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Road to Eden movie and Dan Nichols come to Sharonville Convention Ctr.
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This Year in Jerusalem: Holidays and healing
Barbara Glueck to receive AJC’s community service award In recognition of her outstanding leadership, vision and contribution as an esteemed community leader, Barbara Glueck will receive AJC Cincinnati’s Community Service Award at the Appeal for Human Relations Reception. The event, chaired by Jan Armstrong Cobb, will take place on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 pm, at the Mayerson JCC. Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC Director of International Jewish Affairs, will deliver the keynote address, “Combating the Resurgence of AntiSemitism in Europe.” Throughout the AJC regional offices, Glueck has been referred to as the “Dean of Directors” for her wisdom and tenure. She served the Cincinnati community for more than 22 years, crafting local programs to foster greater understanding of the Jewish people and Israel. She founded AJC’s Intergroup Seder to introduce the Passover celebration to students and adults outside of the Jewish community. For 15 years, she brought Hands Across the Campus, an innovative prejudice reduction program, to area high schools. “Barbara earned the respect of service organizations all over the city with her hard work, her wisdom, and her passion for justice,” said Rick Michelman, president
of AJC Cincinnati. Michael J. Graham, S.J., president of Xavier University, said: “No one deserves this honor more than Barbara. It has been my pleasure to know and work with her for over two decades. She is tireless in her efforts to educate, reduce prejudice, and make our community a more tolerant and just place for all people.” Glueck is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, past president of Citizens Active to Support Education (CASE) and an education panel member of the Cincinnatus Association. For eight years she chaired the Cincinnati Citizens Police Advisory Committee created by the City Manager to improve recruitment of police officers and training to combat discrimination. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Alfonso Cornejo said, “Barbara is trusted by everyone. She is smart, friendly, dedicated and she is also fun to be with. There are not very many people I know who have those attributes and at the same time they are humble and understanding.” For more information about the AJC Appeal for Human Relations Reception or to make a reservation, contact the AJC Cincinnati office.
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How a single invitation changed Andrew Berger’s life “I truly believe that Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the most important Jewish institution in North America today because it prepares Jewish leaders to inspire new generations to lead Jewish lives,” says Andrew R. Berger, the new Chair of HUC-JIR’s Board of Governors. Berger’s life’s journey illustrates his point, saying “a single invitation and two red-headed rabbis, alumni of HUC-JIR, changed my life.” Berger’s turn toward Jewish engagement in his 40s was sparked by an unexpected invitation from a friend and law partner, Tedd Friedman, a lifelong member of Isaac M. Wise Temple, to attend Yom Kippur services at its landmark Plum Street Temple. Until that moment, Berger had been an unaffiliated, secular Jew. Deeply affected by the liturgy and sermon’s themes of ”return” and hope, Berger told his wife Linda, whom he had married in 1991, about this “life changing experience, almost an epiphany” and that he wanted to explore a stronger connection to the Jewish community and membership in a synagogue. The Bergers sought out Rabbi Lewis Kamrass, the Temple’s Senior Rabbi, who welcomed them and encouraged them to study with Rabbi Gary P. Zola at HUC-JIR. “Dr. Zola’s Introduction to Judaism class and our new relationship with Rabbi Kamrass had a tremendous impact on our lives. We were concerned about how an interfaith couple would be received in the Jewish world and were in the process of deciding how to bring up our children. Because of that class, the feeling we could be welcomed into the community, and the support of those two redheaded rabbis – Dr. Zola and Rabbi Kamrass – Linda made the decision to bring up our children as Jews. That’s why I am passionate about HUC-JIR. I want us to turn out more Jewish leaders like them who can change people’s lives.” Greatly respected as a distinguished leader of the Cincinnati Jewish community -- Berger is former president of Isaac M. Wise Temple, past president of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, and the new chair of the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion -- Berger will be honored for his contributions to HUC-JIR and the community at the institution’s Cincinnati Associates Tribute
Dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati on October 26th. “Andy Berger exemplifies a profound dedication and commitment to Judaism, the Jewish community, and the larger world, and we are thankful for his wise and passionate leadership,” said Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, dean of the HUC-JIR Cincinnati campus. “Andy and his beautiful family embody the rich Jewish family and synagogue life that Jews can have in an interfaith family, and it is Linda’s extraordinary support that has made this possible as well as enabled Andy to devote himself to the Jewish community.” Mindful of the invitation that sparked his own personal journey, Berger’s leadership of Cincinnati’s leading Jewish institutions has been motivated by the goal of fostering “a culture of invitation.” He has served as a Board member, Chair of the Outreach and Strategic Planning Committees, and President (2005-2007) at Wise Temple, where his love for music inspired him to help found the Temple’s all-volunteer Shir Chadash band that performs at monthly Friday night services and communitywide events. As a member of the Cincinnati Federation Board, chair of its Jewish-community wide Cincinnati 2020 Strategic Planning Team, and Federation President (2012-2014,) he takes pride in Cincinnati’s role as “the most connected Jewish community of its size in North America.” Berger joined the HUC-JIR Board of Governors in 2008 at a time of severe economic crisis.
As chair of its New Way Forward Task Force, he provided oversight to the administration’s fiveyear plan for financial sustainability that was successfully completed by 2013. A member of the Executive and Governance Committees, he also chaired the Strategic Planning Committee, which coincided with the work of the Presidential Search Committee, on which he also served. “We are fortunate to have Rabbi Aaron Panken as our new President. His dynamic vision for the Jewish future is breathing new life into everything we do.” Inducted as Chair of the Board of Governors in June 2014, Berger is committed to seeing HUC-JIR continue to grow by preparing more students for leadership, expanding its role in advancing religious pluralism in Israel, and promoting HUC-JIR’s thought leaders as “the intellectual firepower on the leading edge of Jewish life.” Berger’s professional career as a law partner at Katz Teller concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, commercial financing transactions, business organization and succession planning, and executive employment agreements. He serves as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and is listed in Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in America and recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Media. His wife Linda is the Board President of the Interfaith Hospitality Network, a nonprofit agency that partners with congregations of all faiths to provide emergency shelter for homeless families. The Bergers are blessed with five children: school psychologist Laura, twin sons, architect Dan and lawyer Tim, Culinary Institute of America student Julie, and Hannah, who entered Kalamazoo College this fall. Berger points to the recent Pew Study of Jewish Americans as a clarion call to action. “With the largest growing segment of Jews characterized as ‘Jews of No Religion,’ it is up to HUC-JIR to prepare leaders with the knowledge and skills to create the Jewish experiences, spiritual growth, and opportunities for learning that will engage the unaffiliated and enable them to find a home in a community informed by Jewish history, tradition, and culture. HUC-JIR is an absolutely amazing institution. We have to remain strong and continue to grow. It is worthy of all of our support. I urge everyone to join with me.”
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Dr. Gary P. Zola to speak at Hazak event Adath Israel Hazak 55Plus group is featuring Dr. Gary P. Zola for its closing program of the 2014 season. Dr. Zola, Executive Director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, is also Professor of the American Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion of Cincinnati. Author of many scholarly articles and books, Dr. Zola received his PhD in American Jewish History in 1991. His most recent book was about Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Zola will speak on October 19th at 2:00pm at HUC.
His topic is titled: Convergence and Conflict: African-American and Jewish Relations in the 20th Century. "There will be a Question & Answer period following Dr. Zola's insightful lecture," announced Miriam Elfenbaum President of Hazak, "after which a fabulous gourmet sundae reception will be held in
the Barrows Reading Room." This event is open to the entire Jewish community. Reservations are requested by October 13, 2014 and can be made through the Adath Israel Synagogue office. There is a nominal charge.
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Wise on Wheels: Temple youth fieldtrips their own. Wise on Wheels is designed for all 4th, 5th, and 6th grade members of Wise so if you have any questions, or would like to reserve your space, please contact Melissa Bellows, Assistant Director of Education & Youth Engagement at Wise Temple.
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Traditions upheld at Congregation Ohav Shalom a duet with 13-year-old Sasha Cohen that left not a dry eye in the congregation. The combination of Cantor Lubin’s beautifully trained voice and the purity of Sasha’s soprano were an auditory treat. Another congregant, Gale Goldner, also sang an enchanting rendition of Areshet Tzifatanu with Cantor Lubin and congregants couldn’t help but sing along to the uplifting melody.
The second tradition was the full-course High Holiday seudah (meal) enjoyed by 100 congregants. Second Seders are fairly common in synagogue circles, but the idea of a Second Day Rosh Hashanah Luncheon was the creative idea of Synagogue Administrator, Hank Lerer. “It’s a wonderful way that our members come together both to work and to celebrate”, said Lerer, who credits twenty volunteers
working in shifts before the holiday to pull off the haimische meal. Walking from the Sanctuary to the Social Hall with the beauty of the Rosh Hashanah Services fresh in mind and the delicious smells of the Holiday meal greeting them…everyone agreed it was a beautiful way to start 5775.
The “Chag-Worts Shuk” is based on Harry Potter’s visit to Diagon Alley to purchase what he needed for his classes. presented. “Attire” included Tefillin, Kippot, Tallit, etc where the students recited the brachot as they put on Tefillin and tallitot. At the next station “Scrolls,” which featured Torah & Megillah, students explored the different dressings for the Torah and actually used the Yad (pointer) to search for different Hebrew letters and words. At the “Volumes” station, they compared and contrasted volumes of the Tanakh, Talmud,
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Mishnah, Siddurim, etc. The last and final station “Keleem” (tools or instruments,) was a display of Kiddush cups, candle holders, Seder plates, Mezuzot, etc. where the students determined which objects were used on Shabbat and various other holidays. They also discussed whether or not they use these items in their own homes, and which ones are associated with certain memories and family traditions. This community-building activity provided an opportunity for the 6th graders to acquire hands-on experience with ritual objects and texts which are normally relegated to bookshelves or display cases. They will build upon this experience by learning in-depth how they can use such texts and objects in their daily lives as they approach Jewish adulthood.
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he needed for his classes. The student’s initiation program into Project Etgar encourages them to browse through texts, touch and become acquainted with different Jewish ritual items at the “Chag-Worts Shuk.” The class was split into three different color groups Kahol (blue), Yarok (green), and Adom (Red), to mimic the colors of Hogwarts, as they travelled from station to station. Four different stations were
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Adath Israel 6th graders Chag-Worts activities Adath Israel has had an amazing start to the school year and things only continue to get better. All of the classes are in full swing and have hit the ground running with learning projects and fun with Hebrew. Teacher Rachel Gross and her Kitah Vav, 6th grade, class, are using the Etgar Curriculum, which is the Conservative Movement Curriculum. The students began their studies with an interactive and exploratory exercise to reintroduce them to ritual objects and sacred texts as they approach the age of 'Jewish responsibility'. The session, “Yom Rishon at Chag-Worts” (Chag means holiday), put a Jewish twist on Harry Potter’s initiation to the Hogwarts School, and provided the students with hands-on exposure to ritual objects and texts. The “Chag-Worts Shuk” is based on Harry Potter’s visit to Diagon Alley to purchase what
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Ohav Shalom brought back two very special traditions which began a year ago, both designed to enhance Rosh Hashanah in immeasurable ways. One was the return of gifted Cantor Abraham Lubin, whose niggunim and easy to follow explanations of the service delighted the congregation. Cantor Lubin encouraged the congregation’s participation throughout the service and sang
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activities, including high ropes, low ropes, and a campfire. On Saturday, February 7, the 4th grade students will spend a day at the Newport aquarium, exploring sea life, and creating some sea creatures of their own. And on Saturday, February 28, the 5th grade class will spend a day at Madcap Productions. They will create their own puppets to put on a Purim Spiel of
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a sense of kehilla kedosha (sacred community) among our younger members, and give them a chance to get to know one another outside of Religious School. The first Wise on Wheels event is Saturday, October 18. The 6th graders at Wise will travel to Camp Joy Outdoor Education Center, and participate in a day of team building
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The youth at Wise Temple have some fun activities to look forward to this year. They will participate in a series of daylong events for 4th, 5th and 6th graders called Wise on Wheels. Each grade will have a special day to travel to a different location around Cincinnati to experience a day of bonding and fun with their classmates. The purpose of these events is to create
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014 15 TISHREI 5775 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 6:47 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 7:48 PM
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Road to Eden movie and Dan Nichols come to Sharonville Convention Center Road to Eden might have begun its tour three years ago in a small synagogue in the Florida Panhandle, but the journey continues for the film's Ohio premiere on Tuesday, October 14, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. (Sharonville, OH). This community event is being sponsored by the Valley Temple.
