Jewish Voice and Opinion Summer 2014 by Susan Rosenbluth

THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION Promoting Classical Judaism

Summer 2014

Vol. 27 • No. 10

Av/Elul 5774

Operation Protective Edge: It Doesn’t Matter Who Does the Dying, Only Who Does the Killing Despite thousands of re-

ports about Israel’s Operation Protective Edge incursion into Gaza this summer, only a handful of reporters and pundits came to grips with the issue of inherent antisemitism in most of the reportage. Protective Edge aims to stop the barrage of Hamas rockets onto Israeli civilian targets, and to destroy the terror tunnels that were built between Gaza and Israel to bring carnage and destruction to the Jewish state.

The IDF field hospital at the Gaza border where IDF doctors treat wounded Palestinians from Gaza. Israel has given more food, clothing, and medical aid to Gaza than all the Muslims in the world combined. But that little detail is as likely to get reported as civilians who are killed in airstrikes by non-Jews Yet very little of the media coverage of the incursion focuses on these goals of the Gaza incursion; instead, most articles and reports lead with or concentrate primarily on the death tolls and sufferings of

civilian Palestinians who are trapped in the struggle between Hamas and Israel. The reports rarely mention up front the reasons for the Gaza incursion and subsequent civilian suffering; In effect, most of them

paint Israel as a barbarous oppressor and conqueror that aims to destroy the Gazans. But most of the reports stop short of explaining why the civilian death tolls are so high in Gaza. Very few reports bother to mention that Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields; that Hamas stores its munitions in schools, daycare centers, and hospitals, and builds its launching sites within residential areas; or that Hamas built its terror tunnel network with forced child labor— during which many children died.

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In Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem, the Terrorists Use Rocks, Firebombs, and Knives instead of Missiles While most of the Jewish

world’s attention has been focused on Israel’s response to the thousands of missiles from Hamas-ruled Gaza, in the rest of the Jewish state, the increase in Palestinian terrorism, especially rioting and rock-throwing, has been very troubling. On August 5, just as a battered Hamas in Gaza felt forced to accept the terms of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that the terrorists had rejected

a mere three weeks earlier, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed a security guard at the entrance to the city of Maale Adumim, just east of Jerusalem. The guard, who suffered moderate wounds, was credited for thwarting what could have been a major terrorist attack. One day before the Maale Adumim incident, Hamas specifically called on Arabs in the PA to conduct attacks on Israelis. The PA residents were urged to begin the “third intifada” that Hamas

Anna Olswanger’s Literary Tradition...3 Kol Ami: Media Coverage?.................. 4 The Current Crisis............................... 5 Orthodox Execs Conference........... 8 Battle for School Choice.................10 Radiant Floor Heating............................13

said should start with attacks on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and eventually move into the rest of Israel. The message from Hamas was to “conduct mass riots” over the next three days as a “sign of support” for Gaza and of “resistance” to “violence” by Israel. Arabs in Hebron, Ramallah, and Shechem (Nablus) were asked to converge on the main squares in the cities and demand that Hamas in Gaza retain the right to keep its

Inside the Voice

R. Twerski: Follow the Rambam......14 Holy Name’ Cancer Center...................15 Bill Clinton’s Mistake................................17 The Log..........................................................20 New Classes This Month................25 Mazal Tov.............................................25

weapons—rockets and tunnels—to be used against Israel. Israel is demanding that Hamas be disarmed and that Fatah faction leader Mahmoud Abbas be placed in control of Gaza as part of an agreement to open Gaza’s borders. This would be a return to the status that existed between Gaza and Israel before Hamas took control of the strip in 2007. On Jerusalem Streets One day earlier, on Au-

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Chesed Ops..........................................27 Ess Gezint: Chic Made Simple.............30 Index of Advertisers ........................33 Honor the Professional...................35 Letters to the Editor ........................36 Walk to Shul................................... 3, 39

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Anna Olswanger: Jewish Tradition and History to Create Works with Moral Seriousness Writer, literary agent, and

soon-to-be film producer Anna Olswanger says her love for children’s literature is an extension of her first passion: theater. “Children’s picture books have a story, costumes, visual energy, and dialogue. It’s like a stage between two covers,” she says. A product of the Orthodox community, Ms. Olswanger grew up in Memphis and now resides in Fair Lawn with her husband, Shalom Silvestri. An active member of Congregation Darchei Noam, she says it is no accident that her work

Anna Olswanger

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focuses on aspects of Jewish life, including history, values, and faith. Her stores may be serious or funny, but they always contain a kernel of what writer Cynthia Ozick calls “moral seriousness,” the quintessential element of Jewish literature. Shlemiel Crooks Her first book, Shlemiel Crooks, published in 2005, concerns Reb Elias and the thieves who try to steal his wine, which had been created for the seder tables of the Jews of St. Louis in 1919. By turns folktale (Pharaoh’s evil ghost makes an appearance), history

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(it’s based on a true story about Anna’s great-grandfather Elias Olschwanger), and farce (there is a talking horse and a neighborhood tug of war over the wine made from grapes left over from the Exodus from Egypt), the book served as the basis of a family Pesach musical commissioned by the Kaufman Center’s Poppyseed Players. Her second book was much more serious. My Shoshana: A Father’s Journey through Loss, is the memoir of a man of faith dealing with the overwhelming loss of his daughter, who died at the age of 17. Written

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THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION, Inc. © 2014; Publisher and Editor-in-Chief: Susan L. Rosenbluth Phone (201)569-2845 Managing Editor: Sharon Beck, Advertising: Rivkie Stern The Jewish Voice & Opinion (ISSN # 1527-3814), POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631, is published monthly in coordination with The Central Committee for Israel. A one-year subscription is $25. Periodicals postage is paid at Englewood, NJ and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Jewish Voice and Opinion, POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631. All advertising in the Jewish Voice and Opinion must conform to the standards of the Orthodox Rabbinic kashruth. Editorial content reflects the views of the writer and not necessarily any other group. The Jewish Voice is not responsible for typographical errors.

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Kol Ami: How is the Media Coverage Now? During Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s supporters around the globe sat glued to their televisions, radios, newspapers, and electronic devices, waiting for word on what was happening in and to the Jewish State. Hearts stopped collectively at reports that a Code Red had been sounded or Iron Dome had been employed in one community or

another; sobs were audible when the daily Israeli casualty list was published; and, often, fists were clenched when reports bore a distinctive anti-Israel prejudice. At a meeting of the NJ chapter of the Zionist Organization of America in Teaneck, the question was: How did the media do during Operation Protective Edge? Y

I think, all in all, the media was better this time than it had been in the past. For one thing, all the channels had to compete with Fox News, which was the fairest to Israel. Of course, CNN glorified the terrorists, but, when they went too far, they seemed to be looking over their shoulders at Fox and then pulled back. They were forced to show Israel’s side, too. Ofer Kalina Woodcliff Lake, NJ

The media was particularly bad when reporters began harping on “proportionality,” the idea that it wasn’t “fair” that so many Palestinians—Israel says at least half of the dead were terrorists—died as opposed to relatively few Israelis. This was an idea that came from the Obama administration, and when it trickled down to the media, reporters and news anchors latched onto it. Richard Dukas Teaneck, NJ

The media was appalling. News reports emanated from inside Gaza and invariably showcased battered buildings and people, almost always women and children, who always managed to weep just for the cameras. The young men in Gaza who wreak terror were nowhere to be found as far as the media was concerned, while, in Israel, the men shown on camera were always dressed in suits, as though there was no suffering at all in the Jewish state. The text of the reports were not always anti-Israel, but the visuals were. Sylvia Hartman Edgeware, London, UK

The media was pretty bad, but I’m not sure all of it was their fault. They were on the ground in Gaza, where reporters do as they are told by Hamas or they wind up dead. Now that some of them are leaving, the truth about what was happening in Gaza—ranging from terrorists launching missiles from schools and hospitals to Hamas leaders insisting that civilians serve as human shields—is coming out. Now the reports may become more accurate. Ita Cohen Teaneck, NJ

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The Current Crisis: “Even in Laughter, the Heart Can Ache” Winston Churchill supposedly said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Even earlier, Mark Twain said pretty much the same thing, but somewhat more decorously: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Although this one he attributed this one to 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Twain also said: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” So, grab your pants and shoes, and let’s debunk some “common wisdom” that the vast bulk of the media thinks is true: that Gaza is “an open-air prison” and “the most densely populated place on earth.” First, the numbers that debunk Hamas’s statistics. The population density in Gaza is 4,600 per square km. The population density in Jerusalem is over 6,000 per square km, and, in Tel Aviv, it’s more than 7,500 per square km. Population density in Manhattan is over 26,000 per square km. Pundit Dr. Avi Perry has tackled the “openair prison” issue, explaining that Gazans have always held the keys to their so-called “prison gates.” All they have to do is decide to live in peace with Israel. Then there would be no need for blockades or closures. “It’s not a prison if you can open the gates with your own keys. It’s a self-imposed segregation,” he says. Bet you didn’t know why Hamas refuses to sign ceasefire agreements with Israel? Hamas’s answer: “Because Jerusalem agrees to the ceasefires only so that when Hamas refuses, Israel can legitimize further air strikes on Gaza.” Really. Makes you kinda wonder what they’re teaching in those UNWRA schools. Evidently, not much more than they’re teaching in American schools of journalism these days. On most of the talking-heads programs featured on virtually every network, the talk this summer has centered on the war in Gaza. Anchor after anchor has insisted the root cause of the eruption of Hamas-initiated rockets on Israel is…the breakdown in negotiations over the two-state solution. Hello? Did no one ever tell these geniuses that Hamas, who thinks vests come in two styles, bullet-proof and suicide, wants nothing to do with the two-state solution,

has never been interested in a two-state solution, and got exactly what it wanted when Secretary of State John Kerry’s marathon diplomatic effort came to a deserved end. Hamas’s sole interest all along has been killing Jews until (the terrorists hope) someone will hand them the complete swath of land currently known as Israel, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, with nary a Jew in sight. Then Hamas’s new goal will be tracking down Jews behind yammering trees and stones ready to announce that a Jew is hiding behind them, “come and kill him.” Of course, if UN High Commission-

er for Human Rights Navi Pillay has her way, Hamas’s end-goal will be that much closer. She told members of the media at an “emergency” meeting of the UN Human Rights Council that because Israel was not sharing its Iron Dome technology with the “governing authority” of Gaza, Israel was violating international law in a manner that could amount to war crimes. With all due respect to Ms. Pillay, we suggest that, to make things fair, Israel should simply turn off Iron Dome whenever an AlQassam missile comes close enough to score a hit on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. S.L.R.

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Anna Olswanger as a letter to his daughter, the book is an expression of love, earth-shattering grief, and an attempt to offer solace as much to himself as to other grieving families. My Shoshana was written with Rabbi Rafael Grossman. Holocaust Story Rabbi Grossman, who served as Ms. Olswanger’s synagogue spiritual leader while she was living in Memphis, told her the true story that became the basis for her latest book, Greenhorn, about Daniel, a young orphaned Holocaust survivor, who is taken in by a New York yeshiva in 1946. The boy has no possessions except a small box which he never lets out of his sight, and which becomes the butt of mockery for some of the more boorish boys. But Daniel finds a kindred spirit in Aaron, the book’s narrator. A stutterer who excels academically and lives in the shadow of his father, a brilliant Lakewood rabbi, Aaron is also on the receiving end of the boys’ ridicule. Aaron, who struggles to speak, and the traumatized, Daniel, a non-English speaker who hardly utters a word, forge a friendship that helps both of them see a path to the future. True Story The real Aaron was Rabbi Grossman.

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continued from page 3 “He told me this powerful story of his early years in yeshiva as we were approaching Jerusalem from the airport during a synagogue trip,” she says. “Rabbi Grossman and the real ‘Daniel’ reconnected as adults. The little Holocaust survivor had become a pediatrician at Shaare Zedek hospital. He said he was able to bury his little box once he had a new family of his own.” Acclaimed for bringing a human dimension to the Holocaust that can be understood by children, Greenhorn is in the process of becoming a film that has already been picked up for distribution. For Ms. Olswanger, who is serving as co-producer, the film is artistically and emotionally gratifying. “The job of film is to tell a story and make an impact. Greenhorn as a film will reach a new and broad audience, and if one heart is touched or one life is changed, the story will have done its job,” she says. Funding She and the director, Tom Whitus, hope the film will be shown this year at various Jewish Film Festivals throughout the country. It will be premier in Los Angeles in September and again in New York in October. Then the film will be submitted for nomination for an Academy Award in

the Short Films category. Financing the project has not been easy, even with its relatively modest $18,000 budget. Some of the backers are people who believe stories like Greenhorn will go a long way toward thwarting the aims of Holocaust deniers; others simply feel the story about a Holocaust survivor who wouldn’t let a small tin box out of his sight and the stutterer who stands up for him, even in the face of bullying and insults, has all the ingredients of a winner. “It is a film about the healing value of friendship and a film about hope,” says Ms. Olswanger. Although fundraising for the film has officially closed, those interested in the project are welcome to check out the film’s website, www.greenhornfilm.com, or contact Ms. Olswanger at anna.olswanger@ verizon.net. Literary Agency While Greenhorn has naturally consumed a great deal of her time, Ms. Olswanger is also excited about another new venture. After years of working for a literary agency, she opened her own this summer. For Ms. Olswanger—who while growing up had thought she would become an artist or a playwright—it has been quite a journey. She began as

an art major in college and then switched to theatre. After college, she relocated to London, hoping to find actors for whom she could write. After six months, she gave up and returned to the US, having discovered children’s literature. Because she liked the process of submitting manuscripts to publishers, she went back to school and enrolled in NYU’s publishing and editing program. Now with about 30 clients of her own—many but not all of them children’s literature authors—she feels ready to represent them herself. “I love discovering new authors and illustrators. I look for ‘voice,’ the sound and rhythm of an author that could be no one else’s,” she says. Some would say she is describing herself and her own vision of art, narrative, and Jewish storytelling. S.L.R.

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Orthodox Conference for Top-Producing Insurance and Financial Execs Scheduled for Aug 19 in Mahwah On August 19, Jack Abramoff and Bill

Cates will appear at CSB/Envision IV, the Orthodox community’s premier conference for top-producing insurance and financial executives. The day-long event at the Sheraton Mahwah will feature leading-edge presentations from so-called “C-level” (high-ranking) executives at top insurance, accounting and legal firms. There will also be a series of especially developed “Improving through Improv” master-class seminars featuring “The Upright Citizens Brigade” (UCB). Those participating in these programs will be joining the ranks of market leaders such as AXA, BNP, Parisbus, Deloitti, E&Y, KPMG, KcKinsey, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Proskauer. Like all other aspects of the event, which is the fourth annual CSB/Envision Conference (the others were CSB/Envision I-III), the UCB seminar will be tailored to meet the unique needs of the participants. In addition to raising the participants’ skill levels, the annual event is designed to raise critical funds and awareness in support of Computer Services for the Blind (CSB), a unique organization that enables vision- and neurologically-impaired individuals to read and communicate in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew at a level

that was, until recently, unavailable to all but a small segment of the Angloonly market. Orthodox Need The seminars and presentations at CSB/ Envision IV, will be tailored to the increasing number of accounting and legal professionals who specialize in estate, business planning, and elder-care-related issues. The presenters and speakers will include the best-known names in the business, including Bill Cates, Ira Lipsius, and Rod Miller. The keynote address will be delivered by Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist who, through drive and resilience, has become a catalyst for change in the very arena that first embraced and then, ultimately, saw him indicted. “We’d like to take credit for the expanded scope of CSB/Envision IV, but the truth is, it’s the direct result of numerous requests by countless Orthodox-Jewish legal and accounting professionals who wanted to know why their professions weren’t included in the original vision that has now grown into CSB/Envision,” said Yoel Bodek, the driving force behind the creation of the first three CSB/Envisions. He had been motivated by the fact that he and his fellow Orthodox insurance and financial professionals lacked industry conferences that reflected their needs and target markets. “This was true despite the disproportionate number of Orthodox Jews who were considered ‘top producers’ and members of the ‘MDRT,’ the Million Dollar Round Table,” he said. “Quality of Content” He noted that at the level at which most of the conference participants operate, there is considerable crossover between their skills and those of accountants and attorneys who specialize in estates and business planning. “So the attraction is natural. But, as we focus on delivering a superior product, we didn’t take the easy way out and simply expand our message to target them. We decided to work to expand our scope and content to connect with them and ensure that they leave this year’s conference every bit as satisfied as past attendees,” he said.

