Oregon Jewish Life June 2016 Vol.5/Issue 5

JUNE/JULY JUNE/JULY 2016 2016

WANDER NO MORE

SUMMER FUN &

STAYcations The Outdoors Beckon June 15-29

Come Inside for the

PORTLAND

JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

OREGON MANUFACTURERS. LOCAL BUSINESSES. YOUR NEIGHBORS. ALL GETTING MORE FROM THEIR ENERGY. Here in Oregon, thousands of businesses and individuals are saving money with help from Energy Trust of Oregon. With cash incentives for energy improvements, we can help you get more from your energy.

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Are you ready to get more from your energy?

Visit www.energytrust.org/more or call us at 1.866.368.7878.

Serving customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas. OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 3

Inside 11

June/July 2016 | Iyar-Tammuz 5776 | Volume 5/Issue 5

24

Features COVER STORY

24th Annual Portland Jewish Film Festival ….…………………………………………28 Review: The Kindergarten Teacher………………………………………………………..30 Review: The Midnight Orchestra…………………………………………………………..31 Schedule…………………………………………………………………………………….32-33

JEWS WITH ATTITUDE

A game-changer for medical marijuana………..…………………………………………8 Bernie Pipes go viral……………………………...……………………………………………9

BUSINESS

Ins & Outs………………………………………….…………………………………………….10

FOOD

Chef’s Corner: Backyard eggs – Yum! …....……………………………………………..24 NW Nosh: Jewish traditions in candy….………………………………………………….26

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Painting Sound…………………………..…....…………………………………………….. 34 Senior author keeps busy……………………………………………………………………36 Sing-along returns for third year…………………………………………………………..38

FATHER’S DAY

Fatherhood the second time around……………………………………………………..39

32

WOMAN OF TH E YEAR – Shira Einstein was named th e 2016 Leukem ia Lymphoma So ciety Woman of the Year at the LLS gala May 14. The su bject of Oregon Jewish LIfe's May co ver stor y raised more th an $46,000 to suppor t research to de feat cancer.

Mazel Tov to Dr . Jeffrey Menas he on being named Man of the Ye ar that night.

Staycations/Summer Fun Oregonians hear call of the wild…….………....……………………… 12 Vacation Blues……………………………………………………………… 15 Backpacking with tots: A crazy good time…………………………...16 Wandering Jews……………………………………..……………………...18 Summer reading picks……………………………..……………………..20 Book Review: God and Politics in Esther……………………………..22 Summer Fun Advertiser Directory………………………………………23

JKids & Teens too Plant for the Planet…………..........……………………………………..52 PJA poets celebrated…………….………………………………………..54 Learning history where it lives…..………………………………………55 Kids and Teens Calendar…..……………………………………………..56

JLiving Federation honors Jewish professional……………………………….58 Foundation celebrates Kantor’s legacy…….…………………………59 Frank’s Song…………………………………….……………………………60 FACES from recent events …….………………………………………….62 Previews of things to come …….……………………………………….64 Calendar …….……………………….………………………………………66

YOUNG ADULTS

Jennie Spector works to lift women’s voices …………………………………………..44 California takes stand on campus anti-Semitism…………………………………….42 PDX Hillel students Engage With Israel………………………………………………….43

SENIORS

Columns 15 Ask Helen

New households put seniors in the center.…………………………..………………… 44 From Iron Dome to Ashland home……………………………………..………………… 46 Couple enjoys food, exercise and the J……..………………………..…………………48

24 Chef’s Corner by Lisa Glickman 26 NW Nosh by Kerry Politzer 50 An Oregonian in Israel by Mylan Tanzer

ISRAEL

COVER PHOTOS: Surfsands Resort in Cannon Beach; courtesy of Travel Oregon.

Film photos from top left: Demon, The Kindergarten Teacher, Tale of Love and Darkness, and Once in a Lifetime (bottom right); courtesy of NW Film Center.

Shooting sparks debate in Israel…….…....…………………………..…………………50

CORRECTION: In an article about Mother’s Wisdom in the May issue, Lois Shenker’s daughter’s city of residence was incorrectly listed as her last name. Diana’s last name is Ayton-Shenker.

4 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

T�ank You! We extend our sincere gratitude to the sponsors of our fourth annual fundraising luncheon, and thank you for your commitment to the JFCS family —our work wouldn’t be possible without your support.

The Holzman Foundation, Inc. Sol & Rosalyn Menashe Family Fund of OJCF

Andrew Berlinberg, the Berlinberg Properties Team at Keller Williams Arnerich Massena, Inc.

Diane & Richard Lowensohn Toinette & Victor Menashe Morel Ink

Kathy & Norman Chusid

Jeanne Newmark & Rosemarie Rosenfeld

Nathan Cogan Family Fund of OJCF

Pacific Continental Bank

Lee & Sheri Cordova Rosalie Goodman Lisa Kaner Wendy & Howard Liebreich

Dave Pollin Pollin Family Fund of OJCF The Rackner Family Warren & Sheryl Rosenfeld Fund of OJCF

The Loeb Family

Robert & Ann Sacks/ The Pixie Project Elaine Savinar & Sharon Weil The Singer Family LLC Les & Martha Soltesz Eve Stern, Les Gutfreund & Family Stoel Rives LLP & German Honorary Consul Tonkin Family of Dealerships UBS Financial Services Charlene Zidell

Our Services Counseling, Disability Support Services, Emergency Aid, Holocaust Survivor Services 503-226-7079 • info@jfcs-portland.org • jfcs-portland.org

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 5

As May ricocheted wildly between spring rains and summer sun, I found myself looking forward to the full-on arrival of summer even more than usual. The glimpses of the sun while creating our special section on Summer Fun & Staycations have made me eager to sample all Oregon has to offer in the summer.

Our outdoor recreation is probably the most diverse in the nation with mountains, desert, rivers and ocean an easy drive from the populous Willamette Valley. City, state and national parks are recreational havens. Parks also provide venues for entertainment including music festivals, symphonies and plays.

But don’t let the state’s natural wonders distract you from this year’s Portland Jewish Film Festival – the subject of this month’s cover story. For nearly a quarter century the festival has been opening hearts and minds through the magic of cinema. The 15 films in this year’s festival are diverse enough to tantalize everyone to sample the fare.

If you decide to venture to a nearby state for a getaway, we’ve compiled a list of Jewish events (including the Mah Jongg World Championship in Las Vegas) to feed the soul of any wandering Jew. If your trip starts in the airport, be sure to stroll through Concourse E and soak up some Portland Soul courtesy of Jewish portrait artist Diane Russell.

While this issue helps you stay busy over the summer, our next issue will keep you engaged all year long. Our annual Resource Guide and Education Directory comes out Aug. 1. If your organization was missing from last year’s guide, be sure to let us know by the end of June. You can reach me at editor@ojlife.com.

Until then, relax and enjoy your summer. I know I’ll enjoy mine!

Oy!

Stepped into the dark, silent massage parlor. Placed my sweater and purse in the bucket at the end of the massage table, only to discover it was filled with water for my foot bath. OY! Esther Wright P'nai Or If you have an OY Moment and would like to share it with the world please send to editor@ojlife.com

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™

Publishers Robert Philip and Cindy Saltzman Advertising and Editorial Director Cindy Saltzman Editor-in-Chief Deborah Moon Social Media Editor Debra Rich Gettleman Webmaster Karl Knelson Regional Sales Manager Debbie Taylor: debbie.t@ojlife.com Art Director Philip Nerat Columnists Lisa Glickman, Kerry Politzer, Helen Rosenau and Mylan Tanzer Contributing Writers Victor Chudowsky, Jodi Fried, Michael Fox, Gloria Hammer, Jenn Director Knudsen, Liz Rabiner Lippoff, Michael Miklofsky and Shuly Wasserstrom How to reach us: Editorial: 503-892-7402 or editor@ojlife.com Advertising: 503-892-7403 Subscriptions: 503-892-7403 Publisher: Publisher@ojlife.com

Subscriptions and distribution: Home delivery of Oregon Jewish Life magazine is $12 for an annual subscription or $20 for two years. Subscribe online at orjewishlife.com/magazine-subscription or call 503-892-7403.

Complimentary copies of Oregon Jewish Life magazine are available at dozens of retail locations including Jewish agencies, synagogues, New Seasons grocery stores, entertainment venues, restaurants and professional offices.

Every Minute Counts PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATHERINE JOSEPH

June 29-September 25, 2016

Upcoming issues August – Annual Resource Guide and Education Supplement

Publication dates and deadlines Oregon Jewish Life magazine is distributed on the first of the month.

Our August issue is our Annual Resource Guide with Education Supplement, so the next print issue in our regular magazine format will be the September issue.

We will be posting stories and events on the website throughout the summer and will include some of those events in our weekly e-newsletters, so please be sure to continue to submit your news and events all summer long.

•Story ideas for features and special sections are due 45-60 days prior to publication.

Frank Sinatra and Henry Wallace ©1944 Richard Hertzberg and Suzanne Hertzberg; photograph courtesy of the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

September – High Holidays and Arts & Entertainment

Join us on June 29th for the Opening Party!

1953 NW Kearney St., Portland, OR 97209 | 503-226-3600 | www.ojmche.org Tue-Thu 10:30am-4pm | Fri 10:30am-3pm | Sat-Sun noon-4pm

•Biz Ins & Outs: Business news is due about 25 days before publication (Aug. 5 for September).

•Faces & Places: Photos from past events are due about 20 days prior to publication (Aug. 10 for September).

•Events: Information about upcoming events is due about 20 days prior to publication (Aug. 10 for September).

•Calendar: Please post events on our online calendar. Relevant events that are posted by the 10th of the month before publication (Aug. 10 for September) will be included in the magazine. To request first-time authorization to post events online, go to orjewishlife.com and scroll down to the “Calendar Access Request” link under “Quick Links” on the right. After you submit the form, you’ll receive an email with instructions for posting future events.

Oregon Jewish Life 6680 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, Oregon 97219 www.ojlife.com A Prince Hal Production (TGMR18) The content and opinions in Oregon Jewish Life do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers, staff or contractors. Articles and columns are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, Oregon Jewish Life, and its agents, publishers, employees and contractors will not be held responsible for the misuse of any information contained herein. The publishers reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Publication of advertisements does not constituteendorsement of products or services.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 7

Jews with Attitude

Photos courtesy of Eybna

Israeli firm with Portland roots “game-changer” in medical marijuana industry

By Shuly Wasserstrom

The medical marijuana industry is booming, and not just in Oregon. Israel has been a driving force in the field, where scientists have been researching and advancing the product using state-of-the-art technologies.

While the medicinal properties of the drug are potentially vast, for some patients, using a unique strain tailored to their disease could be even more beneficial. Also, many patients don’t enjoy the psychoactive effects of the plant, and new technologies make it possible to remove the narcotic effect.

Eybna Technologies, founded by Nadav Eyal and Benni Eytan, whose mother hails from Portland, aims to do just that.

The mission is to bring the benefits of cannabis to more patients by isolating the medicinal properties found in different strains.

The products will eventually be tailored to treat specific medical conditions.

The technology focuses on terpenes, which are a large group of organic compounds produced by a variety of plants. Terpenes give each cannabis strain its unique flavor and smell.

Eybna’s natural terpene-based cannabis products are free of illegal traces. The products have the smell and taste of marijuana but no psychoactive effect.

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"Eybna’s proprietary technology enables the creation of natural strain-specific cannabis terpene profiles that are 100% pure and free of illegal traces, making them 100% legal and shippable worldwide,” Benni Eytan says.

Eybna is hoping to revolutionize the industry that, until now, has been mainly focused on the effects of the two main compounds in cannabis, THC and CBD. Aviv Junno, the company’s vice president of business development, says it is “similar to the ‘Intel Inside’ model.”

The products are sold as “a branded component to global product manufacturers,” Junno explains.

Israel, a global leader in many medical research fields, has some of the most progressive medical marijuana policies in the world. While recreational use is still illegal, the world is turning to the country to take the lead in development of products.

Eybna uses this to its advantage. Last month, the company participated in CannaTech, Israel’s first International Cannabis Conference, where leaders in the industry met for “a summit on accelerating cannabis innovation.”

With the potential of global expansion, Eybna is nearing the end of its first round of outside financing. The company plans to open U.S. and EU headquarters, with offices in San Francisco and Amsterdam.

Ariel Zimman’s Bernie Pipes go viral

By Deborah Moon

Benni Eytan

The company, made up of nine employees and located in central Israel, has been self-funded for the last three years.

“It is now possible for Eybna to build the world’s first global cannabis brand years ahead of the industry," Benni Eytan says.

Benni’s connection to Oregon is far and wide. His mother, Perry Floom Eytan, grew up in Portland. Her parents, Harold and Lily Floom, were instrumental in founding Hillel Academy, now the Portland Jewish Academy.

She fell in love with an Israeli while in college and followed him back to Israel, where they eventually married and had Benni and his three siblings.

Benni’s Aunt Noma, who is Perry’s sister, made aliyah after her in 1987. She serves as a legal counsel for Eybna Technologies.

Perry says she is proud of what her son has done and believes the summers he spent in Portland as a child, visiting with his American family, helped him have a larger worldview and contributed to his entrepreneurial spirit.

“Benni and the Eybna team saw a problem in patients' use of medical cannabis and set out to find a safer and better way to relieve their pain and, by doing so, have created a product that enhances the use of cannabis for all users,” Perry says.

Eybna products are seen as a game-changer in the industry.

The vision of the founders, coupled with the benefits of being located in Israel, is a recipe for success. Often referred to as the Start Up Nation, Israel appears to be the perfect place for the company to get its global start.

Shuly Wasserstrom grew up in Portland and is happy to call it home again after spending five years in Tel Aviv during and after college. She has a BA in Political Science from Tel Aviv University but has a passion for journalism, storytelling and is an avid news junkie. When not reading the news, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

When cannabis became recreationally legal in Oregon, Portland ceramic artist Ariel Zimman decided to create a spin-off from her ceramic home décor business, Relm Studios, to create aesthetically focused ceramic smoking wares.

After Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary in New Hampshire (her parents Robert and Marilyn Zimman live in Portsmouth, NH), Ariel wanted to support Sanders’ presidential bid. So she created the “Bernie Pipe,” which is sold through her Stonedware Company.

She created the Bernie Pipe “as a fun way to show support for Mr. Sanders and to help raise money for his campaign.”

The mainstream and cannabis press quickly latched onto her pipes as a new way to “Feel the Bern.”

“Watching the pipes go viral was well beyond my wildest dreams,” says Ariel. “But with such attention I have had to scale my business much faster than ever anticipated, which has been a challenge but a welcome one!”

Sales were so high (pun intended), she soon hit the federal contribution limit. (The federal government puts a $2,700 cap on individual political contributions to a federal candidate per election).

“Because of the wonderful support of the Bernie community, we have reached the maximum legal donation, ” says Ariel. “All donations past the legal Ariel Zimman limit are being focused toward charities that support girls and woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and the arts.”

Ariel grew up in Reston, VA, attending services at Beth Emeth, the synagogue her parents helped found, and attending Gesher Jewish Day School from kindergarten through fifth grade. After becoming a bat mitzvah, she participated in USY throughout high school and went on Birthright during college.

She became interested in clay in third grade during a pottery class and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in sculpture and ceramics from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston & Tufts University, in 2009.

Through Relm Studios, Ariel offers craft custom pieces and site-specific installations by hand building, slip casting and throwing on the pottery wheel to create pieces ranging from utilitarian design to ones inspired by life under the sea.

She continues to sell the Bernie Pipes as well as other pipe designs on her Stonedware website. stonedwarecompany.com | relmstudios.com OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 9

in lifestyle interventions including exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness meditation and medication-assisted treatment of substance-use disorders. Dr. Sudakin is accepting new patients. ascensionmedicalpdx.com | 971-533-5840, option 1

TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM HIRES RABBI ELISHA HERB

Rabbi Elisha Herb becomes the new rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Salem effective July 1. He succeeds Interim Rabbi Dan Aronson, who resides in Houston and has visited TBS on a monthly basis during the search for a full-time rabbi.

An affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Temple Beth Sholom is dedicated to being a vibrant, diverse and inclusive center for Jewish life in Salem and surrounding areas.

In June, he receives his rabbinical ordination and Master of Jewish Studies from Hebrew College Rabbinical School. He has served as the Jewish chaplain for Northeastern University in Boston since 2014. He was a student rabbi at Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation in New Hampshire from 2013-14 and served as a rabbinic intern at Congregation Har Shalom in Durango, CO, from 2011 to 2014.

From 2013 to 2015, he was a fellow of the Center for Inter-Religious Communal Leadership Education. CIRCLE prepares religious leaders for service in a religiously diverse society. For his fellowship, he developed programming with Muslim and Christian fellows around spiritual responses to the climate change crisis.

1274 Cunningham Lane S, Salem | 503-362-5004 | tbsholom.org

BETH SHOLOM ADMINISTRATOR JUDITH HAVAS RETIRES

Due to "circumstances beyond my control," Temple Beth Sholom Administrator Judith Havas retired effective March 1.

“I will miss my role at the synagogue as I turn my attention and strength to fighting leukemia, which is providing my next life challenge,” says Judith.

Judith’s involvement at TBS began as volunteer on several committees in the 1980s. She moved to Jerusalem for a year (19992000) before enrolling in Brandeis University, where she earned a master's degree in Near Eastern and Judaic studies and Jewish communal service in 2003. She had earned a master's degree in education from Stanford University 40 years earlier.

Following her return to Salem, she resumed her volunteer roles at TBS. She especially enjoyed helping organize the "Torah Trek" from TBS’ original building at the north end of Salem to its new home in south Salem. In conjunction with the move in 2006, Judith was hired as the Temple Administrator, the first professional in that role at TBS. She plans to continue volunteering at TBS.

DR. DANIEL SUDAKIN JOINS ASCENSION MEDICAL GROUP

Daniel Sudakin, MD, MPH, formerly of Corvallis, is now practicing addiction medicine in Portland at the Sellwood office of Ascension Medical Group.

Dr. Sudakin moved to Portland for many reasons, including wanting to be closer to a stronger Jewish community. “I grew up in the metro Detroit area, in a very strong Jewish community,” he says. “I’m hoping to see my 5-year-old twin boys get more involved in the Jewish community.”

His practice focuses on office-based treatment of opioid dependence, alcohol dependence and other substance-use disorders. Dr. Sudakin is board-certified in addiction medicine by the American Board of Addiction Medicine. He is also board-certified in preventive medicine and medical toxicology. He is a strong believer 10 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

PJA GRAD NATAN BROWNSTEIN RECEIVING RABBINIC ORDINATION

Natan Brownstein will receive his rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, this June.

Natan’s family moved from Alaska to Portland in 1999. From 1999 to 2004, he attended Portland Jewish Academy, where his mother was a teacher, from fourth to eighth grade. The family were members of Congregation P’nai Or. His parents, Linda Brownstein and Stan Swartz, still live in Portland.

Natan was on the chapter board for Portland NCSY from 2006 to 2008 and was the regional president for the Portland Jewish Student Union in 2008. He also started and ran a JSU in Cleveland High School (20062008).

Following high school he spent a gap year in Israel at Yeshivat Orayta.

He earned his bachelor’s degree at Yeshiva University.

Following graduation, he will begin a career in Jewish education. He will move to Florida with his wife, Jessie Brownstein (maiden name Busch), and their 18-month-old daughter, Temima. Rabbi Brownstein will be teaching middle school Jewish studies at Brauser Maimonides Academy in Hollywood, FL.

MARISSA SNYDER TO CLERK FOR LANE COUNTY JUDGE

Marissa A. Snyder of Portland, a 2016 graduate of Willamette University School of Law, begins work on Aug. 1 as a judicial clerk for Lane County Circuit Court Judge Jay McAlpin in Eugene.

Snyder, who attended Portland Jewish Academy, Wilson High School and Boston University, was president of the Jewish Law Society at Willamette this past year. She also served as treasurer and as a board member of Willamette’s Moot Court Board and was secretary of the school’s Women’s Law Caucus.

Since 2014, while in law school, she worked as a law clerk in the Child Advocacy Section of the Oregon Department of Justice, assisting with cases involving termination of parental rights among other duties.

At Boston University, Snyder had a dual major, in American History and Religion, and served on the Hillel Student Board for two years. She is a former member of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation, and she and her family are longtime members of Congregation Neveh Shalom.

Snyder says the opportunity to work as a law clerk with Judge McAlpin will give her valuable “insight, experience and education.”

She eventually would like to work as a prosecutor or return to the Department of Justice and work in dependency law. marissa.snyder24@gmail.com

CBI’S BEN SANDLER EARNS MASTER’S DEGREE

Congregation Beth Israel Education Director Ben Sandler received his Master of Arts in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May. This marked the 141st graduation year for Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion. Sandler’s cohort – which included rabbis, educators, museum directors, URJ J and NFTY leaders – was the fourth group to graduate from this innovative program. bethisrael-pdx. org

OJCF LAUNCHES GIVING COUNCIL

Launched in January 2016, the OJCF Giving Council empowers and supports organizations – both Jewish and secular – that exemplify the Jewish values of community, education and equity. Giving circles like the OJCF Giving Council are built on old traditions dating back hundreds of years to mutual aid societies and other forms of giving for the community. But in a new twist, the Giving Council has brought together 21 participants ages 22-40 from diverse Jewish backgrounds.

