THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION Promoting Classical Judaism
March 2015
Vol. 28 • No. 6
Adar-Nissan 5775
Obama Said Bibi Had “Nothing New” on the Iranian Deal, but Congress Now Demands Oversight or Will Send the Deal to the Dustbin in Jan 2017 History may record Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic third address to a joint session of Congress—this time on the dangers of allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons capability—as a turning point in Congress’s deliberations on what President Barack Obama is allowed to offer the Iranian mullahs in exchange for a deal that, in the end, may lead to a nuclear-armed Iran and world-wide disaster.
All indications suggest that Mr. Netanyahu’s address has already served to solidify Israel’s relationship with the American Congress and public. Additionally, the speech has given notice to the President of the world’s awareness that he may be about to capitulate to the Iranians. As opposed to the situation before Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, there is now a bipartisan bloc of 64 US Senators (only three short of a veto-proof majority), which is willing to approve legislation requiring the
President to submit the Iranian agreement to Congress for approval before it is accepted. Letter to Iran On March 9, a delegation of 47 Republican Senators—nearly half the US Senate—wrote an open letter to Iran’s leaders warning them that unless Congress approves the agreement, any nuclear agreement they sign with Mr. Obama will not be valid after he leaves office in January 2017. Among the signatories
continued on page 33
New Israel Fund Supports Groups That Demonize the Jewish State, Its Citizens, Its Troops, and Its Leaders; Can It Still March in the Parade? When the 51st annual Is-
rael Day Parade marches up Fifth Avenue on Sunday, May 31, many of the 100,000 expected participants and 1 million spectators may be looking for something in addition to the colorful floats, marching bands, and block-long masses of singing and dancing yeshiva and day school students. This year, the question on many minds is whether the sponsoring New York UJA and Jewish
Community Relations Council (JCRC) will manage to allow a controversial group which has been accused not only of antiZionism but blatant antisemitism to march in the parade. While the NIF claims to be pro-Israel, its activities and record of financial support are far to the left of nearly every mainstream pro-Israel organization. Founded to advocate for left-wing progressive policies and fund groups whose activities support that
vision, the NIF by its own estimate has spent more than $250 million on groups who frequently demonize the Jewish state, its citizens, its soldiers, and its leaders. Critics say it now spends nearly $27 million annually (down from $37 million in 2010) on activities that harm the IDF and encourage sanctions against Israel. “Because of the alliances it has made, the NIF and its work run vastly contrary to the commonly accepted notions
of how to keep Israel strong, vibrant, democratic, and Jewish,” said Juda Engelmayer, a senior vice-president at the NY-based 5W Public Relations. New Rules At issue is whether NIF adheres to the word and spirit of the parade leaders’ new Marching Group Rules. Adopted just this year, the new rules stipulate that groups marching in the 2015 parade must “oppose, not fund, nor advocate for” anti-
continued on page 17
Inside the Voice Israeli Startups in the Bronx...................3 Kol Ami: Divorce Challenges?............ 6 The Current Crisis............................... 7 Holy Name and SINAI......................12 Frum Divorce......................................13
Interesting Reading.................................14 Film Festivals, Movies, and TV............22 The Log..........................................................24 New Classes This Month................31 Mazal Tov.............................................32
Internships...................................................32 Ess Gezint: New Passover Menu........38 European Antisemitism..................40 Index of Advertisers ........................41 Letters to the Editor ........................44
Page - 2
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Holy Name Medical Center
Welcoming babies into the world since 1925.
Holy Name’s BirthPlace offers hotel-like accommodations and amenities, supported by advanced monitoring and infant care technology. With our team of board-certified obstetrician/gynecologists, neonatologists, perinatologists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians and Magnet award–winning nurses, you’re in good hands—and so is your baby. For more information, call 877-HOLY-NAME (465-9626) or visit holyname.org/birthplace.