According to Mr. Bodek, the “quality of content” accounts for the conference’s doubling in size in just three years. “We target top professionals in communities from Lakewood to Long Island, and from Brooklyn to Westchester. These are professionals for whom time is money. They know every day they are not ‘out there’ is a day that ‘costs’ them. For them to be okay with giving us a day—not to mention the $500 conference fee—speaks volumes about the quality of product they feel they’re getting,” he said. Large-Type and Technology While the principal objective is to provide an intense series of events and seminars chosen for their ability “to make the best even better,” participants will have the chance to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate as well. Sponsorship and admission fees to the conference are used to support the work of CSB. While some in the Jewish community are familiar with CSB, which produces large-type siddurim, chumashim, Gemaras, and other seforim, few are aware that the organization is also at the cutting edge of technology adaptation, helping people who are disabled in sight and speech. “There’s a three-year-old child in Brooklyn who until recently thought his father was literally a ‘statue,” due to the advanced level of impairment caused by his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Thanks to CSB’s adaptation of existing technologies, this child can now discuss the parsha as well as daven with his father. And this is just one of hundreds, if not thousands, of life-changing differences CSB has made in its unassuming, dedicated way that, for them, is businessas-usual,” said Mr. Bodek. Personal and Professional Disabled himself and confined to a wheelchair, he said that for him, the creation of CSB/Envision was both personal and professional. His wife is vision-impaired, which led him to CSB. As managing partner of the Montebello-based Broker’s Central, he saw firsthand how little was being done by carriers and service providers to address one of the professional

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demographics that is actually growing. “In the secular world, few collegebound freshmen or graduating seniors aspire to become insurance salesmen or brokers. Those who enter the field usually do so because they need a job in a tight market. In the Orthodox community, however, insurance sales and related services are regarded as an opportunity, a respected white-collar industry which requires no college or extended formal training. In addition, success is in the individual’s hand. The more dedicated and motivated the individual, the better he is likely to do. In addition, the Orthodox with their larger-than-average families, understand the need to secure financial peace of mind. Small wonder that virtually all the major carriers, including Guardian, Mass Mutual, MetLife, NY Life, and so on, have MDRT members and top producers who are Orthodox,” he said. Recognizing that he was part of an under-served and potentially receptive market, “I decided do something about it—and at the same time do something to help CSB, an under-the-radar organization.” A driven husband, father, and executive, Mr. Bodek is proud of the fact that he does not see his handicap as an impediment. More often than not, he said, he finds himself slowing down so that his more mobile counterparts can catch up with him, literally and figuratively. Central Location The organization chose to hold this year’s conference in Mahwah, recognizing that its proximity to market leaders such as Sharp Electronics means the Sheraton’s management will run an efficient conference. Many members of the Orthodox community in Rockland, Bergen, Passaic, and Westchester counties, as well as Upper Manhattan and Riverdale, have used its facilities for simchas. Conference participants who choose to stay at the hotel and attend the first sessions at 8am can take advantage of the specially negotiated CSB/Envision rates. “Members of the Orthodox community have no shortage of events seeking to make demands on their time. Between parlor meetings, lectures, dinners, breakfasts, melave malkas, and weekends, social calendars fill up fast as worthy causes vie for attention and of course funds. If

we’d decided to help CSB by creating a purely social event targeting our industry, it might have worked, but only in the short-term. Instead, we created an event that benefits both the participants and the CSB organization—where the takeaway is way more profound and compelling than a journal,” said Mr. Bodek. Value He believes his growth—and, therefore, his ability to help CSB—is due to the value the conference delivers. “You can’t ‘sell’ salespeople. They’re about real results. We make them better at what they do, and we do it on their terms. That’s why we’re on the ‘must list’ of professionals looking to take their ca-

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reers to the next level,” he said. According to Mr. Bodek, interest in this year’s conference is high and reservations have been brisk. He attributed this to the high-profile “firepower” of speakers and presenters, their inspiring conference topics, and an early-bird discount. He said that the organizers are optimistic about reaching their participant projections. For more information or to ensure a reservation, the email is info@thecsbevent.com and the phone number is 718-513-2208. “Our best marketing effort for CSB/ Envision IV took place on October 30, 2013,” he said, referring to the date of the last conference, CSB/Envision III. Y

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Nationwide Battle for Universal School Choice Focuses on New Jersey On August 19, Rabbi Israel

Teitelbaum, co-founder of the Alliance for Free Choice in Education, will address a meeting of the New Jersey Tea Party Coalition on the issue of parental choice in education. Scheduled to speak at 7pm at the American Legion Hall in Teaneck, Rabbi Teitelbaum will explain how the Alliance is working with candidates across the country in what he calls a “nation-wide drive to restore Constitutional government beginning with lower taxes, individual-controlled healthcare, and parental choice in education.” Leading the drive in New Jersey are four Congressional candidates, all Republicans. Three of them, Garry Cobb, Dr. Dierdre Paul, and Anthony Wilkinson are African Americans. Dr. Paul and Mr. Wilkinson are facing powerful, longterm incumbent Democrats.

Mr. Cobb and Dr. Alieta Eck are vying with their Democratic opponents for empty seats. All four have identified themselves as “Constitutional Candidates.” They are conservative Republicans who support lower taxes, an end to Obamacare, and the promotion of school choice. Rabbi Teitelbaum sees the OrthodoxJewish community—which as a group also supports school choice and school vouchers— as crucial to the candidates’ uphill struggles for victory. Garry Cobb In District 1, Garry Cobb, a former National Football League linebacker who is currently a radio personality in the Philadelphia area and the author of a book targeting the challenges of urban youth, is facing Democrat Donald Norcross. One of New Jersey’s most reliably Democrat districts, the First is dominated by Camden

County. Until last February, it was represented by Democrat Rob Andrews, but the seat was left vacant upon his abrupt retirement—just as he was under investigation by the House Ethics Commission for misuse of campaign funds. The only Orthodox community in District 1 is Cherry Hill. Dr. Alieta Eck In District 12, Dr. Eck is an internist in private practice with her husband, Dr. John Eck. In addition to seeing private patients, they run the Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured, which they founded in 2003. The mother of five, Dr. Alieta Eck opposes Obamacare as “a federal intrusion into our health care system, which will limit consumer choice and erode the high quality of care that Americans are accustomed to receiving.” She also favors school choice as a means of “halting the steady decline of our schools. “Choice in schools and curriculum is paramount to fostering an innovative and effective education system, and each state needs more leeway in determining what is best for its children. The people closest to the children— especially parents—ought to have the greatest input in determining the best for our kids,” she said. In November, she will face Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman, who became the candidate after the incumbent, Rush Holt, decided not to run. There are several Orthodox communities in the 12th district, including East Windsor, Princeton, and East Brunswick. Anthony Wilkinson Running in the 6th District, Mr. Wilkinson calls himself “a conservative who cares.” On

the issue of school choice, he says, “Let’s help our children by offering them educational opportunities supported by their local communities. The government’s tax policies should allow parents to make the choice for their children to go to preferred schools, whether they are public schools, charter schools, home schools, or private schools.” In November, he will face incumbent Democrat Frank Pallone, who has served in Congress since 1988, Like Mr. Holt, Mr. Pallone tried to win the Democratic primary to succeed Sen Frank Lautenberg, who died in office in June 2013. Messrs Holt and Pallone lost to then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker. A staunch liberal, Mr. Pallone opposes school choice. Orthodox communities in the 6th district include Edison, Highland Park, Piscataway, Aberdeen, Allenhurst, Deal, Long Branch, and Matawan. Dr. Dierdre Paul Running in the 9th District, Dr. Dierdre Paul is a professor of education at Montclair State University. She once served as a Democratic municipal chairman in Englewood. In November, she will face Democrat Bill Pascrell, a staunch opponent of school choice whose record on Israel is mixed at best. During Israel’s recent Operation Protective Edge into Gaza, Dr. Paul attended several pro-Israel rallies, despite the fact that the 9th District in which she will be running consists of several large mostly Muslim communities. After the rally at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood on July 25, she called the program, which attracted 2,200 participants on very short notice “a very powerful and important event.

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School Choice in NJ

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“My attendance was a public declaration that I stand with Israel on its right to defend itself,” she said. Deep blue, the 9th includes portions of Passaic, Hudson, and Bergen Counties. Orthodox communities in the district include Cliffside Park, East Rutherford, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fair Lawn, Fort Lee, New Milford, Teaneck, Tenafly, Clifton, and Passaic. Other States Too Nineteen other states are fielding candidates who have also joined the pro-school choice effort and are being supported by Rabbi Teitelbaum’s Alliance: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. “Those running for office identify themselves as ‘Constitutional Candidates’ by going to the c3candidates.com website and committing themselves to the three issues. Voters can go to the site to vet candidates and ascertain whether or not they are indeed part of our effort. Voters can also volunteer to help build and strengthen the drive,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. There are currently more than 100 volunteers participating in the project. The Alliance is encouraging them to work for the election of those candidates who have embraced the group’s three issues. As a group, the school-choice advo-

cates are not enamored of incumbents. “Those now in control of government have no incentive to relinquish their power. We the People are the only ones with the ability, will, and motivation to restore Constitutional government. This is our greatest opportunity to turn our country around and restore law, order, liberty, and justice,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. Garrett’s Bill Chief among the Alliance’s issues is a proposed bill on which Rabbi Teitelbaum has been working along with the legislative staff of Rep Scott Garrett (RNew Jersey-5). Called the DC Civil Rights Act for Equal Education Opportunity, it would provide school vouchers for K-12 students of the District of Columbia, valued at half current costs of Washington, DC public schools, or $15,000 annually per child, as opposed to $30,000. While the Alliance advocates school choice for all American children, for the moment they are pushing for this bill to grant it to families in Washington, DC. “Successful school choice in our nation’s capital will serve as a model and trailblazer for all 50 states,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. Lone Congressman He made no secret of his support for Mr. Garrett’s position, calling the Congressman “an outspoken supporter of school choice and the leading—or perhaps only—New Jersey Congressman or Senator remaining true to the US Constitution.”

Mr. Garrett has an 86 percent rating from the politically conservative Heritage Action for America, compared to under 50 percent for all the rest. “Mr. Garrett’s pen-to-paper can transform universal school choice from dream to reality, but leading political strategists have advised us that his sponsorship of the bill will require massive public support to overcome the enormous backlash expected from the left,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. Civil Right According to Rabbi Teitelbaum, an outward display of this support is vital if the bill is to gain any traction. like many who support school choice, the rabbi sees the question as a civil rights issue. To Rabbi Teitelbaum’s chagrin, however, few school-choice supporters have taken to the streets “demanding their rights.” “Despite the strong advocacy for school vouchers by the legendary, free-enterprise scholar and teacher Milton Friedman for over half a century, Americans are convinced that this is ‘politically impossible to achieve,’” he said, pointing out that no Congressman or Senator, even those who give lip service to the cause, has attempted to formulate Mr. Friedman’s plan into federal legislation for Washington, DC. Mr. Friedman, an economist, statistician, and writer who taught at the University of Chicago for more than 30 years and won the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 1976, died in November 2006. “Impossible to Inevitable” Rabbi Teitelbaum is convinced that the only way to transform parental choice in education “from impossible to inevitable” is to sponsor a bill in Congress based on Mr. Friedman’s teachings, like the bill presently under review by Mr. Garrett.. “As an outspoken school choice advocate, Mr. Garrett is the one individual in all New Jersey who can be counted on to ring the bell for freedom. It is most critical that he be assured by all his constituents that they will stand firmly with him, and will extend to him their full support when those in power seek to punish him for standing up for liberty, the Constitution and ‘We the People,’” said Rabbi Teitelbaum.

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School Choice in NJ

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While Rabbi Teitelbaum is reaching out to all segments of the population to support school-choice, he recognizes that Orthodox Jews as a group have embraced the issue. Orthodox communities in Mr. Garrett’s 5th District include Bergenfield, Fair Lawn, New Milford, Paramus, Teaneck, and Woodcliff Lake, all in Bergen County. The District includes 37 other communities in Bergen, two towns in Passaic County, and 19 in Sussex County, many of which lean to the political right, but have no Orthodox synagogues, except for some Chabad Houses. “Unifying Issue” Despite the seeming lack of support, Rabbi Teitelbaum is far from giving up. Noting that more than 6,500 state and federal seats will be decided on Election Day three months from now, the Alliance for Free Choice in Education is currently disseminating talking points on the issue. “Where those running for office stand on school choice should provide voters with the perfect test for candidates to reveal themselves as true representatives of ‘We the People,’” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. Like other advocates of school choice, he is convinced that the possibility of universal school choice “will unite and invigorate the American people, especially the poor and middle class.” “School choice will cut costs from about $30,000 per child annually to about $15,000, reduce taxes, and, thereby, improve the economy. The competition among schools for parental vouchers would result in improved education,” he said. At the Tea Party meeting on August 19, which is open to the public, Rabbi Teitelbaum intends to ask the public to reach out to Mr. Garrett by calling his local office at 201-444-5454.

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sure him of our full support against any and all backlash from the left,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. S.L.R.

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Rabbi Twerski: Follow the Rambam and Teach Yeshiva Children to Contemplate the Wonders of Creation By Evan Brand

If Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski

were in charge of a yeshiva, his first session every morning would be devoted to instilling in his students the lesson that no less an authority than the great Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides or Rambam) suggested more than 800 years ago. According to the Rambam, it is a mitzvah to develop love for Hashem “and all of Hashem.” When asked how to accomplish this, the Rambam said, “If one will come to contemplate the wonders of Creation, he will come to Bereishis of G-d.” “I think Rambam is teaching that we have to have an appreciation for the greatness of Creation. This is something that has been neglected. Where do we show the students the wonders of Creation? Maybe this is a job for the home, but the home is often too busy. Both parents may be working and there may be many children, leaving parents no time to devote to this. I think if I were in charge of a yeshiva, my first session in the morning would be to implement what the Rambam says and teach students the wonders of Creation,” said Rabbi Twerski. Recently, he and Rabbi Yisroel Roll cooperated in a

presentation at Congregation Beth Abraham in Bergenfield on tactics for managing life’s greatest challenges. Meeting Emotional Challenges A licensed therapist and attorney, Rabbi Roll received smicha in London and is now based in Baltimore. He is well known for his work in anxietyreduction. A psychiatrist best known for his groundbreaking work in the field of addiction as well as the prolific author of more than 60 books combining Judaism and self-help topics, Rabbi Twerski was the founder and director of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh until his recent retirement. Now a resident of Teaneck, he is often asked to participate in local forums, such as the one held at Beth Abraham, where his presentation centered on how the 12-step program can address the issues of emotional challenges. Rabbi Twerski has often said that he discovered in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings the kind of sincere and even selfless fellow-feeling that was often absent from synagogues. Problems in the Yeshiva System During his presentation, Rabbi Twerski discussed ways in which the Orthodox com-

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munity can retain its children. He said he finds the process by which “religious, good kids stay on the derech” intriguing. Asked for his opinion of the current state of yeshiva education, he did not deny there are problems, including financial needs, the “tuition crisis,” large classes, and underpaid teachers. “Teachers often need to take on a second job in order to support their own families. And teachers cannot devote themselves to individual students as they would like to do. More financial resources for the schools would be one solution,” he said. A Place to Belong He recognized that the core of the yeshivas’ curriculum is Gemara, which, for many students, he said, “is fine.” “But there are a number of youngsters who, for one reason or another, do not catch on to Gemara very well, and they fall behind. When these kids feel they are not keeping up with the group, and they don’t perceive that they are receiving any attention from their teachers, they feel they do not belong. If they feel they do not belong, they are going to look someplace else where they feel they can belong. These kids, who are disillusioned in their abilities to become Torah scholars are at risk of falling away,” he said. He used his own past as an example. He recalled, as a young student, being approached by his own late Rosh Yeshiva who told him, “I’ve prepared a shiur for you and your chavruta.” As an adult looking back, Rabbi Twerski said that although he remembered the Rosh Yeshiva as “really great,” there was an inherent problem.

“He was complementing me, but that means he was not paying attention to the other 18 students in the class. That may be a problem because students who were less sharp in Talmud would feel left behind,” he said. This is a problem that persists, he said. “It is difficult to change ingrained methods. There are problems in the system, and everybody knows it,” he said. For the Younger Generation However, now in his mid80s, Rabbi Twerski does not anticipate coming up with solutions on his own, especially if they involve high-tech gadgetry. Asked if he might consider launching a program for children or adults that would incorporate the best of Jewish educational pedagogy with contemporary technology and media, he shuddered. “If I were 35 years younger, maybe I would do it. At this age, I do not have those grandiose ideas. I’m not considering developing anything anymore. I’m at the stage of life where I’m getting ready to sit in a rocking chair. I’m electronically illiterate. I can receive email, and that’s about it. I’ll leave it all for the next generation,” he said. But that doesn’t mean he has no suggestions for those who will take up the challenge. First and foremost, he said, is a recognition that the big issues of the day “are breaking down barriers of secular and Torah communities,” making the need for Ahavas Yisrael, the love of one Jew for another, more important than ever. No Blemishes Respect and love do not mean relinquishing values, he said, noting that “the secular community has to understand that the

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The Cancer Center at Holy Name Medical Center Holy Name Medical Center

in Teaneck announced last month that it now offers the TrueBeam system, from Varian Medical Systems, which enables a radically different approach to treating malignancies with imageguided radiotherapy. This is a promising and innovative development for cancer patients in the New York-New Jersey metro area. According to Dr. Benjamin Rosenbluth, medical director of Radiation Oncology at Holy Name, the TrueBeam system was engineered to deliver more powerful cancer treatments with pinpoint accuracy and precision. Unique in the field, it uses sophisticated new imaging and motion management technologies that make it possible to administer treatments more quickly, while monitoring and compensating for tumor motion. This will lead to new possibilities in the treatment of lung, breast, prostate, head-andneck, and other cancers that are treatable with radiotherapy. “TrueBeam is a real gamechanger that will enable us to treat the most challenging cases with unprecedented speed and precision,” said Dr. Rosenbluth. “With a broad spectrum of new capabilities, TrueBeam breaks the mold in just about every dimension, making it possible for us to offer faster, more targeted treatments to tumors even as they move and change over time.”

