in history books for decades.

More than 90 years later, two crimes reveal the story of the racial animosity and inequality that have come to define parts of modern American society and culture. Hate Crimes in the Heartland explores these events, exposing an allAmerican city forever divided, and revealing the dangerous connections between the media, power, race and justice.

Filmmaker and Emmy Award winner Rachel Lyon has created 65 films, documentaries and international series. Her films focus on human and civil rights issues specializing on films dealing with media, race, crime and punishment.

Co-Producer Pi-Isis Ankhra has been a non-profit specialist in social justice issues and makes her debut as a documentary producer. Reggie Turner and Northern Kentucky University professor, Bavand Karim serve as associate producers and provide even greater diversity of voices within the film.

Major Sponsors for the premiere screening are the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Jewish Community Relations Council, Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement and the NKU Department of History and Geography.

Community Partners include: Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, 9th Street Baptist Church of Covington, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Adath Israel Congregation and Christ Church Cathedral.

National partners on Hate Crimes in the Heartland include Harvard Law School's John Hamilton Houston Institute on Race and Justice, DePaul University's Center for Justice in Capital Cases and New Jersey City University.

PERSONAL from page 10

high price, and getting in return literally nothing.”

“Israeli politicians like Netanyahu understand exactly that the Palestinians don’t want to reach a final status agreement.

Yet, some people see the alarming signs and ignore them,” he added.

A recent public opinion poll commissioned by Israel Hayom and conducted by the New Wave Research Institute revealed that more than half of Israelis, 53.5 percent, do not trust Kerry to act as an impartial mediator, with less than 20 percent believing that Kerry is unbiased. The poll indicates that Israeli public opinion on Kerry may not be too far from Ya’alon’s assessment of the secretary of state.

“We have given enough and received nothing,” Ya’alon said.

“Let us say to our American friends, ‘Enough is enough.’”

Ya’alon’s comments on Kerry were reported on the same day as disparaging remarks about Netanyahu in former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’s memoir.

“I was offended by his glibness and his criticism of U.S. policy – not to mention his arrogance and outlandish ambition – and I told national security adviser Brent Scowcroft that Bibi ought not be allowed back on White House grounds,” Gates writes in “Memoirs of a Secretary at War.” Gates’ comments were not met with any response from Israeli officials.

serious criminal treason, and will be subject to every criminal and civil punishment that this crime deserves.”

According to Halevi, if the Palestinian refugee issue is not resolved, then the “gates of the conflict remain open.” In other words, signing a negotiated land agreement will not mean that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and an agreement will not necessarily end all claims that the Palestinians have against Israel.

If Kerry pushes Israel into such moves, Halevi said “it will not promote peace, because Palestinians are not willing to make concessions on any of their issues, and Israel will pay a very

AUTOS • 21

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

Range Rover Evoque: tough on the outside, gorgeous on the inside The 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque breaks with the traditional Land Rover styling, eschewing the big, boxy look of its siblings for a sleeker appearance.

While it may be stylish on the outside, the Evoque is still every bit a Land Rover, with standard all-wheel drive and a rugged LR2-based chassis and suspension to take it far off-road.

What sets the Evoque apart from the competition? The most notable is its interior, which features excellent build quality, fine materials and pleasing aesthetics. Even the base model has a stunning interior, with soft-touch materials, brushed aluminum trim and an automatic gear selector that rises out of the center console.

Available as a 3-door "coupe" or 5-door SUV, the Range Rover Evoque is intended to lure in younger buyers whose budgets can't quite accommodate the price of a Range Rover Sport or LR4. And with a starting price just over $42,000, it may very well be the best-looking bargain in the Land Rover fleet.

Major changes for the 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque include a new, 9speed automatic transmission, an improved all-wheel-drive system with active differentials (the system slips into 2wheel drive mode to help save fuel and returns to 4-wheel drive when needed) and the addition of Park Exit, which automatically exits parallel parking spots.

Reviewers love the distinctive styling, responsive handling, available power and the fuel efficient engine. While there may be significant road noise and smaller interior space, it’s still an excellent vehicle for its price.

