Volume 9, Number 1 Financial Guide 2019
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Serving the Local New Orleans, Northshore, and Baton Rouge Jewish Communities
5 Jewish Takeaways From Donald Trump’s State Of The Union Address By Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump linked his actions on Iran to the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, pivoting during his State of the Union address from his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal to a declaration that anti-Semitism must be confronted “anywhere and everywhere it occurs.” Trump also bookended his speech with references to D-Day, including salutes to troops, among them Jewish-American veterans, who helped liberate Europe, and Holocaust survivors who were liberated thanks to the American-led action. The salutes earned standing ovations. Containing Iran is fighting anti-Semitism “My administration has acted decisively to confront the world’s leading state sponsor of terror: the radical regime in Iran,” Trump said Tuesday evening, delivering his address in the U.S. House of Representatives. “They do bad, bad things. To ensure this corrupt dictatorship never acquires nuclear weapons, I withdrew the United States from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal,” he said, referring to the 2015 sanctionsrelief-for-nuclear-rollback agreement negotiated under President Barack Obama. “And last fall, we put in place the toughest sanctions ever imposed by us on a country. “We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish people,” he continued, to applause, mostly from the Republican side. “We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism, or those who spread its venomous creed. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs. Just months ago, 11 Jewish Americans were viciously murdered in an antiSemitic attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.” The October 2018 shooting, in
which 11 people died, was the worst attack on Jews in American history. It was carried out by a man shouting anti-Semitic epithets, and appears to have been principally motivated by hatred of pro-immigration policies favored by HIAS, a Jewish immigration advocacy group. The alleged attacker bought into the notion that migrants from Mexico pose a national security threat, a theme also favored by Trump, who devoted much of his speech Tuesday night to securing the border. There’s no evidence that the attack was related in any way to the Middle East.
“They wouldn’t do that for me, Judah,” Trump said. Honoring WWII rescuers and the rescued Trump also saluted three World War II veterans he had invited. Irving Locker, Joseph Reilly and Herman Zeitchik were among the forces who landed in France in 1944 on D-Day, the U.S.-led invasion that cost tens of thousands of lives but turned the tide of war against Nazi Germany and its allies. Of the three, two — Zeitchik and Locker — are Jewish and have spoken about the experience of liberating Europe from forces that had
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address at the Capitol, Feb. 5, 2019. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Pool/Getty Images)
Serenading a survivor Trump saluted a police officer, Timothy Matson, shot while chasing down the Pittsburgh assailant, as well as a survivor of the Tree of Life attack he had invited as a guest, Judah Samet, a Holocaust survivor. “Not only did Judah narrowly escape death last fall — more than seven decades ago, he narrowly survived the Nazi concentration camps,” Trump said. Matson and Samet, whose 81st birthday was Tuesday, earned long standing ovations from members of both parties, and the lawmakers sang “Happy Birthday To You” to Samet while Trump chuckled and mock-conducted.
targeted Jews for genocide. Trump also saluted a Holocaust survivor and Israeli army veteran he had invited to attend the speech, Joshua Kaufman, and linked Kaufman’s story to those of the veterans. “Joshua Kaufman was a prisoner at Dachau concentration camp,” Trump said. “He remembers watching through a hole in the wall of a cattle car as American soldiers rolled in with tanks. ‘To me,’ Joshua recalls, ‘the American soldiers were proof that God exists, and they came down from the sky.’ “I began this evening by honoring three soldiers who fought on D-Day in the Second World War,” Trump continued. “One of them
was Herman Zeitchik. But there is more to Herman’s story. A year after he stormed the beaches of Normandy, Herman was one of the American soldiers who helped liberate Dachau.” Zeitchik stood up to extended applause. “He was one of the Americans who helped rescue Joshua from that hell on earth,” Trump said. “Almost 75 years later, Herman and Joshua are both together in the gallery tonight — seated side by side, here in the home of American freedom.” “Herman and Joshua, your presence this evening is very much appreciated,” Trump said, again followed by extended applause. He hasn’t forgotten thee O Jerusalem Trump, reviewing his foreign policy, noted his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and described it as of a piece with his realist approach, which has also dictated his retreat from treaties and alliances. In his 2018 address, he also boasted of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which paved the way for the embassy move. “Our approach is based on principled realism, not discredited theories that have failed for decades to yield progress,” Trump said Tuesday. “For this reason, my administration recognized the true capital of Israel and proudly opened the American embassy in Jerusalem.” The reaction was … unsurprising Reacting to the 90-minute speech, HIAS was polite but also quick to point out where its agenda differed with Trump’s. Melanie Nezer, senior vice president of public affairs for the agency, said in a statement that “Stories of Holocaust survivors are reminders that we should welcome the stranger and protect the refugee. “Making the U.S. great means See TRUMP on Page
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Community News
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JEWISH LIGHT
JCRS Camp And College 2019 Scholarship Deadlines Are February 15 And May 31. PJ Library of New Orleans is advocate, will provide the Jewish songs, these family volunteer activ-
PJ Library Launches “Little Mensches” Program excited to launch the Little Mensch’s program, a year-long series of opportunities for families of young children to engage in meaningful family volunteer activities while learning about local community needs and Jewish social values. All PJ Library and PJ OUR WAY subscribers and their families are invited to participate in any or all of these volunteering events. The launch event, PJ Library Little Mensches Help with Hunger, takes place in partnership with Second Harvest, Louisiana’s largest food pantry, on Sunday, Feb. 10, 1:00-2:40. It will be held at the Uptown JCC. “PJ” kids and families will assemble family dinner kits for a local elementary school where most students are eligible for free or discounted breakfast and lunch at school, but may struggle to have enough for dinner at home. Second Harvest staff will explain how hunger affects New Orleans families, and PJ Library dad Danny Mintz, an anti-hunger public policy
perspective by explaining the Torah commandments on providing for those in need. PJ kids will also create cards with good wishes for the students who will become recipients of the family food kits. Also, each family will create a special souvenir project to help us have an impact on hunger every day. Space is limited and RSVP is required. Other family volunteer events planned for PJ Library Little Mensches in the coming year include activities to benefit unaccompanied migrant children in this community who are seeking asylum in the U.S., a pizza party at the New Orleans Women’s and Children’s Shelter, a September 11 visit to a fire station to thank our local firefighters, a Chanukah event at a local nursing home, a Tu B’Shevat fruit tree planting in a public park, and a heartwarming event to support children who are hospitalized. With PJ Library stories and
ities are designed to be fun and engaging, while introducing our children to social values through a Jewish lens and showing children that they can make a difference. Says Jacqueline Stern, Chair of the family volunteering series, “Our programs are designed to create space for our Jewish children to understand the meaning of social justice and giving to others. Along with their families, they will learn about important issues affecting our community and what we as Jews can do to better the world. We look forward to having you join us as we create this series and help instill strong Jewish values in our children.” Information: Bonnie - 504-828-6334, bonnie@ jcrs.org or Jennette - 504-215-8757, pj.jennette@jcrs.org RSVP for PJ Library Little Mensches Help with Hunger: Jennette - 504215-8757, pj.jennette@jcrs.org
Touro Synagogue Torah Project Join Us! March 26 -28, 2019
Soferet Linda Coppelson Will Be With Us For Scribing Sessions With Our Torah Project Donors We're excited to welcome back Linda for another wonderful weekend of learning and scribing. Learn
more about this once in a lifetime encounter on the next few pages of this bulletin, or visit our website at www.tourosynagogue.com/torahproject. Help Write Our New Torah, March 26-28, 2019 The experience of being a part of this Torah project is intended to reach every single member of Touro Synagogue. All donations are welcome and will support a new Touro Torah Fund that will sustain the
wellbeing of this new Torah scroll, and ensure the healthy condition of all of our beloved Torah scrolls for years to come. A profound dimension of this experience is that your donation allows you the honor of scribing in the Torah with our Soferet Linda Coppelson. While she is here working on our scroll, donors to the project will be allowed to join hands with hers and work on the lettering wherever she is in her writing of the Torah scroll. You also may choose to donate to this project and our Torah Fund without participating in the scribing experience. 2
Financial Guide 2019
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Southern Jewish families seeking financial assistance to send their children to Jewish overnight camp, and families in search of funds to pay the costs of undergraduate college education , have a special friend in the Jewish Children’s Regional Service(JCRS), the oldest and only regional Jewish children’s social service agency in the United States. Primary qualifications to apply, and receive consideration for assistance, are relatively simple. First , the family must live within the 7 state service region, which includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The family must also provide requested financial information and documentation, as the primary factor in approving any amount of aid is financial need. The overnight camp scholarship deadline for the summer of 2019 is February 15, 2019, and the undergraduate college aid application for Fall Semester, 2019, is May 31, 2019. Applications received after those dates will be considered, but will fall into a lower range of priority from those received by the published application deadlines. JCRS typically receives 450-500 applications, each year, just for these two programs, and has provided annual funding to approximately 450 of the applicants. In all seven JCRS programs, combined, over 1600 unduplicated Jewish youth receive annual funding, and over 1700 are served. Many youth served are from single-parent or grandparent-led families, or possess family members with serious health, mental health, unemployment or disability concerns. The JCRS website: www.jcrs.org contains information on all of the JCRS programs and provides applications that can be sent electronically back to the JCRS office. The headquarters address is P.O. Box 7368, Metairie LA 70010-7368 and phone is 1-800-729-5277 or (504)828-6334. The $1,600,000 annual budget of JCRS is supported primarily through general donations, as well as from the annual income that results when dedicated scholarship funds are created by donors, past aid recipients and JCRS “success stories.” THE
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Community News
JEWISH LIGHT
February 10, 2019 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Goldring-Woldenberg JCC Metairie 3747 W. Esplanade Avenue Metairie, LA 70002 Camp Reunion - Metairie It is almost time for summer camp! Join us as we host our annual JCC Summer Camp Reunion. There will be family-friendly activities and lots more! Lunch will be served. No charge members and nonmembers Contact: Jessica Klein Sintes Phone: 504-887-5158 Email: jessica@nojcc.org February 12, 2019 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 Book Club - The Last Watchman Of Old Cairo By Michael David Lukas In this wonderfully rich novel, a young man [son of a Jewish mother and Muslim father] journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets. Reviewed by Sarah Allison, PhD. Assistant Professor of English at
Loyola University Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org
If your group has an event that you would like for us to include on the Community Calendar please e-mail the information to jewishnews@bellsouth.net. All submissions are subject to acceptance by the Editor. ì
February 15, 2019 7:30 PM
NJC Honors Laurie Alan Couey Browne, Muralist at Services on Friday, February 15, 2019, 7:30 PM and the Oneg afterward Northshore Jewish Congregation 1403 North Causeway Boulevard Mandeville Louisiana 70471 (985) 951-7976 February 20, 2019 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 FILM - "The Cakemaker The Cakemaker is a film about Thomas, a young German baker who is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli man who dies in a car crash. Thomas travels to Jerusalem, seeking answers. Keeping
Table of Contents Community News
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Chai Lights
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Education
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Sports
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Bookshelf
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Artis & Culture
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Entertainment
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Health
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Nosher
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Focus on Issues
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Judaism
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National
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Israel Under Radar
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Financial
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his secret, he starts working for Oren's widow Anat, in her cafe. Sponsored by Cathy and Morris Bart, this event is free and open to the community. Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org February 22-24 NFTY Southern Winter Gras Hosted By JEWCCY Friends! Community! Mardi Gras! An event not to be missed February 25, 2019 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Goldring-Woldenberg JCC Metairie 3747 W. Esplanade Avenue Metairie, LA 70002 Monday Movies In Metairie Join us on the last Monday of the month for Movies in Metairie. Free and open to the community, movie snacks will be served. Movie: 42 Ages: 18 & up Free and open to the community Contact: Katelyn Sileo Phone: 504-887-5158 Email: katelyn@nojcc.org Thursday, March 14 6:00-8:00 PM Touro kitchen In The Kitchen -With Rabbi Silverman “They Attacked Us. We Won . . . Let’s Eat!” Join Rabbi Silverman for an evening of baking, libations, and conversation -- all about hamentashen! Raise a glass to Esther! Shout a curse to Haman! Mix, roll, fill, and bake delicious hamentashen! All participants are asked to
bring a filling of their choice, to use and to share! Space Is Limited ! Registration Fee : Members - No Charge Non-Members - $18 Geared For Adults And Children Over 13 Please Rsvp Online At w w. To u r o s y n a g o g u e . c o m / inthekitchen Please Use General Pershing Entrance Tuesdays this spring March 19, 26 April 2, 9, 16 - 6:00 PM Mautner Learning Center Talmud Tales II: Sugiyot Everyone Should Know with Rabbi Silverman For over 1,500 years, the Talmud has served as the most authoritative “how-to” guide for Jewish rituals, holiday observances, prayer, and innumerable other mitzvot. Far from a simple laundry list of legalistic language, though, Talmud is comprised of hundreds and hundreds of sugiyot - sections of text linked by common topics or questions - which record the ancient rabbis’ discussions and debates, and illuminate how their decisions affected the daily life of Jews. Join Rabbi Silverman for a fiveweek continuation of last year’s Talmud Tales - open to everyone, regardless of previous participation! Questions or inquiries? Contact Rabbi Silverman at tsilverman@tourosynagogue.com Members: No Charge | Non-Members: $50. RSVP to info@tourosynagogue.com
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Chai Lights ChaiLights features announcements of births, B'nai Mitzvahs, engagements, weddings, and honors. To request your special event be published in The Jewish Light send your material to United Media Corp., P.O. Box 3270, Covington, LA 70435 or e-mail jewishnews@bellsouth.net. Events are published on a first come, first served basis, as space permits. Photographs are welcom; professional ones preferred. The must be clear and in focus. ì Call Our Trained Experts & Experience the Difference
Gates of Prayer Mazel Tov
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..to Andrew Feld on his early admission to Emory University, he will also be playing on their baseball team. Andrew is the grandson of Lester & Dee Dee Dulitz and the nephew of David & Kristen Dulitz.