Rabbi Twerski Orthodox community is bound by halacha. We can’t circumvent halacha or change laws.” However, he said, Orthodox behavior towards more secular Jews can make a positive impact. “I urge everyone who represents Torah not to leave a blemish. The Talmud says that

Faster Treatments With dose delivery rates that are 40–140 percent higher than earlier generations of Varian technology, the TrueBeam system makes it possible to offer greater patient comfort by shortening treatments, and to improve precision by leaving less time for tumor motion during dose delivery. “Intelligent” automation further speeds treatments, with up to fivefold reduction in the number of steps needed for image guidance and dose delivery. Simple treatments that once took fifteen minutes or more can now be completed in less than two minutes once the patient is in position. “These are significant reductions in treatment time. Patients will spend a whole lot less time lying still, immobilized on a hard surface,” said Dr. Rosenbluth. Enhanced Precision The precision of the TrueBeam system is measured in increments of less than a millimeter. The system synchronizes imaging, patient positioning, motion management, beam shaping, and dose delivery, performing accuracy checks every ten milliseconds throughout the entire treatment. Critical data points are measured continually as a treatment progresses, ensuring that the system maintains a “true isocenter,” or focal point of treatment. For lung and other tumors

continued from page 14 to love Hashem means to make Hashem beloved. We must behave in a way that will prompt others to respect Hashem and Hashem’s rules, and not in a way that brings criticism and shame. Torah observers should navigate themselves to live in a positive way,” he said. Y

subject to respiratory motion, TrueBeam offers gated RapidArc® radiotherapy, which makes it possible to monitor patient breathing and compensate for tumor motion while quickly delivering the dose during a continuous rotation around the patient. “During the last decade, lung cancer became the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States. With TrueBeam, we can treat a moving lung tumor as if it were standing still. We expect this to make a meaningful difference for lung cancer patients in the area,” said Dr. Rosenbluth. Faster Imaging, Lower Doses TrueBeam imaging technology can produce in 60 percent less time the three-dimensional images used to fine-tune tumor targeting. Additional functionality makes it possible to create images using 25 percent less X-ray dosage.

“Imaging is an essential part of modern-day, targeted radiotherapy. This machine allows us to choose an imaging mode that minimizes the amount of X-rays needed to generate an image—and that’s good for our patients,” explained Dr. Rosenbluth. TrueBeam can be used for a wide variety of radiotherapy treatments, including imageguided radiotherapy and radiosurgery (IGRT and IGRS), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), RapidArc® radiotherapy and gated RapidArc. “With TrueBeam, we can select the optimal treatment for every type of cancer. This is a breakthrough that lets us bring a wider spectrum of advanced radiotherapy treatment options to many more patients. It represents a quantum leap in our ability to help people fight cancer,” said Dr. Rosenbluth.

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Holy Name

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Radiation Therapy Accredited by the American College of Surgeons-Commission on Cancer and the American College of Radiology, Holy Name Medical Center’s Regional Cancer Center offers state-of the-art radiation therapy. This includes Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), which allows doctors to use online computerized imaging to pinpoint the precise positioning of the patient immediately prior to each treatment session. The process improves treatment accuracy so that a smaller, more-defined field of treatment can be used, protecting healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. This enables delivery of a higher dose of radiation to control the tumor more effectively. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), now the gold standard in radiation treatment for many cancers, is available at Holy Name. The Cancer Center’s latestgeneration Varian technology enables physicians to shape multiple beams of highenergy radiation to the precise dimensions of the malignancy, maximizing the dose of radiation to the tumor while minimizing exposure in surrounding healthy tissues. CT-guided prone breast radiation therapy, used for select patients, is different from most breast radiation treatments in which the patient receives radiation while

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lying on her back. Prone breast radiation therapy is administered while the patient lies face down. With the breasts projected downward, radiation can be aimed with greater precision at the breast, avoiding healthy organs and tissues. Still Reliable Therapies PET/CT has been utilized for diagnosis, staging and radiation treatment planning at Holy Name for longer than at any other center in the region. The Holy Name Cancer Center’s radiologists, radiation oncologists, and physicists coauthored a seminal research paper on the topic of PET/CT for radiation treatment planning. Respiratory Gated PET/CT is a technique that helps protect normal tissues, especially in the regions of the body that move with respiration, such as the lungs and abdomen. Holy Name was the first medical center to use respiratory gated PET/CT for respiratory gated radiation treatment. High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy is a computer-driven treatment method in which a temporary radiation source, or “seed,” is remotely, safely, and accurately placed directly into a cancerous area. Treatment takes only a few minutes and can often replace an entire multi-week course of external beam-radiation therapy. Results have shown excellent control of disease and few side effects. HDR brachytherapy is used for many sites of cancer, including prostate, lung, and breast. Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) treat tumors in the brain and other parts of the body using highly conformal and dose-maximized treatment planning, with an entire course of treatment delivered in as few as one to eight treatment sessions. This type of treatment requires continuous motion and positioning monitoring during the treatment. Gynecologic Oncology Last month Holy Name added to its roster of cancer specialists. Gynecologic oncologist Dr. Sharyn N. Lewin, and Dr. Phyllis A. Tarallo, a nurse practitioner and diplomate of the American Board of Comprehensive Care have joined the hospital staff. Both specialize in hereditary cancer risk and women’s health. Dr. Lewin specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of ovarian,

endometrial, uterine, cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. Her practice includes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team approach to screening, treatment, and overall improvement in quality of care for women at high risk for ovarian and other gynecologic malignancies. At Holy Name, she will serve as medical director of the Regional Cancer Center’s Gynecologic Oncology Division, where she will spearhead the development of a Women’s Comprehensive Health Center, a female-focused initiative providing care and support for women of all ages. Dr. Lewin is the author of more than 100 publications and a national educator on the condition known as hereditary breastand-ovarian cancer syndrome. She is also an advocate for quality improvement in women’s health care. She has expertise in performing complex surgical procedures for gynecological cancers, and extensive training in robotics and other minimally invasive techniques. She uses intraperitoneal chemotherapy and conducts research in the use of novel chemotherapeutic agents for recurrent ovarian cancer. Part of the Team Dr. Tarallo comes to Holy Name from Columbia University Medical Center/Presbyterian Hospital, where she was a member of the gynecologic oncology and surgery departments. She was director of women’s health in the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation. Widely published, she lectures and offers workshops on female cancers. At Holy Name, she will assist in performing radical surgeries for gynecologic malignancies and perform related procedures, including colposcopy; uterine, vaginal, and vulva biopsies; and chemotherapy management. The Cancer Center at Holy Name Medical Center offers one-stop, comprehensive service, with easily available local care and resources. It employs the expertise of many specialists to care for individual patients, which is critical for providing the most effective care with the best possible prognosis. For more information on the Cancer Center and the radiation oncology department, call 877-HOLY-NAME (1-877465-9626). To reach Dr. Lewin directly, call 201-227-6200. To learn more about Holy Name, visit holyname.org. Y

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Bill Clinton’s Mistake Haunts Israel in Gaza, and Madeleine Albright Is Still Pressuring Israel By Stephen M. Flatow

In recent days, the news media have

been reporting that a Hamas military commander named Mohammed Deif is one of the senior figures directing the thousands of Gaza rocket attacks against Israel. What the media have not mentioned is that the Clinton administration had numerous opportunities to put Deif behind bars, but instead let him slip right through its fingers. Deif was a senior disciple of the infamous Yehya Ayyash, the Hamas master bomber nicknamed “The Engineer.” After Ayyash was killed in 1995, Deif succeeded him. Deif co-designed the Qassam rocket, thousands of which have been blasting Israeli towns, homes, and kindergartens. The bombings that Deif masterminded took the lives of hundreds of Israelis, as well as a number of American citizens, including Ira Weinstein and Jewish Theological Seminary student Matthew Eisenfeld and his fiancé, Sara Duker of New Jersey, who were passengers on a Jerusalem bus that Deif’s men bombed on February 25, 1996; Yitzhak Weinstock, the teenage grandson of Los Angeles Rabbi Simon Dolgin, was murdered in a driveby shooting on December 1, 1993; and American-Israeli soldier Nachshon Wachsman, was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in October 1994. “Top Priority” After my daughter Alisa was murdered by Palestinian bus-bombers in 1995, I was invited to take part in numerous meetings and conference calls with Jewish leaders and Clinton administration officials, in which we raised the issue of American victims of Palestinian terror. Deif’s name came up often. President Bill Clinton visited Nachshon Wachsman’s grave during his March 1996 visit to Israel and personally promised Mr. Wachsman’s parents that the US would “make it a top priority” to capture Deif. Martin Indyk, who was then US ambassador to Israel, even put it in writing. In a letter to the Wachsman family on March 26, 1997, Mr. Indyk stated that “the arrest of Muhammed Deif (sic)…remains a high priority for the US Government.” It soon became clear, however, that

those promises were just words. On December 19, 1997, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright took part in a conference call with American Jewish leaders, organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. An official of the National Council of Young Israel asked her why the Clinton administration did not insist that the Palestinian Authority hand over killers of Americans, such as Deif, who were being sheltered in PA territory. Shockingly, Mrs. Albright replied that she did not know who Deif was.

Within Reach Then, in the spring of 2000, Deif was within reach. Israel Television reported on May 14, 2000, that PA chairman Yasir Arafat had placed Deif in “protective detention.” According to Arafat, “he was arrested for his own safety, to protect him from the Israeli Shin Bet security service.” The Conference of Presidents seized the moment and publicly urged that “the United States pursue the extradition of Mohammed Deif, who is currently being

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Clinton’s Mistake held in ‘protective detention’ by the Palestinian Authority.” “We believe the extradition of Deif and his prosecution in this country will send a clear message of determination both in regard to the war against terrorism as well as the commitment to protect American citizens at home and abroad,” the Conference wrote. Empty Promise Mr. Clinton could have demanded that Arafat hand Deif over to the U.S for prosecution. After all, Mr. Clinton was giving the PA $500 million annually, as well as important political and diplomatic support. But Mr. Clinton did nothing, except make more empty promises. Three months later (August 25), Ha’aretz reported that, in a meeting with American Jewish leaders, Mr. Clinton again pledged to arrest Deif. Left free to continue terrorizing Israelis, Deif did so. In 2002, he became head of Hamas’s military arm, the Iz-aDin al-Qassam Brigades. Today he is comfortably situated in one of the Hamas underground command bunkers, giving orders to fire rockets at Israel, while watching Secretary of State John Kerry demand that Israel cease firing at Hamas. Pursuing Justice Now But it’s never too late to pursue justice. Let’s start with some acknowledgement of past errors. Mr. Clinton should admit that he was wrong to refrain from insisting on the extradition of Deif. The former President has been very candid about the fact that he failed to respond to the Rwanda genocide. He should be just as contrite about his failures concerning Hamas’s genocidal war against Israel. The Conference of Presidents needs to speak out, too. Along with other groups, such

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as AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee, the Conference should demand that the extradition of Deif to the United States be included as one of the provisions of any ceasefire plan. Deif must stand trial in America for the murders of American Jews. Most of all, President Barack Obama and Mr. Kerry need to make it unequivocally clear that they stand with Israel, and against Deif and Hamas. No

showing up in the media as a foreign affairs expert. Unfortunately, she’s doing it at Israel’s expense. Interviewed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer last month, Mrs. Albright paid lip-service to Israel’s right to self-defense, but then got to her main point, which was accusing Israel of “overdoing it” in Gaza. She said Israel’s anti-terrorism actions were “disproportionate” and claimed Israel has lost its “moral

Mohammed Deif and Madeleine Albright : Both Still At-Large more wrangling over funds that Israel needs for Iron Dome; no more statements implying that Israel and Hamas are on the same moral level; and, above all, no more pressure on Israel for one-sided ceasefires. Instead of handcuffing Israel in its war with Hamas, how about the US committing itself to putting Deif in handcuffs? Appeasing Enemies And while members of the Clinton administration are baring their souls, Mrs. Albright has far more to own up to than just her pretense of ignorance with the Presidents Conference. It’s been 22 years since Mrs. Albright was a foreign policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter, 17 years since she was America’s ambassador to the UN, and 13 since she was secretary of state. Yet all these years later, Mrs. Albright is still pressuring Israel and trying to appease Israel’s enemies. Like many former government officials, Mrs. Albright, who is now a professor at Georgetown University, keeps

authority.” Hypocrisy This is the same Madeleine Albright who was asked by Lesley Stahl on “Sixty Minutes,” on May 12, 1996, if international sanctions against Iraq were worth it, since “we have heard that half a million [Iraqi] children have died.” Mrs. Albright replied: “We think the price is worth it.” So much for proportionality! This is the same Mrs. Albright who helped bring about NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia in the Kosovo war in the spring of 1999, killing more than 2,000 people. So much for “overdoing it”! This is the same Mrs. Albright who worked overtime to sell Arafat to the world as a peacemaker. Running after Yasir Few of us will ever forget the incredible events of October 4, 2000, when Mrs. Albright, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Arafat were meeting at the residence of the US ambassador in Paris.

Arafat had one of his usual tantrums and stormed out of the meeting. Mrs. Albright went running down the hall after him, stumbling in her high heels, and shouting to the guards, “Shut the gates! Shut the gates!” in the hope of blocking Arafat’s car from leaving. A Palestinian negotiator happened to be in the hallway, speaking on the phone to a Reuters correspondent, just as the chase and shouting erupted. The Reuters reporter overheard what happened and broke the story. Less than 15 months later, Israel intercepted a ship carrying 50 tons of weapons that Arafat was trying to smuggle into Gaza. His image as a “moderate” was blown forever, especially with President George W. Bush. But Mrs. Albright has never once acknowledged she was wrong about Arafat. No “Rewards” for Jews I’ve had my own share of unfortunate experiences with Mrs. Albright. Several years after my daughter, Alisa, was murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists, the Israeli government identified by name several of the suspects involved in the attack. I repeatedly asked Mrs. Albright’s State Department to post a reward for information leading to the capture of the killers. They eventually caved in to public pressure, but pulled back on the rewards program at the first opportunity. Today, the US government’s “Rewards for Justice” web site makes no mention of Alisa or any other murdered Americans in Israel, and there is no reward to help capture their murderers. Justice Denied Meanwhile, my family and I sued the government of Iran for sponsoring the group that carried out the attack (Islamic

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Terrorism in Israel

Clinton’s Mistake

Jihad). The courts ruled in our favor. Other victims of Iraniansponsored terrorism won similar lawsuits. We tried to collect the judgments that the courts awarded from Iranian assets that were frozen in the United States. But Mrs. Albright and her President fought us tooth and nail. The Clinton administration was hoping to renew relations with Iran, so it didn’t want a penny of the terror-sponsors’ money being touched. Mrs. Albright also initiated various steps to ease sanctions on Teheran, such as lifting the ban on US imports of Iranian carpets, pistachio nuts and caviar. Appeasing the Iranians and improving their economy was more important than justice for the many Americans killed by Iranian-sponsored terror groups.

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Praise from Hamas Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum praised the terrorist who attacked the bus, calling him a “free Palestinian of Jerusalem” and his action “a very brave, natural response to the occupation of our people.” According to Israeli security officials, the three attacks bore the hallmarks of what they called “personal initiative” actions. Because these are usually planned and carried out by just one person without reliance on a military-type terror network, such attacks are almost impossible to prevent through intelligence gathering. According to Gil Ronen of Arutz Sheva, Palestinian factions have been encouraging PA residents to engage in just such acts of terror. “They know Israel will not be able to blame Hamas, Fatah, or any other group for the apparently ‘spontaneous’ actions against Israeli citizens,” said Mr. Ronen.

gust 4, two terrorist attacks took place in Jerusalem. In the first, the operator of a blackhoe construction-type digging machine ploughed several times into a bus, turning it over. A Jewish pedestrian was killed and four others, including the bus driver, were wounded. The terrorist, a resident of eastern Jerusalem, was shot and killed by police. The pedestrian, a 25-yearold hareidi kollel student, was declared dead at the scene, the corner of Zachs and Shmuel HaNavi Streets, near the Olive Tree Hotel. A short time later, an Arab dressed in black shot a 20-year-old Israeli soldier on Mount Scopus and fled on a waiting Vespa-type motor scooter in the direction of the Arab neighborhood of Wadi Joz. A security guard fired at the scooter, but missed. The soldier, who had been shot in the stomach, remained conscious as he arrived at nearby Hadassah Har Hatzofim Hospital in moderate condition.

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What “Moral Authority”? Now, all these years later, Mrs. Albright continues to show more concern for Palestinian terrorists and their Iranian sponsors than for their Israeli and American victims. If Mrs. Albright has her way, Israel will cease firing, Hamas will be free to rebuild its terror state, and the Iranians will continue to win again. It’s Mrs. Albright, not Israel, who has lost “moral authority.”Y Mr. Flatow is a real estate lawyer, owner and Counsel of Vested Land Services LLC, chairman of the Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund (named for his daughter who was murdered in terrorist attack in Gaza in 1995), and a lecturer on Middle East politics, terrorism and victims’ rights.