This documentary film screening and musical performance by Dan Nichols tells the story of Sukkot through a Jewish musician’s tour through the American South to celebrate the Festival of Sukkot and uncover its deeper meaning. Admission is free.
Hadassah Coffee Talk opens fall season Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah will present the first Coffee Talk meeting of the season on Monday, October 13th at 7:30 pm, at the home of Gilda Schwartz. Guest speaker Dr. Scott Kotzin, family practitioner and physician for Cedar Village, will discuss why “In the Sandwich of Life, I Feel Like Chopped Liver”. He will address issues of the “sandwich generation” who are raising children and caring for aging parents/relatives at the same time. Tobe Snow is Hadassah Coffee Talk Chair and Programming Vice President. Coffee Talk is a monthly casual get-together, usually on the second Monday of each month, to socialize, nosh, hear about Hadassah's latest
lifesaving feats, listen to speakers discussing topics of interest and have fun. Evening and morning times alternate each month. Past Coffee Talk topics have included cooking demonstrations, how important it is for women to be knowledgeable about their finances, women's heart health, why male and female brains function so differently, how to get rid of "stuff" in your life, and how to prevent identity theft. Refreshments will be served. Coffee Talk is open to the public, and there is no charge to attend, but RSVPs are requested. Please contact Hadassah to RSVP or for additional information.
Netanyahu says he’s baffled by U.S. rebuke over eastern Jerusalem building JERUSALEM (JTA) – The U.S. condemnation of Israeli housing starts in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood is “against American values,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. In an interview Sunday morning on the CBS News show “Face the Nation,” Netanyahu said he was “baffled” by the criticism. “What we are being criticized for is that some Jewish residents of Jerusalem bought apartments, legally, from Arabs in a predominantly Arab neighborhood and this is seen as a terrible thing,” he said, adding that the Jerusalem neighborhood in question is three
minutes from his office. “If somewhere in America someone said Jews cannot buy apartments here, there would be a uproar. I do not accept this.” The White House strongly criticized last week the publishing of tenders for the construction of 2,610 housing units in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood that were approved in December 2012, saying they would “poison the atmosphere” and distance Israel from “even its closest allies.” Netanyahu said the idea that Jews and Arabs cannot buy housing in each other’s neighborhoods is bad for peace.
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Is lunar eclipse at Sukkot an ominous sign? By Edmon J. Rodman LOS ANGELES (JTA) – As we usher in Sukkot, will there be a blood moon rising? John Hagee, the San Antonio pastor who wrote the book “Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change,” would have us believe so. Hagee predicts that because of a cycle of four lunar eclipses called a tetrad – two this year and next on Passover and Sukkot – that something big is about to happen, like the Rapture. The eclipse will be seen throughout much of the world on Oct. 7 and 8 – the latter the eve of Sukkot. It will be visible throughout much of the United States on Oct. 8, but only in New Zealand on the actual holi-
Courtesy of Griffith Observatory
The lunar eclipse over Los Angeles on the first night of Passover, April 14, 2014.
day. During a lunar eclipse, the moon moves directly behind the earth and into its shadow. Seeing the first so-called “blood
moon” following the first night’s seder this year – it looked more like watered-down kiddush wine – did fill me with wonder. Or was that just the Four Cups talking? So is some sort of cataclysm on its way? Should I even bother putting up my sukkah? Jeremy Schnittman, a research astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and an observant Jew, is putting up his, so maybe we shouldn’t worry. “The lunar tetrad event is perfectly normal,” Schnittman told JTA. “Every night when you go outside on the first night of Sukkot, it is going to be a full moon. And every lunar eclipse happens during a full moon,” he said. “On average there are two lunar eclipses every year.
The chance of having a lunar eclipse on Sukkot is one in six. “The same is true for the first night of Pesach,” he said, demystifying what at first seems like an awesome coincidence. But what about the fact that the eclipses fall on the two Jewish holidays? “If there’s one on Sukkot, then there’s a very high chance that there will be one on Pesach,” said Schnittman, noting that the holidays are exactly six months apart. “There’s been a lot of hubbub about ‘Four Blood Moons’in a row,” he added. But once the plane of the orbits of the moon and earth are aligned so that an eclipse occurs, “it’s actually quite reasonable that you are going to get them again every six months for the next couple
of years before the cycle moves a little bit out of alignment.” As for the blood-like color, which is even mentioned in the book of Joel, Schnittman explained, “Full eclipses are always red. Just like the clouds on earth turn red during the sunset, during an eclipse the full moon turns red.” Perhaps adding a tinge of credibility to Hagee’s claim is that in the Talmud, the rabbis said that “when the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by the moon.” “That reflects a more ancient superstitious approach to Judaism and astronomy,” said Schnittman, who in graduate school studied theoretical black holes and later attended Yeshivat Hamitzar in Israel for a year.
After Obama – Netanyahu meeting, U.S. blasts Israel over Jerusalem construction By Dmitriy Shapiro (JNS) – Following a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Netanyahu rejected American criticism of an Israeli construction plan in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Hamatos. Obama, Netanyahu, Vice President Joe Biden, and other officials met for approximately two hours in the Oval Office to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the
National Briefs Lowey: Federally funded college programs must not have anti-Israel bias WASHINGTON (JTA) – The ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee asked the U.S. Department of Education to insure that college programs receiving federal funds not include an antiIsrael bias. U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) in a letter sent Monday to Education Secretary Arne Duncan requested that standards of accountability be adopted so that any college or university receiving Title VI funding not have an anti-Israel slant. “Incidents of anti-Semitism have spiked worldwide in recent months, including many that were borne out of protests against Israel’s acts of self-defense against the terrorist group Hamas,” Lowey said in the letter. “It is vital to ensure that academic programs do not become tilted against Israel in a way that engenders anti-Semitism or criti-
negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and the American offensive against the Islamic State terrorist organization. Chief among Netanyahu’s concerns was the Iranian nuclear issue, against the backdrop of perceptions that the U.S. is diplomatically edging toward Iran in the effort to combat Islamic State. On the same day, in response to the reported publication of a plan (already approved by the Jerusalem Municipality two years ago) to construct 2,500 residential units in Givat Hamatos, White House
spokesman Josh Earnest said, “This development will only draw condemnation from the international community, distance Israel from even its closest allies, poison the atmosphere, not only with the Palestinians but also with the very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to build relations.” Earnest also called the Israeli construction plan “provocative.” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki issued a similar statement, saying that going ahead with the construction would “call
into question Israel’s ultimate commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.” Netanyahu addressed the harsh U.S. criticism in an interview with NBC News. “I think [the Obama administration] should be acquainted with the facts first,” he said. “You know? First of all, these are not settlements. These are neighborhoods of Jerusalem. We have Arab neighborhoods and we have Jewish neighborhoods.” Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s executive director for public policy, said in a statement on
Thursday that “suggesting that Jews residing in neighborhoods of Jerusalem—the historic capital of Israel and the Jewish people—is ‘provocative’ is offensive” as well as “fundamentally at odds with the notion that differences over Jerusalem are to be resolved in negotiations.” Earnest’s “implied threat that Jewish residence in Jerusalem will ‘distance Israel from even its closest allis’” represents “a resort to rhetoric which is entirely unacceptable,” added Diament.
cism of Israel that devolves into the defamation of the Jewish people.”
series of fliers posted on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, accused Jews of being behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The fliers, which appeared around campus during last weekend when students were moving in for the fall semester, declared that “9/11 Was an Outside Job,” with a large blue Star of David. The first student to take down a flier and bring it to Hillel was a Muslim student leader. He also said that the “UCSB administration has been prompt and proactive in their response to these postings.”
Richman told Haaretz that she called the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division and was informed that the department was “willing to investigate any situation where any employee of a carrier, i.e steward/ess participated in asking someone to change a seat because of their gender.”
make this mistake.” In a statement released to the local NBC affiliate, the university said that the conflict arose because the homecoming game is traditionally scheduled in October and the Oct. 4 game was the only home game on the schedule that month. It also noted that in an era of television contracts, universities like Georgia have little control over their schedules.
Car explodes at Atlantic City synagogue (JTA) – A synagogue leader’s car exploded in a suspected arson attack in Atlantic City, N.J. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, several hours after the close of Rosh Hashanah, police discovered a Ford Explorer engulfed in flames outside Congregation Rodef Sholom, an Orthodox shul. The fire caused severe damage to the parking lot and the synagogue’s outer walls, according to the Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia. The car belonged to David Kushner, who serves as spiritual leader of the southern New Jersey synagogue though he is not an ordained rabbi. Kushner, who runs a wedding hall in Lakewood, N.J., learned about the fire when he showed up for Sabbath services the next morning. The synagogue hasn’t had any previous occurrences of antiSemitism, the newspaper said. Fliers posted at UC Santa Barbara blame Jews for 9/11 LOS ANGELES (JTA) – A
El Al may be violating U.S. law, N.Y. rabbi says NEW YORK (JTA) – A New York rabbi-attorney claimed that some El Al Airlines’ policies may violate U.S. law in the wake of delays on flights because haredi Orthodox men refused to sit next to women. Rabbi Iris Richman, cited a federal law that states “An air carrier or foreign air carrier may not subject a person in air transportation to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry.”
Georgia students protest homecoming game on Yom Kippur (JTA) – An online petition protesting the university of Georgia’s decision to hold its homecoming football game on Yom Kippur has acquired some 2,000 signatures. The petition decrying the scheduling conflict was addressed to the university president. Georgia is playing Vanderbilt in a Southeastern Conference game on Saturday that is scheduled to start at 4 p.m, several hours before the end of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The petition does not ask that the game be rescheduled but rather states, “We are simply here to ask how a major public university with a strong Jewish community could
Philly transit worker sues over Rosh Hashanah firing (JTA) – A janitorial worker for Philadelphia’s mass transit system is suing the agency for firing him after he refused to work on Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat. Romel McAlpin, who belongs to the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, which preserves some Jewish holidays, said he informed the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, of his beliefs when he was hired in May 2012, Philadelphia media reported. McAlpin was dismissed for his observance of Rosh Hashanah last year and for Shabbat on Oct. 12, also last year. He filed his lawsuit in August.
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New NIF campaign adopts tools of the right By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – In a strategic shift, the New Israel Fund is arming itself with a set of sharp political tools and picking a fight. Its target: Israel’s political right. Its weapons: Opposition research, media monitoring, and staking its claims to patriotism and Zionism. If NIF’s dramatic language, outlined in a Sept. 18 release, and its tough new posture seem familiar, it’s because the funder is adopting tactics used by the right to marginalize NIF and its clients. “Over the past decade, Israel has endured an assault on liberal democratic values and a growing defiance of democratic norms, endangering freedom of speech and conscience as well as minority rights,” the release said. “Overt racism, ultranationalism and xenophobia are on
the rise.” The shift for NIF, said Daniel Sokatch, the group’s executive director, is its readiness to directly confront the right. “It’s time to try and put wind in the sails of people who are pushing back against an increasingly narrow, increasingly xenophobic, increasingly undemocratic vision of Israel and what Israel can be,” Sokatch told JTA. There’s not much substantively new in the NIF initiative: Some of the groups named under the rubric “New Initiatives for Democracy” have been funded by NIF for years, and other proposals, like monitoring right-wing media, remain amorphous. It’s also not clear whether the $2 million earmarked for the initiative in 2014 is an increase in existing funding for the named projects, although Naomi Paiss, NIF’s
spokeswoman, said that in time the proportion of funding for the initiative will increase. NIF currently runs a budget of $30 million and doles out grants totaling $10 million annually. The campaign, Sokatch said, is aimed at donors who are alarmed at what they perceive as the inexorable rise of undemocratic trends among Israelis, particularly relating to the peace process, political dissent and racism toward minorities, including Arabs and migrants. “The traditional vehicles of progressive Israel, which were once mighty, are gone,” he said, referring to the Labor Party and other leftist institutions that have been weakened over the past two decades.”What’s left as the last standard-bearer of liberal Zionism is the civil society sector, and the one big name that everyNIF on page 22
What would a partisan shift in control of the Senate mean for Jewish issues? By Dmitriy Shapiro (JNS) – As the Republican party pushes to retake the majority of the U.S. Senate in the upcoming November midterm elections, which would give it control of both houses of Congress, a partisan shift in power may significantly affect a broad range of foreign policy and domestic social issues that are prioritized by American Jews. Midterm elections in the Senate and House of Representatives have been historically difficult for the party holding the presidency. Democrats have held the Senate since public disapproval with the administration of President George W. Bush led to a Democratic sweep of both houses in 2006. This was reversed in President Barack Obama’s first midterm election cycle in 2010, when Republicans—surging from the energy of the Tea Party and criticism of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)—regained control of the House. The past six years have seen increased partisanship, a government shutdown, and continuously less major legislation passing in Congress. With the status quo, the difficulties Obama has faced in his dealings with the legislative branch are unlikely to improve in his last two years as president. Currently, the Senate includes 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans, and the GOP will need to pick up at least six seats to obtain a majority. In Montana, Sen. John Walsh, a brigadier general in the Montana National Guard, was nominated by the state’s Democratic governor earlier this year when former Sen. Max Baucus was tapped by Obama to serve as U.S. ambassador to China.
