Volume 8, Number 9 Election/Chanukah
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Serving the Local New Orleans, Northshore, and Baton Rouge Jewish Communities
There Are 56 Candidates for Congress Who Identify as Jewish. By Ron Kampeas (JTA) Among them are 41 Democrats: five are running for the Senate -- three incumbents and two challengers. Among the 36 in the U.S. House of Representatives, 18 are incumbents and 18 are challengers. (Three incumbent Jewish House Democrats are retiring.) The 15 Republican candidates are running for the House. There are two incumbents and 13 challengers. Additionally, two House candidates, both Democrats, have Jewish fathers and say that shaped their outlook, but they do not identify as Jewish. At least three House hopefuls in the same party -- two incumbents and one challenger -- have a Jewish spouse and are raising their children as Jewish. Politically and geographically, they are as diverse a bunch as the 900 candidates for Congress (Jews, who make up less than 2 percent of the population, comprise 6 percent of the candidates). There are moderate Republicans who would rather not mention President Donald Trump's name while campaigning, right-wing Republicans who eagerly embrace the Trump endorsement and other right-wing Republicans who peddle "alt-right" tropes. There are centrist Democrats who staunchly defend Israel, leftist Democrats among the Jewish state's most outspoken critics and Democrats who barely register on the Israel spectrum. There are sure bets and long shots (in some cases very long shots), while some races are too tight to call. Some have come up through the statehouse, some through the national security system, some with no political experience. They come from areas of high Jewish concentration like New York and Los Angeles, and spots such as Kentucky and Wyoming where Jews barely register on the electoral map. JTA is breaking down the races, assessing where the candidates stand on the political spectrum, noting their Jewish involvement and reporting what the forecasters say. We start with the Jewish Senate nominees, all Democrats: Dianne Feinstein, California (incumbent) Politics: Feinstein, 85, elected in 1992, is the oldest sitting U.S. senator and the longest-serving woman in the body. She is a leading progressive on most issues, and for decades has been outspoken on gun control and LGBTQ rights. She became San Francisco's mayor in 1978 after her predecessor, George Moscone, and City Supervisor Harvey Milk, a Jewish gay rights activist, were shot to death. Feinstein, the president of the city's Board of Supervisors, discovered their bodies.
As the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Feinstein took the lead in picking through the record of Brett Kavanaugh, who barely won Senate confirmation following allegations of sexual assault from decades ago. As the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee from 2009 to 2015, Feinstein angered progressives by siding with intelligence agencies when they drew fire for their methods. Jewish quotient: Feinstein had a Jewish father and Christian mother and was brought up in both faiths. At 20, she chose Judaism, she said, because of its directness. Over the years
uncle, he served in the Maryland House of Delegates, becoming its youngest-ever speaker. As a U.S. senator, he eschews the national reputation some of his colleagues seek and tends to pursue his liberal agenda through the prism of state issues: Cardin is a champion of the environment who seeks to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean and wants to narrow the income gap, with a focus on Baltimore's troubled inner city. Cardin does strike a broader profile in international relations, particularly human rights. For years he has taken a lead role on the U.S. Helsinki Commission, which monitors human rights
(Illustration by Lior Zaltzman/Getty Images)
she has become more critical of Israel, taking the lead recently in urging its government not to demolish Palestinian residences in the West Bank as punishment. Feinstein has been endorsed by the political action committee affiliated with J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, as well as JACPAC, the Chicago-based Jewish PAC that backs liberal domestic policies. Election prospects: California's system grants the two spots on the November ballot to the two top vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party. That leaves Feinstein facing off against Kevin de Leรณn, a Democratic state senator who has the endorsement of the state party. Feinstein is expected to win, although recent polls show de Leรณn narrowing the divide to single digits. Ben Cardin, Maryland (incumbent) Politics: Cardin, 74, was elected to the Senate from the House in 2006. Like his father and
in other countries, and he was the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee from 2015 until earlier this year. Cardin started each briefing with reporters with an appeal for the release of a prisoner of conscience. Jewish quotient: Cardin is a scion of a family influential in Jewish philanthropy. A relative is Shoshana Cardin, who led multiple national Jewish organizations. He hews to a conventional pro-Israel line, and was one of four Senate Democrats who in 2015 opposed the Iran nuclear deal after being subjected to intensive lobbying by Baltimore-area Jewish leaders. This year, Cardin spoke at J Street's national conference, a signal that he was edging toward the more Israel-critical posture that the group favors. Nonetheless, he defended a bill he authored that See CANDIDATES on Page
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Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America Department of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma Welcomes you to New Orleans! Hosted by Ben Katz Post #580 January 18 – 21, 2019
Own the Road.
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MBofNO.com 3727 Veterans Boulevard Metairie, LA 504-456-3727 2
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Reservation Information: 1-800-465-4329 Ask for the “Jewish War Veterans Group Block” Reservations must be made by: 12/21/18 Rate $112 + state and local tax Rate includes a private breakfast each morning; time TBD Please call hotel for shuttle to and from Airport Amenities: Complimentary Wi-Fi, Free Parking, Outdoor Pool, Handicapped Accessible, 24 Hour Airport Shuttle November 7, 2018 7:00PM - 9:00PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 504-897-0143 FILM: SHELTER The Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series bring us SHELTER, a film about an Israeli Mossad agent who is sent to Germany to protect a Lebanese informant as she recovers from plastic surgery to assume a new identity. The two weeks they spend together in a quiet apartment becomes a game of deception as their fate takes a surprising turn in this neo-noir film. Free and open to the community Contact: Judy Yaillen Email: judy@nojcc.org November 8, 2018 12:00PM - 2:00PM New Orleans JCC Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 The Nola Grannies Project: Assisting Asylum Seekers Travelling Through New Orleans Horrified by the implementation of the Zero Tolerance policy, a group of grandmothers from New York decided they could not remain still or silent and coordinated a ""Granny Caravan"" from New York to McAllen, TX. About 10 grannies from New Orleans joined them. Once the people in detention, who were legally seeking asylum but instead detained (imprisoned) and separated from loved-ones, are
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released, they are dropped off at a bus station, often with only the clothes on their backs and a ticket to their sponsor city. Their destinations are often hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away and they are given virtually no provisions. When the NOLA grannies returned, they knew they had to do something to help. With advice from those in TX who are directly involved with helping these asylum seekers, the NOLA Granny group set up a program at the local Greyhound Bus Terminal to distribute ""care kits"" filled with non-perishable food, toiletries, diapers, and toys for the children. It is their hope that they can show these weary travelers that there are people here in the U.S. who truly do care. Come join us as we assemble ""care kits"" to be distributed, and learn more from program organizers about how we can help. You do not have to be a senior or a woman to participate. All are welcome. Your donation will help cover the cost of the kits we assemble. Bring your lunch, desserts and coffee will be served. RSVP by Monday, November 5 to Rachel Ruth at 897-0143 x161 or rachel@nojcc.org. $7 members and non-members November 11, 2018 11:30AM - 1:00PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 Dog Yoga We're doing it again! Join the JCC and Zeus' Rescues for a community-wide event. Yoga instructor THE
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Jessy Fedie-Garcia and local pet shelter, Zeus' Rescue are partnering to offer our community a Vinyasa Flow Yoga class while Zeus' ADOPTABLE dogs roam freely! "Doga" as some know it, will be a unique opportunity for participants and dogs alike to share in the relaxing, but possibly slobbery practice! Please join us at 11:30 am under the Bart Family Pavilion for a wet-kissed flow followed by some meet and greets and light refreshments. Free for everyone. Registration is required. Please bring your own yoga mat and leave your furry friends at home! Instructor: Jessy Fedie-Garcia No charge - donations accepted and will be given to Zeus' Rescues Contact: Winnie Rubin Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: winnie@nojcc.org
November 12, 2018 11:45AM - 1:30PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 Morris Bart Lecture: Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orlean Pamela D. Arceneaux, Senior Librarian/Rare Books Librarian with The Historic New Orleans Collection, will discuss her most recent book "Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans." For most of Storyville’s twenty years (1898-1917), guidebooks were produced containing directories listing hundreds of prostitutes by name, address, and race as well as full-page advertisements for some of the better brothels. In New Orleans, these various published guides were known collectively as “Blue Books,” even though they
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Table of Contents Community Happenings
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Chai Lights
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Holiday Features
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Education
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Bookshelf
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Sports
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Arts & Culture
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Entertainment
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Financial
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Health
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The Nosher
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National
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Focus on Issues
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Kveller
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Judaism
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Jewniverse (Jewish Culture & History)
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Israel Under Radar
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Travel
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Proud Father of Three Children who ALL Attend Jefferson Parish Public Schools!
With your support in this very important election, we can take education in Jefferson Parish to a new level of excellence!
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Community Happenings COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS Continued from Page 3 did not all bear that title officially. New Orleans was not the first nor the only city to offer such guides to their vice districts, but probably produced them on a more regular basis than most other cities. By modern standards, the tone of these guides is almost demure; none of the Storyville-era Blue Books specifically describe the sexual services offered, nor do they list fees. Issued annually around Carnival and targeting a white male audience, these little books can be seen as marketing tools, not only to the city’s vice district but to the depiction of New Orleans itself as a popular and exotic winter convention and tourist destination. Lunch will be served. RSVP by Thursday, November 8. Copies of Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans, a richly illustrated, hardcover annotated bibliography, will be available for sale. $50.00 No charge members / $10 nonmembers Contact: Rachel Ruth Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: rachel@nojcc.org
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November 13, 2018 1:30PM - 3:00PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 Book Club - Shocking Paris: Soutine, Chagall and the Outsiders of Montparna by Stanley Meisler Rich in period detail, this book explores the short, dramatic life of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Chaim Soutine. Reviewed by Molly Travis, PhD, Associate Professor of English at Tulane University Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org November 15, 2018 10:00AM - 4:00PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115 Seniors on the Go: North House Home and Gardens Join us on our next Seniors on the Go adventure to the beautiful North House Home and Gardens in Bush, LA. North House has been a 20 year plus ongoing project for Dr. James Briggs and
David Bourgeois. Like everything, it started small and then took on a life of it's own. They now have eight gardens and five buildings. It has become a top rated event site and we will have the pleasure of seeing them prepare for a major wedding. In addition to a tour of the gardens and grounds, we will enjoy a catered lunch and lecture by the Event Coordinator on how they prepare the grounds for large weddings. Attendees should come comfortably dressed and wear comfortable shoes to walk through the gardens. The cost for the outing is $25. Thanks to a generous donation from Morris Bart there is no charge for the bus, and the cost of the tour and luncheon has been subsidized. RSVP by Thursday November 8 to Rachel Ruth at 897-0143. $25 members and non-members November 21, 2018 10:00AM - 12:45PM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, La 70115 Turkey Earner Come Earn Dat Turkey! Join Winnie, Josh, and Brittany as They Help You Earn That Delicious Steve Scalise is a native of Jefferson Parish and has maintained his Louisiana values, even while serving in Washington DC. Steve’s greatest joy is being a husband to his wife Jennifer and a dad to his two children, Madison and Harrison. As the great-grandson of Italian immigrants, Steve’s family came to New Orleans from Sicily as farmers, eventually opening up a grocery store about eight blocks from where the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is today. Steve has spent his whole life in Louisiana. He graduated from Archbishop Rummel High School and attended Louisiana State University, where he was involved in College Republicans and the LSU Student Government Association. He earned a degree in Computer Science. Steve is a life-long fan of the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints. Steve won his first race in 1996, when he was elected to serve in the Louisiana State Legislature. While serving there, he earned a reputation for coalition-building and
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Thanksgiving Meal! 2o Minutes of Beats (Indoor Cycling) 20 Minutes of Hiit 20 Minutes of Mat Pilates *please note we will all be starting in the indoor cycling studio. Free for Gold members / $15 drop-in rate Silver members and Non-members Contact: Winnie Herring Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: Winnie@nojcc.org November 23, 2018 9:00AM - 11:45AM New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, La 70115 Turkey Burner Come burn dat turkey (and maybe slice of pie!) join Eve, Caroline, anJosh as they help you burn that delicious thanksgiving meal! Only 24 participants per session, so sign up fast! 20 Minutes of Performance Cycling With Eve working across the aisle to secure crucial wins for the people he represented. He is still building coalitions today! Steve has worked tirelessly since 2008 to represent interests of the families of Southeast Louisiana, currently serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. He believes in upholding the Constitution, a robust national defense, exercising fiscal discipline, standing up for pro-life values and promoting common-sense energy strategies. He holds an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association, and strongly advocates for protecting the Second Amendments rights of law-abiding citizens. Steve currently serves as House Majority Whip. As the third-highest ranking Member of House Leadership, he works hand-in-hand with Congressional Representatives from across the United States, but he still lives in Louisiana and calls Louisiana home! THE
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Save the Date!