A Hoax A few hours after the two attacks in Jerusalem, police closed roads and turned drivers away from the Gaza-border area. Shortly afterwards, police set up roadblocks in the area around Tel Aviv, causing major backups on the principal roads into and out of the city. According to police, the action around Tel Aviv was due to a call telling them a terror attack “may be imminent.” Police said the caller claimed to be a resident of Hebron who had sneaked into Israel in order to carry out a terror attack. He told police he had changed his mind; but he said there might be others involved in the plot. Police sources admitted calls like that were not unusual and in most cases were deemed to be hoaxes. But after the two terror attacks in Jerusalem, the police refused to take chances. Unity The current wave of terror began on June 12 when three yeshiva students, Gidon Sha’ar and Naftali Frenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, were kidnapped near Hebron by terrorists, presumed to be Hamas operatives. They were found murdered on June 30, not far from where they were kidnapped, in between the Arab village of Halhoul and the Jewish community of Carmei Tzur. The boys had been shot dead shortly after they were kidnapped, probably moments after it was discovered that Mr. Sha’ar had managed to call the Israeli police hotline. That call tragically was dismissed for hours as a prank. While the episode ended tragically, the 18 days before the boys’ bodies were found prompted more unity in the Jewish state and the worldwide Jewish community than

had been seen in many years. Except for the remarks of a few far-left wing Israeli groups, particularly B’Tselem and Gisha (“Approach”), the Israeli public and their world-wide supporters displayed enormous support for their government and the actions it took to find the abducted teens. B’Tselem demanded an end to “collective punishment,” and Gisha objected to the Israeli decision to limit passage of Arabs into Gaza after the kidnapping. The Israeli action was taken to prevent Hamas terrorists from absconding to the Hamas stronghold of Gaza with the three teenagers. Nationalist politicians garnered far more public support with calls for the death penalty for terrorists guilty of heinous crimes, such as the kidnapping. Although Israeli law allows the death penalty, it has been used only once in the state’s history, the execution of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann. Calling for Obstruction In the first few hours after the boys’ disappearance, which occurred as they were making their way home for Shabbat, Hamas spokesman Hassan Badran openly called on Arabs in Judea and Samaria to obstruct Israeli efforts to find the victims, whom he referred to as “Israeli soldiers.” In Gaza, the reaction to the kidnapping was celebratory. Sweets were handed out, and celebrations were led by families of terrorists currently serving sentences in Israeli prisons. The Palestinians anticipated that just as they had done in the case of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Israeli officials would trade thousands of incarcerated terrorists in return for the three boys. Initially, PA spokesman, Adnan al-Damiri, maintained

continued on page 31

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Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

The Log: Do It Now

Hatzalah of Union County is recruiting new responders and dispatchers, who undergo free NJ State training beginning of September, leading to certification as an EMT, 908-337-4155 All boys ages 7-12 who want to sing in the High Holiday Choir of Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, should contact Steve Schwartz, stevenbarryschwartz@gmail.com The Cong Beth Aaron of Teanecj Boys Choir is accepting new members in grades 1-7, 201-357-5495 or 203-278-6053 The Art League Defending Israel LLC plans to use a well-aimed brush, dipped in the color of conviction, to visually come to the aid of Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state. The website provides a home for an “army of artists” to fight attacks on the Jewish state—and Jews throughout the world—with original creations that respond to

current events and ongoing threats with images of beauty and truth. Director Sheryl Intrator Urman’s goal is to showcase the League’s art in juried exhibitions and in an internet gallery. Check out http:// www.artleaguedefendingisrael.org/ Find a chavrusa to learn what you want, when you want, on your skill level. Website allows learning by phone, Skype, or in person. See the video on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=QqgkllQ_EbM or contact info@ chavrusamatch.com Car magnets have been designed to remember Naftali Frenkel, Gilan Sha’ar, and Eyal Yifrah, For a $1 donation to the IDF, the magnets can be had at Congregations Beth Abraham and Ohr HaTorah, Bergenfeld, or Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck. Contact meredithyager@aol.com Free High Holiday Service Tickets are available to those who have lived in northern NJ for

two years or less. Participating Orthodox synagogues include Jewish Learning Experence (services in Bergenfield, 201-9664498), Cong Beth Tefillah (Paramus, 201-265-4100), Cong Keter Torah (Teaneck, 201-907-0180), for more information on the program in Bergen County, Nancy Perlman, 201820-3904; in MetroWest, Chabad Centers (of Sussex County, Sparta; Union County, Fanwood; SE Morris County, Madison), Chai Center (Short Hills), Cong Anshe Chesed (Linden), Cong Shaya Ahavat Torah (Parsippany), call 973-929-3000

Mon., Aug 11

Jewish Federation of Northern NJ “We Stand with Israel” Mission, will include dinners, high-level briefings, visits with people directly affected by Operation Protective Edge, return Thurs., Aug 14, 201-820-3956 Handwriting Kamp, for children entering grades K-1, Elissa Siev, private home in Bergenfield,

4pm, 201-357-0651 Caregivers Support Group, for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-569-7900 Support Group for Those with Loved Ones in Israel Now, Jewish Family Service of North Jersey, Fair Lawn, 7pm, 973-595-0111 NCSY All-Boys Night at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Jackson, 8pm-midnight, 201-862-0250 “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” and “The Three Shiurim on Kedusha in Jewish Thought,”Eli Weber, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-836-8916 “The Lost Holiday of Tu B’Av,” for women, Yoetzet Halacha Shoshana Samuels, private home in Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201836-3828 or 212-909-6951 “Super Bowl of Aliyah: Live Webcast,” spons by Nefesh B’Nefesh, www.nbn.org.il/live, 11pm

Tues., Aug 12

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http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com

Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

Page - 21

“Separate Yourself Not from the Community” dents of Yeshiva of Staten Island come to learn with the PassaicClifton community, includes oneon-one chavrusas, for adults 14 and up, 7:45am-1pm and 8:3010:30pm; for boys, 8-13, learning groups, 7:30pm, spons by Passaic Torah Institute, through Wed., Aug 20, 973-594-4774 or 862-371-3186 Caregivers Support Group, for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, JCC, Tenafly, 10:30am, 201-569-7900 Tuesday Morning with the Rebbetzin, for women, Chabad of Monroe, NJ, 10:30am, chanie@ chabadmonroe.org “Stephen Sondeim,” Dr. Robert Butts, JCC, Edison, 10:30am, 732-494-3232 “Some of My Favorite Stories,” Rabbi Ely Allen, Café Europa, for Holocaust survivors, includes lunch, Fair Lawn Jewish Center, 11am, 973-595-0111 Bereavement Support Group, Rabbi Bryan Kinzbrun-

ner, Stein Hospice, Somerset, 4pm, 732-227-1212 Handwriting Kamp, for children entering grades K-1, Elissa Siev, private home in Bergenfield, 4pm, 201-357-0651 “For Kids and Kosher: Exploring the Professional World of Yeast, Pizza, and Challah,” for children ages 5-14, Chef Moshe of Kosher Chef Productions, outside the Fallsburg Library, South Fallsburg, 5:30pm, 845-436-6067 Rep Brad Sherman (D-CA), spons by NORPAC, private home in Demarest, 6pm, 201-788-5133 Ze’ev Jabotinsky Memorial Evening, featuring Prof Rebecca Kobrin, Yuval Granot, and Cantor Joseph Malovany, spons by Americans for a Safe Israel, Fifth Avenue Synaogue, NYC, 7:30pm, 212-828-2424 or 800-235-3658 Arachim Lecture: Parshat Ekev—The Deep Meaning of Benching and Its Impact on Our Sustenance,” in Hebrew, for men

and women, Rabbi Yinon Kalazan, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 8:30pm, 973-597-1655

sisterhood.etzchaim@gmail.com or jeannewaxman@gmail.com Handwriting Kamp, for children entering grades K-1, Elissa Siev, private home in Bergenfield, 4pm, 201-357-0651 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 Yanni, in concert, Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, 8pm, 201-227-1030 “Of Prophets and Prayers: The Haftarot of the Days of Awe,” for women on all levels, Shuli Taubes, bring a Tanach, Cong Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-787-1812 Jazz Night, with Bnai Jazz, includes wine and cheese, spons by sisterhood of Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, private home in West Orange, 8pm, aabjdsisterhood@gmail.com “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” and “The Three Shiurim on Ke-

Wed., Aug 13

Teacher Expo: Expanding Teaching Horizons, for teachers of grades K-12, includes workshops and exhibits, Holiday Inn, Cherry Hill, 10am-4pm, 201-634-0338 “The Twilight Zone: How to Jump Start the Afternoons of Life,” for women, Rebbetzin Dinie Mangel, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 10am, 856-874-1500 “How Do We Preserve Our Jewish Heritage?: Workshops on Preserving Documents and Photographs,” Stanley Bergman, JCC, Edison, 10:30am, 732-494-3232 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn, will be open for appointments 1-2:30pm and 7-9pm, 201-797-1770 Trip to the Anne Frank Center in New York and Dinner, for women, spons by Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, meet in New York, 3pm,

continued on page 22

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Page - 22

The Log

Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 21

dusha in Jewish Thought,”Eli Weber, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-836-8916 Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431

Thurs., Aug 14

Somaich Achim Jewish Family Services Food Pantry Program non-perishable food and consumer items and produce available free of charge or for a nominal fee, volunteers needed, too, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 9:30am-1:30pm; 8-9pm, 973-246-7717 Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps (TVAC) 75th Anniversary Celebration, with kosher food and music, at World of Wings Butterfly Museum, Teaneck, 7-9pm, TVAC75thgala@gmail.com “The Basis for Israel’s Continued Administration of the West Bank and the Legal Status of the Settlements,” Avinoam Sharon, JCC Fort Lee, 7pm, 201-947-1735 Summer Learning Initiative, for high school girls, Rabbi Donny Besser, spons by Bruriah, Ma’ayanot, Frisch, and NCSY, at Lazy Bean Café, Teaneck, 7:15pm, afrohlich613@gmail.com

Fri., Aug 15

Bake Sale to Support Israel and the IDF, private location in Teaneck, 12-3pm, meme4evr99@gmail. com or orenoppenheim@gmail.com Shabbos under the Stars, Chabad of Monroe, NJ, 6:30pm, chanie@chabadmonroe.org Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Chesky Tenenbaum, Jewish Uniformed Services Association of Maryland, at Chabad of West Orange, through Shabbat, Aug 16, 973-325-6311

Shabbat, Aug 16

Educational Prayer Service, spons by the Jewish Learning Ex-

perience, includes discussions and commentary, prayers in English and Hebrew transliteration, at Cong Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, 9:45am, 201-966-4498 or 201-836-4334 “Great Debates: The Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shemtov: Legalism or Chasidic Spirituality?” Rabbi Barry Schwartz, Cong Sons of Israel, noon, 732-446-3000 Women’s Shabbos Shiur, Gila Solomon, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 5:30pm, marstrul@aol.com “Iyov,” Gay Fried, for women, spons by the Young Israel of East Brunswick, private home in East Brunswick, 5:45pm, 732-613-9511 Potluck Seudah Shlishit, spons by Cong Beth Aaron Sisterhood, private home in Teaneck, 6pm, zaya18@aol.com “Which is the mitzvah: attending minyan or visiting a place of aesthetic beauty?” Aaron Friedman, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 6:20pm, 201-837-2795 Fair Lawn Women’s Tefillah Mincha and Potluck Seudat Shlishit, featuring “The Laws and Customs of Women and Sifrei Torah,” Jennifer Seligman, private home in Fair Lawn, 7pm, avivagolda@gmail.com

Motzei Shabbat, Aug 16

Shiur, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Young Israel of Riverdale, 9:30pm, 718-548-4765

Sun., Aug 17

Rockland Jewish Federation Solidarity Mission to Israel, to return Thurs., Aug 21, 845-3624200 ext 133 PJ Library Boker Tov at the Shore, with Cantor Jamie Murley, Margate Pavillion, Margate, 9:30am, 609-822-1854 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn, will be open for appoint-

The Log is a free service provided to the Jewish community in northern and central New Jersey, Rockland County and Riverdale. Events that we list include special and guest lectures, concerts, boutiques, dinners, open houses, club meetings, and new classes. Announcements are requested by the 25th of the month prior to the month of the event. Due to space and editorial constraints, we cannot guarantee publication of any announcement. Please email them to : susan@jewishvoiceandopinion.com

ments 9:30-11:30am, 201-797-1770 “Something’s Fishy: The Animal Kingdom’s Lesson in Character Development,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, Chabad at the Shore, Ventnor, 10am, 609-822-8500 Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore Golf Outing, includes kosher brunch, open practice range, cocktail hour, silent auction, napkin folding, and flower arranging, at Trump National Golf Club, Colts Neck, 11am, www.yaths.org Bake Sale and Iced Drinks, in honor of Matt Fenster’s third yahrzeit, to benefit Friends of the IDF and the Matthew S. Fenster Jewish Education Fund, private home in Riverdale, 11am-4pm, jenfenster6@gmail.com Golani Rifle & Pistol Club of North Jersey Emergency Fundraiser, to benefit needed supplies for Israeli soldiers in the Gaza campaign, for men and women over 16 years of age, includes a chance to shoot the same firearms the IDF is using, food, drinks, and networking, at Guns for Hire, Woodland Park, NJ, 5pm, russelscott@yahoo.com Jewish Summer Fest, includes rides, crafts, kosher BBQ, carnival, music, spons by Chabad at the Shore, on the beach by the Ventnor library, minutes from Atlantic City, 6-8:30pm, 609-822-8500

Mon., Aug 18

Deadline to Enter “Sukkot at the Ranch” Competition, designers of all backgrounds can submit designs to http://jewishnorthcounty.com/sukkotattheranch/design/register. Spons by the Encitas Leichtag Foundation, three finalists will be chosen on Aug 24, and their teams will receive a $2,500 materials budget to build the sukkah at The Ranch, 441 Saxony Rd, Encinitas, CA, on Oct 5. Rikkud Dance Camp, for girls ages 5-9, private home in Teaneck, 9am-2pm (extended hours available), through Fri., Aug 22, 718-551-5645 Golf Classic to Benefit Daughters of Miriam Center, at Preakness Hills Country Club, Wayne, 9am-9pm, 973-253-5281 Support Group for Those with Loved Ones in Israel Now,

Jewish Family Service of North Jersey, Fair Lawn, 7pm, 973-595-0111 “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” and “The Three Shiurim on Kedusha in Jewish Thought,”Eli Weber, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-836-8916

Tues., Aug 19

End-of-Summer Indoor BBQ, includes lunch and entertainment, JCC, Edison, noon, 732-494-3232 Friendship Circle Event for Special-Needs Jewish Adults, private home in Paramus, 6pm, 201-262-7172 “The Candidates Who Support the Constitution and, Therefore, School Vouchers,” Rabbi Israel Teitelbaum, spons by the NJ Tea Party Coalition, American Legion Hall, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-836-2806, rosegreen18@msn.com, or Israel@ SchoolChoiceNJ.org Girls Night Out: Canvas Painting, spons by BNOT of Cong Bnai Yeshurun, includes wine, at Sunshine Gifts, Englewood, 7:30pm, mkopel135@gmail.com

Wed., Aug 20

“Something’s Fishy: The Animal Kingdom’s Lessons in Character Development,” for women, Rebbetzin Dinie Mangel, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 10am, 856-874-1500 Film: “Hava Nagila—The Movie,” Community Room at River Ridge, Highland Park, 1pm, 732-494-3232 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn, will be open for appointments 1-2:30pm, 201-797-1770 Jewish Heritage Night: Trenton Thunder Minor League Baseball Team vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats, glatt kosher food available from Magestic Kosher Caterers of Elizabeth, trip spons by Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, game at Arm and Hammer Park, Trenton, 7:05pm, 732-247-3038 Passaic Tomchei Shabbos Volunteers Needed, Women and girls, 6pm; men and boys, 7:15pm; drivers, 8pm; yona@idt.net “Chicks with Sticks Knitting Circle,” hats for preemies, children with cancer, and IDF soldiers in Israel, private home in Highland Park, 8pm, 732-339-8492 “Of Prophets and Prayers: The

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Haftarot of the Days of Awe,” for women on all levels, Shuli Taubes, bring a Tanach, Cong Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-787-1812 “David: King, Sweet Swinger of Israel, and Master of Teshuva,” for women, Aliza Weinberg, private home in Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-836-3828 or 212-909-6951

Thurs., Aug 21

Jewish-Russian Cultural Club, Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, South River, 6:30pm, 732-698-9213

Fri., Aug 22

Carlebach Davening: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 201-833-0515 Carlebach Minyan, Torah Academy of Bergen County, after mincha, 347-443-2199 “Transcending the JudeoChristian Ethic,” Rabbi Steven Weil, scholar-in-residence, includes family dinner, Cong Brothers of Israel, Elberon/Long Branch, 7:15pm, 732-222-6666

Shabbat, Aug 23

Carlebach Minyan, Cong Darchei Noam, Fair Lawn, 8:45am, rabbidonath@gmail.com Tefilat Shlomo: The Carlebach Tefila of Riverdale, includes light and healthy Kiddush, at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 9am, 718-796-4730 “In the Aftermath of the Apocalypse,” Rabbi Steven Weil, scholar-in-residence, Cong Sons of Israel Satellite, Long Branch, 10:30am, 732-222-6666 Rabbi’s Tish: “Journalism as Religion: Religious Disgraces Recounted/Dissected on the Broadsheet,” Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 11:45am, 201-833-0515 “Great Debates: Baruch Spinoza and the Rabbis of Amsterdam: Are There Limits to Dissent in Jewish Beliefs?” Rabbi Barry Schwartz, Cong Sons of Israel, noon, 732-446-3000 Women’s Seudah Shlishit, Cong Ohr HaTorah, Bergenfield, 4pm, 201-244-5905 Sisterhood Seudah Shlishit, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 4:30pm, 201-384-0434 or tzipgellman@optonline.net Study Group: “The Thought of Rabbi Tzadok from Lublin,” Prof Alan Brill, private home in

Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

Teaneck, 5:30pm, safek7@gmail. com or shalomk@hotmail.com Women’s Shabbos Shiur, Rachel Besser, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 5:30pm, marstrul@aol.com “Iyov,” Claire Kagel, for women, spons by the Young Israel of East Brunswick, private home in East Brunswick, 5:45pm, 732-613-9511 “Responsibility,” Rabbi Steven Weil, scholar-in-residence, Cong Sons of Israel, Elberon/ Long Branch, 6pm, 732-222-6666