These inaugural members pooled their financial contributions to support organizations in a more impactful way than if they were giving on their own. Working together with OJCF staff, including Collaborative Giving Program Coordinator Sonia Marie Leikam, Giving Council members have met monthly since January to explore what it means to give Jewishly and to make gifts that help address problems in Oregon’s Jewish and broader communities.

Following this successful first year, the OJCF Giving Council aims to engage, educate and empower an even larger group of young Jewish professionals. On Sept. 15, the OJCF Giving Council will hold the first of a series of events designed to involve young professionals in issues affecting both the Jewish and broader communities in Israel and Oregon. This cocktail event will provide attendees with a new way to connect to organizations, strategies and ideas, thereby deepening their experience as philanthropists. In addition to gaining more information about the Giving Council, the event will engage attendees with a new way to give with their peers while having fun.

503-248-9328 | soniamariel@ojcf.org | ojcf.org

CHERYL COON TO LEAD NEW NONPROFIT FOR DISABLED REFUGEES Cheryl Coon announces the formation of Refugee Disability Benefits of Oregon, a nonprofit that she will lead in its efforts on behalf of disabled refugees in Oregon who seek social security disability benefits.

Cheryl is a member of Congregation Kol Shalom.

During her childhood, Cheryl’s family traveled and lived all over the world, eventually settling in Philadelphia. During high school, Cheryl volunteered as a Spanish translator at Legal Services of Philadelphia and based on that experience, decided to become a lawyer. Cheryl spent her early practice years with Drinker, Biddle and Reath of Philadelphia, and, in nearly 40 years of legal practice, has litigated in state and federal courts, served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in Oregon Department of Justice, and worked on public policy issues as legal counsel and staff director for committees of the U.S. Congress.

Most recently, Cheryl has led the social security disability practice at Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton.

Cheryl is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States District Court. Cheryl is admitted to the Oregon; Pennsylvania; Washington, DC; and the U.S. Virgin Islands bar.

RDBO fulfills Cheryl’s goal of providing to disabled refugees a high quality of compassion and competence, together with sensitivity to cultural differences, in the often frustrating world of social security disability.

1137 SW Broadway | rdbo.org

JULIE LEUVREY LEADS AWARDWINNING DESIGN TEAM

Oregon Pacific Investment and Development’s Mira Santi in Chandler, AZ, won “Renovated Community of the Year” at the Arizona Multihousing Association’s Tribute Awards held May 13.

Purchased in 2014, the 252-unit property’s community amenities underwent extensive remodeling and the apartments are being upgraded as they turn over. Co- president Julie Saltzman Leuvrey of Portland assembled and oversaw the design and construction team. opidportland.com

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 11

Rogue Wilderness Adventures by Kevin Wright

Biking in the Gorge by Haggard

SUMMER FUN &

STAYcations photos coutesy of Travel Oregon

Oregon wine tasting by Jenny Hill Wilson Ranch near Fossil, OR, by Christian Heeb

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Balloons over Bend by Christain Heeb

Summer lures Oregonians outside Shabbat services even find open-air venues in the summer. Shir Tikvah celebrates Shabbat in the Park every year.

By Deborah Moon

When summer arrives, Oregonians flock to the outdoors to enjoy hiking, biking, beachcombing, paddling, windsurfing, picnicking, playing and a host of other traditional outdoor activities. But that doesn’t mean we abandon our cultural pastimes from the rainy months. Concerts, plays and art all find venues under the sun. Even Shabbat observance heads outside.

Congregation Beth Israel hosts Shabbat on the Plaza seven Friday evenings during the summer months. Congregation Shir

Tikvah heads out for Shabbat in the Park again this summer – July 8 at Laurelhurst Park and Aug. 19 at Overlook Park.

Havurah Shalom splashes into Shabbat with Shabbat in the Pool on Aug. 6.

Travel Oregon lists eight outdoor summer music festivals, at least two of which have Jewish ties and make use of public parks.

The Waterfront Blues Festival ( July 1-4 at Portland’s Tom McCall Park) was founded by a Jewish boy from Buffalo, NY, who learned firsthand how much a mitzvah can mean to a hungry person after he was robbed when he arrived in New

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 13

SUMMER FUN &

STAYcations

York City to pursue a music career. Delmark Goldfarb produced the first five festivals, which have benefitted the Oregon Food Bank since the second year. It was Del’s idea to create a familyfriendly music event in a Portland park in 1987. Last year the 28th annual festival raised $869,214, providing about 2.6 million meals for Oregonians facing hunger.

You’ll find the Britt Music Festival June 4-Sept. 23 in Jacksonville, which Travel Oregon calls a “premier outdoor music and arts festival featuring world-class jazz, folk, country, pop, dance and classical music artists.” Britt’s Music Director and Conductor Teddy Abrams was featured in the June 2014 issue of Oregon Jewish Life (orjewishlife.com/britt-festival-introducesprodigy-conductor-teddy-abrams). Though the festival has its own outdoor venue in Jacksonville, this year the Britt Orchestra will travel to Crater Lake National Park for outdoor concerts July 29 and 30.

Portland Parks and Recreation (portlandparks.org) offers free movies and concerts in parks across the city. The Portland Festival Symphony has slated five concerts in Portland parks during July and August. In September the Oregon Symphony launches its season with a free performance at Tom McCall Waterfront Park (tentatively scheduled for Sept. 1; visit orsymphony.org).

Portland’s art scene offers at least three regular outings: First Thursday in the Pearl, Last Thursday on Northeast Alberta and First Friday on the Central Eastside (travelportland.com/

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article/monthly-art-walks-in-portland/). Central Oregon gets into the groove too with First Friday in Bend. Enjoy art, music, wine and entertainment (downtownbend.org/events/).

Camping and backpacking are popular summer activities with a wide range of terrain and scenery. See story on page 16 on backpacking with tots.

Feeling the lure of the camping bug, but not sure you want to rough it? Check out the 75 luxury camping experiences in Oregon posted on glampinghub.com. When you go glamping (glamorous camping), you can be one with nature, but still feel pampered in tepees, yurts, tree houses, tents, cabins or campervans.

Runners, walkers and cyclists can choose from organized events or scenic routes around Oregon. The annual Hood to Coast for runners and Portland to Coast for walkers is a fun relay that annually draws more than 20,000 participants. This year’s race will be Aug. 26-27 (hoodtocoast.com).

Cyclists look forward to the annual Cycle Oregon weekend ride ( July 8-10) and week ride (Sept. 10-17), which attracts more than 2,000 cyclists for a seven-day excursion through a different part of Oregon each year (cycleoregon.com).

More casual strolls and cycling options are easy to find, too. Sunday Parkways offers five traffic-free events through Portland's beautiful neighborhoods every summer (portlandoregon.gov/transportation/58929).

Vacation Blues

Ask Helen

A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: A fool is a person who trusts another fool.

Dear Helen:

I started my current job 325 days ago, doing fun engineering work, though for employers who flaunt their political conservatism. My wife and I got a sudden chance to go on an amazing 10-day tandem bike trip because two folks dropped out at the last minute. My employer (who has values out of the Eisenhower administration) says I’m not allowed to take any vacation time until 365 days after my start date. I explained the circumstances, but I think riding a tandem bike was proof I am a Democratic wacko (albeit a good engineer). He stopped listening to my very reasoned arguments about making up the time before I go, working more afterwards and offering not to take any other time off until Thanksgiving. I can sacrifice the trip, but if this is how they run the place, maybe I’d be better off freelancing again. To add insult to injury, I have no projects with deadlines; in fact we’re a little slow.

Tethered

Dear Tethered:

Quitting for a trip is a radical response to petty and restrictive personnel policies. You might find another or better job if you looked, or even enjoy freelancing again. But if you’re willing to

risk such extreme options, why not go with one that keeps you working for Mr. Old Fashioned while you look and also gets you on your trip.

Write your boss a memo saying you’re requesting the specified time off as leave without pay, given the policies and lack of work.

Document that you have no current deadlines and are fully up to speed and on schedule. Say you understand that this will put your countdown to 365 days of employment on hold until you return, and that you will not be eligible to take any more time off until _____ (insert your understanding of his personnel math).

Pray he says “Yes” – then go and have a great time. Come back and work very hard, being appreciative through gritted teeth and a forced smile for his “understanding and cooperation.”

Then look for a new job that matches your own values regarding work, corporate culture and compensation. Be sure to include the following on your resume: Confidential search: Please do not contact current employer.

A resident of Eugene since 1981, Helen is a member of Temple Beth Israel, where she studies and speaks on Torah. She claims to have black belts in schmoozing, problem solving and chutzpah. She’s a writer and an artist (kabbalahglass.com). Please email your questions to helen@yourjewishfairygodmother.com

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Crazy!

Backpacking with tots full of challenges and rewards

By Jodi Fried

Backpacking with a family can make for a great staycation, even though it’s not always easy; especially (or so it may seem) if you keep kosher and are otherwise religiously observant.

My husband, Charlie, and I recently moved to Oregon – my home state – after a couple of spells in Colorado and Montana.

Hiking was a part of our everyday lives, and we backpacked some as well, but that was before we had children.

Last summer, our first back in Oregon, we decided to take our two daughters on a backpacking adventure near Detroit, OR. Gilah was 2 and Shifra was 10 months.

Call us crazy. But we had a ball.

We trekked – me in a skirt and tichel (head scarf ) carrying the baby, diapers and other little-kid essentials, in our all-too-useful Deuter Kid Comfort Carrier II; and Charlie with his tzitzit (ritual fringes) hanging out, Hyalite (our Montana School District) cap on his head and 40-pound backpack holding our sleeping bags, tent, food for three days, toys and who knows what else.

Our hopes were high for Gilah. She brought along her own monster backpack with some snacks and toys, and announced that she was ready to hike the flat, two-mile path to Pamelia Lake, where we would set up camp. After an iconic photo, we set out – slowly.

We knew we had all day to make a hike that would take two unfit adults less than two hours, but the point was to enjoy the wilderness and share the experience with our girls. And so we strolled, following Gilah’s cues and stopping to find rocks and snack, until we heard the dreaded word, “Upppiiee.” We alternated holding her, using bribery – chocolate and lollipops – and ultimately ended up carrying her about one-third of the way.

Eventually, we arrived at the campground. Gilah loved helping Tatty erect the tent, and Shif loved playing in and around it. Next, we ventured to the lake, a short 0.1 mile away. The view was gorgeous, tall evergreen trees all around – and, if you looked in the right direction, there was majestic Mount Jefferson, snowcapped in the heat of summer.

But herein lay a complication: To get to the heart of the lake, where we’d be able to filter water, wash hands and dip the kids, we had to walk through lots of MUD. Thanks to the summer’s heat, the banks of the lake had receded, creating a large, brown, sticky playground. The kids stared in wonderment: Yep, they wanted to go play!

Very quickly, I had to reframe my mindset. I thought about the Dead Sea, and reasoned that mud is not dangerous, it’s innocent fun. So we walked them in, each clad in diapers or undies. Excitedly, they plopped themselves down and started painting themselves brown. It was such fun to watch, and my

Last summer, our first back in Oregon, we decided to take our two daughters on a backpacking adventure near Detroit, OR. Gilah was 2 and Shifra was 10 months.

16 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

If you’re interested in camping with the kids, here are some tips: Commit: Work out a plan with your significant other and talk it up with your kids. Talk about what adventures you might have.

Take care of permits early. Make sure you know what permits are required where you are going and get them ahead of time. (At Pamelia Lake, both a limited entry permit and Recreation Pass are required. These are obtained online or at a number of retailers and carry a small fee.)

Let a family member or friend know where you’re going.

Be open-minded and ready to change plans or get dirty at the drop of a hat.

Be prepared. This is IMPORTANT: Know that it won’t always be a breeze.

Take plenty of snacks that you know the kids will like (even if they are not the most healthy).

Make sure you have water, a filter and sippy cups if your kids are attached to them.

Think about how you can make some mundane aspects about the place you’re going more exciting. Be ready to excite your kids’ curiosity.

Wear comfortable gear. This goes for your clothes, footwear, and any carriers and backpacks. Test everything out ahead of time, and make sure that backpack straps are set correctly, etc.

Take Band-Aids – sometimes the placebo effect goes a long way.

Don’t forget a first-aid kit.

Most of all, have fun and enjoy the time with the family!

If you’re not ready for a backpack or camping, take it upon yourself to start slow and just get outside – whether in the forest, at the beach or in the desert.

worries soon disappeared amid their smiles and constant giggles.

We rinsed them off, got them dressed and headed back to camp for our dinner of hot dogs on sticks and roasted marshmallows. Settling down with kids in a tent when the sun sets at 10 pm can be a challenge, but we had Play-Doh and books ready. We occupied the girls in their PJs until they were sufficiently tired, and they conked out in their sleeping bags.

Day 2 included oatmeal for breakfast, exploring the forest, playing in the mud, a couple of naps, Play-Doh, a visit from a friendly park ranger, some strolls, chocolate, tuna, filtering water and more roasted marshmallows at night.

On Day 3, we packed up our dirty diapers (yes, what you take in has to come out), leftover food, clothing, toys, tent, etc., and began our slow two-mile return trek. The way out seemed quicker than the way in. At the trailhead, we took another photo – this time, each of us sported splotches of dirt, big bags under our eyes and very big smiles – signs of an amazing, fun-filled family adventure.

The hike wasn’t always easy, but the experience left us wanting more. For me, spending time with Charlie and the girls, away from civilization, enjoying G-d’s creations, developing appreciation of the outdoors and relishing the sun was the epitome of goodness. Who knows? Maybe this year we’ll try it after our baby arrives. Want to join?

A South African transplant to Oregon at age 10, Jodi grew up in Portland and is a Portland Jewish Academy, Wilson High and UO alum. She currently works at Congregation Kesser Israel as the program director. Jodi is excited to be raising her kids back in Portland and looks forward to the great adventures that life has in store!

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Wandering Jew? We have plans for you!

By Michael Miklofsky

Orange County, CA Yom Yerushalayim

Jerusalem Day, known as Yom Yerushalayim, commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem, which took place in June 1967 following the Six Day War. If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, you can celebrate Yom Yerushalayim on June 5 at Congregation B’nai Israel, 211 Bryan Ave., Tustin.

The Los Angeles Zimriyah Chorale will perform a concert at 7 pm with a 9 pm dessert reception to follow. The Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County is supporting the event as well.

Tickets are $18 before June 2 or $25 at the door; $10 for students.

The city of Tustin lies roughly 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, bordered by Santa Ana, Irvine, with close proximity to Anaheim and Huntington and Newport Beaches.

For more information visit pacsw.uscj.org/new/may-2016/ innovation-station. For tickets and information about Congregation B’nai Israel visit cbi18.org or call the synagogue office at 714-7309693.

San Diego, CA Shavuot Retreat

The holiday of Shavuot takes place June 11-13. It commemorates Israel’s wheat harvest and the anniversary of the Jewish people receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai.

“Shavuot 2016” will be held June 10-14 at The Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort and Spa, 17550 Bernardo Oaks Dr., San Diego.

KosherLuxe is organizing the event, which features guest lectures, full learning and children’s programming schedules, services and food, among other activities.

Guest lecturers include: Rabbi David Mahler, Sgan Menahel and Head of Limudei Kodesh, and Rabbi Karuch Kupfer, executive director, both of the Gindi Maimonides Academy in Los Angeles, California; Rabbi Yaakov Jacknis, a student in Israel’s Mir Yeshiva is also head counselor at Camp Avraham Chaim Heller in Swan Lake, New York; and, Chani Heyman, a Los Angeles-based Jewish educator.

For more information about the event, visit kosherluxe.com.

Sonoma Valley, CA Limmud Bay Area Experience

California’s reputation as a wine destination started in Sonoma Valley. The 17-mile area just north of San Francisco is known for awakening the senses. Vineyards and farms span the landscape and visitors are offered unparalleled culinary experiences.

This summer, Limmud International hopes to awaken senses in a new way with Limmud Bay Area Experience, a 48-hour Jewish educational gathering for all ages, including Camp Limmud, a children’s program for those 18 months old to 14 years old. The event will be held June 24-26 at Sonoma State University, 1801 E Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.

Camp Limmud guides students in music, nature, and athletic

18 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

With summer now here, it is vacation time! Wherever you are headed, there is bound to be a Jewish community waiting to welcome you. And summer is a great time to explore those communities with your family. We have put together a sampling of Jewish events in popular vacation destinations this summer.

activities, which will vary from playing instruments and hiking to arts-andcrafts. Camp Director Miriam Schwartz-Kanani will lead children 18 months old to 2nd graders, while counselors from Habonim Dror Camp Gilboa will guide activities for 3rd through 8th graders. For more information on Camp Limmud, visit limmudbayarea.org/2016-registration/2016-camplimmud/.

Teens can participate in both Camp Limmud and adult learning opportunities.

The adult program, “is… an independent, grassroots nonprofit effort dedicated to celebrating Jewish life and learning in all of its diversity by bringing together Jews of all backgrounds and ages,” according to a description on the event website.

Activities are designed with core values and principles in mind, which include learning, expanding Jewish horizons, community, religious observance, and valuing diversity, among others. For more information on the Limmud Bay Area Experience visit limmudbayarea.org.

San Francisco, CA Jewish Film Festival

If you’re a film buff, you won’t want to miss the 36th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, July 21-Aug 7. The event attracts some 35,000 annual visitors and was the largest-attended Jewish Film Festival in the world until 2015, when the Atlanta Jewish Film festival bested the San Francisco event by several thousand members.

This year’s festival features 120 films at five venues. Those theaters include Castro Theater in San Francisco, July 21-31; CineArts in Palo Alto, July 23-28; Berkeley Rep in Berkeley, July 29-Aug. 4; Piedmont Theatre in Oakland, Aug. 5-7; and Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, Aug. 5-7. For more information, visit jewishfilminstitute.org/festival/sfjff-2016.

Las Vegas, NV Mah Jongg World Championship

The game of Mah Jongg has been played for eons, but the game you grew up watching your mother and grandmother play around your kitchen table has seriously changed.

Mah Jongg World Championship 2016 takes place July 22-24 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, 3000 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. This is the inaugural year for the event and the first one of its kind in the United States.

To participate in the event, one must place as one of the top two finishers in an American Mah Jongg tournament that follows National Mah Jongg League rules. For information on how to qualify to play, tournament schedules, and more, visit destinationmahjongg.com/mah-jongg-world-championship/.

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 19

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This summer read a good book

Compiled by Deborah Moon

Whether you spend your summer lounging by the pool or on the beach, camping in the mountains or relaxing at home, a good book can enhance your pleasure. Here is a selection of the books that have come across my desk in recent months. I’ve dipped into a few while compiling this listing and have found a few more that I plan to delve into over the summer. I hope you do the same.

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN/TEENS/ PARENTS Creation’s First Light by Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Joani Keller Rothenberg, IBJ Book Publishing, 32 pages, hardcover, $25.

Award-winning author and rabbi, Sandy Sasso, honors the religious imagination of children and offers an artistic way of looking at the creation of the world from the book of Genesis. Jewish legend tells of the light on the first day of creation, which was different from all the other lights.

Through it, you could see the whole world.

Rabbi Sasso tells the legend of the light as a way of opening up conversations between parents, grandparents and their children.

The Chameleon That Saved Noah’s Ark

by Yael Molchadsky, illustrated by Orit Bergman, Nancy Paulson Books, ages 5-8, 32 pages, hardcover, $16.99.

The inspiration for the story came from an ancient text of less than 50 words, describing the troubles Noah had while feeding the animals on the ark. Discovering what the chameleon will eat is a challenge 20 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

that saves everyone on the ark. This book is a PJ Library selection.

Queen of Likes by Hillary Homzie, Simon & Schuster/MIX, ages 9-13, 272 pages, paperback, $7.99.

Hillary Homzie’s book for tweens features Portlander Karma Cooper, 12, who’s studying for her bat mitzvah. Like everyone in her middle school, Karma’s smartphone is almost another body part. She’s obsessed with her “likes” on Snappypic. When her parents take away her smartphone, Karma’s whole world crumbles. Ultimately, Karma ends up learning to do something because she LIKES it versus what others think. For her b’nai mitzvah project, she completes a photo project for the local historical society on the history of her synagogue.

Nurture the Wow by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, Flatiron Books, 308 pages, hardcover, $24.99.

This book about parenthood is subtitled Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder and Radical Amazement of Parenting. Rooted in Judaism, but incorporating a wide range of traditions, Rabbi Ruttenberg invites parents to approach parenting as a source of solace, not stress. She shows how parenting can be a spiritual practice and how the experiences we have as parents can change us for the better.

FICTION In the Land of Armadillos: Stories by Helen Maryles Shankman, Scribner, 285 pages,

hardcover, $25.

These compelling stories weave together the unfathomable experiences of the victims and the perpetrators of violence in Nazi-occupied Poland. The title story of the SS officer obsessed with rescuing the creator of his son’s favorite picture book, even as he sends the man’s family and friends to their death, is especially haunting, though beautifully told. An astonishing array of characters face impossible circumstances, yet glimpses of humanity pepper the tales.

We the Peeps by Morgan Hunt, BookBaby, 248 pages, paperback, $15.

Ashland resident and Temple Emek Shalom member Morgan Hunt has written a novel blending “political caper and wish-fulfillment” that is deeply in tune with today’s political maelstrom.