20 Minutes of Hiit With Caroline 20 Minutes of "Josh-I-Lates" With Josh Instructor: Eve Versteeg, Caroline Croce, Josh Murray Free for Gold Members / $15 Drop-in Rate Silver Members and Non-members Contact: Winnie Herring Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: Winnie@nojcc.org November 26, 2018 12:30PM - 2:30PM Goldring-Woldenberg JCC Metairie 3747 W. Esplanade Avenue Metairie, LA 70002 Movies in Metairie - Shape of Water Join us on the last Monday of every month for Movies in Metairie. Bring your lunch and see new releases, the classics, and all your favorite comedies! Movie snacks and drinks will be provided. Free and open to the community Contact: Stephanie Krell Phone: 504-887-5158 Email: stephanie@nojcc.org
Northshore Jewish Congregation Coming: Sunday, December 2, 2018 The Great Latke Cook-Off & Hanukah Bazaar Prizes for Best Latkes Rabbi Gene and Bobbye Levy will join us the weekend of November 30 and will serve as "the Judges". With their expert palates, they will sample each entry of Latkes to declare the prize winners...and there will be prizes. Get moving on your holiday shopping at NJC's Hanukah Bazaar. 1403 North Causeway Blvd. Mandeville, LA 70471 (985) 951-7976
Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America TALO Winter Convention Agenda Friday, January 18, 2019
Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (SLVHCS) – New Orleans VA Hospital at 10:00am 2400 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA (Invitation Only) Dooky Chase Restaurant, 2301 Orleans Avenue at 12:30pm New Orleans LA 70119 Cost: $35 per person (Open to Everyone/ No Kosher Meals Provided) Evening Service at Temple Sinai (Reform) at 6:15pm 6227 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118 Rabbi Matthew Reimer Oneg sponsored by TALO and Ben Katz Post #580
registration form if you will attend. 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 Cost: $40 per person (includes lunch) Cost: $35 per person (includes Saturday Informal Meeting for transportation) JWV Members At the hotel Conference Room Monday, January 21, 2019 (1:30pm – 4:00pm) Martin Luther King, Jr. March
Saturday Night Banquet
Holiday Inn Metairie/ 2261 North Causeway Blvd., Metairie, LA 70001 Social Hour 6pm-6:45pm (Cash Bar) Dinner 6:45pm-8pm Installation of Officers and Presentations
Sunday, January 20, 2019 November 29, 2018 DTALO Formal Meeting 12:00PM - 2:20PM At Congregation Beth New Orleans JCC - Uptown Israel 5342 St. Charles Avenue 4000 W. Esplanade New Orleans, LA 70115 Saturday, January 19, 2019 Metairie, LA 70002 Movie Day: Fences Morning Service at Congregation 9:00am – 1:30pm Working as a trash collector in Farewell Lunch providShir Chadash (Conservative) ed by Ben Katz Post 1950s Pittsburgh, Troy Maxson at 9:00am struggles to raise his family while 3737 W. Esplanade Metairie, LA #580 at Congregation Beth Israel at conclu70002 trying to transcend the bitter expesion of formal meeting. Service starts at 9:30am rience of being a talented baseball Please coordinate Lunch after service player denied the opportunity to departure time to enjoy play in the majors because of his Tour for Spouses/ Guests some time to get to race. This movie stars Denzel New Orleans School of Cooking/ know our New Orleans Washington and Viola Davis. French Quarter Shopping members and patrons Meet in the hotel lobby NLT Movie snacks will be served. before your departure. 9:15am (RSVP by December 21, RSVP by Monday, November 26 The National WWII 2018) to Rachel Ruth at 897-0143 x161 Museum at 1:30pm PLEASE indicate on the or rachel@nojcc.org. No charge members and non-members Happy Chanukah to my many Contact: Rachel Ruth Phone: 504-897-0143 friends and colleagues from... Email: rachel@nojcc.org
and Celebration at 7:45am Downtown New Orleans (includes transportation to/from hotel)
NOTE: If your Post is not going to be in attendance and you would like your departed members recognized please forward their name and date of passing to our SVC Floyd Williams at loyd.d.williams.civ@mail.mil
Judge Ethel Simms Julien Civil District Court Division N
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Community Happenings November 1-4, 2018 5:30PM - 10:30AM Doubletree Hotel 300 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70125 Women of Reform Judaism-southwest District Biennial Convention Please join WRJ Southwest District as we celebrate our 6th Biennial Convention in New Orleans at the Doubletree Hotel, 300 Canal St., 800-222-TREE, group code: WRJSW. Enjoy dynamic speakers, spiritual Shabbat Services, educational and inspirational workshops and advocacy opportunities. Convention add-ons: Speaker Development Workshop and Sunday Jazz Brunch Fundraiser at Brennan's. Registration at: wrj.org/southwest. Open to all Jewish women, membership in Women of Reform Judaism not required. 800-222-TREE, group code: WRJSW jdsports27@hotmail.com Jennifer Daley 469-585-9510 jdsports27@hotmail.com Cost $ 325.00 November 4, 2018 9:00AM - 10:00AM
Jewish Community Day School Goldring Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus 3747 West Esplanade Avenue Metairie, LA 70002
Jewish Family Service: Jewish Baby Group Join other Jewish parents and babies (1 and under) for socializing, exploring, creative play and support with JFS, JCDS and PJ Library. www.jcdsnola.org Contact: Rachel Eriksen 504-831-8475 rachel@jfsneworleans.org www.jfsneworleans.orgMAM
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Goldring Woldenberg Jewish Community Center Metairie 3747 West Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70002 Hadassah-Program Women Daring to Make a Difference; Women Making an Impact; Women Making a Difference 504-887-5158 Contact: Charisse Sands 504-231-6464 annsandsc@aol.comDate November 5, 2018 9:15AM - 10:15AM Uptown JCC 5342 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, LA 70115 Jewish Family ServiceParents Circle Join other parents of preschool age children monthly for the Parents Circle. We will share parenting experiences, discuss universal Jewish values, and learn about Jewish holidays and other customs. Parents of all faiths in all family constellations are welcome. This group is led by Rabbi Reimer of Temple Sinai and Rachel Lazarus Eriksen, LCSW of Jewish Family Service, in collaboration with the New Orleans JCC. RSVP to Taylor@nojcc.org. 504.897.0143 www.nojcc.org Contact: Rachel Eriksen 504-831-8475 rachel@jfsneworleans.org www.jfsneworleans.org November 6, 2018 7:00PM - 9:00PM Eva Schloss In commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, a conversation with Eva Schloss, author of Eva's Story. She is a Holocaust survivor and the halfsister of Anne Frank. Contact: Mendel Rivkin mendel@chabadneworleans.com
Putting Children First Serving on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) since 2007, Jim Garvey is known as a voice for ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY AND CHOICE.
Thank you to my many friends in the Jewish Community! Best wishes for a Happy Chanukah! Jim Garvey Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) District 1
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November 7, 2018 7:00PM - 9:00PM Chabad Jewish Center of Metairie Same time and place every month at Chabad Center in Metairie 4141 W Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70002 Chabad-Rosh Chodesh Program Rosh Chodesh Society (RCS) has become a monthly night out to share and enjoy an evening of camaraderie with women of all walks of life. With monthly attendance of around 25 women, it is small enough to be warm and intimate, yet large enough to be engaging and fun! This year's topic entitled, "Larger than Life" focuses on how to bring meaning into everyday living. Elegant refreshments are served each month, often sponsored and prepared by RCS attendees. 504-957-4987 chanienemes@gmail.com www.jewishlouisiana.com Contact: Chana Nemes Session 2: Dec. 11, Session 3: Jan 7, Session 4: Feb 5, Session 5: March 7, Session 6: May 6, Session 7: June 4. Cost $ 75.00 November 10, 2018 5:00PM - 11:30PM Mardi Gras World 1380 Port of New Orleans Place New Orleans, LA 70130 Touro Infirmary Foundation-gala Named for the 19th century philanthropist and founder of Touro Infirmary, the Judah Touro Society is composed of benefactors whose generosity and dedication to the values and mission of Touro Infirmary place them among the hospital’s strongest and most committed supporters. Join us as we honor this year's Judah Touro Society Award winner, Allan Bissinger. The event will feature a vintage Vegas-style casino theme followed by a Speakeasy AfterParty. Contact: Josh Friedmann 504-897-8435 Josh.Friedmann@lcmchealth.org www.touro.com/gala Cost $ 100.00
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November 11, 2018 9:30AM - 11:00AM Goldring Woldenberg Jewish Community Center Metairie 3747 West Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70002 Hadassah-Program 504-887-5158 Contact: Charisse Sands 504-231-6464 annsandsc@aol.com November 11, 2018 6:00PM - 8:00PM 4004 West Esplanade Avenue, South Metairie, LA 70002 (504) 454-5080 Beth Israel Fundraiser Rabbi David Posternack
Contact: Rabbi David Posternock (504) 454-5080 office@bethisraelnola.com www.BethIsraelNOLA.com November 15, 2018 6:30PM - 8:30PM Jnola-Jnetwork Event Join JNOLA for our annual professional network event. Contact: Tana Velen tana@jewishnola.com November 15, 2018 7:00PM - 9:00PM Myra Clare Rogers Memorial Chapel 1229 Broadway New Orleans, LA 70118 Tulane Jewish Studies:"What Can the Hebrew Bible Teach America?" Jonathan Silver is Senior Director at the Tikvah Fund and the Executive Director of the Jewish Leadership Conference. After his undergraduate studies in Classics at Tufts University and Master’s program in Jewish Civilization at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he obtained a PhD in Political Science and Government from Georgetown University, with a dissertation entitled “Unto Thy Children’s Children: Lockean Freedom and the Hebraic Horizons of Society and Self.” Dr. Silver hosts the Tikvah Podcast on "Great Jewish Essays and Ideas" as well as "Kikar: Conversations in the Jewish Public Square." He oversees Tikvah’s library of Online Courses, along with other educational programs and publications. Contact: ronnaburger@yahoo.com The lecture is open to the University community and public at no charge. THE
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November 16, 2018 8:00PM - 9:15PM Congregation Gates of Prayer-Rabbi David Gerber’s Installation November 18, 2018 9:30AM - 11:00AM Goldring Woldenberg Jewish Community Center Metairie 3747 West Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70002 504-887-5158 Hadassah-Program Contact: Charisse Sands 504-231-6464 annsandsc@aol.com November 18, 2018 10:00AM - 11:30AM Slater Torah Academy 5210 W Esplanade Ave Metairie, LA 70006 504-456-6429 Torah Academy & PJ LibraryEarly Childhood Series DEVELOPMENTAL PLAY: Parents and young children are invited to enjoy a session of fun, interactive, age-appropriate activities that parents can easily replicate at home. Presenter is Pediatric Occupational Therapist Ellie Streiffer,
Kyle Ardoin became Secretary of State in May 2018 after serving as First Assistant Secretary of State for eight years. For nearly a decade, Ardoin has been at the forefront of election security, including chairing the Election Subcommittee of the Louisiana Cybersecurity Commission. His experience is critical as the office is focused on election integrity, data security and voting machine infrastructure. Now is not the time for on-the-job training. People come from around the world to see how Louisiana elections work. With upgrades to our voting machines coming and those who are threatening to disrupt our election process, we need a steady hand in the Secretary of State’s THE
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LOTR, CLC. lwarshawski@torahacademynola.com www.torahacademynola.com Contact: Lina Warshawski 504-456-6429 November 18, 2018 5:00PM - 9:00PM Jewish Community Day School 3747 W Esplanade Ave N Metairie, LA 70002 Jewish Community Day School-Annual Fundraising Gala Contact: Sharon Pollin 504-887-4091 spollin@jcdsnola.org www.jcdsnola.org December 1, 2018 6:30PM - 9:30PM Touro Synagogue 4238 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, LA 70115 Contact: Kerry Tapia 504-895-4843 Touro Synagogue L'Chayim Award Presentation & Fundraiser Touro Synagogue is honored to present the L'Chayim Award to Joyce Pulitzer execdir@tourosynagogue.com www.tourosynagogue.com
Office. Ardoin is the most qualified candidate to run the office. He is committed to ensuring fair, accurate and honest elections and protecting Louisiana voter’s confidential information. A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Ardoin is an experienced leader with a genuine passion for citizenship and participation. He graduated from Louisiana State University where he majored in political science and minored in speech communications. He has more than 30 years of experience working in both the private and public sectors. Ardoin and his wife, Letti, live in Baton Rouge with their daughter, Abbigale. Support Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin on Tuesday, November 6th!
ELECTION DATES
Early Voting: Oct. 23 – Oct. 30, 2018 Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018
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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
National Merit Semi-Finalist.
Gates of Prayer Mazel Tov to...
Temple Sinai
Cindy & Avrom Denn on the engagement of their son Aaron Denn to Sandra Jordan. John Shalett for his reappointment to the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners. He was also elected to a second term as Board Chair. Amelia & Curtis Halstead and Diana & Chip Mann on the birth of their daughter and granddaughter, Isabella May Halstead. Becky & Mel Ziegler on their son, Blake Ziegler, being named a
Mazel Tov to... Sean Haspel and Caroline Carmer on their engagement. Sean is the son of Amy Gainsburgh-Haspel and John Haspel. Susan Hess for receiving the Greater New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Hannah G. Solomon Award. The award is given annually to a volunteer community leader who exemplifies the qualities of Hannah G. Solomon, founder of NCJW.
Happy Chanukah to my friends in the Jewish Community!
LARRY DALE
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Recipients are people who have brought about important programs and services through their leadership in a volunteer capacity, have been a catalyst for social change, and are known for their interest, activity, and stands on issues with which NCJW is in sympathy. Lee Isaacson and Cynthia Knight on their engagement.
Touro Synagogue Mazel Tov to...
Tilly & Martin Benson on the birth of their son, Aviel David Benson, and to grandparents Julie & David Benson, and great-grandmother Roberta Yuspeh. Michelle & Jacob Goehring on the birth of their son, Maxwell David Goehring, and to randparents Cathy & Morris Bart, aunt and uncle Carrie & Austin Marks, and great-grandmother Hertha Bart Beth & Austin Lavin on the birth of their son Max Aron Lavin, and to big sister Amelia, grandparents Howard Shapiro, Catherine Boozman, Nancy Aronson, and Virginia Besthoff. Andi & Terry Lestelle on the birth of their grandson, Asher Max Lestelle.