But Walsh’s term was short-lived, as allegations came to light that he had plagiarized a large part of a research paper required for his advancement to general officer ranks. Walsh admitted to the plagiarism and ended his campaign, creating an open seat. Montana’s at-large congressman (the state’s population only entitles it to one member in the House), Rep. Steve Daines (R), is running for the seat and is seen as an almost guaranteed winner in a state that Mitt Romney won by 13 percentage points in the 2012 presidential election. In West Virginia, 77-year-old Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) announced in January 2013 that he would not seek re-election. In the race for the open seat, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R) leads her opponent 53-34 percent in the latest Real Clear Politics projection. In 2012, Romney won the state, 62-36 percent. One of the most likely Republican pickups is in South Dakota. Last year, Sen. Tim Johnson (D) announced his retirement. The state’s current governor, Mike Rounds (R), easily defeated his primary opponents and has a wide lead over his Democratic opponent, businessman Rick Weiland. Another important gain for Republicans would be the hotly contested race in Louisiana, where embattled incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) is facing two GOP challengers. Despite having his vote split by another Republican candidate in Louisiana’s unusual open election, Sixth District Congressman Bill Cassidy (R) leads Landrieu in most polls. Adding to Democrats’ headaches, there are six Senate seats held by Democrats that are either open seats or occupied by a weak incumbent. These include Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado,
Iowa, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Polling in these states is too close to call, though most polls slightly lean Republican. Although Jewish voters are unlikely to make a major difference in any of the contested races, a shift to Republican control the Senate could spell a change in foreign and domestic PARTISAN on page 22
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8 • NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL
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Focusing on ISIS in U.N. speech, Obama virtually ignores Iran By Uriel Heilman NEW YORK (JTA) – President Obama devoted the bulk of his U.N. speech to the fight against violent Islamic extremism and hardly mentioned Iran’s nuclear program. In his address last year to the General Assembly, Obama spent a great deal of time talking about Tehran’s nuclear pursuit, describing it as one of two major focus areas for American diplomatic efforts (the other was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). On Wednesday, he devoted just four lines to Iran. “America is pursuing a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue as part of our commitment to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and pursue the peace and security of a world without them,” Obama said. “This can only happen
if Iran takes this historic opportunity. My message to Iran’s leaders and people is simple: Do not let this opportunity pass. We can reach a solution that meets your energy needs while assuring the world that your program is peaceful.” The thin coverage of Iran drew immediate notice from Jewish groups. “Obama devoted only 78 words at UNGA to greatest threat to world peace, the Iran nuclear threat; 1,540 words to ISIS,” the American Jewish Committee’s Global Jewish Advocacy project noted in a tweet. Near the speech’s conclusion, Obama also spoke a bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Leadership will be necessary to address the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis,” he said. “As bleak as the landscape appears, America will not give up on the pur-
suit of peace.” The turmoil in Iraq, Syria and Libya should disabuse anyone of the mistaken notion that the PalestinianIsraeli conflict is somehow the root of all Middle East conflict, Obama said. Noting that the turmoil has made too many Israelis ready to abandon the hard work of peace, Obama diverted from his prepared remarks and added, “That’s something Israelis should reflect on.” “The status quo in the West Bank and Gaza is not sustainable,” Obama said. “We cannot afford to turn away from this effort, not when rockets are fired at innocent Israelis or when the lives of so many Palestinian children are taken from us in Gaza.” He said, “Israelis, Palestinians, the region and the world will be more just and safe with two states living side by side in peace and security.”
Most of the president’s speech focused on the need for the international community to counter what he described as the “cancer of violent extremism.” At the top of the list was ISIS, the Islamic group in Iraq and Syria also known by the acronym ISIL. “Collectively, we must take concrete steps to address the dangers posed by religiously motivated fanatics and the trends that fuel their recruitment,” Obama said, outlining four major focus areas. “The terrorist group known as ISIL must be degraded and ultimately destroyed,” he said. “There can be no reasoning, no negotiating with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force.” The second, Obama said, is for “the world, especially Muslim communities, to explicitly, forcefully and
consistently reject the ideology of organizations like al-Qaida and ISIL.” That means, the president said, cutting off the funding of those who fuel hateful groups and ideologies; contesting the space terrorists occupy, including the Internet and social media; expunging intolerance from schools; and bringing people of different faiths together. “There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim,” Obama said. The third focus area Obama outlined was addressing sectarian strife and resolving differences at the negotiating table rather than through violent proxies. In Syria, he said, that means finding a solution that works for all Syrian groups.
The Arab Bank ruling’s implications for terrorists and their victims By Dmitriy Shapiro (JNS) – In a historic victory for American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel, a jury in a United States federal court recently found the Jordanbased Arab Bank liable for knowingly funding Hamas-affiliated individuals and organizations during the Second Intifada. The civil court decision will now proceed to the damages phase, in which a decision could spell significant compensation for the roughly 300 victims of terrorism and their relatives who filed the lawsuit. But more tellingly, the case, which asserted violations by the Arab Bank of the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, could affect policies by banks worldwide. “Congress adopted the AntiTerrorism Act for the specific purpose of giving American victims and their
families the opportunity to bring litigation against terrorists and their funders,” said one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Richard Heideman, an international human rights lawyer with the Washington, D.C.-based firm Heideman Nudelman and Kalik. Now, “every terrorist group, every terrorist supporter, and every funder of terrorism is on notice that the U.S. judicial system will protect the right of the American victims to seek recovery, hold those [terrorists] fully accountable, and gain justice through our American courts,” Heideman told JNS. After 10 years of back-and-forth litigation, a jury of eight women and four men in the Federal Court in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn unanimously agreed Sept. 22 that the Arab Bank knowingly provided material support and funding to
individuals and organizations that led to 24 terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel from 2001-2004. Numerous cases were consolidated under the lead case, Linde et al. v. Arab Bank PLC, which was filed in 2004. Over the five-week trial, attorneys for the plaintiffs proved that the Arab Bank turned a blind eye to accounts of well-known Hamas members, such as the group’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and Lebanon-based spokesman Osama Hamdan, as well as Hamas-linked aid organizations like the Saudi Committee for the Support of the Intifada al Quds. According to court documents, the Saudi Committee, under the guise of a humanitarian organization, paid out amounts of around $5,300 to the families of suicide bombers. In total, the bank disbursed up to $100 million to the
organization. According to Heideman, a portion of the funding was provided through front organizations operating as “Zakat” (Islamic charity) entities— disbursing funds, including cash payments, through 22 branches in the West Bank and Gaza. Often, these cash payments were given to individuals who were not account holders. The bank, which is seeking to reverse the verdict in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, argued that its branch managers checked all individuals against appropriate blacklists, such as those produced by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and that the individuals and organizations provided with funds were cleared. One of the plaintiffs’ witnesses was Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, who told the jury that the OFAC list was just “one tool in the toolkit and that banks are responsible to know their own customers and know the nature of the terrorist organizations that exist.” The plaintiffs argued that under the Know Your Customer (KYC) provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act of 2001, banks operating in the United States have the responsibility to conduct their own additional research into their clients. Another one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Peter Raven-Hansen, a professor of law and co-director of the national security and U.S. foreign relations law program at George Washington University, said that the jury saw convincing evidence that the bank knew that its customers were terrorists despite passing the “OFAC list filter.”
Yom Kippur not yet an official U.N. holiday, but might be next year By Sean Savage and Alina Dain Sharon (JNS) – The holiest day on the Jewish calendar isn’t among the 10 holiest days on the United Nations calendar. But Israel and many other countries hope that changes by the time next year’s Day of Atonement arrives. In July, amid Israel’s summer war with Hamas and global antiIsrael protests, U.N. ambassadors from 32 countries wrote a letter to a U.N. General Assembly committee that urged the recognition of Yom Kippur (Oct. 3-4 this year) as an official U.N. holiday. The U.N. currently marks 10 holidays, including the Christian holidays Christmas and Good Friday as well as the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, but there is no Jewish holiday on that list.
The messages of Yom Kippur—that “every person’s deeds are weighed on the heavenly scales of justice and the blessings of the coming year are determined by the good deeds performed in the service of others”—are “universal” and as such deserve to be marked by the U.N., the letter said. The letter came in support of an Israeli initiative on the issue that was launched in May. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor had sent his own a letter asking the 192 other U.N. envoys to join Israel’s campaign for the holiday’s recognition. “It is about time Jewish employees at the U.N. won’t be obligated to work on Yom Kippur,” Prosor wrote. “Such discrimination at the U.N. must end,” he added. Currently, the Israeli
Permanent Mission to the U.N. is working within the U.N.’s vast bureaucracy to get Yom Kippur recognized. “The issue of Yom Kippur is of a cultural/religious nature,” Yotam Goren, a diplomat who works for Israel’s U.N. mission, told JNS. “It can be an issue that bridges divisions and speaks to the universal values we all hold closely, including reconciliation, forgiveness, and tolerance. The hope is that these values will prevail and be heralded by all member states in the upcoming negotiations.” Goren represents Israel on the U.N. Fifth Committee, which is the world body’s administrative and budgetary committee that decides on issues such as holidays. The committee begins deliberating on the Yom Kippur issue this month, with a possible decision
coming by December. The matter will be voted on by all 193 U.N. member states. A number of major Jewish organizations and leaders are also advocating for Yom Kippur’s recognition at the U.N. “Including Yom Kippur on the calendar would speak to that issue of inclusiveness of the Jewish people,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin, who co-wrote a New York Times op-ed on the issue in August, told JNS. “It would speak to the entire worldwide Jewish community and send a very important message that we hope will resonate to the rest of the world,” he said. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, also
believes that by recognizing Yom Kippur, the international community could take a step in the right direction. “Given the traditional hostility of the United Nations to Israel” as well as “the rise of anti-Semitism and [Israel] delegitimization efforts,” recognizing Yom Kippur at the U.N. would be a message “that the modern religion is recognized, and the role of Judaism among the world’s great religions would be enshrined by the United Nations by at least having one [official Jewish] holiday,” Hoenlein told JNS. “While we want Yom Kippur to be on the U.N. calendar… we would not want to see that as compensation for dealing, as is often done, so harshly with Israel,” he said. “It shouldn’t be seen as one or the other.”
INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
Giant Ukraine JCC provides shelter from the storm – in style By Cnaan Liphshiz DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine (JTA) – Five months into the war that turned him into a refugee in his own country, Jacob Virin has already attended 20 Jewish weddings – including those of his son and two other relatives – at the $100 million JCC of Dnepropetrovsk. Towering over the skyline of this industrial metropolis, the 22-story Menorah Center is said to be the largest Jewish community center in Europe and a symbol of the remarkable Jewish revival here after decades of communist repression. But with eastern Ukraine descending into chaos in recent months, the center of late has assumed a new symbolism. With one of its two hotels serving as temporary housing for some of the hundreds of refugees displaced by fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels, and a recent mass wedding for 19 Jewish couples held on its roof terrace, the center has become an emblem of Jewish survival during the current crisis. “More than any other single complex, the Menorah Center has empowered the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk to better serve as an anchor for Ukrainian Jewry in difficult times and as an engine for Jewish renewal,” said Zelig Brez, the community’s director. Completed in 2012 with funding from two Jewish oligarchs, the Menorah Center is a leviathan. Its 450,00 square feet of floor space
International Briefs Fire hits 18th-century Romanian Jewish cemetery (JTA) – One of Romania”s oldest Jewish cemeteries was hit by fire that consumed some 50 acres. The fire spread on Monday through the Jewish cemetery of Iasi, which opened in the 18th century and contains 80,000 graves, the local news reported. It consumed dense vegetation that grew between headstones, the result of many years of neglect. Iasi used to be among the centers of Jewish life in Romania until its entire Jewish population was annihilated in 1941 in a series of pogroms perpetrated by locals and through the deportation of Jews to Nazi-run and local concentration and death camps. The cemetery of Iasi features a monument in memory of the 15,000 Jews murdered by locals in pogroms. More than 350,000 Jews were murdered in areas held by pro-Nazi Romanian troops during World War II.
