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JFS opens doors on Barbash Family Vital Suport Center
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Jump on over to the J for the hoppinest, boppinest Hanukkah happening in town when the Mayerson JCC and Shalom Family present the Jump and Jelly Donut Jam: An Inflatable Festival of Lights Celebration, a free event for families in the Jewish community on Sunday, November 24th from 3-5 pm. Children and their families are bound to have a ball at this free event when the Zooperstars, giant 10 ft. tall walking inflatable characters, help kick-off Hanukkah 2013 in style. It all starts with a show-stopping, jaw-dropping performance, featuring characters like Ken Giraffey Jr, and Shaquille O’Seal, who will bounce on their heads and perform
other zany feats on the stage and in the audience. Zooperstars have been featured on America’s Got Talent and entertain in sports arenas and other venues around the world! After the show, kids can play the day away in a variety of interactive bounce houses, slides and other giant inflatables. As always, the JCC will give guests a chance to do a good deed (mitzvah) for children in need this holiday season by collecting new, unwrapped gifts as part of the J’s annual One Candle for Tzedakah Toy Drive. “Tzedakah” is the Hebrew word for righteousness or charity. In today’s world of great excess, many children have so much more
than they really need. However, there are still many more who have so much less,” explains Pam Saeks, the JCC Director of Innovation and Engagement. “This program was created to give families a way to teach their children the important Jewish value of tzedakah, while helping to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. By symbolically devoting ‘one candle,’ or one of the eight nights of Hanukkah, to the idea of ‘giving,’ instead of just ‘getting,’ individuals, families, and the whole community can elevate the holiday to a whole new level.” All donations will go to help families in need during the 2013 holiday season. Gifts will be
distributed through Jewish Family Service’s Bigs and Littles program and other local organizations. In addition to the Zooperstars show and all the inflatable fun, kids will be treated to balloon sculptures and can participate in Hoppy Ball races. Plus, there’ll be a chance for families to make their own Green Screen Music Videos to take home. And of course everyone will be treated to a traditional Hanukkah favorite: jelly donuts! The event is open to families with children ages 12 and under, and is FREE with advance RSVP on the Shalom Family website. Older siblings and grandparents are always welcome.
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JFS opens doors on Barbash Family Vital Support Center
Shep Englander, Mark Miller, Lee Sherman, Beth Schwartz, Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, Michael Oestreicher
What started ten years ago as a dream to provide a holistic approach to promoting wellness and recovery for families in need became a reality when Jewish Family Service recently opened its Barbash Family Vital Support Center. "Today we take a big step forward - all of us together- as we begin a journey that will touch lives and change lives every day. Today we take a big step toward fulfilling Jewish Family Service's vision of leading our community to a place where everyone lives with hope, stability, and dignity," said Beth Schwartz, Executive Director of Jewish Family Service. Schwartz's comments were made October 27 at the community-wide grand opening celebration of the Jewish Family Service Barbash Family Vital Support Center, located on the Clifton campus of Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion. An unused campus building that had housed a swimming pool and lockers was fully renovated into the warm and inviting Vital Support Center. “In a remarkable transition of space, the building now contains a beautiful reception area, private rooms for client assessments and meetings, a large activity room and kitchen, and a state of the art food pantry. In this Center, Jewish Family Service will serve hungry people, facilitate wellness and recovery programming to people living with chronic mental health issues, and provide case management services to people striving toward self-sustainability,” said Lee Sherman CEO of the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies (AJFCA). AJFCA, which is headquartered in Baltimore, represents 125 Jewish Family Service agencies across North America. The transition was more than
that of a building; it was also a transformation of an agency. Over time, as more families in need were coming to Jewish Family Service for assistance, its staff recognized that a bag food or a rent check was not enough to maintain stability. The new Barbash Family Vital Support Center is Jewish Family Service’s realization of the dream to address the full spectrum of hardships that accompany hunger and poverty- homelessness, fear, isolation, stress, and despair. "Ten years ago we opened a food pantry in the basement of Golf Manor Synagogue. We are forever indebted to Rabbi Hanan Balk and Golf Manor for providing rent-free space for so many years. It was in this basement pantry that Vital Services Department Director Fran Gafvert began dreaming of a more holistic approach to battling food insecurity, poverty, and mental illness," said Schwartz. The food pantry is open to Jewish Family Service clients as well as all people in need who live in Cincinnati's 45220 zip code. It is the only food pantry in the region that also includes a section with a full array of kosher foods and meat. The Vital Support Center offers a best-practice and evidence-based program. It is also the only place in our community that addresses the unique needs of people experiencing hunger, poverty and mental illness who desire to be served within a Jewish cultural setting. For example, Jewish Family Service clients can enjoy Jewish holiday themed parties, rabbinic support, and Hebrew classes. Said Shep Englander, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, “This truly is a historic day because it is not only the day when we launch what will be a national model, but also the day when we celebrate a partnership and collaboration that is truly unique.” He added that the Vital
Support Center is right at the heart of the caring pillar of the Cincinnati 2020 initiative to secure our future as a welcoming Jewish community that provides an exceptional quality of life for every one of its members. “The Center is a result of what has always been one of the core values of our community—caring for people in need by reducing poverty and isolation.” Because of the unique collaboration of several organizations and individual donors, Jewish Family Service was ultimately able to bring the Barbash Family Vital Support Center to the community’s individuals in need. The grand opening celebration began with a welcome from Mark Miller, President of the Board of Jewish Family Service, and Andy Berger, President of the Board of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. The invocation was provided by Rabbi David Ellenson and Rabbi Aaron Panken of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Following comments by Sherman, Qualls, Schwartz, and Englander, a video about the Vital Support Center’s development was shown. The morning continued with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Michael Oestreicher, President of The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, and the Barbash and Heldman families. Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, Dean, Cincinnati campus of HUC-JIR, concluded the celebration by leading a prayer as Fran Gafvert hung the mezuzah. The video included this heartwarming comment from a Jewish Family Service recipient, “This is what tikun olam (Hebrew for repairing the world) is about. Just thank you from the bottom of my heart and I know others absolutely feel the same way. Just thank you.”
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Innocence Project founder, exoneree to speak at the JCC The JCC Wolf Center for Arts & Ideas and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati present a three-part “Changemaker” series to offer fresh approaches to current issues facing our community. The free series kicks off on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7pm, with the provocative lecture “Correcting Injustices in the Legal System” featuring University of Cincinnati law professor Mark Godsey, director of the Ohio Innocence Project. Joining Godsey will be one of the project’s clients, Roger “Dean” Gillispie, who served 20 years in prison for rapes he did not commit. The two will share their stories and experiences about their 9-year
fight for freedom. Join the conversation at the Mayerson JCC. RSVPs are requested. In addition to directing the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP), Godsey is also one of its cofounders. The Project was founded in 2003 and works to prove the innocence of wrongly convicted inmates in Ohio’s prisons. The OIP is recognized as one of the most active and successful innocence projects in the country and has secured the release of 14 individuals on grounds of innocence. Godsey and the OIP have proposed several significant legislative reforms in Ohio and have worked to get them passed into law. Godsey is also one of the leading scholars on the issue of
police interrogation and a nationally recognized attorney and authority on the wrongful conviction of the innocent. He is also a regular commentator on issues relating to criminal law and wrongful conviction in both the local and national press. He has appeared nationally on Larry King Live, Dateline NBC, CNN, ESPN, BBC, Forensic Files, Court TV, the Oxygen Network, NPR and A&E's American Justice, among others. The three-program “Changemaker” series also includes “Hate & Religion in the Public Sphere” featuring Ronna Greff Schneider, professor of law at the University of Cincinnati and an expert on issues involving constitutional
law, who will examine hot topics related to separation of church and state as well as hate speech on Thursday, December 5. The final lecture, “Center City Investment: Continuing the Momentum,” will feature Stephen G. Leeper, president & CEO of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC). On Tuesday, January 14, he will discuss the changes and impact of 3CDC's work, the implications and effects on the community, and new projects. All three programs will be held at the Mayerson JCC at 7pm and are free with advance reservation.
Andrea Rapp, Wise Temple librarian, will introduce the special display of military items from the Wise Temple archives currently exhibited in the Library. Attendees at the program who have participated in military service will be given special recognition at this event. The Wise Seniors Group is a dynamic group that plans an
event almost each month. The programs are meant to be educational, but are also an opportunity for seniors to socialize with other seniors, meet new people and, most importantly have fun! From seniors who are new to the temple or members who have not come to a senior event in the past or anyone new to Cincinnati, all are welcome to check out the Wise Senior
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VOL. 160 • NO. 16 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013 4 KISLEV 5774 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 5:13 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 6:14 PM THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 Phone: (513) 621-3145 Fax: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISAAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900
Wise Temple seniors group presents “Jews in the Military” Just in time to commemorate Veteran’s Day, Wise Temple members Billy Bie, a retired Air Force major and Dr. Emil Dansker, a former Marine combat correspondent, will discuss the long and distinguished history of Jews in the military at the Wise Temple Seniors Group program on Wednesday, November 13 at 1:00 PM at Wise Center. In addition,
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Rabbi Ron Klotz tells stories, Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola previews new book at Valley Temple Rabbi Ron Klotz, director emeritus of Goldman Union Camp will be the storyteller-in-residence for Valley Temple November 15-17, 2013. The weekend begins with Friday Night Live services on Friday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Klotz will tell a few stories during the service. A tot service is planned for Saturday, November 16 at 10:00 a.m., and a lunch and learn program with Rabbi Klotz will begin after Shabbat services, which start at 10:30 a.m. Those wishing to participate in the luncheon program should call Valley Temple to make a reservation for
lunch. Rabbi Klotz will visit the classrooms of the Valley Temple Religious School on Sunday, November 17. Rabbi Ron Klotz served as the director of Goldman Union Camp Institute in Zionsville, Indiana for over 30 years. While there, Rabbi Klotz became known for the wonderful stories he would tell the camp as part of the unique Shabbat celebration of the camp. Since his retirement in 2011, Rabbi Klotz has been a program and rabbinic resource for the Indiana University Hillel in Bloomington, Indiana. On Tuesday, November 12, 2013,
author Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola will lead an adult education session on Abraham Lincoln and the Jews, subjects of his new book, due out in February, at 7:30 p.m. Abraham Lincoln has always been held in the highest esteem by Jews throughout history. Rabbi Dr. Zola will bring some of the documents that helped shape the way Jews related to Lincoln and his legacy. These programs will be held at Valley Temple and are open to the public.
Coffee talk with Hadassah Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah will present Coffee Talk, their informal monthly discussion group, on Monday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Julie Brook in Montgomery. Tobe Snow is Coffee Talk Chair and Programming Vice President of Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah. In honor of Veterans Day, Hadassah salutes America! Guest speaker Cheryl Popp will talk about Honor Flight Tri-State, a non-profit organization that flies American war
veterans to Washington, D.C. Honor Flight Tri-State’s mission is to fly as many veterans as possible to Washington, D.C. to see their War Memorials. They are now accepting applications from both World War II and Korean War veterans. For many veterans, a trip to Washington is not financially or physically possible. To ease the load of their caregivers, Honor Flight provides transportation and volunteers/guardians to escort the vet-
erans on their trip. All recipients receive a one-day trip including airfare to Washington, D.C., three meals, tour buses, guardians and an Honor Flight Tri-State t-shirt at no cost. Coffee Talk meets the 2nd Monday of each month in a Hadassah member's home to discuss issues relevant to Jewish women. Morning and evening times are rotated to accommodate as many people as possible. Light refreshments will be served. There is no charge to attend.
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With vacant space, Conservative and Reform temples turn to Orthodox By Uriel Heilman
Courtesy of Torah Day School
Torah Day School, an Orthodox school in Phoenix, is located in a Conservative synagogue, Beth El Congregation.
(JTA) – Marla Topp of Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, Ill., doesn’t need survey data to tell her that Reform Judaism is in decline and Orthodox Judaism is growing. She has to look no further than her own synagogue. A couple of months ago, the temple began renting out unused classroom space to an Orthodox school that had outgrown its building. Now its classrooms serve as a satellite location for the Arie Crown Hebrew Day School’s early childhood program. The Orthodox preschool isn’t the temple’s first tenant. Once a flour-
ishing suburban Chicago shul of 500 families, Judea Mizpah has seen its membership fall to 180 families, and the temple began renting out vacant space more than a decade ago, according to Topp, the executive director. The average Friday night service – the synagogue’s best attended – usually draws 50 to 100 worshipers. In September, the religious school scaled back from two days a week to one. “As the demographics of our area have changed, our membership has shrunk and we needed to find revenue to keep going,” Topp told JTA. “Young families affiliated with the Reform movement are fewer and farther between.”
Throughout the country, a growing number of Reform and Conservative synagogues find themselves in similar situations. This year, the Reform Temple Israel in New Rochelle, N.Y., began renting space to a new low-budget Orthodox day school, Westchester Torah Academy. Three years ago, Beth El Congregation in Phoenix, Ariz., began renting space to Torah Day School, a strictly Orthodox school that separates boys and girls beginning in kindergarten. Hollis Hills Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue in Queens, N.Y., leases space to an Orthodox school called VACANT on page 22
Obama to Congress: Talk tough on sanctions, but don’t do anything By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Obama administration may be on a collision course with pro-Israel advocates over an intensified sanctions bill that the White House fears may scuttle negotiations to resolve the standoff over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs support a bill, passed in July by the House of Representatives, that would sanction entities facilitating Iranian money transfers and increase the burden on financial outfits to ensure they are not dealing in money that originated in Iran. Israel’s leadership also favors enhanced sanctions.
National Briefs eBay apologizes for Nazi memorabilia sold on its site (JTA) – The online auction website eBay apologized for allowing Nazi memorabilia to be sold under its auspices. The site removed about 30 items for sale within hours of an investigative report published in the Sunday edition of the Daily Mail. Among the items being offered for sale were a complete Auschwitz uniform, yellow Stars of David armbands worn by Jews during World War II, a Holocaust victim’s suitcase and a pair of shoes belonging to a death camp victim. “We very much regret that we didn’t live up to our own standards. We have made a donation to charity to reflect our concern.” The site in its rules rejects the sale of Nazi memorabilia.