Chabad Mazel Tov
..to Saul & Raquel Hakim on the birth of twin great-grandchildren.
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COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS February 10, 2019
Jewish Children's Regional Service-PJ Library Social Action Project PJ Library and PJ OUR WAY kids are invited to the first social action event in the new "Little Mensches" series. Families will learn about Jewish responses to hunger & how hunger affects New Orleans families, and participate in a fun, childfriendly service project that benefits a local elementary school through the Second Harvest Food Bank. Each family will also create a souvenir project to help us to make an impact on hunger every day. Space is limited and RSVP is required. 1:00PM - 2:40PM Uptown JCC, 5342 St Charles Ave NOLA, LA 70115 504-897-0143 Contact: Bonnie Lustig 504-828-6334 (Phone) 504-828-5255 (Fax) bonnie@jcrs.org http://www.jcrs.org
Temple Sinai
Mazel Tov
..to Jamie & Michael Aloia, sister and brother-in-law of Rabbi Reimer, on the birth of their daughter Violet Jane Aloia. ..to Annie Cohen, daughter of Ellen & Max Cohen, on the publication of her article on Holocaust survivor Ela Weissberger by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. ..to Susan & Bill Hess on host-
Touro Synagogue
..to Benjamin Swig on being named in Gambit Magazine's annual 40 Under 40 issue, which spotlights locals for their accomplishments. Benjamin is the cofounder of Ready Responders, a private EMT service designed to replace some emergency room and urgent care visits. Ready Responders also won "The Big Idea" contest and a $25,000 prize during the 2017 New Orleans Entrepreneur Week.
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Torah Academy-Community Health Festival Community Health Festival promoting healthy living. Fun for all kids! 3:00PM - 5:00PM Contact: Rivkie Chesney rchesney@torahacademynola.com
February 17, 2019
Jewish Children's Regional Service-PJ Library Purim Program Purim Face-painting Workshop. For PJ Our Way kids, ages 8-12 Participants learn easy designs and take home their own facepaint kit. 4:00PM - 5:30PM Contact: Jennette Ginsburg 504-215-8757 pj.jennette@jcrs.org
February 24, 2019
Jewish Community Day SchoolSTEAM Sunday 11:45am-1:30pm Jewish Community Day School 3747 West Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70002 504-887-4091 office@jcdsnola.org http://www.jcdsnola.org ing Court Watch NOLA’s fifth annual Lynne and Jerome Goldman Criminal Justice Reform Awards. ..to Marian Moore on the publication of her debut poetry book Louisiana Midrash. ..to Elly Patron, daughter of Mindy Brickman & Mark Vicknair, on her and her debate partner’s third place finish in novice policy debate at the 2019 Airline Annual Clash of the Vikings tournament.
Beth Israel Mazel Tov ..to Patrice Jones & Rob Steinberg on their marriage, December 1, 2018 at the Sugar Mill in New Orleans.
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Life CYCLE
(CONDOLENCES)
If you have a condolence that you would like for us to include in Life Cycle please e-mail the information to jewishnews@bellsouth.net. All submissions are subject to acceptance of the Editor. ì
Jewish Community Day School IN MEMORIAM There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world even though they are no longer among the living. Jewish Community Day School mourns the loss from this world of
our beloved friend, Joan Berenson. Her light will shine brightly in the many blessings she and Gerald shared with Jewish Community Day School. May the Omnipresent comfort Joan's family among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Temple Sinai
grandfather of Sara and Samuel Mary Felicia Holub, mother of Edward, Brian, and Allen Holub Ellen Spear Jandorf, mother of Lisa Heller and grandmother of Madeline and Rebecca Thais St. Julien, sister of Marcus St. Julien Beth Bloch Isaacson Rosenthal, mother of Ann Kern and Dr. Ted Bloch, grandmother of Michelle Sisco, Scott Kern and great-grandchildren Andrew & Jackson Sisco and Katherine Lee Kern, and aunt of Alan Levin, Sidney Levin, Louis Levin, David Kerstein, Robert Stern, Charles Stern, Barbara Brin, Jennifer Overton and numerous great nieces and nephews
IN MEMORIAM Lester W. Barnett, longtime friend of Patty Barnett Joan S. Berenson, mother of Les Berenson, Ann Goldfarb, Robert Berenson and Laurie Maas, and grandmother to nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren Lisa Brener, mother of Chelsea Cusimano and Max Cusimano, grandmother of Rose Cusimano, sister of Neil, Matthew & Ann Brener, daughter of Milton Brener, niece of Irving Goldstein and Sandra Rosenthal, and devoted owner of Labradors Callie and Lilly Samuel Stewart Farnet, Sr., father of Aimée Farnet Siegel and THE
Touro Synagogue IN MEMORIAM Touro Synagogue extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of: Jack Africk, father of Lance Africk Lillian Dean Title, mother of Joan Bain, grandmother of Steven Bain, Brian Bain, greatgrandmother of Lindsey Bain and J.K. Bain John Reardon, father of Patricia Reardon Selma Engel, friend of Cantor Kevin Margolius Morton Joseph Davis, father of Rick Davis, grandfather of Matthew, David, and Brett Davis Betty Topp Townsend, mother of Mark Townsend Clarice Gaines, aunt of Jason Gaines Leon Aaron Greenblatt II, husband of Francesca Greenblatt Noelle Tenedou Levine, mother of Simone Levine, grandmother of Elan & Ezra Levine-Harrell Raye Portnoff Rozek, mother of Jody Braunig, grandmother of Max & Billy Braunig
May their memory be for a blessing.
Beth Israel CONDOLENCES ..to the Berenson, Goldfarb and Maas Families on the loss of Joan Berenson. ..to the Ulanow Family on the loss of Les’ mother, Blanche Ulanow. ..to the Meyers Family on the loss of Betty Meyers.
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CONDOLENCES ..to Alison Gordon on the death of her mother, Enid Trotiner. ..to Doug Gordon on the death of his father, Richard Gordon. ..to José Orrego on the death of his father, Alfonso Ulysses Orrego
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THE JEWISH LIGHT carries Jewish Community related news about the Louisiana Jewish community and for the Louisiana Jewish community. Its commitment is to be a “True Community” newspaper, reaching out EQUALLY TO ALL Jewish Agencies, Jewish Organizations and Synagogues. THE JEWISH LIGHT is published monthly by United Media Corporation. We are Louisiana owned, Louisiana published, and Louisiana distributed. United Media Corporation has been proudly serving the Louisiana Jewish Community since 1995. Together, we can help rebuild Louisiana. We thank you for the last 24 years and we look forward to an even brighter tomorrow.
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JEWISH LIGHT
ATHENS — In a small, nondescript classroom in Greece’s capital city, 10 Jewish eighth-graders study a biblical text about Jacob and Esau under the guidance of Rivkah Carl, a Jewish teacher from Teaneck, New Jersey. The students chatter loudly in Greek among themselves, though the language of instruction is English. In an adjacent classroom, nine kids — each wearing headphones and sitting in front of computer monitors — listen as their Israeli instructor teaches them Hebrew. But this is no Jewish school. In Athens’ dwindling Jewish community, now at about 3,000 members, there simply aren’t enough children to support a Jewish middle or high school. So community leaders came up with a unique solution: a special Jewish track at the prestigious American College of Greece, a private school founded by Christian missionaries in 1875 with a middle school and high school division called the Pierce School. “We are very happy to have this program here in Greece,” said Nina Negrin, whose 12-year-old daughter, Melina, attends the school. “For many years there was no continuation of Jewish education after age 12. Anything to do with Judaism just stopped suddenly. Now they continue their Jewish education and they stay together. These things are very important to us, not only as parents but also as members of the Jewish community.” The project, known as the Pierce Jewish Studies Program, combines Jewish studies with informal educational activities like field trips to nearby synagogues. Melina and her class took a day trip recently to the synagogue in Chalkida, a charming
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town north of Athens on the island of Evia. Next up was a visit to Rhodes to learn about the island’s rich Jewish history. Now in its second year, the program represents an innovative approach to a problem faced by many small Jewish communities in Europe: how to keep Jewish education alive in cities where standalone Jewish high schools aren’t practical or possible due to the small size or relative secularity of the local Jewish community. “As Jewish communities like ours get smaller, there needs to be some way to continue Jewish education without necessarily having your own Jewish school,” said Minos Moissis, president of the Jewish Community of Athens.
Greek Jews, struggling with their nation’s financial crisis and other problems, are increasingly choosing to emigrate. (Larry Luxner)
The need for the program in Athens was particularly acute. Economic hardship and violence — from the far left and the extreme right — have led growing numbers of Greek Jews to emigrate over the past decade. Moreover, Greek public schools require the study of Greek Orthodox Christian texts and prayers; Jews are excused only if they publicly declare their Jewish identity in the classroom. That’s a tall order for 12-year-olds in a country with the highest levels of anti-Semitism in Europe, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The Jewish track at Pierce both shields the students from this challenge and offers Jewish education beyond primary school. The program, nicknamed the Athens Project, has 32 students enrolled. “The Athens Jewish community only has a primary school. After See GREEK on Page THE
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GREEK Continued from Page 6 that, kids lose their connections, so we’re trying to find ways to keep them together until they’re at least 18,” said Iakovos Atoun, the community’s director of Jewish studies. The Jewish program would not have been possible without the impetus of businessman and philanthropist Ronald Lauder, the World Jewish Congress president who in 2017 challenged the Athens community to develop the program and then put up the money to support it.