718 Teaneck Road • Teaneck, NJ 07666
One of the country’s best birthing hospitals: • Private LDRP suites • Dedicated Magnet award–winning nursing staff for labor and delivery, postpartum, and special care nursery • 24-hour access to board-certified anesthesiologists, ob/gyns, pediatricians and neonatologists • Intermediate level II special care nursery • Maternal-fetal medicine program and perinatal high-risk services • Genetic counseling • Central fetal monitoring and maternal monitoring • Education classes, support groups and infant care hotline • State-of-the-art electronic security system • Participant in National Cord Blood Stem Cell Program (umbilical cord blood storage for future lifesaving interventions) • Sabbath elevator • Sabbath room for family overnight stays • Sabbath lounge with kosher snacks
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 3
Bronx-Israeli Technology Showcase Features Israeli Startups and a Scholarship for Hispanic Students to Study in the Jewish State Israel has found partners
throughout the civilized world with whom to explore imaginative possibilities and resources, and to create new products and technologies that enhance the lives of people everywhere. Last month, aspiring entrepreneurs in the Bronx took the opportunity to see and hear for themselves what all the excitement is about. At the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, the founders of several Israeli innovative startups engaged students, teachers, and local New York community political leaders with the stories
of their work and the path that brought them to many venues, including the Bronx. “Today, we have the opportunity to bring together the creativity of Israeli startups with the young, innovative leaders of the Bronx,” said Israeli Consul General in New York Ido Aharoni, calling the borough “a place that is passionately embracing innovation.” The startup showcase was coordinated by the Consulate General of Israel in New York as a way to introduce the Lehman community to the ideas and creativity of emerging Israeli startups. The New York consul-
ate is the largest of Israel’s nine diplomatic missions in the US. Fashion to Food The mostly young Israeli presenters offered their personal stories and demonstrated the companies they had founded. The services offered by the presenting companies ranged from fashion to food. Most of the presenters in the Bronx were not the Israelis behind the product. The spokesmen and women were those who had latched onto superb Israelibased ideas. For example, Clea O’hana, who was at Lehman, is Swiss.
Her partner, Lia Kislev, is Israeli. Their startup, “WiShi,” is a social styling hub whose platform allows users to share their personal closets so that the community can offer suggestions and actually engage in crowd-styling. Hatched in Israel The business plan devised by Ms. O’hana and Ms. Kislev was hatched in an Israeli startup incubator. Launched just before the fall of 2014, WiShi (“Wear It, Share It”) already has 150,000 active users. The app is now responsible for visuals at all Belstaff
continued on page 8
THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION, Inc. © 2015; 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.
Page - 4
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Kol Ami: Divorce Challenges? According to Jewish tradition, although divorce is sanctioned by Jewish law, when there is a divorce, the altar in the Holy Temple weeps and the children are the sacrifices. The tradition also recognizes that marriage is for life and not for pain. By definition, when a marriage is painful, it is not sanctioned
We often feel alone without community support and understanding. The process of healing and starting over could be greatly enhanced if our communities and congregations showed warmth and empathy to so many whose hearts and lives have been broken and altered. Cantor Benny Rogosnitzky Manhattan, NY
Divorced Orthodox Jews often feel like second-class citizens. We are often lonely, especially on Shabbos and holidays. It helps to spend Shabbos with friends in groups, at affordable rates. Pessy Rose Monsey, NY
by Torah. At a Shabbaton held last month by FrumDivorce, an organization that provides guidance and support for observant Jews struggling through that process, the question was: What is the most challenging aspect of being divorced in the observant-Jewish community? Y
As a woman, I think most of the men in the divorced community are not serious and have little interest remarrying. The ratio of decent guys to decent girls is very uneven. It’s still pretty much a man’s world. Rena Goldstein Brooklyn, NY
Making sure the children are comfortable in shul and school and that, in their religious life, they do not feel like secondclass citizens. Tzvi Kimmel Staten Island, NY
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 5
The Current Crisis: “Even in Laughter, the Heart Can Ache” It’s not rocket science to understand why the President objected to Bibi’s coming to Obama’s capital. After all, Netanyahu came to criticize Obama’s policy, from the podium of what Obama sees as his US Congress, to address the American audience Obama thinks he owns, on television stations Obama assumes are his to do with as he sees fit (if you think otherwise, just ask Fox News reporter James Rosen).
