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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Congregation Shaa’rei Torah moves into new building Congregaton Shaa’rei Torah has completed construction on their new building, and made their big move this past weekend. They’ve already davened their first Shachrit there, and are looking forward to davening Rosh Hashanah together in their new facility. On Friday, September 19, the congregation and other mem-
bers of the community danced with the Torahs from the home of the Zimmermans up to the new building, with Mincha and Shabbat evening services following the processional. On Motzei Shabbat, September 20th, people gathered for a "packing party" at 9:30pm, which was followed by their Annual Meeting and
Selichot, which began at 10:30pm. They boxed up all their siddurim, chumashim, toys and supplies so that these items were ready to be moved first thing Sunday morning. Shaa’rei Torah is excited to embark on this new and very exciting chapter in the life of their congregation.
Anti-semitism alive and well in the Tri-State area By Beth Kotzin Assistant Editor If you were driving on US 25 and Mount Zion Road in Florence last week, you probably noticed signs up for the Senate candidacy of Robert Ransdell. But these weren’t ordinary political ads. These signs depicted the anti-semitic slogan “With Jews, We Lose,” which is the platform Ransdell is running on. Ransdell is running for the Senate in Kentucky, and is the Cincinnati leader of the National Alliance, a white supremacy group. When he put up his signs, he did not have the permission of the property owner, and so fortunately they were taken down, although he still plans to put up 200 more. Ransdell claims he’s getting positive feedback online, and while he knows he has no chance to win this election, he
still wants to throw his views into the ring. This is a man who wants the world to know about “the Jewish role in America’s decline,” “the Jewish controlled and manipulated American electoral system,” and firmly states should his campaign come to fruition that “no Jew will be permitted to host or anchor any news program or TV show or appear in any movie. No Jew will be permitted to be a writer, producer, or in any other way have any role in producing news or entertainment programming of any kind. No Jew will be permitted to be a writer or an editor for any newspaper or magazine. In fact, it will be debated whether or not a Jew will be permitted to own a ball point pen while still in a White country.” Drea, a resident of Northern Kentucky, was driving home from work when she saw
Ransdell’s signs and immediately grabbed her phone to call Channel 5. Her gut reaction to the signs was, “Seriously? I have to put up with this in 2014?” Drea says she’s no stranger to racism in her life, and that it is not tolerable in this day and age to discrimate against anyone, whether it’s race, religion, or sexual preference. “My mother raised me to be ‘gray’,” says Drea. “I am a Christian woman, raised by a Christian woman, and I will stand up to fight this kind of discrimation. It is not acceptable!” Drea pointed out that the signs were taken down, and no new ones have yet to spring up. “People still don’t understand - this is wrong.” said Drea. “I’m sorry the Jewish community has to go through this.”
‘Bird Shabbat’ at Congregation Ohav Shalom On Friday evening, August 29th, the wings of the shechinah could be felt over Ohav Shalom as one hundred congregants from Ohav and B’nai Tzedek came together to celebrate “Bird Shabbat”. The evening started with a joyous Shabbat service filled with ruach as participants from both synagogues led various prayers in Hebrew and in English. There was a spontaneous hora with dancers winding through the sanctuary aisles to the lively Lecha Dodi melody. In addition, the newly formed “Pri Yedeiah” all-female choir led the attendees in moving renditions of the Ma’ariv
psalms. Under the direction of Barbara Taggart-Millberg, this group made up of women from both synagogues elevated the tefillah with their lively tunes. As congregants and guests filed out of the sanctuary after the spirited service, they were met with bird centerpieces, bird decor and an edible bird’s nest complete with small “egg” as the appetizer course. After hearing Kiddush recited by a founding B’nai Tzedek member Ray Kantor, motzi was said and the meal began. As guests dined on a festive Shabbat meal, they listened to Youth & Family Program Director, Chava Vidal, who welcomed all and explained what
“Bird Shabbat” was all about. “A bird’s-eye view of the year’s events” said Vidal “as depicted on the length of the social hall wall in the shape of an enormous tree with leaves listing each event. The climax of the year’s events will come on June 8, 2015 when members climb aboard the big silver bird (ElAl) and fly to Israel for a tenday synagogue tour.” Spontaneous applause followed this announcement and a delightful evening was had by all. For more information about the Israel Trip or Friday night services please call Ohav Shalom.
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Cedar Village to begin grief support group Cedar Village Hospice is starting a new initiative – a Grief Support Group. In line with the vision of providing comfort and care to the greater community, Rabbi Binyomin Yudin, Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator with Cedar Village Hospice, is plan-
ning a 12-week program beginning Monday, October 20. Each session will be one hour and will be led by Rabbi Yudin and other professionals. The new support group is for individuals who are grieving the loss of their loved ones. Rabbi Yudin has a Masters in
Social Work from the University of Cincinnati and is a licensed therapist. One of his specialties is dealing with processing grief and its implications. “This 12week program is open to any individual in the community of all any faith who has lost a loved one and feels it would be
beneficial for dealing with either recent or past losses,” he commented. For more information, please contact Rabbi Yudin at Cedar Village.
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The American Israelite “LET THERE BE LIGHT” THE OLDEST ENGLISH-JEWISH WEEKLY IN AMERICA - EST. JULY 15, 1854
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Mitzvah Mornings at Wise Temple Mitzvah Day has become an important institution across Jewish communities in both the US and the UK. For those unfamiliar, a Mitzvah Day is a concerted effort by a congregation or the local Jewish community to participate, as a whole, in the holy act of tikkun olam, repairing the world. While Mitzvah Day is a great opportunity for Jews of all ages to get involved in acts of social justice and loving kindness, many in our community are looking for more regular opportunities to volunteer. Doing mitzvot is an important part of our every-day lives and that’s why Wise Temple is introducing a new program called Mitzvah Mornings.
Several Sunday mornings throughout the year Wise Temple will be hosting Mitzvah Mornings, a time when members from our community will come together and do something good for others. On our first-ever Mitzvah Morning on Sunday, September 21, Wise members were invited to drop by Wise Center and participate in several projects, dedicating as little as twenty minutes or as much time as the whole morning to help those less fortunate. Sunday mornings at Wise Center are already generally very lively on account of our active religious school and Mitzvah Mornings added a new kind of energy, bringing children and seniors
together under one roof to work together towards a common goal. One of the community mitzvah projects this past Sunday was a collaboration with Lighthouse Youth Services to assemble care packages for children in need in Cincinnati. As a part of their preparation for becoming b’nai mitzvah, the seventh grade students worked shoulder-to-shoulder with adults to make blankets, pack lunches and write inspirational notes for the children of Lighthouse Youth Services, many of whom are close in age to our seventh graders. Having the seventh grade involved in this Mitzvah
Morning was important because it was a peer-to-peer experience; one child reaching out to another, trying to understand a difficult situation and, at the same time, learning about the essential Jewish value of hesed, compassion. Although none of our students may ever have to experience the kind of trauma and crisis that splits families and leaves children homeless or in foster care, it is important for the students to be able to empathize with the struggles of other children their own age and be inspired to do what they can to help. Drop by Wise Center for the next Mitzvah morning on Sunday, October 26th, 2014.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 1 TISHREI 5775 SHABBAT BEGINS FRIDAY 7:12 PM SHABBAT ENDS SATURDAY 8:13 PM THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE CO., PUBLISHERS 18 WEST NINTH STREET, SUITE 2 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2037 Phone: (513) 621-3145 Fax: (513) 621-3744 publisher@americanisraelite.com editor@americanisraelite.com production@americanisraelite.com RABBI ISAAC M. WISE Founder, Editor, Publisher, 1854-1900 LEO WISE Editor & Publisher, 1900-1928 RABBI JONAH B. WISE Editor & Publisher, 1928-1930 HENRY C. SEGAL Editor & Publisher, 1930-1985 PHYLLIS R. SINGER Editor & General Manager, 1985-1999 MILLARD H. MACK Publisher Emeritus NETANEL (TED) DEUTSCH Editor & Publisher
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Greater Cincinnati. The group flight, sleeping accommodations, all meals, transportation and program activities are generously paid for by the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati for Jewish teens who qualify. This trip is organized by the Mayerson JCC, in partnership with the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. Israel travel grants for the March of the Living are administered by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Those who have already used their Israel travel grant may attend for a fee. There will be an information session for parents and teens about the trip on Wednesday, October 15 at 7pm at the home of Sarah Kanter. For more information about this session or for more details about the March of the Living trip, please contact Abby Solomon or visit the Mayerson JCC website.
Est. 1854
brate Yom Haatzmaut (Israel's Independence Day). They will visit some of the most holy and iconic sites such as the Western Wall in Jerusalem, climb Mt. Masada, float in the Dead Sea, ride a camel in the desert, shop in ancient marketplaces and even spend a night in a Bedouin tent. “March of the Living is such a unique opportunity to grow and learn so much about yourself and your Jewish identity, something that is crucial before graduating from high school and moving on to that next step in life,” states Abby Solomon, Cincinnati Delegation Head. “These two weeks of travel are so rich with history, emotion, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Each day brings forward a new encounter that has the potential to change you- to transform your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings,” she explains. The 2015 March of the Living trip is an excused absence in most schools in
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moments for me was when we had a small ceremony before leaving Birkenau,” she recalls. “We were standing in a place where thousands of people had died and where the Nazis had strived to erase the Jewish population entirely. Yet, 14 teenagers stood there, arm in arm, and sang in memory of those who had died and celebrated the fact that there were survivors.” The climax of the week in Poland is a march from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Memorial Day. The march is designed to contrast with the death marches where countless numbers of Jews walked on their way to the gas chamber. After spending a week in Poland visiting other sites of Nazi Germany's persecution and former sites of Jewish life and culture, the Cincinnati delegation will travel to Israel where they will observe Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Remembrance Day) and cele-
JANET STEINBERG Travel Editor
ewish N h-J ew lis
Jewish high school seniors are invited to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors in a once in a lifetime, all expenses paid, two-week trip to Poland and Israel from April 12 – April 26, 2015. The March of the Living trip brings together over 12,000 Jewish teens, from all over the world, to observe Holocaust Memorial Day and celebrate Israel’s Independence Day. Prior to traveling to Poland and Israel, students spend time learning about the Holocaust and Israel. This preparatory program, sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education allows students to connect with one another and learn basic concepts and knowledge to prepare them for their journey. The Cincinnati delegation will spend a week exploring Poland, meeting Survivors, and learning about the Holocaust. Lauren Rosenston, 2014 Cincinnati Delegation member, described her time in Poland, “One of the most powerful
YOSEFF FRANCUS Copy Editor
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JCC invites Cincinnati teens to attend March of the Living
BETH KOTZIN SAUNI LERNER Assistant Editors
THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE (USPS 019-320) is published weekly for $44 per year and $1.00 per single copy in Cincinnati and $49 per year and $2.00 per single copy elsewhere in U.S. by The American Israelite Co. 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE, 18 West Ninth Street, Suite 2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2037. The views and opinions expressed by the columnists of The American Israelite do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the newspaper.
LOCAL • 5
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Cincinnati college students intern locally and abroad As the pumpkin spice lattes and apples and honey come back into season, signaling the end of summer, Cincinnati college students head back to their respective universities having enjoyed life-changing internship experiences. Two programs, Onward Israel and the Workum internship program, had a profound impact. “My experience in Israel was nothing short of amazing,” said Onward Israel participant Aaron Frankel, a student at the University of Southern California who interned at a consulting firm that focuses on high-tech and life-science startups. “Actually living in Israel and being on my own (with some great people from Cincinnati) has really let me see a different side of Israel.” Through Onward Israel, 24 Cincinnati college students spent their summer interning in Tel Aviv at no cost to them, thanks to Israel travel grants. The students interned at a wide variety of companies, in industries from music and dance to technology.. “I have had the opportunity to go to schools and teach kids baseball for the first time in their lives, and I
have had the distinction of helping out the National Team as they prepared for the European Championships in Slovenia,” said Onward Israel participant Aaron Goldhoff, a student at the University of Arizona who interned at the Israel Association of Baseball. “It feels like I am helping to do something truly good for one of the first times in my life.” Back home in Cincinnati, 10 Cincinnati college students participated in the annual Workum summer internship program. They interned at Jewish agencies all over the city, learning about our Jewish community behind-the-scenes, and gaining valuable workplace skills. “The Workum experience taught me that professional development comes about with personal growth,” said Jay Burgin, a student at Denison University who interned at Isaac M. Wise Temple this summer. “I learned a lot about the job, my duties, and the agency, but I also learned my strengths and weaknesses. I learned how to interact with other professionals and how to prioritize my learning.” This year, the program was
under the direction of Sammy Kanter, the Jewish Federation’s Esther and Maurice Becker Networking and Mentoring Coordinator. Under Kanter, the program expanded to connect the students with Jewish young adults and the city of Cincinnati. The Workum interns participated in networking events with other interns across the city and a special workshop with JVS Career Services. “I think working at the Jewish Foundation made me especially aware of the Cincinnati Jewish community,” said Genevieve Pecsok, a student at Washington University in St. Louis. “I saw that the opportunities in our Jewish community are continually expanding, and that Cincinnati offers many, many different ways to explore our Judaism. It is comparable to larger cities all over the U.S., and that's something to be proud of.” The Jewish Federation’s Esther Becker Center is now accepting applications for the 2015 Workum and Onward Israel summer internship programs. “I will say that the people on this trip have been the best part,” said
From L to R: Sammy Kanter; Workum interns Jay Burgin, Anna Fagin, and Genevieve Pecsok; and Workum board member Connie Dreyfoos
Onward Israel participant Emily Gilgoff, a student at Ohio University who interned at a theatre company, English on Stage. “Words don’t describe how lucky I feel to have been here in Israel, and I really encourage others to apply for this program.” Workum interns had similar feedback.