But the Obama administration, while urging Congress to continue its saber rattling, believes the bill could derail talks that got underway in Geneva earlier this month and are due to resume in mid-November. That was the takeaway from a closed session held Oct. 24 by the National Security Council for senior staffers in the House and Senate. Participants said that the NSC unveiled findings showing that threats from Congress to enhance sanctions are keeping Iran at the negotiating table. But the NSC also argued that actually advancing the bill could thwart progress toward a diplomatic resolution, according to participants. About 25 staffers were present at the briefing. Participants, who spoke on the condition that they not be iden-
tified or quoted directly, declined to provide more detail on the findings or about which officials provided them; the briefing was classified. On Tuesday, the NSC invited on short notice top Jewish organizational leaders for a briefing on Iran – a signal of how it is parting ways on Iran strategy not just with Congress, but also with Israel and the pro-Israel community. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is leading efforts to advance the bill in the Senate. A source close to AIPAC said the lobbying group also wants to the bill advance “in the near future,” as does the Jewish Federations. But those present at the meeting said the administration regards movement toward a Senate vote as the kind of action that would alienate Iran. The fate of the bill is currently in
the hands of Sen. Tim Johnson (DS.D.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. A committee official said last Friday that Johnson had yet to reach a decision on whether and when to bring the bill up for debate and a vote. But Johnson previously had told the Obama administration that he could not delay a committee vote beyond the end of October. Administration officials want it delayed at least until after the next set of talks in mid-November. Caitlin Hayden, an NSC spokeswoman, described the meeting last week as a close consultation with Congress. “Congress has been an important partner in our efforts thus far,” Hayden said in an email last Friday. “We will continue our close consultation, as we have in the past, so that
any congressional action is aligned with our negotiating strategy as we move forward.” Participants said it was not clear after the meeting what the consensus was among the staffers, who advise lawmakers and play a critical role in advancing and shaping legislation. They described two competing narratives: one in which increased sanctions would help keep Iran at the negotiating table and the other in which they drive Iran away. The differences did not divide along partisan lines, participants said, with some of the fiercest resistance to putting a hold on new sanctions coming from staffers for Democrats. Those who want to enhance sanctions emphasized that Iran continues to enrich uranium and ignore other U.N. Security Council demands.
AIPAC, AJC won’t suspend Iran sanctions lobbying; ADL willing WASHINGTON (JTA) – AIPAC and the American Jewish Committee refused a White House request to suspend lobbying for new sanctions on Iran. Top National Security Council staffers in an Oct. 29 meeting had asked the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the AJC to suspend for 60 days lobbying for new congressional legislation that would intensify sanctions. They also made the request to the Anti-Defamation League and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. ADL National Director Abraham Foxman told JTA that he favored the suspension and would not lobby for or against new sanctions.
only Jewish manager. He played for the Tigers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1993-2010.
power autonomous vehicles include smart sensing, vision imaging, human machine interface, wifi and 4G/LTE communications, and much of that is being done at our Herzliya facility in conjunction with GM’s other R&D facility in Silicon Valley,” said Gil Golan, director of GM’s Advanced Technical Center in Israel, the Times of Israel reported.
“high priority Israeli military targets” including the Israel Defense Forces drone aircraft and the Black Sparrow missile system, the New York Times reported. Citing documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the newspaper said Israel is the most prominent country that cooperates with the NSA on intelligence sharing, but it is simultaneously the target of spying by the American agency.
Detroit Tigers name Brad Ausmus, Jewish former catcher, as new manager (JNS) – Former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher Brad Ausmus, who is Jewish, was named the manager of the MLB’s Detroit Tigers. Ausmus, 44, will be the league’s
Omri Casspi, Gal Mekel are first Israelis to face each other in NBA game (JNS) – Last Friday’s National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks marked the first time two Israeli players faced each other in an NBA game. Omri Casspi, the forward for the Rockets who in 2009 became the first Israeli-born player in NBA history, scored 12 points in a 113-105 win. Rookie guard Gal Mekel, the second Israeli to play in the NBA, scored 11 points in the loss for Dallas. General Motors using Israeli technology to develop selfdriving cars (JNS) – Israel is home to a significant amount of the technology General Motors (GM) is using to create the cars of the future, which will include features such as self-driving capability. “The technologies that will
ADL poll: 12 percent of Americans hold anti-Semitic views, a 3 percent decline (JNS) – A new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) survey found that 12 percent of Americans hold antiSemitic views, a 3-percent decline since the organization’s previous poll in 2011. Fourteen percent of respondents said Jews have too much power in the U.S., 30 percent said American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S., and 26 percent blame Jews for the death of Jesus Christ. NSA spies on ‘high priority Israeli military targets,’ report says (JNS) – The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has spied on
Iran sanctions push not delayed, say major pro-Israel groups AIPAC and CUFI (JNS) – American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) President Michael Kassen said Sunday that there will “absolutely be no pause, delay or moratorium” in AIPAC’s lobbying efforts for stronger sanctions on Iran. The statement contrasts with recent reports that indicated major Jewish organizations would refrain from lobbying Congress for tougher sanctions for two to three months while negotiations with Iran persist, after the White House asked them to do so in a meeting last week.
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Jewish women giving birth later than others, but how long can they wait? By Talia Lavin NEW YORK (JTA) – American Jewish women are giving birth later than other women, sometimes delaying childbearing into their late 30s or even 40s. The much-discussed Pew Research Center survey of American Jews released this month found that Jews aged 40 to 59 have an average of 1.9 children, compared to 2.2 children per adult among the same-age cohort of the general public. According to the most recent National Jewish Population Survey, in 2000, Jewish women are substantially more likely to remain childless into their 30s and 40s than American women generally. “The fertility gap between Jewish and all U.S. women narrows but is not eliminated in later childbearing age groups, indicating that Jewish women delay having children until later years, and then come close to, but do not match, fertility levels of all U.S. women,” the NJPS reported. So how late can a woman get pregnant? According to Lawrence Grunfeld, a reproductive endocrinologist and professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, recent studies by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine show that with donor eggs and a healthy mother, pregnancies can be viable through age 55. “Fertility treatments have improved tremendously year by year,” Grunberg said. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Pregnancy and childbirth after 35 – what doctors term “advanced maternal age” – can present a number of complications, foremost among them the difficulty of conception. After age 35, fertility in women decreases precipitously. “In patients of advanced maternal age, many women have a decreased ovarian reserve,” said Ilana Ressler, a reproductive endocrinologist at New York Fertility Services. “That means that the ovaries are producing fewer eggs. Women are born with a set number of eggs, and we have the most eggs we’ll ever have before we’re born. After a certain age, reserves are much lower.” The two most common ways to aid conception in older women are ovulation induction, in which hormone injections promote the production of eggs, and in-vitro fertilization (IVF), in which eggs are extracted from the body, inseminated with the sperm and
Courtesy of Shutterstock
used to create embryos that later are implanted in the patient. Although IVF has been around since 1978, its effectiveness has improved rapidly as its use has expanded across the country. As of 2011, about 12 percent of women of childbearing age in the United States had used a fertility service, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Beyond the challenges of conception, late pregnancy carries additional risks. Decreased quality of eggs in women older than 40 can increase the risk of miscarriage and the likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome. One solution is using donor eggs, a procedure commonly recommended for women in their 40s struggling to become pregnant. This approach presents problems for observant Jews concerned that the child may be regarded as a mamzer, an “illegitimate” child subject to severe ritual restrictions under Jewish law. “To overcome that, most of the current rabbis feel that if you’re going to do egg donation, use an unmarried Jewish girl, and that voids the concern about the boy being a mamzer,” Grunfeld said. For women who want to use their own eggs, growing numbers are turning to vitrification, a technology that allows women to freeze their eggs while they are still viable and implant them later in life. Gila Leiter, an associate professor of obstetrics at Mount Sinai Hospital, told JTA that freezing eggs for later use has become more common among patients in their late 30s as the process has improved radically in the last few years. “For women in their 30s, vitrification really takes the pressure off,” Leiter said. “Many women have come to me and expressed relief, saying that they are able to approach dating without the same fear of the ticking
clock.” Concerns about increased risk for genetic abnormalities also are addressed through new technologies that screen embryos prior to implantation. Ressler told JTA that the risks of miscarriage are greatly reduced by subjecting embryos to a biopsy before they are transferred to the uterus. Pre-implantation screening offers distinct advantages over other screening methods like amniocentesis and CVS, or chorionic villus sampling, which are conducted at later points in gestation and entail greater risk of miscarriage. The manifold concerns of late childbearing extend beyond conception. Once pregnant, wouldbe mothers over 35 face higher rates of diabetes, hypertension and preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition that causes high blood pressure and organ damage in expectant mothers. Vigilant observation can mitigate some of the concerns. Weekly maternal stress tests that monitor heart rate, placental blood flow and other factors are recommended for pregnant women in their 40s. Such monitoring can be time consuming and stressful, but it can also be vital. For Amanda Stein, who recently gave birth to her first child at 47, maternal stress tests proved life-saving. When she was 39 weeks pregnant with her son, Caleb, a test revealed that the baby’s heart rate was falling. During contractions, the umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck. “That monitoring enabled him to get there safely, one month and one day ago,” Stein said. “The amount of support, and the gifts and the notes and the visitors, has just been astronomical. And I think that part of that is that people recognize what a miracle this is.”
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FSU Jewish identity revival fostered by informal education network
Cartoonists who spoke out against Kristallnacht
By Michele Alperin
By Rafael Medoff
LVOV, Ukraine (JNS) – In a complex journey that can start as simply as children asking their parents what their family name means, younger Jews in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) are discovering the sometimes long-held secret of their religious background – a discovery that often initiates a search for Jewish identity. Typically, this reawakening happens among teens, says Ofer Glanz, the FSU regional director for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Glanz recalls a Jewish educational coordinator in Kiev asking her parents about the very strange dinner she and her parents would have with her grandparents every April. Although they usually shushed her and told her that it was something babushka and dedushka (grandma and grandpa) wanted, she later found out it was a Passover seder. Another JDC staffer brought a recipe from home to a cooking class and was asked what kind of food it was. “Her mother told her that her grandmother used to cook this kind of dish in the shtetl, before the war,” Glanz tells JNS. A network of informal educational organizations has been developing to meet the needs of these newly interested FSU Jews. The network includes JDC’s Jewish community centers, youth organizations,
(JNS) – “I could scarcely believe that such a thing could occur in a 20th-century civilization,” President Franklin Roosevelt declared in the wake of the Nazis’ Kristallnacht pogrom, which devastated the German Jewish community 75 years ago next month. Most Americans, like their president, were appalled to read of Nazi stormtroopers burning down hundreds of synagogues, ransacking thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, murdering some one hundred Jews, and hauling 30,000 more off to concentration camps, from Nov. 9-10, 1938. In the days following the pogrom, three American editorial cartoonists would try to channel the public’s sympathy for the victims into concrete steps to help German Jewry. In response to Kristallnacht, President Roosevelt recalled the U.S. ambassador from Germany for “consultations” and extended the visitors’ visas of the approximately 12,000 German Jewish refugees who were then in the United States. But at the same time, FDR announced that liberalization of America’s tight immigration quotas was “not in contemplation.” In the wake of Kristallnacht, humanitarian-minded Members of Congress introduced legislation to aid German Jewry. The WagnerRogers bill proposed the admission
Courtesy of JDC
Participants in the 4th Annual Jewish Informal Education Conference in Lvov tour a Jewish cemetery.
and family camps; Limmud FSU; and others. To support the educators and volunteers behind this Jewish identity revival, JDC held an informal education conference in Lvov, Ukraine, from Oct. 13-17. Sessions focused on networking, knowledge sharing, skills buildup, and the exchange of best practices in Jewish informal education as well as religious practices, spirituality, and issues like assimilation. Two of the days were devoted to study tours of Jewish areas in the region, with follow-up sessions related to potential programming. “Education is a tool to address one of the key issues in the FSU, both for younger and older people – Jewish identity,” Glanz says. “People in the FSU were deprived of anything having to do with Jewish identity for more than 70 years, until the breakdown of the Soviet Union.”
In contrast to the U.S. and Israel, where Jewish identity is passed from parent to child, in the FSU it often goes in the other direction, according to Glanz. “Usually young people bring home Jewish identity. Young people understanding they are Jews want to understand better what it means and to reconnect to the Jewish people,” he says. For conference participant Kolea Railean, director of the youth department of the Jewish Cultural Center in Kishinev, the first intuition that he was Jewish came when his dad told him that the doughnuts his grandmother used to make were for Hanukkah. After her death, Jewish life “began to drain out of our family,” he writes in an email to JNS. But Railean, who was always interested FSU on page 22
Courtesy of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies
A Christian Science Monitor editorial cartoon, by J. Parker Robinson, responding to Kristallnacht.
of 20,000 German refugee children outside the quotas. Nativist and isolationist groups vociferously opposed the Wagner-Rogers bill. Typical of the opposition’s perspective was a remark by FDR’s cousin, Laura Delano Houghteling, who was the wife of the U.S. Commissioner of Immigration. She warned that “20,000 charming children would all too soon grow into 20,000 ugly adults.” An appeal to FDR by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to support Wagner-Rogers fell on deaf ears, and an inquiry by a Congresswoman as to the president’s position was CARTOONISTS on page 20
Argentina’s history-making rabbi-lawmaker wears Jewishness on his sleeve By Diego Melamed BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – When he takes the oath of office in December as a new member of Argentina’s lower house of parliament, Rabbi Sergio Bergman will eschew the Christian Bible used by other legislators in favor of the Five Books of Moses. Bergman, whose PRO party won 34.5 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections on Sunday, is believed to be the only rabbi seated in a national parliament outside Israel. PRO, which Bergman leads, edged the runner-up UNEN party, which captured just over 32 percent, making Bergman the first Argentine rabbi to win a seat as a national lawmaker. “We were selected to improve the country as we did before in the city,” Bergman, currently a Buenos Aires legislator, told the media after the vote. “We were selected to protect the law and the constitution.” Trained in biochemistry and pharmacology, Bergman abandoned a career with the German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim for the rabbinate at the urging of his
Courtesy of JTA
Rabbi Sergio Bergman campaigning for the PRO party, which came in first in Argentine elections Sunday.