includes a swanky event hall, a synagogue with black marble interior, a large Holocaust museum, luxurious ritual baths for men and women, and several kosher restaurants and cafes. At night, powerful spotlights illuminate the center’s seven domes, making the large complex on Sholem Aleichem Street look much like its namesake. “The idea here is also to build a presence, a great beacon of light that tells the Jews of Ukraine: ‘We are here. Come join us. The time for hiding is over,’ “ said Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, the energetic chief rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk and one of the Chabad movement’s most senior envoys to Ukraine. During the Nazi occupation of Ukraine in the 1940s, German troops murdered 20,000 Jews in and around Dnepropetrovsk, essentially annihilating the community. Many Jews who escaped eastward returned after the Red Army defeated the Nazis, but the Kremlin’s antiSemitic and anti-religious ideology kept Jewish life underground here until Ukraine gained independence in 1991. Following the fall of communism, Dnepropetrovsk emerged as an engine for Jewish life in Ukraine. Some 15 percent of the country’s Jewish population lives here, and the city boasts several unique Jewish amenities, including the only matzah factory in Ukraine and a workshop for ritual scribes. The community’s partnership with Jewish communities in the Boston area is also the
object of pride here. Kaminezki says the Menorah Center is the largest JCC in Europe. Navigating the maze of elevators that services the building’s seven wings, he pops into a gourmet kosher restaurant with heavy cherrywood tables to chat with a donor having lunch. Before returning to his office, Kaminezki shows off the center’s main passageway, which at lunch hour fills up with a mix of religious Jews and non-Jews, including women in short skirts and high heels who come to visit medical clinics, hair dressers or the bank – all of which rent space in the center. The vast structure “is meant to accommodate the needs of this growing community not only now but also in the future,” Kaminezki said back at his penthouse office overlooking the Dnepro River. With such an impressive presence, the Menorah Center has become the Jewish community’s de facto embassy, hosting visits from ambassadors and diplomats, including the U.S. State Department’s antiSemitism envoy, Ira Foreman, who visited in April. Non-Jews sometimes refer to the center as the Kolomoisky building – Igor Kolomoisky, a Jewish billionaire, funded the building with fellow Ukrainian billionaire Gennady Bogolyubov, the president of the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk.
French teen with jihadist aspirations says she was told to kill Jews (JTA) – A French teenager who wanted to join jihadists in Syria said her handlers instructed her to commit attacks on Jews in France. A juvenile court placed her under arrest and forbade her from leaving the country after her parents read her plans on her personal computer. In the interview, Lea said she communicated for months with individuals who contacted her on Facebook. None of them were named. She also met with at least two handlers who allegedly helped prepare fake documents for her ahead of her planned journey to Syria. But at one point, one of her handlers told her she could not travel to Syria after all and would need to commit an attack against Jews on French soil.
would “burn the bus” and “the Jews,” scaring the children on the bus operated by the Arriva company, the London-based Jewish Chronicle reported. The driver allowed the passenger to get off the bus and then reboard. Paul Edwards, correspondence manager of the Transport for London, told the newspaper that the driver has been identified and interviewed, “and Arriva will take appropriate action to ensure that any future incident is handled more appropriately.” The abusive passenger, Ian Campbell, 42, of London, will be indicted in Magistrates Court in Hendon on Oct. 9.
London bus driver facing discipline over inaction on passenger”s slurs (JTA) – London”s public transportation authority said it will act against a bus driver who did not respond when a passenger shouted anti-Semitic epithets at fellow passengers. The abusive passenger said he
Iranians get jail time for entering Kenya on fake Israeli passports JTA) – Two Iranians pleaded guilty in Kenya to using fake Israeli passports to enter the country. The Kenyan court on Wednesday ordered the Iranians, a man and a woman, to serve two years in jail or pay a large fine. They have 24 days to appeal the sentence. The Iranians, who were arrested at Nairobi Airport on Sept. 18, are being held under anti-terrorism laws.
Courtesy of Jewish Community of Dneproperovsk
A rendering of the Menorah Center in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, which is said to be the largest Jewish community center in Europe.
10 • ISRAEL
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El Al faces uproar over haredim’s refusal to sit near women By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – For approximately a half hour at the beginning of her El Al Israel Airlines flight last week from New York to Tel Aviv, Elana Sztokman watched as the haredi Orthodox man seated next to her rushed up and down the aisle searching for someone willing to switch seats so he wouldn’t have to sit beside her. On the same route several
hours later, another El Al flight was delayed as haredi men stood in the aisles refusing to sit next to women. After takeoff, the men resumed their protest until other seats were found for them. A passenger on the flight told the Israeli website Ynet that the trip was “an 11-hour nightmare.” Israel’s national airline has long had to contend with haredi Orthodox Jews insisting on gender separation in the skies. But
the two recent incidents – Sztokman’s story went viral after she wrote about it in the online magazine Tablet – have prompted calls for El Al to resolve the ongoing issue. Some have suggested that the airline insist that strictly observant passengers sit in their assigned seats. Others say the airline should create gender-segregated sections, so seat maps would not have to be reconfigured on the spot.
“What offends me is the premise that sitting next to me is a problem,” said Sztokman, author of the recent book “The War on Women in Israel: A Story of Religious Radicalism and the Women Fighting for Freedom.” “I’m a person first and foremost.” Sztokman, who has faced similar situations on past El Al flights, said she has written the airline to complain several times but has not heard back. In a statement responding to
an inquiry from JTA, El Al made no mention of the Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 incidents, but said that the airline’s staffers “are trying their best to respond to every request of any of the passengers.” An online petition launched Sunday is calling on the airline to provide a small section of gendersegregated seats for an extra fee. In two days, the petition garnered more than 1,500 signatures.
What did King David drink? Israeli wine researchers aim to revive ancient libations By Ben Sales
Courtesy of Ben Sales
Grapes planted by Elyashiv Drori and his students in a small vineyard at Ariel University, Sept. 30, 2014.
Israel Briefs Death of Jewish construction worker being looked at as terror attack JERUSALEM (JTA) – Police in Israel are investigating the death of a Jewish construction worker in Petach Tikvah as a terror attack. Nathaniel Roi Arami, 26, fell 11 stories from the side of a highrise building where he was doing exterior work when both of his rappelling cables snapped in an incident on Sept. 16. His co-workers had finished work and had walked away from the site before he fell. An Arab co-worker had been taken in for questioning following the death but was released later, according to reports. Arami was the father of two and his wife was pregnant. Jewish families move into eastern Jerusalem Arab neighborhood JERUSALEM (JTA) – Rioting erupted as several Jewish families moved into apartments in the eastern Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Silwan. The Jews moved in late
Monday night amid protests by Arab rioters who threw rocks and fireworks and attempted to enter one of the homes, according to reports. One policeman was injured in the attacks. Kandel Finance, an American company, purchased the 25 apartments in six buildings – the Jewish families are occupying 11 of the apartments – Walla!News reported. The Elad organization, which is working to solidify a Jewish presence in eastern Jerusalem, assisted in the arrangements. About 50 families live in Silwan, known to Jews as Shiloach, located next to the City of David and across from the Western Wall. Lancet editor visiting Israel following outcry over antiIsrael letter JERUSALEM (JTA) – The editor of the British medical journal The Lancet, which ran an open letter accusing Israel of a “massacre” in Gaza, is visiting Israel. On Tuesday, Dr. Richard Horton visited the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The letter to the people of Gaza was published in The Lancet during this summer’s conflict in the strip between Israel and Hamas. Several dozen physicians from the West signed the letter, which also accused Israel of “cruel” and “vicious war crimes.”
ARIEL, West Bank (JTA) – The small cardboard box in Elyashiv Drori’s palm looks like it’s full of black pebbles. Closing the box quickly, he explains that it cannot be open for long. The pebble-like pieces, which were uncovered in an archaeological dig near Jerusalem’s Old City, are in fact remains of a kilo of grapes stored nearly 3,000 years ago. They were preserved under layers of earth from the era when David and Physicians, researchers and Israeli officials decried the letter. “The trip will not provide Horton immunity from the justifiable moral outrage of Israelis, the Jewish community, and medical professionals,” said Yitzhak Santis, an official with the media watchdog NGO Monitor. “ U.S. resumes sending Hellfire missiles to Israel WASHINGTON (JTA) – The United States has resumed delivery of Hellfire missiles to Isra. “The first shipment has been delivered to Israel and the second shipment will be delivered early in October,” Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told JTA on Monday. The interruption of delivery of the weapons during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip over the summer stirred controversy, with reports suggesting that the Obama administration was withholding the weapons in order not to be implicated with Israel’s attacks and their civilian casualties. More recently, Israeli media have reported that the delay was a bureaucratic matter. Graves vandalized on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives cemetery JERUSALEM (JTA) – More than 40 graves were vandalized at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount
Solomon ruled over the Land of Israel. Next to his laboratory at Ariel University, Drori – an oenophile who has judged international wine competitions – already has barrels of wine made from grapes that have grown in Israel for two millennia. Finding a living sample of the 3,000-year-old grapes will be the next step in his years-long quest to produce wine identical to that consumed in ancient Israel. “It’s not interesting to make chardonnay in Israel because there’s chardonnay that comes
from California,” said Drori, the agriculture and oenology research coordinator at the Samaria and Jordan Rift Center of Ariel University. “But if you can make wine in Israel that isn’t elsewhere and that connects to the history here, that’s much more interesting.” Today there are hundreds of Israeli wineries, but they largely use varieties of grapes that are indigenous to Europe. By finding and growing grapes native to Israel, Drori hopes to bring Israeli winemaking back to its roots.
of Olives. The vandalized graves were located in the Ger Hasidic section of the Jerusalem cemetery. Many headstones were toppled over or smashed, and brass lamps and other items were stolen. The damage was discovered on Friday afternoon, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, when sect members visit the graves of their loved ones. Over the past few weeks, the cemetery has been vandalized several times as Jerusalem has been plagued by increased violence, according to reports.
Rabbis sentenced to prison for selling rabbinic ordination diplomas TEL AVIV (JTA) – Two rabbis from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate were sentenced to prison terms for selling rabbinic ordination diplomas to Israeli security personnel. Rabbi Meir Rosenthal on Monday was sentenced by the Jerusalem District Court to seven years in prison and a $135,000 fine for handing out more than 1,000 fake ordinations to soldiers, police officers and intelligence officials from 1993 to 2008. Those who received the ordinations paid Rosenthal approximately $540,000 in bribes.
Study: Fasting on Yom Kippur doubles risk of premature birth (JTA) – Fasting on Yom Kippur in the later stages of pregnancy doubles a woman’s risk for premature delivery, according to a new Israeli study. Researchers at Soroka University Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba reached the conclusion after studying the records of thousands of pregnant Jewish women over a period of 23 years, The Jerusalem Post reported. The study’s findings were published in the Journal of Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. The researchers theorized that dehydration and a lack of food lead to early labor pains.
Lapid apologizes for Shabbat news conference JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid apologized for calling a news conference on Shabbat. The apology for last month’s news conference held outside his home came on Sunday during a meeting of the Yesh Atid party, which Lapid heads. “I was wrong, I should not have caused other people to work on Shabbat,” Lapid reportedly said when asked about the news conference by a Yesh Atid colleague during a meeting about the coming year’s state budget, The Jerusalem Post reported.
SOCIAL LIFE • 11
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
ANNOUNCEMENTS ENGAGEMENT
CINCINNATI JEWS IN THE NEWS
arrie and Ken Goldhoff, of Cincinnati, OH, proudly announce the engagement of their daughter Sari Jessica to Ryan Elliot Small, son of Carol Small of Boynton Beach, FL and Steven Small of Louisville, KY. Sari is the grandaughter of Beverly Saeks and the late Keith Saeks and the late Rita and Leon Goldhoff. Ryan is the grandson of the late Robert and Shirley Gould and the late Murrel and Shirley Small. After growing up in Louisville, Ryan attended Indiana University. Following graduation, Ryan relocated to Chicago to work in logistics sales for CH Robinson. Sari graduated from IU with a degree in Exercise Science and also went to work for CH Robinson, where she met Ryan. Ryan is currently a Financial Planner with Morgan Stanley in Chicago. Sari is back in school pursuing a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant. After a small wedding in Tucson, AZ on November 1, 2014, the couple will reside in downtown Chicago.
C
dward Kureman, Madison Wealth Management and Shawn Baker, Comey & Shepherd Realtors, were both named to the Business Courier’s 2014 40 Under 40 class. This program recognizes Greater Cincinnati’s next generation of young leaders and innovators-people who have already made their mark both professionally and in the community.