Rivkah Carl, a native of Teaneck, N.J., is one of the Jewish teachers at Pierce’s unique Jewish high school program. (Larry Luxner)v
The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, which subsidizes tuition for the Jewish students at Pierce, also supports the Lauder Jewish Community School of Athens, a primary school located in the upscale suburb of Paleo Psichiko, and an online Jewish learning program with some 150 students of all ages. “If this gift hadn’t come through, the majority of our kids would have ended up going to public school,” said Joanna Nahmias, a member of the Lauder School’s board of directors. “There they would have to stand up in a class of 30 children, completely unprotected, say ‘I’m Jewish’ and explain why they’re not going to say the morning prayers.” At Pierce, instead of Jesus or Virgin Mary portraits — common in Greek classrooms — there are portraits of famous American novelists like John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway. The American College of Greece is the oldest and largest U.S.-accredited college or university in Europe. Its Pierce division, which starts in the seventh grade, is considered one of the country’s best private high schools. It’s also one of the few that does not hold classes on Saturdays. Besides math, physics, chemistry, literature, Greek and English, the Jewish kids at Pierce study Hebrew, Jewish history and Jewish traditions. The Jewish subjects come in two hours of instruction twice a week at the end of the regular school day. The program includes two subsidized Israel trips: an 11-day tour of the country the summer after sixth THE
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grade, and another one during high school to give Greek kids shopping for universities an opportunity to explore schools in Israel. But emigration to Israel is not the ultimate goal, Nahmias says. “Israel and Greece are becoming very strong business partners — in energy, defense and agriculture,” she said. “If these children know how to speak Hebrew, they’ll have an advantage over everyone else.” Greek Jews are going through a challenging period. The country is still reeling from the 2009 financial crisis, which pushed unemployment rates above 25 percent, nearly forced Greece out of the Eurozone and ravaged the life savings of millions of Greeks — including many previously wealthy Jews. “Our community had always been self-sustaining,” Nahmias said. “Over the years we’ve donated more than $40 million to Israel. But then suddenly wealthy, prominent Jews started needing aid because their businesses went bankrupt.” She recalled how widows would sell their late husbands’ gold rings to raise money for the Jewish primary school. The financial crisis coincided with a surge in nativist sentiment and anti-Semitism. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party captured 7 percent of the vote in the September 2015 parliamentary elections, and a 2014 ADL survey found that 68 percent of Greeks harbor antiSemitic attitudes — the highest levels of any country in Europe. Due to emigration, the Jewish primary school is now down to 98 students, from 141 in 2013. To keep the school viable, the community voted 10 years ago to open enrollment to any child with at least one Jewish parent. Over half the school’s students come from interfaith marriages. Nevertheless, more than 90 percent of graduates from the Jewish primary school enroll in the Jewish track at Pierce — an astonishing rate given the highly assimilated nature of Greece’s Jewish community. The special partnership between Pierce and the Jewish community ensures that the Jewish kids get spots at the competitive school, and tuition subsidies from the Lauder Foundation of 25 to 100 percent ensure they can afford it. “Before this program started, the Lauder Foundation told us, ‘If you have a good idea about how to keep your youth connected, we’re willing to invest money in that,’”
recalled Atoun, the director of Jewish studies. “But it was very difficult to build a new high school only for Jewish children. The only other option was to incorporate the students into an existing, reputable school, but also give them some Jewish education.” Ultimately, Atoun said, the project is about ensuring a Jewish future in Greece. “If we don’t help our children to develop a strong, proud Jewish identity we will lose them, and that will be the end of our community,” Atoun said. “We didn’t survive here in Greece for 2,000 years through challenges and tragedies only to have our Jewish future slip from our hands. We’re working hard to make sure that Jews in Greece have not just a great past, but a great future.” This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, which works to strengthen the future of Jewish life in Europe through supporting excellent Jewish schools. This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.
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Sports
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Ryan Braun Is Going To Pass Hank Greenberg As The All-Time Jewish Home Run Leader. This Jewish Fan Isn’t Excited. By Scott Barancik
Hank Greenberg, left, has a stellar legacy. Ryan Braun’s is tainted by a steroid scandal. (Getty Images)
(JTA) — Barring injury, Ryan Braun should surpass Hank Greenberg this season as baseball’s alltime Jewish home run hitter. The 35-year-old outfielder and longtime Milwaukee Brewer needs just 10 homers to break the late Detroit Tiger icon’s total of 331. So, Jewish baseball fans, how do you feel about that? Chances are not so good. Braun has never been a galvanizing force among members of the tribe. No accomplishment — not being named Rookie of the Year in 2007 or being voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2011 — has earned him the sort of reverence reserved for Greenberg, a 1956 Hall of Fame inductee. (Both, however, were nicknamed “The Hebrew Hammer,” with Greenberg also known as “Hammerin’ Hank.”) And that was before Braun, the son of an Israeli father, was sus-
pended for 65 games in 2013 for using performance-enhancing drugs and lying about it. Braun ruined his reputation among his fellow players as well after he lobbied for their support by calling the man who collected his drug test urine sample an antiSemite. Since then, a number of readers of my website, Jewish Baseball News, have requested a moratorium on Braun news. “So embarrassed that Braun is Jewish,” one wrote on the site’s Facebook page last year. “He is a total bum.” By contrast Greenberg, who died in 1986 at 75, earned his celestial reputation by being a true mensch. He embraced Judaism and the Jewish community in ways Braun never has, and became a Jewish sports icon — and important 20th-century Jewish historical figure — in the process. In 1934, amid rising anti-Semitism as well as a rare Tigers pennant drive, Greenberg sat out a late-season game against the New York Yankees to observe Yom Kippur at a Detroit synagogue (well before Sandy Koufax did the same in the 1965 World Series). In 1938, the New York native
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delivered one of the most transcendent seasons in major-league history, hitting 58 home runs, nearly equaling the single-season record then held by the legendary Babe Ruth. In 1941, at the height of his career — he had just won his second MVP award and led the Tigers to the World Series — Greenberg became one of the first major leaguers to join the Army. When men his age were honorably discharged, he re-enlisted. “If there’s any last message to be given to the public,” he told The Sporting News at the time, “let it be that I’m going to be a good soldier.” Greenberg would end up spending nearly four full seasons in the military at the cost of untold statistical achievements and awards. If there’s anyone who should have an asterisk after his career achievements (something fans and writers have suggested for steroid users like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens), it’s Hank Greenberg — not for his sins but for his sacrifices. The Bronx-raised player, who finished his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, fondly spoke about his Jewish identity, too: In his posthumously published autobiography, he famously wrote that “as time went by, I came to feel that if I, as a Jew, hit a home run, I was hitting one against Hitler.” “I just want to lead my life and set the example of being a good citizen, live by the Ten Commandments,” he also said in a 1980 interview. “If that sets a good example, I think that’s fine.” On paper, Braun’s stats deserve respect. His rookie season showed unusual promise: The first-round draft pick hit for a .324 average, pounded 34 home runs in just 113 games and led the National League with a .634 slugging percentage. He has gone on to be a six-time All Star, five-time Silver Slugger winner (the best offensive player at a specific position in a given year, as voted by the league’s coaches and
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managers) and the Brewers’ alltime franchise home run leader. Of course, asterisks could sit next to any of those achievements, even though he wasn’t suspended until 2013, seven years into his career. Along the way, the California native was identified as Jewish, and he expressed pride in that — but he was also quick to admit that he was never too connected to that culture. “I am Jewish. It’s something I’m really proud of,” he told USA Today in 2010. “But I don’t want to make it into something more than what it is. I didn’t have a bar mitzvah … I didn’t celebrate the holidays. It’s a touchy subject because I don’t want to offend anybody, and I don’t want groups claiming me now because I’m having success.” Of course, Braun and Greenberg’s legacies were shaped as well by the different circumstances under which they played. Greenberg played in an era when Jewish immigrants and their children were looking for a hero to counter antiSemitism both here and back in Europe. Today’s Jewish fans turn to Jewish ballplayers out of ethnic affection, not any deep emotional or psychological need. Still, until his steroid-driven backslide, Braun was as prominent a Jewish sports icon as there was, in any professional league. His fall from grace hurt a little more than usual for many Jewish fans. Jews tend to embrace a star who brings credit to the tribe, but they can be fickle: rejecting a celebrity who either betrays their love or refuses to love them back. Braun did a little bit of both. SCOTT BARANCIK Scott Barancik is a Florida-based news reporter and the editor of Jewish Baseball News. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
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Immigrant Tale Wins Top Jewish Children’s Book Honor
Bookshelf
By Penny Schwartz (JTA) — A picture book based on The historical fantasy, set in Vic-
the classic “All-of-a-Kind Family” books by Sydney Taylor won an award named in her memory. “All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah” (Schwartz & Wade), about a turn-of-the-century immigrant Jewish family on New York’s Lower East Side, won a Sydney Taylor 2019 book award gold medal for younger readers from the Association of Jewish Libraries. The awards were announced Monday in Seattle. The AJL cited the poetic language of author Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky’s exuberant illustrations. “Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster” by Jonathan Auxier (Amulet Books/Abrams), took the award for older readers.
torian London, tells the story of a girl chimney sweep and a golem who saves her life. “What the Night Sings,” by Vesper Stamper (Knopf/Random House), won the top prize for teen readers. Stamper’s debut illustrated novel is a coming-ofage Holocaust story set in a displaced persons camp, told through the voice of a young German girl violist who before the war did not know she was Jewish. Originally published between 1951 and 1978, the “All-of-aKind-Family” series drew heavily on the childhood of Taylor (1904–1978), a one-time professional dancer whose immigrant parents raised five daughters.
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Michael Douglas And Alan Arkin Mine Aging For Laughs In Chuck Lorre's Latest, 'The Kominsky Method' By Curt Schleier
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Alan Arkin, left, and Michael Douglas star in "The Kominsky Method," the latest from "Big Bang Theory" creator Chuck Lorre. (Mike Yarish/Netflix)
(JTA) — “The Kominsky Method” is the wisest and saddest new comedy on television. That might be its biggest problem. The protagonist of the eight-episode Netflix series that debuts Friday is Sandy Kominsky (played by Michael Douglas), a Jewish Tony Award-winning actor who landed with a thud in Hollywood. He no longer acts for a living but teaches the craft to students using the titular “method.” Norman Newlander (Alan Arkin), whose wife, Eileen (Susan Sullivan), is dying from cancer, is Kominsky’s longtime Jewish best friend and agent. Their friendship and the ways they navigate a hilarious and poignant battle against Father Time drive the show, which is moving and brave. Netflix has invested considerable effort in a series that likely will appeal to a limited demographic (Douglas, Arkin and show creator Chuck Lorre don’t come cheap). The target audience is clearly of the older variety. At one point, Newlander says, “I wake up each morning and my first thought is, ‘What part of me isn’t working?’” At another, guest star Danny DeVito, playing a urologist, snaps on rubber gloves and turns to examine a bent-over Kominsky while saying “You complete me.” Kominsky has been married three times and is finally happy about dating someone more his age. Will millennials give this show a shot? Will AARP members take a chance on a series that is so deeply rooted in their own often depressing reality? If they don’t, they will miss out on an extraordinary dramatic comedy television experience. In a season where most of the new sitcoms are virtually unwatchable — “Murphy Brown” isn’t quite what she used to be, and “Rel” is really bad — “The Kominsky Method” is uplifting in its intelligence.