But does a diplomat, let alone a head of state, stick his fingers in his ears—and the ears of all his cabinet members—and make believe he and they are not listening to a speech that garnered over 40 standing ovations? Daniel Tauber, executive-director of Likud Anglos and a member of Likud’s Central Committee, wondered what would have happened if Obama had greeted Bibi by saying publicly, “We welcome the Prime Minister and his contribution to the discussion.” What would have been the fallout if at the end of Bibi’s speech, Obama had said, “We view the Prime Minister’s concerns very seriously and will, of course, take them into consideration when dealing with Iran at the negotiating table”? After Bibi left Washington for the relative peace of the Israeli Knesset elections, our Commander-in-Chief turned his fury against NJ Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who has the gall to mean it when he says support for Israel and penalties for Iran if the mullahs don’t roll back their nuclear program are bi-partisan issues. As the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez has added his name to legislation that will require Congressional review of any deal Obama strikes with
Iran on its nuclear program. All but flailing on the floor, Obama announced he would veto the measure, but Menendez’s presence just might secure a veto-proof majority that can thwart the President’s goal of showing the Iranians (and Obama’s chief advisor Valerie Jarrett) they can have anything they want from him. As Seth Lipsky of the New York Sun put it, this has driven Obama “to a level of petulance America has rarely seen in a President.” In the blink of an eye, the administration’s Justice Department leaked to CNN that Mr. Menendez is about to be indicted for not having paid for a trip he has already taken care of. Obama really thinks we’re going to buy that the indictment is something other than retribution.
To get even with all supporters of Israel, Obama is appointing the virulently anti-Israel Robert Malley as his Special Assistant and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf Region. Malley, an associate of notoriously anti-Israel billionaire George Soros, was dropped by Obama in 2008 when his affinity for negotiating with Hamas became public. Now it’s okay. We always thought Hillary Clinton wanted Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to run for President, at least in the
primaries, because, next to Warren, Hillary looks like a moderate. But it seems Obama has decided Warren would be better at defending the Obama legacy. You didn’t think that email story just materialized from nowhere, did you? Oh, Malley is set to assume his new role on April 6. Happy Pesach, everyone. S.L.R.
64-oz.
Kedem Apple Juice
$ for 19
342
Streit’s Matzoh Ball Mix
Imported or Domestic
TWO (2) FREE 5-lb. Boxes of Matzo
Per Variety
Limit 4
2
99
Kedem Grape Juice
64-oz. btl., Any Variety
.70
599
Balsamic Vinegar
16.9-oz. btl., Bartenura
8
49
Bartenura Olive Oil
16.9-oz. btl., Extra Virgin
52 $ for
ShopRite Seltzer
33.8-oz. btl. (Plus Dep. or Fee Where Req.) Club Soda or Any Variety
Qualifying purchases are calculated BEFORE taxes, bottle deposits or fees, and the face value of manufacturer coupons and AFTER ShopRite store coupons, ShopRite Price Plus club card deductions and any multiplied manufacturer coupons. Promotion cannot be combined with any other discount offer and Price Plus club membership is required to participate. If not a member, sign up today in store, it’s Free. Offer good while supplies last, sorry, no rainchecks. A COMPLETE SELECTION OF MATZO PRODUCTS MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ALL STORES. Offer also applies to ShopRite from Home orders picked up and/or delivered during the promotional period.
Qualifying purchases must be made with the SAME Price Plus® club card, and limited to store stock, while supplies last, during the promotional period. Offer valid 3/1/15 through 4/4/15. LIMIT (2) 5-LB. BOXES PER CUSTOMER. Redemption period is 3/1/15 thru 4/11/15.