E
Ryan Small and Sari Goldhoff
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Tuesday a saver’s night to eat out at Andy’s Mediterranean Grille By Bob Wilhelmy Assumption: we all like to save a buck when we can, right? Of course, I’m right. So Tuesday is your night to dine out at Andy’s Mediterranean Grille, uptown off Gilbert Avenue on Nassau Street. You can’t miss it. Here’s the deal: you buy one entrée at regular price, and the second entrée of equal or lesser value is half off. So let’s say you both want the Shish Kabob entrée, $22 per entrée, each entrée featuring two skewers of charbroiled beef tenderloin. I’ve had that entrée, and if you like tenderloin, I’m betting you’ll enjoy the dish. It’s marinated, and the beef is tender and tasty and there is a lot of it. Anyway, that means you save $11 on the dining out experience. Eleven dollars is nothing to sneeze at. Of course, if you love good beer as I do, you may want to show up on Monday also. Monday is when all Andy’s craft beers are $2 a pint. The special pricing runs from 4 p.m. to close. Just now, the pulls include: Rysing Up peppercorn saison beer, Rhinegeist Truth IPA and Cougar golden ale, Bad Tom Smith Fink red rye beer, and Rivertown IPA. The brands and types change periodically, but the $2 deal is on, and ongoing. One other deal at Andy’s is the Last Thursday wine tasting events. As one might imagine, these tasting are held on the last Thursday of each month (October 27 this month). For $10 you taste various wines, and enjoy a spread of appetizers to nibble with the wine pairings. The tastings run from 6 to 9 p.m. These specials are good reasons to try Andy’s if you have not already been there, and good reason to return if you have. There is another reason for anyone who has a taste for foods of the Mideast and the homeland of Israel. Flavors of that part of the world abound at Andy’s. Your palate can journey there, even if the rest of you may be stuck here in Cincinnati. A Jewish man who had spent time in Israel happened to be at Andy’s recently, and shared this comment with me: “The kafta (shish kafta) is my favorite. It’s delicious! Really, all the food here is very good, and being Jewish with my background, it’s a taste that’s like being there.” BTW, that shish kafta is a very tasty entrée, featuring chopped steak blended with onion and parsley, skewered and charbroiled, and served over seasoned rice. It’s available in full and half entrée portions. Jewish diners will find a lot of choices on the menu. One dish I recommend is the mushroom sauté, a vegetarian entrée of white cap button mushrooms sautéed in olive oil. The generous helping of mushrooms
A server, at the back bar, pulling a craft beer.
The veggie mushroom sauté.
is served on a bed of seasoned, tasty rice, and ringed with chunks of fresh tomato and kalamata olives. The entrée is loaded with flavor, and the fresh-baked pita bread adds the finishing touch to an unusual, yet delicious meatless meal. The mushroom sauté is one of five veggie entrée selections on Andy’s new menu. The others are: the falafel platter; the veggie trio, featuring a large house salad with additions of hummus, baba ghannouj or grape leaves; the veggie kabob, served with rice; and the veggie sauté, featuring eggplant, zucchi-
The exterior of Andy’s Mediterranean Grille.
ni, onion, mushrooms, tomato, bell pepper cauliflower and seasonings, over rice. Andy’s menu offers many items to complement the vegetarian section. A couple of the most popular ones are chicken dishes. The chicken Hajjar is an entrée featuring marinated chicken, charbroiled, and served with rice and a salad. Another dish is the Beyrouth chicken, which is a delicately seasoned breast, with garlic and lemon juice providing the flavor. The dish is served with a salad and hummus. Also, there are the old standards
that diners order repeatedly: chicken shawarma, a sautéed breast topped with tahini sauce and served with rice; the shish kabob, featuring skewered charbroiled tenderloin of beef, with green peppers and onions on a bed of rice; filet tips sauté, the beef lightly sautéed with mushrooms and onions in red wine and olive oil; the shish tawook, featuring marinated chicken chunks skewered and charbroiled (a Taste of Cincinnati award winner); and the farrouj, a half rotisserie chicken with special Lebanese spice/herb rub, served over rice.
Andy’s also features some nonfood attractions. One is belly dancing entertainment offered on Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 7:30. Those who want to light up can do so in outdoor patio areas, selecting a hookah from Andy’s stock, or a cigar from the humidor. Patio dining also is available based on weather. Andy’s Mediterranean Grille at Gilbert and Nassau 2 blocks north of Eden Park 281-9791
DINING OUT • 15
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
CAFE MEDITERRANEAN
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Montgomery • 794-0080
cafe-mediterranean.com
7625 Beechmont Ave • 231-5550 Andy’s Mediterranean Grille
4766 Red Bank Expy • 376-6008
Slatt’s Pub
At Gilbert & Nassau
5098B Glencrossing Way • 347-9699
4858 Cooper Rd
2 blocks North of Eden Park
8179 Princeton-Glendale • 942-7800
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281-9791
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1965 Highland Pk. • 859-331-4999 Asian Paradise
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Montgomery
Montgomery
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Keegans Specialty Seafood Market
Tandoor
541-9600
2724 Erie Ave.
Montgomery
Hyde Park
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Baba India Restaurant 3120 Madison Rd Cincinnati 321-1600 Bistro Grace 4034 Hamilton Ave.
Breadsmith 3500 Michigan Ave. Cincinnati 321-6300 Cafe Mediterranean 9525 Kenwood Rd
8702 Market Place Ln
9386 Montgomery Rd Cincinnati, OH 45242
321-0181 Tony’s Marx Hot Bagels
12110 Montgomery Rd
9701 Kenwood Rd
Montgomery
Blue Ash
677-1993
891-5542 Walt’s Hitching Post
Cincinnati Mecklenburg Gardens
300 Madison Pike
302 E. University Ave
Fort Wright, KY
Holtman’s Donuts
Clifton
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221-5353
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(513) 489-1444
Loveland
Wertheim’s Restaurant
1332C-2 Vine St. • 381-0903
Padrino
514 W. 6th St.
Over-the-Rhine
111 Main St
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Milford
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965-0100 Parkers Blue Ash Tavern 4200 Cooper Rd
The American Israelite can not guarantee the kashrus of any establishment.
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30-3 Dinner: Mon-Thu 5-9:30 Fri 5-10:30 • Sat 4:30-10:30
8102 Market Place Lane Montgomery, OH 45242 794-0057 • 794-0235 (fax) www.sukhothaicincy.com
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16 • OPINION
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After Arab bank verdict, don’t lose sight of the human impact of terror By Zieva Dauber Konvisser (JNS) – In the wake of the recent historic verdict by a federal court in Brooklyn that found Jordanian Arab Bank Plc liable for knowingly providing financial services to Hamas, it’s important to remember that the decision can be more than just a message to financial institutions doing business with terrorists. This landmark ruling should also be an incredible message to the 297 plaintiffs in the case—who were either injured themselves or have family members who were killed in 24 different Hamas attacks during the Second Intifada—that we recognize their suffering and losses, as well as the travails of all other terrorism survivors, victims, and victims’ family members whose claims derive from other acts of Palestinian violence not yet been addressed in a court of law. The Brooklyn court’s decision also has more than just legal and financial implications. We must focus on the human impact of terror on surviving individuals and the families—the physical and emotional scars they will carry for the rest of their lives. How can one forget the aftermath of a bomb detonated in a crowded bus or café, bullets flying through a car windshield, or a rocket crashing through an apartment building? What it is like to feel the pain of a bullet entering your body, believing your life is ending, coming home to babies who don’t recognize you, or living with family members, friends, and co-workers who don’t understand that you aren’t the same person you were before an attack (even though you look the same)? What it is like to lose your child or parent or spouse, and to see friends cross the street to avoid talking to you because they don’t know what to say to you? How does one come back to life, and maybe even find light at the end of the tunnel, after a loved one was killed by terrorism? Over the past decade, I have interviewed terrorism survivors and their families, as well as victims’ families, while compiling my new
book, “Living Beyond Terrorism: Israeli Stories of Hope and Healing” (Gefen, 2014). I have heard the voices and passions of otherwise ordinary people performing ordinary activities—Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze riding in buses, dining in restaurants, shopping in markets, studying at college, visiting hotels, or walking on the street—who suddenly become victims of suicide bombings, shooting attacks, and rocket attacks. I have delved into their stories: how they were able to cope, or in other cases not able to cope, with experiencing acts of terrorism. I was privileged to hear, learn, and tell the stories of 16 of the plaintiffs from the recent Arab bank case. They were victims of some of the worst Palestinian terror attacks in the history of Israel, including the Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem, the Park Hotel Passover massacre in Netanya, the Mike’s Place bombing in Tel Aviv, and the Hebrew University cafeteria bombing. While these attacks have been etched into the memory of most Israelis and many Americans, the experiences of the plaintiffs in this case are more than a memory— they are the events that shaped the rest of their lives. For the plaintiffs, the verdict was likely a significant step in their emotional journey of healing and trying to make their voices heard. With the court’s decision, it’s clear they have been heard. As we approach the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, let’s remember those who have fallen due to acts of terror and pray for those who have survived, and for their extended families. Let them hear our voices and understand that we have not forgotten them, and that we will continue to remember and take action. Let’s pray that those still waiting for their voices to be heard are indeed heard, and let’s hope and pray those who have perpetrated, abetted, and defended terrorism will take this court decision seriously and finally say, “I’m sorry.”