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Lorre, the Dick Wolf of comedy, is best known for more traditional TV sitcoms such as “Two and a Half Men,” “Dharma & Greg” and “The Big Bang Theory.” But “The Kominsky Method” is different from his other shows — it’s much more personal and mature. The show’s two main characters are Jewish, also a first for the prolific Jewish writer and director. Lorre is known for including vanity cards, or short essays and observations, at the end of his shows. They flash for just an instant, and hardcore fans pause the show to read them. In 2011, he wrote No. 327 from Israel, where he said he felt strangely at home. “[F]or the first time in my life, I’m surrounded with DNA much like my own,” he wrote. “Until I got here … I didn’t realize how much my double helix yearned to be around similar strands.” At one points he wonders, “Why did I spend a lifetime moving away from that group? How did Chaim become Chuck? How did Levine become Lorre?” Except for a synagogue and shiva sequence, there isn’t much outwardly Jewish about “The Kominsky Method.” But Lorre’s particular strain of the double helix comes through more subtly in dialogue like Arkin's declaration: “We’re civilized people. We keep our shame and suffering to ourselves, where it belongs." Douglas and Arkin’s comic timing is perfect, but their chemistry shines in darker moments as well. The rest of the excellent cast includes Jewish actress Lisa Edelstein ("House") as Norman’s drug-addicted daughter Phoebe; Sarah Baker as Sandy’s level-headed daughter, Mindy; and Nancy Travis as Lisa, Sandy’s love interest. Edelstein particularly takes full advantage of every opportunity to go over the top. In an early episode, Norman reminisces about Ron Howard’s classic movie “Cocoon,” which he recently viewed again. “A spaceship is taking old people into space. That’s the happy ending for old people. I saw it 30 years ago,” he says. “But it’s a whole different perspective when you’re in the demographic.” THE
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Entertainment
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‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Gets Jewish Converts Totally Wrong
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By Alexandra Pucciarelli
Michael Zegen and Rachel Brosnahan attend the ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ New York Premiere at The Paris Theatre in New York City, Nov. 29, 2018. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)v
This article originally appeared on Alma.
Since it came into our lives last year, I’ve had mixed feelings about “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Its jokes sometimes feel like the kind of things we say among other fellow Jews, but not to the rest of the world. The show does have a comforting familiarity that makes it easy to binge watch; I watched the whole first season in a single day. It’s like the matzah ball soup of TV shows: It feels like home, with all of the wonderful and less-than-wonderful associations that can have. One of its more discomfiting aspects (besides the mostly nonJewish staff and cast — a subject for a different article) is the character of Astrid, Midge’s sister-in-law and recent convert to Judaism. In the newly released second season, she is treated as the butt of a joke rather than a whole person with a full life. She appears infrequently and always for a laugh, never advancing the plot. She is one-dimensionally trying so hard to be Jewish in a way that does not feel authentic. Full disclosure: My father is a convert to Judaism, and my fiance is currently undergoing the conversion process. So when portrayals of Jewish converts in pop culture miss the mark, I feel it on a personal level. When I look at Astrid, I see a woman who is trying her best. She
goes to Israel 11 times as a means to impress her in-laws and prove her Jewishness. My fiance echoed this sentiment — that as a convert, you feel you have to prove that you are Jewish, unlike those who were born into the faith. It is hard to be accepted as part of the group, and Astrid takes her Judaism to the extreme by constantly using Yiddish phrases and pointing out the positives of Judaism to those around her. This is especially evident in season 2, which mostly takes place in a classic Jewish Catskills resort. Astrid is much more religiously observant than the family that surrounds her, like when she fasts for Tisha b’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, while the rest of her family eats a hearty breakfast unaware of this day of mourning. Converts are known to be more religiously strict than their bornJewish counterparts, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” brings this trope to the extreme. Therein lies the problem: In this extremity, Astrid becomes a thing to laugh at — look at the dumb goy, she doesn’t get what it really means to be Jewish. One moment that particularly sticks out is when Astrid returns from Israel for the 11th time with huge mezuzahs that she gives Midge and her mother. Her gift is seen as clueless rather than thoughtful. Later in the episode she gives Midge’s son a set of rabbi playing cards, which the other characters also view as foolish. My fiance and I both found Astrid’s portrayal pretty cringeworthy. It would be fine for there to be a running joke about Astrid the convert, but the fact that this is her only characteristic on the show is problematic. She could be Super Jew, but she could also be known as
a super dresser or super smart or so many other things. But no, she’s the token convert. Many people already are leery about converts to Judaism (especially those who convert “for spouses”), and this kind of portrayal in the media doesn’t help. (Alexandra Pucciarelli is a writer based in New York. She received her bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College and is currently a graduate student of the sociology of collective memory and trauma at the New School for Social Research. She has written for Tablet Magazine, The L Magazine, Blood + Milk, and Brooklyn Magazine.)
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Health
5 Tiny Technologies With Life-Saving Impact The American Technion Society supports visionary education and world-changing impact through the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. To learn more, go to ats.org. Once the stuff of science fiction, nanotechnology can turn sunlight into energy, transform polluted water into drinkable water, and be used to manufacture just about everything from ultrafast computer chips to odor-resistant T-shirts. In the medical arena, nanotechnologies and the devices they create are not only awe-inspiring but are changing lives around the world. What is nanotechnology? One of the most exciting scientific fields today, nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, which ranges from 1 to 100 nanometers. We’re talking about 1,000 times smaller than the width of a sheet of paper or a strand of hair. And in a unique twist, Technion scientists have even found a way to repurpose medical nanotechnology
to treat sick plants. The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) at the Technion is among the largest nanotechnology centers in the world. Established in 2005, the institute’s multidisciplinary activities span 14 faculties ranging from aerospace engineering to mathematics, medicine and physics. The breakthroughs described below are just some of the technologies under development by scientists at the RBNI. 1. A Phone So Smart It Sniffs Out Disease The ancient Greeks hypothesized that different diseases are characterized by different chemical signatures. Seizing on that notion, Professor Hossam Haick has developed the NaNose, a breathalyzer technology that is able to sniff out the signature scents of 17 diseases including several types of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and kidney disease. In a 2017 study, the NaNose, which embeds sensors into a nanochip, made successful diagno-
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ses 86 percent of the time. Coupling that renowned technology with a smartphone, Haick has created SNIFFPHONE, a prototype for a handheld device that screens the user’s breath for life-threatening diseases and sends the results to a doctor. Who knows? In the notso-distant future, the same addictive devices behind distracted driving, texting thumbs, lack of sleep and diminished social skills might just save our lives. 2. Taking the Trial and Error Out of Chemotherapy Determining the drug that will be most effective from the start can save a patient precious treatment time and is particularly important for treating metastatic breast cancer. Associate professor Avi Schroeder has developed a nanotechnology-based diagnostic system that prescreens medications inside the body to determine the best anticancer drugs for each patient — before treatment even begins. Patients are given minuscule doses of multiple drugs simultaneously that home in on the tumor. Each drug is tagged, or “barcoded,” with a specific synthetic DNA sequence for identification purposes. After 48 hours, a small biopsy is taken from
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the tumor and metastasis. Analyzing the barcodes of the cells that lived and those that were destroyed by the nanodiagnostic system provides accurate information about the most effective drug for the patient. Clinical trials are expected to begin this year in Israel and Europe. 3. Microbots that Travel Through the Body Like the microscopic crew that entered a man’s body to perform surgery in the classic sci-fi film “Fantastic Voyage,” associate professor Alex Leshansky studies the navigation of artificial, magnetically-driven, nanoscale robots through a fluid environment. Theoretically, such microrobots would be small enough to maneuver through the human body, traversing body parts that until now were impassable to provide medical treatment such as delivering drugs to cancerous tumors and assisting in microsurgery. Leshansky recently completed a study revealing the optimal shape of nanoscale robots for maximum propulsion speed, bringing us one step closer to using microbots for medical treatment. See TECHNOLOGIES on Page
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For couples, a happy sex life has long been known to strengthen the bond and the longevity of a relationship. But are there other benefits of sex? Let's leave off the two most common answers for this discussion (Those being pleasure and procreation.) So, what benefit is it? Why bother? A healthy sex life is good for both body and brain. But how? It is a stress reliever, releasing pent-up tensions and relaxing. It can help ward off colds and flu and is known to raise immunoglobulin A as well as benefiting the overall immune system. It reduces inflammation, which is considered to be the most probable model of aging. Tied in with these immune benefits is the fact that sex helps prepare a woman's body for pregnancy and enhances fertility. It reduces anxiety possibly through the release of the hormone oxytocin. Sex improves sleep quality combating insomnia and deepening the stages of sleep. Sex boosts mood. Sex helps your heart and overall fitness: it is and should be an aero-
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bic exercise with all the benefits thereof. Conversely even short bursts of exercise have been shown to improve sexual desire. It lowers blood pressure. Sex in men can ward off prostate carcinoma. The more instances of sex per month, the less risk of prostate cancer; this is particularly true and beneficial in aging men. Sex acts as a natural pain reliever. Sex is calming for many people. It makes one feel calmer, happier and more at ease. All human touch naturally quiets down the signaling of pain within nerve circuits. Orgasms cause a great release of natural endorphins which can lower perception of pain. For women who are comfortable with it, having sex during their period can seriously alleviate menstrual cramps. Sex help strengthen the pelvic muscles and reduce incontinence with advancing age. Then again…there is always pleasure! Contact Dr. Alan Arrington to discuss your questions regarding sexual health at 504-662-9584. THE
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Classic Apple Strudel Recipe By Chaya Rappoport
(The Nosher via JTA) – My bubbe is Swiss and one of the best bakers I know. My childhood memories are filled with visions of her
glazed schnecken (Swiss buns like rugelach), her rich babkas and her waehes, which are seasonal Swiss fruit tarts. When I first started baking, I knew I wanted to re-create those recipes from my childhood. But no matter what I did, and how many times I called her for advice and instruction, they never came out quite the same. One year when she was visiting from Switzerland, I decided to make strudel in an effort to impress her. I should have known right then I was setting myself up for failure. Strudel, a traditional Austrian pastry filled with apples and raisins that become popular in Eastern European Jewish communities, is made with a notoriously finicky dough similar to phyllo. It needs to be rolled out very thinly, and it’s commonly considered best left to experienced European grandmothers. Well, an experienced European grandmother I am not, and when I started researching recipes, I got intimidated and decided instead to make something closer to a danish than a strudel — just as delicious, and far easier, right? Needless to say, my grandmother was not impressed. “This isn’t strudel, Chaya,” she informed me after a glance at the pretty plaited danish I’d made. “I’ll have to teach you how to make it.” I knew she was right. And when my grandmother returned to Switzerland, I decided I’d have to learn THE
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how to make it myself. I finally did — and guess what? It’s not at all as hard as it sounds. The apple filling’s as easy as pie (no, but really), the traditional breadcrumbs are simply toasted in butter, and the dough has five ingredients and comes together by hand. Stretching it out to get it paper thin can be tricky — but do your best, be gentle and if the dough rips, just patch it together by hand. It might take you one or two times to perfect it, but even imperfect strudel is still strudel, and there’s nothing a spoonful of schlag (whipped cream) or a scoop of vanilla ice cream can’t fix. This strudel is insanely flaky, completely authentic and, best of all, I know it will finally satisfy even my bubbe. INGREDIENTS For the dough: • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt • 1/4 cup vegetable water • 2 tablespoons sugar • 1/3 cup water • For the filling: • 3/4 cup raisins • 1/4 cup rum • 5 large Granny Smith apples • Juice of 1 lemon • 1/2 cup granulated sugar • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs • 2 tablespoons sugar • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting Lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving DIRECTIONS 1. Combine the raisins with the rum and microwave them together for 30 seconds. Let them sit to plump while you make the dough. 2. Make the dough: Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the oil and water and mix with your hands until a rough dough forms. 3. Turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 10 minutes, until soft and silky. 4. Form it into a ball, place it on the counter and cover with a clean tea towel. Let rest for half an hour. 5. Meanwhile, make the filling: Peel the apples and slice them into matchsticks. In a large bowl, toss them with the lemon juice, sugar,
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vanilla and rum raisins. 6. Make the breadcrumbs: In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the breadcrumbs and sugar. Stir to coat, and cook until crumbs are golden brown and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. 7. Heat the oven to 400 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan; set aside. 8. Roll out your dough. Cover your work surface with a clean tea towel that’s at least 24 by 32 inches. The long side should be horizontal to you. Sprinkle the cloth lightly with flour. Place the dough in the middle, sprinkle it very lightly with flour and roll in both directions, picking it up and moving it around as you go, until it’s 10 by 13 inches or you can’t roll it out anymore. Reflour the dough if you feel it sticking. 9. Ball your hands into fists, put them under the rolled-out dough and gently start stretching the dough using the back of your hands.