wife, Gabriela. “Let’s follow your vocation,” he said she advised him. “If then you find that rabbinical work doesn’t fit, you can return to your profession as a pharmacist. But I don’t want to see you in your 40s unhappy with your life.” Now 51, Bergman has four children, is the author of five books and is recognized internationally. He founded a network of Jewish
schools and educational projects that includes a gay alliance and a rural farm. In May he received the Micah Award from the World Union for Progressive Judaism for his commitment to social justice at the organization’s convention in Jerusalem. But he is also recognized beyond the Jewish community as a leading thinker on the issues of spirituality and interfaith activism. Pope Francis, then Buenos Aires
Archbishop Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, wrote in a prologue to Bergman’s 2008 book “Argentina Ciudadana,” or “Argentina Citizen,” that the rabbi uses the Bible “as an inspiration to build a basis of our civic behavior and elaborates the fundamentals of a civil spirituality.” Bergman launched his political career in 2011, when he was tapped by Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri to lead his PRO party’s list for the municipal legislature. Among 10 parties, Bergman’s was the leading vote getter, tripling the vote total of the second-place finisher. As a legislator, Bergman employed unorthodox methods to reduce tensions in the city, organizing a day of meditation for legislative employees and installing a popcorn machine in his office. “The struggles and also some projects are funnier than some movies,” he said. Throughout his political career, Bergman has not hid his Jewishness. Indeed, he has celebrated it, wearing his colorful yarmulke at his public appearances. At a recent campaign rally, his speech was full of biblical allusions, saying citizens needed to join together in “building the holy
land of the city of Buenos Aires in order to develop the promised land of Argentina.” In the 2011 election, he wanted to be listed on the ballot as “Rabbi Sergio Bergman.” Opponents challenged the bid, and a court ruled eventually that while Bergman might be well-known as a rabbi, his title suggests positive connotations that are inappropriate for an election ballot. In a country only three decades removed from dictatorship, the acknowledgment was seen as a democratic advance. Argentina is “in a deep crisis of values,” Bergman told JTA. “I believe that Torah can also be taught in the legislature. I’m against the union of state and religion. I’m in favor of the separation of church and state, but also in favor of putting deep values in politics.” The juxtaposition has a notable history in Argentina. Rabbi Marshal Meyer, an American who lived in Buenos Aires from 1958 to 1984 and founded the Conservative rabbinical seminary here, was famous for saying ARGENTINA on page 19
INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
Iran ‘already past point of no return,’ warns ex-IAEA official By Israel Hayom
Courtesy of IAEA website via Wikimedia Commons
Dr. Olli Heinonen, former deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
(JNS) – Dr. Olli Heinonen, a former deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned Monday that Iran’s pursuit of military-grade nuclear capability has passed the point of no return. According to a report in The Tower Magazine, Heinonen has reviewed the latest Institute for Science and International Security report assessing Tehran’s nuclear progress, saying that Iran’s use of its existing lineup of 19,000 IR-1 centrifuges and its plans to install an additional 3,000 IR-2 centrifuges in its enrichment facilities have reduced
its breakout time – the amount of time that would elapse between a decision to manufacture a nuclear weapon and actually possessing one – to just a few weeks. “You have to have seen the ISIS report from David Albright last week, which now says that this breakout time can be one month. And I believe that if certain arrangements are made, it can even go down to two weeks. So there are a lot of concerns out there, which hopefully Iran addresses in this new phase, both with the P5+1 and with the IAEA,” he said. In the latest round of the nuclear negotiations between the West and the Islamic republic, Iran has insisted that it will not give up its 3.5 percent
low enriched uranium or suspend its pursuit of enrichment technology. This position, as well as the fact that Iran has spent much of the last year installing more sophisticated centrifuges in its nuclear enrichment facilities, may complicate Tehran’s efforts to allay the international community’s concerns about its nuclear program. Heinonen, a senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, stressed that Iran’s stockpile of 3.5% enriched material, puts the regime more than halfway toward “what you need to do in order to produce weapons-grade uranium,” which is pegged at 20% enriched material. On Saturday, Israel dismissed as
“irrelevant” reports that Iran had halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment activity, and said Tehran’s nuclear program must be dismantled. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran’s apparent willingness to suspend uranium enrichment to 20% percent was irrelevant, as the country now possessed the technology to enrich uranium from 3.5% to 90% within a few weeks. Netanyahu urged the international community to keep the sanctions imposed on Iran in place, saying, “We have to increase the pressure on Iran because it continues to enrich uranium even while it negotiates.”
Shrugging off critics and an assassination attempt, Vadim Rabinovich claims mantle of Jewish leader By Cnaan Liphshiz KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) – The explosion that ripped pthrough Vadim Rabinovich’s luxury SUV in central Kiev was strong enough to send a shock wave from the parking lot up to his thirdfloor office in the heart of the Ukrainian capital. “It was a shock for a day or two,” Rabinovich said, “and then I moved on.” The 60-year-old media mogul and Jewish philanthropist views the March 4 explosion as an attack on his life. He has accused Andrey Derkach, a businessman and former politician, of being responsible, telling the Ukrainian media that Derkach had tried to bully him into
International Briefs Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Israel ‘illegitimate and bastard regime’ (JNS) – Ahead of more negotiations with the West on Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel “an illegitimate and bastard regime.” “The Americans have the highest indulgence towards the Zionists and they have to. But we do not share such indulgence,” Khamenei said in comments on his website. Jobbik party’s commemoration of Hungarian Nazi collaborator sparks protest (JNS.) – Nearly 1,000 protestors took to the streets in Budapest to decry the far-right Jobbik party’s unveiling of a statue of Hungarian wartime leader and Nazi collaborator Miklos Horthy, Reuters reported. The third-largest party in
selling JN1, the Kiev-based television station specializing in Jewish news that Rabinovich launched a couple of years ago. Derkach has denied the accusation and threatened to sue for libel. The police are still investigating. “Now I have an armored car,” Rabinovich said. “And that’s the only thing that has changed.” If a brush with death isn’t enough to cow Rabinovich, it’s hard to see what will. Over the years, the feisty oligarch has battled Ukrainian authorities, business rivals and Jewish community leaders, some of whom have expressed resentment about his ongoing efforts to challenge the old guard of European
Jewish institutional life. But the relentless criticism, like the explosion, has not had its intended effect. “You can’t please everyone,” Rabinovich said. “That’s life.” In an interview with JTAthis month, he was clad in his typical uniform of jeans and sneakers, a get-up he has been known to wear to occasions where everyone else is in business attire. Rabinovich has a limited appreciation for formalities and, as he puts it, “little patience for nonsense.” In the 1980s, Rabinovich was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison for black market ventures, but wound up serving only seven years, according to Korrespondent, a Ukrainian weekly.
Hungary, Jobbik’s leaders have stoked extremism anti-Semitism in Hungary, often denigrating Jews and Israel in speeches. Horthy, who ruled Hungary from 1920-1944, helped the Nazis to deport more than 437,000 Jews to death camps in less than two months in 1944, according to the Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Centre.
Abbas calls released Palestinian terrorists ‘heroes’ at Ramallah celebration (JNS) – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held a celebration in Ramallah in honor of the second set of 26 Palestinian terrorists released by Israel as part of Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations, calling the prisoners “heroes” despite their violent history. The freed prisoners included Kassem Hzem Shabir, who murdered Holocaust survivor Yitzhak Rotenberg with an axe; Issa Abed Rabo, who murdered Israeli students Revital Seri and Ron Levy near a monastery south of Jerusalem in 1984; and Rahman Abdel Hajj, who stabbed to death Genia Friedman as she was walking with her father and friends in 1992.
South African ministers ‘do not visit Israel,’ foreign minister says (JNS) – South African Foreign Minister Maite NkoanaMashabane said that her government’s ministers do not visit Israel out of solidarity with the Palestinian cause. “Our Palestinian friends have never asked us to disengage with Israel [through cutting diplomatic relations]. They had asked us in formal meetings to not engage with the [Israeli] regime. We have agreed to slow down and curtail senior leadership contact with that regime until things begin to look better,” Nkoana-Mashabane said at a South African trade union meeting, South Africa’s The Times reported.
Methodist Church of Britain survey ‘presumes Israel’s guilt,’ CAMERA says (JNS) – The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) believes a recent survey posted online by the Methodist Church of Britain is biased against Israel. The 14-question survey asks respondents a series of questions on
Courtesy of Kiev Central Synagogue
Vadim Rabinovich, second from right, during a visit last year to Kiev Central Synagogue.
Rabinovich says he was jailed on “trumped-up charges,” but the United States to this day has barred his entry as a result, he confirmed to JTA. “You will find accusations against me in the U.S. In Israel, some say I am
connected to the mafia. In Ukraine, they say I am Mossad agent, if you find this kind of nonsense interesting,” Rabinovich said. “I don’t.”
their views about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and whether or not the Methodist Church should be involved in BDS. “There is no acknowledgment that maybe the Palestinians have done anything wrong. Israel or Israeli is mentioned at least 10 times in the list of questions. It’s a kangaroo court that presumes Israel’s guilt,” CAMERA Christian Media Analyst Dexter Van Zile told JNS.
(JTA) The South African Zionist Federation condemned an international campaign launched in Cape Town to free Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Launched late last month by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years of a 27-year imprisonment by the apartheid government, the Free Marwan Barghouti campaign’s support committee includes five Nobel Peace laureates, among them the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Hasidic woman makes history in winning Montreal council race TORONTO (JTA) A 24-yearold esthetician, Mindy Pollak, became the first Hasidic woman to hold public office in Montreal. Pollak, a member of the Vishnitzer sect, defeated four candidates to win her race for the municipal council on Sunday in the Outremont borough. She garnered about 35 percent of the vote in a district that is home to an estimated 5,000 Hasidim. S. Africa Jewish leaders slam campaign to free Palestinian prisoners CAPE TOWN, South Africa
SHRUGGING on page 19
Polish synagogue defiled by swastikas WARSAW, Poland (JTA) Swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols were painted on a synagogue building in Gdansk, Poland. “Someone just came in broad daylight and defiled our temple,” Mieczyslaw Abramowicz a representative of the Gdansk Jewish community, told TVN24 television. Police investigating the case are not excluding the possibility that it may be the same vandals who three weeks ago set fire to a mosque in the city that caused approximately $16,000 in damages.
10 • ISRAEL
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Prisoner release sparking conflict in Netanyahu’s coalition By Ben Sales
Courtesy of Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
Israelis demonstrating against the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, Oct. 28, 2013.
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel’s peace talks with the Palestinians remain mostly shrouded in secrecy, but one thing is certain: The Palestinian prisoner release that paved the way for their resumption is increasing tensions in Israel’s governing coalition. Israel completed the second stage of the four-part release on Tuesday, setting free 26 prisoners who had committed crimes – mostly murders – before the Israeli-Palestinian peace process began in 1993. The first stage of the prisoner release occurred in August. The government approved the
release in July in a bid to jump-start the peace talks. But the move elicited harsh protests within the ruling coalition as well as on the Israeli street. After the government announced the second phase of the prisoner release on Sunday, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, chairman of the rightwing Jewish Home party, proposed a law to prohibit any future Palestinian prisoner releases. The Cabinet voted 85 against the proposal; the opposition included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The decision to release prisoners is one of the toughest decisions that I’ve made as prime minister,” Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud-Israel Beiteinu faction on
Monday, according to reports. “My heart is with the bereaved families, and the heart hurts. We must navigate a complex international arena.” An estimated 3,000 demonstrators, among them relatives of the prisoners’victims, protested the release on Monday night. On Tuesday, a group of relatives unsuccessfully petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to stop the release. Also Tuesday, an unidentified group placed signs on the graves of soldiers at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery. They read: “Sorry we forgot. For us, your death was for nothing.” PRISONER on page 21
Jerry Silverman: Not just talk when federations meet in Israel for G.A. By Uriel Heilman NEW YORK (JTA) – This time, it’s not going to be just talking. There’s going to be listening and debating – and, eventually, action. That’s what Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, says will distinguish this year’s General Assembly, which is slated for Nov. 10-12 in Jerusalem, from past G.A. conferences. “We have really changed the format of the G.A. to really create debate in varying forms,” Silverman told JTA. “It’s about really creating the great debate and dialogue on the challenges of our times.” The first showcase of the new approach will come Sunday, on the
Israel Briefs Hundreds gather at peaceful Women of the Wall service marking 25th anniversary JERUSALEM (JTA) – In a display of the changes the group has experienced this year, Women of the Wall held a peaceful prayer service under police protection at the Western Wall to mark the group’s 25th anniversary. Absent from Monday’s service, which the group said drew at least 800 worshipers, were large crowds of Orthodox girls who at the behest of their rabbis and activists had blocked the wall’s women’s section in previous months. Syrian civil war refugee gives birth at Israeli hospital JERUSALEM (JTA) – A Syrian woman who lives in the crossfire of the civil war gave birth to a baby boy in an Israeli hospital in Safed. Ynet reported that the woman,
afternoon before the conference’s formal opening, when some 250 young adults convene for a “shuk” (Hebrew for marketplace) to debate and contribute ideas to “tackle key challenges facing Jewish communities and Israel – according to the five themes on the main G.A. agenda.” The themes are Israel and philanthropy, Israel and world Jewry, Israel as incubator, Israel on the global stage, and Israel’s civil society. “We don’t know what they’re going to say,” Silverman said. “They’re young people who have varying opinions, both through them or their friends who are less affiliated and whatnot. The idea is to hear.” Silverman’s pledge for a G.A. makeover this year follows efforts in
the past few years to open up conference planning to input from individual federations and outside groups. But such efforts have failed to win over critics, including some federation executives and observers, who say the G.A. has been declining in excitement and importance. Following last year’s conference in Baltimore, the editor and publisher of The New York Jewish Week, Gary Rosenblatt, wrote a column calling for a “radical rethinking” of the G.A. to “reverse its slow slide toward irrelevance.” The conference, Rosenblatt wrote, was “a microcosm of its parent body, the Jewish Federations of North America: an impressive collection of committed, caring professional and lay people spread too thin
and lacking in focus, and giving the impression of following rather than leading at a critical juncture in Jewish life.” In his interview with JTA, Silverman acknowledged that recent assemblies have fallen short, particularly when it comes to producing outcomes. “I don’t think we’ve done the best job of using the G.A.,” he said. “We’ve had wonderful discussions but we haven’t concretized them. One of the things we’re very committed to coming out of this G.A. within a very short time period is concretizing what we do, creating a call to action around certain areas.” One of the top priority areas, he said, will be what to do about the findings of the recent Pew Research
Center’s survey of U.S. Jewry, which has alarmed many community leaders. The survey paints a portrait of a rapidly assimilating American Jewish community, particularly among young people. Silverman said initially that he wasn’t planning to add discussion of the Pew survey to the G.A., but he later shifted course. Now, he said, the plan is for everyone from federation presidents and executives on down to debate and discuss the Pew survey, and to follow up on the discussions with concrete action – task forces, working groups, pilot programs. “There are going to be real actions that will be taken post-G.A.
who is a nurse, knew of many Syrian citizens who had been treated in Israeli hospitals. Since February, more than 250 Syrian civilians have been admitted to Israeli hospitals for treatment and dozens more have been treated by Israeli medics at the border.