Correction In our AI@160 issue on July 17, 2014, some details about Rockdale Temple’s history were omitted. Drs. David Philipson and Victor Teichert were former rabbis of Rockdale Temple; Dr. Philipson was called the Dean of American Rabbis. Omitted from the Isaac M. Wise Center history was the fact that Rabbi Heller and Rabbi Wohl were co-rabbis. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com
Dear Editor, There is a write-in candidate for U. S. Senate named Robert Ransdell, who is a former member of the National Alliance, a white supremacy group. He is running on an anit-semitic platform, and he has campaigned with a sign telling voters “With Jews We Lose” at hightraffics sites, including U.S. 42 and Pleasant Valley Road and at KY 18 just off I-75. I wasn’t happy with his signs. I am a Catholic who lives in Crescent Springs and I like to think Northern Kentucky is a little bit above that kind of stuff. At my bagel shop, Marx Hot Bagels, we had an over-run of challah for the New Year, and I gave those away, in order to reach out to the community. If it wasn’t for the Jews, we’d have no Christianity. No Christian should be anti-semitic. If people pick on one group, then the next group, and the next group, where does it end? Sincerely, John Marx Crescent Springs, KY Dear Editor, October 7, 1944, was a critical
date in Jewish history for the Greek Jews of Auschwitz. Tha day was a Saturday; for the Jews in Auschwitz it was Shabbat. Selections on Shabbat and Jewish holidays were a deliberate Nazi insult to Jews and Judaism. This Shabbat was no different. But the usual morning roll call on this Shabbat was to be unique. At roll call the numbers of the Greek slaves, primarily those from the western provincial towns of Greece deported in late spring 1944, were announced. Their leader Joseph Varuch, a captain in the regular Greek army and a resistance fighter during the occupation who had also participated in the planning for the Auschwitz summer revolt, understood what was coming and shouted to the assembled Greeks to attack. They quickly overcame the few guards and disarmed them; however, one succeeded in escaping on a bicycle and alerted the SS. The SS immediately flooded the camp and surrounded the majority of Greeks: those in crematoria 2 and 5 were isolated and pacified; the remainder in crematoria 3 and 4 were besieged. The latter, after their ammunition was exhausted, chose a traditional Greek method under such circumstances – noble death. They set fire to the two crematoria, sang
the Greek and Zionist national anthems, and blew up crematorium 3 and severely damaged crematorium 4. The uprising was over in a few hours. They died however as free men, a choice highly praised throughout military history, indeed memorialized in the sermon of Elazar, the Zealot priest at Masada, as cited in Josephus’s Jewish War and more popularly in the dramatic medieval version of Sepher Yosippon. Those who survived the uprising [about 135 young men] were shot on the spot. Those in crematoria 2 and 5 were delegated to cremate the bodies of their Greek brethren. Following the evacuation of Birkenau, a small contingent was left behind to complete the destruction of the four crematoria to erase any evidence of the massacre of European Jewry. Ultimately some 11 Greeks of the Sonderkommando survived the next 7-8 months in a series of concentration camps to contribute their stories to the saga of the last days of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the hardly-known Greek participation in the Auschwitz uprising. Sincerely, Professor Steven Bowman Cincinnati, OH
Allies and adversaries in the Middle East By Ben Cohen (JNS) – At first glance, this seems like a straightforward question with an obvious answer. We are at war with the Islamic State terrorist organization in Iraq and Syria. Moreover, “war” is the exact descriptor to use, now that the Obama administration has gotten over its initial reluctance to portray the clash in this part of the Middle East with such a stark and unmistakable word. War, however, is rarely simple. As a rule of thumb, one should appreciate that the identified enemy is not the only enemy. Hence, while we are at war most immediately with Islamic State, that should not preclude us from grasping that there are other local forces with whom we have separate, equally complex, and potentially very dangerous conflicts. The Second World War provides a good historical example of what I mean. From 1941 onwards, the Soviet Union was an ally of Britain, which had been fighting Nazi Germany solo for the previous two years, and the United States, which entered the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But in the decades prior to that capitalist-
communist military alliance, the Soviet Union was very much an enemy, perceived by European leaders especially as the main threat to the stability of western democracy. Only with the rise of Nazism did the Soviet threat retreat into the background. But even then, there was an awareness that once our business with Hitler’s regime was done, we would remain fundamentally at loggerheads with the Soviet Union. That was why World War II segued rapidly into the Cold War that dominated international relations for the next half-century. A similar pattern is observable with Islamic State. The coalition that the U.S. has assembled to fight this barbaric scourge is, much like the Anglo-American-Soviet coalition of the 1940s, based upon an immediate coincidence of interest. But many of the powers involved with it should not be described as friends. Some of them—particularly those with an indirect, ambiguous role—might in fact become declared enemies in the not-too-distant future. I include in that category states like Turkey and Qatar. Turkey is not a central actor in the war against Islamic State, having elected not to join the other 10 Middle Eastern
countries that assembled in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, earlier this month to announce the coalition with the Americans. Turkish leaders say their principal aim is to provide humanitarian aid to the thousands of refugees that have poured across their country’s borders, though there is widespread agreement that the Turks are engaged in supporting the military operation from behind the scenes. Similarly, Qatar is playing what the Reuters news agency described as a “supporting role,” which means that it will not be visibly deploying military force against Islamic State, in stark contrast to Arab neighbors like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, all of whom have participated in bombing runs against Islamic State positions in Syria in recent days. I also include Iran in that category. Iran, again, is not a formal participant in the U.S.-led coalition, but Washington has been keen to emphasize that Tehran shares western disquiet at the rise of Islamic State. And Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was quick to point out, in media interviews during his visit to New York for the U.N. General ALLIES on page xx
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
But first we must perfect ourselves: not only our nation, but our community, not only our community but our family, and not only our family but ourselves. A disciple once approached Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, (1800-1870) founder of the Ethicist (Mussar) Movement in Judaism, seeking permission to spread the ethical and moral message of the Master to Germany and Austria. The rabbi responded: “And is the City of Salant so imbued with my teachings that you can afford to leave Lithuania? And is the street on which you live so morally inspired that you can teach in another community? And is your own family so careful in their conduct that you can preach to other families? And what about you, my beloved disciple? Are you on such a high level of ethical integrity that no one could criticize you? And so Rosh Hashanah ushers in a ten-day period of repentance and introspection when we must be mindful of the need to perfect the world, but we must first attempt to perfect ourselves. Rosh Hashanah is the day on which the world was born, but it is also the “day of judgment,” when everyone passes before the Almighty to be evaluated and judged, when each of us must evaluate and judge ourselves from the perspective of Divine standards. Yom Kippur may be a historic and national day of forgiveness, a day on which we invoke our Holy Temple as a “House of Prayer for all nations,” but it is first and foremost a day in which the individual stands in isolation from the world in the presence of the Divine. No food, no drink, no sexual relationship – with almost the entire day to be spent in G-d’s house. Each of us rids ourselves of all materialistic encumbrances, separates ourselves from physical needs and blandishments, enters a no-man’s land between heaven and earth, between life and death, dons the non-leather shoes worn by the mourner, and in effect feels what it’s like to mourn for oneself asking what legacy would I leave, were I to be taken from the world today? And then comes Sukkot. For one week leave your fancy surroundings, go back to basics. Spend
seven days with your family in a simple hut. Remember that “when familial love is strong, a couple can sleep on the edge of a sword; but when familial love has gone sour, a bed of sixty miles does not provide sufficient room” (B.T. Sanhedrin 7a). Forget the televisions and videos; bring the special guests of the Bible into your simple but significant space, commune with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Lea, Miriam, Deborah and Ruth. Introduce them – rather than Michael Jackson and Madonna – to your children, and sing and speak and share together. Remember – and communicate – that important is values not venues, content not coverings, inner emotions and not external appearances. And let the sukkah lead you to Simhat Torah to the love and joy of Torah, which will help form the kind of individuals and families who can build communities and ultimately change the world. 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: SUKKOT 1. What event did King Shlomo celebrate during Sukkot? a.) Beginning of his reign b.) Dedication of the Holy Temple c.) Peace from all his enemies 2. What is another name for the month of Tishrei? a.) Seventh month b.) Month of Holiness c.) Month of the strong ones 3. What did Shlomo do that his father David could not? and values which is also a message of Sukkot 5. B Kohelet is the son of David King of Jerusalem
EFRAT Israel - This magnificent three-week festival period – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot – may be viewed and experienced in two dimensions simultaneously; the universalist, nationalist dimension, and the particularistic, individual – family dimension. Rosh Hashanah is the day of which the world was born, when the sighsob truah sound of the shofar cries out against the tragedies and injustices of an imperfect world and the sharp, joyous tekiyah sound reminds us of our responsibility – and ability – to help perfect the world in the Kingship of G-d by conveying the moral message of ethical monotheism, a G-d who demands justice, compassion and peace. On Yom Kippur the Almighty declares His readiness to forgive the nation Israel of its great sins – the idolatrous golden calf, the faithless cowardice of the scouts with the vision of our Holy Temple reaching out to all of humanity, “For My house is a House of Prayer for all nations”. (Isaiah 56: 7) Sukkot is the climax of the season, taking us out of our egocentric, partisan lives and ordaining that we surround ourselves with fruits of the Land of Israel living beneath a roof of vegetation through whose spaces we look up at the stars. Seventy bullocks were sacrificed in the Holy Temple during the Sukkot Festival symbolizing the seventy nations of the world. Finally, Shemini Atzeret announces the onset of the rainy season: rain is after all a gift of G-d to the world. Shemini Atzeret moves into the uninhibited joy of Simhat Torah the Rejoicing of the Law, when all Torah Scrolls are taken out of the Holy Ark and become the focus of frenzied dancing not only in the synagogues but also outside, in the streets- the public domain to imbue the world with its message of “Thou shalt not murder” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” However, Judaism understands only too well that one dare not focus on humanity without concentrating on individuals. One cannot be a concerned universalist without hearing the cries of one’s next door neighbor. Yes, it is the Jewish mission to convey the message of ethical monotheism to a world. The people of the covenant must perfect the world in the Kingship of our Gd of justice, compassion and peace.
“when familial love is strong, a couple can sleep on the edge of a sword; but when familial love has gone sour, a bed of sixty miles does not provide sufficient room”
a.) Make peace treaties with all his enemies b.) Amass great wealth c.) Build the Holy Temple 4. Is there a direct connection of the Book of Ecclesiastes to Sukkot? a.) Yes b.) NO 5. Who wrote the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)? a.) Moshe b.) Shlomo c.) Job
3. C Kings I 8:19:21 4. B Kohelet discusses the futility of material possessions
by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
SHABBAT SHALOM: CHOL HAMOED SUKKOT
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. B Kings I 8:1,2 2. C Kings I 8:2
Sedra of the Week
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist At the Movies: Opens Friday, October 10 Violence of a fictional sort is the focus of “The Judge”. Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.), who has long been estranged from his father (Robert Duvall), and the rest of his family, returns to his hometown when his father, a judge, is suspected of murder. DAVID KRUMHOLTZ, 36, has a supporting role as Mike Kattan, a young prosecutor who challenges Hank’s moral views. Much lighter is the Disney flick, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” It follows 11-year-old Alexander as one calamity (like gum in his hair) follows another. Newcomer Ed Oxenbould plays Alex, with Jennifer Garner and Steve Carell playing his parents. Two other newcomers play Alexander’s 17-year old brother and 16-year-old sister. The film is based on the 1972 children’s book of the same name, written by JUDITH VIORST, now 83. The book sold two million copies and has already been the subject of an animated TV movie and hit stage musical version. In the book, Alex is five years old and has two older brothers (Nick and Anthony). Viorst and her husband of 54 years, well known political journalist and author MILTON VIORST, now 84, have three now-adult (successful) sons (you guessed right—the sons are named ALEX, NICK, and ANTHONY). After writing twelve well-received children’s books and other works for adults, Judith Viorst switched gears in the mid-70s and earned a graduate degree in psychology. Her psychology based books include “The Grown Up Marriage” (2003)— advice about how to make a marriage work. In 2003, she spoke to JWeekly, the San Francisco Jewish paper, about her marriage book. Viorst told JWeekly that Jewishness had been a source of cohesion for her. “Being a Jew has a family aspect for me,” Viorst said, “The family gathers here for the holidays. We know we are Jews, but I wouldn’t say it has necessarily shaped my views on marriage.” Publishers’ Weekly recently was on hand when Judith Viorst, along with her son Alex, now 47, and Alex’s wife and children, caught a private screening of “Very Bad Day.” Viorst called it an adorable movie” and she added that it was “clever”– the way that the filmmakers enlarged the scope of the book by focusing on Alexander’s upset over his family’s “not sufficiently sympathetic”
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reaction to his very bad day. Viorst, by the way, is the author of four “Alexander” books, the latest (“Alexander, Who’s Trying to Be the Best Boy Ever “) was published this past summer. The Makers Last year, PBS ran a wellreceived documentary (“Makers: Women Who Make America”) about important figures in the women’s movement (including the late BETTY FRIEDAN and GLORIA STEINEM, now 80). This documentary inspired a new, six-part series, focusing on important women in six discrete fields. Frankly, PBS publicity about this series has been poor or I would have alerted you sooner. The good news is that you can almost certainly catch-up with the first two episodes on-line, via on-demand, or when they are re-run later this year. New episodes air Tuesday nights (9pm) on most PBS stations. The Sept. 30 episode (“Women in Comedy”) explored the history of funny women and commentators included SARAH SILVERMAN, 43, and CHELSEA HANDLER, 39. The October 7 episode (“Women in Hollywood”) included commentary by LENA DUNHAM, 28, and director/writer NANCY MEYERS, 64; the upcoming October 14 episode (“Women in Space”) will almost certainly mention JUDITH RESNIK (19491986), the first woman Jewish astronaut. She died in the explosion of the Challenger shuttle. Also in this episode, of course, is the late Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Ride is the subject of new acclaimed biography by her friend, LYNN SHEER, 72, a well-known ABC journalist (“20/20”). Sheer recently talked to the Jewish paper, The Forward, about her own personal background. Sheer said: “I grew up in South Philadelphia and then we moved to the suburbs. We were Conservative. I went to Hebrew school and at Sunday school I was confirmed. We didn’t have bat mitzvahs then. I still don’t know what being confirmed meant…. My father (LOUIS “Red” SHERR) was a star basketball player for South Philadelphia High School. He also played for the University of Pennsylvania and the semi-pro South Philadelphia Hebrew Association team (SPHA), which played in the American Basketball League (a precursor of the NBA). EDDIE GOTTLIEB took many of the SPHA players to the Philadelphia Warriors (which he founded), although my father had stopped playing basketball by then.”
FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO The Congregation Ahabath Achim having a synagogue on Race Street, which is getting too small for them, the Board of Officers concluded to lay a plan before the congregation to build a new Synagogue, for which purpose a general meeting will take place December 25. The Board now consists of the following gentlemen: Samuel Hess, Esq., President; Joel H. Sternberg, VicePresident; J. Ray, W.B.G.; J. Amberg, Treasurer; and Louis Miller, Secretary. Betrothed: Miss Bertha Drucker and Mr. Morris Cohen, of this city. – November 4, 1964
125 Y EARS A GO There is a movement on foot among the ladies of Walnut Hills to raise a fund for the purpose of erecting a building to be used as a Sabbath School, a meeting place for the Ladies Sewing Society and perhaps as a chapel occasionally. The need of permanent quarters for the school and Sewing Society has been demonstrated long since. The ladies are agitating the matter enthusiastically and it is believed their efforts will be crowned with success. Miss Nonie Metzger, one of the young belles of Walnut Hills, was agreeably surprised by a party of her many friends on Friday evening last, before her departure for Kansas City, MO. She will be gone the greater part of the winter months. Regular services are held at the Hebrew Union College every Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock, the prayers being read by the younger students and the lectures delivered by the members of the senior and junior classes. The first service and lecture of the present term will be held next Saturday, Mr. Alex Geismar delivering the lecture. These services are, of course, open to the public, and might be of some interest to those desiring to learn something of the workings of the College and the results achieved by the students. – October 17, 1889
100 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Weil, of 668 Rockdale Avenue, Avondale, announce the engagement of their daughter, Helen, to Mr. Alvin Epstein. All of Cincinnati, O. Miss Hazel Jaffe entertained twenty of her young friends in honor of the celebration of her sixteenth birthday on Sunday, October 4, at the home of her parents on East Walnut Hills. Ferdinand Jacobs, fifty-seven, a well-known Cincinnati businessman, was drowned early last Sunday morning while fishing in Armstrong Lake, near Kenton, KY. Mr. Jacobs, only a few days ago, moved from
834 Rockdale Avenue into a new home at 3341 Reading Road. It had been his custom to go fishing Saturdays at Lake Armstrong and remain over Sunday. Sunday at 7 a.m., a farmer, living near the lake, found Jacobs dead in the lake at a shallow point. His watch had stopped at 2:20 a.m. and it is believed that at the hour Jacobs probably stumbled down the embankment, was rendered unconscious by hitting some obstruction, and thus drowned in the shallow water. Mr. Jacobs is survived by a widow, two daughters, and three sons, and two sisters, Mrs. Rudolph Jacobs of Cincinnati and Mrs. M. Harris of Wabash, Ind. – October 8, 1914
75 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs. Albert Segal announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Jackie, on Saturday, Oct. 21st, at 8:30 a.m. at the Avondale Synagogue, Rockdale and Washington Avenues. A reception for relatives and friends will be held at the home, 873, Lexington Avenue, Sunday, Oct. 22nd, from 8 to 11 p.m. No cards. The many friends of Mrs. William Rosenthal, who is confined at the Jewish Hospital, will be delighted to learn that she is improving sufficiently to warrant her return within a few weeks to her residence in Vernon Manor. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kanter of 730 Chalfonte Place will receive Sunday, Oct. 29th, from 8 to 11 p.m. in honor of the marraige of their daughter, Sylvia, to Mr. Leon Miller. – October 19, 1939
50 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs. Millard H. Mack (Helene E. King), of 2662 Vera Avenue, are the parents of a son, Jonathan King Mack, born Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Bethesda Hospital. The grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Herbert L. King of Roslyn Heights, Long Island, N.Y., Mr. William J. Mack Sr. of Cincinnati, and the late Mrs. Henry Segal. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Silverman, 1522 Corvailis Avenue, announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, Richard Alan, Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m., at Rockdale Temple. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to worship with the family and attend the Kiddush following the service. Richard is a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Silverman and Mrs. Anne Gilhooley, and of the late Mr. Rupert Gilhooley. The marriage of Miss Jane Ellen Felson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Felson, to Mr. Arthur Jerry Minton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Minton of Cincinnati, was solemnized Thursday, Oct. 1, at Rockdale
Temple. Rabbi Murray Blackman of Rockdale Temple and Rabbi Allan Tarshish of Glencoe, Ill., uncle of the bride, officiated. A reception followed. After a brief honeymoon, the couple will reside at 948 Ludlow Avenue, Cincinnati. Both will attend graduate school at the University of Cincinnati. – October 15, 1964
25 Y EARS A GO Dr. Richard M. Ransohoff and Margaret S. Seidler announce the birth of a daughter, Amy Julia, Sep. 30. Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Ransohoff and Mary Seidler of Cleveland. Mr .and Mrs. Stanely Diamond announce the engagement of their daughter, Lisa H., to Dr. Richard N. Speizer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Speizer of Jupiter, Fl. Lisa attended Ohio State University, where she received her bachelor of science degree in marketing. She is the public relations officer of Oakbrook Square Chiropractic Offices. Rick attended the University of Tampa and Life Chiropractic College, where he received his doctorate of Chiropractic. He has his practice in Atlanta. A February wedding in Cincinnati is planned. Dr. and Mrs. Michael Kreines (Leslie Siegel) announce the birth of a daughter, Abigail Elise (Abby), Oct. 4. Abby has two brothers, Brandon Abraham and Jeremy Robert. Grandparents are Dr. and Mrs. Tom Siegel and Dr. and Mrs. Ken Kreines. Great-grandmother is Evelyn Shulman. – October 19, 1989
10 Y EARS A GO Mary Lee and Louie Sirkin are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth Taryn, to Jeremy Richard Mason, son of Marilyn and Jon Mason, all of Cincinnati. Elizabeth is the granddaugther of the late Bess and Mike Shavzin and the late Belle and Albert Sirkin. Jeremy is the grandson of Ethel Segel and the late David Segel. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Michigan State University and received a Master of Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University. She expects to receive her Ph.D. in English Literature from Case Western Reserve University this spring. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University and received his law degree from the Ohio State University College of Law. He is an attorney with Mason, Schilling and Mason. A July wedding is planned. – October 28, 2004
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
FIRST PERSON / COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
This Year in Jerusalem: Holidays and healing This Year in Jerusalem
by Phyllis Singer First of all, after my column of Sept. 11 when I detailed my medical emergency in Chicago, I’d like readers to know that I am almost fully recovered from the surgery. Yom Kippur/Shabbat marked seven weeks since the surgery; the surgeon in Chicago told me I would be almost fully recovered after six weeks, so my recuperation is nearly complete. The only remnants of my ordeal are a cane that I’m still using to provide extra strength and balance since my abdominal muscles are not strong yet (not that they ever really were!), and I am still not lifting heavy objects. The holiday season has provided wonderful opportunities for my recovery: no stress for cooking or preparing for guests. I spent (and am still spending) much time with my family for holiday celebrations. Rosh Hashanah I was with them for three days – two days Rosh Hashanah (the only two-day holiday in Israel) and the Shabbat that immediately followed. Yom Kippur I stayed home and attended services at my synagogue across the street from my apartment. Also attending those Kol Nidre services were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family (who have attended Kol Nidre services there since he was elected in 2009) and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. President Reuven Rivlin attended Rosh Hashanah services there for the second day of the holiday, but I was on Kibbutz Merav. I will be with my family again for part of Sukkot – the first day and Shabbat – but I have not yet decided what I will do for Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah (one day combined here). In the meantime, however, noteworthy things are happening here. First of all, the weeklong Sukkot holiday is filled with activities throughout the country – trips, concerts, festivals – something for everyone. Just take your pick! And then the holidays will be
over, and life will return to normal – whatever that means! One of the most interesting events taking place in Jerusalem this week was the Tanakh [Bible] Study Circle, which Prime Minister Netanyahu hosted on Sunday at his official residence. Full name of the study group is the Shmuel Ben-Artzi Tanakh Study Circle, named after Sara Netanyahu’s late father, a renowned Israeli writer, educator and Bible scholar. The Tanakh Study Circle – held in cooperation with the Menachem Begin Heritage Center – was restarted by Netanyahu two years ago. Similar study circles were held by former Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin. According to Netanyahu’s media adviser, Sunday evening’s session focused on the upcoming weekly portion of Bereishit, which will be read on Saturday, Oct. 18. Participating in the session were Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron and the parents of the three youths who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas: Iris and Uri Yifrach, Rachel and Avi Frankel, and Ophir and BatGalim Sha'ar. At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu said: "We are preparing to celebrate Simchat Torah when we will conclude reading the Torah and begin it again. The cyclical nature of reading the Torah and starting it again from Genesis also symbolizes the renewal of our people in our land. Despite all attempts to destroy us, each time we build ourselves up again, deeply linked to also growing the tree called the Jewish People, with our deep roots and branches that reach ever higher. “I am always very moved by these meetings….In this house …we study [Tanakh] at least once a week. It is part of our experience and it is not for nothing that this Circle is named after my late father-in-law, Shmuel Ben-Artzi, a Tanakh scholar who saw the study and teaching of the Tanakh as his life's mission. He instilled this in generations of students and in his daughter, sons and grandsons.” Interesting comments coming from a non-religious prime minister! Unfortunately, media coverage was by pool only (Israel TV Channel 10, Jerusalem Post and Ynet), so I didn’t even have a chance to go! Another very interesting thing happening this week – detailed in a press release from
the Foreign Ministry – is Israel sending medical clinics to areas in Western Africa where there is a risk of infection with Ebola. According to the press release: “In response to requests by many governments, the secretary-general of the United Nations, the director-general of the World Health Organization, as well as Israeli and international aid organizations, the Foreign Ministry has decided to increase Israel’s contribution to the international effort to prevent the spreading of the Ebola epidemic. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has authorized MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation to send three mobile emergency clinics to areas in western Africa where there is a risk of infection with Ebola. “The clinics, which were manufactured in Israel, were built in accordance with stan-
dards and guidelines of the World Health Organization for the treatment of Ebola. A staff of medical experts will be attached to each clinic, and they will train the local practitioners in the operation of the clinic and its equipment. In addition, staff training will focus on preventing the spread of the disease and raising awareness among populations with high potential for infection. “An Israeli team has already been sent to Cameroon, where it was favorably received by the local authorities. The MFA also sent emergency equipment to the government of Sierra Leone and in recent weeks shipped personal protection equipment to teams of the African Union.” All this while Israel bashing takes place around the world! “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
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20 • FOOD
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Missouri: the “Show Me” state has shown me Wandering Jew
by Janet Steinberg You may never have been there. In fact, you may never have even heard of it. But according to map publisher Rand McNally, Jefferson, Missouri is their 2013 choice for “America’s Most Beautiful Small Town”. This hidden gem in Missouri’s crown is approximately midway between St. Louis and The Lake of the Ozarks. A tranquil small river town, on the southern side of the Missouri River, Jefferson City also happens to be the capital of the State of Missouri. The Missouri State Capitol complex, in itself, warrants a visit to Jefferson City. It is literally an art museum, a history museum, and a sculpture park. Resting on a limestone bluff on the south bank of the Missouri River, the current Capitol is the third to stand in Jefferson City. The first, built in 1826, served as a home for Missouri’s governors. Flames engulfed that building in 1837. The second, and much larger, Capitol building also burned in 1911. It was deemed one of the most spectacular fires in Missouri’s history. The present Capitol was officially dedicated on October 6, 1924. It was ruled that a $1-million surplus had to be used on the building. The result is a splendid collection of stained-glass, murals, carvings, and statuary portraying Missouri’s history, legends, and cultural achievements Perched atop the majestic dome of the Capitol building, 262-feet above ground level, is a statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain
and agriculture. Ceres, holding a sheaf of grain in her left hand, was selected as the patron goddess of Missouri because Missouri is a strong agricultural state. In 1935, the Missouri House of Representatives commissioned Missouri native Thomas Hart Benton to paint a mural on the four walls of the House Lounge, a large meeting room on the third floor in the Capitol’s west wing. With its bold and vivid scenes of every day Missouri life, the mural originally sparked controversy among the legislators. Surviving attempts to whitewash it, Benton’s “Social History of the State of Missouri” is now a source of pride and a popular stop for visitors touring the capital. The 13 panels of the mural function as a narrative, beginning on the north wall and finishing on the south wall. Six of the panels deal with Missouri’s history, two panels are social scenes, and three panels deal with legends associated with the state. Thomas Hart Benton, a man with a deep sense of the history of the American people, and one of the 20th century’s pre-eminent artists, left behind a legacy that will inform and inspire far beyond our times. The Missouri State Museum, on the ground floor of the Capitol building, houses an impressive collection of exhibits and dioramas that portray Missouri’s history, legends, and cultural achievements. One could spend hours strolling the Capitol grounds and admiring the sculptures surrounding the building. Included are the following: A 13-foot statue of Thomas Jefferson, for whom the capital city was named, rightfully stands upon the front steps of the capital. Jefferson was an accomplished writer, architect, scholar, and as the third President of the United States he was primarily responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. The “Mississippi River Statue”, a male figure representing the Mississippi River, is often called the “Father of the Waters”. He holds in his left hand the rudder of commerce and the anchor of a steamboat repre-
PART 3 OF A SERIES JEFFERSON CITY: “AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY” senting the significance of river trade. The caduceus in his right hand was the magic wand of Hermes, the God Travelers and Commerce. He rests upon a cornucopia, which symbolizes agriculture. The alligator by his knee is a reminder of what life is like on the southern portion of the river. The dolphin behind him is a symbol of good luck to travelers of the river, and the three smaller fish represent the river as a source of fishing and recreation. The Fountains of the Arts and Sciences, designed by Robert Aitken, are characterized by their dignity and simplicity. The fountain on the southeast side of the Capitol is the Fountain of the Sciences; to the southwest is the Fountain of the Arts. Aitken believed that the Arts and Sciences were the guardians of the welfare of the state, so these two fountains stand as sentinels on either side of the entrance to the Capitol. The Ten Commandments monument is located on the Capitol grounds to the north of the Capitol building near the Fountain of the Centaurs This stone marker was presented to the State of Missouri by The Missouri State Aerie Fraternal Order of the Eagles June 28, 1958. A block away from the Missouri State Capitol building is the Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, a significant rare surviving Missouri River Landing. The Lohman Building, built in 1839, is a sturdy stone structure that served as a tavern and a hotel. In its heyday, it also housed one of the city’s largest warehouse and mercantile businesses. Today, the main floor contains a visitor center with exhibits on transportation. Across the street from the Lohman Building is the Union Hotel, built in 1855. The hotel now houses the Elizaabeth Rozier Gallery with rotating exhibits that emphasize Missouri art and culture. Former first lady Mrs. John Dalton once called the 134-year-old Governor’s Mansion a “handclasp with history”. From its windows in 1911, Mrs. Hadley and her children watched the State Capitol go up in flames. Within its walls have been such notables as the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, General George Custer, British Prime Minister Edward Heath, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Harry Truman, William Jennings Bryan, Jefferson Davis, Vice-President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton. From St. Louis, to The Lake of the Ozarks, to Jefferson City, the “Show Me” state has certainly shown me! All I had hoped for… and more!