Range Rovers of the past have all been V8-powered, so the Evoque marks a new direction for the brand. Under the hood of the Evoque is a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine borrowed from Ford. The peppy 2.0-liter produces 240 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque, and is mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. The Evoque will make a 0-to-60-mph run in an impressive 7.1 seconds. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates its fuel economy at 21 miles per gallon city/30 mpg hwy.

The 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque comes in two body styles and five

trims. The 5-door is offered in Pure, Pure Plus, Pure Premium, Prestige and Dynamic, while the coupe is offered only in Pure Plus, Pure Premium and Dynamic.

The Evoque Pure features a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, Terrain Response driver selectable all-wheel drive, rain-sensing wipers, power folding side mirrors, 19-inch wheels, suede and leather seating, automatic climate control, a power rear lift gate, front and rear parking sensors, rear backup camera, 380-watt sound system with 8-in touchscreen audio, Bluetooth and USB/iPod interface.

The Evoque Pure Plus adds a full-length glass panel roof, power driver's and passenger seats, full leather seating, front fog lights and headlamp power washers.

The Evoque Pure Premium adds HDD navigation with offroad mapping, passive keyless entry with push-button start, a surround camera system, roof rails, 825-watt audio upgrade with subwoofer and 16 speakers, automatic HID headlights and automatic high beams.

The Evoque Prestige brings unique exterior trim and wheels and a full Oxford leather interior including leather dash cap.

The Evoque Dynamic offers the same features as the Prestige but with more exterior and interior trim and color choices and 20-in wheels.

Option packages for the Range Rover Evoque include the Climate Comfort Package (heated windshield, heated front seats and steering wheel and heated windshield washer jets) and the Vision Assist Package. Other available features include Park Assist and Exit, Adaptive Cruise Control and Closing Vehicle Sensing (bringing the car to a complete stop in a collision), rear-seat entertainment package and Adaptive Dynamic suspension.

The Evoque is loaded with many advanced safety technologies, including ABS, traction control, electronic brake force distribution, emergency brake lights and emergency brake assist, corner brake control, dynamic-stability control, roll-stability control, trailer-stability assist, hillstart assist, hill-descent control, gradient-release control and engine-drag torque control. Furthermore, the suspension and chassis aren't overly rigid, but just taut enough to allow the Evoque to handle with firm precision.

The Evoque interior

The power produced by the turbocharged 4-cylinder engine is impressive. Even with light application of the accelerator pedal, the Evoque eagerly rockets forward in a relentless show of horsepower

and torque.

The interior of the 2014 Range Rover Evoque is a visual masterpiece and extremely comfortable.

Whether you choose the practical 5-door version, or the

sleeker Coupe, the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque is sure to fit into your lifestyle. Prices range from $41,995-$60,200.

22 • OBITUARIES

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

D EATH N OTICES

KOSHER from page 6

GORDON, Florence Weinberg, age 94, died December 31, 2013; 28 Tevet, 5774.

KIRSH, Ilya, age 91, died January 17, 2014; 16 Shevat, 5774.

clear that the divide between processed food and unprocessed food is just as important as minimizing carnivorous eating.

“I don’t want to be just vilifying animal products left and right,” he said. “I want to make it clear that what we’re talking about is not just eating more fruits and vegetables; we’re talking about eating more real food.”

O BITUARIES

SOCIALIST from page 7

NEWMAN, Ruth, age 85, died January 15, 2014; 15 Shevat, 5774.

GORDON, Florence Weinberg Florence Weinberg Gordon, a former resident of Cincinnati and more recently Indianapolis passed away December 31, 2013. She was preceded in death by her husband Maurice Gordon and parents Jenny and Morris Weinberg as well as her sister Betty Fogle.

She was the mother of Carol Rodholm of Indianapolis and Steven Gordon MD (Barbara) of Palm Beach Gardens, Fl and grandmother of Jennifer (Gordon) Wells, Julie (Safer) Wodock, Patricia (Gordon) Crane and Alan Safer as well as seven greatgrandchildren. A grave side service took place at Adath Israel Cemetery in Cincinnati.