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David Margolin on being elected President of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Rebecca Mark on being named Chair of the English Department at Tulane University. Sandy Rosenthal on being honored by Tulane University as Social Entrepreneur of the Year for her work as founder and director of levees.org. Benjamin Swig on launching his emergency service Ready Responders which provides solutions to improve response times to critical 911 medical emergencies, reduce unnecessary ambulance and emergency department utilization, reducing health care cost through the use of their innovative staffing model of EMTs and Paramedics, technology and patient-centered engagement. Lindsey & Leigh Topp on the birth of their daughter Edith "Edie" Mae Topp. Hannah & David Topping on the birth of their son Jack William Topping. Rella & David Zapetal on the birth of their son Ari Michael Zapetal and to big brother Meyer.
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Wishing my many friends & supporters in the Jewish Community a happy Chanukah
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Holiday Features Wishing you happiness, peace
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Time to Make Your Hanukkah Resolutions
(Exploring the roots of the word, Hanukkah)
and prosperity this Chanukah!
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Wishing my many friends & supporters in the Jewish Community a happy Chanukah! Judge John Molaison
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To all of my friends in the Jewish Community: Please accept my best wishes for a Happy Chanukah. Good luck and kindest regards,
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In early December, we welcome in the celebration of Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights. Marking an ancient military victory of the Jewish population over the ruling Greeks, Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting candles for eight nights, an enactment of the story of how when the victory was sealed, the Jewish community rededicated the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem. As the story goes, there was only enough oil to light the Temple lamp for one day, but it lasted for eight. The meanings behind the holiday are many, especially as we think about the conflation of these two ideas. When we think about the military victory, we remember with gratitude the human agency which brings about freedom and liberation from oppression. When we think about the miracle of the oil, we remember with humility how there are forces beyond ourselves that impact our lives. While Hanukkah carries its own internal significance, it also is connected to the significance of this time of year. First is the idea of lights themselves, celebrating light at the darkest time of year is not exclusive to Judaism, and we can find strength in recognizing the common theme of “light in darkness” and the yearning for the return of longer days with the passing of the winter solstice. Also, while falling in the middle of the Jewish calendar year, Hanukkah falls in close proximity to the secular New Year. As a Jewish community, we marked Rosh Hashanah a few months ago, as a greater community, we celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at the end of December. At Rosh Hashanah, we engage in cheshbon hanefesh (“soul accounting”)—a deep reflection on where we have been and where we are going. We examine our past behaviors and engage in the work of teshuvah, repairing our relationships with ourselves, with others,
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with God. We commit to being a better person in the coming year. Around this secular New Year, we have a tradition of making “resolutions” — commitments to behaviors that we wish to improve ourselves. These tend to be more about “selfcare,” such as going to the gym more, eating better, quitting [insert vice here]. While seemingly not as “deep” as the spiritual work we do on Rosh Hashanah, these are important commitments we can make that will improve us as people. (I’m going to commit to exercise, which I know will make me a physically and mentally healthier person.) So rather than connect them to New Year’s, we can take this spirit of “resolutions” and apply it to Hanukkah. Last year in the Forward, language columnist Aviya Kushner explored the word Hanukkah, which we commonly translate as “dedication,” a reference to the rededication of the Temple that the holiday marks. Kushner writes, What is especially fascinating about Hanukkah is not its appearance in the Bible or the prayers, but the roots of the word. Hebrew, after all, is a language made of triliteral roots; Hanukkah is constructed from the three-letter root chet, nun, chaf, which also happens to be the root of words having to do with teaching and education. She then continues to explore the different forms of this root, connecting it to the idea of not only educating others but educating the self. And this dual idea is what leads to continuity of the Jewish people that is celebrated on Hanukkah. (Dedication through education) We can expand this concept as well. For, we are always trying to grow and renew ourselves, and oftentimes this comes from exploring new things and new ideas—taking on the idea of “Self-education.” As this idea is embedded in the root of the word Hanukkah, then we can use this time to make new commitments to learning and growing— similar to “New Year’s resolutions.” So when we gather around our menorahs and light the candles, we can ask ourselves, what new “dedication” will you make for yourself in this coming year?
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10 Tips for an Accessible Hanukkah Party By Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi and Alie Kriofske Mainella
Kindergarten teacher Nirit Yakov lighting a menorah with a student at Tehiyah Day School in California. (Courtesy of Tehiyah Day School)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – With Hanukkah on the way, it's easy to hold a party where all guests – disabled and not – feel welcomed, respected and have fun. All it takes is some planning. Here are some tips to ensure you are being inclusive, thoughtful and welcoming to all. 1. Don’t be afraid. People with disabilities have their disabilities 24/7, so they know how to create workarounds that make them feel comfortable. If you know someone has a disability, use a simple strategy: Ask them what they need to be fully included. All too often, people with disabilities are not invited to events or don’t go because they are embarrassed to “put someone out” by asking for a simple accommodation. By telling them their presence is valued and asking what they need, you will build a new level of trust and affection. One of the biggest things that aging loved ones need is a ride, so help them find a carpool or send Uber to pick them up and return them home. 2. Ask in advance. Not all disabilities are visible. By including a line about accommodations in the invitation’s RSVP, you are letting guests know that everyone is welcome – including those you might not even know have special needs. It could be as simple as this: “Please let us know if you have dietary restrictions or require other special accommodations to attend. We will do our best to meet special needs.” Note that you aren’t promising to meet all needs. But, for example, if you are unable to find a sign language interpreter, you will be able to let your guest know in advance. Indeed, they may be able to help you find a solution. 3. Ensure physical access. Religious institutions are exempted from the Americans with Disabilities Act, so many of them are not fully accessible. If your event is at THE
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a venue that is not physically accessible, move it to a place that is. Sometimes that can be as simple as choosing a different room in a synagogue building. Venues should have a ground level entrance or ramp, an elevator if the event is upstairs and accessible bathrooms. Most public places are equipped for people with disabilities. Just check with the venue ahead of time. If you have someone coming who uses a wheelchair, you should also put the menorah on a table low enough for them to reach the candles. 4. Accommodate special diets. You don't know if guests have allergies, celiac disease or lactose intolerance if you don't ask on the invitation. Making sure there are food options for everyone can be as simple as picking up a gluten-free cupcake to serve with the regular cake. Many times people with food allergies bring their own food. If you keep kosher and they don’t, you could ask them to bring something vegetarian and offer paper plates and plastic utensils. If you don’t keep kosher, but your guests do, this may be the time to bring in trays of food from a kosher caterer. Let your guests know in advance that dietary laws will be followed. 5. Have a good attitude. People of all ages can be daunted when encountering someone different from them. If it’s a children’s event, try talking to the group before the party starts about kindness and respect for differences. A party is a great opportunity for kids to learn about one another. 6. Involve parents. Parties can be exhausting for the hosts. Asking a parent or two to help out – particularly if it’s a big group – can lighten the load. Parents may feel more comfortable, especially if their child has social anxiety issues, if they are invited to stay or help as an option. 7. Avoid sensory overload. Parties can cause sensory overload for anyone, but for a person with autism or a sensory processing disorder, a party can be really overwhelming. Offer opportunities for guests to take a break, perhaps in a quiet room away from the crowd. Some venues may have options for turning down music or minimizing See HANUKKAH PARTY on Page
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Education
How a School for Kids With Learning Disabilities Prepared Its Students for Mainstream Jewish High School By Ben Sales NEW YORK (JTA) -- Going to high school for the first time last month, Linda Shamah felt like many other incoming freshmen: really nervous and really excited. The large lecture-style classes seemed daunting. She’d be getting less personal attention from teachers. At the same time, she was looking forward to trying out for volleyball and participating in a program at the Fashion Institute of Technology. But for Shamah, the shift from middle school to high school came along with an added transition: She had graduated from the Shefa School, a Jewish day school in Manhattan specifically for kids with learning disabilities, and would be entering a mainstream Jewish school, the Yeshivah of Flat-
bush in Brooklyn. Shamah had entered Shefa at the beginning of seventh grade; she was two years behind grade level in reading and writing. Shefa, which serves Jewish kids with languagebased learning disabilities, afforded her an environment that provided personal attention tailored to the areas in which she needed the most help. In one instance, a teacher bought her “Fish in a Tree,” a young adult novel, just because it seemed like it would appeal to her. By time she graduated last academic year, Shamah was reading and writing at grade level. “In Shefa, they really individualize every kid,” the 14-year-old Brooklynite said. “They do what they think is best for you. … In
Happy Chanukah to all of my Jewish friends! Sincerely, Sharon Weston Broome Mayor-President
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high school it’s a lecture. The teacher is standing in the front of class, you’re taking notes, if you have questions, you ask them, but the teacher doesn’t really know what kind of learner you are.” Still, a few weeks into high school, Shamah sounded like she was getting along. “I was very anxious," she said, "but at the same time I was very excited for a new school, to see what it could do for me and how it could help me in ways Shefa couldn’t provide.” Shamah was one of the 11 students who made up Shefa’s first eighth-grade graduating class in the spring. Now those students are mostly integrating into mainstream Jewish day schools. In a way, it’s a test of Shefa, which was founded in 2014 to educate Jewish children who struggle with things like reading comprehension, writing or decoding a math problem. The school’s environment gave them the space and attention to catch up, allowing them to move on to standard Jewish high schools. But would those schools want them? Would they make it? So far, Shefa administrators say, the answer to both questions appears to be yes. The kids have been accepted into well-regarded Jewish schools and seem to be doing fine since the term started in early September. “Last year was a big moment of truth in some ways,” said Ilana Ruskay-Kidd, Shefa’s head of school. “Last year at this time we didn’t know how schools were going to react. It was meaningful to us to see that they in fact saw these kids as extremely attractive applicants, and our record of getting kids into schools was exceedingly high.” Shefa began with 24 students and now has 143, from varied Jewish backgrounds, in first through eighth grade. It looks like any grammar school: walls with bulletin boards and brightly colored decorations,
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Shefa classes have a high teacherstudent ratio. (Ben Sales)
rows of lockers, kids swarming the hallways between classes. The difference is the focus on personal attention for the children. Teachers aid them with decoding English words, or writing a coherent paragraph, by setting aside extra time during the school day, or they make use of auditory or visual tools when the student has trouble learning from books. The school has a high teacherstudent ratio -- a class with 14 students, for example, has two teachers. “The beauty of bringing in a school for children like this is we can group children with similar skills together,” said Roberta Solar, Shefa’s head of middle school and outplacement. “We’re not mixing students who are learning to decode with students who are learning to comprehend and unpack the reading.” That focus, for example, also means that learning to read Hebrew starts in fourth or fifth grade rather than a few years earlier, like in other Jewish schools. So to prepare students for Jewish high schools, where many students enter with proficiency in Hebrew and Jewish texts, Shefa focused on making sure its graduates had the tools to be able to study Bible or analyze a passage of rabbinic text. “We're certainly not going to say we’re not going to teach you about the American Revolution or about [Deuteronomy] because you can’t open up the text and just fluently read it,” Ruskay-Kidd said. “We’re going to try to figure out ways so that they can learn that high-level material in science, in social studies, in Judaic studies, to play to their intellectual level, their thinking level.” See MAINSTREAM on Page
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How a Hanukkah Song Made Its Way Into the Hebrew Translation of Harry Potter
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By Josefin Dolsten (JTA) — If you read the “Harry Potter” series in Hebrew you may have noticed a curious Jewish fact: Though Sirius Black isn’t Jewish, the character sings a Hanukkah song in one scene. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hebrew translator Gili Bar Hillel reveals some behindthe-scenes tidbits about her “Harry Potter” translation process. In the original English version, Black parodies a Christmas song, “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman,” but Bar Hillel felt that wouldn’t resonate with Israeli readers. Instead, she referenced a wellknown Hanukkah song, “Mi Yimallel (Gvurot Yisrael)” so that Jewish readers would be able to relate. “There were fans who ridiculed this and said that I was trying to convert Harry to Judaism, but really the point was just to convey the cheer and festivity of making up words to a holiday song,” she said. “I don’t think any of the characters come off as obviously Christian, other than in a vague sort of cultural way, so I didn’t feel it was a huge deal if I substituted one seasonal holiday for another!” That wasn’t Bar Hillel’s only
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Gili Bar-Hillel with her Hebrewlanguage version of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” one of the four Harry Potter books she translated, in her Tel Aviv office, June 23, 2003. (David Silverman/Getty Images)
translation dilemma. She struggled with finding the right phrase for “Pensieve,” a container used to store memories. After weeks of thinking, she came up with the term “Hagigit.” The phrase is “a portmanteau of ‘hagig’ — a fleeting idea — and ‘gigit’ — a washtub,” Bar Hillel said. It doesn’t seem like author J.K. Rowling would mind the liberties Bar Hillel took. The British author has recently become a vocal critic of anti-Semitism, using Twitter to call out people peddling anti-Jewish arguments. Her latest book even includes a villain whose obsessive hatred of Zionism turns into anti-Semitism.