When seven ordinary citizens are unreasonably detained by the TSA, they bond over their upset with the government and decide to launch a second American Revolution with whimsical yet hopeful results.

Saving Sophie by Ronald H. Balson, St. Martin’s Griffin, 416 pages, paperback, $15.99.

Private investigator Liam Taggert and attorney Catherine Lockhart, who appeared in Balson’s first novel, Once We Were Brothers, team up again to investigate the kidnapping of a young girl caught in the middle of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

Protecting Paige by Deby Eisenberg, Studio House Literary, 336 pages, paperback, $13.99.

Set in Chicago in 1962, this novel revolves around Paige, a girl orphaned by a random act of gang violence, and her exploration of her family history in Paris and Buchenwald. With her Uncle Maxwell, she embarks on a quest to find one remaining family member and make peace with a legacy of suffering, sacrifice, strength and survival.

NONFICTION

The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz, St. Martins Griffin, 286 pages, paperback, $15.99.

Brenda Janowitz’s fifth novel explores family dynamics, acceptance and forgiveness as the Golds of Connecticut meet the famed Rothschilds of New York City at a life-changing Passover seder.

Why Be Jewish? A Testament by Edgar M. Bronfman, Twelve, 256 pages, hardcover, $26.

This book covers Edgar Bronfman’s early break with his Jewish heritage to his relearning how Judaism provides more than cultural identity. Before he passed away in December 2013, he left these compelling reflections to help secular Jews create a meaningful practice of their own.

The Sound of Our Steps by Ronit Matalon, translated by Dalya Bilu, Holt/ Metropolitan, 384 pages, hardcover, $35.

This novel about an Egyptian Jewish family living in a shack near Tel Aviv during the middle of the last century is a collection of scenes described in intense detail by the family’s youngest daughter, a deeply insightful if not always trustworthy narrator. A major voice in Israeli fiction, Ronit Matalon tells this tale of immigration, exile and family.

A New Oracle of Kabbalah: Mystical Teachings of the Hebrew Letters by Richard Seidman, White Cloud Press, 200 pages, paperback, $17.95.

Ashland resident Richard Seidman makes ancient teachings about the Hebrew letters accessible and practical for contemporary readers and spiritual seekers. He describes the traditional meanings associated with each letter and shows readers how the teachings of the letters can apply to their own lives.

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi, Thomas Dunne Books, 372 pages, hardcover, $25.99 English-speaking journalist and author Sarit Yishai-Levi’s portrait of the complex relationship between a mother and daughter has spent two years on the bestseller list in Israel. The rich history of Jerusalem shapes the lives of four generations of colorful characters.

Alligator Candy: A Memoir by David Kushner, Simon & Schuster, 256 pages, hardcover, $26.

Award-winning journalist David Kushner shares this memoir of how a family survives unthinkable tragedy. This story chronicles his brother’s kidnapping and murder by two drifters in 1973 suburban Florida and everything that happened after.

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OVERLOOK PARK August 19th at 6:00 pm

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Book explores politics and faith in Esther

God and Politics in Esther by Yoran Hazony, 2016, Cambridge University Press, 288 pages, paperback, $29.99.

By Victor Chudowsky

The Jewish holiday of Purim is a joyous one. We get a little drunk, dress the kids up in costumes, and celebrate Esther and Mordechai’s cunning. It’s a funny, racy, overthe-top story that omits any mention of God, leading some scholars to regard it as a farce.

But parts of Esther are disturbing to modern readers. People ignore the fact that celebration among the Jews of Persia occurs not after Haman is hanged, but after they fight back against the deceased Haman’s allies, killing 75,000 of them. At times, Esther reads more like Machiavelli.

Yoram Hazony, a Jerusalem-based scholar, wants us to take the story of Esther seriously. He wants to revive Esther’s significance as political philosophy. Mordechai and Esther save Persian Jews from annihilation because they are able to get themselves into

Shabbat on thePlaza @ Congregation

Beth Israel

the very corridors of power and influence the decisions of the emperor – one way or another.

Esther still has difficult questions for us to ponder. How are we to cope as a minority in the diaspora? How should we relate to those who hold political power? And most importantly, what are the moral implications of getting involved with the tumultuous world of politics, or even worse, violence and war? The book is an extended discussion of the difference between morality and purity, and how too much emphasis on the latter may harm the cause of the former in political affairs. These questions are still relevant. In Israel, they are paramount. In the United States, some of these questions were raised recently when Donald Trump spoke before AIPAC. Should we boycott (in the name of purity), or do we keep the channels open?

The book finishes with a critique of the view that God always acts in the world through miracles or interventions in the course of natural or human events. Hazony finds that view unsupported. In Esther, God is omitted but is still present in the faith of the characters. Through this argument, Hazony hopes to attract new or lapsed readers to once again understand the relevance of Hebrew scripture in our distracted modern era. It will change your thinking – not only about the situation of Jews in the diaspora or Israel, but about faith and politics in general.

Victor Chudowsky is a policy analyst, Bend City Councilor and a member of Temple Beth Tikvah in Bend.

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The feel-good publication that inspires, informs & enriches your life.

Join us all summer long on CBI’s Temple lawn, 1972 NW Flanders, as we welcome Shabbat under the Portland summer sky.

Bring your family and friends, plus a blanket and picnic supper.

Chairs and umbrellas (for shading) will be available as well.

Services begin at 6:00 PM

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CONGREGATION SHIR TIKVAH SHABBAT IN THE PARK July 8, 6 pm, at Laurelhurst Concert Pad Aug. 18, 6 pm, at Overlook Park shirtikvahpdx.org

Rabbi Ariel Stone and Congregation Shir Tikvah will celebrate both Shabbat and the beauty of the Portland summer. Bring a picnic and enjoy the live music, challah and dancing. There are two family friendly opportunities to enjoy.

CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL SHABBAT ON THE PLAZA 1972 NW Flanders St. Portland 97209 503-222-1069 bethisrael-pdx.org Join us all summer long on CBI’s Temple lawn as we welcome Shabbat under the Portland summer sky. Services begin at 6 pm, June 10 & 24, July 8 & 22, Aug. 5 &19 and Sept. 2.

GRAND CENTRAL RESTAURANT AND BOWLING LOUNGE 808 SE Morrison St. Portland, OR 97214 503-236-2695 thegrandcentralbowl.com/grand_central

OMSI 1945 SE Water Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503-797-4000 omsi.edu Looking for some smart family time? Go to camp! Visit Hancock Field Station for wildlife exploration in the canyons of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, or hit the beach at our new camp in Newport!

PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION 1120 SW Fifth Ave. Portland, OR 97204 503-823-PLAY (7529) PortlandParks.org We are the proud steward of 10,000+ acres of parks and natural areas in Portland. We offer more than 4,000 affordable classes and activities each year. Each summer we have free movies and concerts in the parks, and offer structured playground activities and free healthy lunches to kids throughout Portland.

PORTLAND SPIRIT CRUISES AND EVENTS 110 SE Caruthers, Portland, OR 97214 503-224-3900 Portlandspirit.com The vessels and crew of Portland Spirit Cruises & Events form the premier fleet of dining ships in the Northwest, offering public lunch, brunch, dinner, sightseeing cruises, specialty events and private charters year round.

URBAN FARM STORE

Grand Central is the perfect place for your child’s bar/bat mitzvah.

With two floors of entertainment options ranging from bowling to arcade games, karaoke to dancing, guests will never get bored and your child will never forget. We offer an extensive event menu.

1108 SE 9th Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503-234-7733 urbanfarmstore.com

MITTLEMAN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

Visit the chicks and start your garden at Urban Farm Store. Kids love to visit when it's chick season, and it's almost always chick season here!

It's also peak of our vegetable start and organic gardening selection so come say hi!

6651 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219 503-244-0111 oregonjcc.org Get fit at the MJCC in our state-of-the-art fitness facility, relax in our main and warm pools, stay active in our sports leagues, and socialize at one of our many cultural events this summer.

(Includes equipment, programs, venues and activities for summer fun in Oregon that are advertised in this issue of Oregon Jewish Life.)

U.S. OUTDOOR 219 SW Broadway Portland, OR 97205 503-223-5937 usoutdoor.com Portland’s premier Ski, Snowboard, Surf, Camp and Outerwear store.

Fifth generation, family owned, and saving our customers money for over 55 years. Located in the heart of downtown Portland, or online at usoutdoor.com.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 23

Food

CORNER Finding a new home for our family is always a challenge. We need a home large enough to accommodate our two home offices and with a spacious and efficient kitchen for me, sufficient outdoor space for our dog and a storage room for a teenager with too many hobbies and toys to count. After months of searching we finally found the perfect home. It has all the space we need, a great kitchen, a large fenced backyard, ample storage and one big unexpected bonus – it came with a chicken coop and four beautiful egg-laying hens!

The bad news is I know NOTHING about raising and caring for chickens. When we chose this house, we did have the option to keep the birds … or not. Initially I thought the chickens would have to go. On the other hand, these chickens seemed perfectly happy right where they were, and the coop was already in place. How hard could it be? I immediately began to search the Internet to find out how to keep our adopted feathered

Spring Chicken?

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THIS SUMMER WE’LL STAY HOME WITH OUR CHICKENS Story and photos

by Lisa Glickman

friends happy, healthy and giving me those four beautiful eggs every day!

Information about caring for backyard chickens is abundant on the Web. Instructions for building coops, choosing breeds, deterring predators, feeding and caring for my new hens were readily available. Websites and blogs answer any and all questions, and nearby breeders and farm supply stores are happy to administer advice and replenish my supply of wood shavings and mealworms to keep the girls full, warm and happy.

Spring and summer are the perfect time to build a coop and start to raise your own backyard chickens. If you begin when the weather is warm, chicks and young birds have the opportunity to grow big enough to become acclimated to the upcoming cold weather. It’s also a wonderful summertime project the whole family can enjoy. Kids will love caring for your girls and gathering the eggs. Plus nothing beats the taste of fresh eggs for breakfast!

This year, instead of planning our summer vacation, we will “staycation” as we settle into our new home, put things in place and enjoy our new “friend hens.” Now I just need to get my dog on board.

Summer Fruit Clafoutis

Clafoutis (pronounced claw-foo-tee) is a classic French dessert. The French make theirs with big, ripe red cherries, but raspberries, blueberries, pears or plums work beautifully.

Deliciously easy to make, this dessert is made especially rich with my backyard eggs! ½ cup whole milk ½ cup heavy cream 3 eggs ½ cup sugar Seeds from one vanilla bean (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract) 2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for buttering dish ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup pitted ripe cherries

Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl or blender whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons butter until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour and blend until

Lisa Glickman is a private chef and teacher who lives in Portland. She has made TV appearances on COTV in Central Oregon and appeared on the Cooking Channel’s “The Perfect Three.”

She can be reached at lisa@lisaglickman.com.

smooth. Butter an 8-inch pie pan or cast iron skillet. Scatter cherries evenly around pan. Pour the batter evenly over the cherries.

Bake until the clafoutis is beautifully puffed and golden, 35-40 minutes. Serve immediately dusted with powdered sugar.

Savory Smoked Salmon Bread pudding

Serves 6 Use a six-cup “Texas” muffin pan or six 8-ounce ramekins 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus extra for buttering dishes) 1 medium leek, white and light green parts, rinsed and finely chopped, about ½ cup ½ cup asparagus, cut into ½-inch dice ¼ cup dry white wine 2 cups half and half 2 eggs 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper 6 ounces hard smoked salmon, crumbled ½ loaf pugliese or other rustic Italian bread, torn into 1-inch pieces 1 cup grated Tillamook Cheddar cheese

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet and add leeks.

Sauté until soft, about a minute or so, and add asparagus and

artichokes. Sauté for another minute or so and add wine. Reduce till wine evaporates and set aside to cool. In a smaller bowl, mix half and half, eggs and yolks, mayo, Dijon, Old Bay, salt and pepper. Fold in salmon, cheese and vegetables. Add bread and toss to coat. Allow bread to soak up custard for about a half hour. Generously butter the Texas muffin tins. Fill muffin cups or ramekins to almost full. Place in another roasting pan with hot water reaching about halfway up the sides of the tins. Cover with foil, place in a 325º oven and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover puddings and bake another 10 minutes or until custard is just set. Do not overbake! Serve warm or at room temperature with warm hollandaise sauce (see recipe below).

Easy Blender Hollandaise 3 egg yolks (at room temperature) ¼ teaspoon salt Pinch of cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ½ cup unsalted butter

Place egg yolks, salt, cayenne and lemon juice in blender.

Cover and blend for 10 seconds on high. Melt butter in a pyrex glass measuring cup in the microwave until melted and very hot (30 to 60 seconds). Turn on blender and slowly pour hot butter into blender using a towel to prevent splattering; continue blending till butter incorporated. Discard solids at the bottom of the cup. Use sauce immediately.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 25

NWNosh

Candy Babel is part of a long Jewish tradition

By Kerry Politzer

In a Tablet Magazine article, author Katharine Weber asserts, “No other immigrant group is as central to the candy trade as Jews.” Soon after arriving in the United States in the early 1900s, European-Jewish peddlers learned to make candy. Candy was easy for newcomers to produce since it “did not require significant investment in equipment, materials or labor, and could be made on a stove top with a few inexpensive ingredients,” writes Weber.

Now, 100 years later, Candy Babel’s owner, Amani Greer, is continuing the tradition of her ancestors. “I think there is a lot of history, which helped me with my business,” says Amani. “To know that even people facing a language barrier (could open a candy store) was empowering to me. Portland has a really good Jewish community; I have a lot of Jewish customers. Candy is an all-inclusive food.”

Amani says most of the candy she sells is kosher parve, kosher dairy or certified by Star-K. Amani sells high-quality European candy as well as products from small artisanal American candy makers.

“Most of it is Dutch. I do a lot of candy from Spain, a lot from Great Britain – they don’t do GMOs and artificial colorings and flavors in the candy,” she says. “It’s odd to me that there’s an American candy called Toxic Waste. I always see it, it comes in a bucket that’s green, and it’s one of those moments you are like, is this a joke? Is this what we’re teaching the kids to eat? There are

some subpar products in this country aimed towards children, because they are easily advertised to.”

Amani fashions her shop after premium Danish candy stores.

The shop owner is especially proud of her selection of black licorice as well as her housemade cotton candy. “Today we had apple pie cotton candy; we also do chai and coconut. There’s a full list of over 250 flavors on my website, candybabel.com. I even do spicy flavors like spicy cucumber or habanero. It really is special, and made with evaporated cane juice, good for kids with allergies. No nuts or dairy … I wanted to make a food that all the kids could have.”

Amani eventually plans to break the world record for the largest cotton candy cone. “I am thinking like 18 feet so that no one will want to beat my record!”

In the meantime, she plans to continue building a community with her candy. She explains, “Candy stores are little community centers. I have a lot of customers in their 70s and 80s; it’s nice for them to come in and catch up and have somebody care.

Those are the walking billboards telling other people to come into my shop. The social aspect is what keeps me doing it.”

Amani also contributes to the lives of Portland’s youngest residents with her many donations to school fundraising auctions. “This year we have given over 100 candy baskets. In the five years we have been in business, we have helped raise close to $50,000.”

Candy Babel is a truly sweet business.

Candy Babel: 1219 NE Alberta St., Portland | 503-867-0591 26 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

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Cover Cover

s

Censored Voice

The Art Dealer

Expanding horizons

d Darkness

Tale of Love an

Opening Hearts & Minds Through the Magic of Cinema

By Deborah Moon

The only constant at this year’s Portland Jewish Film Fest is that the films have broad appeal and Jewish content.

The 24th annual film fest presents films during 15 time slots from June 15 to 29 (see schedule pages 32-33). (In consideration of Shabbat, no films screen on Friday evenings or Saturday afternoons.)

The films selected are purposely not tied to any theme, says Bill Foster, director of the Northwest Film Center. PJFF is produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies. The festival grew out of film weekends presented at the coast by IJS founder Rabbi Joshua Stampfer.

“The film center tries to introduce people to the broad range of films and ideas beyond what they get beaten over their head with by the commercial marketplace,” says Bill. “We try to edge people into discovery about film and its possibilities.”

Jewish culture and history offers a wealth of interesting things that have inspired filmmakers all over the world, he explains.

But those films also reach diverse audiences and draw interest 28 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

beyond the subculture that inspired them.

For instance, the film about Hannah Arendt, who was born to a secular Jewish family in Germany, escaped Europe and later reported on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann, has broad appeal that extends far beyond the Holocaust.

“She is interesting to people because of the rigor she brought to the notion of evil and human nature,” says Bill. “Whether a German despot or African despot, it is applicable in a broader conversation” about totalitarianism, ideologies and the perils faced by refugees.

While every film may not fulfill those criteria, Bill says the films in the festival all have an appeal beyond the Jewish community.

Among the many documentaries in the program, Bill is hopeful audiences will gravitate to “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You,” a film that opened the Sundance Film Festival about the legendary television producer.

“Norman Lear’s remarkable career – both as a television pioneer and activist– took the conversation about social issues outside the realm of politics and academia and put them squarely on the family dinner table,” says Bill. “The issues that

Demon

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concerned him are still, of course, with us, but the impact of his effort can be seen and felt in many realms. His is an inspiring story.”

In a review of the film after Sundance, Variety reported: “ ‘Just Another Version of You’… holds up a mirror to contemporary American television, tacitly asking if it’s addressing issues of difference and prejudice as directly (and daringly) as Lear’s shows, including such 1970s staples as All in the Family and The Jeffersons, did.” For instance an episode of Maude that dealt with abortion pulled in 63 million viewers.

Bill hopes that if one movie catches someone’s attention, they might find others in the festival to explore, too.

“We are getting people to discover and look beyond the commercial films and dive deeper,” he says. “For filmmakers to make special interest films, it takes an audience. We try to nurture an audience which supports filmmakers who make niche, noncommercial films.

Fever at Dawn

n Teacher

The Kindergarte

That being said, Bill adds that he believes three or more of the films in the festival may find a “commercial life in the fall.”

That is almost certain, he says, for the festival’s opening night film, “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” directed by Natalie Portman. The drama is based on Israeli author Amos Oz’ memoir, which Israeli-born actress Portman adapted into a screenplay.

An opening night reception is being planned to precede that film, which will screen at 7 pm, June 15, at the Northwest Film Center at the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave. Reception details were not available at press time, but will be online at nwfilm.org before the festival begins.

Last year’s festival drew between 2,800 and 3,000 people to see 18 films. Bill hopes to see that audience grow.

“Be adventurous,” he says. “Check out something you’ve never heard of. If you’ve never been to Morocco, go see ‘The Midnight Orchestra.’ ” OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 29

Review

n Teacher

The Kindergarte

June 23, 7 pm

Child prodigy catalyzes unsettling Israeli drama

By Michael Fox

Under the influence of consumerism, militarism and the pace of the modern world, the People of the Book have little use for poetry.

That’s one reading – and the most obvious and simplistic – of “The Kindergarten Teacher,” Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s unsettling saga of an adult’s missteps when presented with a preternaturally talented child. The film’s primary focus, however, is the vulnerability of children and the competing impulses to nurture, shape, protect and exploit them.

Shot in pastels and silhouettes and employing a minimum of carefully placed music, “The Kindergarten Teacher” paints a deceptively placid surface. The titular character, Nira (the excellent Sarit Larry), is a wife, teacher and would-be poet who appears to be utterly reserved and self-contained.

When she discovers that one of her 5-year-old charges, Yoav (Avi Shnaidman), casually utters exceptional poems, Nira takes on the mission of shepherding his presumably sensitive soul around the land mines of a society indifferent (or worse) to his gifts and art form.

A mesmerizing and worthy follow-up to Lapid’s remarkable but little-seen 2011 debut, “Policeman,” “The Kindergarten 30 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Teacher” screens in the Portland Jewish Film Festival.

We gradually come to suspect that Yoav is not as introspective, innocent nor interested in art with a capital A as his wouldbe mentor imagines. Consequently, we start to question Nira’s ability to understand and supervise children.

That’s the moment when we feel the chill of foreboding, and realize (with the title guiding us) that the film isn’t about the crucial immediate future of a pint-sized prodigy, but rather a woman who has discovered a misguided sense of purpose. Bored witless after years on the job surrounded by pre-adolescents – and a similar tenure with her unchallenging husband – Nira is calmly in the throes of a midlife crisis.

Like a good poem, “The Kindergarten Teacher” invites interpretation and discussion. For example, the film’s disparaging references to the elevation of pop culture over high culture could conceivably be read as reflecting Nira’s perception and frustration rather than as the filmmaker’s comment on Israeli society.

Perhaps, although Nira’s husband’s remark that only stupid and poor people pursue military careers these days takes on another shade of meaning if you recall that Yonathan Netanyahu, the prime minister’s brother and the only Israeli casualty of the Entebbe hostage rescue in 1976, was a poet as well as a beloved officer.

Consequently, although “The Kindergarten Teacher” could take place anywhere – that’s partly what makes it such a disturbing and rewarding film – one needn’t be a prodigy to recognize it as a meditation on the state of Israel’s soul.

Review

chestra The Midnight Or

June 15, 7 pm

“Midnight Orchestra” reprises Moroccan family melody

By Michael Fox

In the immortal “Casablanca,” cagey club owner Humphrey Bogart remarks that he came to the titular Moroccan city “for the waters.”