“The Workum internship instilled a sense of pride in me. Pride in my city, pride in my temple, and pride in my Judaism,” said Burgin. “I will move forward in my professional development with a strong sense of where I came from.”
Former Cincinnatian Michael Bassin helped keep Steven Sotloff’s Jewish identity from ISIS Michael Bassin, son of Gayna and Jeff Bassin of Cincinnati, played a crucial role in keeping American journalist Steven Sotloff’s Jewish and Israeli identity from ISIS. Sotloff had dual American and Israeli citizenship. Bassin was recruited by Gregg Roman, a friend of the Sotloff’s and director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Pittsburgh. Roman assembled this group of friends and various web experts for one mission: to clean the internet of any mention that Sotloff was Jewish or Israeli. The belief was that had ISIS discovered Sotloff’s background, they would assume he was a spy and execute him quickly. Volunteers worked in shifts to monitor the internet around the clock, and the group swiftly contacted American media outlets to remove any reference to Sotloff's Jewish background. The effort also went far beyond media
accounts. The volunteer group asked friends of Sotloff to remove tags of him in Facebook photos, and it successfully petitioned Facebook to remove Sotloff's profile, Roman said. Bassin says the fact that Sotloff was kept alive for a year gave his fellow volunteers the feeling that they could still do something even after his captivity was made public. In fact, Sotloff's captors may not have known about his Jewish and Israeli identity. An Israeli news channel aired a taped conversation with a man it identified as a recently released French captive held along with Sotloff. The man said Sotloff's Jewish identity was secret during their time in captivity together. On September 2, when IS released a video of Sotloff's beheading, his executioner made clear that his death was in response to US strikes on Islamic
State militants - there was no mention of Sotloff's religion or Israeli citizenship. Thus, in the end, Bassin
believes his group spared Sotloff from being killed for his religion. "Steven was brutally executed," Bassin says. "But at the very
least he was not executed because he was a Jew."
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NATIONAL • 7
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Israeli envoy: Nuclear Iran is a ‘thousand times’ more dangerous than ISIS By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – Saying a nuclear Iran would be a “thousand times” greater threat to the world than ISIS, Israel’s ambassador to the United States warned against including Iran in any coalition to derail the jihadist group. Ron Dermer, speaking Wednesday to guests at a pre-Rosh Hashanah reception at his residence in suburban Maryland, also cautioned the U.S. against accommodating Iran during the current effort to degrade ISIS. His urgent tone was the latest sign of a split between the Obama and Netanyahu governments over how to deal with Iran’s role in stopping ISIS, which is seizing swaths
of Iraq and Syria. Dermer noted the presence of Obama administration officials at the event and praised the American president for leading a coalition to defeat the terror group. He said, however, that Iran must not be a partner in this effort. “Now I know there is still some absurd talk in certain quarters about Iran being a partner in solving problems in the Middle East,” Dermer said. “They are not a partner, they were not a partner, they never will be a partner. Iran as a nuclear power is a thousand times more dangerous than ISIS.” Iran has assisted the Iraqi and Syrian governments, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Iran and the United States
should communicate — but not coordinate — their respective efforts in the battle against ISIS. Kerry said earlier this week that such communication could take place on the sidelines of nuclear talks currently underway between the major world powers and Iran. The Iranians have resisted such overtures, apparently holding out for an elevated level of cooperation. Israeli officials have said that any cooperation with Iran would be counterproductive. “The [nuclear] talks are going in the wrong direction,” Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s intelligence minister, said in a statement Wednesday emailed to reporters. “We support the coalition ENVOY on page 22
Courtesy of Israel Embassy
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida greeting Israel's U.S. ambassador, Ron Dermer, at a Jewish New Year celebration hosted by Dermer in Chevy Chase, Md., Sept. 17, 2014.
ISIS-inspired lone wolves seen as posing ‘significant’ threat to Jews By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – Jewish institutions, which have faced attacks in recent years by lone wolves — extremists who draw their inspiration from the like-minded but act on their own — now must be wary of returnees from the IraqSyria arena who are trained and indoctrinated by the jihadist group ISIS, top security consultants told JTA. ISIS has “not only stated intentions to form a caliphate, but named U.S. and Jewish people as targets specifically,” said John Cohen, who until earlier this year was an under-
National Briefs Arab Bank never financed terrorism, its lawyer tells Brooklyn trial NEW YORK (JTA) – A lawyer for Arab Bank, which is accused of providing financial services to Hamas, told a Brooklyn federal court that the bank never helped finance terrorism. Nearly 300 U.S. citizens – the victims or relatives of victims of 24 attacks that Hamas allegedly carried out in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank between 2001 and 2004 – filed their suit against the Jordan-based bank in 2004. The U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act allows victims of U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, like Hamas, to seek compensation. Orthodox synagogue in L.A. ready to hire first female clergy member (JTA) – Congregation B’nai David-Judea, an Orthodox syna-
secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of Homeland Security. “There’s a significant threat to Jewish communities.” The threat became evident with revelations that Mehdi Nemmouche, the suspect in the May 24 shooting attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels that killed four people, had allegedly been active with ISIS in Syria. It’s not yet clear if Nemmouche was acting on orders and, if so, whether the orders came from ISIS. Cohen, now a professor at Rutgers University’s Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security, said that when
Nemmouche was arrested during a customs inspection of a bus in France, firearms were found wrapped in an ISIS flag. Also, a journalist held captive by ISIS has identified Nemmouche as one of his captors. Paul Goldenberg, director of the Secure Community Network, which works with national and local Jewish community groups on security issues, said the Brussels attack raised red flags for Jews throughout the world. “Their first mark outside of the theater” of combat “was a Jewish institution, and it wasn’t even an Israeli institution,” Goldenberg
said. “They didn’t attack an embassy, a consulate or NATO headquarters. These are people who are not only inspired but are well trained, potentially equipped and potentially coming back to the Americas. Those are the ones who have us concerned.” SCN is an arm of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has estimated that more than 100 Americans have fought or are fighting with ISIS, which is also known as Islamic State or ISIL.
Cohen and Goldenberg said that many American Jewish institutions have been trained and equipped for lone wolf attacks and are positioned to fend off strikes organized from abroad. Most recently, in the April shooting attack on a Jewish community center in suburban Kansas City, lockdown procedures are believed to have kept the assailant out of the building, limiting fatalities to two people outside. “In many respects the Jewish community, because of the work that we’ve done over the years, the
gogue in Los Angeles, said it is planning to hire its first female clergy member. The hire would be a first among Orthodox synagogues in Los Angeles, the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles reported. The congregation recently retained Alissa Newborn, 25, a student at the New York-based seminary Yeshivat Maharat, for a one-year “kehilla intern” position. The position involves addressing the full congregation on Shabbat and teaching at events with groups from within the congregation. Orthodox groups have condemned ordaining female clergy members in the past. Nonetheless, Yeshivat Maharat, which may be the only Orthodox institution in the world with a female ordination program, has placed five of its graduates and eight of its current students, including Newborn, in jobs and internships at eight Orthodox synagogues in the United States and one in Montreal.
against Jews and Muslims soared in New York City amid the Gaza conflict. The increase in the hate crimes began in early July, when news reports of the conflict between Israel and Hamas became frontpage news in the United States, according to Michael Osgood, deputy chief of the New York Police Department, The Associated Press reported. Prior to the conflict, reports of hate crimes against Jews and Muslims had been down in 2014, The Associated Press reported. The NYPD reported that hate crimes against Jews jumped to 18 per month from eight. Also, 14 of the 17 reported attacks against Muslims this year came after the start of Gaza war. Osgood said the attacks were random and impulsive, and not committed by organized gangs. In 2014, there have been 89 hate crime attacks against Jews, up from 64 the previous year. Seven attacks were reported against Muslims all of last year. According to the NYPD, hate crimes in general are up 17 percent in 2014 over last year.
Hasidic candidate loses in New York statewide race NEW YORK (JTA) — A man believed to be the first Hasidic candidate to run for any statewide office conceded in a close race for the New York State Assembly. Aron Wieder, 40, of Spring Valley, conceded Wednesday night, The New York Jewish Week reported. He lost by 61 votes in a three-way Democratic primary race for the Assembly’s 98th District won by Elisa Tutini.
“You got one little Jewish radical scaring the pants off you,” Robertson said. “What is wrong with the Air Force, how can they fly the bombers to defend us if they cave to one little guy?” Weinstein in a response to Robertson on The Friendly Atheist website wrote, “Pat Robertson is to human dignity and sanity and integrity and character what dog waste is to a fine French restaurant on the menu.”
Hate crimes against Jews, Muslims rose sharply in NYC during Gaza fighting (JTA) – Suspected hate crimes
Robertson dubs religious rights group founder ‘little Jewish radical’ WASHINGTON (JTA) – Pat Robertson called an activist for religious freedoms in the military a “little Jewish radical” in condemning the U.S. Air Force for making “so help me God” an optional part of its oath. Robertson in a Sept. 18 commentary on his Christian Broadcasting Network was referring to Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. He also misidentified the foundation as “People Against Religion.
ISIS on page 22
Brooklyn Jewish agency getting nearly $500,000 for Sandy repairs WASHINGTON (JTA) – A New York Jewish agency was awarded almost $500,000 in federal funding to repair damages from Superstorm Sandy nearly two years ago. Last Friday, FEMA allocated an additional $482,500 to the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island in Brooklyn. The Federal Emergency Management Agency originally had allotted $1,860 for the council to fix the devastation to its buildings from the October 2012 hurricane.
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Scottish independence rejected, Jewish fears averted By.JNS (JNS) – Scottish citizens rejected independence from the United Kingdom in a 55-45 percent referendum vote, a result that puts to rest the concerns of some Jews that independence would have been accompanied by a rise in anti-Israel sentiment. “The Jewish community [leans] more towards the no vote than the yes vote,” said Paul Morron, president of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council,
before the vote, according to Israel National News. Morron explained that because anti-Israel sentiment is more prominent in Scottish politics than it is in the United Kingdom as a whole, many Jews feared the escalation of that sentiment if Scotland chose to become independent. There were also fears regarding manifestations of anti-Semitism in Scotland that are often connected to anti-Israel sentiment, especially in the wake of this summer’s conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“The indication is that the Scottish government would be rather more hostile towards Israel, and there would be far more attention given to that hostility in the media, and I think that would put added pressure on the Jewish community here,” Morron said. David Kaplan, who was born in Scotland, told Yedioth Ahronoth that “for more than 25 years, the country’s professional unions and the liberal left have been running a pro-Palestinian campaign. I have watched numer-
ous speeches by Parliament Member George Galloway against Israel.” Marc Livingston, a 26-yearold Jewish lawyer from Glasgow, told Yedioth that although the Scottish National Party, which was behind the independence bid, is “a liberal left-wing party, which has shown solidarity towards the Palestinian people, whether rightfully or not,” party leader Alex Salmond “has always treated the Jewish community well and respects our contributions to the
Scottish society.” “Unfortunately, the recent operation in Gaza led to a rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Scotland, but that has nothing to do with the referendum,” said Livingston. At the end of the day, “the [Jewish] community isn’t united” on the independence issue, according to Livingston, who added that the matter was “a Scottish rather than a Jewish issue.”