Netanyahu continued to press world leaders on the danger posed by a nuclear Iran. Meeting on Monday with Meng Jianzhu, a member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Political Bureau, Netanyahu told Jianzhu that the pressure on Iran must not be relaxed. Also Monday, meeting reporters with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski ahead of a private lunch meeting, Netanyahu said that “Poland and Israel recognize a tyrannical regime when they see one.
(JNS) – Israel will be the first U.S. ally to receive the advanced V22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. In an address on Thursday in New York, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that the delivery would be “expedited,” and that Israel “will get six V-22s out of the next order to go on the assembly line, and they will be compatible with other [Israeli defense] capabilities.”
uments show that former Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Director Eli Zeira asked that sophisticated devices meant to provide an early warning of any attack remained switched off before the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The documents show that Menachem Digli, then head of the IDF Intelligence Corps Collection Department, repeatedly asked Zeira to approve the activation of the devices, only to be rebuffed each time.
Bill changing Israeli adoption law moves to full Knesset JERUSALEM (JTA) – A bill that would allow non-Orthodox Israeli parents to adopt non-Jewish children was sent to the Knesset. Under law now, only Orthodox couples may adopt non-Jewish children, since it is understood they will convert the child to Judaism under halachic auspices. Non-Orthodox couples must either adopt Jewish children or offer proof that they will become religiously observant, convert the child properly and raise the child in a religiously observant home. Netanyahu presses visiting Chinese, Polish leaders on Iran JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Palestinians down on U.S. role in peace talks JERUSALEM (JTA) – Palestinian officials said they were “disappointed” by the U.S. role in brokering their peace talks with Israel. On Monday, Abbas said in a speech in Ramallah, “There hasn’t been any advancement in the talks with the Israelis until now despite all the meetings between the sides.” Israel is first U.S. ally to receive advanced V-22 aircraft
Hamas terror tunnel detonated by IDF (JNS) – The Israel Defense Forces detonated part of a Hamas terror tunnel near the Gaza border in the Khan Yunis area overnight Thursday. During the operation, a Hamas explosion injured five Israeli soldiers, and one Hamas terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire. Three Palestinian terrorist commanders were killed in a subsequent Israeli airstrike that came in response to the Hamas attack. Documents: IDF turned off devices that could have predicted Yom Kippur War (JNS) – Newly declassified doc-
SILVERMAN on page 21
Hamas textbooks: Torah and Talmud ‘fabricated’ (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS) – Hamas has introduced new textbooks into schools in the Gaza Strip that characterize the Torah and Talmud as “fabricated,” The New York Times reported. Gaza schools previously used a curriculum approved by the Palestinian Authority. The new Hamas textbooks describe Zionism as a racist movement whose goals include driving Arabs out of all of the area between the Nile River in Africa and the Euphrates River in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
SOCIAL LIFE • 11
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
PICK A POCKETBOOK BOUTIQUE then hear a wonderful talk by Bette Sherman on the history of the handbag. Bette brought samples from her
ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE FREE!
extensive collection and everyone loved seeing them and learning about the history. After that, it was time to
BIRTHS • BAT/BAR MITZVAHS • ENGAGEMENTS
shop! Every resident had the opportunity to choose a purse for their own. Miriam and her committee helped
WEDDINGS • BIRTHDAYS • ANNIVERSARIES
The brainchild of our board member, friend and supporter Miriam Warshauer Cohen, she and her committee collected more than 100 gently used handbags from folks around the community. They set up beautiful displays of the purses and Cedar Village residents were invited in to enjoy tea sandwiches, scones and fruit and
with the shopping and then bagged each purse beautifully, packaging it with a long stemmed rose included! Every shopper was also given a small net bag with 18 cents for good luck. Everyone had a wonderful time, volunteers, staff and residents alike. Thanks to Miriam and her committee for great energy and enthusiasm
Place your FREE announcement
and a great afternoon for our residents and thank you to the community members who donated the beautiful
in The American Israelite newspaper
handbags.
and website by sending an e-mail to
More photos on Page 12
articles@americanisraelite.com
Bobbie Signer, Barbara Miller, Carol Leshner and Allyson Rapkin
Shirley Stonehill enjoyed shopping!
AI
The American Israelite
12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE
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PICK A POCKETBOOK BOUTIQUE Continued from Page 11
Miriam Cohen & Kathy Dumes
Josephine Brower and her beautiful new handbag
Bette Sherman and Freddie Linder
Sally Korkin and Carol Silver Elliott
Margo Zeff setting up for the day
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14 • DINING OUT
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Parkers Blue Ash Tavern features “everyday” menu for frequent diners By Bob Wilhelmy In the restaurant world, there are all types of options for the dining public. This column tends to foucs on upscale or ethnically interesting places; within that upscale segment, there are some places with really good food options, but at more approachable dollar points. Parkers Blue Ash Tavern is one of those places, according to GM Jim Brewster. “We have a good menu for people who may want to dine out several times a week at a place where the prices are more approachable, more affordable,” Brewster said. “We have that kind of menu, and it is one reason we see a lot of repeat customers several times a week.” Another reason is the service, he said. Parkers’ approach to service is to concentrate on hospitality in the restaurant and lounge settings you’ll find there. First, there are a good number of long-tenured servers at Parkers. One has been tending bar and waiting on patrons for 25 years! Several others have been working the dining areas of the restaurant for ten or more years. So the service team is experienced. Each one is personable and works hard at assuring every guest’s needs are met, according to Brewster. “You won’t find any of that robotic service here; we take a personal approach and want people who come here to dine to feel good about their whole experience. That starts with the server,” he said. Such a patron-oriented approach has won the loyalty and devotion of a long list of regular diners, Brewster said. But no matter how good the service is, a restaurant is all about the food. Here again, Parkers has a lot to offer you as a diner. Start with the fact that Parkers’ kitchen makes virtually everything from scratch. A few salad dressings are prepared outside and ordered in, but beyond that, most of the dressings, all of the sauces, the desserts and preps of food, everything is prepared from scratch. For instance, Brewster pointed out that any menu item that calls for roast turkey features meat cut from a bird roasted in ovens in Parkers’ kitchen. “We roast our own Ohioraised turkeys. That’s just another way that we can ensure our food tastes better.” So when you sink your teeth into a roast turkey sandwich (hold the goat cheese), it just might make you think of those wonderful day-after-Thanksgiving sandwiches you love so much. Another novelty in the sandwich department at Parkers is the lamb burger. Brewster says since his chef put the sandwich on the menu, it has been selling like gangbusters. I may be wrong, but I cannot remember any other restaurant in Greater Cincinnati offering burgers made of lamb. At least, none that Dining Out
Pictured are: prime rib, braised short ribs of beef, and Kentucky beer cheese.
The exterior signage of the restaurant, along with the restaurant in the background.
One of the dining room areas at Parkers.
has reached in its search for great places to dine. In the entrée selection, you’ll find something else that few restaurants offer, even on select days of the week. At Parkers, you can set yourself down behind a slice of prime rib of beef any day of the week. “Prime rib is our best seller (in the entrée category), and people really appreciate that they can order it every evening,” he said. The USDA choice beef is slow-roasted and offered in 12- and 16-ounce por-
tions, served with choice of potato and au jus. One of my favorite meals, and a popular item on today’s eatery scene, is braised short ribs of beef. Done in red wine, as Parkers are, the meal is even more succulent. The dish (see photo) comes to the table with Idaho mashed potatoes, fried Brussels sprouts and a red-wine jus. Every place I’ve eaten this dish, it has been yummy. Want pasta? You may wish to try the butternut squash ravioli, served
in a nutmeg-scented cream sauce with sage, dried cranberries and walnuts. Or fish? How about Scottishfarmed salmon? The fish is among the best of its type, and the cedar planking adds a dimension you won’t find everywhere. Parkers’ bar area features a 7day-a-week Happy Hour from 3:30 to 7. The HH specials include 1/2priced food items, selected draft beers, and special pricing on domestic bottled beers, wines by the glass and well drinks. Friday and Saturday
evenings feature live professional musicians of the acoustic variety, such as guitar and bongos. Thursdays also offer live music by start-up artists. See you at Parkers Blue Ash Tavern! Parker’s Blue Ash Tavern 4200 Cooper Rd. Blue Ash, OH 513-891-8300
DINING OUT • 15
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
RESTAURANT DIRECTORY 20 Brix
Durum Grill
Parkers Blue Ash Tavern
101 Main St
4764 Cornell Rd.
4200 Cooper Rd
Historic Milford
489-4777
Blue Ash 891-8300
831-Brix (2749) Gutierrez Restaurante Ambar India Restaurant
Mexican Grill
Phoenician Taverna
350 Ludlow Ave
1191 Montgomery Rd.
7944 Mason Montgomery Rd
Cincinnati
583-1741
Mason
281-7000 Izzy’s
770-0027
Andy’s Mediterranean Grille
800 Elm St • 721-4241
Pomodori’s
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9521 Fields Ertel Rd
8179 Princeton-Glendale • 942-7800
4858 Cooper Rd
Loveland
300 Madison Ave • 859-292-0065
Blue Ash
239-8881
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Baba India Restaurant
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3120 Madison Rd
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Cincinnati
11296 Montgomery Rd
Montgomery • 489-1444
321-1600
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6200 Muhlhauser Rd
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West Chester • 942-2100
4858 Hunt Rd
Kanak India Restaurant
Tandoor
Blue Ash
10040B Montgomery Rd
8702 Market Place Ln
891-8900 • 834-8012 (fx)
Montgomery
Montgomery
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793-7484
2912 Wasson Rd
Marx Hot Bagels
Tony’s
Cincinnati
9701 Kenwood Rd
12110 Montgomery Rd
351-0123
Blue Ash
Montgomery
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16 • OPINION
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Armenian genocide rug’s freedom a worthy cause for American Jews By Rafael Medoff (JNS) – Ninety-nine years after the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, one of the most poignant symbols of Armenian suffering is being held hostage – by the White House. The prisoner is an 18-foot long rug. It was woven by four hundred Armenian orphan girls living in exile in Lebanon, as a gesture of appreciation for America’s assistance to survivors of the genocide. In 1925, they sent the rug to President Calvin Coolidge, who pledged that it would have “a place of honor in the White House, where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth.” Unfortunately, the rug is instead becoming a symbol of the unseemly politics of genocide. An Armenian-American dentist, Hagop Martin Deranian, recently authored a book called “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug,” and the Smithsonian Institution scheduled an event about Dr. Dernanian’s book for Dec. 16. But when the Smithsonian asked the White House to lend it the rug for the event, the request was denied. Reporters who asked the State Department about it this week were referred to the White House. When they asked the White House spokesman, they were curtly told that he had nothing to say except, “It is not possible to loan it out at this time.” Armenian-American leaders believe the Obama administration is responding to pressure from the Turkish government, which denies the genocide took place. And Armenians have good reason to be suspicious. As a presidential candidate in 2008, then-Senator Obama declared, “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide.” By contrast, the statements that President Obama has issued each April on Armenian Remembrance Day have never included the g-word. Instead, he has used an Armenian expression-”Meds Yeghern,” meaning “the great calamity.” Fear of displeasing the Turks appears to be the only plausible motive for that rhetorical sleight-of-hand. Armenian-Americans are not the only ones who should be upset. American Jews should be up in arms, too. Not only because of the sympathy that victims of genocide instinctively feel for one another – but also because if the White House can permit political considerations to trump recognition of the Armenian genocide, there is a danger that memorialization of the
Holocaust could one day suffer a similar fate. In any event, at least one president did keep his word: Calvin Coolidge proudly displayed the Armenian Orphan Rug in the White House for the rest of his term. After he left office, Coolidge took the rug to his Massachusetts residence. It was still there in 1939, when former First Lady Grace Coolidge became a leading figure in the struggle to rescue a different group of children from a genocidal dictator. Mrs. Coolidge lobbied in support of the Wagner-Rogers bill, which would have admitted 20,000 German Jewish children to the United States. But President Franklin Delano Roosevelt refused to support the legislation, and it was buried in committee. Ironically, FDR’s relative and predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, advocated declaring war on Turkey over the Armenian genocide. “The failure to deal radically with the Turkish horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievous nonsense,” the then-ex-president asserted in 1918. Teddy Roosevelt was correct to fear that tolerating genocide would pave the way for it to happen again. Indeed, Adolf Hitler reportedly once assured his subordinates that their atrocities would not be remembered, saying, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” The genocide rug eventually made it back to the White House and was in use during at least part of the Clinton administration. But it has not been seen in public since then. If the Obama administration and the Turkish government have their way, it seems, the imprisoned rug may never again see the light of day. In December, Americans will flock to a new movie called “Monuments Men.” Directed by (and co-starring) George Clooney, it will tell the true story of a handful of U.S. military personnel who risked their lives to rescue famous paintings, monuments, and other precious European cultural artifacts from the Nazis in the waning days of World War II. It seems that it might take a new generation of Monuments Men to rescue the Armenian genocide rug and restore the treasured heirloom to its rightful place – in a public display. Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, in Washington, D.C. His latest book is “FDR and the Holocaust: A Breach of Faith.”