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10. Pull the edges of the dough gently with your fingers and continue stretching it with the back of your fists. Continue stretching until the dough is about 16 by 24 inches. 11. Brush the dough evenly with half of the reserved melted butter. On the right side of the rectangle, a few inches from the end, spread the breadcrumbs top to bottom in a thick line, leaving margins at the top and bottom. 12. Pile the apple mixture over the crumbs. Stretch the top and bottom edges of the dough over the apple mixture. Pull the right edge of the dough up and over the filling as far as it will go without tearing. Working carefully, use the towel to roll up the strudel all the way. Place the parchment paper from your baking sheet at the edge of the roll and roll the strudel onto it 13. Brush the strudel generously all over with the remaining butter. Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, or See STRUDEL on Page
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Cabbage Schnitzel Recipe A hearty meat-free schnitzel to enjoy all year. By Sonya Sanford
PREP - 15 minutes COOK - 30 minutes SERVES - 4-6 READY IN - 45 minutes Schnitzel is one of the ultimate comfort foods. It’s hard not to like a food that is fried and golden brown. Schnitzel is commonly made from chicken or veal, but you’ll also find vegetarian versions made from celery root, or in this case, cabbage. Any recipe for schnitzel always catches my eye, and I’ve often come across cabbage schnitzel in Russian and Eastern European cooking. Meat in that part of the
world could be scarce, and cooks came up with creative solutions for making vegetables taste richer. Cabbage was also often one of the only fresh vegetables available during the long winter months. Even after immigrating to the United States with its year-round abundance of all foods, cabbage is still a favored vegetable among families from the former U.S.S.R. We ate a lot of it in my own Russian Jewish home: cooked, fermented, in soups, or in salads. I especially love cabbage as a meat stand-in for its texture, volume, and versatility. Cabbage schnitzel can be made with boiled cabbage leaves that are folded into envelope shapes that then get battered, coated with breadcrumbs, and fried just like a chicken schnitzel. But my preferred style of cabbage schnitzel requires less work, and instead employs a thick
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batter of shredded cooked cabbage, breadcrumbs, and beaten eggs to form the schnitzels. This style of cabbage patty ends up with a schnitzel shape and thickness, golden brown outer layer, and crispy edges. You can serve this unexpectedly rich entrée with a squeeze of lemon and fresh dill for added brightness. Cabbage schnitzel can also be topped with a dollop of sour cream, and I’ve been known to use some hot sauce for heat. While there are a few steps to this recipe, each one is simple, the ingredients are few, the cooking time is quick, and the payoff is big. Cabbage schnitzel tastes little of cabbage and instead transforms into something savory, caramelized, meaty, and satisfying. Ingredients • 1½ lbs (680 grams) cabbage, about 16 cups shredded • ½ small yellow onion • 3 large eggs • ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs/matzah meal • ¼ cup all-purpose flour • Salt and pepper, to taste • Oil, as needed • Fresh dill, for garnish • Lemon wedges, for garnish Directions 1. Start by shredding your cabbage thin. This can be done with a mandoline, a food processor with the shredding disc attachment, or even with a sharp knife. 2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water generously and then add the shredded cabbage to the boiling water. Cook until the cabbage is tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain in a colander, then allow the cabbage to sit and continue to drain and cool for at least 10 minutes. BWhile the cabbage is cooling and draining, prepare the remaining ingredients. Grate the onion or chop it very fine. Beat the eggs and reserve. 4. Once cooled, squeeze out any excess liquid from the cabbage and add it to a large bowl. To the cabbage add the onion, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, flour, and salt and pepper. Stir until the cabbage is evenly and well-coated in the breadcrumb and egg mixture. The mixture should be thick and stick together to be formed into patties. If the mixture is too liquidy, add
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more breadcrumbs/flour. If you want to taste for seasoning, take a small spoonful of the mixture and cook and brown it in a pan before cooking all of the schnitzels. 5. Over medium-high heat, heat a large skillet filled with a 1/4 inch of neutral cooking oil (like avocado or canola). Once the oil is hot, form the cabbage mixture into schnitzel-shaped patties in the pan, about 1/2-inch thick. Cook the patties in batches, so as not to crowd the pan and cause the cabbage to steam instead of brown. Cover the pan with a lid and brown for 3-4 minutes. Lift the lid, carefully flip over the patties (a fish spatula works well for this), cover again, and brown for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the schnitzels are golden brown and crisp on each side. 6. Once cooked, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or rack to drain some of the excess oil. Serve the schnitzels immediately, garnished with fresh dill and lemon wedges if desired. Serves 4-6.
STRUDEL Continued from Page 13 until the dough is crisp and golden brown. 14. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the strudel cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and slice into pieces to serve with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 10. (Chaya Rappoport is the blogger, baker and picture taker behind retrolillies.wordpress.com. Currently a pastry sous chef at a Brooklyn bakery, she's been blogging since 2012 and her work has been featured on The Feed Feed, Delish. com, Food and Wine, and Conde Nast Traveler.) The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.
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In Israel, Missile Alert Apps Save Lives — And Spread Anxiety
Focus Issues on
By Sam Sokol
Israeli apps alert users whenever a missile is headed into the country. (Sam Sokol)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Four years ago, on the eve of the Israeli military’s Gaza operation known as Protective Edge, a private developer created the Red Alert app providing real-time notification when missiles or rockets were fired into Israel. Since then, Red Alert and smartphone apps like it have become tools for saving lives, social media sites in their own right — and a portable source of anxiety for Israelis already living in a state of high alert. Earlier this week, as Hamas and other terrorist groups again fired hundreds of rockets at cities and towns in Israel’s south, alert apps were again pinging and buzzing their way into the Israeli psyche. When a reporter asked on Facebook if they made users anxious, Israelis were quick to agree. “I had to turn it off,” Izzy Berkson said. “It was stressing me out a lot more than it should’ve.” Aviva Adler said she had turned off notifications because “it was just too nerve-wracking.” Inside the areas most likely to be targeted, the apps have become essential. But even those living at a distance from Gaza say they want to know when the missiles are incoming, often as a way of showing solidarity with their fellow Israelis. “I use it, so that each time there is a siren anywhere, I pray for the people there to have strength and be safe,” said Chana Shields Rosenfelder of Beit Shemesh, a central Israeli city located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Barbara Freedman of Jerusalem echoed that feeling. THE
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“I put on an app so that I am aware of the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the south, and so my life is not ‘business as usual,’” she said. That impulse is felt even thousands of miles away. Shmuel Katz, an American immigrant living in Beit Shemesh, recalled how his son, who had moved back to the United States, had gotten in trouble at work because his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. The son had to explain to a stunned supervisor that dozens of rockets were being launched at Israeli citizens, and that he had installed Red Alert in order to “keep up and make sure that his family
A man seen at the entrance to a bomb shelter that was open in the Golan Heights, in northern Israel, May 8, 2018. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)
ated his own take on Red Alert. Sitting in front of his computer, he cobbled together a bot that would warn members of his family’s chat channel on the communications app Discord when a rocket threatened their location. Tal-Or explained that he used data from the IDF Homefront Command’s website in programming his bot. “It’s tolerated but not officially endorsed,” he said. “I suspect most of the apps are using this.” According to Jameel, the pseudonymous author of the popular Muqata blog, who also included rocket alert capabilities in his app, “not only is the Homefront Command not helpful, but the apps go against what [it] wants. They do NOT want precision reports because Hamas uses it to align and improve their rockets against us.” This, however, has not stopped programmers from developing these apps or users from installing them. Yedidya Kennard, who developed one of the first such apps on Android during Operation Protective Edge, said even those who are not under fire want to “keep in touch and feel connected.”
even more interesting is why people would choose to subject themselves to that. “It’s almost as if people are saying ‘I should be anxious, I live in a community with these people, even if they are strangers,’ and it’s almost as if I have a moral [imperative] to experience their anxiety,” he said. “They may not benefit from their anxiety, but my being part of this emergency system is a sign of solidarity and makes me feel closer to them.” For other users, the apps fill a more practical need, even if the government and military don’t always approve. During the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2014, Daniel Tal-Or, who lives in Efrat, near Jerusalem, was having Smoke rises from a fallen rocket fired issues with Israel’s official air raid from Gaza in a field in southern Israel notification system. near the border, Nov. 13, 2018. (Hadas “My wife is hearing impaired, Parush/Flash90) and we had problems with the sirens not reaching everyone” in our town, here was safe.” Paul Frosh, a professor of com- he recalled. “In situations like this, munications at Hebrew University, it’s very important that you have a says the apps are in a tradition of backup.” With missiles from Gaza again more humble technologies, including church bells and sirens, that raining down on Israel, Tal-Or crehave been used not only to signal specific events but to “connect people to each other across space and time.” Like the Muslim call to Southern Costume Company prayer or the Shabbat siren that Southern Costume Company is the sounds in Jerusalem, he said they largest costume shop in the South enable people to “feel part of the and the premier resource for you and community at the same time.” your krewe! We can customize your However, unlike those previous individual and group costumes and accessories. We have our own design methods, users of the modern-day team and seamstresses available, as alert apps opt in and are “deliberwell as 1000’s of costume rentals to ately making themselves the subchoose from! Call now for Mardi Gras ject of an emergency broadcast,” and Purim! Frosh said. “That’s a very powerful opt-in medium of social solidarity 951 Lafayette St. and cohesion.” New Orleans Asked if he believes that the use 504-523-4333 of such apps contributes to the sccnola.com spread of anxiety among the population, Frosh replied that it very well might do so. But what he finds www.thejewishlight.org
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The Era Of ‘Never Again’ Is Ending By Eric Rozenman
A pro-Palestinian activist holds an Israeli flag painted with a Nazi swastika and the sentence “Who would say that David … now is Goliath!” at a rally against the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip outside the Mexican Foreign Ministry building in Mexico City, July 11, 2014. (Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Filmmaker Steven Spielberg told NBC News he thinks society must take the possibility of genocide more seriously now that it has in the past generation. In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of “Schindler’s List,” Spielberg referred to the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue and warned that “hate leading to genocide is as possible today as it was during the Holocaust.” He was behind the curve. The era of “never again” is ending in Western Europe, fading in North America and never penetrated the Middle East. Relentless demonization of the Jewish state renormalizes demonization of Jewish people. Examples of post-Nazi genocide and attempted genocide abound, including Muslim Indonesia’s seizure of largely Christian East Timor, the auto-genocide perpetrated by
Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, suppression of southern Sudan’s Christian and animist Darfur region by the government of the Muslim north, the murder of much of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority by the Hutu majority and today’s oppression by Myanmar’s Buddhist majority of its Rohingya Muslim minority. Two post-Holocaust mass murders of Jews already have been attempted. In 1948, five invading Arab countries committed to the destruction of the fledgling Jewish state. The United States no sooner became the first nation to recognize Israel than it slapped an arms embargo on the region. Though intended to diminish general tensions, in practice the move undercut Israel, since the other side continued to receive British arms and advice. In 1967, Israel preempted a potentially overwhelming attack by Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian forces mobilized on its border. Afterward, the philosopher Eric Hoffer noted that “had [Egyptian President Gamal Abdel] Nasser triumphed … he would have wiped Israel off the map and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.” Today, Iran builds ballistic missiles and seeks to develop nuclear warheads for them, functionally asserting that “the Holocaust never happened and we intend to finish it.” The European Union, smarting