When police captain Claude Rains points out that they’re in a desert, Bogart’s Rick replies enigmatically, “I was misinformed.”

Michael Botbol, the Moroccan-Jewish protagonist of the picaresque comedy-mystery “The Midnight Orchestra” can identify with Rick.

Summoned to his birthplace by his musician father after more than 30 years abroad, Botbol finds himself adrift in Casablanca without rhyme, reason or purpose after the old man succumbs to a heart attack almost immediately upon their reunion.

With a Muslim taxi driver as his guide, sidekick and erstwhile source of comic relief, Botbol dives into the murky past of his childhood and his father’s life and legacy. In due course, and after a succession of oddball adventures, he is free to create a future without debts, guilt or masks.

“The Midnight Orchestra” screens in the Portland Jewish Film Festival.

At its core, French writer-director Jérome Cohen-Olivar’s diverting saga depicts the not-unfamiliar journey of a stubbornly independent and somewhat resentful son forced to acknowledge – and embrace – his father’s influence on his life.

The freshest aspect of the film is its setting in a place where Jews and Muslims once cohabited peacefully. The friendship that develops between Botbol and his driver, Ali (Aziz Dadas), is plainly intended to suggest that good will between men of different faiths and cultures is possible, and even inevitable, if they just get to know each other.

As Botbol’s childhood memories are triggered, “The Midnight Orchestra” employs wonderfully executed and touching flashbacks that reveal how Michael idolized his father. In a few crucial cases, Botbol can only now comprehend the meaning and

significance of events he couldn’t make sense of as a child.

We learn early on that the Botbol family left Casablanca after the Yom Kippur War, when anti-Jewish attitudes escalated. They immigrated to Israel, where Michael came of age before moving to the United States to make his fortune in business.

As it happens, Michael was a gifted pianist as a child. But instead of following his father’s path, he went where the money was. So we come to see his odyssey to Casablanca, and his kooky scavenger hunt around town searching for his dad’s old bandmates, as a directive from his father from beyond the grave.

Those musicians, all these years later, have become a street beggar, an imam and a pimp-slash-nightclub owner. We realize well before Botbol does that his mission, not unlike Jake and Elwood’s in “The Blues Brothers,” is getting the band back together.

As if there are not enough twists and ironies in “The Midnight Orchestra,” Botbol is deaf in one ear. This particular conceit does pay off, which is more than can be said of Ali’s over-the-top reactions to every bizarre situation they encounter.

The movie’s strategy of lightening an earnest father/son story with broad humor is ambitious and admirable, but it doesn’t always work. For that matter, more Moroccan-Jewish music would have been nice.

Fortunately, easy-on-the-eyes Moroccan actor Avishay Benazra, making his feature debut, invests Botbol with a boatload of sardonic cool and smoky good looks.

En route to getting to the bottom of a mystery that Botbol doesn’t even realize he’s unraveling – the real reason his father left Morocco on a moment’s notice with his wife and children – he takes a nocturnal dip in a large body of water.

Perhaps Bogey wasn’t joking after all.

Michael Fox is a San Francisco-based film critic.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 31

PRODUCED BY THE NORTHWEST FILM CENTER AND CO-PRESENTED WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR JUDAIC STUDIES

24th Portland Jewish Film Festival JUNE 15-29, 2016

NWFILM.ORG A Tale of Love and Darkness

GENERAL ADMISSION: $9 STUDENTS AND SENIORS: $8 PATRON PASS: $125 Complete schedule, tickets, and passes are available online at nwfilm.org.

Location: Northwest Film Center—Whitsell Auditorium Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Avenue Welcome to the 24th annual Portland Jewish Film Festival, produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies. While the Festival specifically celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture, and identity, we hope that these films, and the stories they tell, resonate beyond their settings and speak to universal experiences and issues that confront our common humanity.

Wednesday, June 15, 7 pm The Midnight Orchestra, Morocco, 2015

dir. Jerome Cohen Olivar (102 mins., Drama, DCP)

Michael Abitbol, the son of a once famous Jewish musician, returns to Casablanca for the first time after leaving Morocco as a child amidst racial tensions spurred by the 1973 Yom Kippur War. There, he embarks on a mission to honor his iconic father’s legacy. With the help of a comical cab driver, Michael’s search for the former members of his father’s band unexpectedly transforms his life forever.

Thursday, June 16, 7 pm In Search of Israeli Cuisine, Israel/US, 2015

dir. Roger Sherman (97 mins., Documentary, DCP)

“If hummus and falafel are the only things that come to mind when you think about Israeli food, then this fascinating documentary is a must-see. Guided by Michael Solomonov, the Israel-born, Philadelphia-based, award-winning chef behind (hit Philadelphia restaurant) Zahav, we explore the 70+ diverse cultures of Israel through food. He samples food traditions, talks to a variety of chefs, and asks them about their traditions and if there is such a thing.”— Palm Springs Film Festival.

32 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Saturday, June 18, 8 pm A Tale of Love and Darkness, US, 2015

dir. Natalie Portman, (98 mins., Drama, DCP)

Based on Amos Oz’s acclaimed international bestseller, A Tale of Love and Darkness recounts the time Oz spent with his mother, Fania (Natalie Portman), at the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and through the early years of the State of Israel. Struggling with raising her son in the foreign city of Jerusalem, Fania battles her inner demons and longs for a better world for her 10-year-old son Amos. As a nation is born around them, Amos must come to terms with his own new beginning.

Sunday, June 19, 4:30 pm The Kind Words, Israel, 2014

Monday, June 20, 7 pm Censored Voices, Israel/Germany, 2015

dir. Mor Loushy (87 mins., Documentary, DCP)

The Six-Day War in 1967 ended with a stunning victory for Israeli military forces, and was a moment of great pride for the new nation.

Yet interviews conducted by renowned authors Avraham Shapira and Amos Oz with Israeli soldiers returning from the battlefield paint anything but a glorious portrait of war. Censored for nearly five decades, these recordings question the responsibility of the conqueror to the conquered, the paradox of a people who fled oppression only to become the oppressors, and the still-fervent hope for a lasting peace with their Arab neighbors.

Tuesday, June 21, 7 pm The Last Mensch, France/Germany, 2014

dir. Shemi Zarhin, Sasson Gabai (118 mins., Drama, DCP)

dir. Pierre-Henry Salfati (93 mins., Drama, DCP)

Embittered, spiky-tempered restaurateur Dorona and her two very dissimilar brothers receive a bombshell when they learn the man who raised them isn’t their biological father. This seismic shock sets them on a quest across France to unravel their origins, tracing their roots to their mother’s native Algiers. As they piece together the inscrutable secrets of their past, Dorona attempts to reconcile her strained relationship with her long-suffering husband Ricki, while her brothers grapple with issues of familial, religious, and ethnic identity.

Marcus Schwarz has spent a lifetime concealing his Jewish heritage.

After surviving the horrors of Auschwitz, he has painstakingly created a new identity for himself in Germany. But as his twilight years draw near, Marcus decides he wants to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

There’s only one small problem: the rabbis don’t believe he’s Jewish.

Forced to return to his childhood Hungarian village to prove his true identity, Marcus enlists a troubled young Turkish woman to drive him on what turns out to be a life-changing trip for both.

Sunday, June 19, 7:30 pm Time to Say Goodbye, Germany, 2015

Wednesday, June 22, 7 pm P.S. Jerusalem, Israel, 2015

dir. Viviane Andereggen (82 mins., Comedy, DCP)

Twelve-year-old Simon has a lot to deal with. His life in Hamburg has him traveling back and forth like a ping-pong ball between his recently divorced mom and dad. To complicate matters further, his family is religiously divided. His newly observant father Frank insists that his squeamish son sacrifice his foreskin before his Bar Mitzvah, while liberal-minded mom Hannah is fed up with the pious posturing of her ex-husband. In the meantime, Simon falls head over heels in love with his new rabbi Rebecca, and his quest to win her heart fuels a comical family feud.

dir. Danae Elon (97 mins., Documentary, DCP)

P.S. Jerusalem is the story of one family in search of home. After living in New York City for two decades, filmmaker Danae Elon makes the decision to move with her husband and children to Jerusalem. This complicated choice goes against the last wishes of Danae’s father, acclaimed author Amos Elon, who made her promise that she would not return to the city in which he had so painfully lost faith. Elon intimately narrates her experiences, bravely exposing the complexities of life in Jerusalem and Israel, and one family’s challenge to find their “home.”

Thursday, June 23, 7 pm The Kindergarten Teacher, Israel/France, 2014 dir. Nadav Lapid (119 mins., Drama, DCP)

Nira, a kindergarten teacher in Tel Aviv, is convinced that her fiveyear-old student is a modern day poetry prodigy. Hypnotized by the boy’s recitations of his work, she begins to write the poems down. A struggling poet herself, Nira comes to believe that only she can help the boy with his remarkable gift, but as her efforts escalate, so do the murky complexities surrounding her true motivations.

Saturday, June 25, 8 pm Fever at Dawn, Hungary, 2015

dir. Péter Gárdos (110 mins., Romance/Drama, DCP)

Miklos is a twenty-five-year-old Hungarian who has survived the camps and has been brought to Sweden to convalesce. His doctor has just given him a death sentence—his lungs are filled with fluid and in six months he will be gone. But Miklos didn’t survive the war only to drown from within, so he declares war on his own fate. He acquires the names of the 117 Hungarian women also recovering in Sweden, and he writes a letter to each of them in his beautiful cursive hand. One of these women, he is sure, will become his wife.

in Search of Israeli Cuisine

Sunday, June 26, 4:30 pm The Art Dealer, France, 2014

dir. François Margolin (95 mins., Drama/Thriller, DCP)

When her art dealer husband brings home a ravishing 18th century painting, Esther, a journalist, thinks nothing of it until her father is suddenly overcome with emotion at the sight of it. When he refuses to explain his visceral reaction, she becomes intent on solving the mystery of a treasure presumably stolen from her Jewish family by the Nazis. Searching for the truth in a past shrouded in mystery, she uncovers a story that has been carefully buried for decades by those closest to her, and in doing so learns that some family secrets are best kept hidden.

Sunday, June 26, 7 pm Demon, Poland/Israel, 2015

dir. Marcin Wrona (94 mins., Thriller, DCP)

Peter has just arrived from England to marry his beautiful fiancée, Zaneta, at her family’s country house in rural Poland. While inspecting the grounds, Peter finds skeletal human remains buried on the property. Haunted by his discovery, Peter’s mental state slowly starts to unravel while the joyous and drunken traditional Polish wedding goes on around him. With nods to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Demon is a chilling, clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk and a thrillingly kinetic cinematic experience.

The Kindergarten Teacher

Monday, June 27, 7 pm Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Tuesday, June 28, 7 pm Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt Israel/Canada, 2016 dir. Ada Ushpiz (125 mins., Documentary, DCP)

The German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt caused an uproar in the 1960s by coining the subversive concept of the “Banality of Evil” when referring to the trial of Holocaust organizer Adolph Eichmann.

Her private life was no less controversial thanks to an early love affair with renowned Nazi supporter Martin Heidegger. Ushpiz’s thought-provoking film offers an intimate portrait exploring the whole of Arendt’s life, traveling to places where she lived and wrote about the open wounds of modern times and the nature of evil, totalitarianism, ideologies, and the perils faced by refugees.

Wednesday, June 29, 8 pm Once in a Lifetime, France, 2014

dir. Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar (105 mins., Drama, DCP)

A dedicated history teacher at a French high school, Anne is determined to give the best education she can to her underprivileged inner-city pupils. Overcoming their apathy, however, proves to be more difficult than expected. Frustrated but undaunted, Anne tests her multicultural classroom with a unique assignment: a national competition on the theme of child victims of the Nazi concentration camps. The project is initially met with extreme resistance, until a face-to-face encounter with a Holocaust survivor dramatically changes the students’ attitudes and perspectives on the world.

US, 2016 dir. Heidi Ewing, Rachael Grady (92 mins., Documentary, DCP)

The Midnight Orchestra

Norman Lear is arguably the most influential creator, writer, and producer in the history of television. His legendary 1970s TV shows All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and Maude used comedy and unforgettable characters to shift the national consciousness about class, race, faith, and feminism. Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing’s film offers a rich and layered portrait of the extraordinary 93-year-old Mr. Lear that reveals a man whose extraordinary social and cultural contributions emerged from both his personal story and an ongoing dialogue with the world.

The Last Mensch

Once in a Lifetime

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Diane Solomon Family Fund

Leonard & Lois Schnitzer Charitable Supporting Fund of the OJCF

Oregon-Israel Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation

Ruben J. and Elizabeth Menashe

Aspen Mitzvah Fund of the OJCF

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 33

[Arts&Entertaintment]

g n i t n Pai

d n u so

By Deborah Moon

Curtis Salgado

Linda Hornbuckle

Art Abrams

dianerussell.net | 503-253-0865 | dianestudio@qwest.net 34 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Portland Soul: Portraits in Jazz & Blues Paintings by portrait artist Diane Russell Portland International Airport, Concourse E Through July 15 pdxart.portofportland. online/2016/02/08/portlandsoul

Portrait artist Diane Russell works on a painting of her daughter. A painting she recently completed of her mother at age 87 sits in the background.

Near the end of her 27-year career illustrating the women’s catalogue for Pendleton Woolen Mills, Diane Russell drew on her passion for music to paint Linda Hornbuckle, known as the matriarch of Portland’s blues scene.

The portrait of Hornbuckle, who died in 2014, is one of 16 of Diane’s paintings of local musicians on display in Portland International Airport through July 15. “It reflects Portland’s jazz and blues community,” says Diane. “We have national-caliber artists here in Portland.”

In a description of the exhibit, Diane wrote: “I’ve collaborated with many of them on CD covers and benefit concert posters to help showcase their music to the community. These musicians have all made an enormous contribution to our region. My hope is that these portraits will honor and celebrate their music for years to come.”

Born in Oregon to Ben, z’l, and Victoria Russell, Diane studied art at Portland State University for two years before moving to New York and studying illustration at the Parson School of Design. Following graduation she returned to Portland. While illustration enabled Diane to make a living in the art world, her passion for music, photography, painting and portraits have become the driving force in her second art career.

Since that 1998 painting, Diane has painted numerous blues and jazz musicians both local and national. Her work has been featured on two Legendary Blues Cruise commemorative posters and was used to promote Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival one year. Reproductions of her portraits grace the tombstones of two national musicians, and her portraits of blues and jazz musicians have been on display at Jimmy Mak’s Jazz Club in NW Portland for about a decade.

She paints musicians from photographs that she herself has taken. Her photo collection includes more than 20,000 digital images, including many she took while close to the musicians on the Blues Cruises. After she completes a painting, she asks the musician or their business office if she can make prints of the painting (the musician receives a percentage of all print sales).

So far all but one artist have given permission to sell the prints.

“I’m trying to get the essence of the music,” she says. “I hope it’s in the paintings.”

Though some of her more recent paintings are of the musicians holding their instrument rather than performing,

she says the portraits still reflect the music as well as the person behind it.

Her collection can be seen at dianerussell.net; limited-edition, hand-signed and numbered prints mounted on archival foam core board can be purchased on the site.

Diane is also a member of ORA, NW Jewish Artists. At ORA’s Jewish Art Month exhibit at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center each March, she has received commissions for personal portraits in charcoal or oils. Currently she works primarily from photographs, but she has begun to work on painting live subjects.

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[Arts&Entertaintment]

‘Count’ the ways senior author keeps busy

By Jenn Director Knudsen

“Linnie Ann Adams Walcott came early to her first class in medical school: anatomy and physiology. … She and a skeleton were the only people in the room, but as the other students arrived, Linn became an island in a sea of males who left two or three seats between her and themselves.”

So writes Pamela Lindholm-Levy in her first book, Count the Mountains. The historical-fiction novel, published in late-2015, is set in Denver at the end of the 19th century. Like Linn, the pioneering female protagonist at the center of her book, Pam always was an intellectually curious and independent woman; today, well past legal retirement age, she continues to be.

Pam is shown reading from her book at Broadway Books earlier this year.

“I have a friend who’s a poet, another who’s a printmaker, old On June 3, she will read from Count the Mountains in Denver at the Tattered college friends (I keep in touch with) and another friend who Cover Book Store (tatteredcover.com). sails,” says Pam, 76. She recounts this during an interview over coffee and GF goodies with her husband, Larry Levy, 82, at Tula Born in Silverton and raised an only child in Salem, Pam says Gluten Free Bakery on Portland’s Eastside. “Honestly, I don’t her parents influenced her to be curious and active throughout know what they all do all day.” life. Her dad was involved in Salem’s Kiwanis Club and Junior Larry, a Connecticut native and former securities lawyer, who Chamber of Commerce, and, during World War II, in which he cheered on Pam through her six-year, novel-writing process, was unable to serve due to bad eyes and a bad heart, did all he pipes in, “Neither of us think of ourselves as our age, because could to earn an income and help the war effort his four brothers we’re blessed with good health and have interests. We feel much all took part in. younger than we are.”

In addition to raising her daughter, Pam’s mom volunteered Pam’s new moniker of author rests atop a long list of them. at a thrift store that supported an animal shelter and pored over She is a very involved and longtime Irvington Home Tour Silverton and Salem history. volunteer and, in 2010, was instrumental in helping her adopted “That’s what I grew up seeing, as a kid,” Pam says. neighborhood receive a Historic District designation.

Pam is a 1961 University of Oregon alumna.

She reads voraciously, audits courses at Shortly after graduation, she set out for Denver, Portland State University, spends time with which became her home for the next 40 years her two grandsons (who also live east of and was where her two children were born. the Willamette River), fosters cats, travels The city, her master’s degree in biology from internationally and takes in as much culture as the University of Colorado, her decades of Portland has to offer. work in the field of tuberculosis research and Sacha Reich, executive director of Jewish her dedication to her two children form the Theatre Collaborative, calls both Pam and backdrop of Count the Mountains.

Larry “culture consumers.” Pam and Larry both “My son was very involved in soccer; my served on JTC’s board.A horse lover, Pam also daughter was very involved in music,” Pam says, owns and cares for Pascal, a 25-year-old draft adding, “For the record, I was never the Girl horse, who is living out his dotage in Scholls Scout leader.” and whom she used to ride and jump. (Pascal’s Pam and Larry both were divorced when they mother, raised by a Jewish family, was named met in Denver in 1980; they married four years Kadima.) later, and in 2002, they made Portland their “He has a beautiful view of Mt. Hood from home. his paddock,” Pam says of Pascal in a tone During her first reading, at Broadway Count the Mountains, by Pamela reserved for a dear friend. “We’re both retired Lynn, Aspen Eyes Press, 236 pages, Books in late-February, Pam told her from all that stuff.” paperback, $15.99. intimate audience that her work as a medical 36 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

technologist at Denver’s Saint Joseph Hospital and, later, at National Jewish Health taught her that 100 years earlier Colorado’s capital had become a haven for TB sufferers.

“It was thought that the high, dry, sunny climate would be a cure for TB,” Pam says.

National Jewish Health (née National Jewish Hospital) was founded by a group of Jewish women wanting to help their own and convalesce TB patients.

Many passages in Count the Mountains recount the TB scourge, the era’s then-nascent research on and treatment of the disease, and a new group of sufferers and settlers: Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.

To ensure historical accuracy of the immigrants’ story, Pam turned to Portland State University’s Natan Meir, history professor, expert on Eastern European Jewry and chair of the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies.

Pam wanted to give the TB patients’ medical institution a fictitious name. “I was going to call it New Jerusalem,” she says.

“But Natan said, ‘That sounds too Christian.’ So we called it Maimonides Mountain Hospital for Consumptives.”

As for her writing, Pam credits Tom C. Bissell’s 2011 Intermediate Fiction Writing course at PSU. Bissell, no longer with the university, recalls of his then overenrolled class: “It’s sometimes difficult when a student who’s considerably older than his or her fellow classmates sits in on a class, but Pam was exemplary.

“I still remember both pieces Pam turned in,” he continues in an email. “They were filled with memorable characters and

sharp dialogue, and were obviously written by someone who had already thought deeply about her own experience in the world.”

Indeed, PSU – which Larry calls his “second home” – figures prominently in the couple’s post-retirement lives. As beneficiaries of lifelong learning opportunities, they’ve become passionate benefactors.

Their names adorn a number of scholarships and programs, including the Lawrence Levy and Pamela Lindholm-Levy Judaic Studies Program Fund to support speakers, performances, symposia and more.

Lisa Wright, Pam’s daughter, says her mom is an inspiration and often busier than she is as a full-time working mom of two young sons.

“We often have to schedule well in advance to make our free time match up,” Lisa says. Her mom always was a reader, so her foray into becoming an author didn’t necessarily surprise her.

“My mom has an amazing work ethic,” she says.

Pam doesn’t shy away from the very lengthy path she took to becoming a published author; she has a second book in the works, but for now its topic is secret.

Maybe she’ll dive in during long flights this summer to the U.K. and Iceland.

In the meantime, Pam and Larry can be spotted at PSU. “PSU has meant different things for the two of us,” Larry says.

“For me, it’s the intellectual environment I’d been seeking. For Pam, it’s been more than that.

“For Pam, it ignited her writing,” he continues. “It planted the seed for the book.”