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Sports
10 American Jewish Baseball Players to Become Dual Israeli Citizens to Boost Nation’s Olympics Bid (JTA) — Ten Jewish-American baseball players will become dual Israeli citizens partly to help the country’s team make the 2020 Olympics. Some of the players, who will visit Israel’s Interior Ministry next week to begin the process, also represented Israel in last year’s World Baseball Classic, where Team Israel shocked followers by reaching the quarterfinals. Jewish Baseball News first
reported the development on Wednesday. While players in the World Baseball Classic only have to be eligible to be a citizen of the team’s country, players have to be actual citizens of the country they represent in the Olympics. They also must be citizens of that country for a year before they can start officially playing in pre-Olympic competition, which begins with the European Championship B Pool in the sum-
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Team Israel players lining up for the national anthem prior to the World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands in Tokyo, March 13, 2017. (Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
mer of 2019. The 10 players slated to make aliyah next week include five who played for Team Israel in the WBC: Corey Baker, a retired minor leaguer; Gabe Cramer, a minor leaguer in the Kansas City Royals system; Blake Gailen and Joey Wagman, who play in the Independent League; and Alex Katz, a Baltimore Orioles minor leaguer team. The others are Eric Brodkowitz, a former college player; Jonathan de Marte, who plays in the Independent League; Jeremy Wolf, a retired minor league player; and Jon Moscot and Zack Weiss, Major League Baseball free agents. Eight of the 10 players are pitchers. Peter Kurz, president of the
From an early age, Amanda Calogero was destined to serve her community. One of seven children growing up in a working-class family, her father’s background as a Sheriff’s Deputy had a profound impact on her life. After graduating from nursing school, she became an accomplished E.R. trauma nurse. Amanda loved helping her patients, but felt an even stronger calling to have an impact on their lives before they were victims on an operating table. So, she attended Loyola’s School of Law at night while continuing to work weekends as a nurse to pay the bills. In 1998, she began working as an Assistant D.A. with the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. Over her 18-year legal career, Amanda has both protected our children as a Child Abuse Felony Prosecutor and protected our 14 Election/Chanukah 2018
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Israeli Association of Baseball, has been contacting American Jewish players to gauge their interest in becoming Israeli citizens. Moscot, who has several relatives living in Israel, including an uncle and cousins, visited Israel ahead of the WBC and was impressed with baseball there. “I saw what [baseball] was doing for the youth in Israel, and essentially I wanted to be a bigger part of it,” Moscot, who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in the 2015 and ’16 seasons, told Jewish Baseball News. “To be able to go back home to the roots of the religion and be a part of something bigger than myself in respect to baseball and the Jewish community — I thought that was a really cool opportunity.” Because of their ages, the baseball players will not have to serve in the Israeli army after making aliyah. Baseball will be featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics. The tournament will consist of only six teams. The 10 players are scheduled to play with Israel Association of Baseball players in a game next week at the Baptist Village baseball field in Petach Tikvah.
neighborhoods as the Chief Prosecutor of Juvenile Court. She serves as the only Assistant District Attorney in the State of Louisiana certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist and has been instrumental in acquiring child support from delinquent parents. With humble roots, a passion for serving our community as both a nurse and prosecutor, and an unrelenting work ethic, Amanda Calogero has the experience and qualifications to continue a lifetime of service as our next Juvenile Court Judge. “I have protected our children as a Child Abuse Felony Prosecutor and our neighborhoods as Chief Prosecutor of Juvenile Court. Now, I’m asking for your vote to continue serving our wonderful community as your next Juvenile Court Judge.” – Amanda Calogero THE
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Marilyn Monroe’s Jewish Prayer Book Is Being Put Up for Auction By Josefin Dolsten
Rabbi Robert Goldburg of Congregation Mishkan Israel in New Haven, Connecticut, who oversaw her conversion and officiated at her wedding to Miller, said that she told him that she was still committed to being Jewish.
Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe in 1956. (Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/ Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — An item that belonged to Marilyn Monroe is being put up for auction and it’s not quite what you’d expect. Next month, one lucky fan of the late actress will be able to acquire a Jewish prayer book, or siddur, that she owned. The cream-colored book, which was published in 1922, is being sold at an auction by J. Greenstein & Co. on Nov. 12 in Cedarhurst, Long Island. The starting bid is $4,600. Monroe converted to Judaism in 1956 prior to her marriage to JewishAmerican writer Arthur Miller. Though the couple divorced five years later, the blonde bombshell said she would not abandon her new faith. My name is Howard Kearney and I am running for the US House of Representatives in Congressional District 1. I was born 1959, and a resident of Mandeville, LA, St. Tammany Parish since 1994. I am married, with three children. A computer programmer with a Master of Science Degree in Information Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. As an active member of First Baptist Church of Mandeville I have served as a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and Audio-Visual and Information Systems coordinator. I have worked with the Red Cross during extreme winter conditions and volunteers with the Louisiana SBC for disaster relief and am "yellow-cap" trained. Lastly, I am a member of the national and state Libertarian Party, and currently chair of St. Tammany Libertarian Party. Most people deal with each other on the premise of mutual respect. You don’t threaten your neighbors with fines or jail because they make choices that are different from yours. We should hold our government to the same standard. I respect your rights as a unique and competent individual. I want a system that allows all people to choose what they want from life THE
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J. Greenstein & Co. is auctioning off Marilyn Monroe’s personal siddur. (J. Greenstein & Co.)
The siddur is being sold on behalf of its current owner, an American living in Israel who bought it from Monroe’s estate in 1999, The Jewish Chronicle reported. The prayer book was previously put up for auction in 2017 and went unsold. Monroe seems to have put the siddur to use. The description says that it contains notes that are “apparently in her hand” and that the spine is nearly detached.
ROYCE DUPLESSIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 93 Louisiana House of Representatives
Happy Chanukah to my friends in the Jewish Community. Thank you for your support!
and that lets us live, work, play, and dream our own way. I will defend and work for you, and every person, to have the right to life including full protection of the unborn, to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to live where you choose and how you choose, to privacy, to worship how, when, and where you choose, and to be treated equally under the law. As a Libertarian I condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant. Government should neither deny nor abridge any individual’s human right based upon sex, wealth, ethnicity, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference or sexual orientation. Members of private organizations retain their rights to set whatever standards of association they deem appropriate, and individuals are free to respond with ostracism, boycotts and other free market solutions. However, the recent expression of hate at the Northshore’s Synagogue can never be justified nor defended as someone else’s right. My three-fold plan, includes a concentrated effort to reduce government spending, reduce income taxes, and reduce government involvement in our lives. www.thejewishlight.org
Election/Chanukah 2018
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Entertainment Best Wishes to my many Jewish Friends and constituents for a Happy Chanukah!
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Scarlett Johansson Signs $15 Million Deal for ‘Black Widow’ Movie
Monique G. Morial Judge, First City Court, New Orleans
Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow superhero. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Best Wishes to my many Jewish friends and constituents for a happy Chanukah
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(JTA) — Actress Scarlett Johansson has signed a deal to play Marvel superhero Black Widow in a standalone movie for $15 million. Her paycheck will be equal to Chis Evans, who plays Captain America, and Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, both in their own standalone movies and in the Avengers series. The deal was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter. Marvel told the news website that it does not publicly disclose salaries or deal terms. Johansson already has appeared in six Marvel feature films as Black Widow, also known as Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow first appeared in “Iron Man 2” and since then has appeared in three “Avengers” films,
DUBUISSON RUNS ON RECORD, EXPERIENCE Mary DuBuisson’s roots in our community run deep. A business-owner, community volunteer, wife, mother and grandmother of six, Mary has the breadth of experience we look for in a leader. With eight years of experience working in the House of Representatives, she has the hands-on experience to start working for the people of District 90 on her very first day. “Working with Greg Cromer for nearly a decade, I helped with legislation and, as importantly, with constituent needs,” Mary said. “Whenever one of our residents had an issue with a state agency, I was the go-to person for them, their direct link to Baton Rouge. Almost all of the time, I could solve their problems for them. I love doing that, and it’s what public service is really about.” DuBuisson also knows the ins and outs of government regulation. “As a business-owner, I know how burdensome government
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as well as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War.” In the Marvel universe, the Romanoff character was trained as a young girl by the KGB, and her prowess as an expert assassin earned her the Black Widow moniker. She later defected from Russia to become a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, a secret American espionage and counter-terrorism agency. Johansson was the highest-paid actress of 2018, according to Forbes. She earned $40.5 million, before taxes, between June 2017 and this June, according to the report released in August. Johansson, who has a Jewish mother, did not make the Forbes list last year, but she ranked third in 2016. In the past year she has starred in films such as “Avengers: Infinity War” and the indie flick “Isle of Dogs.” Johansson learned about her family’s tragic Holocaust history last year when she was featured on the PBS series “Finding your Roots.”
regulations can be, and I also know that our tax system is overly complex,” she said. “We need meaningful change in how Louisiana is run, with fewer regulations, adequate funding for education, prioritized public safety – including flood protection and infrastructure – and a tax system that encourages rather than stifles business growth. “With only one year left in this term, it’s important for the voters of Slidell and Pearl River to have an experienced, responsible and responsive voice at the Capitol. I know I have the experience and credentials to provide that. I will be available, accessible and accountable.” Mary is also committed to defending liberty. “Recent assaults on the Jewish community here and – most shockingly – in Pittsburgh have illustrated the undercurrent of bigotry that exists in our country,” she said. “I will be a loud voice in defending religious freedom and protecting individual liberty.
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Hadassah Reopens Washington Advocacy Office WASHINGTON (JTA) — Hadassah is reopening its Washington office nearly a decade after the women’s Zionist group closed its operations there in the wake of its unwitting involvement in Bernard Madoff’s investment fraud. Ellen Hershkin, the president of the group, on Monday named Karen Paikin Barall as the director of Hadassah’s new government relations office in the capital. Its focus will be on educating lawmakers about the record of Hadassah’s namesake hospitals in Israel, as well as Israel, anti-Semitism and women’s health, Hershkin and Barall said in a release. “By educating policymakers on both sides of the aisle about the work of the Hadassah Medical Organization and Hadassah’s policy priorities, the DC office will magnify our voice in Congress, as well as with federal agencies and partner organizations,” Hershkin said. Barall was most recently director of mid-Atlantic advocacy for the Orthodox Union. She was a political appointee in the President George W. Bush State Department’s anti-Semitism monitoring office. “Health equity,” or closing the gaps between men and women in research, funding and quality of
care, will be a priority of the new office, the statement said. In 2016, Hadassah convened a 28-member Coalition for Women’s Health Equity to address the issue. “I am proud to be representing Hadassah as we make the case for Israel, fight increasing anti-Semitism around the world, and promote women’s health equity at home,” Barall said in the statement. Hadassah scaled back operations after the Madoff scandal blew open in late 2008, and eventually shut its Washington office, among other measures. In 2011, Hadassah returned $45 million to other investors, just under half its earnings under the fraudulent scheme, which paid early investors from money garnered from more recent investors instead of from actual earnings on the investments. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his crimes. As a result of its scale-back, Hadassah focused more on fundraising for its hospitals and withdrew to a degree from lobbying on domestic issues. The reopening of the Washington office appears to mean the group plans to reassert its voice in that area. Hadassah claims 300,000 members in the United States.
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instructions for a scavenger hunt or keeping a game score sheet can all be challenging. Pictures and verbal instructions are useful, as is pairing disabled children with those who can help. It’s always great to have an extra pair of reading glasses around if you are inviting seniors. You can always tell someone who can’t see or read what they will need or what to know. 10. Have fun. Parties are awesome. Don't let inclusion stress you out. If you are reading this list and considering these tips, you’re already doing more than most. Stay positive, smile and throw that party. (Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is the president of RespectAbilityUSA, a nonprofit working to ensure that Jews of all abilities are able to have a full Jewish life. Alie Kriofske Mainella is the lead youth independent living services coordinator at IndependenceFirst, a Milwaukee-based organization working for inclusion of people with disabilities.)
stimulation. Latex allergies (balloons) and chemical sensitivities (use of highly scented cleaners or staff wearing perfumes) are real issues. Solutions: Use alternative Mylar balloons, ask people to not wear strong scents and choose unscented cleaning products. 8. Learn to communicate. There are lots of ways to include guests who are nonverbal or communicate in other ways, such as American Sign Language or a communication board. Free software can be installed on a tablet computer that instantly transcribes speech into text. An interpreter could be hired, which has the added benefit of letting other guests learn a little sign language. Remember to speak directly to guests, whether they are verbal or not. 9. Be visual. For those with cognitive disabilities or vision impairments, reading a menu or following THE
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Best Wishes to my friends in the Jewish Community! Thomas J. Capella Jefferson Parish Assessor
JEFFERSON PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PAUL CONNICK, JR.
Happy Chanukah to all my friends in the Jewish Community.
Happy Chanukah to all my friends in the Jewish Community! Thank you for your continued support! Polly Thomas • Representative District 80
Happy Chanukah to all of my friends in the Jewish Community.
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Thank You for your continued support.