Sun., Aug 24

Cong Beth Aaron of Teaneck Men’s Club Fishing Trip, for men and boys, aboard the Golden Eagle, leaving from the Belmar (NJ) Marina, meet at the marina at 7:30am, davidfisher100@gmail.com West of the Hudson Jewish Professionals Trip to Camelbeach Water Park in Tannersville, PA, carpools leave from Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8:30am, west.huds@gmail.com Parent-Child Learning Breakfast, Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 8:45am, 201-791-7910 Torah and Bagel Breakfast: ‘The Shofar of Elul,” Rabbi Elchanan Adler, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 9:15am, 973-773-7272 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn, will be open for appointments 9:30-11:30am, 201-797-1770 “Dancing with the Starts: The Jewish View of Astrology, Soothsaying, and Omens,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, Chabad at the Shore, Ventnor, 10am, 609-822-8500 Chabad at the Shore Evening of Inspiration and Tribute, honoring Maurice and Mindy Torjman and Dr. Marc and Whitney Ullman, JCC, Margate, 6pm, 609822-8500 or chabadac@gmail.com

Mon., Aug 25

Rikkud Dance Camp, for girls ages 5-9, private home in Teaneck, 9am-2pm (extended hours available), through Fri., Aug 29, 718-551-5645 Smile on Seniors, for senior men and women, includes brunch, Chabad House, Wayne, 11:30am, 973-694-6274 “Current Events,” JCC, Tenafly, 3pm, 201-569-7900

Tues., Aug 26

“Dancing with the Stars: The Jewish View of Astrology, Soothsaying, and Oments,” for women,

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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Rebbetzin Dinie Mangel, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 10am, 856-874-1500

includes Elie Wiesel, Joel Grey, and Neil Sedaka, some PBS stations, 9pm

Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn, will be open for appointments 1-2:30pm and 7-9pm, 201-797-1770 Second Generation, for children of Holocaust Survivors, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-837-9090 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431

Passaic-Clifton Ashkenaz Committee’s Minhag Ashkenaz (Yekkish) Minyan, Con Tifereth Israel, Passaic, 6:30pm, pcashkenaz+owners@googlegroups.com

Wed., Aug 27

Thurs., Aug 28

Somaich Achim Jewish Family Services Food Pantry Program non-perishable food and consumer items and produce available free of charge or for a nominal fee, volunteers needed, too, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 9:30am-1:30pm; 8-9pm, 973-246-7717 Rep Ted Deutsch (D-PA), spons by NORPAC, private home in Demarest, 6pm, 201-788-5133 TV: Great Performances: “Rejoice wth Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot,”

Fri., Aug 29

Shabbat, Aug 30

Educational Prayer Service, spons by the Jewish Learning Experience, includes discussions and commentary, prayers in English and Hebrew transliteration, at Cong Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, 9:45am, 201-966-4498 or 201-836-4334 Women’s Shabbos Shiur, Chavy Becher, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 5:30pm, marstrul@aol.com Motzei Shabbat, Aug 30 Shiur, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Young Israel of Riverdale, 9:30pm, 718-548-4765

Sun., Aug 31

“Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away: The Perfect Paradigm of Heavenly Blessing,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, Chabad at the Shore, Ventnor, 10am, 609-822-8500 JACS Meeting, 12-steps

continued on page 24

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The Log

Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 23

meeting for Jews in recovery, Rabbi Steven Bayar, Cong B’nai Israel, Millburn, 6pm, 973-379-3811

Mon., Sept 1

Rutgers Hillel’s Welcome BBQ and Jewish Activities Fair, includes kosher burgers, hotdogs, and veggie burers, Hillel House, New Brunswick, 9am-5pm, 732-545-2407

Tues., Sept 2

Deadline to apply for the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Young Leadership Course, held on Sundays, for Jewish high school students in grades 10 and 11, includes skill-building, meeting prominent American and Israeli leaders and peers, and a trip to Israel, badler@bchsjs.org Siyyum Mishnayos in Memory of Rabbi Dr. David Lando, z”l, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 7pm, sazar@yahoo.com TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Evolving Jew: “The Jazz Singer” (1927), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 8pm TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Evolving Jew: “The Jazz Singer” (1952), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 9:45pm TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Immigrant Experience: “Hester Street” (1975), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 11:45pm

Wed., Sept 3

TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Immigrant Experience: “Avalon” (1990), discussion with Robert Osborne and

Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 1:30am TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Immigrant Experience: “Street Scene” (1931), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 4am “Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away: The Perfect Paradigm of Heavenly Blessing,” for women, Rebbetzin Dinie Mangel, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 10am, 856-874-1500 “The Borscht Belt,” Marty Schneit, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 1pm, 845-362-4400 Bar Mitzvah Club, for boys in grades 6-7, Rabbi Yitzchok Kahan, includes light dinner, Chabad Center, Cherry Hill, 6pm, 856-874-1500 Contemporary Israeli Poetry Group, in the original with English translation and discussion, Atara Fobar, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7pm, 718-796-4730 Jewish 12-Step Meeting, JACS—Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:30pm, 201837-9090, ask for IRA (Information and Referral) or 201-981-1071

Fri., Sept 5

Lunch and Learn: Israel Update, Nat Cember, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 12:30pm, 845-362-4400

Shabbat, Sept 6

Biblical and Talmudic Botany Walk, with Dr. Jon Greenberg, meet at W Englewood Ave and Pennington Rd, Teaneck, across the street from Cong Rinat Yisrael, 4pm, jon@torahflora.org Study Group: “The Thought of Rabbi Tzadok from Lublin,” Prof Alan Brill, private home in Teaneck, 5:30pm, safek7@gmail. com or shalomk@hotmail.com

There Is Always Something Happening in the Jewish Community! Check our website http://www.JewishVoiceAndOpinion.Com for classes, shiurim, lectures, and events that came in after issue went to print!

Potluck Seudah Shlishit, spons by Cong Beth Aaron Sisterhood, private home in Teaneck, 6pm, zaya18@aol.com BNOT Recognition Seudah Shlishit, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 6pm, 201-836-8916

Sun., Sept 7

Dog Day, for dogs and their families, includes “Ask the Vet,” “Barkery of Pet Treats,” Kids Crafts Corner, Animal Rescue and Adoption, Dog Blessings, contests, and vendors, to benefit the JCC Scholarship Fund, JCC, Bridgewater, 10am1pm, EMccloskey@ssbjcc.org “Judaism’s Payment Plan: In Search of Our Promised Rewards,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, Chabad at the Shore, Ventnor, 10am, 609-822-8500 PJ Library of Hudson County Pre-High Holiday Buzzzz Off, for families, includes apple-and-honey tasting station, make your own shofar, and decorate cards for seniors, Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, 10am2pm; story time, 10am and 1:30pm; sing-a-long, 10:30am and 12:30pm; shofar-blowing, 11am and 1pm; Bee Presentation, 11:30am; and 12pm; Beehavin’ Show, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2pm, and 3pm, 201-653-8666 Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies “Hebrew High” Orientation, for students in grades 8-12, at Ma’ayanot High School, Teaneck, 10am, 201-488-0834 Rock-the Block Community Block Party, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, Munich 11 Commemoration, 10am, fair, including Synagogue Showcase, fitness program, blood drive, and fair, 11am-3pm, janes@ jccrockland.org or 845-362-4400 Torah Flora Walking Tour of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, for families with children over 8 years of age, Dr. Jon Greenberg, meet at the main entrance, 11am, jon@torahflora.org Art Exhibit Opening: “Shanghai-Berlin-America: The Multiple Lives of John H. Less Retrospective,” JCC. West Orange, 11am; poetry reading, 1pm, 973-530-3413 Cong Ahavas Achim of Highland Park Picnic, includes Super Duper 50/50 Raffle drawing, noon, 732-247-0532

Shomer Shabbat Cub Scout Pack 613 Open House, Cong Ahavat Achim, Fair Lawn, 4pm, 201-797-0502 Rutgers Orthodox Community FreshFest WootWoot, includes pizza, ice cream, and icebreakers, Hillel House, New Brunswick, 6pm, Joshua.blachorsky@ rutgers.edu or 732-545-2407 “It All Comes Down to Emunah,” Rabbi Yissocher Frand, spons by Achieving Change through Torah (ACTT), location to be announced in Highland Park, 7:30pm, 732572-8762 Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, on behalf of LeMa’an Achai, at Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 8pm, 201-522-7065

Mon., Sept 8

Taglit Birthright-Israel Registration for a Free TenDay Trip to Israel, for returning applicants,Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, noon, 732-545-2407 Caregivers Support Group, for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-569-7900 Taglit Birthright Info Session for a Free Ten-Day Trip to Israel, Diana Diner, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 7pm, 732-545-2407 “In the Bedroom and Beyond: Your Questions Answered,” for women, Yoetzet Halacha Nechama Price, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8pm, 201888-6999 or 732-545-2407 Yachad Middlesex Parent Support Group, for parents of special-needs children, private home in Edison, 8pm, 201-833-1349

Tues., Sept 9

Taglit Birthright-Israel Registration, for all applicants for a free ten-day trip to Israel, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 10am, Caregivers Support Group, for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, JCC, Tenafly, 10:30am, 201-569-7900 Jewish Family Service of North Jersey Café Europa, for Holocaust survivors, includes lunch, Fair Lawn Jewish Center, 11am, 973-595-0111 Bereavement Support Group, Rabbi Bryan Kinzbrun-

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Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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New Classes This Month Sundays

“Practicing Judaism,” Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 8am, 973-597-1655 Pirkei Avos, Rabbi Chaim Shapiro, Cong Khal Adas Yeshurun (KAJ), Paramus, 8am, 201-967-9898 or 201-265-0714 “Halacha Based on the Writings of Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef, z”l,” Rabbi Chaim Jachter, Cong Shaarei Orah the Sephardic Cong of Teaneck, 8:30am, 201-833-0800 Gemara Chabura: Masechet Makos, from beginners to advanced, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8:30am, 973-736-1407 Gemara Fundamentals, for men, Rabbi Efraim Baer, the Beit Shvidler Conference Center at Ohr Somayach, Monsey, 8:45am, 845-422-5314 History and Halacha, Rabbi Joshua Hess, Cong Anshe Chesed, Linden, 9am, 908-486-8616 Passaic-Cifton Community Kollel Avos Ubanim, for fathers and sons, Kehillas Bais Yosef, Passaic, 9:30am, passaiccliftonkollel@gmail.com Shalom Yoga, for women, Monica Gordon, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 9:30am, 201-836-8916 Sefer Jonah, for women, Rabbi David Bassous, Cong Etz Ahaim, Highland Park, 10am, 732-247-3839 Summer Sewing Group, for girls 10 and up, Marge Kohlhagen, to produce a project for themselves and family as well as for the residents of the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, private home in Bergenfield, 10:30am, 201-385-7995 Young Leadership Course, for Jewish high school students in grades 10 and 11, Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies, at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School, Teaneck, 11:30am, begins Sept

The Log

14, badler@bchsjs.org Tzofim-Israeli Scouts Counselor “Shachbag” Meetings, Gili Grady, JCC, Tenafly, 1:30pm, begins Aug 24, 201-408-1428 Men’s Only Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 3pm, 201- 833-0515 Tzofim-Israeli Scouts, Gili Grady, JCC, Tenafly, 4pm, begins Aug 24, 201-408-1428 Israeli Folk Dancing, Tamar, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-569-7900 “Halacha Based on the Writings of Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef, z”l,” Rabbi Chaim Jachter, Cong Shaarei Orah the Sephardic Cong of Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-833-0800

Mondays

Parsha, for women, Chaya Leah Eidelman, Cong Agudath Israel, Highland Park, 9:30am, meleff@juno.com Nach Shiur, for women, Rebbetzin Mirel Shavsky, spons by the Bais Medrash of Bergenfield, private home in Bergenfield, 9:45am, abaron3@gmail.com “Parshanut HaMikra,” for women, Rachel Friedman and Shira Schiowitz, spons by Lamdeinu, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 10:15am, begins Sept 8, www.lamdeinu.org “Discovering Tammuz and Av through the Vision of Yirmiyahu and Yeshayahu,” for women, Rebecca Belizon, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, 10:30am, 201-836-8916 Mommy and Me Swim, Morah Elana Ochs, Englewood Crowne Plaza, 3:30pm, Morah.elana@hotmail.com Zumba Kids, for children ages 7-14, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 6:30pm, 888-856-1006 ext 702 Multi-Family Social Skills Group, for boys ages 7-12 and at least one parent, Anne Marie Ramos and Rebecca Garcia, includes group

continued from page 24

ner, Stein Hospice, Somerset, 4pm, 732-227-1212 Cong Ahavas Achim of Highland Park Sisterhood Book Club: “The Kommandant’s Girl” by Pam Jenoff, private home in Highland Park, 8:30pm, 732-247-0532

Wed., Sept 10

“Judaism’s Payment Plan: In Search of Our Promised Rewards,” for women, Rebbetzin Dinie Mangel, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 10am, 856-874-1500 “High Holiday Shiur,” for men and women, Rachel Friedman, spons by Lamdeinu, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 10:15am, www.lamdeinu.org “How America and the World Dealt with Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and Nationalism,” Marty Cohen, JCC Rockland, noon, 845-362-4400 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Holocaust: “The Stranger” (1946), discussion with Robert

Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 8pm Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431 TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Holocaust: “The Juggler” (1953), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 10pm TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Holocaust: “The Pawnbroker” (1964), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 11:45pm

Thurs., Sept 11

TV: The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film: The Holocaust: “Judgment at Nurenberg” (1961), discussion with Robert Osborne and Dr. Eric Goldman, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), 2am Somaich Achim Jewish Family Services Food Pantry Program non-perishable food and consumer items and pro-

duce available free of charge or for a nominal fee, volunteers needed, too, Cong Adas Israel, Passaic, 9:30am-1:30pm; 8-9pm, 973-246-7717 Israel Bonds Event, with Amb Ron Prosor, honoring Gabriel Bousbib, Mark Finkel, Lee Lasher, and Mordecai Rosenberg, private home in Englewood, 8pm, 201-881-1596 Rambam Shiur, for college and post-college women, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 8:15pm, 201-384-0434

Masechta Ta’anis, Rabbi Preil, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 8:15pm, 201- 384-0434 Halacha L’Ma’aseh Issues Brought to Life Today through the Teshuvot of Rav Moshe, Rabbi Elozor Preil, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 9pm, 201-384-0434 Chabura, Rabbi Elozor Preil, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 10:15pm, 201-384-0434

Fri., Sept 12

Film: “The Jewish Cardinal,” discussion to follow, JCC, West Orange, 10am, 973-530-3417Y

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Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

New Classes

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 25

discussion, family activities, skits, and art activities to help children develop better social skills with peers and family members, Jewish Family Service, Clifton, 7pm, 973-777-7638 Cong Bnai Yeshurun Boys Choir, at the shul, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-836-8916 Support Group for Parents of Active Soldiers in Israel, private home in Edison, 7:30pm, rkoenigson@gmail.com JRecovery: A Jewish Self-Help Group to Complement 12-Step Programs, Jewish Family and Vocational Service, Milltown, 7:30pm, 732-777-1940 “Pure Soul,” Rabbi Asher Herson, Chabad Center of Northwest NJ, Rockaway Twnshp, 7:30pm, 973-625-1525 ext 227 Advanced Hebrew, Sara Kinberg, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7:30pm, 718-548-2461 Zumba, for women, Sharon Bardavid, Riverdale Jewish Center, 7:30pm, sharon,bardavid@gmail.com Women’s Acquasize, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 7:30pm, 201833-0515 Women’s Only Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201833-0515 “Beginners Gemara Shiur,” Rabbi Chaim Shapiro, Cong Khal Adas Yeshurun (KAJ), Paramus, 8:45pm, 201-967-9898 or 201-265-0714

Tuesdays

Chavura Studying Personalities in Chumash: Sefer Bereishit, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 9am, 201- 907-0180 Gemara Sahedrin, Rabbi Menahem Meier, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 9:45am, 201- 907-0180 “Prophetesses, Queens, and Villains: Exploring Women in Tanach,” Aliza Weinberg, in memory of Rochi Lerner, z”l, Yeshivat Noam, Paramus, 9:45am, avogel@yeshivatnoam.org “An Introduction to Talmud, for women, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Segal, spons by Lamdeinu, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 10:15am, begins

Mazal Tov

Mazal Tov to the Bar Mitzvah Boys: Yona Bergman, Aaron Bloomberg, Andrew Cohen, Sam Cohen, AJ Eisenberg, Sidney Feiertag, Isaac Forgash, Michael Froimchuk, Moshe Golubtchik, Efraim Greenberg, Dani Heideman, Jacob and Samuel Indyk, Ezra Jacob, Ezra Jacobs, Jakey Kluger, Sammy Levitt, Azi Lieber, Eitan Maron, Rafi Press, Nate Rappaport, Binyomin Schulhof, Ari, Stein-Rothstein,Yitzchok Boruch Weiss, Ian Welfeld, Mendel Zaklikovsky, Azriel Tuvia Bruckheimer, Ben Kogan, Yonatan Kosowsky, Rafi Press; and the Bat Mitzvah Girls: Adina Adler, Ayelet Annenberg, Miriam Edery, Rachelli Geffner, Atara Neiss, Atara Pietruszka Mazal Tov to Naomi Gofine, Robert Grad, and Stephanie Weprin on being named as Fellows of Yachad’s Jewish Communal Leaders Fellowship Mazal Tov to Zach Certner (Morristown), Paige Alenick (Woodcliff Lake,) and Samantha Vinik (Millburn) on receiving 2014 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, a $36,000 award that recognizes teens for their commitment to social good and volunteer service. Zach launched SNAP (Special Needs Athletic Programs), a non-profit for children with disabilities to enjoy athletic clinics; Paige launched Donate a Toothbrush, a non-profit to collect and donate toothbrushes to children in impoverished nations; Samantha launched iTold4, a project to make schools aware of noise-induced hearing loss. Y