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Negotiations will fail because Palestinians don’t want peace with Israel By Morton A. Klein and Daniel Mandel (JNS) – Israel and Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) are engaging in negotiations refused for years by the PA. Yet, only weeks ago, the PA Minister of Religious Affairs, Mahmoud AlHabbash, delivered a paean to Shekih Ahmad Yassin, founder and leader of Hamas, the terrorist organization that has murdered hundreds of Israelis in scores of suicide bombings, calling him a Palestinian “icon.” How can peace talks and glorifying a terrorist chieftain coexist in the PA? Al-Habbash gave us the answer this summer, when he justified this return to diplomacy by reference to something well-known to his mosque audience – the 628 Treaty of Hudabiyyah. Hudabiyyah was an agreement between Muhammad and the Meccan Quraish tribe, in which Muhammad promised a decade of peace. But in less than two years, a Qureishi-allied tribe committed a breach by attacking a Muhammad-allied tribe. Muhammad, who had meanwhile organized a huge army, took this pretext to attack the Qureishis. Isolated and unprepared, the Qureishis surrendered. This approach, says Al-Habbash, has “brought us to where we are today.” “We have a [Palestinian] Authority and the world recognizes the [Palestinian] state. All this never would have happened... only through the wisdom of the leadership... exactly like the Prophet [Muhammad] did in the Treaty of Hudabiyyah... This is the example, this is the model,” he said. In short, the Hudabiyyah strategy – working towards the weakening and eventual elimination of Israel through
negotiations – has been the operative Palestinian strategy since the Oslo Accords were signed 20 years ago. Arafat said as much in a May 1994 speech in a Johannesburg mosque. (Israel demanded a retraction and an end to terrorism, got neither – but continued nonetheless negotiating and conceding). When Arafat told a confidential meeting of Arab ambassadors in Stockholm in January 1996 that the aim of Oslo was “splitting Israel psychologically,” and “eliminat[ing] the State of Israel and establish[ing] a purely Palestinian State” that would “make life unbearable for Jews,” the revelation was ignored even by Israel, which chose to ignore Arafat’s words as well as their political ramifications. Since Arafat’s death, his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, has made it abundantly clear that not only has he not accepted Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state (“I do not accept the Jewish State, call it what you will”) but he also intends to set up a Jew-free state (“when a Palestinian state is established, it would have no Israeli presence in it”). Questioned in an interview on the need for recognition of Israel, Abbas replied that, while official recognition was unavoidably necessary for the purpose of obtaining vital Israeli concessions, “It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel.” And, indeed, Abbas’s Fatah has never altered its Constitution calling for the destruction of Israel and the use of terrorism to achieve it. Former Fatah strongman in Gaza, Muhammad Dahlan, put it plainly when he said, “The Fatah movement does not recognize Israel, even today.” Words and bombs are thus the Fatah/PA strategy, a strategy made possible only by duplicity. That’s why
the late Palestinian leader Feisal Husseini once dubbed it the strategy of the “Trojan Horse,” in which the Palestinian regime installed via negotiations would serve “our final aim... the liberation of all of historical Palestine, from the river to the sea.” That’s why senior PAfigure Abbas Zaki tells an Arab audience, “If I say that I want to remove [Israel] from existence, this will be great, great, [but] it is hard. This is not a [stated] policy. You can’t say it to the world. You can say it to yourself.” That’s why the PA claims to be interested in a negotiated peace, even while it tells its people repeatedly that the Jews have no historical connection of rights in Jerusalem or anywhere else. In short, the PA has a long-established policy of duplicity about its antipeace intentions. In these circumstances, not only are the IsraeliPalestinian conflict negotiations convened under American auspices foredoomed, but in pursuing them, the Obama Administration has embarked on a fool’s errand. Furthermore, by pressuring Israel to make further concessions – like the freeing of jailed Palestinian terrorists, merely to get the PA to the negotiating table – it is endangering an ally. This is a moment for the Congress to act. It can produce a detailed list of Palestinian bad faith statements (of which we have provided here only a fraction) and call upon the PA to explicitly retract each statement to its own public. It can make further aid to the PA conditional on verifiable Palestinian reforms, like outlawing terrorist groups, arresting terrorists and ending the incitement to hatred and murder that feeds the conflict. And it can withhold aid until these prerequisites for a genuine peace are forthcoming.
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
Sedra of the Week
SHABBAT SHALOM: PARSHAT VAYETZE GENESIS 28:10-32: 3
“One must declare God’s lovingkindness in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening” by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin God’s loving-kindness in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening” (Psalms 92:2). It is comparatively easy to praise God in the midst of one’s success and optimism – although many tend to think that they themselves are responsible for their own good fortune. During times of darkness, uncertainty and anxiety, it is necessary to grasp onto God, but sometimes most difficult. What does the psalmist mean when he speaks of faithfulness? The Hebrew word emuna is usually translated as faith; but what it really means is steadiness (Exodus 17:12). Faith does not mean that we must believe everything will work out well in the end as long as we pray strongly enough and live good enough lives. Faith means faithfulness: we must be faithful in carrying out what God asks of us – with as much sincerity and good cheer as we can muster – no matter what difficulties and trials He may send our way. It was this ability that made Jacob the most chosen of our Patriarchs. 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: VAYEITZEI (BRAISHITH 28:10—32:3) 1. What did Jacob see in his dream? a.) Stars b.) Ladder c.) Angels d.) The Holy Temple 2. Who interpreted Jacob's dream? a.) Hashem b.) An angel c.) He went to the Yeshivah of Shem and Ever 3. How did Jacob work to earn Rachel as a wife? a.) Lifted the rock off the well
b.) Paid a dowry with his father's money c.) Work for seven years 4. Did Issac and Rebecca attend Jacob's wedding? a.) Yes b.) No 5. How many of Jacob's sons are born in Charan? a.) All b.) Four c.) Eleven
2. A 28:13:15 This dream was a prophecy from Hashem and not just divinely inspired. R Bcahi 3. C 29:18 Seven years of work was considered a dowry. Later,31:15, Rachel and Leah considered themselves sold, because the dowry of seven years of work was excessive. Sforno. 4. B Jacob was gone from his father 14 years in
the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever, 20 years with Laban, and 2 years in route back to his father. He was punished not to see his son Joseph for 22 years. He was not punished for the 14 years in the Yeshiva of Shem because of the merit of the Torah 5. C
most optimistic regarding the possibilities that lie ahead. Isaac is the most passive of the patriarchs. He is taken by his father to the akeida (binding), his wife is chosen for him and the blessings are wrested from him through subterfuge. He is great in continuing what he inherited, the consummate follower who represents the masses of descendants to faithfully follow Abraham’s path. It is understandable that Isaac’s prayer comes as the sun is beginning to set, at a time of day when much has already occurred, and it is up to the individual to react more than to initiate action. Jacob’s life is more tragic than the lives of his two forebears. He spends many years in exile because his brother, Esau, has threatened to kill him. After working for 14 years to win the hand of his beloved Rachel, he mourns her premature death in childbirth. He then spends more than two decades mourning the loss of Joseph, whose brothers sold him into slavery and told Jacob that he had been killed by a wild beast. His life is identified with the darkness and the fear symbolic of night. My revered teacher, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, suggested another way of looking at these three prayers. The morning prayer, Shaharit, is a young man’s prayer. After all, it is only after the morning prayer that one may eat, that one may partake and declare ownership of the world around us. Youths believe that the entire world is at their fingertips. The afternoon prayer, Minha, comes in the midst of the day, in the midst of what is often frenzied activity, and so Minha is the prayer of the individual at midlife. The evening prayer, Ma’ariv, is the prayer of the person at the end of his life, the prayer that asks for survival more than for success. This prayer is made at a time of anxiety and uncertainty, when one feels one’s powers waning. Ma’ariv is the prayer of the brave, because “Old age is not at all for cowards” (told to me by Mira Koschitzky in the name of her mother). Our Sages expressed the varying moods of our prayers by citing the verse: “One must declare
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. B,C 28:11 The angels who accompanied Jacob in Canaan went up and other angels who would accompany him outside of Canaan came down. Alternatively, the ladder symbolized the rise and fall of empires who would rule over The Children of Israel throughout their history.
EFRAT, Israel – “And he confronted the place and lodged there because the sun had set …” (Genesis 28:11). Jacob, the last of the patriarchs, is forced by his brother, Esau, to leave his ancestral home for exile. The Talmud (B.T. Brachot 26b) interprets our opening verse as follows: “Jacob enacted the evening prayer, as it is written, ‘And he confronted the place and lodged there;’ the term ‘confrontation’ [Hebrew: pegiya] refers to prayer, as it is written ‘And you are not to pray on behalf of this nation and you are not to raise songs and prayers on their behalf and you are not to confront Me’ (Jeremiah 7:16).” This talmudic passage ascribes our three daily statutory prayers respectively to each of our patriarchs. In addition to the reference to Jacob above: • “Abraham enacted the morning prayer, as it is written, ‘and Abraham arose early in the morning toward the place where he had stood.’ (Genesis 19:27); the term ‘standing’ (Hebrew: amida) refers to prayer, as it is written ‘And Phinehas stood and he prayed’ (Psalms 106: 30).” • “Isaac enacted the afternoon prayer, as it is written ‘Isaac went out to converse with the Divine in the field before sunset’ (Genesis 24:63); the term ‘conversation’ refers to prayer, as it is written, ‘A prayer of the afflicted when he faints and pours out his meditation’ (Psalms 102:1).” I believe that our Sages are purposefully identifying each of these three prayers with the unique personality of one of the patriarchs. Abraham is identified with the early morning prayer; our first communication with God at the beginning of the day, with the rising of the sun. Abraham emerged at the dawn of Jewish history. He was the great path-breaker who discovered ethical monotheism and began to teach it to the world. He raised multitudes of adherents to his newfound faith and his teaching of compassionate righteousness and moral justice. He was immensely successful in all that he did; a wealthy shepherd and an internationally famed military commander. It makes sense that his prayer comes at the dawn of a new day, when each of us is
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist Talk Show Beat The Bravo cable show, “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” returns with an interview with the principal cast of “Arrested Development.” Host JAMES LIPTON, 87, has strong ties to the TV series, having played the recurring character Warden Stefan Gentles in 2004 and 2005, and, again, when the series was revived for Netflix showing last May. Appearing with Lipton are “Arrested” creator MITCH HURWITZ, 50, as well as cast members JESSICA WALTER, 72, and JEFFREY TAMBOR, 69. By the way, Walter co-starred in a movie most haven’t seen, but you should check out: “Bye, Bye, Braverman” (1966). This truly funny black comedy about four Jewish intellectuals going to a funeral has a great, mostly Jewish cast, including GEORGE SEGAL, now 79, and SORRELL BROOKE (1930-1994). Brooke later became famous playing almost the antithesis of a Jewish intellectual: he was Boss Hogg, a corrupt Southern politician, on “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The guests on the OWN network show, “Where Are They Now,” hosted by Oprah Winfrey, include TORI SPELLING, 40. Spelling has morphed from being a regularly working actress to a professional celebrity whose life has been displayed via a series of reality shows and the three print (book) memoirs she’s written since 2008. Spelling recently spoke with “People” about her newest memoir’s ‘big reveal’: she is almost broke and her husband, Dean, cannot even afford to get a vasectomy. Tori claims her late father, mega-rich TV producer AARON SPELLING, “only” left her $800K. Her mother, CANDY MARER SPELLING, 68, told USA Today “it was much, much, more.” Tori cannot rationally explain how they can’t afford a vasectomy (Planned Parenthood says it should cost no more than $1000). Consider this: Tori and Dean will appear on the HGTV cable station in 2014 in yet another reality show (“Cabin Fever”; about fixing up a cabin as their dream vacation home). No doubt, HGTV paid for the rehab and also paid Tori and Dean a big fee for being on the show. Inquiring minds have to ask: couldn’t Tori and Dean have snipped off a bit of that fee and used that “snip” for Dean’s snip?
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NEWZ
JFK and Thor The National Geographic Channel marks the 50th anniversary of the death of President Kennedy with an original film, “Killing Kennedy”. Rob Lowe, whose children were raised in his wife’s Jewish faith, plays JFK. GINNIFER GOODWIN, 35, plays Jacqueline Kennedy, and MICHELLE TRACTENBERG, 28, plays Lee Harvey Oswald’s Russian-born wife, Marina. While playing Marina, Tractenberg speaks quite a bit of Russian. The actress’s mother, LANA, is a Jewish immigrant from Russia and she is also her daughter’s manager. Michelle once said that she had to learn Russian to speak to her mother’s parents. In a 2005 interview, she said that her grandparents lived in Israel and she had visited them there. However, she didn’t make it crystal clear which set of grandparents she was referring to. The 2011 film, “Thor,” made mega-bucks, so there’s a sequel, “Thor: the Dark World.” The original cast returns, including NATALIE PORTMAN as Jane, a brainy scientist who is the love interest of Thor, and KAT DENNINGS, 27 (“2 Broke Girls”), as Jane’s intern and sidekick. Portman, 32, sometimes complains that she’s first choice for every Hollywood movie Jewish role. But there’s a reason, besides her talent and beauty. No other major Jewish actor issues so many spot-on comments about the Jewish condition. Here’s one from an Oct. 29 interview with the Telegraph, a UK paper: “The older I get, the more I realize how different it is to be a Jew in a Jewish place as opposed to a Jew in a non-Jewish place. It’s definitely a different feeling in terms of how freely you can be yourself and celebrate your culture and religion. It’s very different being in Israel than in cities that don’t have big Jewish populations, where it can sometimes feel dangerous to be Jewish, and you understand why there is a need for a place where you don’t feel that way. I feel it in lots of places – Pretty much everywhere – New York and LA [where she currently lives] are the exceptions. On holidays in New York the city shuts down. My non-Jewish friends know how to wish you Shanah Tova, Happy New Year in Hebrew. In other places in the world it ranges from people who aren’t familiar with Judaism to people who are hostile towards it.”
FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO It is acknowledged that the bests, cheapest, and largest assortment of groceries, fruits, etc...can be found at No. 72 West Fifth Street. The undersigned begs leave to inform his friends and the public in general that he at all seasons keeps, in addition to the general assortment of groceries: German, French and Italian fruits, such as prunes, cherries, pears, prunellas; genuine Limberg & Swiss cheese; Holland herrings; pickled and smoked salmon, halibut, anchovies, sardines, French mustard, pure olive oil, French and German chocolate, etc...all of which he will dispose of at great reduced prices. Groceries at 72 Fifth Street, Nicholas Beck, between Walnut and Vine, opposite the Market House, Cincinnati, O. Goods delivered free to any part of the city. –December 4, 1863
An open meeting of the Jewish Consumptive Relief Sociey will be held on November 12, at 8:00pm at the Whittier Street Sabbath school building. The following program will be given: Miss Ada Boyd, monologist; Mr. Isidore Cohen, vocal selections; Dean Harry, Cincinnati University, will deliver an address. – November 6, 1913
75 Y EARS A GO
The lame walk! The blind see! The deaf hear! Madame Turner and her assistant, the celebrated Magnetic Healers, have moved to 372 West Fourth Street where they are now ready to attend to their patrons. The Madame and her assistant make a specialty of all chronic diseases, such as rheumatism, neuralgia, catarrh of the head, cancer, scrofula, epileptic fits, swollen and contracted limbs; also sore and weak eyes, female weakness, painful menstruation and nervous debility; will cure the worst case of rheumatism without medicine; will also take in invalids and nurse and care for them, all home comforts; also, develop the butt in ten days; all correspondence strictly confidential. You will do well to call on them. Consultations are free. Office hours from 9am to 7pm. Mr. Abe Hirsch, an old Cincinnati boy, now located at Hamilton, made a flying trip here on business and pleasure this week. – November 9, 1888
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Simon, of Cleveland Avenue, announce the engagement of their daughter, Charlotte, to Mr. Max Rafalo, son of Mrs. B. Rafalo of Parker Place. Friends were apprised of the betrothal at the wedding of Miss Simon’s brother, Joseph, to Miss Libby Harris, on Sunday, November 6th, at the Netherland Plaza. The American Israelite joins their many other friends in felicitating Dr. Victor E. Reichert on his installation as rabbi of Cincinnati’s Rockdale Avenue Temple, to succeed Dr. David Philipson who now becomes rabbi emeritus. We trust this is the beginning of a long and honorable service as spiritual leader of a historic congregation. Parents of children between ages of 5-13 are hailing the children’s afternoon program at the Jewish Center every day at 3:30. Not only does the program offer clean and safe entertainment for the youngsters, but it contains many instructive and constructive features. For boys and girls, there are woodworking, model building, airplane building, soap carving, tap dancing, dramatics, linoleum block cutting and soap modeling. Indoor and outdoor games accommodate various age groups. All activities are under trained counselors who see personally to every child’s welfare. Hebrew classes are offered twice weekly by the Bureau of Jewish Education and parents are invited to send their children to the Jewish Center for these instructions. – Novmeber 10, 1938
100 Y EARS A GO
50 Y EARS A GO
Dr. A. S. Issacs, of New York City, the noted lecturer and writer, will deliver his charming illustrated lecutre, “The Story of American Israel”, at the Reading Rd. Temple Religious School building, this (Thursday) evening November 6 at 8:15 o’clock. The lecture is under the auspices of the Temple sisterhood and the public is cordially invited to be present. For many years the lecturer has been collecting his material and the result is a picturesque panorama of American Jewish history. The subject is treated in a fascinating way, clear and attractive to old and young, and the lecture is likely to prove the most popular of his series, with its humor and pathos.
Mrs. Sol Wise, president of Yavneh Day School PTA, announces the paid membership luncheon will take place at her home, 7641 Greenland Place, Thursday Nov. 21 at 12:15 p.m. Uzi Peleg, a folk music and folk dancing, will discuss “Major Trends in Israeli folklore”. Mr. Peleg will demonstrate with Hebrew folk songs and dances. Mothers who have not paid dues may do so now. Babysitting will be provided at Yavneh Day School’s building, 1636 Summit Road. . Herbert M. Liss, young Procter and Gamble executive, long active in local civic, political and service activities has been appointed to head the company’s brand marketing
125 Y EARS A GO
department in the Philippines. He plans to leave in late November with his family to take up his new assignment. They will live in Manila. Mr. Liss served as president of Northern Hills B’nai B’rith Lodge, 1962-63, leading the Lodge to one of its most successfull years. Mr. Liss also served on the Publicity Committee of the Jewish Community Center and Jewish Welfare Fund and JWF Allocations committee and was responsible for publications of the Community Center Nursery School and Forum Committee. – November 7, 1963
25 Y EARS A GO Gary and Kim (Morris) Heiman announce the birth of a son, Alexander Charles, Oct. 13. Alexander has a sister, Danielle. Grandparents are Paul and Joyce Heiman of Cincinnati and Joel and Suzanne Morris of Nashville. Greatgrandparents are Elizabeth Jacobs of Nashville, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Jacobs of Rancho Mirage, CA, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Heiman and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Nogen. Martin and Roslyn Holtzman and Shirlee Kipner announce the engagement of their children, Shelley and Scott. Shelley is the granddaughter of Miriam Libby and the late Julian Libby and the late Sadie and Ben Holtzman. Scott is the son of the late Morris Kip Kipner andthe grandson of the late Abraham and Sarah Kipner and the late Mark and Yetta Schneider. A summer wedding is planned. – November 17, 1988
10 Y EARS A GO Jerry Ostrow, 74, passed away September 14, 2003. He was the beloved father of Richard and Tammy Ostrow, Barry and Jennifer Ostrow, Penny and Scott Brooks; stepfather of Samantha Ostrow and Kathy and Darryl Reed; loving grandfather of Heather and Natalie Ostrow; dear uncle of Brian Anten and Andrea Settelmayer. Graveside services were held Tuesday, September 16th, 2003, 11:30am at Love Bros. Cemetary, Rosemont Avenue, Price Hill. A minyan service was held Tuesday only at the residence of Barry Ostrow in Fairfield. Jamie and Matthew Topolosky of Columbus, Ohio, announce the birth of their daughter, Samantha Blake, on October 13, 2003. Grandparents are Dr. Alan and Diane Weber of Cincinnati and Randy and Rochelle Topolosky of Columbus. Greatgrandparents are Molly Ackerman and Manny and Martha Weber, Sanford and Ruthetta Topolosky of Columbus and Max Goldstein of Pompano Beach, Florida.– November 13, 2003
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
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
ARGENTINA from page 8 that a religious person can handle the Torah in one hand and a newspaper in the other. Meyer spoke openly about Argentina’s social problems and fought for human rights against the dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983. A disciple of Meyer, Mario Rojzman, was the first Argentine rabbi to attempt a political career. In 1997, Rojzman sought to be a congressional candidate with the Nueva Dirigencia party, but fierce criticism persuaded him to abandon the effort. “I have in mind that Rabbi Mario Rojzman also tried to create a political space with non-Jewish sectors 10 years ago, but he was criticized so much,” Bergman said. “That was a matter of timing. Maybe he was ahead of his time.” Bergman dismisses concerns about embracing such a high public profile in a Jewish community that still lives in the shadow of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center that killed 84 and injured hundreds. “I’m not worried about prejudices; in fact non-Jews love me more than Jews,” Bergman told JTA. “If the society knows us better, the level of anti-
(513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org CONGREGATIONS CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net B’nai Tikvah Chavurah (513) 284-5845 • rabbibruce.com Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Congregation Ohr Chadash (513) 252-7267 • ohrchadashcincinnati.com Congregation Sha’arei Torah shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Zichron Eliezer 513-631-4900 • czecincinnati.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com EDUCA EDUCATION Chai Tots Early Childhood Center (513) 234.0600 • chaitots.com
Semitism will become lower. I’m not sure that this is the right idea, but I’m sure that this is my objective. “What I can guarantee is that I can be criticized for many things, but not for being a rabbi. I receive criticisms that I’m on the right or that I ask for law and order, but nobody criticizes me for being Jewish. If I am attacked for being a rabbi, the first to come out to defend me are the non-Jews.” A fellow alumnus of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, Daniel Fainstein, says much has changed since Argentina restored democracy in 1983, and Jews are now much more visible in the public arena. “For some people, this situation can potentially increase anti-Semitism through the high visibility of a political figure who is a rabbi,” Fainstein said. “For others, it’s a symbol of the full integration of the Jews in the national society. “On the other hand, as a committed citizen, Rabbi Bergman has the right to be active in the political contest, choosing the political party he likes.” Bergman lives in the middle-class Belgrano neighborhood, where the seminary and most of the city’s Conservative congregations are located.
Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Kehilla - School for Creative Jewish Education (513) 489-3399 • kehilla-cincy.com Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Kulanu (Reform Jewish High School) (513) 262-8849 • kulanucincy.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org Sarah’s Place (513) 531-3151 • sarahsplacecincy.com Yeshivas Lubavitch High School of Cincinnati (513) 631-2452 • ylcincinnati.com ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 BBYO (513) 722-7244 • mayersonjcc.org Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234.0777 • jdiscovery.com Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (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
At one time he was a member of two rabbinical organizations – the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly and the Reform Central Conference of American Rabbis. But in 2012, he resigned from the Rabbinical Assembly, citing his failure to get rabbis from both movements to work together. Bergman has an active presence online, with more than 65,000 followers on Facebook and more than 35,000 on Twitter. According to his most recent financial disclosure, his personal wealth amounts to approximately $500,000. Analysts say Bergman’s political future is linked to the fate of his patron Macri, who has announced he will run for president in 2015. If Macri wins, there is speculation that Bergman could be given any number of plum positions, from minister of education to mayor of Buenos Aires. But in the short term, Bergman’s success hinges on the success of an initiative he is championing as a legislator: the rollback of Argentina’s agreement to cooperate with Iran in investigating the 1994 AMIA bombing and the impeachment of the country’s Jewish foreign minister, Hector Timmerman, who negotiated it.
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business@ americanisraelite.com or call 513-621-3145 SHRUGGING from page 9 Following his release in 1991, Rabinovich began to amass a fortune as a metals dealer operating in the economic free-for-all after the collapse of the Soviet Union. By 1995, he began pouring millions into Jewish causes. “After I turned 40, I made a discovery that there is such a thing called Torah,” he said. “It led me in all kinds of new directions.” Rabinovich says he puts on tefillin and prays every morning. He also hosts friends at his house every Friday, where he leads a discussion on the weekly Torah portion. In 1997 he founded the AllUkrainian Jewish Congress, which has an annual budget of $3 million, and still serves as its president. He has sponsored Limmud Jewish learning conferences, provided security services to Jewish schools in Ukraine and started JN1, the world’s first 24-hour Jewish news network. In 2010, Rabinovich and Igor Kolomoisky, a friend and business partner, tried to take over the helm of a long-running Jewish organization, the European Council of Jewish Communities, but were stymied when board members staged a walkout after Kolomoisky was appointed president outside traditional nominating procedures. Detractors said Rabinovich played a key role in what they described as a “hostile takeover” of the organization. So Rabinovich started his own organization the following year, calling it the European Jewish Parliament and setting up offices in Kiev and Brussels and a board of 120 members. Critics laughed it off as a farce, noting that the group’s initial nominees included celebrities such as soccer star David Beckham, filmmaker Roman Polanski and actor Sacha Baron Cohen – who didn’t even know they were candidates. “Clearly, the principle of representation is lacking from this organization – which, like other groups, is no more than a vehicle for the ego of its creator,” Edwin Shuker, the London-based vice president of the European Jewish Congress, told JTA.
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(513) 531-9600 But Rabinovich, whose organization has lobbied European governments on Jewish issues, is unfazed by such criticism. In fact, he doles it out just as readily. Rabinovich on Moshe Kantor, the European Jewish Congress president: He “just sits behind a desk and does nothing and will do everything the Kremlin tells him.” On Yaakov Dov Bleich, the U.S.-born chief rabbi of Ukraine: “Speaks no Russian and comes to Ukraine twice a year.” And of American Jewish organizational leaders, Rabinovich says they “only want to be interviewed on television.” Bleich told JTA he spends most of his time in Ukraine. A spokesperson for Kantor’s European Jewish Congress told JTA that Rabinovich’s statements are “unfounded and spurious allegations unworthy of comment.” “This is a desperate attempt by Rabinovich to remain on the agenda one last time before his organization ceases to exist in the same way as many other fleeting organizations which come and go, causing confusion and embarrassment to the Jewish community and its relationship with European leaders,” the spokesperson said. Joel Rubinfeld, a former leader of Belgian Jewry and current co-chair of the European Jewish Parliament, counts some successes of Rabinovich’s organization, notably securing the construction of Montenegro’s first modern synagogue and co-organizing the first European Jewish choir festival in Vienna. Rubinfeld says Rabinovich’s contributions, his prickly style notwithstanding, are deeply appreciated by Jewish communities, particularly in locales with limited resources that had suffered for decades under communist rule. “Vadim is both a builder and a bulldozer,” Rubinfeld said, “and as such I think he sees life in a rather geometric manner. He always takes the shortest distance between two points. Some cherish him for it, others resent him.”