Judge Sidney H. Cates, IV
Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans
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I Tested Positive for the Cancer-Causing BRCA Mutation. Now What? By Laura Osman
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ENCINO, Calif. (JTA) -- Curiosity about my ancestry spurred me to order an at-home genetic testing kit by mail earlier this year. Maybe my blonde hair was a result of some hidden Swedish genes? When the kit arrived, I quickly spit in the tube and sent it off, not giving any thought to the genetic and ancestry testing boxes I checked off. Although I just went through a rigorous prenatal genetic testing process while pregnant with my third child less than two years earlier, I figured the small price difference to do more genetic testing could be worthwhile. Several weeks later, an ordinary morning sipping coffee would become extraordinary. Quickly scrolling my phone, I clicked on my available testing report from the testing kit. First came my ancestry: 99.9 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. As I kept scrolling, my heart stopped as I saw BRCA1 POSITIVE. CONSULT WITH DOCTOR. This is a mistake, I thought. No one in my family, men or women, have had breast or ovarian cancer. Shaken, yet hopeful of a lab error, I called my ob/gyn and explained the situation. That afternoon I was sitting in her office awaiting a medical grade test, the gold standard in BRCA testing. Seven days later I received the call confirming my nightmare: I indeed was BRCA1 positive. My initial shock and anger were replaced with a paralyzing fear that I already had developed cancer. Women carrying the BRCA mutation begin advanced screenings starting at age 25, and here I was at 37 never having had a mammogram or ovarian cancer screening. With the BRCA1 mutation, I faced an up to 88 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and a 45 per-
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cent lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. My body, which I pushed to the limit as a track and cross country All-American in college, was a ticking time bomb. Immediately I knew that feeling sorry for myself was not a productive option. When my breast and ovarian cancer screening (CA125 and a pelvic ultrasound) came back clear, I breathed a momentary sigh of relief, realizing how lucky I was to catch this. Then I moved quickly to a plan of action. Five weeks after receiving the initial email from my at-home genetic testing company, I underwent my first surgery: a laparoscopic tube and ovary removal with my incredibly knowledgeable doctor at a major Los Angeles hospital. Eleven days later, my doctor laughed when I showed up to my post-op checkup anxiously awaiting to be cleared for exercise in my running shorts. Although I was hobbling and out of breath on that first run back, I was also smiling knowing I had significantly reduced my risk of ovarian cancer. Next I had to tackle the surgery that scared me the most. A double mastectomy is not only physically difficult but emotionally loaded. Instead of ignoring my fears, I began open conversations about my emotions, the pain and recovery, and how it could potentially change my relationship with running. I reached out to Sharsheret, the national Jewish not-for-profit organization that supports women and families facing or at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Sharsheret’s Peer Support Network is a confidential program that connects women one on one with others who share similar diagnoses, treatments, family constellations and experiences. Beyond the peers, Sharsheret has a team of skilled and sensitive social workers and a genetic counselor who speak to thousands of women like me, helping us to cope, and stay strong and resilient while making very tough decisions about our bodies, our health and our future. Without regret, I chose to preventatively remove both healthy breasts. See CANCER on Page THE
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Savor the Season with Libyan Jewish Pumpkin Spread
Forget the pumpkin spice lattes — try this tangy, savory pumpkin recipe this fall. The Fall is upon us. I know because my Instagram feed is full of decorative gourds and pumpkin spice lattes. But, as much as Americans truly love pumpkin, we are sometimes guilty of type-casting this nutritious vegetable as sweet and forget that pumpkin has a savory side too. Happily, Sephardic cuisine abounds with savory pumpkin dishes to remind us of this fall vegetable’s versatility. My favorite of these is chershi kara’a, a tangy, spicy pumpkin spread created by Libyan Jews and now a favorite among Israelis.
Chershi (sometimes spelled chirshi or tershi) are spicy, highly flavored condiments or dips that are typically served as part of mezze, the spread of hot and cold dishes that precede the main meal in the Middle East and North Africa. Pumpkin chershi is among the most famous. I first learned about pumpkin chershi when I attended an event hosted by the Israeli consulate in Chicago. The event featured leading Israeli food personality Gil Hovav making some traditional Sephardic dishes from his childhood, one of which was pumpkin chershi. One taste of Gil’s savory, spicy chershi and I was hooked. As is often the case in Jewish cuisine, there are many ways to make pumpkin chershi. In his dish, for example, Gil Hovav mixes pumpkin with carrot and potato. Others use only pumpkin. But everyone seems to agree that chershi kara’a should be spicy and tangy, with lots of garlic and lemon juice. One of the best things about
pumpkin chershi is how easy it is to make. Using canned pumpkin puree, this recipe comes together in a few minutes. The only ingredient you might not have on hand is the harissa, but these days, it is easy to find at the grocery store. (Gil Hovav argues that powdered caraway seed is essential to chershi, but I have seen plenty of recipes without it and since few Americans have this spice in their pantries, I omitted it.) My goal with this pumpkin chershi recipe was to create a nice balance of sweetness, heat, and acid. I guarantee that it will change how you think about pumpkin. How best to eat it? Chershi makes a fantastic dip alongside some warm pita with a dollop of cool yogurt on top. But don’t stop there. Chershi also works as a sandwich spread and it has traditionally been eaten as a garnish for couscous. So, this fall, take a break from pumpkin bread and pumpkin spice lattes and make something new and especially Jewish with pumpkin. Note: The spread will keep in refrigerator for a week.
(food)
Ingredients • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 7 cloves garlic, minced • 1 tsp cumin • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika • Pinch red pepper flakes • 2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or homemade) • 3 Tbsp harissa • 1 Tbsp honey • Juice of one lemon Directions Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and stir to combine. Cook just until garlic begins to turn golden. Add pumpkin, harissa, and honey and stir to combine. Cook gently, just until pumpkin is warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. Dip should be tangy and spicy. Serve with Greek yogurt and warmed pita or as a garnish for couscous.
Elect #58
Shelta RICHARDSON School Board - District 7
Worked 28 years in the field of Education Currently working on PhD in Education Leadership Leadership Northshore Graduate
Vote November 6, 2018 Shelta Richardson will fight to make education great again in St. Tammany Parish!
Shelta Richardson #58
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St. Tammany School Board District 7 I’ve served as a leader within the field of Education for the last 28 years in a variety of roles from Teacher, Director, Consultant, and District Manager for both profit and non-profit organizations. A significant part of my career has been spent taking schools that were struggling for one reason or another and turning them into high quality programs with strong teams that were fiscally responsible. I’ve implemented policies/ procedures that have a proven track record for success. It is my www.thejewishlight.org
hope and desire that my experience will positively impact the children, teachers, schools, and community in which I serve. EDUCATION: I earned my MBA and Masters of Education to prove that schools could have high quality programs and still be fiscally responsible. It was within this academic arena and workplace, I was able to test out strategies and create tools that would help schools thrive in all areas of operation. I am currently working towards my Doctorate in Education. Vote for Shelta Richardson #58, St. Tammany School Board District 7 Election/Chanukah 2018
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National
On Sunday, the Rabbi Moved to Florida's Panhandle. On Wednesday, Hurricane Michael Hit. By Ben Sales (JTA) -- When he and his wife moved to Pensacola, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, Rabbi Mendel Danow expected to spend the following couple of weeks settling in and buying supplies for their new home.
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Instead, two days after getting off the plane, Danow found himself driving to a Walmart in Alabama to buy five 40-packs of water bottles. By Wednesday, the windows and doors of his new home were being covered by metal plates provided by their landlord. And instead of spending their first week in Pensacola alone in their new and mostly empty house, the rabbi Danow and his wife, Nechama, cooked up a stockpile of rice and pasta -- and prepared to host 10 overnight guests. The Danows, who were married this year, had planned to move to Pensacola this week to begin a life as emissaries of the ChabadLubavitch Hasidic movement. They landed in the path of Hurricane Michael, an ominous Category 4 storm that hit the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday. As Danow spoke to JTA by phone on Wednesday afternoon, he said trees already were swaying in the rain. “We’re here to come and we’re here to stay, and we’re here to help out the local community with whatever they need on a physical level and spiritual level,” Danow, 23, told JTA. “We were planning on moving into town, taking a couple weeks to get settled in. We were planning on taking our time, but it seems like God really wants us to start our communal work right away.” Hurricane Michael made landfall on Wednesday near Mexico Beach, Florida, roughly 100 miles west of
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the state capital of Tallahassee, and about 120 miles east of Pensacola, which is on the Alabama border. Maximum wind speeds topped 150 miles per hour. The storm is being called the worst the area has seen in a century. In Tallahassee, which is further inland, Jewish leaders sounded relatively calm. Both the Reform and Conservative synagogues secured their Torah scrolls, but both expect to be open this weekend for Shabbat services. The Reform congregation, Temple Israel, is set to celebrate a bar mitzvah -- of a boy named Michael. “One way or another we will have Shabbat services this weekend,” Stefanie Posner, the synagogue’s education and music director, wrote JTA in a message Wednesday. “Even if there’s no electricity we’ll make something happen. What’s nicer than a Kabbalat Shabbat service by candlelight.” Tallahassee Jewish Federation President Ellie Simon told JTA that local Jews, including students at Florida State University, which has a sizable Jewish population, appeared to be secure as of Wednesday afternoon. Before Hurricane Michael, the federation had been raising money for victims of Hurricane Florence, which hit the Southeast last month. "I want to make sure the other areas of the southeastern part of the country that are on the coast have not suffered too badly, and that there has been no damage to human life," she said. "I feel very lucky right now that I am inland." Mark Goldman, a past president of the local Jewish federation and Congregation Shomrei Torah, a Conservative synagogue, said most people in Tallahassee are staying put. While he said hurricanes may be becoming more frequent, he has
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Hurricane Michael hits land in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018. (Joe Raedle/ Getty Images)
no intention of moving away from the area. “We’ve been through hurricanes before, but nothing of this magnitude in terms of potential damage,” he said. But, Goldman added, “Most people feel like they’re OK. Unless you live in a low-lying area, a floodplain up on the coast, I feel like people’s houses are pretty decent. We’ll get through it.” Danow, who grew up in Sweden, has no prior hurricane experience for comparison. He and his wife came to Pensacola after Danow had visited as part of a Chabad program. They hope to serve both the small local Jewish community and Jewish students at the University of West Florida. Besides providing for their own needs, the Danows have checked in with local Jews they have already met ranging from seniors to young Israeli singles. Another Chabad family that evacuated from the nearby coastal town of Destin will be staying at their house. The couple, three days after moving, does not have much furniture. But they do have sleeping bags, carpeted floors, a folding table, and crayons and paper for kids. And lots of food. “We’re preparing over here at home, cooking up [food] to have ready to get out to people during and after the storm,” Danow said. “Maybe it won’t be hot, but at least it will be fresh and edible.”
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Focus Issues
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on Republicans and Democrats Both Try to Paint the Other Side’s Candidates as Worse for the Jews By Ron Kampeas
(JTA collage/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Ron DeSantis, the Republican congressman running for governor of Florida, was asked in a debate to defend his record on race, he pivoted to his Democratic opponent’s record on Israel. DeSantis and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum each have a problem that won’t go away — DeSantis with racially charged language and Gillum with associates who are antiIsrael. That may not be surprising in a swing state where substantial Jewish and African-American minorities can make the difference, and where the race is too close to call. But it’s not just Florida: In race after race, sometimes in areas with few Jewish voters, from upstate New York to Virginia wine country, to Texas and Minnesota, two third rails for American Jewish voters — bigotry and Israel — are touching each other and setting off sparks. In their campaigns to get out the Jewish vote, and to elicit donors, the two partisan Jewish groups, the Jewish Democratic Council of America and the Republican Jewish Coalition, are seizing on the other party’s vulnerability and defending their own side. White nationalists “have a home in the Republican Party because our president has legitimized these movements,” Halie Soifer, the JDCA’s executive director, said in an interview. Matt Brooks, her RJC counterpart, referred to about a half-dozen Democratic nominees that his group has singled out for sharply criticizing Israel — in one case to say that it should not exist as a Jewish state. “It’s total hypocrisy of the Jewish Democrats to throw these grenades at us, yet not do anything and embrace some of the problematic elements in the Democratic Party,” he said. There is substance to the concerns expressed by both sides. Democrats continue to adamantly THE
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profess to be pro-Israel, but years of tensions between the Obama administration and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have left many Democrats willing to openly criticize Israeli policies, and more. The party’s relief in having a surefire congressional nominee in Detroit like Rashida Tlaib, who says Israel should not exist as a Jewish state, would have been unthinkable a decade ago. On the Republican side, President Donald Trump has not rebuffed — and at times has seemed to welcome — the support of white nationalists. On Monday, campaigning for incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, Trump denounced “globalists” who he said don’t care enough about the United States and called himself a “nationalist.”