Matzo choices: Yehuda, Osem, Aviv, ShopRite, Horowitz, Streit’s or Manischewitz
ONE (1) FREE 5-lb. Box of Matzo Imported or Domestic
Spend $200.00
on any items for your Holiday Meal from March 1 thru April 4, 2015 and earn
OR
on any items for your Holiday Meal from March 1 thru April 4, 2015 and earn
Spend 100.00
Earn FREE Passover Matzo $
with your from 3/1 thru 4/4/15
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
4.5-oz. box Soup Mix
179
Manischewitz Egg Matzo
12-oz. box
Old favorites and new... Passover never tasted so good
Page - 6 Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Limit 4
Limit 4
Per Variety
Limit 4
YOU SAVE
99 1.00
4 $ 23
.50
Golden Taste Blintzes
12-oz. pkg., Frozen, Potato or Cheese
4.375-oz. In Oil, Skinless and Boneless
1
Limit 4
Per Variety
for
79
1
Gold’s Borscht
Fox’s U-Bet
18 to 20-oz., Any Variety
79
Manischewitz Soup Nuts
1 99 1
24-oz. btl., Any Variety
1.75-oz. Canister
3
79
10-oz. cont. Kosher, Any Variety
Manischewitz Macaroons
19 133
Goodman’s Onion Soup
2.75-oz. box
.99
Tabatchnick Soups Season Club Sardines
14.5 to 15 oz. pkg., Frozen, Tomato with Basil, Cream of Mushroom, Cabbage, Cream of Spinach and Old Fashion Potato
399
5
YOU SAVE
99 1.00
Liebers Spices
1 to 3-oz. Minced Onion, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cinnamon, Ginger, Paprika, Tumesic, Oregano or All Spice
2
Gefen Pasta Sauce
26-oz. jar, Any Variety Pizza Sauce or
25 39 2
$ for
Manischewitz Matzo Meal
14 to 16-oz. Canister Farfel Whole Grain Farfel, Cake Meals Whole Grain Matzo Meal or
29
Streit’s Potato Starch
12-oz. box
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Prices, programs and promotions effective Sun., March 8 thru Sat., March 14, 2015 in ShopRite® Stores in NJ, North of Trenton (excluding Ewing, Hamilton Square, Hamilton Marketplace, Pennington and Montague, NJ, and Rockland County, NY), including E. Windsor, Monmouth & Ocean Counties, NJ. Sunday sales subject to local blue laws. No sales made to other retailers or wholesalers. We reserve the right to limit purchases of any sale item to four (4) purchases, per item, per household, per day, except where otherwise noted. Minimum or additional purchase requirements noted for any advertised item exclude the purchase of prescription medications, gift cards, gift certificates, postage stamps, money orders, money transfers, lottery tickets, bus tickets, fuel and Metro passes, as well as milk, cigarettes, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages or any other items prohibited by law. Only one manufacturer coupon may be used per item and we reserve the right to limit manufacturer coupon redemptions to four (4) identical coupons per household per day, unless otherwise noted or further restricted by manufacturer. Sales tax is applied to the net retail of any discounted item or any ShopRite® coupon item. We are required by law to charge sales tax on the full price of any item or any portion of an item that is discounted with the use of a manufacturer coupon or a manufacturer sponsored (or funded) Price Plus Club® card discount. Not responsible for typographical errors. Artwork does not necessarily represent items on sale; it is for display purposes only. Copyright© Wakefern Food Corp., 2015. All rights reserved.
Per Variety
Irene’s Blintzes
8-oz. pkg., Any Variety
Per Variety
A&B Gefilte Fish
20-oz. cont., Frozen, Low Sugar or Sweet
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com The Jewish Voice and Opinion Page - 7
Page - 8
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Israeli Startups
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 3
stores and openings across the world. Belstaff, which sells luxury men’s and women’s wear and accessories also featured in stores like Barney’s and Bergdorf Goodman, has used WiShi to understand client buying behavior responses. Ms. O’hana said she was delighted to have the opportunity to show off WiShi in the Bronx. “It’s great to bring an innovative atmosphere to a different area in New York,” she said. Bottomless Coffee Cup Gilad Rotem of Herzliya agreed. He is the co-founder of “Cups,” a subscription-based coffee app that allows users
to pay a monthly fee for unlimited cups of coffee from a range of independent cafés and vendors across New York. The idea occurred to him when he realized that Starbucks generates 16 percent of its revenues through its app which directs customers to Starbucks outlets. Mr. Rotem uses Cups to help smaller coffeehouses and cafés band together to do the same thing and generate their share of the market. “We have created a new kind of chain,” he told the students at Lehman. “By creating a network of independent businesses, we are helping these cafés
CSY RSEY N NEW JE O GOES T
H PESAC D E O HAM h, 7th t CHOL
6 Aprilnd 8tMh M. a 0A -8P rs 10:3 u o h k r a P
Performing live on April 6th, 5 pm
Benny Friedman With guest star MORDECHAI SHAPIRO PURCHASE TICKETS NOW! $38 until March 31st, $45 at the gate. Discounted parking and season passes available for purchase in advance.
To purchase tickets call: New Jersey NCSY at 201.862.0250 Mordechai at 732.961.1233 or 848.525.2295
Tickets are also available at: Z Berman (Passaic), Tuvia's (Monsey) and Eichler's (Flatbush)
Kosher for Pesach food will be available for purchase. No outside food will be allowed.