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[Arts&Entertaintment]

Sing-along

The Lefty Sing Along Band includes, from left, Joel Glick, Les Milfred and Joan Glebow. Photo by Yehuda Winter

By Deborah Moon

returns for third year

The Third Annual Lefty Sing Along will again present special guest Joe Hickerson, folklorist and co-composer, with Pete Seeger, of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

The Tikkun Olam Committee of P’nai Or hosts the event 7-9:30 pm, June 25, in a private home as a fundraiser for P’nai Or and Plant for the Planet (see story, page 52). The first Lefty Sing Along was organized in memory of folk singer Pete Seeger, the second honored the music of Peter, Paul and Mary. This year, the songs of Joan Baez take center stage.

At the first two events, Joe shared personal stories from his memories of Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul and Mary. Though he has never met Joan Baez, Joe says she is very special and sang ballads and folk songs in a beautiful voice. So this year he has selected three songs from her early albums and will share his personal connections and reflections of those pieces.

One of those songs is “Kumbaya,” which Joe says has a Portland connection he will share. First recorded in the 1920s, it soared to popularity in the 1960s and after Joan Baez’s 1962 recording of the song. Joe’s connection to the song predates that recording. In 1957 he and seven other Oberlin College students spent a summer of teaching and singing at camps and resorts from Pennsylvania to Maine.

“We taught “Kumbaya” to thousands of campers,” he says. “It’s 38 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

easy to pick up and the counselors like it because it’s only three chords on the guitar.”

Joe will also sing a song or two on “stage” before retreating to the audience to join his voice with theirs as they sing along with featured performers Jordan Ackerson, Dan Anolik, Joan Glebow, Joel Glick, Lisa Lieberman, Les Milfred, Bruce Morris and Rob Vergun.

“I was quite amazed by the enthusiasm (and) that so many people sing along,” says Joe of the first two years.

Called a great song leader by Pete Seeger, Joe has played a key role in the annals of folk music and the Portland event. Now a Portland resident, Joe writes a column for the Portland Folk Music Society. He served as a librarian and then head of the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress from 1963 to 1998.

“Hilda Welch came up with idea for a lefty sing-along,” says Joel Glick, a member of the band for the annual sing-alongs. “It’s a play on words because Joe plays guitar left-handed, and the politics of folk music in the U.S. has always tilted towards the left. At the sing-alongs, we sing many songs from the civil rights, environmental, labor and other social justice movements.”

Admission is $18, with a small service charge at leftysingalong3.brownpapertickets.com. The address and directions to the Lake Oswego location are provided upon purchase of tickets.

Father's Day

Fatherhood the second time around

he says of parenthood the second time around. “The Alan Kantor, 69, has downside is I’m much older. five children and five It’s hard to get up from the grandchildren. His three floor. Physically I can’t do youngest children, ages some things.”

6 months to 8 years, Being a Jewish Big Brother are benefiting from his to two boys over about 20 experience raising the years also contributed to older children, Stephan, his enjoyment and skill as a 40, and Evan, 36, as well father now. He still keeps in as his time as a Jewish touch with one of his “little Big Brother. brothers,” who is a father of “I am involved with two and a professional chef. my wife and kids, and “It’s nice to see him maturing other things are less and growing up,” says Alan. important,” says Alan.

“I had a positive impact.”

Alan and his first wife, “It gave me more patience Roz, moved to the West the second time around,” he Coast in 1981 when the says of the experience. “It computer firm where made me appreciate my kids he worked transferred more.” him from New York to Alan and his second Los Angeles. He later wife, Augusta, moved to started his own business.

Portland in 2008, when he Alan was active at was hired as director of sales Temple Ramatzion in for the Hoffman Group, North Ridge, CA, for which is well known in the 25 years; when his two automobile restoration world older sons were in high as a supplier of parts and school, he asked them accessories. The company has Alan and Augusta Kantor with their three children: Robert, 8; if they would mind if since shifted its focus and Liam, 4; and Neal, 6 months. he became a Jewish Big Alan hopes to find another Brother through the sales position. He says he Milliken Center. has passion for selling, but Through the years, Alan says he’s had many financial ups and he wants to have the freedom to focus on his second family. downs and has made a vital discovery: “Money isn’t everything – The family is considering a move to Bend because Robert, 8, I am living proof of that. My happiest time of life is right now.” has been offered a spot on the Mount Bachelor Ski Education When raising his first two children, the demands of a highFoundation Ski Team. Since Augusta works out of the home pressure job and running his own company took a lot of his time. designing women’s shoes as director of design for HH Brown’s Now, Alan says that he has discovered how wonderful it is to shoe division, she’s not tied down to Portland. have the time to be with his children – Robert, Liam and Neal.

But they do want to stay in Oregon, where they love the He says he has learned from the mistakes he made with his outdoor lifestyle. first family of committing so much of his time to work.

“We spend most of our days outside doing things,” says Alan.

“I am home; I am able to attend meetings with teachers,”

By Deborah Moon

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 39

[Young Adult]

Kol Isha: Jennie Spector works to lift women’s voices

By Deborah Moon

Just 22 years old, Jennie Spector has already taken steps to elevate women’s voices on the bimah and the world stage.

From her bat mitzvah decision to her college co-op in Istanbul, she has worked to move women’s voices onto equal footing with those of men.

The daughter of Marshal Spector and Sharon Pollin, Jennie attended Portland Jewish Academy and Congregation Shaarie Torah, which was then a traditional congregation.

Since women could not read from the Torah at her congregation, she had a private bat mitzvah at the Sheraton Airport Hotel. Shaarie Torah is now an egalitarian Conservative synagogue; could the voices of Jennie and some of her contemporaries have contributed to that shift?

“My interest in women’s issues and feminism started at a young age,” says Jennie.

While attending Riverdale High School, she was active in NCSY and the Jewish Student Union. Now a senior majoring in international affairs at Northeastern University, she focuses on examining the roles and rights of women in the world. NU is known for global experiential learning opportunities, with most students participating in at least two co-ops (4-6 month internships), says Jennie, noting that means most students take five years to complete their degree.

Jennie’s first co-op involved helping Cambridge terrorism expert Dr. Jessica Stern complete her book, ISIS: The State of Terror. This experience provided Jennie with important insights and understanding when she was in Paris as an exchange student last fall during the terrorist attack and again in Istanbul when two ISIS bombings occurred while she was in the middle of her second co-op.

“From working on the book it seemed less random and put it in perspective, so I understood why this happened,” says Jennie. “It was also interesting to see the recovery and to see the world respond.”

She says that after the ISIS attacks in November, Paris was a somber place – the next day parks were closed and no one 40 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Jennie Spector stands on a bridge overlooking the waterfront on the Old City side of the Bosporus, a strait that joins the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea in Istanbul, and separates the continents of Europe and Asia.

was smiling on the street. “The different energy continued for my last month there.”

In Istanbul, she could hear the blast across the water. But she says people were very casual and immediately kept on with daily life. She notes, however, the Istanbul bombings were much smaller and, since she does not understand Turkish, she did not understand street conversations as she could in France.

The second suicide bombing in Turkey, in which three Israelis died, prompted Northeastern to pull Jennie out of Turkey in late March. She is completing her internship remotely and visited family in Portland during Passover.

Jennie’s January-June co-op is with two Istanbul-based organizations, The Fuller Project for International Reporting and Foreign Policy Interrupted, which share the goal of amplifying women’s voices in foreign policy journalism. The Fuller Project focuses on encouraging journalists to tell women’s stories, while the FPI helps mid-career foreign policy experts improve their ability to speak to the media with a focus on increasing the number of women the media speaks to.

The name of the second organization is based on a quote from Madeline Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State: “My motto ... for young and medium-aged women is that we have to learn to interrupt, because you don’t get called on just because people think you should be. You have to have some thoughts and interrupt.”

Jennie says her boss at FPI describes the team’s tone as “the energy of a cheerleader who will beat you in a debate on foreign policy.”

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FPI co-founder Lauren Bohn is someone Jennie considers a mentor. “She is a ball of light. She has taught me a lot about having an idea and making it happen. If you think the world needs it, probably hundreds of others will appreciate you making it happen.”

During her three months in Turkey, she met a lot of impressive women, from foreign correspondents to influential community leaders. She says Istanbul lives up to its cliché as the crossroads of the East and West. Religious women in hijabs mix with women in business power suits – “I didn’t notice any barriers based on what they wear,” she says.

Having connected with the organizations and the women involved during her time in Turkey, Jennie says she is able to continue her internship remotely.

One of her FPI roles is to seek out women authors and connect with them to share their stories online; she recently interviewed journalist Kim Barker, whose book, The Taliban Shuffle, inspired the movie “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” starring Tina Fey. She also works on FPI’s “Interruptor Series,” interviewing women involved in foreign policy for the FPI website and newsletter. She recently interviewed Natalie Sambhi, a research fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, where she publishes on Indonesian foreign and defense policy, and Southeast Asian security.

“There’s a lot of work yet to be done to elevate women’s voices – as journalists, as quoted experts and as story subjects,” says Jennie.

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 41

[Young Adult]

Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism

By Robert Horenstein

Over the past several years, there has been a rising hostility toward Jewish students amid increasingly aggressive anti-Israel campaigns on many American college campuses. Finally, one public university system has done something about it. In late March, the University of California’s Board of Regents adopted a statement declaring that anti-Semitism, including what it called “anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism,” has “no place” on its campuses.

To be sure, the resolution is a significant step forward in addressing the hostility toward Jews generated by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. But should it have gone further? Curiously, the regents, by distinguishing between opposition to the existence of a Jewish state and bigotry against Jews, chose not to issue a broader condemnation of antiZionism as a form of discrimination. Yet, given the growing number of campaigns vilifying Israel and pro-Israel students on campuses across the country, was the decision not to conflate anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism fully justified?

Predictably, BDS supporters vehemently objected to the resolution. Typifying the opposition to the regents’ statement, Tallie Ben-Daniel, the academic council coordinator of the anti-Zionist Jewish Voices for Peace, told the New York Times: “This is the culmination of a campaign on behalf of pro-Israel organizations to equate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.”

Of course, no reasonable person would consider legitimate criticism of Israeli policies anti-Semitic. On the other hand, BDS propaganda falsely accuses Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and, as if these allegations weren’t absurd enough, the murder of Palestinian children used for “target practice” by the IDF. Such perverse lies are nothing short of unbridled demonization.

For many American Jews, especially those with a strong attachment to Israel, an attack on Zionism strikes at the very core of our Jewish identity. Even so, I sometimes hear within progressive circles the argument that anti-Zionism isn’t intrinsically anti-Semitic because Zionism is merely a “political” movement.

In an April 4 op-ed in the Forward, for example, Jane Eisner, the newspaper’s editor, argued that “the California Regents wisely acknowledged that reasonable people ought to be able to treat Zionism as a political ideology and question whether there should be a sovereign state in which Jews are privileged.”

Moreover, as other commentators have pointed out, one can oppose communism without being anti-Chinese or oppose capitalism without being anti-American.

This, however, is comparing apples to oranges. Communism 42 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

isn’t unique to China, nor is capitalism unique to America. But Zionism is inextricably linked to the character of the Jewish state. As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in the August 1967 Saturday Review: “And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the globe.

It is discrimination against Jews because they are Jews.”

There’s also another problem with the claim that opposition to Zionism is simply one side of a political debate. After all, what really matters is how that political view is translated into action.

Several pro-Israel groups operating on college campuses, such as StandWithUs, report that there’s a demonstrable correlation between anti-Israel activism and the targeting of Jewish students. This includes the use of both physical and psychological intimidation and the appearance of abhorrent anti-Semitic graffiti. At Cal Berkeley, for instance, “Zionists to the gas chamber” was scrawled on a university bathroom wall.

Indeed, the regents acknowledged that anti-Zionism is “often” expressed as “assertions of prejudice and intolerance toward Jewish people and culture.”

Change “often” to “regularly” and you have a more accurate picture. True, not every BDS activist spray paints swastikas on the wall of a Jewish fraternity or threatens pro-Israel students with violence. But where on college campuses are there campaigns against the world’s worst human rights violators?

Ever hear of an effort to divest from U.S. companies operating in China to protest against the Chinese occupation of Tibet? How about “Saudi Apartheid Week” to raise awareness of the abusive system of gender apartheid practiced in the desert kingdom? No such campaigns exist.

Even Syria, where the Assad regime has slaughtered hundreds of thousands of its own civilians, scarcely warrants any attention.

Since the atrocities there weren’t perpetrated by Israel, they’re of no interest to the BDS movement. This blatant hypocrisy reveals a conscious deployment of a double standard used to portray the Jewish state, alone among all the nations, as a global pariah. It’s a discriminatory standard, and discrimination against Jews has a name. It’s called anti-Semitism.

Robert Horenstein is director of community relations and strategic initiatives at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. This article first appeared in the May 16 issue of the Jerusalem Report.

PDX Hillel students explore Israel through Engage With Israel Fellowship

By Kelsey Kaplan and Michelle Chernack

the fellowship prepared us for discussions about Israel in Michelle Chernack and Kelsey Kaplan, right. our communities and campuses.

Through this unique opportunity and experience, every fellow walked away with the knowledge, skills and confidence that allow us to explore our individual relationship and connection with/to Israel.

With the help and support of Hillel and community donors, our group included nine students, six from Portland State University and three from Lewis & Clark. During the conference in Washington, D.C., we heard from incredible speakers discussing a variety of topics from American politics to the Syrian war to the refugee crisis. Along with all attendees, we heard from presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. We also heard from Vice President Joseph Biden, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via satellite.

Often our “breaks” between sessions turned into full-on discussions among all the fellows, sharing what we had just learned – and we did not always agree with one another. However, this fellowship strengthened our small delegation like no other experience could have. From the discussions prior to the trip to the conference itself, we connected with each other, the community and Israel supporters around the country to continue asking questions, learning, loving and supporting Israel. We hope that PDX Hillel students in the coming years may continue this newly established tradition to ignite each other and our campuses in a brand new way. Inspired by the words spoken at our Hillel seder a few weeks ago, we close with “Next year at AIPAC.”

We started out in Hillel as lost and confused freshmen, unsure of what our college lives were going to consist of and how our Jewish identities would fit in. Flash forward four years, and we now find ourselves at our last Jews and Brews and Bagel Breaks, still questioning parts of our Jewish identities, but more confident discussing and exploring that aspect of our lives. Now, as graduating seniors, we can confidently say that Hillel has prepared us in more ways than one when it comes to Jewish identity and relationship to Israel. During the school year, we decided to finish off our Hillel careers with an activity that would connect students on our campuses. While discussing different ideas of programs that would interest our peers on campus with PDX Hillel Managing Director and Israel Fellow Shiran Halfon, we realized we had a passion to explore the complexities of Israel with a wider range of people. Together we decided to create a program that would teach us more about Israel and what it means to each of us and our campuses.

We took on the challenge ready to change up the usual grind and reach beyond the bubble we’ve called home. We reached 2,800 miles across the country to the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference.

As active Hillel members within the community, we were eager to engage with 4,000-plus students with the same fervor as we have in the Pacific Northwest. With the support of an extremely generous donor, and Shiran’s help, we put together a fellowship during the spring semester/quarter to educate, inspire and create.

The Engage With Israel Fellowship allowed PDX Hillel college students interested in Israel education, awareness, advocacy and engagement to participate in a series of workshops, discussions and guest speakers to continue learning about the complexities of Israeli society. Additionally, Kelsey and Michelle in DC

Kelsey Kaplan is a senior at Portland State University and JSU president. Michelle Chernack is a senior at Lewis & Clark College.

Both are participants in the Engage With Israel Fellowship.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 43

[Seniors]

Senior Centered New Green Houses at CSP will help residents control their lives

By Deborah Moon

When the first of four new households open at Cedar Sinai Park at the end of July, the 12 residents who move in from Robison Home will enjoy more control of all aspects of their daily life.

The Green House model, under which the new households will operate, focuses on creating real homes, meaningful lives and empowered staff explains CSP Life Program Director Jennifer Felberg. Over the past year, Jennifer has attended three national trainings for Green House and is now training CSP staff in how to operate in the new model, which shifts from an institutional to a resident-centered philosophy.

“CSP has been doing person-centered care and bringing in plants and children for a long time,” says Jennifer. “We are ahead of the curve.”

But she says in Green Houses, the resident is in the center of the “organizational chart” with frontline staff -Jennifer Felberg in the circle closest to them. The 12 core staff members in each household will be Certified Nursing Assistants and will be trained in the Green House methods. That team will set a weekly schedule for the household to have three CNAs each day, two in the

evening and one overnight (to be joined by an RN or LPN).

A “guide” will coordinate with those caregivers to arrange for any needed support from social workers or other CSP staff. An older volunteer “sage” will also be available to help with any communication issues.

“CNAs become the universal caregivers and self-managed work teams,” says Jennifer. “They cook, clean and organize activities in the home, eat with the household and become a family. We (CSP administration) support and coach them, but they are empowered to manage the home.”

“Residents get up when they want,” says Jennifer. “They can make a sandwich in the kitchen if they want. They decide what they want to eat (for the coming week), and the CNAs order the food and prepare meals.”

Each resident will have their own bedroom and bathroom. Each of the four 12-resident households (known collectively with the current Robison building as the Harold Schnitzer Health and Rehabilitation Center) will have a kitchen, dining room, living room and den. The kitchen and dining room will be strictly kosher, but residents can eat outside food in the

“CNAs become the

universal caregivers

and self-managed work teams. They cook, clean

and organize activities in the home, eat with the

household and become a family.”

44 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

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[Seniors]

Connie and Emanuel Ben-David at their home in Ashland. Photo by Liz Rabiner Lippoff

From Iron Dome to Ashland Home

By Liz Rabiner Lippoff

When Emanuel and Connie Ben-David retired, they wanted to move to an affordable place with good climate and a strong Jewish community. They researched the best places to retire in the United States and when Ashland popped up over and over, they decided to fly out here and check it out. It was a long flight, however, since Emanuel and Connie were in Israel retiring from careers as defense systems engineers.

Born and raised in Haifa, Emanuel had studied defense since he entered a high school naval academy at age 13. The Navy then sent him to Technion, a high-level engineering school, and when he entered Israel’s Navy as an officer with a degree in mechanical engineering four years later, he went right to work on weapons systems. He quickly became the person responsible for the high-level maintenance of things like fire-control radars, optical directors, missiles and hydraulics.

He enjoyed the independence as well as the range of subjects – everything from submarines to missiles. “My peers were electrical engineers and didn’t know what I was doing, so I was the authority in my field.” He says that having a 22-year-old in charge is not uncommon in Israel.

46 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

In 1982, at 27, Emanuel joined Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which at that time was part of the Ministry of Defense.

He entered at the lowest level of mechanical engineer, but he was working on some cool stuff, such as early versions of infrared night vision systems. In 1985 the Israeli Navy ordered new periscopes for its Gal-class submarines from a company called Kollmorgen in Massachusetts; Kollmorgen, in turn, was buying the infrared subsystems from Rafael. Emanuel was the program manager responsible for everything from initial design to manufacturing. Connie was the contract manager at Kollmorgen.

“My husband at the time was Jewish, a first-generation Russian, and he had that ethnic culture that said ‘we need to know this guy from Israel! Let’s have him over,’ ” Connie remembers. “Over the course of roughly four years, through multiple design reviews and as the production developed, Emanuel and I were in constant communication, and my husband and I became friends with Emanuel and his family.

We’d visit each other, and even after the work was over, we stayed in contact.”

During the first Gulf War, for example, Emanuel was in the reserves when the first rocket attacks hit Israel from Iraq.

He and his family were in a sealed room to protect them from chemical attacks when Connie called him from the States. “It’s dangerous! Send your kids to us!”

Emanuel eventually had the opportunity to work on some of the most exciting defense projects in Israel, arguably in the world. He was, for example, part of the design team that created

“Litening,” a system with an infrared Emek Shalom, and one of the sensor, camera and laser equipment congregants introduced herself that enables aircraft to find, identify and invited the newcomers over and target a threat, day or night, for dinner. Before long, it became at any speed. Like many Israeli a kabbalah Shabbat potluck with innovations, this system actually 16 people. “If this is the kind evolved from early designs that were of community they have, that’s focused on a specific problem. it for us,” they agreed. Today “In 2002,” Emanuel explains, Connie is active on several temple “around the Second Intifada, snipers committees, but she jokes that she were shooting into Jerusalem from is really a “temple widow” because houses in Bethlehem, and the Emanuel’s involvement includes Israelis could not figure out who was the religious practice, human shooting. Our department quickly resources and search committees; developed a system called Spotlight adult education; teaching Torah that would stare at Bethlehem and, from time to time; and often when a shot was fired, it would put leading services when the rabbi a cursor on the spot where it was isn’t there. fired. Once deployed, the sensor Emanuel has also prepared could detect the threat and eliminate a series of lectures about Israel Iron Dome in action. Picture: Wikimedia Commons it. We were able to make the time that he has delivered at their span between detecting the shot to synagogue, at Havurah Shir responding to it very short, so the Hadash in Ashland, in Coos tank shell was at that guy within a minute.” Once they could Bay and at the Medford Church of Change. He gives context, do that, Emanuel says, “the shooting stopped completely, right statistics and concrete examples to counteract the negative away.” information he says is too common in the media. The first series, The famous Iron Dome system built on this work. Emanuel for example, focuses on what Israelis are really like and why, and was also a part of that team. “The problem is,” he explains, “you how these traits help explain why “the innovation and creativity have a Kasam missile maybe 6” in diameter or even less, flying of Israeli inventions is probably higher than the rest of the erratically, flight time (from launch to target) about 15 seconds. world.”