5774: For Europe’s Jews, a year of upheaval and uncertainty By Cnaan Liphshiz THE HAGUE, Netherlands (JTA) -- A laconic man who abhors hysteria, the president of France’s CRIF umbrella of Jewish communities is not naturally inclined to emphasize his community's fear in public, preferring to underscore French Jewry’s achievements and capacity to prosper despite recent hardships. But in a filmed interview posted this month on the CRIF website, Roger Cukierman was uncharacteristically candid in describing this summer as “a time of fear, which we shared with our Israeli brethren” who suffered weeks of bombardment from Hamas rockets. The fear was not merely the significant uptick in violent attacks on Jews in recent months, but a mounting sense that public authorities could no longer be relied on to provide the community with protection. The events, he said, “left the Jewish community with the impression of being isolated within the nation amid attacks by another population.” Across Europe, Jews have encountered measurable increases in anti-Semitic activity over the past year, prompting both increased immigration to Israel, or aliyah, and a creeping sense of uncertainty over the future of their communities. Cukierman's description of a growing Jewish sense of isolation is especially true in France, where Europe's largest Jewish community lives in an often uneasy coexistence with a large Muslim population. But the situation is hardly unique. In the Netherlands, where one of the chief rabbis saw his house vandalized for no less than the fifth time in July, several antiIsrael rallies in The Hague featured chants about killing Jews. Similar calls were heard at a rally in Belgium, where the community is still reeling from the slaying in May of four people at Brussels' Jewish museum — the bloodiest
Courtesy of Milos Bicanski
Supporters of the Greek ultranationalist party Golden Dawn attending a pre-election rally in Athens, Greece, May 23, 2014.
attack on a Jewish institution in Europe since the 2012 murder of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. Just this week, arson was the suspected cause for a fire at a synagogue near Brussels. Belgium also saw three instances in which Jews were denied professional services, including one case of a doctor who advised a 90-year-old Jewish woman from Antwerp to seek help in Gaza. In both the Netherlands and Sweden, people were beaten for displaying an Israeli flag. The summer war “emboldened jihadists in a way never seen before, resulting in a coming-out of sorts,” said Manfred Gerstenfeld, a prominent Israeli scholar on anti-Semitism. “Mostly it intimidated Jewish communities, but it also produced some pushback.” For example, in Greece, two years after its entry into parliament, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party was feeling a strong response from the establishment. With many of its leaders jailed or on trial since September 2013 for crimes linked to the racist violence encouraged by its members, the party must now contend with a new law that criminalizes Holocaust denial and increases
penalties for “inciting acts of discrimination, hatred or violence.” Among the European leaders who spoke out forcefully against anti-Semitism in Europe was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who last week addressed a Berlin rally against the hatred of Jews. Before a crowd of several thousands, Merkel called German Jews a “national treasure.” Meanwhile, at Europe's eastern edge, Jews also felt themselves under assault, though for much different reasons. In Ukraine, Jewish immigration to Israel skyrocketed as Jews fled the bloody battle zones where Ukrainian troops clashed with pro-Russian militiamen. The intensity of the attacks on Jews -- some European politicians have referred to it as “the import of the Middle East conflict to Europe” -- caught several European governments off guard, exacerbating the Jewish sense of abandonment and prompting some Jews to take the quest for security into their own hands. In Paris, where police consistently failed to enforce a recent ban on Gaza-related protests, officers stationed outside the Don Isaac Abravanel Synagogue, or the Roquette Synagogue, found themselves vastly outnumbered
and besieged by dozens of young men who splintered off a nearby anti-Israel protest rally on July 13. Dozens of young Jews, many from the far-right Jewish Defense League, fended off the mob in a violent street brawl as six police officers waited for backup. Similar scenes unfolded in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, where riot police acted as a buffer between an Arab mob and approximately 100 Jews who on July 19 had gathered outside a synagogue -- many with clubs in hand -- “to prevent a pogrom,” as local community leader Serge Najar described it. In France, particularly in Paris, violent assaults against Jews became an almost daily occurrence in April and May, months before the onset of the latest round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Jewish Agency officials said the violence contributed to a dramatic increase in French aliyah. More than 4,500 immigrants have left France for Israel this year, making France the No. 1 source of immigrants to Israel for the first time in decades, topping the United States and even the embattled Ukraine by a considerable margin. The figures do not include the French Jews who left for countries other than Israel. Jewish communities from Montreal to Miami reported a rise in the number of French congregants in what some are calling “a silent exodus.” “I left because this country is no longer the France I knew,” said Lionel Berros, a former kosher supervisor in his 40s who was born in Paris and moved to Netanya in July. “I used to take the bus to school wearing a kippah, but now have to cover it with a baseball cap and worry that maybe someone is going to kill my daughter at her school. I’m sad because of what happened to France, but am happy to leave it.” Jewish leaders have hardly acquiesced to the dwindling of their communities. Cukierman has
vowed that after 2,000 years of French Jewish history, the “Jewish presence in France will continue.” Still, the increase in aliyah is significant and evident across the continent. While aliyah from Britain and Holland remained stable, 272 Belgian Jews immigrated to Israel in 2013, the highest figure recorded in nine years. Jewish emigration from Italy also rose, climbing to 209 in the first eight months of 2014 from 162 in 2013. The identity of the suspected assailant of the Brussels museum attack -- an alleged jihadist named Mehdi Nemmouche who reportedly honed his killing skills while fighting in Syria -- “demonstrates the profound change in the nature of the threat we are facing,” European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor told JTA. “No longer the odd hate crime but trained killers with the ideology, know-how and weapons to carry out massive attacks.” Immediately after the museum attack, EJC and the local Jewish community set up a crisis management center, the result of a twoyear effort initiated after the Toulouse attack by the EJC's Security and Crisis Center, the body responsible for providing medical, psychological and security services in times of crisis. In addition to the EJC effort, the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, among others, allocated millions of dollars toward security for Jewish institutions. “The threat is still being treated on an individual state basis, whereas what’s needed is a coordinated multi-state effort similar to the one launched against drugs or tax evasion,” Kantor said. Fear was a factor also for many Jews in Ukraine, where a revolution that erupted in November brought with it a number of violent assaults by unidentified assailants who appeared to target Jews. The attacks ceased after the ousting in February of EUROPE on page 19
INTERNATIONAL • 9
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Gaza takes back seat to PA-Hamas infighting and Islamic State threat By Sean Savage (JNS) – Since the declaration of a final cease-fire between Israel and Hamas last month, there has been very little movement to resolve the situation in Gaza. With the Middle East preoccupied by the threat of Islamic extremism as well as the growing rivalries between Arab states over how to handle these threats, there appears to be little appetite in the Arab world to deal with the Palestinian issue. “It’s not at the top of the agenda for many Arab states at this time,” Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security advisor for President George W. Bush and is currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told JNS. “It is striking to me that even during [this summer’s] Gaza war, you were seeing widespread demonstrations in Europe, but not in the Arab world,” he said. Furthermore, “the level of public agitation in the Middle East was lower than it was in past Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. People’s attentions are elsewhere, like on the role of Iran, the Syrian civil war, the Islamic State and even Libya,” Abrams said. This relative disinterest amongst the Arab states regarding Gaza has led to a stalled situation, and there has been virtually no change to the status quo over the past few weeks. According to the Palestinian
International Briefs Posters telling women where to walk removed from haredi London neighborhood (JTA) – Posters in English and Yiddish telling women which side of the road they can walk on were removed from a haredi Orthodox neighborhood in London. “Women should please walk along this side of the road only,” read the signs posted in the Stamford Hill area of north London, the Jewish Chronicle reported. The Hackney Council, the local government body, ordered the signs taken down following complaints from residents. They reportedly were removed last Friday. The Shomrim organization of volunteer Jewish police told the Independent newspaper that the signs were put up in advance of a Torah procession in order to pre-
Authority (PA), it will cost around $7 billion to rebuild Gaza. While a major donor conference, chaired by Egypt and Norway, has been set up for October 12 in Cairo, it is unclear who will provide the necessary logistics and funds to undertake the efforts. Looming large over any efforts to rebuild Gaza is the ongoing split between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which continues to control the Gaza Strip. The relationship between the Palestinian factions has been strained since Hamas violently ousted the PA from Gaza in 2007. In May 2014 Abbas signed an agreement with Hamas to establish a unity government between the two Palestinian factions. But since then little progress has been made as both sides continue to feel deep mistrust. “Both Hamas and Fatah are basically wrestling with each other to try to figure out a way forward with Gaza reconstruction,” Neri Zilber, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told JNS. “Abbas has told Hamas that the only mechanism for opening up Gaza for humanitarian aid, as far as the international community is concerned, is through the PA, not a through terrorist organization like Hamas,” Zilber added. In August it was revealed by Israeli security services that vent men and women from coming into physical contact with each other. New Zealand’s Key handily wins third term as prime minister SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – John Key, the son of a Jewish refugee from Europe, won his third term as New Zealand prime minister. Key, whose mother Ruth Lazar escaped Europe on the eve of the Holocaust, returned to office with an emphatic victory on Saturday, enabling him to form a government without relying on coalition partners. Vienna Jewish Museum restitutes Nazi-looted painting (JTA) – The Vienna Jewish Museum restituted a Nazi-looted painting to the artist’s grandnieces. The 1922 painting “The coffee hour. Fanny, the sister of the artist” by Jewish artist Jehudo Epstein, was handed over last Friday to Anne Starkey, one of Epstein’s grandnieces and the granddaughter of the woman in
Courtesy of bed Rahim Khatib
From left to right, senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed, head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniyeh, and deputy speaker of the Gaza-based Palestinian Parliament Ahmed Bahar attend a meting in Gaza City on April 22, 2014. Hamas and Fatah signed a deal to establish a unity government this spring, but since then little progress has been made as the Palestinian factions continue to feel deep mistrust toward one another.
fears that these materials will be used by Hamas to replenish its rocket arsenals or to rebuild terror tunnels. “What they [Israel] are trying to do is establish a secure system like we have in the West for imports. Trying to set that up when Hamas doesn’t want one is going to be very difficult to do,” Abrams told JNS. “Egypt and Israel are not willing to approve a system that lets Hamas rebuild its strength.” Nevertheless, reports emerged on September 12 that Abbas had reached a deal with Israel to allow for the import and export of goods to and from Gaza under the auspice of the Palestinian Authority. The report emerged after Abbas threatened to sever the unity deal with Hamas if the deal did not allow the PA to operate in Gaza. “We won’t accept a partnership with them if the situation continues like this in Gaza, where there is a shadow government… running the territory,” Abbas recently stated. “The national consensus government cannot do anything on the ground,” he said, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. However, it remains unclear how other components of the August 26 cease-fire, such as Israel’s demand that Gaza be demilitarized, will unfold. Israel and Hamas agreed to indirect
Hamas planned to launch a series of riots and attacks in the West Bank in an effort to overthrow Abbas. As a result, at a meeting in Qatar on August 21 between Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Maashal, Abbas slammed Hamas for plotting his overthrow, as well as for provoking Israel by kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teens in June, which led to a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank by Israel this summer. “As a result of this action [the kidnapping and killing of the Israeli teens], 20 Palestinians were killed and [Palestinian teenager] Muhammad Abu Khdeir was
burnt alive. Their purpose is to destroy the West Bank and create a state of anarchy to orchestrate a coup against us. Hamas wants to drive me crazy,” Abbas told Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad at the meeting in Doha in August, the Times of Israel reported. For Israel as well as Egypt, the dispute between the Palestinian factions over control of Gaza has prevented the two countries from allowing more humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter Gaza from their territories, and from other potential international donor regions like the European Union or the United States, over
the painting. Starkey traveled from Britain to the museum to recover the painting, according to reports. The museum, which obtained the artwork in 2010, discovered that the heirs were seeking to recover the painting. Epstein left Africa in 1934. The painting later was confiscated by the Nazis after they annexed Austria. Epstein died in South Africa in 1945.
Pilgrims will come from “the United States, New Mexico and Bolivia, where they have Lassa fever; Nigeria, where there is dengue fever; Mexico and India,” “Ebola could come from the United States and Germany, cholera could come from India and Nepal and Nigeria,
located at the entrance to the synagogue of Colmar. The quenelle, folding one arm over one’s chest while pointing downward with the other arm, is identified with the comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, who has several convictions for inciting hatred against Jews.
Frenchman given suspended sentence for quenelle at synagogue (JTA) – A tribunal fined and gave a suspended sentence to a man who made the quenelle gesture in front of a French synagogue’s Holocaust memorial plaque. The Correctional Tribunal of Colmar in northeastern France last week sentenced the 42-yearold man, who was not named in media reports, to three months in jail, to become effective if he is convicted of a similar offense. He was also made to pay $1,300, the L’Alsace daily reported. The defendant posted on social networks a picture of himself posing with his son while making the quenelle in front of a commemorative plaque for Jewish victims of the Holocaust
South African president vows to fight anti-Semitism (JTA) – Representatives of South Africa’s Jewish community commended President Jacob Zuma’s pledge to combat antiSemitism. Zuma of the African National Congress party made the pledge during a Sept. 18 meeting with the leadership of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, or SAJBD, the board said in a statement a day after the meeting. “In the course of the meeting, President Zuma rejected unequivocally all forms of antisemitism and intolerance, and stressed that his government remained committed to combating such prejudice.”
Ukrainian health official: Uman pilgrims may bring Ebola (JTA) – A Ukrainian health official warned that Jewish pilgrims converging in Uman may bring with them the Ebola virus and other epidemics. Larissa Kachanova, who heads the local branch of the Ukrainian government’s Sanitary and Epidemiological Management Center, issued the warning Sept. 18 ahead of the arrival of approximately 30,000 Jews expected to spend Rosh Hashanah in the central city near the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the 18thcentury founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.