at American insistence that it reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran at the expense of trade, has sought a way around potential penalties. Nazism obsessed over racially inferior Jews destroying the German people. The accused Pittsburgh murderer fantasized that pro-immigration Jews threatened “his people.” The man charged with mailing letter bombs to prominent Americans reportedly wanted “to go back to Hitler times.” The U.S. “altright”– also described as the “altreich” — imagines the Israeli tail wags the American dog. Not entirely dissimilar, leaders of the Women’s March movement demand that Jewish activists check their white privilege and apologize for the Jews’ racist suppression of black and brown people. From medieval allegations of “Christ killers” to contemporary indictments of Jews as killers of Palestinian Arabs, those who portray Jews and the Jewish state as demonic — as Louis Farrakhan did yet again shortly after Pittsburgh — serve to reopen “the Jewish question.” As in, what shall be done with this never quite assimilated, always stubborn people? Infinitely adaptable, ever-enduring Jew hatred — today regressing to its pre-Auschwitz mean through the gateway drug of anti-Zionism — retains its eternal answer: the elimination of Judaism and those who proclaim it. Among polite cir-
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cles, like those who insist they are never anti-Semitic, “only antiZionist,” marginalization and social-cultural re-ghettoization will be sufficient. The original ethical monotheism, with its damned “thou shalls” and “thou shall nots,” contradicts the West’s increasing secular fundamentalism just as it called into question Christianity and then Islam’s claims to supersession. Including this small chosen people with their tiny promised land in that now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t multicultural rainbow remains one diversity too many. The Holocaust must be understood not only as an event halted by the Allies’ defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 but also as a process interrupted. As the survivor and author Primo Levi put it, “It happened, and therefore, it can happen again. This is the core of what we have to say.” The words are inscribed at the entrance to Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. Twenty percent of French respondents between 18 and 34 tell CNN they’ve never heard of the Holocaust. So does a similar proportion in the United States. A Labor Party unit in northern Britain rejected a proposed resolution condemning the Pittsburgh murders because there’s too much talk of “anti-Semitism this, anti-Semitism that.” Today the spread of neo-Nazism anti-Zionist anti-Semitism makes continued war against, and potential genocide of the majority of the world’s Jews — that is, those living in Israel — a renewed possibility. Eric Rozenman is the author of "Jews Make the Best Demons: 'Palestine' and the Jewish Question," published by New English Review Press. He is former Washington director of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America and former editor of B’nai B’rith’s International Jewish Monthly and the Washington Jewish Week. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
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Hate Crimes Against Jews Rise By 37%, FBI Reports (JTA) — Hate crimes against Jews in America rose by more than a third last year and accounted for 58 percent of all religion-based hate crimes, according to data released Tuesday by the FBI. Overall, hate crimes increased by 17 percent in 2017, the data showed. With 7,175 hate crimes reported, up from 6,121 in 2016. Some of the increase may be because more police departments are reporting their hate crimes data to the FBI than ever before, 6 percent above the previous year. The number of hate crimes based on religion is the second highest ever, behind only 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The report noted a 23 percent increase in religionbased hate crimes in 2017 to 1,564, representing about 20 percent of all hate crimes. There were a total of 938 hate crimes committed against Jews in 2017, up from 684 in 2016. In addition, some 58 percent of all hate crimes in 2017 were based on race, including 28 percent against African-Americans. There was also a 5 percent rise in crimes directed against LGBT individuals, to 1,130 in 2017 from 1,076 the previous year. More than 4,000 crimes in 2017 were against people, including threats, intimidation, assault and murder. More than 3,000 were crimes against property, such as vandalism, robbery, and arson. The report covered jurisdictions in 49 states and the District of
Columbia, the FBI said. At least 92 cities with populations of more than 100,000 either did not report any data to the FBI or reported zero hate crimes. In 1990, Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which required the U.S. attorney general to collect data “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.” The Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents for 2017, which includes both criminal and non-criminal acts, found that anti-Semitic incidents rose 57 percent in 2017, the largest single year increase on record and the second highest reported since ADL started to keep track in 1979. “Two weeks ago, we witnessed the most deadly anti-Semitic hate crime in American history,” ADL National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement, referring to the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 worshippers dead. “Today, we have another FBI study showing a big jump in hate crimes against Americans because of their race, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. “This report provides further evidence that more must be done to address the divisive climate of hate in America. That begins with leaders from all walks of life and from all sectors of society forcefully condemning anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hate whenever it occurs.”
Barbra Streisand Asked Bob Dylan To Make A Record Together By Zachary Solomon
Jewish fantasies everywhere came true last year when a handwritten card from Barbra Streisand to Bob Dylan was uncovered in the Dylan Archive, a trove of 6,000 pieces of his paraphernalia. The archive, which was jointly bought by the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma for around $20 million, is home to Dylan’s lyrics, recordings, films, photographs— and correspondences. One such item is pure joy for fans of Jewish
music legends. Postmarked November 1978, the letter from Babs thanks Dylan for his flowers, and suggests that they make a record together. When asked about the note, Streisand said she was “so touched to find out he had saved a note from me.” She did a little digging, and found in her own archive a letter that Dylan had sent to her just before Yentl came out. “I’m looking forward to seeing your movie,” Dylan wrote. “Maybe you can direct me in one of mine.” Dylan signed off with some swoon-worthy admiration: “You are my favorite star,” he wrote. “Your determination, wit and temperament and sense of justice have always appealed to me.” We know how he feels.
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By Ben Sales
New members of the House of Representatives being sworn in during the first session of the 116th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 3, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(JTA) — More than 6 percent of the new Congress is Jewish, with 34 Jews among the total of 535 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, so Congress as a whole is more than thrice as Jewish as the country in general, according to a
TECHNOLOGIES Continued from Page 12 4. Nano-Magnets Wage Battle with Lung Cancer Lung cancer accounted for approximately one-quarter of all cancer deaths in 2018. Helping find a solution to that most deadly disease, Professor Josue Sznitman is engineering a targeted drug delivery system to the lungs that combines inhalation therapy with nanoengineering and magnetic fields. The patient would use a Technion-patented inhaler, engineered to dispense short aerosol bursts of tiny droplets laden with chemotherapy and FDA-approved superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). A magnetic device outside the patient’s body focused on the lung
new study by the Pew Research Center on religion in the new Congress, which was inaugurated Thursday. The number is even larger in the Senate, where eight of the 100 members are Jewish. That’s 8 percent, for the math challenged. This Congress has four more Jews than its predecessor, which had 30 Jewish members. But it’s far from the most Jewish Congress ever. That was the 1993 Congress, which boasted 51 Jews — nearly 10 percent of the total. All of the Jews in the Senate are Democrats, as are all but two in the House. The Republican exceptions are Reps. Lee Zeldin and David Kustoff, from New York and Ten-
nessee, respectively. They are the only non-Christian Republicans in the Congress, according to Pew. Congress as a whole is overwhelmingly Christian — even more so than the country. Seventy-one percent of Americans identify as Christian, compared to 88 percent of Congress. Both Protestants and Catholics are overrepresented on Capitol Hill. The most underrepresented group is unaffiliated Americans. Twenty-three percent of Americans don’t identify with a religion, but that’s true of just a sole member of Congress — new Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Unitarians are also represented in Congress.
tumor would then create a magnetic field that attracts the droplets to the tumor, depositing the treatment on the site. The droplets outside of the magnetic field, too light to settle in the lungs, are exhaled, sparing healthy tissue the poisonous effects of chemotherapy. Still in an early stage of development, the technology may also be applied to treat sitespecific fungal and bacterial infections such as pneumonia. 5. Spooking Cancer with Nano-Ghosts Professor Marcelle Machluf’s breakthrough targeted drug delivery system using nano-ghosts may revolutionize cancer treatment, including for notoriously intractable brain cancer. Derived from stem cells that are emptied of their contents, nano-
ghosts work as transportation vehicles, carrying treatment to the affected area in the body. They are able to pass through the immune system without reaction and tiny enough to pass over the brain’s protective barrier to deliver drugs or chemotherapy to a brain tumor. Preclinical testing in animals looks promising for glioma brain tumors and has successfully fought lung, prostate and pancreatic cancers. Testing is ongoing for breast cancer. Machluf, dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, expects clinical testing to begin in 2020-21. Is it really possible that all of these life-saving nanotechnology advances are happening at one university? It is. As one of the only science and technology institutes in the world with its own faculty of medicine, the Technion is at the forefront of the kind of life-changing breakthroughs that can happen only at the intersection of engineering and medicine. And that’s good news for Israel and all of humanity. The Technion has been a pioneer in science and technology education for more than a century, powering breakthroughs that are advancing Israel and changing lives around the world. A global university, the Technion has collaborations with universities in the United States, Singapore and elsewhere, and now has a presence in Israel, China and the U.S.
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Congress Is Now 3 Times More Jewish Than the United States as a Whole
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Can Anyone Beat Benjamin Netanyahu?
Israel Under Radar
By Ben Sales
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at a menorah lighting at the start of Hanukkah in Ramat Gan, Dec. 2, 2018. (Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Israeli police want him to be indicted in three separate corruption cases. He’s embattled from left and right for his attacks on Gaza and his policy in the West Bank. He’s made a point of cozying up to controversial right-wing nationalist leaders, from Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro to Hungary’s Viktor Orban — and especially to President Donald Trump. Many American Jewish leaders say his policies are driving away Diaspora Jews. And if the upcoming Israeli election were to be held today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would almost definitely win for the fourth time in a row. Probably in a landslide. Why? In a sentence, it’s because enough Israelis trust him with their security. To his voters, everything else is commentary. “They think that if he may have received bribes or played with Israel’s telecom market to have personal gain, this has nothing to do with the way he confronts Iran or the way he handles things in Syria,” said Israeli political journalist Tal Schneider, referring to some of the corruption allegations against Netanyahu. “I think in Israel, you win elections on security issues only,” she said. “It’s very easy to speak to people’s fears because in Israel, fears are real. It’s in people’s lives on a daily basis.” Polls ahead of the April 9 election have Netanyahu’s Likud party holding a wide lead over a growing group of competitors in the opposition. Likud is slated to win around 30 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, putting Netanyahu in the best position to form a ruling coalition. His closest opponents would get half that number. It’s the security, stupid Netanyahu’s international critics — the United Nations, the European Union, the former Obama adminTHE
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istration, liberal American Jewish groups, leading liberal newspapers — have portrayed him as too aggressive in Gaza, too cavalier with the lives of Palestinian civilians and unwilling to make peace with the Palestinian Authority. That’s not to mention the protests over his policies on African asylum seekers, religious pluralism in Israel or the status of Arab Israelis. But in Israel, polls show that most Jews think Netanyahu is not aggressive enough in Gaza. In November, his defense minister resigned, complaining that Netanyahu was too risk-averse in deploying the military. When it comes to the army, his centrist rivals have only tried to talk tougher than the prime minister. In 2014, following a war in Gaza that saw Israel pilloried in international forums, a left-leaning group of former generals praised Netanyahu for his “level-headed leadership.” Jewish Israelis tend to see their fighting in Gaza as a necessary response, not a war of choice. On the diplomatic front, both Israelis and Palestinians have despaired of any hope for a peace accord anytime soon. The other topics — from minority rights to religious policy — generally don’t even register as election issues in Israel. “Security is pretty much always the number-one issue for Israeli voters, and it comes before the diplomatic front when Israelis rank their priorities in polls,” Lahav Harkov, a senior contributing editor for The Jerusalem Post, wrote to JTA. “He keeps the focus on security and his credentials as an expert on that front, as much as possible.” It’s true that two former Israeli generals, both chiefs of staff, have founded new parties this year specifically aiming to oppose Netanyahu. But so far, neither is attacking Netanyahu directly on security issues. Moshe Yaalon, one of Netanyahu’s former defense ministers, said his partywould represent “the good, values-based, clean-handed land of Israel.” Benny Gantz, a former general, has only begun to open up about his platform. In a television interview Thursday, he said he would leave several West Bank settlement blocs in place but that an agreement with the Palestinians would bolster Israel’s security.