Sept 9, www.lamdeinu.org “Studying the Origins of Simchat Torah,” for women, Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 10:30am, 973-597-1655 Lunch and Learn, Rabbi Joshua Hess, Cong Anshe Chesed, Linden, noon, 908-486-8616 Gemara Sota, Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, Rabbi Klibanoff, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 7pm, 973-597-1655 Frum Alateen Meeting, Ricky Wisotsky, for girls ages 9-19, who have friends or family with addiction (i.e. codependency, internet addiction, gaming, ocd, food addiction, eating disorders, internet addiction, or substance abuse), Cong Tifereth Israel, Passaic, 7pm, 973-249-7435 US Citizenship Class, for adults 18 and older with permanent residency status (green card holders) to prepare for the citizenship test, Monmouth County Library, Manalapan, 7pm, begins Sept 9, 732431-7220, ext 7222 Israeli Dance, Tamar, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-569-7900 Intermediate Ulpan, for men and women, Tamar Appel, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva for Girls, Teaneck, 7:30pm, begins Sept 2, 201-833-4307 ext 265 “Parashat HaShavua,” for men and women, Rachel Friedman, spons by Lamdeinu, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 8pm, begins Sept 9, www.lamdeinu.org “Religious Thought of Rambam in Mishneh Torah,” Rabbi Menachem Meier, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 8pm, 201-836-8916 Studying Tanach, Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 9pm, 973-597-1655

Wednesdays

In-Depth Shiurim on Sefer Yehoshua, for women, Temima Shulman, private home in Passaic, 9am, 973-594-8585 “Mindful Yoga,” for women, Shifra Shafier, spons by Lamdeinu, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 9am, begins Sept 10, www.lamdeinu.org “The Book of Jeremiah,” JCC, Whippany, 9:20am, 973-530-3519, begins Sept 10 Adult Learning, Rabbi Robert Pilavin, spons by Cong Sons of Israel, at Levy’s restaurant, Manalapan, 10am, 732-446-3000, begins Aug 6 “Jewish Roots of the Christian Scripture,” JCC, Whippany, 10:25am, 973-530-3519, begins Sept 10 Parshat HaShavua, Yael Weil, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 10:30am, 201- 907-0180 Torah Class, for women, Rebbetzin Tova Rapoport, Chabad of Margate, 11am, 609-822-8500 Derech Acheret “Another Way,” for women in phases of change, in Hebrew, JCC, Tenafly, 11:30am, begins Sept 10, 201-569-7900 Intermediate Israeli Dance, Sara Burnbaum, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, noon, begins Sept 10, 845-362-4400 Tomchei Shabbos Packing, needs volunteers, private location in Bergenfield, 1pm, 201-314-1854 or 201-417-0519 Passaic Tomchei Shabbos Needs Volunteers, private warehouse, Passaic, women and girls packing, 6pm; men and boys packing, 7pm; drivers, 8pm, yona@idt.net Open Israeli Dance, for intermediate dancers, Sara Burnbaum, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7pm, begin Sept 3, 845-362-4400 Intermediate Hebrew Ulpan, Sara Kinberg, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7:30pm, 718-548-2461 Shiur, Rabbi Aharon Ciment, Cong Arzei Darom, Teaneck, 8:30pm, rabbi@arzeidarom.org. In-Depth Talmud Class, Rabbi Yaakov Weinstein, Young Israel of East Brunswick, 8:30pm, 732-254-1860 Women’s Only Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201833-0515 Women’s Tefillah for Unity, private home in Highland Park,

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Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

9pm, vickykrief@gmail.com Navi: “FromJudges to Kings: Exploring the Lives of Shmuel and Shaul,” Rabbi Yosef Sharbat, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 10pm, 973-736-1407

Thursdays

Chabad at the Margate Farmers Market, Monroe and Amherst Avenues, Margate, 8-11am, 609-822-8500 Chavura Studying Personalities in Chumash: Sefer Bereishit, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 9am, 201- 907-0180 Gan Miriam Early Learning Center Mommy and Me, for children 15-24 months, Nurit Bacharach, Riverdale Jewish Center, 9:30am, 718-543-2553, begins Sept 11 Gemara Sahedrin, Rabbi Menahem Meier, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 9:45am, 201- 907-0180 “Sefer Yirmiyahu,” for men and women, Shira Schiowitz, spons by Lamdeinu, at Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 10:15am, www.lamdeinu.org “An Examination of the Religious Thought in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah,” Rabbi Menahem Meier, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 10:45am, 201- 907-0180 Parsha Teleconference, Rabbi Ari Zahtz, 12:30pm, call 530-8811212, access code 784-494-382# Summer Learning Initiative, for high school girls, spons by Bruriah, Ma’ayanot, Frisch, and NCSY, at Lazy Bean Café, Teaneck, 7:15pm, afrohlich613@gmail.com Biblical Hebrew and Siddur Study, Sara Kinberg, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7:30pm, 718-548-2461 Mishmar, scholars offer a Torah class with pizza and open Beit Medrash, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 8pm, 732-545-2407, begins Sept 11 Rabbi Elozor Preil, Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, Masechta Ta’anis, 8:15pm; “Halacha l’Ma’aseh: Issues Brought to Life Today through the Teshuvot of Rav Moshe, 9pm; Mincha, 10pm; 20-Minute Chabura, 10:15pm; 201-384-0434 Men’s Only Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-833-0515 In-Depth Chabura, Rabbi Pesach Skulnick, Bais Medrash of Bergenfield, Hachana, 8:30pm; Ma’ariv, 9:15pm; Chabura, 9:30pm; 201637-7470 Mishlei, with the Biur HaGra, private home in Monsey, 9:45pm, lindalevin613@yahoo.com “Parsha and Halacha,” Rabbi Michael Taubes, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 10:15pm, 201-836-8916

Fridays

Zumba, for women, Sorrolle, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 9:45am, mkopel35@gmail.com Challah Baking Workshops, Rebbetzin Tova Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at Burger.org, Margate, 10am, 11am, and noon, 609-992-4900 Tot Shabbat, for children 15-24 months and an adult, JCC, West Orange, 10:30am, begins Sept 5, 973-530-3413 Shabbat Parsha and Popsicles, for children and adults, Rabbi Aharon Ciment, spons by Cong Arzei Darom, at Herrick Park, Teaneck 4pm, yorothstein@gmail.com Pirchei’s Father-and-Son Learning Program in Passaic, Passaic Torah Institute, 4:45pm; Bais Torah UTefilah, 4:45pm; Cong Ahavas Israel, 5pm,973-432-6917 Pirkei Avos, Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton, 6:45pm, 973-330-2285 or info@yipc.org

Chesed Ops

American Friends of the IDF Rabbinate is raising money to meet the religious need of the combat soldiers stationed in various battlefronts in Israel. Items being purchased include tens of thousands of olive-green “dri-fit” tzitzit, which cost 25 shek-

The Jewish Voice and Opinion

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els each. Cong Beth Aaron of Teaneck is undertaking a campaign to purchase these tzitzit. Checks payable to American Friends of the IDF Rabbinate can be dropped off at the shul, Contact 201-836-5357 or plustiger@gmail.com. In central NJ, contact 732-247-0621 The International Young Israel Movement wants to deliver 1,000 get well letters to IDF soldiers in hospitals throughout Israel. Write a letter and take it to www.sendlove2idf.org or www.iyim.org.il Rinat Chaim Gmach, established in memory of Chaya Levy, z:l, accepts donations of medical supplies that can be used by members of the community, including motorized and conventional wheelchairs, walkers, portable commodes, and canes. yehiel@optonline.net ot 201-357-5495 The Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, under the auspices of Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn, accepts donations of all sorts of gowns, including bridal, flower girl, bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, any simcha gown, and toddler tuxedos. Receipts given for all donations. Call 201-797-1770 The Teaneck Bris Gemach offers bris outfits, pillows, pillow cases, and tefilos for the mother to say, dovid.lobl@gmail.com, zsizzle11@aol.com, or 718-704-6225 Teaneck Tablecloth Gemach, in memory of Chaim Yissachar ben Yechiel Zeidel Dov z”l. The gemach has specialty cloths in all colors and sizes. Donations go to Project Yi-che and are tax-deductible. Contact chayemf@aol.com Chatan and Kallah Gemach need new, unopened gift in the original boxes, including household items, Judaica, engagement or wedding gifts that can be passed on to others. Contact 201-801-9028 or candscooper@gmail.com A 90-year-old Jewish former police captain, who resides in Riverdale, likes history and Scrabble, and would love a volunteer to come and study Jewish topics with him, ravsteven@thebayit.org or 718-796-4730 ext 108 There are many wonderful opportunities to help our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael. Here are just a few charitable organizations that are helping in Israel in this emergency: http://www.ou.org/israel-emergency http://donate.fidf.org/page/contribute/rapidresponsefund http://lonesoldiercenter.com/donate http://www.emunah.org/project_sderot.php Riverdale Lifeline to Israel is raising funds to purchase a mobile bomb shelter for Ashdod, targeted by 200 Hamas rockets. The cost is $18,000. Credit card donations can be made online at www. IsraelLifeLine.org. Checks payable to PEF Israel Endowment Funds with “Riverdale Lifeline/Ashdod” on memo line should be sent to Riverdale Lifeline to Israel, P.O. Box 630211, Bronx, NY 10463. Email queries: info@ IsraelLifeLine.org Y

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Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

Media War in Gaza

Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”

continued from page 1

A Double Standard The world press seems to relish spotlighting Israeli aggression. Yet it has little interest in focusing on Islamist aggression or Muslim-on-Muslim violence. Government and media in the United States and abroad were deafeningly silent about the Islamist-organized genocide in Darfur in the Sudan between 2003 and 2014, during which more than 300,000 people have been slaughtered, or died of disease and starvation. Very few reports were issued about the Muslim civilians who are being murdered daily in Syria (more than 1,800 people were killed between July 27 and Aug 5 alone; almost 200,000 civilians have been killed since the civil war began; almost 10 million have been displaced); Iraq (some 1,600 people killed just in the month of July) ; Libya, or Pakistan. As long as Muslims slaughter Muslims, the world is silent. But if Jews—or, to a lesser extent, Americans—do the killing, all hell breaks loose. This was the message issued by Wall Street Journal Deputy Editorial Page editor Bret Stephens: The world doesn’t care who does the dying. It cares only about who is doing the killing. In a piece entitled “Palestine and Double Standards,” Mr. Stephen noted that while the world is outraged by Israeli self-defense, it is only “concerned” when Muslims kill Muslims. Carnage in Pakistan He pointed to a news account issued by the Washington Post’s bureau chief in Pakistan, Tim Craig, which detailed a ma-

jor ground offensive by Pakistan’s military against “terrorist leaders and other militants” in North Waziristan. After two weeks of airstrikes, the military began a house-to-house search which led to the discovery of underground tunnels and “preparation factories” for explosives. More than 376 terrorists were killed and more than 500,000 residents (out of a total population of 600,000) fled. In all, more than 1,500 Pakistani civilians have been reported killed since the government’s offensive began in mid-June. No Coverage Mr. Stephens, who served from 20022004 as editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, noted that while there was “saturation coverage” of an Israeli strike near a UN-run school in Gaza in which ten people, three of them members of Islamic Jihad, were killed, very few Americans were even aware of the activities in Pakistan. None of the anti-Israel protesters throughout the world organized demonstrations outside Pakistani embassies. Mr. Stephens said he heard no cries to stop US aid to Islamabad, “Boycott Pakistani products,” or “Divest from Pakistani companies.” According to UN statistics, there were more than 3,000 people taking shelter in the school in Gaza, which even UN spokesmen admitted had been used by the terrorists. No one noted that more than 2,990 of those Palestinians sheltering there were untouched by the strike, a statistic that to some proved how accurate the Israeli attack actually was. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

however, described the Israeli attack near the school as “a moral outrage and a criminal act” that had to be “swiftly investigated.” The Obama Administration’s State Department pronounced itself “appalled” by the Israeli action. “If the Secretary-General, the US Secretary of State, and other arbiters of international decency have expressed themselves similarly with respect to the conduct of Pakistan’s army, I must have missed it,” said Mr. Stephens. Rush to Judgment Immediately after the expressions of outrage by the UN, the State Department, and most media outlets, Israel’s Ambassador to the US told reporters that, once again, the reaction was a “rush to judgment” before Israel even began its promised investigation. Pro-Israel observers noted that in November 2009, Mr. Obama behaved with much more reserve. At that time, he insisted on waiting for all the facts before allowing official condemnation of Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army major and psychiatrist, who fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 others, making the incident the bloodiest ever on an American military base. Israel’s investigation has shown that while IDF troops did fire at terrorists just outside the school, the dead bodies were then moved by Hamas from outside the school to inside the school’s courtyard to make it appear as though the school itself had been hit. The bodies of two dead men photographed outside the school were later shown inside the school courtyard, indicating that they had been moved. The body of a small girl was added to the pile of adult bodies, leading some to question whether she was in fact killed. Making Crime Pay Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, called on Mr. Obama to “retract the astonishing condemnation.” Mr. Klein said that the condemnation would have been “outrageous even if Israel had inadvertently struck the school.” “Can one imagine the outrage in Washington if the Israeli government condemned a US strike on Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces near a school in Afghanistan which inadvertently resulted in civilian deaths? Would this be proper? Would this

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com be the behavior of an ally?” said Mr. Klein. He noted that the US condemnation “incentivized Hamas’ terrorism and its resort to war crimes against the Jewish state.” The condemnation works to make Hamas’s crimes “pay in the coin of opprobrium for Israel,” he said, which “would be bad at any time, but is inexcusable at a time of heightened antisemitic frenzy in Europe and elsewhere.” “This adds fuel to the fire of Jew-hatred, rantings, and actions, and also gives aid and comfort to Hamas. President Obama should immediately apologize that his Administration jumped to conclusions and uttered a false and damaging condemnation of an ally,” said Mr. Klein, noting that the President has not uttered a word of condemnation for the antisemitic demonstrations throughout the world. No Jews, No Outrage In Israel, pundit Daniel Pinner, who works as a teacher and electrician, was also shocked by the disparity of media coverage. A Reuters report noted that, “in all fairness to the Pakistani military, they warned the civilian population ahead of the strike. However, some families stayed behind, either because they were too poor to afford to move, had sick members, or did not think their area would be targeted.” “Why have full-color glossy pictures of the civilians killed in the Pakistani airstrike not gone viral? Why has there been no international outrage at the ‘slaughter of innocents?’ Why didn’t human rights organizations stage rowdy demonstrations in London, Paris, Berlin, Washington, and other cities to protest this gross violation of human decency? Why didn’t the UN convene an emergency session to condemn the killings? How is it that the EU did not

Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

send an envoy to resolve the conflict as quickly as possible? Why didn’t the BBC, CNN, and other international TV networks rush their correspondents to film the carnage, to interview the survivors, and to show the world the tragedy? Why didn’t Muslims and Islamic organizations throughout the world convene to collect aid for the dispossessed victims? Where is BDS? Why were these people’s deaths so callously ignored by the world?” said Mr. Pinner. He answered his rhetorical questions: “Sorry, Waziristanis, the people bombing you aren’t Jews, so you deserve no outrage.” His suggestion to the Pakistani victims: “Next time the Pakistan Air Force bombs your houses and your mountain villages, photograph them doing it. Then Photoshop a blue-and-white Star of David onto the aircraft.” He told them not to worry if the result was not perfect. “As long as you can blame the Jews, no one will investigate your photos too closely,” he said. Concern for Cultural Sites Mr. Stephens pointed out that UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov told reporters he was “concerned about the rising number of casualties in Iraq, particularly among the civilian population.” “Note the verb,” said Mr. Stephens. “Not outraged or appalled, merely ‘concerned.’” On the same day that President Barack Obama’s State Department declared itself “appalled” by Israel, it issued a press release announcing the funding of a project “to document the current condition of cultural heritage sites in Syria and assess the future restoration, preservation, and protection needs for those sites.” “Racism” Reporters and pundits who have refrained from condemning Israel and promoted

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the Jewish state’s reasons for the incursion into Gaza have been the targets of a relentless campaign of hatred from those who are pro-Hamas. Mr. Stephens, for example, said he was “bombarded with indignant letters and tweets” many of which characterized him as a “racist.” Some asked whether he would like to live in Gaza. His response was that he would no more want to live under Hamas than he would “under any other fanatical dictatorship that starts gratuitous wars, uses civilians as human shields, punishes political opposition with death, and sends others to die while its leaders hide beneath hospital sheets.” “As for racism, people often point out how peculiar it is that the Jewish state seems to arouse a level of condemnation that never seems to apply equally elsewhere. But perhaps the real racism is the indifference to Muslim suffering around the world when the person dropping the bomb or pulling the trigger is another Muslim. A world that makes a fetish of the alleged guilt of Israel is also a world that holds too much Muslim life cheap,” he said. More Aid from Israel Many Israeli spokesmen, showing evidence of Hamas’s “cynical and cowardly” use of civilians as human shields, point out that Israel has shown much more consideration of Muslim-

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civilian human life than have the terrorists. Hamas spokesmen frequently reiterate the Palestinians’ presumably Muslim-based aphorism that they “love death the way [Jews and Christians] love life.” Mr. Pinner noted that, after Operation Protective Edge concludes, the “world” may well demand the rebuilding of Gaza. In fact, after the ceasefire was declared at the beginning of August, that became one of the Hamas spokesmen’s justifications for declaring “victory” over Israel. Mr. Pinner, however, cited many Palestinians’ conviction that none of that financial aid will help them personally. “Apart from guns, bullets, explosives, and suicide vests to Gaza, the ordinary civilians there receive absolutely zero. Their supporters in the West send them billions of dollars, but only the leaders ever get to benefit from that,” he said. For help with food, medicine, and clothing, the Gazans would probably be better off appealing directly to Israel, he said. “After all, if you can find an honest Gazan, he’ll confirm that Israel has given more food, clothing, and medical aid to Gaza than all the Muslims in the world combined. But that little detail is as likely to get reported as civilians who are killed in airstrikes by non-Jews,” he said. S.L.R.