GAZA on page 19
10 • ISRAEL
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Biblical archaeology sees golden age in Israel, dark age in rest of Middle East By Sean Savage (JNS) – At a time when many archaeological sites and antiquities throughout the Middle East are being looted and destroyed, the City of David Foundation on Sept. 4 hosted its annual conference to enable the general public to experience some of the most important archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem in recent years. A special portion of this year’s conference was devoted to the theme “Jerusalem of Gold,” highlighting several never-before-seen golden artifacts. “The people in ancient times, like today, used gold for the most important things in life. It shows what they held dear and what was most important to them,” Ahron Horovitz, senior director of Megalim, the City of David’s Higher Institute for Jerusalem Studies, told JNS. The main themes of the artifacts on display related to war, beauty, and holiness or sanctity. Among the golden artifacts is the largest cache of gold coins ever discovered in Jerusalem, comprising 264 gold coins that date back to the end of the Byzantine period in the 7th century CE. The coins were found in the “Givati Parking Lot dig” conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the City of David neighborhood. The coins are unique in that
Israel Briefs U.N. Security Council reiterates support for Golan peacekeepers (JTA) – The United Nations Security Council called on armed groups to leave neutral areas of the Syrian Golan Heights and return U.N. peacekeepers’ equipment. The presidential statement approved last Friday by the 15member Security Council indicated that it continues to support keeping international peacekeepers on the border between Israel and Syria despite Syria’s more than three-year civil war. The Security Council called on all groups other than the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, to pull out of the peacekeepers’ area of operations. The council also called on the groups to return peacekeepers vehicles, weapons and other equipment, according to the United Nations News Service. keepers were held captive by the Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel
Courtesy of Eilat Maza
This golden medallion featuring inscriptions of a menorah, shofar, and Torah scroll was on display for the very first time during the the City of David Foundation's annual conference on Sept. 4 in Jerusalem. The medallion was found in the Ophel excavation south of the Temple Mount and was believed to have been hung on a Torah scroll as a breast plate.
they were minted in Jerusalem, not in Constantinople—the Byzantine imperial capital—and were likely made in preparation for the Byzantine war against the Persians. “The coins were found stacked one on top of another and were never dispensed,” Horovitz said. “There may be a story of intrigue here as to why they never were used, such as it being stolen.” Additionally, a golden medallion featuring inscriptions of a group is linked to al-Qaida. The troops were later released unharmed. Israel, Palestinians to pick up cease-fire talks in Cairo JERUSALEM (JTA) – Indirect cease-fire negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will resume this week in Cairo. The talks on Tuesday will be held through Egyptian negotiators who will shuttle between the two sides, according to reports. The negotiation of truce terms was part of the Aug. 26 cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas to end 50 days of warring. Topics up for discussion include building a Gaza seaport and airport, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the return of the remains of Israeli soldiers. On Monday, also in Cairo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas will begin their reconciliation talks, also at Egypt’s invitation. New Israel Fund launching dedicated Israel democracy fund WASHINGTON (JTA) – The New Israel Fund has earmarked $2 million for an initiative aimed
menorah, shofar, and Torah scroll is on display for the very first time. The medallion was found in the Ophel excavation south of the Temple Mount and was believed to have been hung on a Torah scroll as a breast plate. The discovery of the Jewish medallion, dating back to the time of upheaval in Jerusalem during the Persian-Byzantine wars, was a surprise for archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who unearthed the artifact. There are normally not many Jewish items found from that period. Mazar estimated that the medallion originates from the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 CE. That year, many Jews helped the Persians conquer Jerusalem from the Byzantines, only to have the Persians turn against the Jews and ally with the Byzantine Christians later on, leading to the Jews’ expulsion once again. “These finds tell us about the Jewish presence in Jerusalem in the late Byzantine period, which we didn’t know much about,” renowned Israeli archaeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkay, who spoke at the City of David conference, told JNS. “The artifacts help us understand that there was a strong messianic desire of the Jewish people at that time; many of them likely came from abroad in hopes of
construction of the Third Temple,” he said. Horovitz said the artifacts highlight the special bond Jews have with Jerusalem, as well as Jewish continuity in the holy city. “It shows us that the Jews have a very special bond and connection with Jerusalem that continues to today,” he said. “So when modern day Israelis come and see these artifacts, they can feel that they are part of Jerusalem from a long time ago.” Another golden artifact on display was an earring made of gold inlaid pearls and emeralds that dates back to the Roman period. A copy of this earring was given to First Lady Michelle Obama by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when she visited Israel in 2013. Finally, one of the most unique and rare items on display was a golden bell discovered by Eli Shukron, an Israeli archaeologist and former director of City of David excavations for the Israel Antiquities Authority. Throughout the years, Shukron has made a number of very significant finds from the period of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in and around the City of David, including the Pool of Siloam (mentioned numerous times in the Old and New Testaments), tunnels leading from the Western Wall, an ancient pilgrim road to Jerusalem,
and the legendary citadel captured by King David when he conquered the city from the Jebusites. One of the items Shukron discovered during his excavations of one of the Western Wall tunnels was a golden bell believed to have been part of the official vestments of the high priests of the Jewish Temple. Described in Exodus 28:31-35, the priestly robe, also known as the “ephod,” was a sleeveless purple-blue or violet garment worn by the high priests that was fringed with small golden bells alternating with pomegranateshaped tassels of blue, purple, and scarlet wool. The golden bells were a necessary part of the ephod and needed to ring when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies. “At first I just thought it was a ball and didn’t realize it was the golden bell from the high priests until I shook it and heard the ringing,” Shukron told JNS. “No other artifact from the high priests like this has ever been discovered before.” The City of David conference came amid a perilous time for Middle East archaeology, as sites from North Africa to Iraq have come under assault by Islamic fundamentalists and looters taking advantage of the breakdown of
at advancing democracy in Israel, which it sees as under threat from the ultranationalist right. Overt racism, ultra-nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise, the NIF said in a statement last week announcing New Initiatives for Democracy, or NIFD. NIF’s leadership believes that these trends are no accident, but are intentionally encouraged and accelerated by a well-funded, interconnected network of institutions advocating the viewpoints of the ultra-nationalist right.
which he praised Israel’s credit rating by S&P, Gal-On wrote in a Facebook post. Lapid’s disrespect for the basic Jewish values of the State of Israel, which sanctifies Saturday as its official day of rest, is unacceptable and stands out when he calls up media staff in the middle of the day of rest for non-urgent matters that could be postponed to another day,
The parade Thursday night, which had been postponed twice during Israel’s 50-day war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip over the summer, saw a drop in attendance from the thousands of previous years, according to reports. Hundreds of police officers and Border Guard officers secured the parade, which was sponsored by The Jerusalem Open House, representing the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LBGT, community.
Lapid rapped for Shabbat news conference JERUSALEM (JTA) – Politicians from the left and Orthodox parties criticized Finance Minister Yair Lapid for calling a news conference on Shabbat. Zehava Gal-On of the leftwing Meretz party said Lapid’s decision to call what she said was a largely unnecessary conference outside his home on Saturday was a demonstration of insensitivity. While you were enjoying your Shabbat, Lapid decided to pull all the economic journalists out of their homes in the middle of Shabbat and order them to his driveway in Tel Aviv to hear him read an unimportant message in
Israel establishing national cyber defense authority JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel will launch a national cyber defense authority to defend civilians against cyber threats. The authority, which was announced at the regular weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, will act alongside the National Cyber Bureau, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. Eviatar Matania, the head of the National Cyber Bureau, will lead its establishment, according to the statement. Attendance at Jerusalem Gay Pride parade drops JERUSALEM (JTA) – Hundreds of people participated in Jerusalem’s 13th annual Gay Pride parade, but attendance was down.
ARCHAEOLOGY on page 19
1,200-year-old Jewish prayer book on display in Jerusalem (JTA) — A Jewish prayer book believed to be the world’s oldest will be exhibited in Jerusalem for one month. The 1,200-year-old siddur was unveiled Thursday at a ceremony at the Bible Lands Museum. In a news release, the museum described it as the oldest Jewish prayer book. Written in Hebrew and still in its original binding, the book originates from the Middle East. It contains the morning service, liturgical poems and the Passover Haggadah.
12 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
2014 Rosh Hashanah Cover Coloring Contest Honorable Mentions
Ryan Helton, 9, Rockwern Academy
Jacob Baron, 7, Rockwern Academy
Neriya Rosenthal, 7, Rockwern Academy
Ben Schneider, 8, Rockwern Academy
Adalynne Felder, 7, Rockwern Academy
Andrew Levin, 10, Rockwern Academy
Eve Smiley, 10, Rockwern Academy
Shira Ben Harush Negari, 8, Rockwern Academy
CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE • 13
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Sarah Grove, 10, Rockwern Academy
Maya Naftali, 8, Rockwern Academy
Ethan Tyler, 10, Rockwern Academy
Daniel Chaitkin, 8, Rockwern Academy
14 • CINCINNATI JEWISH LIFE
WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM
Hannah Peri, 9, Rockwern Academy
Abbey Altman, 11, Rockwern Academy
Hannah Pollock, 9, Rockwern Academy
Maya Jaffee, 7, Rockwern Academy
Alex Tasner, 7, Rockwern Academy
Jonah Swift, 8, Rockwern Academy
Paige Levine, 7, Rockwern Academy
Sam Waspe, 7, Rockwern Academy
HAVE PHOTOS FROM AN EVENT? Whether they are from a Bar Mitzvah, Annual Meeting, School Field Trip or Your Congregation’s Annual Picnic, spread the joy and share them with our readers in the Cincinnati Jewish Life section! MAIL: MAIL Send CD to The American Israelite, 18 W 9th St Ste 2, Cincinnati, OH 45202 or E-MAIL: E-MAIL production@americanisraelite.com Please make sure to include a Word doc. that includes the captions, if available, and a short synopsis of the event (date, place, reason, etc.). If sending photos by e-mail, please send them in batches of 3-5 per e-mail (16MB MAX). All photos should be Hi-Res to ensure print quality. THIS IS 100% FREE. For more information, please contact Jennifer at (513) 621-3145. All photos are subject to review before publishing.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
DINING OUT • 15
Marx bagels, pastry, breads, party trays help with holidays, occasions By Bob Wilhelmy Most everybody in the Jewish Community knows Marx Hot Bagels is kosher. What some may not realize to the fullest extent is that bagels are not the only stars of the show at this deli-style eatery, now in its 45th year. Bagels are big, no question. There are 30-some-odd varieties, all made fresh, all conforming to what generations of savvy bagel eaters expect of a bagel. Not soft as an inner tube, and just about as bloated. Never! John Marx, owner of Marx Hot Bagels, says a bagel is a donut, dipped in cement. “A good bagel is one you can throw at the wall and it leaves a dent,” he says, kidding, but only a little. A good bagel, a real bagel made the way Jewish bagel shops in the Big Apple or in the Old Country bake them, is dense and chewy and features an almost leathery crust or skin to it. A good bagel will stand up to cream cheese or smoked salmon or egg salad or tuna salad or white fish or what-have-you. Marx adheres to the old way of bagel-making. The process includes boiling the bagels before baking them. Also, a higher quality, richer flour is used to make good bagels. “Really, the softer bagels (from the impersonator crowd) are more like a bun or a bread product, not like bagels,” he said. “When you make them the proper way, you have to account for the ambient temperature and the weather when you mix the dough, and then refrigerate the dough for 12-24 hours, and so on.” That’s the bagel beat. But there is a pastry case as well, which is pareve, filled with items made in the store and made according to traditions dating back centuries to places thousands of miles distant. “We bake all our goods here from scratch, with a few exceptions: all the strudels, the brownies, elephant ears, and the hearth breads,” Marx said. “The breads we do the oldfashioned way, baking them on stone shelves in the oven, not in pans,” said Danielle Marx, the other half of the husband-wife team. “We have the New York rye and pumpernickel, and the egg challahs, which our customers really like.” Raisins can be added to the challah bread by special order as well. The dough for those breads is mixed and cultured in the shop as well. This may seem normal, but
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Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30-3 Dinner: Mon-Thu 5-9:30 Fri 5-10:30 • Sat 4:30-10:30
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The parve bakery case ready for the day’s customers.