From the moment it is fired, one has to know that it was fired, Emanuel and Connie believe that Americans have trouble determine where it is going to fall and then make a decision. If rebutting the negative news they hear about Israel because it’s going to a populated area, you want to intercept it, but you they do not have enough accurate information. Emanuel cited have to fire the interceptor, hit a small object and do it far out a survey by Foreign Policy Magazine, which documented the from the populated area so the shrapnel that falls won’t be too number of times the U.S. State Department counted an act of dangerous.” And, he adds, you have 6-8 seconds for the whole state that was unacceptable. “Israel was the fourth-worst place in process. the world, behind Syria, Iran and North Korean, and just better When Rafael started working on this, nobody knew if it was than Pakistan. We are an ally. What’s wrong with this picture?” even feasible. As a matter of fact, Emanuel says with a laugh, Under-reported are the good stories, Emanuel says, like all “Everybody said we were out of our minds.” the Syrians who are being treated in Israel. He also tells how Three years later, it was operational. Over the years it has Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called the Israelis for help when intercepted hundreds of missiles at unprecedented success rates. his daughter needed medical treatment. The Israelis took her to Back in the States, Connie had moved to the space division one of the best hospitals in Tel Aviv. “Can you imagine Saddam at United Technologies. “I was working on the space shuttle, Hussein calling George Bush and asking for medical treatment the space station, space suits. I was also going all over on for his son? Can you see Bush sending a helicopter to bring him tours with the space suits, teaching kids what it was like to in?” be in space.” She loved her job. In 1999, though, she suffered “Emanuel is eager to engage in these activities, even as he is multiple traumas in a short period of time, including the loss retired,” says Connie. “He is a patriot.” of her husband. Her rabbi and her boss at United Technologies Liz Rabiner Lippoff is a marketing consultant, freelance writer and arranged for her to take a six-month sabbatical in Israel so she community volunteer. LizInk.biz could do a beit midrash, study at Hebrew Union College and Information about Emanuel Ben-David’s presentations regroup. Her friend Emanuel found her an apartment. He and about Israel: his wife were separated, and as Connie and Emanuel spent bendavid.e@013net.net more time together, she says, “One thing led to another!”

Video of the Iron Dome in action: Today they are renovating – by themselves – a house they youtube.com/watch?v=J3qaGic-qGw bought within five days of arriving on a Friday in 2013 to or youtube.com/watch?v=22xrADBnI8c check out Ashland. They had gone to services at Temple OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 47

[Seniors]

Karlins enjoy art, healthy food and the J

By Lee Braymen-Cleary

Nestled in an airy, semidetached home in the shadow of Washington Square are native New Yorkers, Richard and Karen Karlin. Sedate, intelligent and spry, these Jewish seniors live tasteful and natural lives with ducks floating by on the creek just feet from their deck.

Artwork graces the pale green walls of their great room. A copy of a townscape painted by Edward Hopper covers one wall.

Another wall displays three small works, one celebrating Japan’s Girl’s Day painted in minute detail by their Japanese boarder years ago. A large carved wooden mask hangs near a glass bookcase displaying multicolored kachina dolls and other Native American art. Above it hang five carved masks, mostly Asian.

48 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

“We have always had similar tastes in art” says Karen.

Cultivated by a marriage of 44 years, that taste also drew them to acquire a 2-foot-tall Charlie Chaplin statue, complete with out-turned feet and turned-up toes.

The Karlins also are drawn to Jewish culture. Reading about the Jewish experience, exercising at the J and cooking knishes are important parts of their lives. Richard highly recommends the 2011 New York Times bestseller by Erik Larson, In the Garden of Beasts, a startling account of William E. Dodd’s life as a new American ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in the 1930s.

For exercise they frequent the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, where they have been members since shortly after moving to Portland in 2008. Slender, strong and limber, Karen swears by the organization and attends a Tuesday/Thursday

“Forever Fit” exercise class taught by Robin Kirsch.

“By the time we’ve finished class, I’ve moved every muscle,” says Karen. “The class is fun, the routine varies and there is music. I feel much more positive toward the world because of it.”

Richard and Karen left New York in 1970, moving to Oakland, CA, where Richard’s love affair with the knish began.

While Karen was fascinated working for an intellectual property Home law firm during the 1980s, Richard was beginning to feel uncomfortable working in the printing business. So he made Care a change, one that matched his Jewish heritage. At his sister’s Housing Adult suggestion, he attended Laney College in Oakland on the GI Bill. He remembers those days fondly. One reason for his with Day enjoyment was his interesting teacher, the father of actor Tom Sinai In-Home Care Services Services Hanks.

Home He combined his culinary training with his Jewish heritage Home Care to begin his own business baking knishes. Richard began his Home The 1200 Building Park Home Care Bay-area business years before the Yiddish delicacy filled withRobison Jewish Adult Lexington Apartme Home Care Care Housing Hom meat, vegetables, onions or even sauerkraut created a mild rage Health Center Adult Rose Schnitzer Tow Day Care Housing about 2000. He called his business California Knishes.

Working Home Cedar Park Car with Adult Sinai In-Home AdultSinai Day Services 40 to 50 hours a week, he wholesaled his vegetable, his spinach Housing with Sinai In-Home Care Care Adult Services Day Dayof careAdult Services A continuum tailored to and cheese, and his potato and onion knishes to restaurants andIn-Home Sinai Care with Services Sinai In-Home Care Housing Day Special Adult other food vendors. On occasion heServices made special holiday orders Day Services meet or those of a Sinai In-Hom Sinai In-Home Care your needs, Robison Jewish Services In with Park Towe – pumpkin knishes, for example. Richard created California Services The 1200 Building Day Needs Services Health Center Robison Jewish loved one.

Lexington Apartments Sinai In-Home Care Knishes T-shirts as an advertising strategy. Centered on the The 1200 Building Park Tower Services The 1200 Health Center Services Robison Jewish Housing Rose Schnitzer Tower Robison Jewish Lexington Apartments back of each white shirt was a black circle with the words “Kiss Lexin The 1200 Building Park Tower Health Center Health Center Rose Schnitzer Tower Robison Jewish Rose my knish.”

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Jewish Family & Robison Jewish Jewish Family & Health Center, Nursing Care Rose Schnitzer Manor in a manner and Skilled independence and dignity in an Child Services Nursi Care Ros You might think Richard could not look another knish Child Services New Housing Model Jewish Family & in the Jewish Family & Robison Jewish Hea Care environment RoseNursing Schnitzer Manor Child Services based onChild Jewish values. face after having made thousands upon thousands of them. But Car New Housing Services Robison Jewish Health Center, Home Jewish Family & not so. On occasion he gets out his rolling pin and goes to it, New Housing Care Model Rose Schnitzer Manor Robison Jewish Child Health Center, Services Jewish Health Center, making a vegan variety.

Care Robison New Housing Model New Housing Model Robison Jewish Health Center, Robison Jewish H If you are interested in veganism and other healthful food New Housing Model Housing New Housin Adult issues, you could call the Northwest Vegetarian Education CONTACT Robison Jewish HealthUS: Center, CONTACT withwith New Housing Model Association at 503-746-8344 or visit nwveg.org to explore their • Adult Day Services – (503) 535-4403 ••Adult Home Care – (503) 542-0088 Se Day Day Services – (503) 535-4403••Housing Home Care – (503) CONTACT US: offerings. You might encounter Karen and Richard at a meeting.

Sinai In-Home Care • Independent and Assisted Living – (503) 535-4000 • Independent Housing – (5• Independent and Assisted Living – (503) 535-400 Services • Adult Day Services – (503) 535-4403 • Home Care – (503) 542-0088 • Housing with Services CONTACT US: CONTACT US: Services •• Skilled Nursing Care (503)• 535-4300 • Social Services – (50 You’ll know them

by Day theirServices easy grace, Richard’s dapperness and • Skilled Nursing Care – (503) 535-4300 Social –– (503) 226-7079 ••Housing Special Needs • Independent and Assisted Living – Services (503) 535-4000 Independent – (503) 45 • Adult – (503) 535-4403 • Home Care – (503) 542-0088 • Housing with535-4403 Services -•(503) CONTACT US: • Adult Day Services – (503) Home802-4401 Care – (503) 542-0088 • Ho CONTAC • Skilled – (503)• 535-4300 • Social Services – (503) 226-7079 • Special Needs Housin Karen’s warm, broad smile.

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• Independent and Assisted Living – (503) 535-4 Lee Braymen-Cleary is a Portland writer.

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Special

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 49

Inde

An Oregonian in Israel

By Mylan Tanzer

Let the IDF do its job

Immediately following the Six-Day War I doubt anyone thought the West Bank, seized in the fighting with Jordan, which occupied it at the time, would still be largely held by Israel nearly 50 years later. (I am not referring to people whose religious beliefs regard the conquering of Judea and Samaria, the historical birthplace of the Jewish people, as divinely destined and historically justified.)

In the weeks leading up to the war, Egypt, Syria and Jordan amassed troops and heavy weaponry along our borders and launched intense psychological warfare promising mass destruction just 22 years after the Holocaust. With that buildup, there was relief that the war did not result in the destruction of Israel and elation following the decisive victory. Ironically, a still naïve Israel believed that peace would be imminent because the trounced Arab nations would be willing to sign accords in exchange for Sinai, the Golan Heights and the West Bank.

Today’s reality is vastly different from anything imagined in the immediate aftermath of 1967. The war was obviously an event of historical proportions, mainly because it signified Israel was here to stay, but also because suddenly Israel was in control of large territories, and in the West Bank a large Arab civilian population. I am writing this column on Israel’s 68th Independence Day, and the West Bank is today the most complex and vexing obstacle facing Israel. The West Bank has developed into the perfect example of the cliché “can’t live with it, can’t live without it.” Every day this reality is brought home to us in some way. The ongoing rule over large numbers of hostile Palestinians continues to create profound moral and political dilemmas for Israeli society. But there has never been a truly viable option to leave these territories entirely in the hands of a corrupt Palestinian Authority that has not internalized Israel’s right to exist.

They certainly had their chances. They could have had independence; they chose terror.

Current conditions require us to maintain overall control of the West Bank, but we are paying a heavy price because of it.

The West Bank is the most divisive issue in Israeli society. The right maintains nothing short of complete control is essential for security and is justified historically. The left agrees it is the historical birthplace of the Jewish people and an important security asset, but maintains that controlling or absorbing an additional 1.8 million Palestinians will mark the end of the Zionist dream of a Jewish and democratic Israel.

When violence erupts in the West Bank, reactions are based on political orientation. One April event in the outskirts of Hebron sharpened this divide further. An IDF patrol was attacked by two knife-wielding terrorists. Two soldiers were injured, but one was able to fire his weapon, killing one terrorist and seriously injuring the other, leaving him neutralized. So far, nothing abnormal in what has become a very sad routine.

50 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

But as reinforcements and medical personnel arrived, a soldier from the unit of the two injured soldiers, in blatant violation of clear IDF regulations, shot the critically wounded Palestinian in the head, killing him.

The soldier was immediately disarmed and placed in detention pending the unit and Military Police investigation. A few days later “B’tselem” (the Israeli human rights NGO) released a video showing the soldier, Elor Azariya, cocking his M16 and shooting the dying terrorist. This event, known simply as the “Parshat hachayal hayoreh” (the case of the shooting soldier), has become one of the most controversial incidents in recent memory.

The release of the video compelled the prime minister, defense minister and the chief of staff to react swiftly. Netanyahu condemned the shooting, Defense Minister Ya’alon stated this was an intolerable excess and Chief of Staff Eisenkot had the soldier taken from his unit, arraigned in a military court and placed in lock-up until charges were brought. Vocal right-wing politicians, activists and their supporters immediately were up in arms over what they termed the IDF top brass reaching a “verdict” prior to the conclusion of the investigation. On social media they incited against Ya’alon, Eisenkot and the IDF in general. Many unashamedly called Azaria a hero for putting a bullet in the head of a terrorist, ignoring the fact that he was completely immobilized by the completely justified bullets shot by the soldier who fought off the attack. They protested over what they saw as the soldier’s humiliation at being dragged in uniform handcuffed before a military judge with the media present. Some ministers echoed Azaria’s defense lawyers claiming the soldier was acting in self-defense because he suspected the terrorist was wearing an explosive belt and his knife was within the reach.

Azaria’s family said he was being abandoned by those who sent him to fight.

The massive support for Azaria expressed on social media came as a shock to many, particularly the IDF and the defense establishment, who have a proven record in investigating and meting out punishment for operational excesses and violations of the well-defined IDF code of ethics. Even Netanyahu, seeing the tsunami of right-wing support for the soldier, found a somewhat devious way to express support while not contradicting his initial criticism. He personally telephoned Azaria’s father saying that as a father of a soldier, he understood his worries and concerns.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against Azaria, any attempt to insinuate guilt before the investigation was completed is unacceptable. Much of the support for Azaria was a protest against the right’s false perception that he had already been judged by the IDF and the media.

And this is where my major issue lies. It is inevitable that young soldiers will make mistakes when they are serving in the West Bank amongst a large and hostile Arab civilian population sheltering terrorists (and also dealing with some intolerant

Jewish settlers). The question is if these excesses will be tolerated or instead investigated and prosecuted if necessary.

This is exactly what the IDF does and this case is no exception. Nonetheless, the very clear and emphatic initial statements by Netanyahu, Ya’alon and Eisenkot were crucial.

Respected Y-net Defense Correspondent Ron Ben-Ishai wrote, “the Chief of Staff, by ordering the arrest of the soldier and the investigation, and also the Defense Minister and Prime Minister, both as former combat officers and as human beings, correctly condemned the shooting even before the investigation, as a failure in morals and virtues. From a pragmatic point of view, they understood instantly the potential for extreme political, diplomatic, military and PR damage and thus reacted quickly to contain it.”

They were also justifiably worried by the B’tselem video that supposedly confirmed the outrageous claim by Palestinian leadership that IDF soldiers “execute” Palestinians without legal or moral justification. This slanderous claim, spread virally over Arab social media, has become the motive for many Palestinians to go on murderous rampages against Israeli civilians with knifes or cars. Therefore, the appearance of a video supposedly confirming the Palestinian claim had to be immediately confronted and condemned by the Israeli leadership in order to prevent a flare-up of hostilities.

In addition to ensuring our physical survival, as a people’s army the IDF is also the most important factor in maintaining unity in a divided Israeli society. They rigorously adhere to a moral code of conduct and ethics that we all hold in common, or at least I believed we did prior to this incident.

Ben Ishai wrote: “Without the rock-solid common denominator of belief and trust in our ways and maintaining morality in battle, the motivation of the IDF soldier to fight until death for the sake of the country and its citizens will be undermined. These are not clichés. Anyone who has been in battle knows this.”

As former IDF Chief Spokesman Avi Benahayu wrote, “the obligation of the PM, DM and Chief-of-Staff was to resonate immediately and unequivocally to the IDF as well as to the general population.”

To quickly and definitively have taken a stand was absolutely imperative given the lack of understanding of the gravity of the issue by a majority of the public – a survey conducted

by Channel 2 news at the height of the controversy: 57% as opposed to 32% believed that the soldier should not have been arrested and there should be no criminal investigation; 42% believed Azaria acted responsibly, as opposed to 24%, while only 19% believed that he acted in disregard of orders. Most concerning was that 68% of those polled were opposed to the public condemnations by Netanyahu, Ya’alon and Eisenkot.

Despite these figures, or perhaps because of them, the IDF, Ya’alon and Eisenkot continue to do what is right and necessary and not what is popular. They understand the IDF is the pillar of unity in society. Morality in battle, an extremely challenging and sometimes impossible task when applied to the West Bank, is essential.

Benayahu adds: “This incident threatens to drag the IDF and society into a turbulent political, military and ethical storm. Eisenkot was ‘hazed’ politically and publicly in an unprecedented way for a Chief of Staff. … But fortunately he is made of the material to do what needs to be done and not what

the people want. He is not swayed. He has a job, challenges, fighters and objectives. …”

Six weeks on, Azaria’s trial has begun on the charges of manslaughter, gross negligence and ignoring orders pertaining to opening of fire. The IDF is determined to not flinch despite political and public pressures, which have subsided somewhat. A mass protest that was called in support of Azaria was dismally attended and marked somewhat of a turning point in public opinion. In no way has the public expressed criticism of Azaria’s actions, but realizing belatedly that their support caused harm and damage to the standing of the IDF, the public finally began to realize they had better let the IDF and military judicial system do its job.

And this is what it all boils down to – who will give the orders to fire? Who will control the chain of command? Who will ensure that the integrity and morality of the IDF is maintained and that it continues to be the common denominator of the people and the only real unifying force in our society? The IDF is the buffer between Israel and those who never cease trying to kill us. The IDF succeeds because it understands this is not only a military challenge. It also educates its soldiers so when they return to civilian society they understand how to maintain morality in the face of an enemy who brutally tries to murder Israeli soldiers and civilians.

One of the most important challenges facing us is maintaining the independent command authority of the IDF from the politicians and government. Once the government makes a decision, only the IDF can decide how to implement it.

The Azaria case is the latest challenge to this reality. As long as Israel remains in control of a large Palestinian population, there will be more violence. But as long as the integrity of the IDF is maintained, and it remains in charge of implementing the government’s West Bank policy, then at least we can continue to fight Palestinian terror while maintaining our values in the most moral and humane way possible.

Outrage by a public that has been victimized for decades by murderous Arab terrorists is justified. Under these circumstances, many societies have deteriorated into a mob mentality and acquired the characteristics of their enemies. I am proud in light of the life and death challenges we face that in 2016 there is still a critical mass of Israelis who will not agree to allowing the country to abandon the concept of “purity of arms.”

Despite the cruelty of our enemies, the IDF remains a moral beacon of light helping to guide us through the darkness of the Middle East.

This column is dedicated to Portland-born Yoni Suher, father of two, who was murdered in the Istanbul suicide bomb attack on March 20. He was with his wife, who was seriously wounded, celebrating his 40th birthday. Yoni is the son of my friends Randy and Yahel Suher, who were influential in and helpful with my aliyah.

Mylan Tanzer is an American native who moved to Israel in 1981. He was the founding CEO of the first Israeli cable and satellite sports channel. Since 2005, he has launched, managed, and consulted for channels and companies in Israel and Europe.

Tanzer lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and five children.

He can be reached at mylantanz@gmail.com.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 51

Kids &Teens too

A child-friendly resource for parents

INSIDE

52 Planting a brighter future 53 PJA Poets 54 History at its source 56 Calendar for Kids & Teens

Plant for the Planet Academy participants plant a Vanderwolf Pine at the MJCC.

52 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Plant for the Planet empowers youth to create a brighter future

own thoughts and experiences on how to teach others using the slideshow. Then, we got our hands in the earth What Jewish activity brings together diverse students and learned how to plant a tree from Scott McKinley, “to from four cities and nine schools with adult volunteers inspire kids to plant trees to erase our carbon footprint,” and awesome youth leaders to work together under the as Peter explained. auspices of the United Nations to repair the world and Students and ambassadors also heard from community protect it for present and future generations? leaders, who praised their work. They included Albert The answer is Plant for the Planet’s Good Deeds Day Kaufman (Farm My Yard), Bill Bigelow (who is working Academy. Open to all students, the April 17 academy to get schools to accurately teach about climate change) was supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater and our partner in that effort, Portland Public Schools Portland, the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Board Member Mike Rosen.

Congregation P’nai Or. Mike and Albert joined Plant for the Planet is us for the culmination of the an international nonprofit day, when, after more practice founded by a 9-year-old presenting the slides, the who realized adults (and students who came in the kids) weren’t taking the morning to learn presented the climate crisis seriously slideshow for their families and enough. Children and other guests. families rarely participate They delivered, as Albert put in groups battling climate it, “a poignant and passionate change, so when I came report about climate change.” across this program in Each student was Seattle, I began working to appointed as a Climate Justice spread it to other areas of Ambassador and received Tree Plant for the Planet’s Good Deeds Day Academy the country.

by Tree: Now We Children graduates and leaders.

Though small, like the Save the World. story of the Israelites with After the academy, the God on their side, Plant for the Planet is mighty because ambassadors got busy. Here’s a sample of what a few of the community support of volunteers and VIPs such as of these kids did in the six days immediately following U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and the youth who come Good Deeds Day. Miko and Isaac were guests on Public to learn and return to lead.

Radio International’s Live Wire Radio, where they spoke We typically work with fourth- to 12th-grade youth at eloquently about their participation as plaintiffs in Kelsey the local academies. Although the initial training takes Juliana et al. vs. U.S. et al. (The case was filed by 21 only about five hours, the impacts on students and the teenagers who claim the federal government is failing to adults who participate are immense. We cover climate protect them from the impacts of climate change.) Newly science, how to plant trees to store carbon and how to appointed Ambassadors Joel Guren (age 8) and Denali speak about climate change to other youth and adults.

Cuevas Ullibarry (age 12) came to the Passover Academy When youth speak on this issue, they get adults to act. to help a new group of students learn about climate Academies are all about youth training other youth. change and to share matzah as we worked to get free from It works because of the commitment of kids like Peter the slavery of climate change.