20 • LEGALLY SPEAKING
Heavy Sledding Legally Speaking
by Marianna Bettman This is a sad story. The city of Circleville owned a public park called Barthelmas Park, which contained ball fields, a playground, concession stands and picnic shelters. Entering the park is free. During the summer of 2006, the city accepted free topsoil excavated from a neighboring construction site. The city used topsoil for lots of things, including re-seeding the park. The topsoil was originally stored in a maintenance facility, but when that was full, the rest of the topsoil was dumped in the park, where it formed two mounds about fifteen feet high. One afternoon in January of 2007, then-eighteen year old Jeremy Pauley went sled riding with friends in the park. As it began to grow dark, Jeremy decided to try a new location for his last run of the day. One of Jeremy's friends moved the car to illuminate his chosen hill, which turned out to be one of the mounds of dirt, then covered with snow. As Jeremy sledded down the hill, he hit what he described as an immovable object, later discovered to be a railroad tie or something like it, which was hidden by the snow. Pauley broke his neck, and is now a quadriplegic. Jeremy and his mother filed a lawsuit against the city. Ohio, like most states, has something called a recreational-user statute. This statute provides immunity to the owners of property open to the public free of charge for recreational activities for injuries caused by any recreational activities on those premises. The purpose of such CARTOONISTS from page 8 returned to his secretary marked “File No action FDR.” Mindful of polls showing most Americans opposed to more immigration, Roosevelt preferred to follow public opinion rather than lead it. Without his support, the Wagner-Rogers bill was buried in committee. Ironically, when Pets Magazine the following year launched a campaign to have Americans take in pure-bred British puppies so they would not be harmed by German bombing raids, the magazine was flooded with several thousand offers of haven for the dogs.
a law is to encourage landowners to open their property up for recreational activities, without having to worry about keeping the premises safe. The statute lists specific activities that qualify as recreational use – hunting, fishing, trapping, swimming, and camping are several examples in the statute itself. Case law has added many others, including sledding. In some cases, the parties argue about whether the injured person was actually a recreational user, but that was not an issue in this case. Jeremy was clearly engaged in a recreational activity at the time he was injured. Jeremy had a different argument. He argued if there are manmade improvements on the property, the landowner should only be entitled to this recreational immunity if the improvements actually enhance the recreational value of the property – something clearly not done with a railroad tie in a mound of dirt. But a majority of the Supreme Court of Ohio did not agree with him. In a 5-2 decision written by Justice Sharon Kennedy, the Court held that the city was not liable for Jeremy’s injuries since the city owed him no duty to keep the park safe for recreational users. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor concurred in judgment only, which means she agrees with the result, but not necessarily with the reasoning used to reach that result. Justices Paul Pfeifer and Bill O’Neill dissented. When a court makes a decision, it builds on past precedent. In this case there were two past precedential cases that Jeremy tried to use to support his position. In one, a spectator who was attending a fireworks display sponsored by the City of Reynoldsburg was killed by shrapnel from a fireworks shell. Under the recreational user statute, a property owner is protected from injuries caused by defects on the property, but the Court found that an errant piece of shrapnel was not a defect on the property. So the family of the spectator killed by the shrapnel was allowed to recover. But in Jeremy’s case, the majority found that the railMost American editorial cartoonists, like most Americans, exhibited little interest in the plight of Germany’s Jews. But there were exceptions. A handful of cartoonists used their platforms not only to express sympathy for the refugees but also to call for practical steps to help them. Six days after Kristallnacht, Paul Carmack, staff cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor, drew a cartoon titled “The Best Answer to Race Persecution.” It showed a large hand, labeled “Humanity,” handing a document titled “Assistance” to a crowd of Jewish refugees. Five days later, the Christian
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road tie in the mound of dirt was a defect on the property, and the city was protected from suit. In the other case Jeremy relied on, a man was injured sliding into second base during a softball tournament in a park owned by the city of Dayton. In that case, the court extended recreational-user immunity to manmade improvements to the property. Jeremy argued that under the softball case, immunity attaches for injuries caused by manmade improvements only when those improvements enhance the recreational activities on the property. The Court rejected this interpretation, finding that it must look to the character of the property taken as a whole to determine if any manmade improvement changed the essential character of the property. In Jeremy’s case the Court found that the existence of a single railroad tie did not change the essential character of the park to something other than a property that is open for recreational use, so the statutory protections for the city covered his case. In his dissent, Justice O’Neill would hold that when a property owner consciously makes a decision to use its recreational premises for other purposes, there should be no immunity. When he looked at the property taken as a whole he did see its essential character change, to a dumpsite for dangerous debris, especially when coated with snow “… [w]hen, as here, a property owner converts a recreational park to a municipal dump site for construction fill and debris, there is no statute in the land that should shield that tortfeasor from accountability for such a disastrous action,” he wrote. “And let’s be accurate here – we are not talking about a single railroad tie. That tie that crippled this child was part of an overall scheme of disposal of huge mounds of debris that the city had incredibly decided to place in the middle of a recreational park! Cover it with a light dressing of snow, and the perfect killing field was created.” Justice Pfeifer also dissented, because he uniformly despises immunity statutes in tort cases, and thinks governmental immunity is unconstitutional.
Science Monitor published another editorial cartoon responding to Kristallnacht, this time by J. Parker Robinson. It showed a mass of people, labeled “Jews,” marching past a sign pointing to “Exile,” with a giant question mark looming over the horizon. He titled the cartoon “Wanted: A Christian Answer.” The question was the fate of the Jews; the answer, the cartoonist insisted, was for Christians to accept their moral responsibility to help the downtrodden. The Roosevelt administration’s muted reaction to Kristallnacht foreshadowed the terrible silence with which it would greet the Nazis’ Final Solution.
Buying the right homeowner’s insurance—price or coverage A LEGAL LOOK
by Michael Ganson Homeowners beware! Do not be motivated by premium price when purchasing homeowner’s insurance! Your concern should be the coverage protecting you in the event of a loss. Saving pennies on the price of the premium at the expense of thousands in the event your coverage is insufficient will haunt you. It is all too often that homeowners only discover they are underinsured or their coverage was insufficient after disaster strikes. Here are tips for properly and adequately ensuring your property. 1. Read the declarations pages to be sure that the coverage is what you will need in the event of loss. 2. Read the policy to be sure that you understand the terminology used by the insurance company. For instance, does replacement cost coverage really mean replacement cost? Most homeowner’s policies say that they will cover replacement cost, but the mechanism by which it will pay replacement cost will put you in the hole. It can be very complicated. 3. Review your coverage at least two months before you are going to renew your homeowner’s insurance policy. a. Structure coverage: I recommend that you have a builder or other general contractor who specializes in home construction provide you with an estimate of what amount you will need to replace the structure of your home. Although the first estimate may require an on-site visit by the builder or other general contractor, subsequent estimates will only require on-site visits if there are major structural changes. b. Personal property coverage: Review your coverage for personal property replacement value. Remember, it is your burden to prove your loss, not your homeowner’s insurance company. Usually, you will be given a blank sheet and told to list every item of personal property, its actual cash value, the date each was purchased, the amount that you paid when you purchased it, and documentation that shows you actually owned it at the time of the loss. I mean seriously, who keeps all that information. For those of you who are meticulous in keeping such documentation and information, good for you! But don’t forget, take it off site and put it in a safety deposit box or some other fireproof location. For those of you who are nor-
mal though, the best idea is to take the time on January 1st and July 4th to go through your entire house and videotape or take pictures of every single item of personal property hanging on your walls, in your drawers and cabinets, in your closets, and everywhere else you may have your personal property. And don’t forget take that videotape and digital copies of your photographs off-site. 4. Replacement cost versus actual cash value insurance is an important consideration. But actual cash value insurance will deduct depreciation; that is, wear and tear, as determined by the insurance company from the payment amount, leaving you with considerably less. While replacement cost insurance usually costs a little bit more, it is usually well worth the increased premium price. 5. Insuring expensive items is an important consideration when determining whether or not the coverage will adequately protect you. Most homeowner’s policies place limits on how much you will receive to replace certain expensive items such as jewelry, art, collectibles, and the like. Read your homeowner’s insurance policy carefully. Consider taking out additional coverage on such valuables and having an expert determine the replacement cost. 6. Renter coverage. Although I have been only writing about homeowners, renters need insurance also. After all, if you rent, although the building itself is probably insured by the owner, your contents are not. You, not your landlord, are responsible for replacing your items of personal property if they’re damaged or otherwise destroyed as a result of a catastrophic event. 7. Liability coverage. Protecting yourself means not only covering your property, but also covering yourself and others who may be injured. Liability insurance protects you against claims for bodily injury or property damage caused by you or a family member – even pets. While most homeowner’s insurance policies usually provide at least $100,000 in liability coverage, you may want to add more. 8. Umbrella coverage. Most homeowner’s insurance companies will offer umbrella coverage as an add-on to the standard liability coverage. Of course, they will charge you an extra premium for such coverage. But the coverage compared to the price is well worth it. Be sure that your umbrella coverage covers you in the event of an underinsured or uninsured motorist causing you or your family members bodily injury. 9. There are a lot of causes of disaster and you should verify which are coved and which are not covered. For instance, is your home covered for flood damage, water damage, mold? If you are unsure, ASK your agent!
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SINGER SAYS / BUSINESS • 21
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
This Year in Jerusalem This Year in Jerusalem
by Phyllis Singer The Talmud teaches that “whoever saves one life is considered as if he saved the entire world.” For this article I have to be a feminist and change the quote to: “Whoever saves one life is considered as if he [or she] saved the entire world.” On Oct. 29, my daughter-in-law Judy, Hanan’s wife, donated a kidney and helped to save the life of Rena David, a woman in her 40s from Haifa, who has been suffering from polycystic kidney disease for more than 10 years. The disease is fatal unless the patient receives a transplant or goes on dialysis, which severely impairs the individual’s quality of life. For many years, Rena has been on dialysis. Judy and Rena did not know each other before this process began more than a year ago. Judy is what is known as an “altruistic” kidney donor - someone who donates a kidney to a stranger. Although by the time the process took place, the two women were no longer strangers. They had met several times. In spring 2012, Judy read a magazine article about kidney donation by someone she knew slightly. She was “incredibly moved” by the article. Before she finished reading, she says, she knew she wanted to donate a kidney. But the time was not right; she had just started a new job and knew she would not be able to take the time off. So she filed the idea away for a while, although she began to do more reading and research on the Internet. During her research, Judy learned that there are about 800 people in Israel on the waiting list to receive a donor kidney. Many people spend years on dialysis waiting for a
CONTINUED from previous page Remember, agents and homeowner’s insurance companies rely upon you to be sure that the coverage offered is adequate and sufficient to cover you. If they are not, you take the loss, not the insurance company. Don’t be penny wise and poundfoolish! Buy the coverage that will adequately and fully protect you. Submit your written request for specific coverage to other insurance companies to be sure that you get “apples to apples” price quotes. It is all too often
donation, and many die while waiting. Sometime later, Judy saw an ad in the paper for Matnat Chaim (Gift of Life), a non -profit organization in Israel that matches people who need a kidney donation with altruistic kidney donors. The organization, which is run by a Haredi rabbi, who is himself a kidney patient, was established to encourage non-directed kidney donations. Some patients are able to find a kidney donor among their relatives or friends, but this is rare in Israel. In an article she wrote for a blog on The Times of Israel, Judy explained that “an organ from a living donor has a higher success rate than kidneys from deceased donors; these kidneys also last longer, on average, in the recipient. A living donor has to be absolutely healthy, and is required to submit to a significant battery of tests to prove his or her physical and mental health. The donor also has to convince quite a lot of people that he or she understands the implications of the decision to donate; that no one is pressuring the individual to do anything; and that he or she is not engaging in any activity that could possibly be interpreted as organ trafficking. “In Israel, where the rules are especially strict, along with the physical tests, I had to convince a social worker, a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a (scary) panel from the Ministry of Health of my good intentions. “Kidney donation is considered very low-risk surgery for the donor, with few long-term complications, and has a very high rate of success for the recipient. In most cases, the recipient’s life is immeasurably improved, and that individual returns to the world as a relatively healthy person with a more or less normal lifestyle.” As Judy gathered more information and got deeper into the process, she says she “met some awe-inspiring people - for instance, the ultraOrthodox rabbi from Jerusalem, who has dedicated his life for the past few years to voluntarily running the Matnat Chaim organization; he is personally responsible for saving more than 100 lives.” In addition, she has made contact with many kidney donors, in Israel and elsewhere
through the Internet, whom she calls “an unending source of information and encouragement. She met doctors and other medical staff who spend years selflessly caring for kidney patients and patients who bear their suffering in quiet dignity. Gradually, she says, “I realized that I had the ability to do an unusual mitzvah with a good possibility of - literally - saving someone’s life.” During the process, Judy said, she has been asked over and over to explain “why on earth I am doing this? In my answer I generally mention my community, Merav, a place where so many people are involved in doing good, both on a communal and a personal level, that I have been inspired to find my own way of giving back. It’s certainly not for everyone - the donation process is long and arduous, [it] has roller-coaster highs and lows, and you need to be really determined to see it through. As one of my “advisors” keeps reminding me—it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon! ‘ The surgery went well, and Judy was able to go home for Shabbat. Rena, on the other hand, has to stay in the hospital longer. She has to be in isolation to be kept free from possible infection and to make certain that her body does not reject the kidney. She will have to be on antirejection drugs for the rest of her life. On Wednesday, Hanan wrote the family an email saying that Rena was doing well, and her kidney function was beginning to improve. On Thursday, Judy was able to visit Rena; she went in a wheelchair and had to remain in the hall outside Rena’s room, but the two were able to talk. “Too moving for words,” Hanan said in an email he wrote the family. “Although I initially thought to keep my donation private, as many donors do, I changed my mind when I remembered that my original inspiration to donate came from reading someone else’s story,” Judy said. “Perhaps someone - even just one person - will read or hear about my donation and be inspired to find out whether donation might be right for him or her. Every living donation saves a life and shortens the waiting list for everyone just a little more.”
that coverage requested does not match coverage provided. And when in doubt, do not forget to ASK!
PRISONER from page 10
The information contained in this article is intended to provide only general legal information and is not intended to be relied upon for specific legal issues or any particular legal matters. For specific legal issues or any particular legal matters, the reader is advised to consult with and secure the legal advice of an attorney of their choice.
Tuesday’s release comes as the 3month-old talks face an uncertain future. Although U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has insisted on complete confidentiality, Israel’s Channel 2 reported this week that the Palestinian Authority reportedly has demanded that land swaps in the West Bank not exceed 2 percent – a provision Netanyahu’s coalition would likely oppose. Bennett, whose party voted in July
Adath Israel judaica shop has great gifts for Hanukkah and year-round The Adath Israel Congregation Coleman Family Judaica Shop offers fabulous gifts for Chanukah and all year long. It has a wide array of menorahs, dreidels, and children's holiday gifts, including wooden dreidels and wooden menorahs as well as books about Jewish heroes and holidays. The Judaica Shop carries oneof-a-kind pieces created by Israeli artists. It also has beautiful Tzedakah boxes, candlesticks, and wine cups. The Shop has items for
all of your Judaica needs. Also available is a registry for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and all other simchas in a person's life. The Judaica Shop is located in the foyer of Adath Israel Synagogue, and is open Sunday through Thursday and also by appointment. Feel free to stop by or call to make an appointment. The Shop is staffed solely by volunteers from the Adath Israel congregation.