“We need established, ongoing efforts, in light of any challenge, to reach a diplomatic accord, with the understanding that this is part of our resilience, this is part of our security,” Gantz told Israel’s Channel 16. “There needs to be a real diplomatic effort, without being suckers and without being irresponsible.” A fragmented opposition A chorus of other candidates has also failed to match him at the polls. Yair Lapid, a one-time news anchor and finance minister who leads the centrist Yesh Atid party, has a strong base but hasn’t been able to broaden his appeal. The once-robust Labor Party, headed by former telecom executive Avi Gabbay, is mired in the single digits. If anything, the multiplicity of new parties may only help Netanyahu by fragmenting his opponents. The past few elections have seen several new parties spring up, all competing for the same bloc of voters. Meanwhile, the right has remained relatively united around Netanyahu’s leadership. Netanyahu’s opponents say the only way to beat him is by joining together. Ehud Barak, Israel’s most recent left-wing prime minister, said Netanyahu would be defeated only “if, in the center-left camp, a bloc comes together.” He called for Yaalon, Gantz and several other opposition parties to unite. But only the opposite has happened: A center-left alliance, the Zionist Union, split in dramatic fashion this week. “The center-right is competing to lead the state, while the center-left is competing in an internal primary to see who has the most power within its camp,” Ovad Yehezkel, a former centrist Israeli government official, wrote on the Israeli news site Ynet. “In that sense, the fragmentation of parties helps the center-right win elections. And paradoxically, the center-left rolls out the red carpet to the Prime Minister’s office for its rivals.” Corruption fatigue Netanyahu’s main problems of late have been the potential indictments against him and a growing aura of corruption. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (he ended up going to prison) resigned even before police recommended that he be indicted. But that has already happenedfor Netanyahu and he shows no
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signs of backing down. He has vowed to remain prime minister even if he is formally charged with a crime. Will that cost him the election? Probably not, Harkov said. Netanyahu frequently demonizes the Israeli press (and, like Trump, often claims that negative articles are “fake news”). At this point, Harkov said, Israelis are just tired of the back-and-forth. Netanyahu’s opponents, as well as government watchdogs, have called his decisions dangerous to Israel’s democracy. But if Israelis are feeling squeamish, it isn’t showing in the polls. “There’s so much news about Netanyahu’s investigations that they don’t take it seriously anymore,” Harkov wrote. “Yes, there are corrupt politicians who go to prison, but enough people seem to be willing to shrug the latest things off as just champagne and cigars or point to the incessant leaks to the media as a sign of bias by both the press and the police.” Netanyahu’s last election campaign, in 2015, also was plagued with scandal — though he was not indicted. Leading up to Election Day, it appeared he could lose. But he pulled off a comeback victory, emerging in a stronger position than before. And the longer he stays in power, Schneider said, the more inevitable his victories seem. In Israel, there are no term limits. “The people of Israel don’t see anyone else in Israel who can do it,” she said. “With the time passing, he’s getting stronger and stronger because when you sit in that chair, you’re the incumbent. You can use all the facilities to keep promoting yourself.”
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Israel Under Radar
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The Wisdom Behind Israel’s Crazy Multi-Party System By Ariel Picard
Miki Zohar, center, chairman of the House Committee of the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, chairs a vote on the split of Ayelet Shaked, Naftali Bennett and Shuli Muallem from the Jewish Home party to form a new party called The New Right, Dec. 30, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli politics looks like a big mess right now. In the past few weeks, three new parties have been launched and one party has kicked out a former partner. More changes are likely, too. It probably will get messier still if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted before national elections are held on April 9. The latest polls show 12 to 14 parties entering the new Knesset, many with the bare minimum of four seats. (The Knesset has 120 seats.) That would be up from 10 in the recently dissolved parliament. But expect those early tallies to change. The polls diverge widely in their counts, and more political surprises are surely in store. For Brits and especially Americans, who are used to two-party politics, this fluid situation may seem like a weakness of Israeli democracy, but it is actually a sign of its strength. As they say in the tech world, Israel’s political condition is a feature not a bug. Why is that? The games of musical chairs, with parties breaking away and others being fired, are not only being driven by political egos. That’s not to say no egos are in play. But the emergence of new parties and the shrinking of older ones are based on the notion that the Israeli voter is “woke” and caring. Voters have demands, opinions
and desires, and the country’s politicians are trying to find out what they want. Hardly any voters are in the back pockets of politicos, who cannot take anyone for granted. Most Israelis no longer vote based on family traditions, ethnic loyalty or rabbinic directives. They change their minds every campaign. Old and influential Zionist movements like Labor and the National Religious Party are losing ground politically, even though people still believe in the ideologies. Voters are making specific demands of their leaders and will not be loyal to a politician just because he or she heads a particular party. These continuing splits have also shattered the traditional support networks of the old-line parties. Labor cannot count on the support that its “ground troops” from the Histadrut labor unions and kibbutzim used to provide. The religious parties used to be able to count on their B’nei Akiva youth groups and yeshiva students. Such networks are less important in an era of internet campaigning, and that traditional support is certainly not showing up on Election Day. Not even the haredi Orthodox vote en bloc anymore. You would have thought that in a right-wing government they would get what they want. But they didn’t and in the end, there will be army conscription of young haredi men, even in a right-wing coalition. Overall, the haredim hold fewer seats than their demographics would suggest. It is even possible that the Sephardic haredi party Shas won’t receive enough votes to gain Knesset seats. With right-wingers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked exiting the Jewish Home party, its remnants, primarily the old National Religious Party, also may not exceed the electoral threshold of four seats. Other examples of such fractur-
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ing abound. Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party doesn’t represent Russian Israelis anymore. The Arab political parties are a more complicated matter, but on numbers alone, one would think they could hold more than 20 seats in the 120-member Knesset, as Arab Israelis represent 20 percent of the country’s population. But they are stuck in the low double digits. By my estimates, only 20-25 percent of voters cast their ballots according to tradition, and they are clustered in the Likud and haredi parties. That is not a large enough percentage to be a game changer. The game changer is the other 75 percent. The Israeli political map in the 2019 election is different from 2015’s, which was different from those in 2012 and 2009. This is not a sign of chaos. Rather it is a sign of a mature democracy and shows voters’ critical thinking about politics. They say, “I won’t vote for you just because I voted for you last time or because I was raised in your educational system.” There are no loyalties. This direct influence of the individual citizen on politics is the real check and balance in our political system, especially as we don’t have a constitution and the courts are under attack. Even Benjamin Netanyahu, a great politician, has to seesaw back and forth among differing ideas. You cannot fool Israelis, and he knows it. The argument that most of Israel’s Jewish population is right wing is a fact, but it’s a result of the current situation. It wasn’t like that always, and it won’t always be like that. Bibi won’t be here forever. Even though Likud looks as if it is the last of the old-line parties to retain its deep core intact, the day that Netanyahu goes – and that day will come – Likud will implode as its historic rivals and partners have. He’s the only one holding the Likud together. A governing coalition with many small parties is a problem. But I prefer a fragile system that is sensitive to the different opinions in society than strong leadership like a presidential system. Israel’s politics may seem chaotic, but it gets things done. Innovative legislation of cannabis exports, child vaccinations and cigarette labeling made it through the system before the Knesset dissolved. The two-party, presidential system in the U.S. has ground to a halt, the result of a polarized electorate and differing parties running the two
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houses of the Congress. America’s founders wanted governing to be difficult, but they also wanted consensus of a sort — seemingly impossible in a system that demands a stark choice between two sides of a divide. Unlike Donald Trump, Netanyahu cannot just play to his “base.” The forming and reforming of factions means he is always in danger. You can argue that danger paralyzes him from acting, but it also demands more caution. In a society with a lot of friction, it gives more representative power to different parts of society, which is what democracy is about. I prefer that to some kind of political tyranny or a democracy that grinds to a halt. A democracy is not tested by the power of a ruler but by the constraints it imposes on power. A prime minister in a parliamentary system must be open and listen. He or she has to make concessions, even to small parties. There will always be people who are unhappy, and here, virtually every political group is both happy and unhappy, depending on the moment. One of the proofs of this is our high voter turnout. Nearly 72 percent of Israel’s eligible voters cast their ballots in the 2015 election, compared to 58 percent in the United States in 2016, a presidential year, and less than 50 percent in 2018 — itself the highest midterms turnout since 1914. Either Israelis are naive – they are not – or they think the system is working. Elections in Israel are an example of the trust people have in the political system, and the greater the noise and chaos, the greater the involvement and engagement. Rabbi Dr. Ariel Picard is director of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Kogod Research Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
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Tips For First-Time Real Estate Investors “Investing in real estate can yield big returns. But first-time investors should know that such investments are vastly different than investing in a home for oneself,” says New Orleans Real Estate Agent Jacob Zakris. Real estate can be a good investment that helps build wealth and secure a financial future. According to Investopedia, average 20-year returns in commercial real estate hover around 9.5 percent, while residential and diversified real estate average returns of 10.6 percent. Such figures may seem too good to ignore for many prospective real estate investors. But investing in real estate can be risky, and it’s important that first-time investors consider a host of factors before deciding to delve into the real estate market. Current Finances Real estate can potentially yield big returns, but these may only materialize after investors spend ample amounts of money refurbishing or even maintaining their investment properties. Prospective investors without the capital on hand to finance repairs or routine maintenance may find it difficult to make their properties appealing to potential tenants, which can make it harder to meet mortgage payments. Prospective investors who already have sizable debts, be it consumer debt or existing mortgage payments, may want to pay down those debts before investing in real estate. Down Payments According to Wells Fargo, mortgage insurance does not cover investment property, and loans typically require a minimum down payment of 20 percent of the value of the property. So prospective investors cannot count on mortgage insurance to finance their investments in real estate. Investors should not just make sure they can meet that 20 percent requirement, but also ensure they have enough capital left after making their down payments to address any repairs that need to be made. If not, they might have trouble attracting renters willing to pay enough in rent. Interest Rates Prospective real estate investors may be surprised to learn that investment property loans are often subject to higher interest rates than those for home buyers borrowing to THE
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purchase a primary residence, says Quicken Loans. Investors should not count on getting the same or better interest rates for their investment properties that they did when buying the homes they currently live in. Financial Reserves Some lenders may require that prospective investors have sizable financial reserves before they will lend them money to invest in real estate. Some may require that borrowers have several months’ worth of reserves to finance both their personal lives and their investments. If a 20 percent down payment would make that impossible, then prospective investors may want to wait a little longer to invest and save more money until their financial reserves would prove more acceptable to lenders. Zakris also points out that when buyers want to purchase their first property, it is important that they have an experienced agent who can help to look at a property’s necessary improvements to make it viable as an investment. For example, how does today’s purchase price factor into the time and financial resources it will take either re-sell or rent / lease the property? No one can predict market fluctuations, especially with recent Federal Reserve rate increases. If you are ready to discover if real estate investing is right for you, make your first call to a knowledgeable agent who can help you look at these questions and more.
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Outdoor Improvements That Boost Home Value
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Whether home improvement projects are design to improve the interior or exterior of a house, focusing on renovations that make the most financial sense can benefit homeowners in the long run. The right renovations can be assets if and when homeowners decide to sell their homes. So how does one get started? First and foremost, speak to a local real estate agent who is knowledgeable about trends in the community. While a swimming pool may be something coveted in one area, it may impede sales in another. It also helps to study generalized trends and data from various home improvement industry analysts to guide upcoming projects. The following outdoor projects are just a few renovations that tend to add value. Fire pit: A fire pit is a great place to gather most months of the year. Bob Vila and CBS news report that a fire pit realizes a 78 percent return on investment, or ROI. Outdoor kitchen: Many buyers are looking to utilize their yards as an extension of interior living areas. Cooking, dining and even watching TV outdoors is increasingly popular. Outdoor living areas can be custom designed and built. In addition, prefabricated modular units
that require a much smaller commitment of time and money are available. Patio: Homeowners who do not already have a patio will find that adding one can increase a home's value. Patios help a home look neat, add useable space and may help a home to sell quickly. The experts at Space Wise, a division of Extra Space Storage, say that refinishing, repairing and building a new patio offers strong ROI. Deck: Decks can be as valuable as patios. A deck is another outdoor space that can be used for entertaining, dining and more. Remodeling magazine's 2018 "Cost vs. Value" report indicates that an $11,000 deck can add about $9,000 in resale value to the home, recouping around 82 percent of the project's costs. Door update: Improve curb appeal with a new, high-end front door and garage doors. If that's too expensive, a good cleaning and new coat of paint can make an old door look brand new. These easy fixes can improve your home's look instantly. New landscaping: The National Association of Realtors says an outdoor makeover that includes wellthought out landscaping can net 105 percent ROI. Installing a walkway, adding stone planters, mulching, and planting shrubs are ideas to consider. Many different outdoor projects can add value to a home. Talk to Richard at RJ Laborde Construction for more ideas on how to increase the value of your home. He can be reached at 504885-5224.