Sallinger and Miko and Isaac Vergun, the trio who Denali said it best: “Plant for the Planet Academies welcomed students with smiles and official Plant for the have helped me understand global warming more Planet T-shirts and badges on Good Deeds Day. Miko, deeply. … I can help our global community by planting Peter and Isaac presented our slideshow that explains more trees, sharing presentations with other people and the science of climate change, the present and imminent inspiring them to do something about climate change. I danger, and the injustice to the planet, to other species am doing something to reduce global warming. What are and to the most vulnerable among us. Isaac, Miko and you going to do?”

Peter, with a bit of help from me, used a game to teach Pam Vergun, Ph.D., M.P.A, is the U.S. program coordinator for their soon-to-be fellow climate justice ambassadors about Plant for the Planet, a maggid, a sociologist, policy analyst and the inequity of climate change. They also taught them advocate, activist, and mom of Isaac and Miko Vergun. She can be how to use rhetoric and presenters notes, and shared their reached through ClimateChangeRecovery.org.

By Pam Vergun

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 53

Portland Jewish Academy students honored in this year’s Oregon Poetry Association contest are (from left) fourth-grader Liana Kressel; fifth-graders Gabby Galderisi, Yael Raider and Evan Horwitz; and sixth-graders Gabrielle (last name withheld) and Bella Phillips.

PJA writers honored

By Deborah Moon

This spring several Portland Jewish Academy students were honored in two statewide writing contests – The Oregon Poetry Association and Honoring Our Rivers, both of which publish the winners’ work in an annual publication.

“We are PJA Proud of these kids,” says PJA Principal Merrill Hendin. “We really value writing.

Our teachers do a great job of supporting writers in all writing styles, and our children really take to writing poetry, as evidenced by these awards.”

Merrill says creative and expository writing is woven into the PJA curriculum beginning in the early grades and culminating in a capstone project that includes an in-depth research paper and a drash connecting the project to Jewish teachings.

In addition to writing during the regular school day, PJA fifth-grade teacher Harriet Wingard offers a Living as a Writer afterschool workshop for sixth- to eighth-graders.

“Harriet creates an atmosphere in her class that really inspires and supports young writers,” says Merrill.

Now in her 18th year at PJA, Harriet says, “Writing is my favorite thing to teach. To me it is analogous to teaching art – you start with a blank canvas. Writing is how I get to know my students.”

In both her fifth-grade classroom and her afterschool writing workshop, Harriet offers her students “writing invitations,” each of which 54 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Seth Talyansky

Gabi Cohn

students can take in many different directions.

She likes to integrate poetry into her class because “poetry is the most concise form of writing. You can learn economy of language and joy of language.” Once a month her class has a celebration of poetry with students invited to share something they have written or share a published poem.

So it is perhaps no wonder that her past and current students are among PJA’s poetry winners this spring.

Poems by fifth-graders Yael Raider, Ruthie Zeidman and Arianna (last name withheld) will be published in the 2016 Honoring Our Rivers, A Student Anthology, a project of the Willamette Partnership to promote and nurture respect for Oregon’s fragile river systems.

PJA winners of the Oregon Poetry Association competition are fourth-grader Liana Kressel; fifth-graders Gabby Galderisi, Yael Raider and Evan Horwitz; and sixthgraders Gabrielle (last name withheld) and Bella Phillips. Additionally, two PJA alumni who participated in Harriet’s writing workshop for several years won in the high school category of the OPA contest. Gabi Cohn is a junior at Wilson High School and Seth Talyansky is a freshman at Catlin Gabel.

“I’ve had so many writers I admire cross my path as students,” says Harriet.

Young diaspora Jews learn history where it lives From staff and wire reports During a semester in Israel, Ashland High School student Bryce Ennis, 16, has experienced Israeli society as she learns Jewish history from the Torah through the Holocaust and on to the creation of Israel as a modern state.

The daughter of Lisa and Steve Ennis, Bryce has spent the spring semester at the Jewish National Fund-sponsored Alexander Muss High School in Israel. The family are members of Ashland’s Havurah Shir Hadash. For the past five summers, Bryce has gone to B’nai B’rith Camp.

AMHSI-JNF provides a semester abroad in Israel for American high school students grades 10-12. While the students’ course load includes core classes such as math and science, they also learn much more.

“We try very hard to get the students to strengthen their Jewish identity and their connection to Judaism through Israel, the land and its history,” says Danny Stein, 31, a history teacher at AMHSI-JNF. Currently, 61 high schoolers from public schools across the United States are taking part in a four-month program at the school’s Hod HaSharon campus, located just outside Tel Aviv.

Students study Jewish history daily and spend half of their learning time on site, experiencing history firsthand. “We start with the Torah … and end with present-day Israel,” Stein says.

The section on Holocaust studies is especially powerful and thought-provoking.

The students’ journey begins with two intense days in Israel, one studying the history of World War II and the beginnings of the Holocaust and the second spent at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum. At Yad Vashem students explore the somber exhibition halls with a guide and attend a talk by a Holocaust survivor.

Students wrestle with many difficult questions about Jewish identity, history and the Holocaust during this trip. “They process how to interpret and find meaning in their experience at Yad Vashem and how to turn it into something they can build on,” explains Reuven Spero, an AMHSI-JNF faculty member.

Following their visit to Yad Vashem, students get on a plane and spend a week in Poland. “We try to help the students connect to the Holocaust intellectually and emotionally,” Stein says. Students visit concentration camps, synagogues and cemeteries all over Poland, but they also get an immersion in what life was like pre-WWII in the rich and vibrant Jewish communities that were once a large part of Poland’s national fabric.

Upon their return to Israel, students continue with their lessons in Jewish history and visit Independence Hall, and continue to learn about the creation of the current modern State

of Israel. “Where students were singing the HaTikva (Israel’s national anthem) in a concentration camp just a few days ago, now they’re singing it in Independence Hall where Bryce Ennnis the State of Israel was officially proclaimed,” Stein explains of the moment’s powerful significance.

When looking back on her experience from Yad Vashem to Poland, Bryce says, “Knowing how so many people fought for Judaism and cared so much that they wanted to protect it for generations to come makes me feel that I need to pass that on to my children.”

This story includes material from a JNF wire report by Megan Turner.

Advertise with a School/Education Profile in Oregon Jewish Life's

Annual Resource Guide and Education Supplement Contact Debbie Taylor debbie.t@ojlife.com 503-892-7403

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 55

OJCYF’s B’naiMitzvah

Kids & Teen

EVENTS

Celebrating 13 Years of Teen Philanthropy

RECURRING EVENTS

THANKS to our generous event sponsors and attendees for making the OJCYF dinner a success! Your generosity has enabled this year’s OJCYF teen board to grant $40,000 to community nonprofits.

Our Sponsors Guardian Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation Steward Blake Morell Champions Anonymous • Gerel Blauer* • Dick & Cameron Davis First Republic Bank • Geffen Mesher Steve & Michelle Gradow* • Perkins & Co Harold & Jane Pollin* • Rosemarie Rosenfeld* Lois Schnitzer* • ShedRain Corporation Marcia & Stuart Weiss* Partners Lora & Jim Meyer* • Eric & Tiffany Rosenfeld Rob & Mara Shlachter* Marshal P. Spector – Gevurtz Menashe Teachers Anonymous • Jonathan & Bonnie Barg Julie & Tom Diamond* Jonathan Glass & Sarah Kahn Glass Theodore M. Nelson & Curtis R. Shaffstall Irv & Arlene Potter* • Jack & Barbara Schwartz* Brian Suher & Barbara Atlas Mrs. Moe Tonkon Fund* Mensches Jill & Richard Edelson* • Shari Levinson Andrew & Alexis Rosengarten *Sponsorship support provided through a philathropic fund of OJCF

FRIDAYS Fourth Friday Shabbat Celebration. Rabbi Eve Posen

leads this interactive service that welcomes Shabbat through song, stories and a little Torah learning.

5:15 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. Free. RSVP: 503-293-7307 or lconley@nevehshalom.org.

SATURDAYS Tot Shabbat: First Saturdays at

9 am in Pollin Chapel, Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. Dance and sing with Kim Schneiderman, listen to a story from the clergy and create a beautiful craft.

Ages 0-5. RSVP to Ziva Sholin, ziva@ bethisrael-pdx.org

Monthly Tot Shabbat at

Congregation Kol Ami, led by Rabbi Elizabeth Dunsker. A short Shabbat service with singing and storytelling!

Craft making based on the story. 9 to 10 am, each second Shabbat. Ages 0 to 5. jewishvancouverusa.org

Tot Shabbat at Congregation

Kesser Israel, 6698 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland. 10:30 am, second and fourth Saturdays through June 30.

Ages 2-11. Age-appropriate prayers, songs, Jewish activities and snacks.

Professional puppet show/storyteller with a Jewish lesson and Hebrew enrichment. ysfgold@gmail.com ~~~

June 16 MJCC Day Camp Summer Kickoff Party. 4-5:15 pm at the MJCC. Open to ALL 2016 campers, parents, and prospective campers. Meet counselors, staff and other families, enjoy camp activities and songs, take your swim assessment and get a tour.

Free. 503-244-0111

June 25 Tryon Park hike for young families

with Neveh Shalom. For details, contact Leah Conley at 503-293-7307 or lconley@nevehshalom.org.

July 8

www.ojcf.org l 503.248.9328 56 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

MJCC Day Camp Family + Friends Day. 11 am-1 pm at the MJCC. Campers bring a family member or friend to

enjoy being a kid at camp. Adults are encouraged to bring a vegetarian lunch. Free. 503-244-0111

July 10 Berry picking for young families

with Neveh Shalom. For details, contact Leah Conley at 503-293-7307 or lconley@nevehshalom.org.

June 17 Story hour with PJ Library and

Green Bean Books. Special Eric Kimmel book release with the author.

10 am at Green Bean Books, 1600 NE Alberta St., Portland. 503-8927415

July 15 Story hour with PJ Library and

Green Bean Books. Join us for a craft and a story!

10 am at Green Bean Books, 1600 NE Alberta St., Portland. 503-8927415

July 24 Itty Bitty Pool Party. 3-5:30 pm

at the MJCC. Join us in the warm water pool with pool toys, music, and good times! Parents must accompany children in the water. $15/family; free for members. 503-244-0111

Aug. 19 Story hour with PJ Library and

Green Bean Books. Join us for a craft and a story!

10 am at Green Bean Books, 1600 NE Alberta St., Portland. 503-8927415

Aug. 21 Foundation School back to

school social and ice cream at Neveh Shalom. RSVP: 503-293-7307 or lconley@nevehshalom.org.

Aug. 24 MJCC Day Camp End of Summer

Celebration! 4-5:15 pm at the MJCC. Open to ALL 2016 camp families. Say goodbye to counselors, jump in the bounce house, play games and more!

Free. 503-244-0111

Aug. 25 Messy Art for young families with Neveh Shalom. For details, contact Leah Conley at 503-293-7307 or lconley@nevehshalom.org.

96

th

ANNUAL MEETING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 4:30 - 6:00 pm

Congregation Neveh Shalom - Stampfer Chapel 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland 97239

With special guest,

RABBI JONATHAN PORATH

OPEN TO ALL - NO COST LIGHT REFRESHMENTS SERVED

NURTURING OUR HEARTS AND JEWISH SOULS

Please join us as we:

Governing Board 2016-2017

Honor outgoing Board Chairman,

DAVID FORMAN

For his dedicated service to our community

Welcome new Board Chairman,

ED TONKIN

And our 2016-2017 Governing Board

Celebrate our 2nd Annual Laurie Rogoway Outstanding Jewish Professional Awardee,

JEMI KOSTINER MANSFIELD

ANDREW BERLINBERG ANNETTE DEMSEY DAVID FORMAN DEBBIE FRANK SIMON GOTTHEINER SHELLY KLAPPER CHARLES LEVY* JOYCE MENDELSOHN JIM MEYER JEFF ROBINSON MARSHAL SPECTOR SHARON STERN CHERYL TONKIN* ED TONKIN MICHAEL WEINER MINDY ZEITZER JAY ZIDELL

Our community is grateful to the following outgoing Board members for their dedicated service and inspirational leadership.

LAUREN GOLDSTEIN JORDAN PLAWNER

*New elected

速

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

6680 SW Capitol Hwy | Portland, OR 97219 503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org

JewishPDX

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 57

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Jemi Kostiner Mansfield to receive Jewish professional award

Jemi Kostiner

By Deborah Moon

g n i v i L

INSIDE

58 Honoring Jemi Kostiner Mansfield 59 Honoring Steve and Elaine Kantor 60 Frank's Song 62 FACES 64 Previews 66 Calendar

58 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

The second annual Laurie Rogoway Outstanding Jewish Professional Award will be presented to Jemi Kostiner Mansfield at the 96th Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

Following Laurie’s retirement from 30-plus-year career as a Jewish communal professional, federation created this award to honor her dedication to community and passion for Jewish life. The award, which includes up to $1,000 to participate in a professional development experience, will be presented at the annual meeting (see box).

Jemi’s career in the Jewish community is nearly as long as Laurie’s. Since last July, Jemi has been the director of spiritual life for the Cedar Sinai Park campus. With the opening of four new households this summer/fall, Jemi will also serve as a guide for employees who work directly with residents of their household.

The move to CSP followed a 23-year career with Congregation Beth Israel. But Jemi says it took her awhile to refer to herself as a Jewish communal professional. For many years, she referred to herself as a nonprofit administrator before realizing that she was a professional in the Jewish community.

“This recognition by a panel of peers, superiors and colleagues … weighs into the legitimacy of what I do,” she says. “I have a legitimate stake and voice in this arena.”

A Pacific Northwest native, Jemi grew up at Congregation Neveh Shalom and attended Hillel Academy (now Portland Jewish Academy) at Shaarie Torah. Her parents, Priscilla and Tony Kostiner, emphasized the importance of living a Jewish life.

Jemi and her husband, Greg, have two sons: Alex, 20, and Ben, 16, both of whom are PJA graduates.

We are fortunate to have a community with dedicated Jewish communal professionals,” says Kathy David-Weiner, who chairs the award selection committee.

“Jemi Kostiner Mansfield is definitely one that deserves recognition. She has demonstrated a continual desire for personal growth, while giving more than 100% commitment to engage and support individuals and families in Jewish life. Her passion and dedication as a Jewish communal professional began 23 years ago … She understands the needs of this community and we all benefit from her passion.”

Jemi says that she has known Laurie as long as she can remember.

“I know her legacy and her commitment to the community,” says Jemi. “An award in her name is testament to her and the example she laid down.”

Kathy thinks Jemi is up to following that example. “With each new job, she brought her impressive administrative skills, creativity, sensitivity and passion to enhance one’s Jewish experience,” says Kathy. “Now on a new path as director of spiritual life at Cedar Sinai Park, Jemi once again demonstrates her desire and devotion to help a new segment of the Jewish population and her commitment to her personal growth.”

JFGP 96th Annual Meeting WHEN: 4:30-6 pm, June 8 WHERE: Congregation Neveh Shalom, Stampfer Chapel

TICKETS: Free INFORMATION: 503-245-6219

A Legacy to Celebrate: Steve and Elaine Kantor

By Deborah Moon

When Steve Kantor was the president of Jewish Family & Child Service nearly three decades ago, he realized all the local Jewish agencies were competing against each other for charitable gifts.

As a CPA and attorney specializing in estate planning, charitable planning and trusts, in addition to business law, Kantor believed there was a better way.

Soon he and Bob Glasgow drafted bylaws and articles of organization for the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, designed to “create, promote and facilitate a culture of giving and to serve as a guardian of permanent funds available to safeguard the quality of Jewish communal life in Oregon and Southwest Washington.”

When OJCF was founded in 1989, Steve says cofounders hoped to get to $10 million under management by the year 2000. The foundation has far exceeded expectations. As of Feb. 29, 2016, OJCF’s total assets under management were $81 million.

Steve and his wife, Elaine, are part of that growth. The family established a donor-advised fund at OJCF early in the foundation’s history.

“We want it to keep growing,” says Steve. “We hope it gets big enough so our annual gifts (to charitable organizations) can be perpetuated after we are gone. … We are not big-name donors, but we try as hard as we can to build (the fund) so our kids and their husbands can administer our gifts to certain agencies we want to support.”

Yet despite his professional and the couple’s personal commitment to legacy giving, Steve says he was surprised when OJCF Executive Director Julie Diamond called and said the foundation wanted to name the couple this year’s Legacy Society honorees.

“I said, ‘Julie, find somebody more deserving,’ ” says Steve.

But she was not dissuaded.

“Steve and Elaine exemplify our shared values of leadership, generosity and social justice,” says Julie. “Steve is a past president of OJCF and played a vital role in establishing the foundation in its early days. We are thrilled to honor Steve and Elaine’s dedication to Jewish life, family and community.”

A Portland native, Steve attributes some of his understanding about the importance of family to the early death of his parents.

“My father died when I was 16 and my mother died in 1983,” he

Steve and Elaine Kantor

says. “My sisters and I have been orphans a long time.”

In addition to being close to his sisters and their families (the siblings’ families go on cruises together every couple years), he and Elaine focus on spending time with their daughters, Ali Kestel, 38, and Lindsay Krivosha, 34, their sons-in-law and their grandsons.

As a senior partner at Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP, Steve and his partners focus on estates and trusts and serve as a family consiglieri (advisor).

“I have families for whom I am representing the fourth generation,” he says, noting he helps families “look out over the horizon to achieve their long-term goals.” He also helps with succession planning for family businesses and investments.

One day last month, Steve and Elaine were helping cook dinner for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Legacy Hospital. When they asked a mother holding an infant why she was there, she said her son had been born with his intestines outside his body and was successfully treated at Legacy. It’s just one of many stories that have inspired the couple to give.

In addition to the family fund at OJCF, Steve also paid off a life insurance policy that will benefit JFCS when he dies.

“It’s a great way to make testamentary gifts when you are young for a relatively minimal amount,” says Steve. “I feel I should practice what I preach to my clients.”

“I seldom meet with clients without talking about estate planning,” says Steve. He says he is no longer intimidated telling people that “Their kids will be comfortable, there are people in need and you can help.”

It is perhaps that attitude that makes Steve and Elaine welldeserving Legacy Society honorees.

OJCF Legacy Society Honorees HONOREES: Steve and Elaine Kantor WHEN: OJCF Annual Meeting and Reception, 5-7 pm, June 15 WHERE: Mittleman Jewish Community Center TICKETS: Free, but RSVP to 503-248-9328 or nates@ojcf.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 59

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Frank Wesley at 97

By Gloria Hammer

Frank Wesley is 97, a Holocaust survivor, World War II veteran, author, father, sax-playing jazz fan and a retired tenured psychology professor at Portland State University.

When David Bee, a filmmaker from Brooklyn, was relocating to work on a film project in Portland in 2009, he moved to a house/studio across the street from Frank. Hearing saxophone melodies floating through the evening air, David stepped outside and found Frank sitting across the street playing his sax. Reminded of his Brooklyn roots and love for jazz, he wandered across the street and introduced himself. This led to regular conversations about jazz, lyricists, composers and a big connection over Johnny Mercer, who wrote about dreams, disappointments and hopes. These conversations developed into a four-year film project called “Frank’s Song.” It premiered last year at Portland’s Hollywood Theatre. The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education also screened the film in November.

David arranged for me to meet Frank at his home in the heart of the Hawthorne District, close to Frank’s favorite coffee shop, Stumptown, and the Bagdad Theater.

His is a survival story about embracing life no matter what unfolds. Frank Wesley was born in 1918 in the Province of Silesia, which at that time was part of Germany. It is now part of Poland. Frank grew up in a well-to-do family that lived on a farm with servants. His father owned several pharmacies. Frank was 20 when he was arrested and put on a train to Buchenwald.

It is estimated that between 1937 and 1945 some 56,000 prisoners perished there. Frank, chained to other men, was there to haul rocks from the quarry to build the Autobahn from Dresden to Berlin.

60 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Following is a Q&A with Frank (his answers have been edited for brevity and clarity).

You have lived a lot of life. How do you do it?

I really seriously do not know.

It was 1937; it was in the middle of the night when I was arrested by a family friend who was a police officer.

What do you mean when you say it was a family friend?

We had one bicycle shop in our town. I knew the man because I bought tubes for my bike from him. He was a friend of my dad’s.

What do you remember about the camp?

I was the first one in the truck on the way to this camp. It was a bumpy ride. I remember big metal gates. I was surprised it was a big space with bright lights all over. There were 10 or 20 people that were shaving hair. I remember I learned to show no emotion. It was important to be useful and not a threat. These were survival skills.

How long were you in that camp?

I was there seven months working in a quarry. We all had a number. One day over a loudspeaker they said my number. I was told I had three days to get out of the country.

This was the happiest day of my life. From that day on, I was never going to be angry.

Did you legally leave Germany?

I had all the papers, but my weight was not acceptable. I lost 40 pounds in prison and was not fit to qualify for an American visa. I had three days to get out of Germany or I would go back to camp. I had a friend in Belgium. I walked over the border at night. My mother’s father was an American. He sent me money for the entrance visa. The ship left in January. I remember it was rough sea. An older cousin in New York met me, and we went by

train to Bainbridge, GA. I understand you always loved jazz. Did you meet any famous players when you were in the South?