MATCHMAKER from page 7 Weinberg's matchmaking career had unofficially started before she moved to Pittsburgh. When she lived in New York in her early 20s, she got to know a philanthropic woman named Else Bendheim, who would host single men and women-30 of each gender at a time-at Shabbat dinners. Bendheim told Weinberg that she would sponsor more singles events if Weinberg would host them. The first of Weinberg's parties was an unbelievable success: she connected Debbie Atlas with Mark Goldenberg, and the next day they both called her to tell her they liked each other and that it might turn into marriage.

That was Weinberg's first unusual success story, after which point she con-

into the Congress’ only self-described socialist. Then he catches himself.

“This isn’t a profile,” he declared, interrupting himself. “There are very important issues that need to be discussed – the collapse of the middle class, very high unemployment rates, the crisis of climate change, the widening income gap.”

With a bespectacled face framed by a wild mop of white hair and a lingering tendency to bark in Brooklyn intonations even after 45 years in Vermont, Sanders is one of the more identifiably Jewish senators.

“As everyone in this room knows, I am a Jew, an old Jew,” the actor Fred Armisen, portraying Sanders, announced in an unaired “Saturday Night Live” sketch last year to knowing guffaws from the other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. tinued to make seemingly un-makeable matches. She recalls having one wealthy client who did not want to marry someone who needed him financially. She thought the wealthy man and one of her other clients had a future together, so she lied to the man that her other client was an heiress. The match was successful, and the man thanked Weinberg for lying because he would not have gone out with the woman he loved if he had known she was actually penniless.

Weinberg explains that it is the “matchmaker's touch” to perceive aspects of others' character and the reasons why two people would work together, even if the attributes perceived aren't on the “list” of what a single person says he or she is looking for in a partner.

It’s been a mostly lonely crusade. While elements of what Bittman advocates are shared by the environmental, labor rights and animal rights movements, a real food movement hasn’t quite coalesced.

“Here’s three questions about the food movement we should be asking ourselves: What are we asking for?

How are we united? Who’s representing our movement?” Bittman said. “The answers to those three questions right now are: a) we don’t

know; b) we’re not; and c) no one.”

Bittman rejects any notion that Jewish values motivate him, though he credits his “Peter, Paul and Maryish” Jewish upbringing with inspiring his progressive values.

“I grew up right after the Holocaust, and no one through the ‘50s stopped talking about that – with good reason,” Bittman said.

“My reaction to that was to develop a sense of justice and fairness, but it went way beyond what was right for

Jews.”

As we wrapped up our chat at the Times office in New York, I asked Bittman if he had any favorite culinary guilty pleasures. Hot dogs, good corned beef and pizza topped the list.

Then I asked if there were anything he pointedly did not eat.

Bittman thought for a moment.

“Not really,” he said, then motioned toward the Times cafeteria. “I try not to eat there.”

Now with income inequality becoming a defining issue in the 2014 midterm elections, Sanders is gaining a different kind of attention. He has become a go-to talking head on the subject on cable news networks, including the conservative Fox News.

“You have the Walton family of Walmart owning more wealth than the bottom 40 percent,” Sanders said.

“While at the same time we’ve had a huge growth in the number of millionaires and billionaires.”

Sanders’focus on issues of income inequality are true to his socialist reputation – one he continues to embrace as fiercely as he did in 1980, when he was the surprise winner of a mayoral election in Burlington, Vt. In 1990, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and in 2006 won his first Senate election.

Sanders acknowledges a certain stigma attached to the label socialist, but believes Americans would be like-

lier to embrace the term if they were better informed about the benefits of socialism.

“The ideas do resonate, but there is a stigma regarding the word,” he said.

“We went through a McCarthyite period, a Cold War with the Soviet Union.

There is a misperception of what democratic socialism is.”