Succoth Memories Zell’s Bites
by Zell Schulman Though the days of awe have come and gone, and the strudel, honey cakes and Taiglach have been sent off to my childhood friends and my children living out of town, I am back in the kitchen getting ready for one of my favorite holidays called Succoth. The Jewish harvest festival better known as “ the feast of booths,” commemorates the temporary shelter our people built while living in the wilderness on their way to the promise land. Succoth is one of my favorite holidays. It is the holiday which highlights my emotional transition from the dog days of summer to preparing for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah, to the cool days of fall. As the leaves begin to turn, so too do my spiritual, emotional and physical self. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a succah. I was in my teens and would often spend weekends throughout the year at my grandmother Jacobs home in Avondale. It was on one of my visits where I was introduced to the holiday of Succoth and saw my first succah. The family next door were very religious and had built a succah. My grandmother’s backyard was small and most of the space was taken up by a huge acorn tree, which the squirrels loved but unfortunately there was not space to build a succah. Fortunately, her nextdoor neighbors would invite us over for lunch in their succah and allowed me to not only enjoy the Succoth holiday, but left me with wonderful memories. Our first family home was small but as our family grew from two children to four, we needed more room. So we moved to Amberly Village, where we had a large yard and a large patio where we built the first of many succahs. Over the years, we shared decorating our succah with several Russian families with whom we became close friends with, young adults with special needs from Holom House and relatives young and
old as well as our neighbors. Because the emphasis of Succoth is on fruits and vegetables of the season, we decorated our first two succahs with fresh fruits and vegetables along with beautifully colored gourds and tiny pumpkins. They were quickly eaten by the birds and the squirrels so I had to revert to plastic fruits and vegetables. We did a lot of parties in our succah. Today, when I go to the supermarket and see the bags of gourds and the tiny pumpkins, they bring back wonderful memories for me. Over the years, Ora Bennnet catered many of the parties we held in our succah. The following broccoli casserole became a favorite. BROCCOLI CASSEROLE Ora Bennet/ Kay Headly Ingredients 7-ounce package frozen broccoli spears 2 large eggs 1 7-ounce can mushroom soup 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese 1 1/2 cups Ritz crackers, crushed 1 stick of unsalted butter Salt & pepper to taste Method 1. Cook the broccoli according to the directions on the package. Drain the broccoli from the pan and place in the bottom of a greased 1-quart casserole. 2. In a medium bowl or in your food processor, place the eggs, mushroom soup, onion, mayonnaise and grated cheese together. Beat or pulse till smooth. 3. Empty into a 1-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the cheese melts. 4. Cover the broccoli with the sauce and spread the top evenly with the crushed Ritz crackers. Dot the top with small pieces of the butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes Zells Tips: I would crush the Ritz crackers by placing them on a clean linen dish towel and use a rolling pin back and forth over them. You may wish to add canned salmon and some sautéed mushrooms to this for a complete entrée.
AUTOS • 21
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
The BMW 3-Series is a classic sport sedan with modern flair The BMW 3-Series has classic sport-sedan proportions on the outside, with aggressive headlights, a modern take on the kidney grille, and flared air intakes. Inside, the BMW 3-Series' cabin is spacious for those in front, and roomy for cargo. The modern interior design makes good use of the space. This series offers the same basic 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine as found in the 328i. The next step up the ladder is the 328i, rated at 240 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque. The top-tier standard model
is the 335i, with a 3.0-liter turbocharged in-line six-cylinder rated at 300 horsepower and 300 poundfeet of torque. For those seeking better fuel economy, the 328d is the way to go, with 181 horsepower from a turbodiesel four-cylinder engine. Rear-wheel drive is standard on all sedan models, with available all-wheel drive. A six-speed manual transmission is also standard, with an available eight-speed automatic transmission as an upgrade. The 3-Series range delivers balanced, well-crafted handling and
dynamics, most notably in rearwheel-drive sedan form. The 335i models are the most potent, but the four-cylinder turbo in the 328i offers nearly as much speed and arguably more fun with better gas mileage. A 3-Series Sports Wagon is also available; all wagons come with standard all-wheel drive, and with one of two engines: the same 240-horsepower unit found in the 328i sedan, or the 181-horsepower four-cylinder diesel for 328d xDrive Sports Wagon models. All 3-Series Gran Turismo models also come with standard all-
wheel drive. Engines for the Gran Turismo range mirror those found in the 328i and 335i sedans. Pricing for the 2015 BMW 3Series can be daunting, but the flip side is that loads of a la carte options let you essentially build the car you want. Among the many luxury and technology options are: a head-up display (HUD), which is especially well-placed and useful here; a Cold Weather Package with heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and retractable headlight washers; a Driver Assistance
Package with Lane Departure Warning and Active Blind Spot Detection; and a Park Distance Control system (part of the Parking Package), which includes a rearview camera and the Side and Top View camera system. For 2015, the 3-Series lineup gets a number of minor trim and feature changes. Wood, leather, and other trim materials have changed in some cases; and functionality-wise, Bluetooth audio streaming is now included in all models.
Making the most of the R8 V10 Spyder's power is a quattro fourwheel drive system that distributes output variably to the front and rear axles by way of a viscous clutch. Along with aluminum double wishbones at the front and rear, the suspension features an 'Audi magnetic ride' adaptive damper system that can be configured to provide sporty driving dynamics or a softer ride. The latter is cushy enough that the R8 Spyder V10 could conceivably be used as a daily driver. The cabin matches the visual drama of the exterior thanks to details such as sweeping trim and a flat-bottomed steering wheel, and high-quality materials are employed throughout. Buyers looking for an even more luxurious experience can choose from a long list of optional extras, such as a
storage package, the Full Fine Nappa Leather package, and the Diamond Stitch Full Leather package. Navigation and entertainment
functions are accessed through Audi's MMI system, and it uses a standard voice command system. The Audi Spyder starts at $129,400.
Audi Spyder convertible The R8 V10 Spyder is the convertible version of Audi 's midengined, 10-cylinder R8 supercar. As with its fixed-roof sibling, the R8 V10 Spyder is based on the same platform as the Lamborghini Gallardo and features an excellent balance of extreme performance and docile around-town driving manners. For those seeking a more affordable everyday exotic, Audi offers coupe and drop-top versions of the R8 with a V8. For the latest model year, the R8 V10 Spyder gains available painted red brake calipers, a Quilted Leather package in silver, a diamond-stitched Alcantara headliner and a sport exhaust option. The R8 V10 Spyder builds on the exotic appearance and midengine proportions of the V8 model with larger side air intakes, more
aggressive side sills and upsized wheels. Revised headlights, taillights, bumpers and other minor stylistic updates help the consumer tell the latest model apart from its predecessor. Notably, The V10 Spyder does without the aluminum "side blades" that distinguish fixedroof R8s; other differences from the coupe include additional air intakes located behind the seats and safety roll bars As the supercar's name suggests, it's powered by a 5.2-liter V10. The mill produces 525 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 391 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm in addition to maximum engine speed of a staggering 8,700 rpm. With the dual-clutch fitted, the R8 is capable of hitting 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.6 seconds. Top speed is quoted at 193 mph.
22 • OBITUARIES
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NIF from page 7 body’s heard of is the New Israel Fund.” But Gerald Steinberg, a founder of NGO Monitor, a sharp critic of NIF, said the organization’s new course amounted to “rebranding” in part to court big donors. “It’s a way to move the organization toward the consensus and away from the fringe,” he said. Under assault from the right since the early 2000s for backing a handful of groups identified with Israel’s nonZionist left, NIF officials until now have largely ignored the criticism. Spokesmen deflected attention by emphasizing that the bulk of NIF funding is for less objectionable social action, including protection for victims of domestic violence, pluralism, poverty and interreligious understanding. Those tactics did not help and now NIF – a group that for decades preferred the shadows and relinquishing PARTISAN from page 7 policies important to Jews. The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) are both helping their
the spotlight to its beneficiaries – earns regular derisive mentions by rightwing columnists. It’s also been the subject of Knesset hearings on proposed limits on how groups like NIF spend their money. But now NIF and its grantees are embracing the symbols and rhetoric used by the right to great effect. The Council for Peace and Security, which is slated to receive at least $200,000 under the new initiative, enlists hardened former security heavyweights such as ex-Mossad boss Meir Dagan and ex-military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi to articulate blistering critiques of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. And this month Molad, a think tank poised to take in at least $300,000 under the new initiative, published an expose showing that the bulk of government funding for housing development on Israel’s periphery (the Negev, the Galilee and the West Bank) goes to
settlements and institutions affiliated with the national religious camp and not to the Negev and Galilee, nor to the haredi Orthodox sector. Mikhael Manekin, the managing director of Molad, called the report “oppo research” and noted the coverage it earned in the haredi press. The goal, he said, is not just “to critique what is happening in the country, but to replace the current government” by partnering with sectors not usually cultivated by the left, including the haredim. Peter Beinart, a vocal critic of Israeli policies who is also a Zionist, said embracing politics and taking the struggle to the streets is what the right wing has done for years. “If you look at the way they built conservative institutions in the U.S. and Israel, the wisdom is to go for the long haul,” Beinart said. “Taking a more aggressive and political response is important.”
parties get out the vote. “I think there’s no question that support for Israel will, I think, increase dramatically with the Republican leadership in the Senate,” Matthew Brooks, executive director of the RJC and the Jewish Policy Center think tank, told JNS. “[This is] mostly because so much of what [Senate] Majority Leader Harry Reid has been doing is bottling up critical legislation, including pressuring members of his own party to not support bi-partisan legislation for enhanced sanctions on Iran.” “I think it will be very clear that a top priority of the Republicans, if we get the Senate, would be to follow the lead of the House, which has already passed enhanced sanctions, and give the opportunity for Sen. [Mark] Kirk (R-Ill.) and [Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert] Menendez (D-N.J.) to get their critical legislation through the Senate and to the president,” Brooks added. Brooks also pointed to the August battle in the Senate to pass emergency funding for Israel to replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system’s supply of interceptor rockets. Though the funding passed unanimously minutes before the Senate adjourned for its
August recess, Democrats included the Iron Dome assistance in a broader emergency appropriations bill that included funds for fighting fires in Oregon as well as funding requested by Obama to handle the influx of illegal immigrants from Central America. At the time, Republicans called for a separate bill for Iron Dome funding. “Those kind of shenanigans, at a time when Israel was in the middle of a critical battle in which they needed to have strong support from America, [prove that] Majority Leader Reid would rather have played domestic politics than help Israel,” said Brooks. “In the end we got there, but that kind of stuff, I think, is not going to happen when it’s [the job of] Majority Leader [Mitch] McConnell (R-Ky.), who was one of the strong voices pushing Harry Reid to free up the $250 million emergency appropriation [for the Iron Dome].” Rabbi Jack Moline, executive director of the NJDC, does not believe Republicans will take control of the Senate, citing races in states such as Georgia, where Democrats are relying on an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort among a growing demographic of young and non-white voters to deliver Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn with retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss’s (R) seat. “I think bicameral Republican [majorities] in Congress will be problematic for the social issues that are of concern to 70 percent of the Jewish community,” Moline told JNS. “I think it’s a pretty fair bet that you will see attempts to stymie meaningful immigration reform, you’ll see attempts to further restrict the ability for women to control their own healthcare. I think you will find problematic approaches to religion in government from a Jewish perspective. I think that initiatives to create equal pay for equal work and to raise the minimum wage would be frustrated by a philosophy by an economy that is more identified with the Republicans than the Democrats.”
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