I saw Louis Armstrong in Atlanta. The black people could listen from the downstairs and dance.

What was your first job in America?

In Georgia I worked for an exterminator. His wife played the piano, and I sang while she played. I sang in German. I fell in love with her. I figured I should leave.

Where did you go?

I took the train to Portland. I worked in the shipyards. It was a very interesting time. Portland grew because of the shipyards.

What was Portland like then?

People from the shipyards had some money. There was always dancing. We danced on the ferry to and from the yards. It would hold almost a thousand people. We would get on it to get to the shipyards in St. Johns. It would take an hour. We had our lunch boxes and a jukebox was playing. The city was a friendly place because everybody was a foreigner. There was always dancing and music playing.

You got your citizenship and immediately enlisted. Why go back to Germany and fight?

I really thought we had to win the war with Hitler. It was a sense of duty. When I got my American citizenship, I enlisted.

(Because he could assist with intelligence as an interpreter, Frank was the only person in his training unit sent to Europe.

By a twist of fate, he was assigned to the troops being sent to liberate the camp he suffered in years earlier.)

What do you remember?

The Nazis ran out of petrol, so there was no way to dispose of bodies. They were piled five high all around. Some alive and nothing we could do. The liberation of Buchenwald was the beginning of the end.

(When Frank returned to America, the free college tuition through the GI Bill enabled him to enroll at Reed College.

After graduating with a bachelor’s in psychology, he went on to Washington State University for a master’s degree and then a 50-year tenured career at PSU.) You were 70 when you got a saxophone and started taking lessons. Do you feel fulfilled?

Always, I never thought about it. I didn’t think I had a mission I couldn’t fulfill. The very best humans can feel is probably pain free. If you get lucky enough to find pleasure, stick with it. I am working on the last chapter – what I recommend and have pleasure doing. I like to go for walks. I like to go to Fred Meyers and impulse buy. I like bus trips, just for the ride. If I write one page I feel fulfilled. Jazz, chocolate, friends, family and living in the coolest place … my neighborhood.

I hear you have a favorite saying. Could you share it?

You have to cheat a little for joy.

Filmmaker David Bee is making the documentary “Frank’s Song” available to the public. If you would like to know more or schedule a screening, contact David at Lightmotivefilms@gmail.com or call 503-752-5110.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 61

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Living

FACES & PLACES

CAPITOL VISIT – High school students from Maayan Torah Day School visit Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici’s office as part of their class tour to Washington, DC, in May. The girls raised more than $3,000 toward the cost of their trip. From left, standing: Rachelly Fischer, Elisheva Spivak, Leah Brodkin, Leah Fischer; seated: Miriam Levy and Devorah Brodkin.

PASSOVER4ALL – Community members sort food and pack food for the Passover4All Project at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center on Good Deeds Day. A collaboration between Congregation Kesser Israel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, and Jewish Family & Child Service, delivered many Passover Food Boxes to local families in need.

CELEBRATION OF CARING – Celebrate our Caring Community drew 364 guests to learn about and support the important work of Jewish Family & Child Service. Sen. Ron Wyden praised JFCS for its work to help seniors stay in their homes.

Below, co-chairs Renee Holzman, and Shirley Rackner, right, meet Andy, whose story of gaining independence through JFCS programs was the subject of a short video created by Ken Klein for the event. The event grossed $112,000 for the agency. Photos by Deborah Moon

KESSER CLASS – Community members engage with Kesser Israel Rabbi Ken Brodkin at a recent class on The Purpose of Creation.

TASTE OF TUV HA’ARETZ – Families, friends and community members gathered to learn more about Portland’s Jewish Farm Box, eat local farm fresh food catered by Urban Gourmet Delivery, and meet farmers and local business owners. Tuv Ha’aretz Portland leaders Ilana Rose Cloud and Jonathan Strunin were on hand to help people sign up for farm boxes. Ryan Abitz of Urban Gourmet Delivery chats with Tuv Ha’aretz member Shiran Dudy. Photos by OrangeKraftWerks 62 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

TERROR VICTIM – The unveiling for the headstone of Yoni Suher, one of the three Israeli victims of the March 19 Istanbul bombing and the son of former Portlanders Randy and Yael and Suher. In Israel headstones generally are unveiled after 30 days. His brother Brian Suher spoke about Yoni at Portland’s Yom Hazikaron service May 10 at the MJCC. Yoni’s headstone includes a poem from Oregon- born writer Raymond Carver: Late Fragment: And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so? I did. And what did you want? To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth.

HILLEL SEDER – Greater Portland Hillel students shared laughter, food, singing and four cups of wine at PDX Hillel’s annual Passover Seder. The seder was open to all students from Portland area campuses; 120 students from Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University and the University of Portland attended.

OJCYF BOARD - On April 20, 180 people gathered at the MJCC for the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation’s B’nai Mitzvah Benefit Dinner, celebrating 13 years of teen philanthropy. Thanks to the generosity of the dinner’s sponsors and attendees, the teens will have the opportunity to grant $40,000 to nonprofits this cycle.

This year’s youth foundation board received 45 grant proposals requesting a total of $136,000. A highlight of the evening was a collaborative presentation by members of OJCYF and Momentum Alliance, a youth-led Portland nonprofit that inspires young people to realize their power as individuals and to mentor future social justice leaders. Photo by One Click Studio

CHAI-WAY TO CAMP – For the fourth year, the B’nai B’rith Camp community gathered together, on April 9, to celebrate at the BB Camp Bash. This year’s theme was the “Chai-Way to Camp” and featured performances by Michael Allen Harrison and (pictured) the Schneiderman Sisters, Kim, Lisa and Stephanie, leading Havdallah. BB Camp raised more than $75,000 in support of overnight campers and year round activities. Top: Event co-chairs (center) Jaimie Harper and Neil Simon celebrate with their spouses Jacob Harper, left, and Jodi Garber-Simon, right.

10 YEARS OF SUCCESS – The Portland Kollel celebrated its first decade with a gala Wine Event on May 9 at the MJCC featuring gourmet food paired with select wines. Nearly 250 people joined in the celebration, including Helen Stern and daughter Sharon Stern, who with her husband Steve Rallison sponsored a Round of Wine. Top: Portland Kollel members are, from left, Rabbis Yossi Goldblatt, Tzvi Fischer, Chanan Spivak, Gadi Levy, and Eve Levy, Sarah Goldblatt, Esther Fischer and Meira Spivak. Photos by One Click Studio

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 63

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Living

HAPPY 68th BIRTHDAY ISRAEL – More than 1,000 people celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center May 11. Tamir Faclieru carries his son, Eitan, so he can see over the crowd. Photos by Naim Hasan Photography

PREVIEWS JEWISH FEDERATION TO INSTALL BOARD JUNE 8

On June 8 the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland will welcome new board chair Ed Tonkin and the 2016-17 governing board during JFGP’s 96th annual meeting.

The annual meeting will be 4:30-6 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. New board members Charles Levy and Cheryl Tonkin Ed Tonkin will also be installed. All are welcome for this free event, which includes Rabbi Jonathan Porath speaking on “Nurturing Our Hearts and Jewish Souls.”

Born in Portland, Ed graduated from the University of Washington, earning a degree in Business Administration with honors, and graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Gamma Sigma (top 5% of Business School Class). He earned a Juris Doctor of Law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. Ed practiced law with the firm of Black, Kendall, Tremaine, Boothe and Higgins in Portland from 1979 until 1981, when he began work full time at the Ron Tonkin Dealerships. Currently Ed is general counsel and co- president for the Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships.

Ed has served on the board of Portland Metropolitan Sports Authority, Metropolitan Family Services and Congregation Beth Israel. He co-chaired the federation gala in 2000 and co-chaired JFGP’s Food for Thought in 2013.

“My aim in chairing federation is to help educate the Jewish community about all the amazing things federation does right here in our own community,” says Ed. “Many think it’s simply raising funds for Israel, but that’s only a small part of it. We have tremendous needs right here in our own backyard, and I have faith that once people see the need, realize it and understand it, the wonderful spirit of this community will shine through.

“Just think for a second; if we don’t continue to foster the community, perpetuating Jewish life in our community, then what does the future hold? It’s one of our generation’s obligations.”

Jewishportland.org

12TH ANNUAL SHOC WALK & RUN FOR OVARIAN CANCER

FAMILY CAMP – Tracy Mayclin and her daughter, Zoe, enjoy B’nai B’rith Camp Family Camp, May 13-15 near the Oregon coast. This was the biggest year yet for Family Camp with about 300 people in 80 families.

64 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

SHOC Foundation 12th Annual SHOC Walk & Run will be Aug. 6 at Latus Motors Harley-Davidson in Gladstone in support of ovarian and gynecologic cancer research.

Dedicated to finding a cure, the Sherie Hildreth Ovarian Cancer Foundation has donated $730,000 for ovarian and gynecologic cancer research at the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute. Sherie Hildreth’s five-year battle with ovarian cancer ended in 2009, but her legacy lives on. Sherie was a lifelong member of Congregation Beth Israel, where several family members remain members. “Ashkenazi Jewish women are at higher risk of the BRCA gene mutation, which was the case with my mom,” says Ashley Hildreth, who serves as executive director of SHOC. The SHOC Walk and Run commemorates and celebrates her courageous fight, her will to support other women living with gynecologic cancers, her tenacity to raise awareness of these diseases and her relentless pursuit to raise the funds necessary

PREVIEWS

to find a cure.

Participants will enjoy a beautiful 5K/10K walk or run or a 1-mile family walk alongside the Clackamas River and through the city of Gladstone. A warm pancake and griddle breakfast will welcome back participants as they return from the course.

Gynecologic cancer survivors may indulge in an exclusive sitdown breakfast at their leisure.

Other attractions include massage, the Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers, face painting, vendors, photo booth, the Rose City Rollers and the Rose City Hogs.

The event begins at 7:30 am with an opening ceremony facilitated by KATU’s Rhonda Shelby, and the races start at 8 am.

Online registration is open until Aug. 3 and on-site registration will be available Aug. 5 and the morning of the event, Aug. 6. Early bird pricing is available until July 15 and discounted pricing is available for groups of four or more. shocfoundation.org.

HEAR “TRUE STORY OF A JEWISH SPY IN NAZI GERMANY”

Chabad of Northeast Portland hosts Holocaust heroine 94-year-old Marthe Cohn on June 8, when she will her incredible story of courage, faith and espionage.

Marthe Cohn was born in Metz, France, in 1920. She was a devoutly religious Jewish woman when Hitler rose to power.

As the Nazi occupation escalated, Marthe’s sister was sent to Auschwitz while her family fled to the south of France.

Marthe chose to fight back, and joined the intelligence service of the First French Army. Utilizing her perfect German accent and “Aryan” appearance, Marthe posed as a German nurse desperately trying to obtain word of a fictional fiancé. She traveled the countryside and approached troops sympathetic to her “plight,” thereby obtaining critical information for the Allied commanders.

At age 80, Cohn was awarded France’s highest military honor, the Medaille Militaire.

In 2002 Marthe penned her memoir, Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany. She lives together with her husband in Palos Verdes, CA. “It is rare that we have the opportunity in our lifetime to meet a heroine the likes of Marthe Cohn,” said Rabbi Chaim Wilhelm, director of Chabad of Northeast Portland. “With the passing of time, the possibility to hear these stories firsthand grow smaller and smaller. I encourage every resident of our community to come hear this remarkable woman tell her incredible story of courage and faith”.

The talk will take place at the new Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 2858 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, 7 pm, June 8. A book signing will follow the talk. Tickets are $15, $10 students and seniors, $180 sponsor.

Tickets: behindenemylines.eventbrite.com

HARRY NEMER SERVICE AWARD DINNER JUNE 26

The Men’s Club of Congregation Shaarie Torah presents the Harry R. Nemer Award for distinguished and outstanding service to volunteer and synagogue leader Shelly Klapper at 5:30 pm, June 26.

Shelly exemplifies the true meaning of volunteering, giving of his time and energy for many years to Shaarie Torah. Things

do not happen at any synagogue without a core of volunteers.

Shelly served the synagogue not only as a board member and vice president, but he also spearheaded two capital campaign projects from 1996 to the present. He continues his involvement in every fundraising effort at Shaarie Torah.

Recently Shelly chaired the Legacy Campaign as part of the Life & Legacy program of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

The evening will include dinner and is held at the synagogue, 920 NW 25th Ave, Portland. Tickets are $54 per person; sponsorship levels are available. shaarietorah.org/nemerdinner2016 or 503-226-6131

SUMMER AT THE MUSEUM

A talk on the Holocaust and photographs are the focus of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education this summer.

“How the Jews of America Saved Some of the Jews of Europe During the Shoah: The Story of the JDC,” will be the topic of a free lecture at 7 pm, June 7, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

What did the Jews of America really do to help the Jews of Europe during the Shoah? The story of how a leading American Jewish organization, the Joint Distribution Committee, acting on behalf of the American Jewish community, saved thousands and thousands of European Jews from the rise of Hitler through the Shoah and beyond.

The illustrated presentation is based on original research in the archives of the JDC and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and presents many scenes never before seen by the public.

Guest speaker Rabbi Jonathan Porath spent 15 years with the JDC senior staff in the Russian Department and is intimately familiar with the ethos and spirit of the organization. Rabbi Porath’s talk is co-sponsored by the MJCC and OJMCHE. His visit is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, which brought him to town for its 96th annual meeting the next night.

Through June 13, visitors can catch Ruth Gruber: Photojournalist. At 2 pm, Friday, June 3 and 10, come see “Ahead of Time: Ruth Gruber-The Movie” in the museum’s theater, 1953 NW Kearney, Portland.

Then from June 29 to Sept. 25, the museum presents “Every Minute Counts – Photographs by Katherine Joseph.” Katherine Joseph was born in the Ukraine and immigrated with her family to the United States in the early 20th century. After a childhood in El Paso and Chicago, she made an adventurous move to New York City to pursue a passion for photography. She landed a job as staff photographer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, where she explored the relationship between worker, machine and the industrial environment. In 1941 she embarked on a photojournalistic expedition to Mexico to demonstrate the durability of the “Americar” manufactured by the Willys – Overland Motor Company. Joseph continued to document American workers on the home front after returning to New York. At the end of the war, like millions of American women of her generation, she set aside her camera to marry and raise a family. Katherine Joseph’s photographs display a profound respect for the fundamental dignity of the people she brought into focus. This is the first public exhibition of her work. ojmche.org | 503-226-3600 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 65

Through June 12

SUMMER CALENDAR

“The Skin of our Teeth” at Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., Portland. 503-2411278 or artistsrep.org

Portland. Study into the night. Light supper and cheesy desserts will sweeten our learning. Free.

RSVP required: shaarietorah.org/shavuot or 503226-6131

Through June 13

June 15

Ruth Gruber: Photojournalist at OJMCHE. See page 65

Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Annual Reception. See page 59

Through July 15

June 15-29

Portland Soul: Portraits in Jazz & Blues at Portland International Airport. See page 34

Portland Jewish Film Festival. See pages 28-33

June 24

June 3

Shabbat on the Plaza at Congregation Beth Israel.

6 pm. 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. 503-2221069

Shabbat on the Farm with Tuv Ha’aretz. 6:15-8:30 pm at Tryon Life Community Farm (parking and shuttle at Riverdale High School, 9727 SW Terwilliger Blvd.). 971-266-0231

June 5 Alicia Svigals in Concert. 7 pm at Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. $18 general; $10 students. nevehshalom.org/aliciasvigals ORA, NW annual meeting open to all Jewish artists.

Bring up to three pieces of art work. 2 pm at Neveh Shalom, Room 102. To exhibit and sell items at ORA events, complete an application to jury at: northwestjewishartists.org The Latest Research in Healthy Brain Aging. 2 pm at Rose Schnitzer Manor, 6140 SW Boundary St., Portland. Free. RSVP: 503-535-4004 or sophia. stamatis@cedarsinaipdx.org

North Coast Shabbat services led by Avril Nudelman. 8 pm at the Bob Chisholm Center, 225 Ave. A., in Seaside. Followed by an Oneg Shabbat. Bev Eastern 503-244-7060

June 25 Third Annual Lefty Sing Along. See page 38

June 26 Walking tour of historic Jewish Portland with Polina Olsen, author of three books on Old South Portland. 10 am-noon. $10; all proceeds donated to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. RSVP for starting location: ojfas@ comcast.net

July 24 Parking lot party at the MJCC. Come celebrate success of the Roots & Rafters Campaign to fund improvements to the Schnitzer Family Campus.

1-4 pm community party with food, music, games and activities for the whole family. 503-244-0111

July 28 Farm to Table Meal with Beer. 7-9 pm at the MJCC. Tasting featuring Leikam Brewing’s ales, paired with amazing locally sourced organic appetizers courtesy of Urban Gourmet Delivery. 503-244-0111 July 29 North Coast Shabbat services led by Rabbi Sam Joseph and Rabbi Rachel Joseph. 8 pm at the Bob Chisholm Center, 225 Ave. A., in Seaside. Followed by an Oneg. Bev Eastern 503-244-7060

Aug. 4-21 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Broadway Rose Theatre, 9000 SW Durham Road, Tigard. 503-620-5262 or broadwayrose.org

Aug. 5 Shabbat on the Plaza at Beth Israel. 6 pm. 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. 503-222-1069

Aug. 6 12th Annual SHOC Walk & Run. See page 64

Friends and Family Day. 11 am-3 pm at B’nai B’rith Camp, 3509 NE Devil's Lake Road, Otis. Enjoy camp activities and celebrate the grand opening of our new central programing building, the Merkaz Campus Center. RSVP: jbenjamin@bbcamp.org

Shabbat in the Pool with Havurah Shalom at the Sellwood Park Pool, 7951 SE 7th Ave Portland. 5:15 pm pool fun followed by Havdallah, story and BYO picnic. 503-248-4662 ext. 4

How the Jews of America Saved Some of the Jews of Europe During the Shoah. See page 65

Harry Nemer Service Award. See page 65

June 8

Every Minute Counts: Photographs by Katherine Joseph. See page 65

Bark Mitzvah. 10 am-1 pm at the MJCC. Join us for some fun activities for our four-legged friends!

Games, treats, doggy arts and crafts. Dogs must be on leashes at all times. 503-244-0111

Song of Miriam Brunch. 10 am at the MJCC. $32.

503-246-4367

June 7

96th Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. See page 58 and 64 True Story of a Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany. See page 65

June 9

June 29-Sept. 25

June 30-July 24 West Side Story at Broadway Rose Theatre, 9000 SW Durham Road, Tigard. 503-620-5262 or broadwayrose.org

Aug. 7

Aug. 14 Family wallyball tournament. 9 am-2 pm at the MJCC. Music, light hearted competition, the pool float and an ice cream social. RMartin@oregonjcc. org

Pre-Shavuot Decorating Party. 9:30-11 am at Congregation Kesser Israel, 6698 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. $5 donation. Jodi Fried, 503-222-1239 Shavuot Cheesecake Bake Off. 6:15-7:30 pm at the MJCC. Free. Copy of recipe due June 7 to Mara Zellinger at mzellinger@oregonjcc.org

July 7

June 10

Shabbat on the Plaza at Beth Israel. 6 pm. 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. 503-222-1069

Shabbat on the Plaza at Beth Israel. 6 pm. 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. 503-222-1069

Shabbat in the Park with Congregation Shir Tikvah.

6 pm at Laurelhurst Park. Shirtikvahpdx.org

North Coast Shabbat services led by Neil Weinstein. 8 pm at the Bob Chisholm Center, 225 Ave. A., in Seaside. Followed by an Oneg ShabbatBev Eastern 503-244-7060

Shabbat on the Plaza at Beth Israel. 6 pm. 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. 503-222-1069 Reading: “Memoir Writing from a Jewish Perspective” by students of Rob Freedman’s workshop followed by oneg. 7-9 pm at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave., Portland. Free but RSVP: 503-2484662 ext. 4

June 11 Participatory Tikun Liel Shavuot 7:30 pm-midnight at Congregation Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., 66 JUNE/JULY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

31st Annual “Send a Kid to Camp” Golf Tournament. Join BB Camp at Lewis River Golf Course.

503-496-7445 or bbcamp.org/golf-tournament

July 8

July 13 Borshbelt Comedy Night. 7 pm at the MJCC. Performed by residents of the Rose Schnitzer Manor’s Older but Wiser group. 503-244-0111

July 22 Shabbat on the Plaza at Beth Israel. 6 pm. 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. 503-222-1069

Aug. 19 Shabbat in the Park with Congregation Shir Tikvah.

6 pm at Overlook Park. Shirtikvahpdx.org

Aug. 21 Walking tour of historic Jewish Portland. See June 25 For kids and teens events, see page 56

SAVE the DATE Enrich your mind - support our community Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for these upcoming events.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 Cornerstone Dinner* with Ambassador Dennis Ross, Middle East Expert and Diplomat SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2016 Lions of Judah Luncheon** Women’s Philanthropy honors our generous donors WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016 Annual Community Gala with Jeffrey Goldberg, Award-winning Journalist and Author SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2016 Super Sunday - Community Phone-a-thon * $1,000 minimum gift to attend ** Women who give at $5,000 level and above

®

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

6680 SW Capitol Hwy | Portland, OR 97219 503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JUNE/JULY 2016 67

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