in today’s world, fewer and fewer “bakery” titled outlets actually perform their own prep work on items, from breads to sweet goods to cookies and more. What you see in most pastry/bread cases is product that was mixed and even partially baked in a commissary operation and then finish-baked at the outlet. That is not the case at Marx Hot Bagels. “Cookies also,” Danielle Marx said. “We have the star and dreidel shapes, along with the regular shapes, and we can do special shapes—fish or some other shape—a customer may want for a religious event.” Because of the kosher nature of the place, many families rely on Marx Hot Bagels for catering of food trays for holidays, shivas and special occasions. “We make food trays for times when people gather,” she said. “For instance, we do the food trays with all the vegetables, the sliced tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, pickles and olives around, and
the tuna and egg salad and white fish and cream cheeses, including flavored ones. We can even provide the hard boiled eggs if they want, and the lox. “Then we have the bagels that go along with the trays in a basket on the side. And we can do these (orders for trays) very quickly (24 hours notice is appreciated) and have them ready to go.” “The downside to the food trays for shiva is that every time we make one, we are losing a valued customer,” John Marx said. “Of course, those older customers, they know what a quality bagel should be, because they have been buying them for decades.” Marx Hot Bagels features dining tables and counter service for breakfast and lunch diners, with a full kosher menu. See you at Marx Hot Bagels. Marx Hot Bagels 9701 Kenwood Rd. 891-5542
(513) 489-1444
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16 • OPINION
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From the publisher Netanel (Ted) Deutsch
I am writing this as the month of Elul is underway. Last night there was a full moon and this particular moon is called the Harvest moon. As I look up at it, I think about many things, such as all the events that happened last year and all the things I did wrong. Elul always feels this way to me; change is in the air, the New Year is coming and I need to make right the mistakes I made last year. I vow to improve myself, to be more empathetic, to listen more and to listen better to all those around me. To be a better person and to do more Tzedaka. Elul weighs on me as I realize that I need to improve, to strive to do better; this month always makes me think about what I have done and where I am going. I think about the newspaper and how do I improve it. How do we go to the next level on the website and how do we improve that. I think about how to be a better son, a better father, a better friend and to some a better teacher, to others a better student. I think about all the stories and all the people that made up this past year, all the events and all the information. As the keeper of the word, it all comes down to information, and I admit I process quite a bit of it as much of it flows through this office. It takes a steady hand and a sharp eye to keep aware of the important items when bombarded by all this information. I think we do pretty well at deciding what is important and when to delve a little deeper. I also get weighed down by some of the stories we don’t report; I don’t mean by being a censor, but by knowing about what sometimes turns out to be ugly and ugliness and choosing to let the situations smooth themselves out. Sometimes I find that no publicity helps more than a full story. Some days the weight of Elul is heavy and some days it is light, but Elul always makes me feel this way. A new year is coming; when I hear the shofar sound on Rosh Hashana and at the end of Yom Kippur I know that my thinking is now over, that the decision has been made, that I had better start making
those changes, that I had better start making those improvements. And with all of this in mind I ask you all as I do every year: I ask you all to forgive me my many mistakes, whether in omission or commission. If I have upset you in any way, I ask you to forgive me as we begin this new year of 5775. If I forgot to do something or accomplish something which I committed to, I ask you to forgive me for that as well. I know I am human because I make so many mistakes, and I make them constantly. I am aware that I get upset and overreact when I shouldn’t or scold someone over a mistake I have made myself in the past. I believe the worst mistakes of all are those made out of laziness; I make those mistakes as well. Once again I ask your forgiveness and if we need to meet to work out our differences I am available to meet with you at any time. I know that our Purim issue causes much discussion in the community, but I ask that you look at it from a long-term perspective. Once a year we get to roast a few of the organizations and people that make up this great community. It is all in fun, and all of it, every single article, is a hoax. I get many phone calls and people do get very animated. It is just a joke, and please forgive us if we roasted one of your favorite people or organization. We will continue to write the Purim pages and every year we try and improve on our humor. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and give praise to my entire staff. When it gets right down to it, they have to tolerate me on a daily basis. They all work very hard to bring you a great paper and a great website. I know that you all enjoy reading the paper by the record number of people who keep renewing their subscription every year. I also know you enjoy reading and using our website because of the increasing numbers of monthly viewers. The paper and website are brought to you by some very dedicated and highly talented individuals. Once again, thank you to the entire staff, and may you all be blessed with a year of happiness, good health and joy. If I have angered you in any way, shape or form, please forgive me. I will try to improve this upcoming year. If you would like me to personally tell you this, I would be more than happy to say it to you in person. Please let me know so that we can both begin the New Year with a clean slate. I also hope for peace in the world and especially in Israel. May you and your family be blessed with a year that is both delightful and prosperous, and may we all be healthy and joyful and happy in 5775.
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The Jewish imperative to tackle climate change – and four ways to do it By Yossi I. Abramowitz JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two days before the U.N. Climate Summit, demonstrators, including a large multi-faith contingent — will descend on New York City to demand urgent action on climate change. The People’s Climate March, which coincides with the week of the U.N. General Assembly, is being billed as the largest climate march in history. Sunday’s event is notably taking place in the city badly battered less than two years prior by Hurricane Sandy — the “super storm” that killed 285 people and caused tens of billion of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure. Also remarkable: The march is happening just three days before Rosh Hashanah. This Jewish New Year is different than all past ones, for it is the last observance of Shmita — Israel’s biblically mandated yearlong farming sabbatical — before extreme climate change becomes irreversible. PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released its latest Low Carbon Economy Index, with the damning news that the major economies are falling further behind meeting their carbon reduction goals. All of this makes the haunting liturgy of the Days of Awe — “who shall live and who shall die” — particularly resonant. Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, which erased more than 6,300 names from the Book of Life last November, was supercharged by the warming waters of the Indian Ocean and the higher sea levels due to the melting of the ice caps. Who by water. The severity of the droughts across sub-Sahara Africa threatens millions of lives. Who by
thirst. Even California is suffering compromising water shortages and wildfires. Who by fire. The economic devastation alone of climate change — prices for water, food and energy will rise for billions of people — coupled with the unprecedented loss of human life is like no other physical and moral challenge that humanity has ever faced. Enter the Jewish people. Let’s not fool ourselves. We are a small people, contributing a fraction of a fraction of the nearly 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide that trap more and more heat in our atmosphere, creating the devastating greenhouse effect. Yet we are not without agency. Here are four things we can uniquely do as a people that can turn the tide against this global challenge. 1. Swell the People’s Climate March. There are about 2 million Jews in the New York area, so we can have a disproportionate impact at a historic inflection point. Dozens of Jewish groups, from the Shalom Center, a social action group run by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, to the Jewish environmental organization Hazon, from the Reform movement to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, are among the 1,000-plus sponsors of this people’s climate pilgrimage. 2. Lead by example. Jewish federation and foundation endowments, with total assets of over $60 billion (according to the Milken Institute) in this Shmita year should divest from all carbon-intensive businesses, like oil, gas and coal companies. There is a similar call being led by 350 for the Vatican and universities to divest from carbon; it should be supported. Every Jewish institution and family can calculate their carbon footprint and offset it by planting trees via the
Jewish National Fund or other carbon-offset programs. Nigel Savage of Hazon challenges us “to become the first carbon-neutral people on the planet.” 3. Invest in Israel’s renewables technologies and companies so that Israel can become a global platform to solve climate change while providing a healthy return for investors. (Disclosure: I am involved with two solar companies.) Israeli companies are on the cutting edge of solar robots, inverters, energy storage and concentrators, and are uniquely qualified to manage risk to bring renewables to developing countries. And even though the environmental movement in Israel is starving for donations, we succeeded earlier this month in stopping a major questionable oil shale endeavor. This historic victory over carbon can provide an inspiration to environmental groups fighting big oil everywhere. 4. Offer hope. Recent international conferences meant to fight climate change focused more and more on how to mitigate the negative impact of climate change rather than how to beat it. With the exception of Sir David King, climate adviser to the British foreign secretary, and a handful of Jewish energy pioneers, few believe we can win the ultimate climate battle. Yet those of us who had the good fortune to grow up in the Soviet Jewry movement are very familiar with the area in front of the United Nations. We know what it means to conduct and win an unprecedented global, ethical campaign. The Jewish people are at our best when we represent the value of hope in history. This is our gift; this is our responsibility. And time is running out.
JEWISH LIFE • 17
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Sedra of the Week
SHABBAT SHALOM: ROSH HASHANA
It is we, the Jewish people, who must bring God down into this world and crown Him. by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin After God’s kingship we sound the shofar, the means by which the king in the ancient world was crowned. Take note: It is we, the Jewish people, who must bring God down into this world and crown Him. After Zichronot, we sound the shofar as a reminder of the aborted sacrifice of Isaac in favor of the ram whose horns were caught in the thicket. Isaac, the future of the Jewish people, was slated for slaughter, but was set free. The shofar sound after Zichronot reminds us that the Jews will continue to live despite exile and persecution. We must live so that we may remain God’s witnesses and “a light unto the nations of the world” (Isaiah 42:6). Finally, we sound the shofar after Shofarot since the method by which we must reach out to the world is by teaching our Torah – a teaching revealed at Sinai amid the sounds of the shofar. And it will ultimately be that when the Almighty Himself will sound the shofar that all of the dispersed will return to Israel, the Temple will be rebuilt and the nations will come to learn from us to beat their swords into plowshares and to live together in peace.
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T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: ROSH HASHANA FAST OF GEDALIA c.) Jeremiah the prophet
1. Who was Gedalia? a.) Leader of the Jewish people b.) High Priest c.) Prophet 2. When did his story take place? a.) Before destruction of the Temple b.) After destruction of the Temple c.) During the weeks of the destruction 3. Who was the spiritual head of the Jewish people at that time? a.) Isaiah b.) King
4. What was the story of Gedalia centered about? a.) Leaving Israel for Babylon b.) A fight against his leadership c.) Finding food during the Babylonian occupation 5. What was the aftermath of the story? a.) The Jews totally left Israel b.) Civil war ensued c.) People made peace and stayed in Israel
poor of the land” 4. B Jeremiah 40:17 Yishmael son of Netanya was a member of the royal family and killed Gedalia because he wanted to be the leader. Malbim 5. A Jeremiah Chapters 42,43 After the death of
Gedalia, The prophet advised the Jews in Israel to remain. However they argued it was safer to move to Egypt. They moved to Egypt and were captured there by Nebucanezer
monotheism to all of humanity. This blessing guarantees that there is an overarching purpose to history, which is not a cyclical, repetitive cycle leading nowhere, but rather a linear pathway leading to peace. Redemption will come about in the fullness of historic time as a result of the cumulative merits of all preceding generations. How will we carry out our covenantal task of imparting our message to the world? This is told to us by the third blessing, Shofarot, which reminds us of the revelation at Sinai, the 613 commandments which God presented to Israel and the seven commandments of morality, centering around “Thou shalt not murder,” which God presented to the world. Maimonides, the great codifier of Jewish law, insists that just as God commanded Moses to bequeath 613 commandments to Israel, “similarly did He command Moses to coerce the nations of the world to accept the seven laws of morality” (Laws of Kings 8:10). This is an immensely significant message, especially in our postmodern, relativistic, “everything goes” society, which denies any absolute concept of morality. “Situation ethics” dominates our conventional wisdom, and the most heinous crime can become transformed into a sacred act “when seen from the perpetrator’s point of view.” (Hence a suicide bomber who murders innocent children is called a “freedom fighter.”) Shofarot tells us that the Seven Laws of Morality which must be accepted by the nations are not options, but absolutes, since – especially in our global village – the lives of all humanity hang in the balance of their acceptance.+ Hence the Rosh Hashana Musaf Amida teaches that the nation of Israel must and will teach fundamental morality, or ethical monotheism, to all the nations of the world. Only when this message is accepted, when “this Torah comes forth from Zion and the word of God from Jerusalem,” only then will “nation not lift up sword against nation and humanity not learn war anymore”(Isaiah 2:4) and “everyone will sit under his vineyard and fig tree and no one will have reason to fear” (Micah 4:4. Each of these blessings is punctuated by the shofar sounding.
Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise
ANSWERS 1. A Book of Jeremiah 40:5 He was appointed by the King of Babylon 2. B Jeremiah 40:1-3 3. C Jeremiah 40:6 The prophet stayed in Israel even though the remaining Jews were “from the
EFRAT, Israel - What is the essence of our faith, the purpose for which the Jewish people have been placed in the world? Fascinatingly enough, the answer is to be found within the central prayer of our Rosh Hashana liturgy: the three blessings, uniquely found within the Additional (Musaf) prayer of Rosh Hashana, of Malchuyot (kingship), Zichronot (remembrances) and Shofarot. These blessings are each punctuated by the sounds of the shofar and, according to the 14th century theologian Rabbi Yosef Albo as well as the 19th-century Franz Rosenzweig, contain the essence of our faith. The first of these blessings, Malchuyot, begins with the more familiar Alenu prayer. This prayer teaches that the God whom we now accept as the one Lord of the Universe, the God of love, morality and peace, will eventually be accepted by the entire world. This axiom of our religion, this prophecy of the ultimate endgame, is especially comforting in the face of the dangerous global village in which we live, a global village in which the specter of nuclear proliferation looms. This blessing affirms that it is the God of compassionate, righteousness and moral justice who will eventually emerge supreme over the totalitarian trinity of Nazi fascism, Stalinist Communism and Islamic fundamentalism. Our broken world will eventually be perfected under the Kingship of the God of righteousness; through the teachings of Abraham “all the families of the Earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3) with a world of peace. The second blessing, Zichronot, which is a Hebrew term for history, opens with: “You remember the activities from the beginning of the world, and you are mindful of the deeds [or the potential functions, from the Hebrew tafkid] of every creature from earliest times.” Here is a ringing declaration of faith in the process of history; the clear sense that historical time is on the side of humanity, and that individuals and nations have a unique role to play in the cumulative march of history toward redemption. Israel alone of the nations of the world enjoys a special relationship with God, a covenant which ensures its eternity and defines its mission as the messenger of ethical
18 • JEWZ IN THE NEWZ
JEWZ
IN THE
By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist More New TV Season Notes Starting on Thursday, Oct. 2 (NBC, 9PM) is “A to Z”. It’s a comedy that shows us one romance from start to finish. The co-stars are Cristin Miloti and BEN FELDMAN, 34 (“Mad Men”). The new season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” began on Sept. 15. Two of the celeb dancers have Jewish ties---actor and fashion model Antonio Sabato, Jr., 44, and actress Lea Thompson, 53. Sabato, who wasn’t raised Jewish, had one Jewish grandparent: a Czech Jewish maternal grandmother who was the only member of her immediate family to survive the Holocaust. Sabato’s maternal grandparents eventually settled in Italy and that’s where Sabato’s mother met and married his Italian father. His maternal grandmother, like many Holocaust survivors with a nonJewish spouse, chose not to tell her children that she was Jewish until they were adults. Thompson’s roles include playing Michael J. Fox’s young mother in “Back to the Future”; playing “Caroline” in the ‘90s sit-com, “Caroline in the City”, and playing Kathryn Kennish in the current ABC Family series, “Switched at Birth”. Her husband of 25 years is film and TV director HOWARD DEUTSCH, 64 (they met when he directed her in the 1987 film, “Some Kind of Wonderful”). Their two daughters, ZOEY, 19, and MADELYN, 23, are both actresses with a number of quality credits. They were raised Jewish and both had a bat mitzvah. NFL Jewish Players: 2014 The following players were on an NFL roster as of Sept. 18: GABE CARIMI, 26, guard/tackle, Atlanta Falcons. An outstanding college player, Carimi was severely injured in his rookie season with Chicago (2011). He was traded to Tampa Bay in 2013 and only started three games last season. Released in February, he was quickly signed by Atlanta and has played in the first two 2014 season games. NATE EBNER, 25, free safety, New England Patriots. Ebner has an unusual personal and football “story”. His father, the owner of an auto yard, and the principal of the Sunday school at the family’s Ohio synagogue, was murdered during the course of a robbery at his business. (The killer is now in prison). Ebner didn’t play
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high school football, but was a very good rugby player. He made the Ohio State Univ. team as a walk-on and excelled in special team play. "Barely drafted"-he shocked pundits with outstanding play on special teams during his rookie pro season (2012) and he played in all but one of the team’s regular and playoff games. Ebner repeated these stats last year and, this season, already leads New England special team players in tackles. ERIK LORIG, 27, fullback, New Orleans Saints. After four years with Tampa Bay (201013), Lorig signed a four year, $4.8M dollar contract with the Saints. TAYLOR MAYS, 25, strong safety, Cincinnati Bengals. 2014 is Mays’ fourth season with the Bengals. If he stays healthy, this may be his first really good season. GEOFF SCHWARTZ, 28, offensive guard, NY Giants. Schwartz, a six-year veteran, signed a $16.8M, four year contract in the off-season. In 2013, with Kansas City, he started seven games. He was injured in early September, and is not expected back before October. MITCHELL SCHWARTZ, 25, offensive guard, Cleveland Browns. (Mitchell is Geoff’s brother). In his rookie season (2012), Mitchell started all 16 games and repeated this stat in 2013. Other Notes: ADAM PODLESH, 31, punter, has been in the NFL since 2007 and didn’t struggle until last season. He was signed in the off-season to a one-year deal with Pittsburgh, but is now listed on their “reserve/did not report roster”. He didn’t report because his wife was recovering from a complicated pregnancy/delivery (all are well, now). Its likely Podlesh won’t play in 2014 and it’s possible his career is over. Also: MARC TRESTMAN, 58, a former Univ. of Minnesota quarterback, has begun his second season as the coach of the Bears. He’s the only Jewish head coach in the NFL. By the way, he is from Saint Louis Park, a Twin Cities suburb that has long been “the most Jewish” Minnesota town. Trestman is a graduate of Saint Louis Park high school. Also graduating from this high school were filmmakers JOEL and ETHAN COEN, NY Times columnist TOM FRIEDMAN, and U.S. Senator AL FRANKEN of Minnesota. (Thanks to Jewish Sports Review magazine for their help).
FROM THE PAGES 150 Y EARS A GO At the adjourned meeting of K. K. Bene Yeshurun, Sunday the 16th inst., Henry Mack, Esq., in behalf of members of this congregation, presented a valuable set of silverware to Solomon Levi, Esq., the President of this body, lately re-elected. The present consists of a pitcher, two goblets, and a server of massive silver, bearing appropriate inscriptions, highly complimentay for the recipient. The gift reflects honor to the donors and the recipient, Mr. Levi, was taken by surprise, he having no idea of this being designed against his person; therefore, he could make but a few appropriate remarks in response to the able and complimentary address of Henry Mack, Esq. Nobody probably deserves regard of this kind better than Mr. Levi does. For the last five years, and especially for the past three years as president of the congregation, he has done for it all in his power, as Parnass Hasan and Reader, all without an idea of renumeration, and he does well and conscientiously whatever he does.– October 21, 1864
125 Y EARS A GO Among the latest betrothals are Miss Tillie Lowenstein, third daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Lowenstein, of Court Street, to Mr. Sol Einstein of Chicago; Miss Tillie Brill of Mound Street, to Mr. Dave S. Victor, also of this city; Mr. Julius Braun, wellknown in business and social circles here, to Miss Regina Lowenthal, of Columbus, Ga. Mr. Abe Reis and wife entertained a number of friends and relatives last night at their home on Walnut Hills, in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of their marriage. Keppler Bros. served an elaborate repast. Mrs. Eva Shane and her sons have recently moved from their quarters at Hexter’s Hotel to their delightful new residence on Locust Street, Walnut Hills, and to make the removal noteworthy, the ladies of the hotel tendered Mrs. Shane a dove surprise party at her new home last Saturday evening, and it proved to be one of the most pleasant social affairs of the week. Dancing, music, and a delightful collation were among the features of the evening’s enjoyment. – October 3, 1889
100 Y EARS A GO Mr and Mrs. J.M. Koch of 3569 Bogart Avenue, Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio, announce the
engagement of their daughter, Mildred, to Mr. Harold R. Kaufamn of Minneapolis, Minn. Mrs. Helen Braham, widow of the late Lewis M. Braham, died at Cincinnati, O., on September 22, aged 70 years. The funeral will take place this Thursday afternoon in the Chapel of the Walnut Hills Jewish Cemetery. Harry Furst, well known in the amusement business, died on September 18, aged 61 years. The funeral took place from the home of Edward Bernard, 1609 Dexter Avenue, last Sunday. Burial was in the Walnut Hills Jewish Cemetery, Rabbi Philipson officiating. By invitation of Dr. Grossmann, the Jewish soldiers of Ft. Thomas, Ky. attended the New Year services at the Plum Street Temple, as a body. – September 24, 1914
75 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs .Frank Goldenberg announce the engagement of their daughter, Eleanor, to Mr. Milton Rosenbaum of New York City. Miss Goldenberg is a student at the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Rosenbaum is a senior at the Hebrew Union College. Jewish patients at Longview Hospital were treated to a Succoth erected in the Pennel Gardens. Fruits and vegetables decorated the walls and tables. Refreshments were served after the religious service, conducted by Leonard Greenberg, Hebrew Union College student. This is their seventh Succoth. Succoth and services were sponsored by Mrs. William Ravine of the Council of Jewish Women, assited by B’nai B’rith and Rockdale and Wise Temple sisterhoods. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Posner, of Hutchins Avenue, announce the marriage of their daughter, Bernice, to Mr. Robert J. Schwartz, son of Mrs. Maier Schwartz, of Edwards Road, Hyde Park, on Saturday, September 30. – October 5, 1939
50 Y EARS A GO Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Glassman, 5227 Laconia Avenue, announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, A. Daniel, Saturday, Oct. 3 at 9 am, at Golf Manor Synagogue, 6442 Stover. A Kiddush will follow the sevice. A reception in Danny’s honor will be held Sunday, Oct. 4 from 2 until 5 pm, at Liebowitz Auditorium of Golf Manor Synagogue. All friends and relatives are cordially invited. No cards.
Danny is a grandson of Mr. Morris Glassman. Mr. and Mrs. Leon Effron, 1805 Cresthill, announce the engagement of their daughter, Elaine, to Mr. Sami Ninio, son of Mr. and Mrs. Marco Ninio of Tel Aviv, Israel. Miss Effron has completed her studies in Cosmetology. Mr Ninio is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering in Tel Aviv. A November wedding is planned. Dr. Harold Pescovitz was elected a director of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Unit of the American Cancer Society at the unit’s annual meeting Wednesday, Sept. 23 at the Sheraton Gibson. Mr. Bertrand L. Meiss received an award for service. – October 1, 1964
25 Y EARS A GO Judy and Gary Zakem annouce the birth of a daughter, Lauren Michelle, Sept. 18. Lauren has a brother, Adam. Maternal grandparents are Lee and Marty Markowitz of Miami. Paternal grandparents are Ann and Leonard Zakem of Dayton. Pauline Swillinger will celebrate her 100th birthday on Sunday, Oct. 15, with a reception from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Crest Hills Country Club. Pauline is the wife of the late Mendel Swillinger. She is the daughter of the late Jenny and Morris Greenfinkel who were superintendents of the Orthodox Jewish Home from 1917-1939. Mrs. Swillinger has two children, Howard of Cincinnati and Selma Cohen of Miami, formerly of Middletown. She has five grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren and a brother, Max Greenfinkel, of Cincinnati. Friends and relatives are cordially invited to celebrate with Pauline and her family on this special occasion. No cards. – October 5, 1989
10 Y EARS A GO Lauren Cohen, daughter of Elaine and Allen Cohen, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah Saturday, October 16, 2004 at Adath Israel Congregation. Marissa Rogoff, daughter of Mark Rogoff and Rhonda Healy, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah Saturday October 16, 2004, at Congregation Ohav Shalom. Matt Slovin, son of Randy and Diane Slovin, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah Saturday October 23, 2004 at Congregation Ohav Shalom. – October 14, 2004
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIEDS • 19
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS Access (513) 373-0300 • jypaccess.org Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc. (513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7258 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Chabad (513) 731-5111 • campchabad.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 •camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 754-3100 • cedarvillage.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Cincinnati Community Kollel (513) 631-1118 • kollel.shul.net Cincinnati Community Mikveh (513) 351-0609 •cincinnatimikveh.org Eruv Hotline (513) 351-3788 Fusion Family (513) 703-3343 • fusionnati.org Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (Miami) (513) 523-5190 • muhillel.org Hillel Jewish Student Center (UC) (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati 513-961-0178 • jcemcin.org Jewish Community Center (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org Jewish Community Relations Council (513) 985-1501 Jewish Family Service (513) 469-1188 • jfscinti.org Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (513) 985-1500 • jewishcincinnati.org Jewish Foundation (513) 214-1200 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 JVS Career Services (513) 936-WORK (9675) • www.jvscinti.org Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 Shalom Family (513) 703-3343 • myshalomfamily.org
GAZA from page 9 talks, but a date for the resumption has not been announced. Amid the stalled plans over Gaza, another report emerged on September 8 that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had offered Abbas land in the Sinai Peninsula for a Palestinian state, Israeli Army Radio reported. According to the plan, Egypt would provide 1,600 square kilometers in the Sinai near the Gaza Strip that would enlarge the coastal enclave by about five times. This area, which would be demilitarized and under the control of the Palestinian Authority, would then serve as land where Palestinian refugees could eventually settle. In exchange, Abbas would have to give up claims to a Palestinian state within pre-1967 lines. However, both Egypt and the Palestinian Authority denied the report, with one Palestinian official calling it a “fabrication,” Ma’an News Agency reported.
The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 Workum Fund (513) 899-1836 • workum.org YPs at the JCC (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org CONGREGATIONS CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net B’nai Tikvah Chavurah (513) 284-5845 • rabbibruce.com Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • btzbc.com Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Congregation Sha’arei Torah (513) 620-8080 • shaareitorahcincy.org Congregation Shevet Achim (513) 426-8613 • shevetachimohio.com Congregation Zichron Eliezer (513) 631-4900 • czecincinnati.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com
Nevertheless Zilber believes that “Jordan and Egypt need to play a role in the future final status resolution of the conflict,” he said. “The difference between that being true and these two state ceding territory to a future Palestinian state is very wide.” But Egypt and Jordan are also threatened by radical Islamic movements and face serious economic issues in their own countries. “Both countries don’t want to solve Israel’s very real Palestinian question for Israel,” Zilber told JNS. Likewise, emerging rivalries in the Arab world over how to handle the growing threat of Islamic extremism have contributed to the lack of enthusiasm for the situation in Gaza. While Qatar and Turkey were outspoken in their criticism of Israel’s conduct, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were rather subdued in their reaction, with some Egyptian officials openly criticizing Hamas for its actions and its repeated rejection of Egyptian
EDUCA EDUCATION Chai Tots Early Childhood Center (513) 234.0600 • chaitots.com Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (513) 351-7777 • chds.shul.net HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Kehilla - School for Creative Jewish Education (513) 489-3399 • kehilla-cincy.com Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Kulanu (Reform Jewish High School) (513) 262-8849 • kulanucincy.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org Sarah’s Place (513) 531-3151 • sarahsplacecincy.com Yeshivas Lubavitch High School of Cincinnati (513) 631-2452 • ylcincinnati.com ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 BBYO (513) 722-7244 • mayersonjcc.org Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati.hadassah.org Jewish Discovery Center (513) 234-0777 • jdiscovery.com Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (937) 886-9566 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org ORT America (216) 464-3022 • ortamerica.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com
cease-fire proposals. “They understand Israel is not their enemy but their ally in the fight against this common enemy,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a major foreign policy speech on September 11, indicating a growing desire to forge a closer relationship between Israel and these Arab neighbors. “I believe that presents an opportunity for cooperation and perhaps an opportunity for peace,” Netanyahu said. With the ongoing distraction by the Islamic State and concerns over broader Islamic extremism across the Middle East, as well as the Palestinian infighting over control of Gaza, “there is a limited bandwidth for the Palestinians,” Zilber said. “While it is important, it is not front and center as it may been in the past, as new realities emerge.”