Trump, far-right evangelical group that emerged during the 2016 election put out a video this week calling Soros “evil” for trying to “deChristianize a culture and a nation.” The DeSantis-Gillum exchange on Sunday evening was emblematic of each side’s tactics and vulnerabilities. CNN debate moderator Jake Tapper asked DeSantis why the candidate had not returned a donation from a backer who used the N-word on Twitter to attack President Barack Obama, and why he urged voters not to “monkey this up” by
voting for Gillum, who is black. DeSantis answered the first question: The donor, Steven Alembik, had apologized. He did not answer the second question, instead claiming a past in which he fought with and for blacks, first in the military and then as a prosecutor. Then he pivoted to Gillum. “I look at what Andrew has done in terms of aligning himself with groups like the Dream Defenders, who one of their — he stood on the debate stage and said he stood with See CANDIDATES on Page
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Best Wishes to my many Jewish Friends and constituents for a Happy Chanukah! Kirk Talbot
State Representative District 78
Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, left, and his Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum at a CNN debate in Tampa, Oct. 21, 2018. (Chris O’Meara/Pool/Getty Images)
Neither term is necessarily antiSemitic nor bigoted. But “globalists” is often a code on the far right for Jews, and white supremacists have adopted the “nationalist” label as their own. “For those of us who remember history, to hear an American president embrace and describe himself as a ‘nationalist’ is alarming, and it sends a shiver up our spine,” Abe Foxman, the former national director for the Anti-Defamation League, toldJewish Insider. Also increasingly popular on the right are attempts to link George Soros, the liberal philanthropist, to every GOP bogeyman, including opposition to the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh and the caravan of migrants heading from Central America toward the U.S. border, often with scant or no evidence. There are an array of major donors on the left, but it is Soros, who is Jewish, who is singled out most often, and sometimes with anti-Semitic undertones. A pro-
Vote Matthew Paul “Matt” Moreau Secretary of State November 6 “We appreciate your support and vote”. PROVEN LEADERSHIP FROM THE CENTER
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This is The Difference between Parenting Preschoolers and Teens By Jordana Horn
(Kveller via JTA) -- I’m starting a new year in which my oldest is in high school (!) and my youngest is in Pull-Ups. Repeating the mantra, “No one goes to college in diapers,” I have decided that the latter issue will work itself out somehow, sometime. (After six kids, somehow potty training continues to be a weakness of mine – insert shrug emoji here). My parenting right now spans a wide range of human experience. On the one end, we are having conversations about college, consensual sexual relationships, responsibility and time management. On the other end, we are having conversations about whether wiping one’s
butt is mandatory after defecating (spoiler: yes), how the volume of “synagogue voice” is different from “kindergarten classroom voice”; and how a person has to at least try eating broccoli if they are interested in having dessert. I have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with great fertility, irrationally large childbearing hips and a profound lack of understanding of what I can handle — so here I am with six kids whose ages span 12 years. It is a rich and full life that starts at 5:30 in the morning with someone prying open my eyeballs to tell me they lost their Elsa cape, and ends around 10 at night in a puddle of my drool on the couch, where I usually find myself surrounded by teenagers who abandon their smelly socks around the house with abandon and need to be told to turn off their phones and go to bed. It is always busy, always frustrating and always a source of
entertainment. Having this many kids has humbled me. Every day, I set new goals for myself (“Do not scream or cry today!”) that I aspire to meet. And lately, as my kids adjust to the new responsibilities of the new school year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the profound contrast in parenting teens to parenting younger kids. Basically, it’s about the power of words and silences Being a parent to younger children means talking constantly. It starts with the endless narration to both mitigate boredom and teach language — “Let’s go to the supermarket and get some plums. Do you see anything else that begins with the letter ‘p’?” — and builds from there. As a parent of younger children, you are a teacher with no days off. You are asked questions like “What makes fog?”“Why do people die?” or “How do I make my bed?” If I had a FitBit for words, it
would be blowing up with fireworks every day. Having older children makes you enjoy and be more patient with the younger children’s endless barrage of questions because crossing over into the teen years can mean crossing into the era of barren silences and grunts. Your teenagers may want to text endlessly with their friends, but that does not necessarily mean they want to share their thoughts or feelings with you. Not only are they no longer asking you things, but they are also often making assumptions about what they should do that are woefully, sadly incorrect (“I couldn’t open the shampoo, so I decided I’d just wet my hair this week,” for example, or “I didn’t write milk on the shopping list because I figured you knew that already.” Based on a true story!). For me, one of the more surprisSee PARENTING on Page
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Too Few Jews, Pew! Where Are the 'Secular Maximalists'? The Sunday Brunchers? By Andrew Silow-Carroll
(Illustration by Charles Dunst/JTA; photo: Wikimedia Commons)
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Pew Research Center's new typology of religion puts Americans into seven broad categories ranging from Sunday Stalwarts ("active in their faith and congregations") to Solidly Secular ("hold virtually no religious beliefs"). In between are the Relaxed Religious, who say religion is important but don't hold much with traditional practices; the Diversely Devout, who believe in that old-time religion but also psychic crystals and other new age enchantments; and the Spiritually Awake, who seem to believe in heaven and hell the way I believe in Marie Condo: I know I should declutter my house but it ain't gonna happen. What I found most interesting about the typology is the way Jews seem to blow up the whole thing. According to Pew, "Jewish Americans are the only religious group with substantial contingents at each end of the typology." In other words, while most evangelicals are deeply religious, and Catholics and Mormons tend to cluster toward the believer side of things, about one in five U.S. Jews are, ahem, Shabbat Stalwarts, and 45 percent consider themselves nonreligious. No surprise there: Every recent
study shows that Jews are divided among the affiliated and the unaffiliated, the engaged and unengaged, the Alan Dershowitzes and the Adam Sandlers. That's a quirk of Jewish identity itself, which allows a Jew to be defined by belief, biology, religious practice, peoplehood, nationality or whether or not he works as a lawyer for the Trump Organization. It's why we call Judaism a family: There are people you'd really prefer weren't part of your family, but, you know, probate law makes it hard to disown them. I was told. So Pew finds Jews on both ends of the religiosity spectrum. But the pollsters also miss a few key Jewish categories, under the laughable idea that there are only seven kinds of Jews. Hell, there are 10 kinds of Jews in any given minyan -- and that's only 10 people to begin with. Take, for example, the Shabbat Ironist. He or she is the kind of Jew who goes to synagogue every week but does a lot of eye-rolling. The kind of Jew who doesn't believe in God but will quit her synagogue board if it doesn't serve potato kugel at kiddush. The kind of Jew who shows up in a ton of jokes, including this one: Cohen's son asks his atheist father why he goes to shul. "Because Goldberg goes to shul," his father says. "What difference does that make?" "Goldberg goes to shul to talk to God," his father says. "I go to shul to talk to Goldberg!" The late sociologist Charles Liebman even had a name for this: “secular Jewish maximalist.”
Who else are we missing? Just like the SJMs deserve their own category, allow me to suggest a few more: * Seder Perennials: Attend a seder every year but insist on not enjoying it. * Bagels and Lox-smiths: Fiercely traditional about choosing where they go for Sunday brunch. * Media Resisters: Spiritual life is focused on finding fault with The New York Times' Israel coverage. * Spiritually Woke: Retweet devastating takedowns of a political foe and call it tikkun olam. * Un-Relaxed Religious: Follows along in the Torah portion just in case the reader makes a mistake and the rabbi, gabbai, cantor and
eight other people don't yell out a correction. * Diversely Frum: Thinks he lives in a multicultural neighborhood because men can be seen in leather, velvet and knitted kippot. * Jewish-Adjacent: Doesn't identify Jewishly but enjoys suspension of alternate side of the street parking on Jewish holidays. And where do I fit in? I call myself Professionally Jewish, which isn't one of the Pew categories but really should be. I define it as "draws a paycheck for passing judgment on the lives of his coreligionists." (Andrew Silow-Carroll is the editor in chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.)
Best Wishes to all my friends in the Jewish Community Eric Schultis, M.D.
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Jewniverse
The Tragic Tale of Superman's Jewish Creators, Told in Graphic Novel Form
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lar the character would become. Sadly, they signed over the rights to the Man of Steel early on, dooming themselves to careers full of frustration and misfortune.
By Gabe Friedman
An image from the cover of “The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman,” by Julian Voloj and illustrated by Thomas Campi. (Super Genius)
(JTA) — When Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel created the Superman character in the early 1930s, they were still living at their parents’ homes.
Clay Moïse is a seasoned business executive with more than 40 years’ experience in operational and financial management. During his two decades in aerospace manufacturing with Textron Marine and Land Systems, Clay oversaw an operation with more than 1200 employees and a bud-
A
seasoned business executive, father of five, grandfather and proud husband to a lifelong public school teacher, Clay Moïse both understands the challenges facing Jefferson Parish public schools and has the experience needed to oversee a $500 million system. He is committed to, and more importantly capable of, ensuring all our children and employees have the resources they need to succeed.
c www.claymoiseforschoolboard.com Paid for by the Clay Moïse Campaign Fund.
Election Day is Nov. 6th Election Day Early Voting runs Oct.is23Nov. to Oct.630.
24 Election/Chanukah 2018
Of course, the character and his story — the arrival from another planet, his dual identities as mildmannered reporter and flying, bulletproof crime fighter — would go on to change the comics industry in several ways and pave the way for the superheroization of our popular culture. But Siegel and Shuster originally just wanted to make a little income to support themselves and their families, who had both immigrated from Eastern Europe not long before. They had bonded and began collaborating in high school in Cleveland, and although they were ambitious, they could not have conceived of how influential and popu-
get nearly the size of the entire Jefferson Parish school system. After starting as a draftsman, from the production floor to the boardroom, Clay learned how to actively listen to others and successfully work together towards a common objective. He has the managerial experience needed to navigate bureaucracy, solve complex problems, and implement positive change. Clay will bring financial discipline to the school system and will make the most efficient and effective use of the resources available. For more than 30 years, Clay has been married to a lifelong elementary and special education teacher—one who exemplifies the passion and dedication of educators across our parish, but who has also seen the challenges of our public school system. Clay’s desire to improve Jefferson Parish’s public school system is very personal. The proud father of five and grandfather of two with two more on the way, Clay understands that a high-performing public school system is crucial for attracting young families and keeping our community safe and economically viable. He also knows how education has changed his life, and he is passionate that all children deserve that opportunity for success.
Shuster’s Jewish heritage is referenced throughout the book. (Super Genius)
The story of these two Jewish comic book legends — Shuster the quiet, reserved artist, and Siegel the earnest, competitive writer — is dramatic and heartbreaking in its own right, and it’s now chronicled in a graphic novel titled “The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman,” written by Julian Voloj and exquisitely illustrated by Thomas Campi. (Voloj, who is Jewish, is also the author of the graphic novel “Ghetto Brother: Warrior to Peacemaker,” a Jewish and Puerto Rican gang leader in the Bronx.) JTA spoke with Voloj about the project and Jewish comic book history just before New York Comic Con, which starts Thursday. (Voloj’s wife, Lisa Keys, is an editor with 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company.) This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. So Jerry and Joe are both nerdy outsiders, and that’s how they meet at school. But was their shared Jewish immigrant background also a big part of their coming together? As in, they weren’t just nerds, they also weren’t as assimilated as the other kids? Voloj: They definitely shared a very similar identity, both born to Eastern European Jewish immigrants — Jerry in Cleveland, Joe in Toronto — but their identity was also the identity of Glenville, the neighborhood they grew up in. In the 1920s and ’30s, the Cleveland neighborhood was like New York’s Bronx during that time. All their neighbors were Jewish, they were surrounded by dozens of synagogues, kosher groceries, etc. If you look at their high school yearbook, nearly every student seems to have a Jewish name. Even if they were from more assimilated backgrounds, they grew up in a very Jewish environment, so without a doubt, Superman has Jewish roots. Jewish identity in America before and after World War II is a
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recurring theme in the story, but it also feels like 99 percent of the characters in the book are Jewish (from the businessmen to other artists like Stan Lee and so on). Could you give an idea of how Jewish the comic book industry was throughout those early decades and why that might have been? It’s a history with many parallels to the beginning of the American film industry. Jews were discriminated against on the job market. If you were a writer or illustrator, not many jobs were available if you could be identified as Jewish. Some Jews changed their name and hid their identity in order to seek employment. Jewish artists such as Jakob Kurtzberg or Stanley Lieber became Jack Kirby and Stan Lee [respectively], even if they often claimed that their name change had nothing to do with them trying to hide their Jewish background. When, thanks to Superman, comics became a lucrative industry, job recruitment in this new market happened by word-of-mouth. Friends and family were hired. That’s why, for instance, many comic book pioneers came from even the same high school, such as DeWitt Clinton in the Bronx, where pioneers such as Will Eisner, Stan Lee or Bill Finger, to name but a few, had been students. Given that also the publishers were Jewish … I think Siegel and Shuster didn’t imagine that they would, as fellow Jews, screw them over. Here, by the way, is an interesting parallel to the garment industry, where factory owners exploited workers even though both came from the same shtetl backgrounds. Was it an easy decision to tell the story from Joe’s perspective? Was it solely because he’s just a more likable character than Jerry was? When starting my research, the plan was to write about both of them from a third-person perspective, but then Joe became the protagonist by chance. In 2014, I learned that Columbia University had just received a donation of letters and documents that were either written or once belonged to Joe Shuster. I contacted Karen Green, who oversees Columbia’s comic collection, and even before the documents were cataloged, I got access to these letters, legal papers, bills, etc. It was fascinating to read about Joe’s problems in his own words. Most of the documents were from the late 1960s, during a time when See GRAPHIC NOVEL on Page THE
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CANDIDATES Continued from Page 21 them and by them, but one of their main planks of their platform is to boycott, divest from and sanction the State of Israel,” he said. “I think he should disavow them because I can tell you this, if you want to unify Florida, taking positions about Israel like that, that may be unifying if you’re running for the mayor of the Gaza Strip.” Gillum has spoken of his support for Dream Defenders, a black activist group that backs education and prison reform, and also has endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. Gillum pushed back — “my relationship with Israel is beyond reproach,” he said — and returned to the race issue. “The ‘monkey up’ comment said it all,” Gillum said. “And he has only continued, and the course of this campaign to draw all the attention he can to the color of my skin. And the truth is, you know what? I’m black. I’ve been black all my life. So far as I know I will die black.” In races across the country, alleged alignments with the extreme right or the anti-Israel left have become an issue: * In Southern California, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican facing a tough race, has been criticized for endorsing for the Orange County school board a Republican who in the past has made anti-Semitic and racist comments on social media. * In Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, encompassing the city of Charlottesville and Virginia’s wine country, the state Republican Party has called Democrat Leslie Cockburn “anti-Semitic” for a 1991 book she co-wrote that questioned the U.S.-Israel relationship. Cockburn, in turn, has sought to attach the name of her opponent, Denver Riggleman, to the Republican nominee for U.S. senator, Corey Stewart, who has associated with white nationalists, including a leader of the deadly August 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville. (Riggleman has denounced the marchers.) * In New York’s 19th Congressional District, an upstate region encompassing the Catskills and the Hudson Valley, embattled Republican incumbent John Faso in a debate this week rapped his opponent, Antonio Delgado, for suggesting that as long as Israel maintains control of the West Bank Palestinian population, it is not a “Jewish THE
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democracy.” (“I am committed to a two-state solution — a Jewish state of Israel and a sovereign Palestinian state — because it is the only way for Israel to fulfill its own aspirations to remain a Jewish democracy for future generations,” Delgado told Jewish Insider in response.) * In Iowa, Rep. Steve King, a safe Republican incumbent, endorsed for Toronto mayor a white nationalist candidate, Faith Goldy, who has associated with neo-Nazi websites and referred to the “Jewish question,” commonplace antiSemitic parlance. * In Minneapolis, Ilhan Omar, the surefire Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives, has called Israel an “apartheid regime.” * In Texas, Cruz, in a surprisingly tight re-election bid, has attacked his Democratic opponent, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, for accepting the endorsement of J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, and once voting against emergency funding for Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system. (O’Rourke has said he objected on procedural grounds.) The Jewish partisan groups have made clear where they stand on at least some of its bad actors: Brooks has said that the Republican Jewish Coalition will have nothing to do with Virginia’s Stewart or Iowa’s King, and Soifer’s Democratic group has spoken out against the Israel views of Tlaib and Omar. Part of the mission of Jewish partisan groups is to explain to the national party why it opposes a trend or an individual. Both Brooks and Soifer said they are doing just that, but that they did not expect the national party to shut out actors like Omar, Tlaib, King or Stewart. “It’s important, as we do within the Republican sphere, that we stand up and make clear what the boundaries are in terms of the statements that some of these candidates are making,” Brooks said. “It’s easy for us who have a clear set of values to say ‘this guy’s views do not align with where we are.’ It’s harder for the party, which has a broader, bigger tent.” Soifer said it was important to distinguish between foreign policy positions, however outlandish, and bigotry. “To have an issue on a specific foreign policy issue is very different than associating oneself with a movement of neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers,” she said.