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Summer 2014 / Av-Elul 5774

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Terrorism in Israel that because the Palestinian Authority had nothing to do with the kidnapping, it bore no responsibility to help find the victims or the perpetrators. He argued that because the kidnapping took place in an area under Israeli control, the PA was blameless. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that he held the PA responsible for the kidnapping, which he said was prompted by the new unity government formed by Mr. Abbas’s Fatah movement and Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu characterized PA claims of non-responsibility as “absurd.” “When an attack takes place in Tel Aviv or in London or in New York—all these places have been attacked by terrorists—the question is not where the attack takes place. The question is where it originated. The kidnappers in this case set out from territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and the PA cannot absolve itself of its responsibility,” he said. Mixed Message When the kidnapping attracted world attention and sympathy, Mr. Abbas committed PA security personnel to “help Israel in searching for the boys.” He said nothing about finding the perpetrators. Despite Mr. Abbas’s promises, his Fatah faction also celebrated the kidnapping. The official PA daily carried a cartoon distorting the World Cup 2014 logo, which features three victorious hands holding the globe. The PA cartoon shows a “trophy” of three hands holding three people with their hands up in surrender. Instead of “Brazil” below the trophy, the cartoonist inserted “Khalil,” Arabic for Hebron, the city near which the teenagers were kidnapped.

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Throughout the Palestinian areas, residents used a “victory” sign of three—rather than two—fingers, indicating that Arab terrorists had control of three Israelis. The “three-fingered salute” became so popular that it was used by anti-Israel protesters throughout the world. Facebook, which has a policy against hate-speech, removed a group which called itself, in Arabic “Three Shalits.” The group had posted pictures of young Arab children making the three-fingered salute in celebration of the kidnapping. The salute was also seen on the official Facebook page of Mr. Abbas’s Fatah movement, along with the caption, “For your interpretation.” Another Fatah cartoon, discovered by Palestinian Media Watch, shows three rats with Stars of David on their backs. The rats are dangling from a fishing rod and net, indicating their capture. The caption reads “A Master Stroke.” Brother’s Keeper Israel responded to the kidnapping with a massive search for the boys officially called “Operation Brother’s Keeper.” It included an extensive wave of arrests of Hamas members throughout Judea and Samaria. When Mr. Abbas finally condemned the kidnapping four days after the event was reported, he included a condemnation of Israeli arrests of Hamas operatives and a vow to continue working “intensively for the release of Palestinian prisoners.” By the time the three kidnap victims were found murdered, more than 419 Hamas operatives had been arrested in connection with the case. These included 56 terrorists who had been released from prison in exchange for Mr. Sha-

lit, 276 active Hamas terrorists, and 12 Hamas leaders. “Best Response” MK Orit Struk of the Jewish Home party praised the re-arrests of terrorists freed in the Shalit deal, calling it “the best response to the abduction of the boys.” “In this way, Israel makes clear to the kidnappers and their supporters that abducting Israelis will not lead to freeing terrorists, but on the contrary will put many more terrorists in jail. Israel will not be hostage to Palestinian terror,” she said. Yesh Atid Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who is usually more to the left, also voiced pleasure with the arrests, vowing they would not stop. “Hamas will learn the hard way, even if it takes time, we will catch up with them, wherever they may be. Our acts against Hamas will continue, in the day and night, at the moment when the terrorists least expect it,” he said. Hebron’s Underground Tunnels Searching for the kidnapped boys, Israeli troops went into more than 2,500 homes and other facilities. Actions were taken against targets that are part of Hamas’s “social outreach” and recruitment infrastructure. Two proHamas radio and television

stations were closed. In the course of these actions, a network of underground tunnels was discovered in Hebron that had operated without the IDF’s knowledge. Hidden behind furniture and washing machines, the tunnels are thought to lead into Israel proper and may be used to smuggle illegal Palestinians for purposes of work and/or terror. Several bomb-making facilities were discovered in private homes in Arab areas throughout Judea and Samaria. Turkish Connection A week after the kidnapping, a senior IDF source said there was evidence that Salah al-Arouri, a Hamas leader residing in Turkey, was behind the abduction. The only NATO member to recognize Hamas, Turkey allows Mr. al-Arouri, a former resident of Ramallah, to head a Hamas presence which facilitates operations and cash transfers. According to the IDF source, dozens of Mr. al-Arouri’s envoys have arrived through Jordan in Judea and Samaria during the last two years. While several of them were arrested, the Israeli security system learned about others only as they were leaving Israel. Those who were arrested were found

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Terrorism in Israel

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with money and written messages from Mr. al-Arouri ordering Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria to establish terror cells to conduct kidnappings. Perpetrators Two weeks after the kidnapping, two Hamas terrorists were identified as the chief perpetrators: Marwan Kawasmeh, 29, and Amar Abu-Eisha, 33. Mr. Abu-Eisha’s mother told reporters she did not know if her son was the perpetrator. However, she told them, “If he truly did it, I’ll be proud of him ‘til my final day.” “I raised my children on the knees of the Islamic religion. They are religious guys, honest and clean-handed, and their goal is to bring the victory of Islam,” she said. Demolishing Homes On June 30, when the bodies of the murdered kidnap victims were found, the IDF demolished the Hebron homes of Messrs Abu-Eisha and Kawasmeh. This marked the first time since 2009 that a terrorist’s home was ordered razed. In 2009, the home of Ala’a Abu Dheim, the terrorist who murdered eight students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in 2008, was destroyed. Meir Indor of the Almagor Terror Victims Organization called demolishing a terrorist’s home “a fundamental act of justice.” “It cannot be that a terrorist released in the Shalit deal will just go back to jail and that the minimum of destroying his home will not be carried out,” said Mr. Indor. Only B’Tselem objected, calling it “draconian” punishment that “stems from a quest for revenge and political capital, while exploiting the angry climate in Israel following the abduction events.” At Least Kill the House Nevertheless, it seems, demolitions will continue. During the search for the kidnapped boys, the identity of the terrorist murderer of Israeli Police Chief Superintendent Col Baruch Mizrahi was announced. Mr. Mizrahi was killed last April while driving to Kiryat Arba for a Passover seder. His pregnant wife and three of their children were also in the car when the terrorist, Ziyad Awad, another of those freed in exchange for Mr. Shalit, opened fire.

Although Israeli orders have been given to demolish Mr. Awad’s home, the terrorist’s family is appealing the matter in court. So far, the court seems to be finding in the government’s favor. Mr. Mizrahi’s widow, Hadas, who asked for the destruction of Mr. Awad’s home, is lobbying for him to be given the death penalty. She argued that had he been executed the first time around, instead of being freed in exchange for Mr. Shalit, her husband would still be alive. Trying to Disrupt Some Israelis are hoping the threat of home demolitions and possibly the death penalty will counter the current uptick in terrorism. Palestinians in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem seemed to be trying to obey Hamas’s call to disrupt the search for the three teenagers. A day after the boys were kidnapped, 20 masked Muslim rioters pelted police forces with stones on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem., On June 14, unidentified assailants fired at Israeli Border Police from a passing vehicle near Har Gilo, located near Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem. There were no injuries or damage. A day later, Ahmad Arafat, 19, was shot and killed by Israeli troops and a second terrorist was lightly injured while taking part in a rock-throwing riot outside Ramallah. While searching for the kidnapped teenagers, Israeli soldiers had come under attack by the rioters. Two soldiers were lightly injured by stones and bricks. Another suffered a concussion and required hospitalization. Mr. Arafat had been released just a week earlier from an Israeli prison. Rockets for Funerals The tipping point for many Israelis came on July 1. At the exact time that more than 100,000 Israelis attended the funeral services for the three kidnapped teenagers, terrorists from Hamas-ruled Gaza launched a salvo of five mortar shells towards the Eshkol Regional Council. Two fell in open territory, causing no damage or injury. The remaining three reportedly landed in Gaza, never reaching their target. The day before, just after the boys’ bodies were found, several rockets had been launched. Just before the funeral on July 1, more rockets were fired.

The funerals for the boys were held in their own communities, all near Modi’in. They were timed so that mourners could attend all three sequentially. Finally, the funerals merged and the three were buried side by side in the cemetery in Modi’in. “Failure” In what some called a “veiled admission of guilt,” Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri released a statement calling the abduction of the three teenagers “an activity that failed.” His characterization fits the sequence of events that Israeli investigators believe describe the last few minutes of the boys’ lives. In the chilling two-minute recording of Mr. Sha’ar’s frantic last call to the police emergency hotline, made in the car of their abductors, one of the terrorist kidnappers can be heard on a cell phone, announcing in Arabic: “We’ve brought three.” When the kidnappers realized that one of their victims had called the police, shots rang out during an apparent struggle and there are cries of pain, indicating that one or more of the boys was killed. The kidnappers kept driving after the shooting, but it seemed they changed direction and turned towards Halhoul when they became convinced that Israeli security forces would be following them. Israeli investigators believe that at that moment, all the boys were murdered in the back seat of the kidnappers’ car. Blood and spent bullet casings were discovered in the burned-out car found shortly after the kidnapping. Murder Part of the Plan According to Arutz Sheva’s Ari Yashar, the evidence suggests the kidnappers, realizing the police had been contacted, decided to murder the boys on the spot. “It is not yet known whether they had initially meant to keep them alive in the hope of bartering them in exchange for jailed terrorists. However, many analysts say the terrorists always planned to murder the boys, particularly since it would have been nearly impossible for two people to control and hide three young captives for a prolonged period of time. The call to the police made them act sooner,” Mr. Yashar said, adding that the police blunder in not responding immediately to the call gave the terrorists “valuable time to make their escape.”

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After the incident, several top police officials were dismissed from their posts for dereliction of duty. Israeli Plans Thwarted After the discovery of the bodies of the kidnapped teenagers, Israeli officials had plans to take stern actions against Hamas in Gaza as well as make demands on the Palestinian leadership in Judea and Samaria. The campaign against Hamas was considered a continuation of Operation Brother’s Keeper, the end point of which was to capture the two terrorists who had kidnapped the boys and murdered them. However, a few hours after the funeral, three Israelis allegedly took the law into their own hands and brutally kidnapped and murdered a Palestinian teenager who had had nothing to do with the kidnapping or murder of the Jewish youngsters. In the early hours of July 2, police received reports that a young man was being forced into a car in the Beit Hanina Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem. Within an hour, the burnt body of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder was found in the area of the Jerusalem Forest. An initial pathologist’s report indicated he had been burned alive, suffering burns on 90 percent of his body. No Celebrations In stark contrast to the Palestinians’

response to the kidnapping and murder of the three Jewish teenagers, there was no rejoicing in Israel over the murder of Mr. Khder. To the contrary, the act appalled even those who had been at the forefront of calling for sterner actions against terror. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called Mr. Khder’s murder “a grave and barbaric act.” Mr. Netanyahu agreed, calling immediately for an investigation to find the perpetrators of the “despicable murder.” He appealed to Israelis to “exercise restraint in actions and words,” even as they mourned for the three murdered Israeli boys. “Our hearts ache, our blood boils, but we must remember that we are, first and foremost, human beings and we are citizens of a law-abiding country,” he said. No Heroes Addressing the Khder family , Mr. Netanyahu pledged that “the perpetrators of this horrific crime will face the full weight of the law.” “In Israeli society, there is no place for such murderers. And that’s the difference between us and our neighbors. They consider murderers to be heroes. They name public squares after them. We don’t. We condemn them and we put them on trial and we’ll put them in prison,” he said. Another difference is that while Israel does not seek the destruction of the Pales-

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Rivkie.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 tinians, “they teach a very broad segment of their society to seek our destruction. And that must end,” he said. Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi David Lau also called for restraint. “The discourse about revenge is wrong morally, ethically, and halachically,” he said. “We have to trust that the security forces will do their job properly and not think at all about taking revenge, which can lead the entire region down a dangerous path. Our revenge will be in the punishment of the murderers and in continuing the wonderful way of uniting hearts and strengthening the Jewish faith.” Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, head of the Elon Moreh Yeshiva called for the murderers of Mr. Khder to be given the death penalty, Mass Destruction Despite Israeli promises to find the killers, the murder of Mr. Khder set off riots which continued into August throughout Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount. Masked Palestinians threw rocks at police, leading to a decision to close the holy site to all visitors. Arab rioters hurled pipe bombs, rocks, and Molotov cocktails at police and civilians alike. Fires were set in Arab neighborhoods, including Shuafat, AsaEl, and Beit Hanina. Three Light Rail stations were destroyed by Arab rioters. and

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Terrorism in Israel others some targeted Jewish homes and cars in the Jewish neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev. Amid the violence, demonstrators chanted antisemitic slogans, including the Islamist war cry of “Khyber Khyber yaYahud, Jaish el-Muhammed Soufa ya’ud” (“Remember Khyber oh Jews! The army of Mohammed will return.”) The chant is a reference to the indiscriminate slaughter and enslavement of Jews in the city of Khyber by Muslim armies under the command of the Prophet Mohammed himself. Encouraging Violence The Arab rioters found encouragement from Suha Khder, the murdered teenager’s mother, who supported “revenge” on Israelis in the form of violent rioting and barrages of rockets from Gaza. She said that the riots were a manner of Palestinians “exercising their rights” and expressions of “concern for the Palestinian people” to prevent future abductions. Riot Control By July 4, the first Friday after both Ramadan and Mr. Khder’s murder, Israeli police began to implement riot-control measures on the Temple Mount, including the use of stun grenades against Arabs attempting to break through police barriers. Only Muslim men over 50 with Israeli citi-

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zenship as well as all women were allowed access to the Temple Mount. Riot dispersal measures were also used when lynch mobs approached Israeli security forces with large stones in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras-Al Amud and Wadi Joz. In Shechem, violent Arab rioters approached IDF vehicles patrolling the city and pelted them with rocks and firebombs. A Near-Lynching The night before, passengers of two Israeli cars barely escaped with their lives after accidentally driving into the Arab town of Baytilu. A crowd of Arab residents surrounded the vehicles and began pummeling them with rocks. The occupants were saved when an IDF patrol unit and several security officers from nearby Jewish communities happened to come by. The patrol team successfully extricated the victims from the Arab village. One was taken to the hospital with a concussion. Spreading North On Shabbat, July 5, there was not only increasing rocket fire from Gaza, but the Arab riots had spread to Israel’s north. At least 150 Arabs demonstrated in Nazareth, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, while at the entrance to the town square near Qalansawa, hundreds of Arab riot-

ed, hurling large rocks at riot dispersal police. A SWAT team leader was injured. These riots were in the so-called “Triangle,” a swath of land in northern Israel in which 300,000 Israeli Arabs reside. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has proposed giving the PA the Triangle in exchange for Jewish settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria, an idea which the Israeli Arabs oppose. Mr. Netanyahu responded to the Israeli Arab riots by reminding them that they “cannot enjoy social security payments and child benefits on the one hand and violate the most basic laws of the State of Israel on the other.” He stressed that Israeli security forces would “act decisively against the riots in Jerusalem and in Arab communities.” “We are taking a hard line with lawbreakers and incitement on both sides,” he said, calling on leaders of the Arab public “to take responsibility, to face the wave of rioting, and restore peace.” Fighting Back In Jerusalem on Shabbat, Arab rioters hurled rocks at a young Jewish couple outside the Old City. The husband took out his gun and fired in the air, prompting the assailants to flee. His wife suffered light injuries and was treated at the scene. Terrorists then threw rocks at a bus passing under a tunnel near Mount Scopus, injuring the driver and two passengers. Later, a bus was attacked between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, and rioters burned two cars—one of them owned by the UN—in the Nof Zion neighborhood. Molotov cocktails were launched at the Mar Elias Mon-

astery near Har Homa, which set off a brushfire. Firefighting services were able to contain and extinguish the blaze. North of Jerusalem, another bus driver and a passenger were injured after terrorists threw rocks at them near Geva Benjamin. When 15 Arabs from Silwan hurled rocks at Diaspora Yeshiva students on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the students retaliated by throwing back whatever they could find, including metal chairs and eventually a pot of cholent. The terrorists fled. Israeli police said that in five days of unrest, 36 officers had been injured trying to keep order, and 220 Israeli Arab rioters had been arrested. Blaming Israel Mr. Abbas, who said nothing against the rioters, blamed the Israeli government for the murder of Mr. Khder. Acting as though he had not heard the Israeli Prime Minister vowing to apprehend the perpetrators, Mr. Abbas demanded that Israel “expose the criminals and bring them to justice.” Because most supporters of Israel were well aware of the Arab exhilaration that had accompanied reports of the Jewish teenagers’ abduction, it was unclear if Mr. Abbas was being sarcastic when he demanded that Mr. Netanyahu “condemn the abduction of the Arab youth and his murder, like we condemned the abduction and murder of the three settlers.” On its website, the Fatah movement condemned the murder of Mr. Khder as a “war crime and organized crime,” adding that it was “a direct result of the continued incitement by the right-wing occupation government and its complete support for settler terror.”