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business@ americanisraelite.com or call 513-621-3145 EUROPE from page 8 President Viktor Yanukovych, but they were replaced in the country’s east by an arguably worse fear -- being caught in the crossfire between government troops and pro-Russian rebels. Despite some disagreements about the political situation, Jews in Ukraine and Russia responded with a coordinated effort. In Ukraine, it included assistance to thousands of Jews affected by the war. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Agency and local Jewish communities and philanthropists all pitched in to help evacuate thousands of Jews from the battle zones. In total, some 15 Jews died in the fighting, according to the International Fellowship of ARCHAEOLOGY from page 10 central governments. “I think it is an atrocity,” Horovitz said. “Islamic fundamentalist groups are on an ongoing crusade to destroy antiquities because they consider it against their religion, or they fear that their religion will be undermined by excavations that will show things that they are not happy about.” The situation for artifacts is particularly dangerous in Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State jihadist group has taken over large swathes of territory. According to a report by The Guardian in June, Islamic State looted about $36 million in antiquities from the al-Nabuk region in Syria. Reports indicate that much of the illegal smuggling, which is taxed by the Islamic State, is done by local Syrians and Turkish nationals, who then smuggle the artifacts across the border into Turkey and sell them to international antiquities traffickers on the black market. Meanwhile, in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which was conquered by the Islamic State in June, the terror group has already destroyed important religious sites such as the Tomb of Jonah (the famous biblical prophet who was swallowed by a whale), and has threatened the Mosul Museum, which contains
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(513) 531-9600 Christians and Jews, which along with local Chabad officials helped set up a refugee camp for the internally displaced. And as in France and Belgium, the crisis in Ukraine also resulted in substantial growth in emigration, with 3,252 newcomers leaving for Israel in 2014 compared to 1,270 in the corresponding period last year. Taken together, the crises prompted a sense that something fundamental had shifted for Europe's Jews. Over the summer, Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident who as chief of the Jewish Agency is the top Israeli official responsible for aliyah, suggested that the current period “may be the beginning of the end for European Jewry.” numerous artifacts from the nearby ancient city of Nineveh. “These areas are where human culture began; they are the cradle of civilization. [Islamic State] is destroying the heritage of mankind,” Horovitz said. The frightening situation in the Middle East stands in stark contrast with Israel, which has one of the most robust and highly regulated antiquities departments in the world and is eager to preserve the country’s diverse past. Nevertheless, the City of David Foundation, which works with the Israel Antiquities Authority in excavating important areas in Jerusalem, has come under intense scrutiny from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which has called on the City of David to halt historical excavations. “We should think about proper care of the cultures of the past,” Barkay said. “Instead of condemning these acts of looting that go on all the time in these Arab countries, UNESCO is obsessed with excavations and acts of preservation in Jerusalem because of political reasons.” He added, “UNESCO should deal with salvaging the heritage of mankind instead of political matters.”
20 • BUSINESS / FOOD
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Can Hillel and ‘Open Hillel’ smooth out their differences on Israel guidelines? By Alina Dain Sharon (JNS) – “Jewish Voices Against the Israeli Occupation,” organized by the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance and the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, frustrated students wrote an open letter to the Hillel community criticizing the decision. That letter has since led to the founding of “Open Hillel,” a broader movement calling on Hillel International—the Jewish campus umbrella represented on more than 550 colleges and universities—to allow the expression of more diverse points of view, including those critical of Israel. The notion that Hillel is not inclusive is one that Hillel International’s president and CEO, Eric Fingerhut, wants to dispel. On Sept. 9, Fingerhut will be meeting with Open Hillel student representatives in Boston. “All Jewish students are welcome at Hillel, regardless of their point of view, regardless of whether they agree with Hillel’s point of view about Israel,” Fingerhut told JNS.org in an exclusive interview ahead of the meeting, which was initiated by Hillel International. “We are a pro-Israel organization,” he said. “It is part of our mission to encourage students to build an enduring commitment to Israel as a Jewish and democratic homeland. That is what we are, [and] that leaves within it a broad range to debate Israel’s policies, and where Israel might be right or wrong on particular issues.” Lex Rofes, a Brown University alum and a member of Open Hillel’s student committee who helped organize the meeting with Fingerhut, told JNS.org that at many campuses, students who sought “to create Jewish programming that was meaningful to them” have been told that they could not implement their plans, either because the programming itself included content or speakers overly critical of Israel, or because they wanted to co-sponsor the event with a group that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Hillel’s official Israel guidelines state that it will not “partner with, house or host organizations, groups or speakers that delegitimize, demonize or apply a double standard to Israel.” In December 2013, the Hillel student board at Swarthmore College voted to reject Hillel’s Israel guidelines and align itself with the Open Hillel movement. In response, Fingerhut wrote a public letter in which he stated that Hillel “expects all campus organizations that use the Hillel name to adhere to these guide-
lines. No organization that uses the Hillel name may choose to do otherwise.” This past February, the Jewish Union at Vassar College in New York took a similar position, eliciting a statement by Fingerhut that, “We agree that Hillel should and will always provide students with an open and pluralistic forum where they can explore issues and opinions related to their Jewish identity. We thank the Vassar students for their commitment to this value and accept their invitation for further conversation.” But Fingerhut reiterated that Hillel would not “give a platform to groups or individuals to attack the Jewish people, Jewish values or the Jewish state’s right to exist.” “Our expectation is that all Hillel affiliates will continue to uphold these standards for partners and cosponsors,” he said. In April, a group of current and former Jewish student leaders at Connecticut-based Wesleyan University announced that the Hillel-affiliated Wesleyan Jewish Community was also rejecting the umbrella group’s Israel guidelines. Rofes believes Fingerhut’s responses to Open Hillel’s concerns, particularly to the incidents at Swarthmore and Vassar, have been a “mixture.” “I thought that the initial blog post [Fingerhut] posted [on Swarthmore] wasn’t necessarily the kind of tone I would have loved, but I understand their disagreement with Swarthmore’s decision and that’s their right,” he said. Fingerhut’s wording on Vassar was more to Rofes’s liking, and he added that “in other regards [Hillel has] responded positively to us.” Hillel’s responses to the Swarthmore and Vassar decisions were the same, Fingerhut said. “Hillel’s guidelines are what they are, and all Hillels are expected to work within those guidelines,” he told JNS.org. Hillel International also sent representatives to both campuses to address the concerns. “We try to work with students to accommodate as much as they want to do as possible within the guidelines,” Fingerhut said. For the upcoming meeting, Open Hillel student representatives are not preparing to raise any specific concerns, but simply want to listen to Hillel International’s strategy on Israel for the coming year, including the potential establishment of a student cabinet, which Rofes sees as a sign of Hillel’s growing commitment to student empowerment. “We got an email that Hillel is HILLEL on page 22
Beginning the New Year 5775 Zell’s Bites
by Zell Schulman This Rosh Hashanah, I was asked not only to bring my childhood friend Flo Guttman’s (of blessed memory) honey cake for dinner, erev Rosh Hashanah, but also what has now become one of everyone’s favorites, my Bourbon-frosted Angel Food cake. Though many of us have already planned our menus and cooked and baked for today’s holiday, there is still time to enjoy and serve them for Yom Kippur’s “Break the fast” or enjoy them for dessert in your Sukkah. May they bring sweetness in your lives each time you serve them as they have in mine. FLO'S HONEY CAKE Makes 3 loaves I prefer orange blossom or wild flower honey rather than clover honey because it gives the cake a better flavor. Honey cakes freeze well, so you can double this recipe, bake the cakes in disposable pans, and share them with friends and family for a Sweet New Year. Ingredients 1/2 cup dark raisins soaked in hot water and drained 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon each ginger, cloves and nutmeg 1 teaspoon imported cocoa 3/4 cup honey 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup strong coffee 1/2 cup finely ground walnuts. (optional) Method 1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour three 7" x 3" aluminum pans. 2. Soak the raisins in hot water for 3 minutes, strain out the liquid and place raisins on paper towels. Lightly sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons of flour. Set aside. 3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, sift the remaining 2
cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and cocoa together. To measure the honey, rub the inside of a four-cup glass measuring cup with a little vegetable oil.. This will keep the honey from sticking to the cup. Add the honey and the coffee to the dry ingredients. Mix together on the low speed of your electric mixer, stopping once or twice to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. 4. Empty the batter into a large pitcher or bowl with a spout. Fold in the raisins. If you plan to use the nuts, lightly sprinkle the bottoms of the pans with the chopped nuts. Fill the pans with the batter no more than halfway up. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until a tip of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven. Cool the cakes in their pans for 10 minutes on a cake rake before removing them. Remove the cakes from the pans and allow the cakes to cool completely before serving or freezing them. Zell’s Tips: Soak the raisins in 1/4 cup of good brandy instead of using the water. Should you wish to make mini loaves to give as gifts, use aluminum disposable 3-1/2 inch x 5-1/2 inch pans and bake the cakes no more than 30 minutes. ZELL’S BOURBON ANGEL FOOD CAKE Serves 8 to 10 As a true Kentuckian, over the years I have enjoyed flavoring some of my favorite desserts with 100-proof good Kentucky bourbon. These days, finding 100-proof Kentucky bourbon is difficult, but 90- or 80-proof also works. This cake has become a favorite with my friends and family. Ingredients Purchase a well-done angel food cake at your supermarket or bakery. One 10-ounce jar of Dickenson’s Seedless Red Raspberry preserves 3 to 4 tablespoons good Kentucky Bourbon Method 1. Set the cake onto a large wooden board. With a sharp knife, slice the cake thru the middle, into two halves. Remove the raspberry preserves from the jar into a small bowl. Stir them well so they spread easier. 2. First, I brush each cut side of the cake with some straight bourbon or a raspberry liquor
before I put the preserves on the cut side. Spread the raspberry preserves evenly on the top of the bottom half only. Do not allow the preserves to run over the side of the cake half. 3. Place the top half evenly on the top of the bottom half. Don’t allow the preserves to seep out over the side. 4. Drop large tablespoon of the bourbon frosting on the top surface of the cake. With an offset spreader, spread the frosting evenly over the top and sides of the entire cake. 5. Remove the frosted cake onto a large cake platter. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator, slice and enjoy. BOURBON FROSTING Will frost a 10"cake Ingredients 1/4 cup butter, softened 3 tablespoons heavy cream (or non-dairy creamer) 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 4 to 6 tablespoons of good Kentucky bourbon Pinch of salt One 14-ounce jar seedless red raspberry preserves. Method 1. Pour the bourbon into a small glass cup and set aside. Using a hand-held electric mixer or a food processor, place the butter and cream or non-dairy creamer in a large bowl, or the bowl of your food processor. Beat or process until combined. 2. Add 1 cup of sugar at a time to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed or pulse several times after each addition. Add the salt. With the mixer on medium speed or the processor running, begin by adding two tablespoons of the bourbon to the bowl of the mixer or the food processor until you have the proper spreading consistency. Don’t make it too thin. Zell’s Tips: This frosting is perfect on an angel food cake but if you’re short on time, it would also add something special if you spread it over and in the center of a purchased pound cake.