Israel Under Radar Best Wishes for a Happy and Joyous Chanukah
Thank You For Your Support.
Sheriff Tony MancuSo Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office 5400 East Broad St. • Lake Charles, LA 70615 (337) 491-3600
From our table to yours, Best Wishes to our many friends and customers in the Jewish community
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It has been an honor to serve as your Representative on the School Board this year. I look forward to continuing the great work we have begun!
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985-893-0593 125 E. 21st Ave In Historic Downtown Covington
A mother, a businesswoman and an avid advocate for education, Tiffany Kuhn has proven to be a strong voice for our children on the school board. After 11 years as an active volunteer and earning leadership positions in parents’ clubs, it was no surprise Tiffany hit the ground running. In her 12 months on the school board Tiffany helped hire the new superintendent, Dr. Cade Brumley, to give stability to the school system, authored an agreement with the Sheriff’s Office to bring better security and safety to schools, expanded the number of School Resource Officers (SROs) for safety and crime prevention, and supported a policy to limit travel by school board members to assure fiscal responsibility and curb abuses. A life-long resident of Jefferson Parish and a graduate of Jefferson Parish Public Schools, Tiffany and her husband, Bruce, are raising their three children in their hometown of Jean Lafitte. Election/Chanukah 2018
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Travel Nazis' Aerial Photography Is Helping Map and Preserve Jewish Cemeteries By Cnaan Liphshiz
Photographers capture a ceremony at a Jewish cemetery in Frampol, Poland. (ESJF)
LUBLIN, Poland (JTA) -- When German air force pilots took aerial photographs of western Ukraine in 1941, they did it to help Nazi Germany defeat the Soviet Union in a war that saw the genocide of 6 million Jews. But in a twist of fate, the German government has recently started funding an effort that uses the photographs to identify and preserve
Happy Chanukah to our many Jewish Friends Over 80 years of service in New Orleans
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#12
Fredrick “Ferd” Jones U.S. Representative- 1st Congressional District
• • • •
Vote
Frederick “Ferd” Jones Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Strong Moral Compass S.C. & Fed 30+ Yrs. Civil, Criminal, Trials & Appeals USMC Vietnam Veteran Combat Helicopter Pilot, 19 Air Medals Life Member Disabled American Veterans and Veterans Foreign War
• www.metabunk.org/debunked-leaked-us-navy-map-new-madrid-submerged-us.t3777 Plowshare
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Jewish cemeteries. The effort, in which the Luftwaffe archives are only one of several ingenious tools, began in 2015 with the establishment of an organization called the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, or ESJF. The largest-ever international project of its kind, ESJF has since fenced more than 100 Jewish cemeteries in seven countries on a modest annual budget of approximately $1 million. And in Eastern Europe, fencing Jewish cemeteries is “not as straightforward as it may sound,” according to Philip Carmel, a British former journalist, the organization's CEO since its creation. Even determining the location of such graveyards can be challenging in towns with entire Jewish populations that were murdered and cemeteries plundered for construction material and then stolen for development. That's where the Luftwaffe aerial photographs enter the picture, Carmel said. “Obviously they were taken to help the German war effort,” Carmel said of the prints and negatives that he pulled from German state archives. “But they were accurate enough to help us identify some Jewish cemeteries right before the destruction.” In the western Ukrainian town of Buchach -- the birthplace of the Jewish Nobel Prize laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal -- Jews for generations buried their dead atop a mound that in 1941 stood on the town’s northern margins. But after the murder of the area’s 10,000 Jews during the Holocaust, the forest adjacent to the cemetery was allowed to swallow it up, leaving exposed only a few dozen headstones. Fragments of others used to Frederick “Ferd” Jones #12
U.S. Representative 1st Congressional District US Naval, NOAA and NASA reports indicate the potential for a major disaster taking place in the relatively near future which may result in the flooding of about 1/4 to 1/3 of the United States, in addition to other devastatingly catastrophic conditions. Current indicators show sea levels rising as the production of CO2 in the atmosphere increases, resulting in the melting of polar caps. In 1762, Joseph Black, a British scientist, discovered a process he called 'latent heat of transformation'... the mechanism though
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lie in piles on the shoulders of the potholed asphalt road that snakes along Buchach’s Torgova Street. The forest’s progression and the destruction caused to the headstones – locals throughout Eastern Europe steal them to use as sharpening stones or building material – complicated efforts to map the cemetery. The Luftwaffe aerials show its borders clearly, explained Carmel, who last year oversaw its demarcation. It is now set for fencing later this year, complete with retaining walls. ESJF recently began using engineering drones that can map a Jewish cemetery in a fraction of the time and cost that a team of surveyors would require. Fencing is crucial, Carmel said, because it prevents further damage. While it neither helps restore damage nor prevent people who are determined to get in from climbing the fence, “It shows ownership, it indicates interest and it vastly reduces the chance of vandalism,” he said. Jewish communities in Eastern Europe are struggling to maintain crumbling heritage sites from an era when the local Jewish population was many times greater than it is today, as are activists working to preserve Jewish cemeteries. But ESJF is the best-funded and first international effort of its kind, active in an area with well over 10,000 Jewish cemeteries in various degrees of risk. And it is by far the most transparent, as per stringent reporting demands by the German treasury. Whereas the bulk of the damage to Jewish cemeteries happened during World War II and under communism, they are still being degraded today at an alarming rate due to See CEMETERIES on Page
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which substances change their state, i.e... From ice to water and water to steam (H2O), salt to saline (NaCl); and dry ice to a gas, special fire extinguishers (CO2). For a more complete explanation GOOGLE 'latent heat of transformation' and 'Joseph Black'. Comet Nibiru; also known as 'Planet X'; crossed over the U.S. in February of 2015, resulting in a series of major earthquakes that reeked havoc in parts of eight eastern U.S. states. If you believe as I do, that the environment is our most important concern please Vote for Frederick “Ferd” Jones #12 on November 6th. THE
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Education
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MAINSTREAM Continued from Page 12 The transition process to high school began in seventh grade. Each student and their family met with school faculty to look at their options and what would be the best fit. Students were then coached through the high-school application process, which can be arduous in New York: how to write an essay, how to give an interview, how to succeed on placement tests. Some high schools sent observers to Shefa. In class, teachers made sure the students could tackle the same material as other graduating eighth-graders. Marc Goldsmith, an eighth-grade language arts teacher, had his kids read challenging books -- Shakespeare, for example -- and write research papers on the Warsaw Ghetto. “They were eager,” Goldsmith said. “They wanted to tackle it. They had the skills from reading lower-level books -- characterization and character development, we sussed out themes. The difference is that in the more adult books, there’s a tremendous amount of ambiguity between who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy.” This fall, 10 of the 11 graduating students entered Jewish schools, ranging from Orthodox schools like Flatbush or the Ramaz School, to
The Abraham Joshua Heschel School, which is pluralist, or the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester affiliated with the Conservative movement. “Once a student is here, we don’t really look much at where they came from,” said Rabbi Joseph Beyda, principal of Flatbush’s Joel Braverman High School. “We want everyone to get off on the same foot. It’s kind of a fresh start.” Shefa is staying in touch with its graduates. They sent each of the new high schoolers a binder with sheets that help them take notes, summarize readings or outline a five-paragraph essay. “They’re people who love children and care about children and believe that children with learning disabilities are smart,” said Claire Shamah, Linda’s mother. “She feels love there. "They’re not just shipping her off into oblivion. They sent her resources she could use this year.” And Linda is making sure to remain in contact with her alma mater. During Sukkot a couple of weeks ago, she paid a visit to Shefa. The teen said she misses the school and teachers -- but feels ready to move forward. “I wasn’t confident before,” Shamah said. “Now I really understand what I’m reading.”
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Travel
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CEMETERIES Continued from Page 26 unregulated construction and vandalism. Earlier this month, the construction of a state-funded sports complex in the town of Klimontow, Poland, was completed atop what activists say was a disused Jewish cemetery. Last year, a judge in Belarus cleared the way for the construction of apartments atop two former Jewish cemeteries in Gomel. And in Lithuania, the government is ignoring an international outcry over its plan to build a conference center on what used to be one Vil-
nius’ largest cemeteries, which the communists razed. About a quarter of all Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe were destroyed during the Nazi and Soviet periods, according to Rabbi Isaac Schapira, the Israel-based founder and chairman of the ESJF board. “Most of those that have remained lie neglected principally because their communities were wiped out in the Holocaust,” he said. This is also the reason the German government decided to bankroll ESJF, according to Carmel. As a rule, ESJF does not get involved in cemeteries featuring a
Wishing my many friends & supporters in the Jewish Community a happy Chanukah.
Candice Bates-Anderson Judge Juvenile Court, Section C
"I began my Juvenile Law practice more than 22 years ago while still in law school at Tulane. Since then, I’ve served as a Law Clerk, been appointed to serve as Ad Hoc Judge/Hearing Officer in Jefferson and represented hundreds of children and parents in Juvenile Court as an appointed Court Attorney for the indigent. My daily work includes court appearances, working with District Attorneys, Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Law Enforcement, CASA representatives and others advocating on behalf of children in the court system. I have the education, training and the respect of my peers. Most importantly, I believe I have the proper judicial temperament to preside over Juvenile Court in Jefferson Parish." If there were ever a case to be made for the importance of credentials it would be in the election for Juvenile Court Judge in Jefferson. Jennifer Womble’s résumé for this bench is stellar. Her history in Juvenile Court 28 Election/Chanukah 2018
led the Louisiana Supreme Court to ask her to write rules for all Juvenile Court Judges in Louisiana to follow. The Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges selected Jennifer to write the bench book of best practices to be followed by all Juvenile Court Judges in Louisiana. A leading expert in juvenile matters, Jennifer was commissioned by Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court to train Juvenile Court attorneys. A caring counselor dedicated to the wellbeing of our children, Jennifer managed over 500 adoption cases. She not only clerked for a Juvenile Court Judge in Jefferson Parish, but she also sat Ad Hoc ruling in hundreds of cases, proving her deep knowledge of juvenile law and guiding the court with a temperament to be admired. Jennifer Womble exhibits grace under pressure, exudes quiet confidence, and always adheres to her own very high professional standard. Credentials matter … especially for Juvenile Court Judge.
legal or territorial dispute, like the ones in Klimontow, Gomel or Vilnius. “Our objective is to fence as many Jewish cemeteries as possible in as little time as possible for the lowest cost,” Carmel said. Instead of duking it out with local authorities and developers, ESJF tries to find compromises. On a recent project, ESJF even purchased a small and cheap plot of land in a small Ukrainian town so it could serve as a Christian cemetery. It was the simplest way of getting the local Orthodox church, which did not want to bury Seventh-day Adventists in its Christian cemetery, to stop burying them atop older graves at a disused Jewish cemetery, Carmel said. When it comes to halachah, or Jewish law, ESJF is strict in observing its rules on burial, Carmel said. But whenever possible, he said, the organization tries to compromise, keeping with its view that local partnerships are the only guarantee for the organization’s long-lasting impact. “The cemeteries we fence, they are not being guarded,” Carmel said. “Ultimately the only way of making sure these places don’t get
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destroyed is to get the local population to think of their local Jewish cemetery as part of their own heritage.” One success has been in Frampol, Poland, where dozens of schoolchildren joined ESJF’s fencing and cleanup of the local Jewish cemetery. Another is the story of Katy Kryvko, a 17-year-old high school student from the Ukraine village of Derazhne, located about 100 miles north of Buchach. Two years ago Kryvko, who is not Jewish, contacted ESJF about a Jewish cemetery behind her home that the local children used as a playground. “I was shocked when I realized that kids are playing literally at the cemetery,” she told JTA. “I didn't understand why it was neglected and nobody cared about it.” Her interest in the cemetery led Kryvko to study the tragic history of the region’s Jewish population, and to ESJF, which cleaned it up and fenced it last year. “It's so important for me because I know that I'm the only one person who can save the cemetery,” she said. “I mean, who can take care of it.”
Prepared and Independent. Continuing a Lifetime of Service.
WOMBLE JUVENILE COURT JUDGE
Vote Tuesday, November 6 504.214.4115 • jen4judge@gmail.com P. O. Box 1908 • Metairie, Louisiana 70004 Paid for by the Committee to Elect Jennifer Womble.