That might be changing. Where Sanders once was prone to excoriate fellow Democrats for their solicitousness of corporate interests or their failure to oppose cuts to entitlement programs, he now is likelier to praise them for embracing the battles he has waged for years.

Sanders notes Bill de Blasio’s successful run for New York mayor on a platform focused in large part on income inequality. Congress, too, has come along, he says. Entitlement reform formerly was a watchword among Republicans, and even among the president and some Democrats.

Now, Sanders says, “Most Democrats understand that Americans don’t want cuts in Social Security and Medicaid and Medicare. The Democratic Party is becoming more vigorous in trying to extend unemployment benefits, in raising the minimum wage. I see that as a step forward in understanding that the American people do not want to see more attacks on the children, the elderly and the poor.”

There has been speculation that Sanders may run for president as a means of keeping Democrats on the true path. He won’t count it out, but insists, again, that his personal ambitions are not the point – income inequality is.

“I don’t wake up every morning thinking about whether I should be president of the United States,” Sanders said. “But those issues have to be discussed. And if nobody else is, I will discuss them

SOCCER from page 8

ture was an inverted Nazi salute and an expression of anti-Semitic hatred.

He also urged cities to ban performances by Dieudonne, leading to the cancellation of the comedian’s nationwide tour that was due to begin this month.

“The quenelle may be a complicated legal matter, but it’s a very clear moral issue,” said Shimon Samuels, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s international affairs director. He called on the Football Association to condemn it, “and especially on Kick It Out, which are not a court of law.”

The European Jewish Congress called for Anelka’s suspension as punishment and said the associa-

tion’s inaction is indicative of bigger problem in European and British soccer.

“Kick It Out’s tame response puts into question its commitment to tackling anti-Semitism in football and, sadly, reflects a common lack of reaction from the whole European football community,” Raya Kalenova, the executive vice-president of the European Jewish Congress, told JTA. “Where is the apology from player or club? Where is the condemnation, ban or suspension from the Football Association, UEFA or FIFA? Kicking out racism and antiSemitism requires a lot more than holding up banners.”

Six-Day War, and the 1992 film “Day of Atonement,” with the American film star Christopher Walken.

The new film, Arcady said, is an attempt to refocus attention on the Halimi family.

“I wanted to make a film because I noticed a tendency in France to focus on the perpetrators instead of the victims,” he said.

“Making this film was my way of setting things straight.”

In researching the film, Arcady learned that Fofana telephoned Didier Halimi, Ilan’s father, a total of 700 times during the abduction. To convey that distress, Arcady employs various cinematic techniques, transitioning sharply between shots of the anguished fam-

ily and the detective work carried out by police behind the scenes.

“Imagine what that’s like,” Arcady said. “Ilan Halimi was in hell during those days, but so was his family, who had to negotiate with the kidnappers while pretending, on the police’s orders, that nothing was wrong. They kept going to work, not being able to breathe a word of the terrible thing that had happened to them.”

Ruth Halimi says writing the book and working with Arcady on the film was painful.

“It brings back very forcefully the memories with which I live every day,” she told JTA. “But Jews are the people of memory. We have no choice.”

an emoticon depicting a wink.

Despite complaints by Jewish groups, the quenelle appears to be immune from prosecution under French laws prohibiting the display of Nazi symbols. Such legal fuzziness is a Dieudonne trademark. He coined the word “shoananas” – a mash-up of the Hebrew word for Holocaust and the French word for pineapple – to suggest the Holocaust is a myth without breaking laws against genocide denial.

Nevertheless, French officials have taken a hard line against the quenelle in recent weeks. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the gesHALIMI from page 9 understand that what happened to Halimi was not an isolated act but part of something much more serious, and we saw just how serious in Toulouse,” Ariel Kandel, head of the Jewish Agency’s operations in France, told JTA. The link between the two attacks has been made by a number of other prominent Frenchman, including Jerome Guedj, the president of the municipality where Halimi was found. Guedj established an annual award for activists against antiSemitism named for Halimi.

Arcady has produced and directed dozens of multimillion-dollar productions, including the 1991 hit “For Sacha,” about Israel during the

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