AUTOS • 21
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Porsche Cayman lighter and faster in 2014
The Porsche Cayman is a twodoor sports car that has an attractive exterior, a luxurious interior, and an
emphasis on the driving experience. For the 2014 model year, Porsche introduced a brand-new Cayman
that’s lighter, faster, more powerful, lower and longer than the prior version. Sharp new styling adds a new dimension to the coupe. Two versions were offered initially in the 2014 Cayman and Cayman S, both available in sixspeed manual or seven-speed PDK dual-clutch versions. The standard Cayman uses a 2.7-liter flat sixcylinder engine rated at 275 horsepower. With the optional Sport Chrono package, it can get to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds when equipped with PDK. The Cayman S uses the nowfamiliar 3.4-liter flat-six engine, rated at 325 horsepower. With PDK and Sport Chrono, it's good for 4.6second 0-60 mph runs. Gas mileage rises to as much as 32 mpg. Those models return for the new model year, but for 2015, a Cayman GTS has been added to the lineup. It
Enhanced, handsome Lexus ES sedan is sleek and stylish The Lexus ES is one of the best selling models in the Lexus lineup. The ES is a mid-size sedan that has V-6 and hybrid drivetrain choices. The ES is fitted with more standard features, and with better materials, and has an elegant appeal. The new ES 350 was first shown at the 2012 New York Auto Show, then introduced for the 2013 model year, and for the first time it was joined by a hybrid ES 300h model. This time around, the ES has a couple of extra inches of wheelbase, and more backseat space. Exterior styling is quite hand-
some; some think the ES lineup has never looked so sleek. Inside, the horizontal theme from the larger GS sedan has been adopted (although standard leather upholstery has been dropped in favor of synthetic), while tech and safety features are upgraded to include Entune app connectivity and lanedeparture warning. The ES 350 sports a 268-hp V6 and a six-speed automatic and front-wheel drive, while the Hybrid has the 2.5-liter Atkinsoncycle hybrid four and achieves an EPA city rating of 40 mpg (39 highway). And thanks to a quicker steering ratio and retuned suspen-
sion, the ES models feel slightly sportier from behind the wheel without sacrificing passenger comfort--it's still just as plush and quiet as ever. In a first drive of the ES 300h, it was found to be surprisingly responsive as the 350, while far more fuel-efficient. The ES lineup changed very little into 2014 and 2015; although for 2015 it received upgraded infotainment systems, including a new 3D bird's-eye view for the navigation system, as well as an audio-buffer feature and enhanced apps integration. Base price is about $36,000.
Infiniti Q50 is visually appealing and performance-ready The Infiniti Q50 is the luxury brand's mainstay sedan. It's clearly an evolution of the G37; but striking sheetmetal, an attractive profile, and an expressive new cabin styling all add up to one of the most visually appealing—and cohesive—new sport-sedan designs. At the center of the dash is a new infotainment system; with twin screens over two levels of the dash, it aims to separate out important and frequently used functions and place them on the upper-display. For its first year, the Q50 comes with two quite different V6 powertrains, and a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. First, there's a 328-horsepower version of the company's tried-and-true 3.7-liter V-6—with a seven-speed automatic transmis-
sion. Then there's a hybrid model, featuring a 3.5-liter V-6 with an electric motor system, two clutches, and a lithium-ion battery pack—essentially what's been previously installed in the M35h hybrid—altogether making an output of 354 hp. With the Q50, Infiniti is introducing a new Direct Adaptive Steering system, allowing four different steering settings, each with its own weighting and ratio. Inside, the Q50 they’ve redesigned the front seats for more comfort. The Q50 comes with run-flat tires in all its variations, which helps free up more cargo space. Trims build on the plush, modern look of the M sedans, with new 'Kacchu' aluminum and maple wood detailing. Look for Intelligent Cruise
Control with a full speed range, plus the world's first application of predictive Forward Collision Warning, as well as Blind Spot Intervention, Back-up Collision Intervention, Active Lane Control, and other accident-avoidance aids. A rear-view monitor and an Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection are also standard across the model line. The Q50 is the first Infiniti model to offer Infiniti Connection—a security- and concierge-related telematics service that has a companion smartphone app and provides remote monitoring (for teen drivers, for example), SOS call and collision notification, and a personal assistant service. The Q 50 starts at around $36,000.
sports the 3.4-liter flat-six engine from the respective S models, but with 15 hp more. This means the Cayman GTS is good for 340 hp and 280 lb-ft. A six-speed manual is standard, with a choice of Porsche's excellent PDK dual-clutch gearbox. The Cayman GTS needs only 4.3 seconds to hit 60 mph with the PDK, top speed is 177 mph with the manual-equipped Cayman. Porsche’s Sport Chrono package and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) are standard. Onlookers will able to recognize the $76,195 Cayman GTS by its 20-inch darkened wheels, bi-xenon headlights with darkened surrounds, new bumpers at both ends, a sport exhaust with black tips, and black lettering. For the cabin, the GTS models get sports seats, leather trim and Alcantara accents. The Cayman quickly won nods
for its sharp, intuitive steering response, good feedback, and confident brakes. The mid-mounted engine also allowed some surprisingly good packaging in the Cayman; cargo could be stowed in back or in front, with plenty of space for a long weekend trip The interior of the Cayman was given a significant refresh for the 2009 model year, with new audio and navigation systems plus an improved look and better materials. The options list was expanded as well to include more luxury items such as a heated steering wheel and ventilated seats. Leather seats were available, as well as a Bose sound system and Bluetooth, along with a long list of accessories that can push the price to well over $80,000. Base price is $52, 600.
22 • OBITUARIES D EATH N OTICES GROETZINGER, Sidney, died September 17, 2014; 22 Elul, 5774. HERMAN, Leo, age 89, died September 21, 2014; 27 Elul, 5774.
O BITUARIES
Shirley Levine
LEVINE, Shirley Shirley Levine was born in New Haven, CT on Sept. 27, 1919 to Oscar and Bella Moore (nee Romanoff). Shirley grew up in a very orthodox and modest home. She was able to go to a secretarial college and became the right hand in both business and family life with her husband Ted. They, together, built a very successful business in Los Angeles, Ted Levine Drum Company. Ted Levine Drum Company is the major plastic drum reconditioner on the West Coast and is now under the leadership of her son Ozzie (Oscar). Shirley was very involved with her synagogue’s sisterhood-both Temple Beth Torah in Alhambra, Calif. and for the past 47 years at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Both Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz and Rabbi David Wolpe officiated at the funeral. She was a member of the Pioneer women and Hadassah and a supporter of the Jewish Federation and JNF. Family was Shirley’s top priority. She was very involved in the support and care of her son Louis who was brain damaged from birth. She also hosted all the family gatherings for the holidays and was a wonderful cook who loved having the chance to feed her family. Everyone who knew Shirley (or “doll” as Ted would call her) said she was the most beautiful woman inside and out. She always had a smile on her face, and was willing to do anything
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Sherman, who is now in New York attending the Iran nuclear talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, added: “Ensuring the wholly peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program is a third — not necessarily in any priority order.” Kerry met Wednesday with Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s foreign minister, who in a statement also warned against accommodation with Iran, which he called “the No. 1 exporter of terror in the world.” Liberman did not, however, suggest that Iran was the greater threat and instead said the ISIS and Iran crises were interrelated. An Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said Liberman told Kerry that “Israel supports the United States in its efforts to form a broad international front against ISIS, and stands ready to help in this task should it be asked, taking into con-
sideration the sensitivities of the states taking part and the needs of the United States.” Obama administration officials say that should the major powers and Iran reach an agreement regarding its nuclear program by the Nov. 24 deadline, the pact would likely allow some uranium enrichment — an outcome Israel is working hard to mitigate. Liberman said that in his meeting with Kerry, he also lobbied his U.S. counterpart to moderate State Department warnings against travel to Israel now that Israel and Hamas have achieved a cease-fire agreement following this summer’s war. The most recent warning, issued earlier this month, warns of the “risks” of traveling to the region “due to the complex security environment there and the potential for violence and renewed hostilities.”
Jewish community is well prepared to deal with that threat,” said Cohen, who consulted often with the Jewish community during his time at Homeland Security. He noted improvements in equipment, in many cases paid for by a Homeland Security funding program, and increased awareness of suspicious activity and cooperation with local law enforcement. The Secure Community Network and the institute where Cohen now lectures are planning a conference at Rutgers for Jewish communities here and overseas. Goldenberg said SCN also was establishing a campus security task force with Hillel. Cohen said that in the wake of the Brussels attack, Homeland Security enhanced its already close relationship with the U.S. Jewish community. “We worked to share our information with members of the Jewish community and to provide guidance to members of the community so that they are better prepared,” he said. President Obama in his speech
last week outlining his strategies to destroy ISIS said there was a possible — but not imminent — threat to the homeland. “If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region, including to the United States,” Obama said. “While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. “Our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners, including Europeans and some Americans, have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.” Skeptics have said the threat is overstated. Daniel Benjamin, the top State Department official in Obama’s first term, exploded with sarcasm in comment to The New York Times on the day that Obama delivered his speech. Benjamin, now the director of the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College, accused top U.S. officials of “describing the threat in lurid terms that are not justified.”
“It’s hard to imagine a better indication of the ability of elected officials and TV talking heads to spin the public into a panic with claims that the nation is honeycombed with sleeper cells, that operatives are streaming across the border into Texas or that the group will soon be spraying Ebola virus on mass transit systems — all on the basis of no corroborated information,” he told the newspaper. Cohen agreed that there was no immediate intelligence presaging an attack, but suggested it was beside the point. “We know we have an organization that has exhibited a certain level of brutality, a certain level of sophistication in regard to activities and an interest in recruiting Americans,” he said. “We know they have acquired significant amounts of funding, that they have directly stated that the U.S. is one of the enemies they seek to combat and that they have employed rather sophisticated techniques to recruit Westerners.” Westerners, Cohen said, are useful to ISIS most of all as potential sleepers. “They don’t need Westerners to establish a caliphate,” he said.
the issue is Safe Hillel, a campus movement created in response to Open Hillel with the goal—much like Hillel itself—to dispel misconceptions about Hillel’s lack of inclusiveness. “Hillel is an open and welcoming organization with a mission statement, and they stand for their mission statement like any other organization should and does,” Daniel Mael, a junior at Brandeis University and one of Safe Hillel’s founders, told JNS.org. Hillel is not stifling student opinions, but simply saying is that it “will not sponsor hate groups, and anti-Semitic and anti-Israel speakers,” said Mael. Rofes, however, said Open Hillel just wants “a conversation where people can counter one another, and can grow from one another
and understand each other’s perspectives.” To that end, Open Hillel is holding a conference from Oct. 11-13 at Harvard University that will include a variety of speakers—among them well-known BDS activist Judith Butler. “We would love Hillel International to send some folks to the conference, and we actually invited them a while back,” Rofes said. According to Mael, Fingerhut’s willingness to meet with Open Hillel students and proactively hear their concerns is in line with Hillel’s overall philosophy and “disproves the entire thesis of Open Hillel as a farce.” “Many of the Open Hillel people have a problem with the existence of the Jewish state of Israel, and they
harbor intense hatred towards the Jewish state,” and therefore Hillel International “is doing what it can to maintain the pro-Israel integrity of its organization,” Mael said. Ultimately, the issue of whether or not students feel welcome at Hillel is different than a notion of needing to agree on every issue, Fingerhut said. “We’re never going to agree on everything,” he said. “That’s not possible when you represent all Jewish students on campus.” For those who want to be involved with programs and groups that are not sanctioned by Hillel’s guidelines, “there are many [other] outlets on a campus” for that, Fingerhut added. “Campuses are the most open places in society,” he said.
asked of her. She played the piano by ear so beautifully and often played for sisterhood events. Shirley and her husband were avid travelers. She was able to attend her “pre” 95th birthday party in which 88 people attended! She looked gorgeous and spoke clearly and articulately and hoped she would make it to 100 and that “everyone should come back for more”. This is how the majority of her friends and family saw her last, and this was truly a blessing. She will be missed by all. Shirley (Moore) Levine passed away on Sept. 2, 2014, 7 Elul 5774, in Los Angeles, California. The funeral was held at Mt Sinai Memorial Park and shiva was observed at her home. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Ted (alav hashalom), her brother Ruby Moore and her sisters Ida Hyman and Sally Lipwich . She is survived by her children Oscar (Sharon) Levine, Louis Levine and Nina (Eddie) Paul and her grandchildren Dovid (Dafna) Levine, Esther Levine, Binyomin (Sara Leah) Levine, Ruthie (Eli) Bloch, Rivka , Yehudis, Zipporah and Malke Levine, and Lainey, Jake, and Max Paul. and by her great grandchildren Yitzi and Rachel Levine and Noah and Abie Bloch. She is survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins scattered around the United States, Israel and South Africa. Donations in her memory can be made to JNF, Jewish Federation, Adath Israel, Rockwern Academy, or a charity of your choice. May her memory always be for a blessing.
ENVOY from page 7
HILLEL from page 20 interested in meeting, [and] we of course were happy to go and do that,” Rofes said. “We’re just looking to sort of check in” and discuss ways to “find some common ground and work together,” he added. Fingerhut’s goal for the meeting is to listen to the students and reassure them of how welcome they are at Hillel. “There’s nothing involved in Hillel’s Israel guidelines that in any way excludes any student based on any opinion they might have,” Fingerhut said, differentiating between students’ ability to express a diversity of views on Israel within Hillel’s tent, but not to partner with anti-Israel organizations on a Hillelsponsored activity. Another voice speaking out on
against ISIS and terrorist organizations, but this should not come at the expense of a nuclear Iran.” No U.S. official has said that Iranian cooperation on ISIS would influence the outcome of nuclear talks. Just this week Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state leading talks with Iran, suggested in a speech that the United States remained as committed to keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons as it was in confronting ISIS. “Defeating violent extremists” in Iraq and Syria “and ending Syria’s civil war are two crucial elements to the construction of a stable and forward-looking Middle East,” Sherman said Tuesday in a talk at Georgetown University. ISIS from page 7