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“Honor the Professional According to Your Need”

Blood Libel In the Hamas newspaper, Al-Risalah, editor Wisam Afifa associated Mr. Khder’s death with the Medieval blood libel. “The settlers used the body of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder…to carry out their sacred [act of] vengeance by torturing him and burning him to death, in a crime reminiscent of their holy matzos that became part of their history of betrayal and murder—for the culture of violence and blood grew among the Jews to such an extent that it seeped into their sacred rites and prayers,” he wrote. “These ancient rites are echoed in modern ones, whereby [the Jews] sanctify the blood of [their fellow] Jews, who are considered humans of the first level, and disregard the blood of Palestinians.” The terror group Islamic Jihad tried to explain why

the kidnapping and murder of the Jewish teenagers was justified (“settlers” are “a legitimate target” for “resistance”), but the murder of Mr. Khder was “a continuation of a series of crimes by the Israeli army and settlers.” Mentally Unstable Israeli authorities quickly made good on their promise to investigate the murder of the Palestinian teenager. By July 6, Israeli police had arrested six suspects, several of them minors, who police said had “connected themselves” to the murder. The following day, Israeli police said three of the six suspects, all members of the same family, had confessed and even reenacted the crime for investigators. One of the suspects resides in Jerusalem; another is from Adam, north of Jerusalem; and the third is from

Beit Shemesh. Two of them are minors, both 17; the third is a 29-year-old adult with a history of mental illness. The father of one of the minors said he believes his son was arrested merely in order for the police to obtain more information on the chief suspect, whom the father said is the boys’ mentally unstable uncle. According to the father, the other minor suspect “takes pills, too.” “He’s a child who doesn’t go to yeshiva because he has fears,” said the father. Dress Rehearsals According to news reports, at least two of the suspects have been sent for psychiatric observation. Israeli police said the adult suspect has a long history of severe psychiatric problems. He was arrested two years ago on suspicion

of having tried to strangle his baby daughter. He has been receiving psychiatric treatment ever since. According to police, a month before Mr. Khder’s murder, two of the suspects set fire to an Arab-owned store in Hizme on the outskirts of Jerusalem. On the evening before the murder—just after the bodies of the three Jewish teenagers were discovered—the 29-yearold suspect and one of the minors drove to Beit Hanina intending to attack or abduct an Arab youth in revenge. After about an hour, they located a young Arab, attacked him, and escaped. On July 2, they intentionally decided to go further. They combed several neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem, looking for a victim, and finally, in Sh-

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Mitzvah Calories

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed Ellen Wasserman’s poem, “Mitzvah Calories on Shavuos” (Letters to the Editor, May, 2014). It is beautifully written, and I am planning to forward it to my friends and family. Keep up the good work, and thank you for publishing such a talented poet. Yaffa Gutman Monsey, NY

Authors Didn’t Disclose Financial, Intellectual Links to Terror

Recently, the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, published a correspondence, “An Open Letter for the People of Gaza,” (Paola Manduca, Iain Chalmers, Derek Summerfield, Mads Gilbert, Swee Ang, on behalf of 24 signatories), a highly partisan, demonstrably inaccurate, and defamatory representation of the violence now taking place between the Israel Defense Forces and the terrorist group Hamas. The authors declared they had no competing interests, but as several respondents have pointed out, two of the co-authors have affiliations with pro-Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In fact that barely scratches the surface in terms of the potentially biasing conflicts. For one example, the letter’s first author, Paolo Manduca, received funding from several anti-Israel NGOs including Interpal, which has been designated as a terrorist entity by the governments of the US, Canada and Australia. US Federal authorities describe the organization as a global clearinghouse channeling money to Hamas and a BBC investigation came to the same conclusion. Interpal is a founding member of the so-called “Union of Good,” an umbrella organization, which funds Islamic terrorists in Gaza. Its leader, Yussef al- Qaradawi, is a notorious jihadist who has publically lauded Hitler for “putting Jews in their place” and has said of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “We must plant the love of death and the love of martyrdom in the Islamic nation.” The organization actively encourages Palestinian children to become martyrs and suicide bombers. Manduca not only receives funding from Interpal but also raises money for it. Is it any wonder, therefore, that Manduca is a signatory to the “Appeal for the removal of Hamas from the EU terror list” and that her co-author, Mads Gilbert, is on record for supporting terror attacks against civilians, including the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center which took the lives of nearly 3000 innocent civilians? These revelations totally belie the authors’ description of themselves as merely “doctors and scientists, who spend our lives developing means to care and protect health and lives” A least some of them are, in fact, doctors and scientists who have intellectual and financial links to terrorist entities with genocidal agendas. In violating Lancet’s published Declaration of Interests policy, Manduca et al, deprived Lancet readers of crucial contextual information with which to judge their polemical correspondence. In light of these egregious omissions, Lancet must immediately retract the Manduca et al. letter in accordance with its own stated policy on such violations. Anything less would only add to the damage that has been done to Lancet’s credibility by its editorial decision to publish this scurrilous correspondence which has been likened to a blood-libel against the people of

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Letters to the Editor

Israel; a decision which also violated both Elsevier’s editorial policy of avoiding material that contains inaccuracy, bias and defamation and the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)—of which Lancet is a member—which states: “editors must make an effort to screen discourteous, inaccurate, or libelous comments.” David Feifel, MD, PhD Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego Dr. Feifel is a member of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), a co-founder and Board Member of Southern California Yeshiva High School, and has family members currently serving the Israel Defense Forces.

In Israel: The Times They Are A-Changin’

The New York Times is unhappy with the rightward drift in Israeli society, especially with a surge of patriotism during the Gaza war. In a memo from Jerusalem, (“Some Israelis Count Open Discourse and Dissent Among Gaza War casualties” August 6, page A9), bureau chief Jodi Rudoren recounts tell-tale signs of how Israelis rallied around their soldiers, leaving only a tiny leftist fringe to deplore Israel’s use of military power to repel Hamas aggression. Rudoren, you should know, belongs to that ultra-leftist slice of the Jewish state. Her unhappiness with Israeli behavior during Israel’s nearly month-long counter-terrorism offensive knows no bounds. She finds opinions of ultra-doves few and far between, and quickly rebuked. Israel, she tells readers, became engulfed by McCarthyism. As evidence, Rudoren cites a Reform synagogue where she occasionally attends services. A leader of the congregation, she recounts, stood up and declared that he no longer felt comfortable reciting a prayer that includes a wish for “shalom, peace for all who dwell on earth.” Why? Because the congregant said, “There really are bad people out there who I don’t wish shalom.” For the Reform rabbi, Rudoren reports, “it was a devastating moment.” Which, of course, also invokes her own sympathy. Can you imagine an Israeli congregant unable to pray for peace for blood-soaked Hamas terrorists. What is Israeli society coming too? Rudoren clearly is chagrined. And there are other ominous signs. Like a peacenik who deplores Israeli leaders’ invective toward Hamas and “Israeli news outlets that cover every soldier’s funeral” but more rarely show the plight of Gazans. And to top it off, Rudoren adds, things have gotten so bad that the rabbi’s wife “has taken to watching Al Jazeera.” “The signs are everywhere,” Rudoren sighs. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority blocked B’Tselem, a far-left group masquerading as a human rights organization, from running a paid radio ad reading the names and ages of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. To Rudoren, who wishes for a more fractious Israeli society during wartime, this is all anathema. “When sons and brothers are on the front line, the thinking goes, unity is more important than robust debate,” she opines. Rudoren, of course, finds this unacceptable. What makes all this both pathetic and hilarious is that Rudoren and the Times show no concern about real suppression of open discourse and dissent under Hamas rule in Gaza. So anti-Israel is Times coverage, thanks to the likes of Rudoren, that real Hamas totalitarianism gets no mention at all.

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“Thought Is the World of Freedom” (R’ Dov Ber of Mazeritch) In Israel, a few hotheads may yell “Death to Arabs.” But such epithets pale in comparison with anti-Israel and antisemitic incitement in mosques, media and schools throughout Palestinian society—in the West Bank under Mahmoud Abbas, as well as in Gaza under Hamas. Where is Rudoren on that angle? Or what about the Times’ failure to report widespread intimidation of journalists under Hamas in Gaza to prevent them from reporting and broadcasting not so palatable Hamas doings? The real Hamas is not on the Times radar. What you can find there instead is the Times perennial target: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose popularity also contributes to Rudoren’s chagrin. “Several polls”, she reports, “find that as many as nine out of 10 Israeli Jews back the prosecution of the war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” All in all, a terrible day for Rudoren and the Times. Leo Rennert Bethesda, MD

A Proper Response to Our Tragedy

We have had too many memorials, too many tears shed. It’s time to create a proper response for our times. The tragic end of the three boys, Gilad Sha’ar, z”l, Naftali Frenkel, z”l, and Eyal Yifrah, z”l, has come as a blow to the entire nation and household of Israel. We had hoped to celebrate their return home and instead we are broken hearted and left to ponder the proper response to this heinous, malicious, and brutal murder. Words are too inadequate to describe our pain. The vacuous, hollow statements: “a threat to peace,” “restraint on all sides,” “the sadness to both peoples” betray the memory of these beautiful boys. If anything, their death is a sacrifice, a moment in history that calls for reflection and response. They did die “al Kiddush Hashem,” sanctifying G-d’s Name, but how is G-d sanctified in this case? G-d surely takes no pleasure in the death of the righteous, so how is His Name sanctified with this murder? The only possible justification for their deaths is that this tragedy will engender something special in their people, a reaction that will indeed give meaning to their sacrifice. That is the response we must articulate. Ideally it should unite the entire Jewish nation as we execute it. The usual response in our history has been to endure and to persevere, and this is also appropriate now. The continuity of Jewish settlement in our Land and the expansion of Jewish life and creativity everywhere are as essential today as in earlier times, but they are not enough. Today, Israel has the capacity to act in order to prevent future tragedies, something that was impossible through the

2,000 years of Exile. The best honor we can give Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali is to insure that there are no more such victims. The world will counsel Israel on what to do or not to do, but only Israel can and must fashion its response in the manner that serves its interests best and particularly in order to protect the lives of its citizens and of Jews everywhere. We need to support Israel in whatever it decides and to encourage it to act without fear of international repercussions. We need to mobilize ourselves to tell our elected officials in America and the rest of the world that they too must lend support to Israel as the Jewish state acts to deter future terrorist acts. Jews have always been regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, and we have accepted this image in our long years of Exile. This has to end. The world is happy to build us memorials and Holocaust museums, but is unhappy to witness vibrant and strong Jewish life in the land of our national birth. The divestment and delegitimization campaigns are also responsible for this tragedy as are the preachers of a hateful Islam and those who silently acquiesce to their teachings and incitement to violence. What culture can celebrate the kidnapping of innocent children? What kind of culture can produce mothers that distribute candies to rejoice at the kidnapping of Jews? Part of our response has to be to encourage people to look at Islam, read the Quran, and ascertain the influence it has on those who murder. We should pay more attention to those who preach violence. We should condemn those who refuse to see it. Some Jewish leaders are concerned about Islamophobia to the detriment of an honest and unbiased view of the influence of Islam on the present generation. This must stop, too. An honest assessment of Jihad and its role in Islam must be an essential part of our response to this crisis. Therefore, let our reaction to this tragedy be a radical rethinking of the situation that created these murders, the society that produced them, and the atmosphere in which preaching hatred has been perpetrated. We need an analysis of those who wish to harm us and, above all, a challenge to an Israeli government afraid of its shadow and concerned about “ what will the goyim say.” When I heard about the memorial services for these boys, I thought that will be the full extent of our reaction and then we will feel we have done something. Memorials do nothing to prevent tragedies, but they make us feel we have done something and that is the greatest danger. We have a lot of work ahead and we cannot sleep while our enemies plot our harm. Rabbi David Algaze Forest Hills, NY The Jewish Voice and Opinion welcomes letters, especially if they are typed, double-spaced, and legible. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and style. Please send all correspondence to POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631. The phone number is (201) 5692845. The FAX number is (201) 569-1739. The email address is susan@jewishvoiceandopinion.com

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Terrorism in Israel uafat, noticed Mr. Khder alone. They forced him into their car, beat him, and then led him to the Jerusalem Forest, where they pushed him out of the car and soaked him with flammable liquid. They then set him aflame and fled. No Reciprocation Once the suspects were in custody, Mr. Netanyahu called on the PA to locate the terrorists who abducted and murdered the three Jewish teens, just as Israel had located and arrested the suspected murderers of Mr. Khder. “We know exactly who kidnapped and murdered Gilad, Naftali and Eyal, and we’ll get them. The murderers came from the territory controlled by the PA; they returned to territory controlled by the PA. Therefore, the PA is obliged to do everything in its power to find them, just as we did, just as our security forces located

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the suspects in the murder of Mohammed Abu Khder within a matter of days,” he said. Given the response by Mr. Khder’s family, that does not seem likely. On July 8, Shmuel Shai Cohen, the grandfather of murdered Israeli teen Gilad Sha’ar, was interviewed alongside Hussein Abu Khder, the father of the murdered Palestinian boy. While Mr. Cohen immediately expressed his condolences, saying “vengeance is not acceptable to us,” Mr. Khder refused to speak out against the murderers of the three Israelis. Non Sequitur Mr. Cohen noted that unlike Israel’s leaders, who unanimously condemned the killing of Mr. Khder’s son, some Arab leaders actually lauded the Jewish teens’ murder. Mr. Khder responded with a non sequitur. “The problem

is that Israel’s right-wing government does not want peace,” he said. Asked to clarify his statement, Mr. Khder repeated a charge that has been made by most Palestinian leaders: that the murderers of the Israeli teens could have been Jews. “Nobody knows who killed them. You have no proof,” said Mr. Khder. He then went on to reject the possibility of a joint condolence call between the three Israeli families and his own. Bereaved Families The joint condolence call that did take place was between the family of Mr. Yifrah and family members of Shelly Dadon, a 19-yearold girl from Afula who was stabbed to death on May 1 by a 34-year-old Palestinian cab driver-turned terrorist. While most Israelis assume that the murderer, Hus-

sein Khalifa, killed Miss Dadon for nationalist reasons, Israeli police have published the killer’s version, which is that he murdered her because, while he drove her to a job interview in Migdal Haemek, she “cursed” him. Miss Dadon’s cousin, Asaf Dadon, said that was “ludicrous.” “Our justice system is stupid, but the public is not. We know exactly why Shelly was murdered,” he told reporters, adding that, because the family is under a gag order, he could not discuss how many times Mr. Khalifa had stabbed his cousin or “what he did to her body afterwards.” The Dadon family believes the police timed the release of details about Miss Dadon’s murderer to coincide with the publication of details about the murder of Mr. Khder. The Dadon family believes the police

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Live Where You Can Walk to Shul

want to create “a public sense that the two events somehow balance each other out.” When Shelly Dadon’s bereaved parents, Ilana and Ya’akov, paid a shiva call on the Yifrah family, Iris Yifrah told her visitors, “The heart is broken. Our child isn’t with us, but we are in a good place. Look at what is happening among the people of Israel, what unity.” On leaving the Yifrah home, Mr. Dadon told reporters, “We came to console, and we left strengthened. We, too, are broken from within. They gave us strength.” Attacks Thwarted If the Arabs who are still rioting in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem have their way, Israelis will need that strength. Several times last month, terror attacks were thwarted based simply on security officers’ intuition.

On July 10, for example, security officers arrested a Palestinian who was transporting a bomb in his car. When his car was stopped for a routine check on Highway 5 that crosses Samaria from east and west and leads directly into the northern outskirts of Tel Aviv, officers noticed a bag between the driver’s legs. Inside there was a gas balloon connected to electric wires. Upon questioning, he admitted he had been on his way to carry out an attack. On July 27, another potential terror attack was foiled when a terrorist was apprehended at a Gush Etzion checkpoint. Israeli Border Police Commander Yeshurun Zoran determined that a Palestinian driver was behaving suspiciously. When the driver was told to pull over and turn off the vehicle, he stalled the car, prompting Mr. Zoran to take his keys and turn off

the engine himself. The driver then slammed the keys back into the ignition and began driving away, dragging Mr. Zoran with him. The driver stopped only when the officer drew his weapon and threatened to shoot. A powerful explosive was found in the car’s trunk, which was later neutralized by sappers. The driver was arrested and taken into custody. Not a Robbery On August 3, two Palestinians entered a Jewish home in Neve Tzuf in the Benjamin region of Samaria, north of Jerusalem. Residents were convinced they were terrorists, but the police decided to treat the incident as a burglary. The home belonged to the parents of Miri Ovadia, spokeswoman for the Binyamin Regional Council, who said the event, which almost turned

into a terror attack, was “miraculously thwarted.” According to Mrs. Ovadia, the intruders punched her two 16-year-old brothers, who happened to be home. The teenagers were locked inside a room while the terrorists went to the kitchen to look for knives. “Another brother arrived and chased them away. Miraculously, a greater tragedy was averted,” she said. The day after the incident, Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack, boasting that its operatives had confronted and killed three “Zionist settlers.” Israeli security said the Fatah statement was “just another show of bravado to mask the fact that their terrorists were forced to flee after being beaten back by the Jewish family.” S.L.R.

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