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Health
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CANCER Continued from Page 18 On July 26, I underwent a nipplesparing bilateral mastectomy with immediate direct-to-implant reconstruction. Although the initial recovery was filled with some dark moments, each week I gained strength and was surrounded by an army of support, which undoubtedly helped me heal both physically and mentally. Now, 12 weeks past my surgery date, I am back to my eight-mile runs and chasing around three small kids. As I set out running, I am so grateful to be strong, healthy and pain-free. Each step is a reminder of how lucky I am to have caught my BRCA mutation before it was too late. When I look at my body today, it is not a terrible reminder of my genetic mutation, but rather a beautiful result of finding a team of supportive surgeons who believe you do not have to sacrifice aesthetics to prevent cancer. The final piece to my puzzle was finding the origins of my BRCA1 mutation. As it turns out, my father carries the BRCA gene. Although male carriers are at increased risk for prostate cancer, the mutation often goes undetected in men, as it did in my father, who had prostate cancer. A common misconception is that women cannot inherit BRCA from their fathers. Because no women in my family had breast or ovarian cancer, the possibility that I carried BRCA flew under the radar. All Ashkenazi Jewish women and men carry a one-in-40 risk of carrying a BRCA mutation as compared to one-in-500 chance in the general population. October may be Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but all year round, Jewish women and men everywhere need to ask more questions about their family genetic history on both their paternal and maternal sides. It is time for us to begin conversations with our doctors even when they may not initiate them with us. We need to be educated, and to raise awareness about how BRCA and other genetic mutations such as CHEK2 and
PALB2 can be passed down from both parents. Stopping cancer before it stops us is now often in our hands. While prophylactic surgery might not be the right choice for every woman, knowing our risk and understanding our options will empower us to take control of our bodies and our lives, and will enable us to make informed and potentially life-saving decisions. In the U.S., the average woman has a 12 percent chance of developing breast cancer and a 1 to 2 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer. But certain genetic mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 can increase those lifetime risks to up to 88 percent and 45 percent respectively, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. These mutations are found in Ashkenazi Jews 10 times more frequently than in the general population. At least 50 percent of hereditary breast cancer is related to genes we don’t know how to look for yet. At-home genetic testing companies may offer tests for three such mutations most commonly found in those of Ashkenazi descent, making it much easier for them to get tested. It’s important to note that anyone who takes an at-home genetic test should first and foremost get tested by a medical provider and also consult a genetic counselor to discuss their results and help them navigate next steps. Now that my cancer journey is behind me, I want to pay it forward and help. That’s why I am sharing my story so publicly -- so that other men and women understand how learning their own cancer genetic profile can save their lives, and to give a “face” to those who inherit the BRCA mutation from their fathers. (Laura Osman is a Sharsheret peer supporter. To schedule a free and confidential conversation with Sharsheret’s genetic counselor or to be connected to a Sharsheret peer supporter, contact Sharsheret at clinicalstaff@sharsheret.org or [866] 474-2774. Learn more about Sharsheret at www.sharsheret.org.)
Thank you to all of my friends in the Jewish Community for your support!
Happy Chanukah!
Cyndi Nguyen
CouncilLady District E www.vote4cyndinguyen.com
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PARENTING Continued from Page 22 ing things about parenting teenagers is that talking less with them is absolutely the way to go. I am a very passionate and expressive person, so sometimes I literally have to bite my tongue when I listen to my wonderful teenage boys to keep from saying things like “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” whether it is about location (town park, late at night), choices (phone rather than schoolwork) or activities amid a particular weather pattern (skateboarding in pouring rain). In theory, it would be possible for me be in conflict with my teens all the time. Instead, I take a deep breath and listen. I try to figure out what motivates their choices, and quickly and quietly assess what I can do to redirect their thinking (“I think it’s going to rain – maybe you guys could go to Dunkin Donuts and I’ll pick you up there in a half hour?”). When they do choose to confide in me, I don’t interrogate the way I would my 3-year-old — instead, I wait. It is not my nature at all, but I do it. And I find that with silence, they will often volunteer another bit of information. And suddenly it’s no longer a potential conflict, it’s a conversation. With six kids, I’ll readily admit it’s hard to recalibrate these approaches, especially when all of them seem to need my attention at the exact same moment. (Usually it is in the five minutes a day I am on the phone or on the toilet.) During Rosh Hashanah services last week — in the moments I wasn’t taking someone to the bathroom — I sat imagining how it
must be for God, “our Father, our King,” to look at each one of us and our deeds like sheep beneath the shepherd’s staff. In the Unetaneh Tokef, the prayer that describes how God reviews our lives, it says that there is the blast of the shofar, and “a still, small voice is heard.” What is that still, small voice? The prayer doesn’t clarify the point, but I think it is the spark inside of each of us that echoes the image of God — that unique light that makes each one of us holy. Yes, it might not be fashionable, but every year around this time I am reminded of how I do believe in God, and how my life is motivated by the sense of the holiness in each person. So that’s my parenting goal for the year: to aspire to the divine. Just as we implore God on Yom Kippur to be slower to anger and quicker to forgive, I also want to be slower to anger and quicker to forgive. I think God listens to my silences as well as my speech, my intentions as well as my actions, and I want to do the same for my own children. I hope God (and my kids) have mercy on me and give me strength — I could definitely use both. (Jordana Horn is a contributing editor to Kveller. She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the Forward and Tablet. She has appeared as a parenting expert on the "Today" show and "Fox and Friends.") Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens. Visit Kveller.com.
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GRAPHIC NOVEL Continued from Page 24 [he was under] the threat of eviction, had doctor bills piling up, etc. — while at the same time preparations were made for a multimillion-dollar Superman movie. It also became apparent how Jewish he was. For instance, he wrote about the tzedakah he gave during the good years and how ashamed he felt that now he needed help from the Jewish community to pay his own bills. Jerry had always been the dominant figure of the creative duo, with Joe being the silent partner following his lead.
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Making him the narrator puts, for the first time, the spotlight on him, a late recognition of his role in creating the first superhero. Were there other Jewish comic book artists and writers who dealt with similar losses of rights to their creations? Batman co-creator Bill Finger seems to be one? Or were Shuster and Siegel really the worst case? I’m not sure if it is really the worst case, but I would rather call it the original sin. Many stated that Siegel and Shuster were naive to sign the first Superman contract, but as we show in the book, there was no precedent. Comics were not big business and most work was work-for-hire, transferring rights to publishers. And then Superman changed everything. No one expected this success — neither the creators nor the publishers — and for sure no one expected the success to last. Like Superman becoming the blueprint for the genre, Siegel and Shuster’s contract became the blueprint for other contracts. Many pioneers experienced similar fates. Batman co-creator Bill Finger [who was Jewish], subject of a future graphic novel project I’m currently working on with the Israeli artist Erez Zadok, is another tragic story that only recently had a posthumous happy ending thanks to the efforts of
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comic historian Marc Tyler Nobleman. And unfortunately, these stories are not necessarily stories of the past. Earlier this year I read about Bill Messner-Loebs who once worked for DC Comics and was even credited in the “Wonder Woman” movie, but now was homeless in Detroit. People have called Superman, who is sent away from his home planet just before it is destroyed, as the ultimate immigrant character. Was this definitely part of Siegel’s thought process in creating him? And can Superman more specifically be compared to a Jewish refugee fleeing a burning Europe? Superman’s Jewish identity is a recurrent theme. I once read that his origin story is an allegory to the Kindertransport, but this is, of course, a post-Holocaust analysis. Both their parents escaped poverty and pogroms in Eastern Europe, so this could have influenced the story, which some see as a kind of modernized Moses tale. I’m neutral when it comes to these interpretations. Superman’s origin story, which we see developing throughout the graphic novel, had many roots for sure, as did the plot. The double identity came from Zorro. What made Superman a success was that Siegel and Shuster understood the zeitgeist, took elements from contemporary pop culture and created something totally new, something that even today, 80 years after its debut, remains a global success. Mark Morgan has used his time on the Jefferson Parish School Board very well, ending the scandals that led to wasteful spending and needless lawsuits. Considered the “Drew Brees of Superintendents,” Mark recruited Dr. Cade Brumley because he brings out the best in everyone around him, and he took his last system from 49th to 9th! Mark recently secured grant dollars and worked with Superintendent Brumley to create the Transformation Network within the school system. The network provides a top-tier curriculum, master/mentor teachers, instructional coaching & community engagement, and a French Immersion Program! Mark Morgan started advanced academies using abandoned and underutilized facilities in Gretna. Mark then created more options for kids in District chartering a School for the Arts. Good schools mean higher property values and a better quality of life! Mark Morgan is a father and a professional that believes in public education. His innovations and dedication have created opportunities for children. His leadership has turned the Jefferson Parish school system around. THE
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CANDIDATES Continued from Page 1 would impose penalties on companies that comply with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. Cardin has been backed by NORPAC, the New Jersey-based center-right pro-Israel political action committee, as well as JACPAC. Election prospects: Cardin is heavily favored to defeat Republican Tony Campbell, a political science professor. Jacky Rosen, Nevada (challenger) Politics: Rosen, 61, was a consultant and software designer plucked from obscurity by Sen. Harry Reid just two years ago to run for the 3rd District seat then held by Republican Joe Heck, encompassing Las Vegas suburbs. (Heck ran a failed Senate campaign to replace Reid, who was retiring.) Reid, the longtime Democratic leader in the Senate and a powerhouse in Nevada politics, wanted a pickup for Democrats, and Rosen delivered -- so much so that Reid, who remains influential, tapped Rosen to take down Dean Heller, the incumbent Republican senator. The focus of Rosen's campaign has been education -- the public school system in Nevada is notoriously underfunded -- and the environment. She also is part of the wave of women seen as spurred to higher office by Donald Trump's election. She has been outspoken in recent weeks in saying that as a senator she would have opposed the Kavanaugh confirmation, and she has the endorsement of feminist PACs like Emily's List. Jewish quotient: Rosen's sole political experience prior to 2016 was as president of Ner Tamid, a Reform synagogue in Henderson, Nevada. Good enough, said Shelley Berkley, a former Democratic congresswoman from Las Vegas who lost to Heller in 2012. "If you can be president of a synagogue,” Berkley told The New York Times, “you can be president of the United States very easily.” Rosen has taken a typically centrist pro-Israel line, saying she would have opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear pact. Heller is backed by Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate and pro-Israel and Republican giver who helped lead opposition to the deal. She has been endorsed by center-right pro-Israel PACs as well as JACPAC. She's an "On The THE
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Street" candidate for J Street's PAC, which means she does not accept the PAC's money but does allow it to direct individual donors her way. Election prospects: Rosen vs. Heller is one of the closest races in the country -- pollsters rate it as a tossup. Bernie Sanders, Vermont (incumbent) Politics: Sanders, 77, is an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats. He won election to the Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House. He launched his political career in 1981 when he became mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Sanders ran a surprisingly strong campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, becoming the first Jewish candidate to win major-party nominating contests. Hillary Clinton won the nod, but the Sanders bid excited the party's base and helped steer it leftward. For instance, the $15 minimum wage Sanders championed, once considered pie-in-the-sky by the Democratic establishment, is now party policy. Left-leaning candidates now eagerly seek out an endorsement from Sanders or the activist group established in the wake of his campaign, Our Revolution. Jewish quotient: Sanders, who firmly identifies as a democratic socialist, for years had eschewed a focus on his Judaism, preferring in media encounters to stick to his overriding policy concern: income inequality. Since launching his presidential election campaign, though, he has spoken more openly than he had in the past about family who had perished during the Holocaust and about the several months he had spent as a young man in Israel on a kibbutz. He has since his presidential campaign become a leading Senate critic of Israel, posting multiple videos on social media criticizing how Israel is handling the crisis across its border in the Gaza Strip. He has the endorsement of J Street's PAC and was the star of J Street's annual conference this year. While critical of Israel, Sanders opposes BDS and emphasizes his demand that Arab states recognize Israel's existence. Election prospects: Sanders is running unopposed. Gary Trauner, Wyoming (challenger) Politics: Trauner, 59, ran twice
in the mid-2000s for Wyoming's single House seat and, shockingly for this reddest of Republican states, nearly took it in 2006, a sweep year for Democrats. He told JTA that year that he had knocked on nearly every door in the state. Trauner tried again in 2008 and lost by a wider margin. The issues page on his campaign site suggests a cautiously centrist approach: He backs the social safety net, environmentally responsible energy independence, immigration reform that includes allowances for undocumented migrants currently in the United States and "balance" on gun rights. Jewish quotient: Trauner, a New York-born financial entrepreneur, attended Jewish political fund raising events during his House runs. This time around, the record does
not show money coming in from pro-Israel or Jewish PACs. (He has raised an impressive $630,000, which nonetheless is less than a tenth of the nearly $7 million brought in by his Republican opponent, incumbent John Barrasso.) His campaign site does not address foreign policy. Election prospects: Barrasso is seen as safe in a state that Trump won with 67 percent of the vote to 22 percent for Hillary Clinton — the widest margin for a presidential election in the state's history. Best wishes to our many friends!
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5,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION REBORN
Mahalia Jackson Theater Feb 3–4, 2018
SHEN YUN’S unique artistic vision expands theatrical experience into a multi-dimensional, inspiring journey through 5,000 years of civilization. Featuring one of the world’s oldest art forms— classical Chinese dance—along with patented scenographical effects and all-original orchestral works, Shen Yun opens a portal to a civilization of enchanting beauty and enlightening wisdom.
“The greatest of the great! A must see!”
“Absolutely the No. 1 show in the world!”
—Christine Walevska, world-renowned musician
—Kenn Wells, lead dancer of the English National Ballet
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“I have traveled all over the world to 50 countries now, I’ve seen many productions, and I have never seen a production any better than this, anywhere! It’s worth multiple times of the cost of the ticket. It is priceless! Whether you are 5 years old, or you are 95 years old, this is magnificent! The only way to appreciate this performance is to simply go to see it.”
—Joe Heard, former White House photographer
—Dr. Scott Stansfield, retired naturopathic physician
—Lee Meriwether, actress