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Get The Best Mortgage Financing Deal
Few people are able to walk into a home, like what they see and then pay for a house in cash. In the vast majority of home purchases, mortgages make the dream of home ownership a reality. Getting a mortgage requires research and some preparation on the part of borrowers if they hope to get the friendliest terms possible. Homes are substantial, decadeslong investments, so it's smart to shop around to find the best rates and lenders available. These tips can make the process of applying and getting a mortgage go smoothly, and may even help borrowers save some money. Learn your credit score. Your credit score will be a factor in determining just how much bargaining power you have for lower interest rates on mortgage loans, according to the financial resource NerdWallet. The higher the credit score, the better. Well before shopping for a mortgage, manage your debt, paying it off if possible, and fix any black marks or mistakes on your credit report. Investigate various lenders. The Federal Trade Commission says to get information from various sources, whether they are commercial banks, mortgage companies, credit unions, or thrift institutions. Each is
likely to quote different rates and prices, and the amount they're willing to lend you may vary as well. Investigating various lenders can help you rest easy knowing you got the best rate for you. Lenders may charge additional fees that can drive up the overall costs associated with getting a mortgage. Compare these fees as well so you can be sure you get the best deal. Consider a mortgage broker. Mortgage brokers will serve as the middle person in the transaction. A broker's access to several different lenders can translate into a greater array of loan products and terms from which to choose. Learn about rates. Become informed of the rate trends in your area. Lower rates translate into significant savings amounts per month and over the life of the loan. Rates may be fixed, though some are adjustable-rate mortgages (also called a variable or floating rate). Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and a financial consultant can discuss what might be in your best interest. Discuss points with your financial advisor and lender. Some lenders allow you to pay points in advance, which will lower the interest rate. Get points quoted in dollar amounts so they'll be easier to compare. If you're unfamiliar with points, discuss the concept with your financial advisor. The vast majority of homeowners secured a mortgage to purchase their homes. Learning about the mortgage process can help new buyers navigate these sometimes tricky financial waters.
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Get A Head-Start On Tax Season
LHSAA
The dawn of a new calendar year often marks the end of the sometimes hectic holiday season. This time of year marks a return to normalcy for many families, as the kids go back to school and parents return to work. No sooner do you breathe a sigh of relief than you realize that tax season is right around the corner. The following are a handful of ways to start preparing for your returns now. Find last year's return. You will need information from last year's return in order to file this year, so find last year's return and print it out if you plan to hire a professional to work on your return. Gather dependents' information. While you might know your own Social Security number by heart, if you have dependents, you're going to need their information as well. New parents or adults who started serving as their elderly parents' primary caretakers over the last year will need their kids' and their folks' social security numbers. If you do not have these numbers upon filing, your return will likely
be delayed and you might even be denied potentially substantial tax credits. Gather your year-end financial statements. If you spent the last year investing, then you will have to pay taxes on any interest earned. Interest earned on the majority of savings accounts is also taxable, so gather all of your year-end financial statements from your assorted accounts in one place. Doing so will make filing your return, whether you do it yourself or work with a professional, go more quickly. Speak with your mortgage lender. Homeowners should receive forms documenting their mortgage interest payments for the last year, as the money paid in interest on your home or homes is tax deductible. If these forms are not received in a timely manner, speak with your lender. You might even be able to download them from your lender's secure website. Make a list of your charitable contributions. Charitable contributions, no matter how small, are tax
deductible. While it's easiest to maintain a list of all charitable donations you make as the year goes on, if you have not done that, then you can make one now. Look for receipts of all contributions, contacting any charities you donated to if you misplaced any receipts. Book an appointment with your tax preparation specialist now. As April 15 draws closer, tax preparers' schedules get busier and busier. The earlier you book your appointment, the more likely you are to get a favorable time for that meeting. In addition, if you have gathered all of the information you need by early February, then booking your appointment early means you can file earlier and receive any return you might be eligible for that much quicker. Call the J. Heath & Co. CPA team when you are ready to tackle your 2018 taxes. They prepare both personal and commercial returns, and can be reached at 504-8321873.
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How To Save Up For Your First Home Home ownership is a dream for people across the globe. Many people save for years before buying their first homes, squirreling away every dollar they can with the hopes they can one day become homeowners. But thanks to factors beyond their control, even the most devoted savers can sometimes feel like their dream of home ownership may never come true. According to the Pew Research Center, American workers' paychecks are larger than they were 40 years ago, but their purchasing power is essentially the same. Various challenges can make it difficult to buy a home. However, some simple strategies can help prospective home buyers build their savings as they move closer to the day when they can call themselves "homeowners." Determine where your money is going. If you're finding it hard to grow your savings, audit your
monthly expenses to determine where your money is going. Using exclusively debit or credit cards can simplify this process, as all you need to do is log into your accounts and see how your money was spent over a given period. If you routinely use cash to pay for items, even just to buy coffee on the way to work, keep a notepad handy so you can jot down each expense. Do this for a month and then examine how you spent your money. Chances are you will see various ways to save, and you can then redirect that money into your savings account. Become a more savvy grocery shopper. Another great way to save more money is to alter something you already do each month: grocery shopping. If you haven't already, sign up for discount clubs at your local grocer. This is a largely effortless way for shoppers, especially
those buying food for families, to save considerable amounts of money. Shopping sales at competing grocery stores also can save money. Dine in more often. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that Americans spend, on average, 6 percent of their household budgets on food. However, the USDA also notes that Americans spend 5 percent of their disposable income on dining out. If these figures mirror your spending habits, you can nearly cut your food spending in half by dining out less frequently. That might be a sacrifice for foodies, but it can get you that much closer to buying your own home. Saving enough money to purchase your first home is a worthy effort that can be made easier by employing these few budget-friendly strategies.
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Explaining Financial Plans and Why You Need One A financial plan can help everyone from the extraordinarily wealthy to those struggling to make ends meet. Put simply, you're never too young or old to devise a financial plan. A clear understanding of personal expenditures and savings rates is essential for securing a strong financial future. A financial plan can help everyone from the extraordinarily wealthy to those struggling to make ends meet. The Financial Planning Association says a financial plan identifies goals and objectives that take finances to achieve and creates a plan for making those things happen. A financial plan can serve as a road map that people can look to for years to come as they work toward securing their financial futures. Whether you aim to retire by age 50 or to reduce your debt, a financial plan can be just what you need to turn your dreams into a reality. Here are some steps for devising a financial plan. 1. Identify what you want. You must identify what you want to achieve. Goals may include buying a home, retiring early, providing for a child's education, or having more time and money for travel. Putting your goals on paper may inspire you to pursue them more vigorously. 2. Audit your finances. Conduct THE
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an audit of your finances so you can get a clear grasp of your current situation. Make a list of all of your assets, and then subtract existing debts to figure out your net worth. While you're tabulating, find out how much you bring in and spend each month so you can get a clear picture of your spending habits. This will help you make smart choices in regard to spending and saving. 3. Eradicate existing debt. One of the key parts of a financial plan is to pay down high-interest debt to free up money for the future. Focus on paying off credit card balances, highinterest loans or balances for other accounts where interest is high. A debt consolidation loan may be worth exploring if you're having trouble paying down high-interest debt. 4. Start saving. Building savings is essential to reaching many goals. It also is key to help avoid financial ruin during emergency situations, such as home or car repairs, disability that takes you out of work, etc. Start small by having a certain percentage of money deposited into a separate account automatically. Then watch it grow. Investing in the right products also can help you grow your savings. Financial advisors can help individuals devise plans to meet their short- and long-term goals. Contact Keith Katz of The Katz Group at Morgan Stanley at 504-585-3902. www.thejewishlight.org
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Simple Ways To Cut Mortgage Costs Monthly mortgage payments are the biggest single expense for many homeowners. So it's understandable why plenty of homeowners would love to trim those costs. A host of factors determine how much homeowners pay for their mortgages each month. The cost of
the home, the amount of the initial down payment and property taxes, which are often folded into monthly payments, will factor heavily into the cost of home ownership. While homeowners may feel as though there's little wiggle room to cut the costs of their mortgages, there are
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several ways to do just that and potentially trim years from the life of a home loan. Make bi-weekly payments. Making bi-weekly instead of once-amonth payments can save homeowners substantial amounts of money. A year's worth of once-amonth payments equates to 12 payments per year. But homeowners who pay on a bi-weekly basis will make 26 half payments, or 13 full payments, per year. That extra annual payment can be applied directly to the principal, dramatically reducing how much homeowners pay in interest over the life of their loans. Stop paying PMI. Homeowners whose initial down payments are less than 20 percent of the sale price will have to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI. But once the balances on such mortgages falls below 80 percent, homeowners can cancel such insurance. Homeowners may also be able to stop paying PMI by having their homes reappraised. Refinance the loan. Refinancing
a loan also can save homeowners substantial amounts of money each month. Homeowners are typically eligible for lower interest rates when refinancing their loans, meaning they will pay less in interest each month. However, refinancing is not free, so homeowners should first check the going home interest rates and examine their credit scores to see if the interest rate they're likely to get upon refinancing will save them money. The cost of refinancing might be more than homeowners can save. Request a tax reassessment. Real estate values increase and decrease and homeowners who feel their homes have decreased in value can request that their homes be reassessed. Homeowners whose homes are assessed at a value lower than the current value can expect to pay less each month in taxes. Consulting with an experienced mortgage broker, such as Miller Home Mortgage can help you decide the best way to cut your mortgage costs. You can reach them at 504-455-7002.
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missed opportunity for the president to lead and unify the country after a painful period of obstruction and a 35-day government shutdown. There is no onslaught of immigrants or security crisis on our southern border, and the U.S. military must not be used for political purposes.” The Republican Jewish Coalition, by contrast, said Trump’s choices for guests sent clear and welcome messages. “President Trump honored Americans who have displayed resilience, courage, and love of freedom,” an RJC statement read. “Democrats used their guest invitations to highlight radical positions their base wants to hear, but which are out of step with mainstream America on things like transgender issues, climate change activism, ‘open borders,’ immigration reforms, gun control, and the ‘resistance.’” Among the guests invited by Democratic lawmakers were a sexual assault survivor, a climate change scientist, a Liberian refugee, an Iraqi-born chemist for the Environmental Protection Agency, the parents of gun violence victims and an undocumented immigrant who worked at Trump’s New Jersey golf resort.
upholding our commitment to international law and asylum seekers,” she said. “Blocking people from applying at ports of entry and forcing asylum seekers at our southern border to remain in Mexico to await their hearing is illegal, dangerous and unprecedented in American history. The greatness of America is in our diversity. America is great when it can be a safe haven from war, violence, persecution and disaster. America has a moral duty to be that safe haven.” Liberal groups were unimpressed. “His invocation of Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the Tree of Life massacre rings hollow when he has consistently utilized antisemitic tropes, such as his campaign ads denouncing ‘globalists’ and espousing conspiracy theories about George Soros, all while advancing a white nationalism that puts Jews and so many other Americans in danger,” Ginna Green, chief strategy officer of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, said in a statement. Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said: “Tonight was a
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