SILVERMAN from page 10 from this,” Silverman said. Most of the conference will be devoted to Israel, as is typical for the conferences held in Israel (the G.A. location rotates annually and is held every five years in Jerusalem). Speakers will include Israel’s prime minister and president, government ministers, Jerusalem’s mayor, and CEOs of such Israeli companies as SodaStream and El Al. More than 2,500 people, including Israelis, are expected to attend. Some of the Americans will be coming early for federation “missions” to Israel. Nearly all of the speakers will be squeezed into a single day at the conference. Though the G.A. is being billed as a three-day affair, the conference part really is just one full day of sessions, on Nov. 11, preceded by an opening plenary the evening before. On Nov. 12, instead of sessions at the Jerusalem convention center, G.A. participants will be dispatched to locations throughout the city for Jewish learning experiences. Sites include the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Schechter Institute and Hebrew Union College. Afterward, they will visit partner programs in Jerusalem that receive federation support. Later in the day, following a stop at City Hall, conference-goers will reconvene in Safra Square and walk together to the Western Wall, or Kotel. The walk is meant to be heavy on symbolism. The federations have thrown their
support behind the proposal to upgrade and expand the Robinson’s Arch area of the Western Wall for use by egalitarian and women’s prayer groups. And there will be a session featuring both Women of the Wall, the liberal group that has challenged the status quo by holding women’s prayer quorums at the holy site, and Women for the Wall, the traditionalist group that has sought to thwart those ambitions and maintain the status quo there. The mass walk to the Western Wall, Silverman said, “is a show of Jewish unity to underscore the centrality of Jerusalem and that there is a place for all Jews at the Kotel.” The G.A. also will cover the issue of civil marriage in Israel. Asked if the Jewish Federations intended to weigh in as it had done on the Western Wall controversy, Silverman said the immediate purpose of the session is to help American Jews understand the issue, which pits Israel’s Chief Rabbinate against Israelis who want more freedom about how, and who, they can marry. Whatever happens at this G.A., next year could see a new CEO for the Jewish Federations. Silverman is in the last year of his five-year contract, and no CEO in the 13-year history of the federation umbrella organization has lasted more than five years. Silverman says that’s not on his mind. “It’s one of those things that I don’t spend time on, that I don’t think about,” he said. “It’s not part of who I am culturally. I’ll sit with my board at some point and have a dialogue. Right now I’m trying to stay focused.”
against the prisoner release, wrote on Facebook that releasing prisoners is “immoral and weakens Israel.” “The goal is to establish a red line once and for all,” he wrote after his proposal was rejected. “Israel has been disrespecting itself for 20 years with prisoner release deals, and it’s time to put an end to it. We will continue to fight this in every democratic way possible.” Bennett’s vocal opposition to the release has brought tensions in Netanyahu’s governing coalition to a head. Along with Jewish Home, the
coalition includes Justice Minister Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua party, which campaigned on a platform of reaching a peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority. Livni is heading Israel’s delegation to the talks. “The government, as opposed to one of its member parties, acts according to the national interest and not according to a cynical partisan interest,” Livni wrote on Facebook, in a dig at Jewish Home. “This government is advancing a diplomatic process, which is in the national and security interests of Israel.”
22 • OBITUARIES D EATH N OTICES MARMER, Adele Cohen, age 83, died on October 29, 2013; 25 Cheshvan 5774, RETTBERG, Daniel J., PhD, age 61, died on October 31, 2013; 27 Cheshvan 5774. NAYFELD, Lev, age 89, died November 1, 2013; 28 Cheshvan 5774 SHIFRIN, Tsipa, age 89, died November 2, 2013; 29 Cheshvan 5774. PLOTNICK, Kalman, age 93, died November 3, 2013; 30 Cheshvan 5774. STEINBERG, Natalie, age 76, died November 5, 2013; 2 Kislev 5774.
O BITUARIES NAYFELD , Lev David Lev David Nayfeld was born in Minsk, Belarus on March 11, 1924. Although he was an only child, Lev grew up in a large and loving family. His parents and their many siblings raised their children together, and Lev had a strong lifelong love for his uncles, aunts and cousins. In 1930, Lev’s family moved to the Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he graduated from high school and attended a College of Engineering. Lev was admitted to the advanced program of engineering at the College of Aviation Engineering in 1945 and moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. Graduates of this group became leaders of research and development of precision devices for both the aircraft and satellite industries. Lev progressed in his career from an entry level engineer to an industry wide technical leader and manager of a department that focused on the design of precision aviation equipment. Lev was a talented inventor who was granted dozens of patents. The projects that Lev managed resulted in technologies
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that advanced the Russian space program, and played key roles in electric power supply lines as well as stations of gas transportation. Lev loved sports throughout his entire life. He was an excellent volleyball and table tennis player. During the winter he enjoyed spending time crosscountry skiing. Lev retired in 1984 and discovered he had a passion to be an amazing grandfather. He was on daily duty in taking care of his grandchildren taking them to parks, swimming pools, and sport and art classes In 1990, he and his family emigrated from the Soviet Union to Cincinnati. Starting new life in the age of 66 was not easy for Lev but he never gave up. He learned how to drive at age 70, and became an American citizen at 71. In Cincinnati, Lev attended Yiddish conversational classes at the JCC, synagogue services, and was a frequent visitor of the F.R.E.E. Russian Center. Lev David Nayfeld passed away on November 1, 2013 at the age of 89. He is survived by his wife of 68 years Eleonora, son Vladimir, daughter-inlaw Alla, two granddaughters, Yael Zenzipper and Julia Schulman, grandson Leo Nayfeld, two grandsons-inlaw, Zvi Zenzipper and Jonathan Schulman, and five great-grandchildren – Sarah, Moshe, Michal, Rafi and Tamar Zenzipper. Memorial services were held on November 3, 2013 at Weil Funeral Home. Memorial donations can be made to the Cedar Village Hospice and Cedar Village Foundation (phone 513.336.3140). FSU from page 8 in cooking, carefully studied his grandmother’s handwritten Jewish recipes-for latkes, sufganiot (jelly donuts), and “other national dishes of Jewish cuisine” (like forshmak, which is Jewish herring) – and sometimes he and his dad would try to cook her recipes together. When Railean got older, his father sent him and his sister to a Jewish school, and he was also part of Sunday youth programs at the Jewish Cultural Center. “I began to attend a variety of programs, seminars, courses, and one day I realized that without my community I cannot imagine my future life,” he says. Essentially self-educated Jewishly, Railean has also studied at seminars organized by JDC and has traveled with the Jewish Cultural Center to New York, where he got to observe modern techniques and technologies in Jewish education. Five years ago, Railean decided to open a youth club, Haverim, as part of the Jewish Cultural Center. The club draws 700 young people each year to the Jewish community. Railean’s most important personal goal is to attract as many Jewish teens as possible to life inside the Jewish community. His secondary objective is to give them the chance to be a part of the traditions and culture of the Jewish people.
Yeshiva Primary. While not new, the trend appears to be gaining steam as a growing number of Reform and Conservative synagogues find themselves with dwindling constituencies, declining membership income and excess space, and as Orthodox institutions seek more room to accommodate their growth. Writ large, the phenomenon tells the story of contemporary American Jewry. Conservative and Reform Jews still significantly outnumber Orthodox Jews, but the Orthodox are gaining. Thirty-five percent of American Jews identify as Reform and 18 percent as Conservative, but Reform and Conservative Jews have fewer than two children on average, 1.8 and 1.7 respectively, according to the recent Pew Research Center’s survey of U.S. Jews. Only 10 percent of Jews identify as Orthodox, according to the study, but they average 4.1 children. The median age of Conservative and Reform Jews is 55 and 54, respectively. Among the Orthodox, it’s 40. And only 17 percent of Reform and 39 percent of Conservative Jews say they attend synagogue at least once a month, compared to 74 percent of the Orthodox. Leaders of Conservative or Reform communities see these trends when they look into their pews,
which for the most part are emptier and their occupants older than they used to be. In the past 20 years, both the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism have reported declines in the number of affiliated synagogues and synagogue members. “Fewer people are affiliating with congregations,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. “Pretty much everything has to be reexamined in terms of Jewish life and how we practice and how we lead,” he said. “The fundamental of Reform Judaism is to adapt to new circumstances and new situations.” For some Reform and Conservative synagogues, that means reinventing themselves as homes for Orthodox Jews. Temple Emeth, a Reform synagogue in Teaneck, N.J., has kept its early childhood program thriving by retooling it for Orthodox kids, who outnumber Reform students three to one. The school now offers morning prayers and has shifted winter break from Christmas week to late January, when area Orthodox yeshivas go on vacation. “Our demographics are similar to other Reform synagogues,” said the temple’s rabbi, Steven Sirbu. “We have a challenge.” But Sirbu says he still views the preschool as a net gain – not so much for the revenue it generates as for the bridges it builds between Reform and
Orthodox Jews. “In other communities, Reform Judaism is a total mystery to Orthodox Jews, but in our community we’ve provided this bridge,” Sirbu told JTA. “We have hundreds of young people who call me, a reform rabbi, ‘Rabbi,’ and we have hundreds of Orthodox families who have been in our sanctuary and have fond memories of our Reform congregation.” In Phoenix, declining membership at the Conservative Beth El has been driven in part by the migration of liberal Jews to the Scottsdale suburbs. The synagogue used to be home to a Solomon Schechter day school, but the school moved, later became a nondenominational Jewish day school and eventually closed. Meanwhile, Torah Day School, the Orthodox school that rents space in Beth El, has ballooned to 180 students from about 40 three years ago and is so starved for space that it’s erecting six mobile trailers to add 12 classrooms. The synagogue also leases space to a tiny Orthodox minyan and, on Saturday afternoons, rents out its sanctuary to a Sabbath-observant church. Beth El’s Rabbi Arthur Lavinsky says it’s clear the synagogue was built for another era. “We’re one people. To the extent that we can help each other, that is a very good thing.” And with declining income from membership dues, Lavinsky added, “It helps our bottom line, too.”
“After all, the Soviet years took that away from our parents and grandparents. The most important part for me is to, by talking to them, let them know that our future and the future of our community is in our hands,” he explains. Of the 15,000 Jews currently living in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, only about 8,000 are affiliated. “A lot of people are still afraid to admit they are Jews,” Railean says. “To this day, we still find Jewish descendants who are afraid to talk about their Jewish heritage.” Another problem in Moldova is anti-Semitism, with swastikas drawn on walls, Jewish gravestones being broken, and vandals dismantling the communal menorah installed each year for Hanukkah. “There are still parts of the Soviet life left here,” says Railean. The Haverim club offers leadership and volunteer programs, and workshops and seminars, to help young people gain Jewish knowledge. They can study Hebrew, learn about the Jewish culture of Moldova, and participate in debate clubs. Youths also join together for Jewish holidays and for Shabbat, and they are encouraged to develop and lead their own communal projects. “A lot of teens start and conduct programs for the elderly, visit socially vulnerable families with children,
help them out with homework, meet on Shabbat together,” Railean says. Some of the most successful Haverim programs have been family camps and retreats. The camps have been particularly successful, suggests Railean, because they give adults and children a chance to choose the programs they are interested in. “A camp is not a school or university, but a place where we want our members, the community members, to feel comfortable, so they have a desire to return,” he says. Across the FSU this past summer, these one-to-two-week family camps, each focusing on people from a particular community, drew more than 5,000 participants. The camps offer both vacation activities and daily programs that emphasize Jewish culture, identity, and knowledge. JDC’s Glanz adds, “We are also building a sense of community and trying to see how they can get involved in ongoing activities in their own cities.” Another conference participant, Alla Magas, head of the Jewish youth association at the Beit Dan Jewish Community Center in Kharkov, Ukraine, deals with issues similar to those Railean sees in Moldova. Although the Jewish community is strong, “people still do not know about their identity,” and the reason for that phenomenon is sometimes unclear, she writes in an
email to JNS. “Not everyone wants to send their kids to Jewish day school, or go to synagogue or Shabbat programs at the community center. The ‘lost generation’(the generation that grew up in the Soviet Union that does not know anything about their religion) intermarried a lot, so now we have many split families,” Magas says, adding that these people should be treated with great care while Jewish organizations try to help them enter the community. The JDC conference brought together about 150 attendees from the FSU and Israel. Railean and Magas led a group of youth directors that shared questions and situations that had arisen for them during the year. They also offered a session on how to plan and conduct mass events, and on how to motivate and attract teens to the community. The group also decided on ways it could continue to collaborate year-round. Within the efforts to revive Jewish identity in the FSU, Railean says his emphasis is on informal education – especially for youths – because of the element of choice. “People are attracted when they are given the freedom to choose, when they are not put into the rigid frameworks, and those are the basic principles of informal education,” he says
VACANT from page 6
The Marcia and Dick Weiland Theater Expands Programming at Camp Livingston
T
he Marcia and Dick Weiland Theater at the Robert Krohn Livingston Memorial Camp opened its 2nd season this past June, located on the 640 acre site of Cincinnati’s Jewish non-denominational resident camp in southeastern Indiana. Campers performed the musical, “Aladdin” each of the 2013 summer sessions. The theater facility is being funded by prominent community advocate, Dick Weiland and friends of his and his late wife, Marcia Pastor Weiland. ‘’Creative and performing arts are integral parts of Camp Livingston’s core programming for all its campers, age 8-15,” said Gretchen Myers, president of the Camp’s Board of Directors. “Our Camp is nearing its 100th
anniversary (2020),” added Myers, and this Weiland theater facility is an exciting and welcomed addition to the current planning to renovate and create new spaces and programming for the hundreds of children who we serve every summer. “It is a fitting tribute to a dynamic and uniquely creative leader of Cincinnati’s Jewish and general community theater”, she added. “Marcia had great admiration for Camp Livingston as a counselor there”, said Dick Weiland. “She wanted all children to have the theater experience of creative, imaginative play that comes with young people’s theater and art; and, she wanted to build strong Jewish identity”. Mrs. Weiland was a graduate of the
University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in History and a B.F.A. in Theater. She taught acting and speech at UC and Xavier University, acted at Playhouse in the Park and directed and acted for Stagecrafters when it was a program of the Jewish Community Center of Cincinnati. Even as she became parapalegic in 1988 from a ruptured disc in her back, Mrs. Weiland developed, wrote, produced, directed and acted for Cincinnati’s Women’s Theater until her death in 2003 at age 70. “She even danced in her wheel chair at Jay’s (Moskovitz) and my wedding’, said daughter, Jeanne Weiland. Our parents taught me and my brothers, David and Fred, to be creative and to love all forms of art; and, they both taught us to fight for what we believe”, added
Ms. Weiland, cystic fibrosis nurse practitioner of Pulmonary Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “That Marcia Weiland remained active, creative and productive while disabled is also symbolic of one of Camp Livingston’s outstanding values: to help the kids learn to adjust and succeed, even when they are challenged.” said President Myers. Having this facility named in her memory is both symbolic and appropriate. We are grateful to Dick Weiland for initiating this project. It will always be filled with learning and joy, a real tribute to a lady whose talent, love of young people and commitment to Jewish learning is a legacy to treasure”.