For more information, visit
www.ncsygreatadventure.com Concert Produced by Sheer Productions
and restaurants thrive and we’re connecting coffee-loving New Yorkers to brews they will prefer.” Larger Market Mr. Rotem initially launched Cups in Tel Aviv, where he connected 80 cafés to the app. In May 2014, the app took on New York, where it now connects more than 150 coffee shops in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. He hopes the Bronx will be next. “I’m excited to discover that there are other hubs of entrepreneurs in New York,” he said. He did not shy away from looking for business in the crowd. “To say that everyone loves coffee is probably an understatement. I bet most of the people in this room would not last one day without a cup of hot, beautiful, delicious, steamy liquid gold,” he said. Alcohoot Christopher Ayala, who was at the presentation in the Bronx, is the CEO of the company manufacturing an amazing little gadget called Alcohoot, a mobile device which helps track the user’s reaction to alcohol, allowing the individual “to improve the way you drink and enhance your lifestyle.” Alcohoot is actually the brainchild of two former IDF soldiers who were jolted into creating the device after hearing their commander (the head of the safety unit) tell them that more Israeli soldiers die each year in accidents—many of them alcohol-related—than in combat. Five days after their discharge from the IDF in 2011, Ben Biron and Jonathan Ofir headed to college: Mr. Biron to Wingate University in North Carolina and Mr. Ofir to the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya. “But all we could think about was drunk driving. A lot of my friends in college would drink and drive,” said Mr. Biron, now 25. Mr. Ofir is now 26. Reduce Accidents In April 2012, they created Alcohoot, a breathalyzer device which connects wirelessly to a smartphone and mobile app. With it and the user’s personal statistics—height, weight, age, and gender— the blood alcohol level can be tested, using the same technology employed by police and the military. Using a fuel cell sensor that is registered by the Federal
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Drug Administration, Alcohoot, plugs into a phone’s headphone jack According to Mr. Biron, he and Mr. Ofir have two goals for their smartphone breathalyzer: to reduce the number of drunk-driving accidents and to make breathalyzers a common device. Alcohoot is compliable with all smartphones. Once it has the reading, Alcohoot explains to the user what it means. Then, using the smartphone’s GPS, Alcohoot brings up its location, directing the user to a coffee shop or finding a ride through a number of taxi apps to get the user home safely. Young Market At the presentation in the Bronx, Mr. Ayala noted that Messrs Biron and Ofir “began their quest ahead of the curve, at an early stage of smartphone and app store development.” While there were some laymen-operated breathalyzers on the market, none were compatible with a smartphone. “The old ones were used by executives in their 50s and 60s, with technology that hasn’t changed in 20 or 30 years. They don’t understand the young market,” said Mr. Biron, who majored in marketing in college. “Drink Responsibly” Messrs Biron and Ofir are poised to make a fortune. With approximately 30 deaths per day in the US from alcoholimpaired drivers, the cost to the US is more than $51 billion per year. In 2011, Alcohoot earned $285 million. It is expected to reach $3.2 billion before 2020. It has teamed up with Pernod Ricard USA, creator of some of the most popular brands of alcohol, including Absolute Vodka, Chivas Regal, and Jameson. It is also working with Heineken USA. “Heineken says ‘please drink responsibly,’ and now supports technology that says, ‘really drink responsibly.’ Heineken and Alcohoot are a perfect complement, and together are going to help change the landscape of drinking responsibly,” said Mr. Ayala. Alcohoot costs $100 for the device, but the app is free. Chabad Introduction But when Messrs Biron and Ofir first started, the Alcohoot inventors had a product and no money. At an event hosted by the Kairos Society, a University of Pennsylvania-based non-profit that
supports young entrepreneurs, they met Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz, a director of the Global Chabad Development Fund. Rabbi Berkowitz introduced them to Caleb Koeppel and his son, Max. Caleb Koeppel, a real estate mogul, owned a burger-and-fries chain. Max Koeppel is now a partner in Alcohoot. Alcohoot still wants to go further. Mr. Ayala sees the device posing questions to users, thus analyzing and tracking their behaviors and habits and helping users modify them to stay safe. Users should be able to drink smarter, discover reasonable limits, and make safe decisions to enjoy alcohol responsibly, he said. “The Activity Tracker is for people who want to use technology to know themselves better,” he said.
Page - 9
Switch Two other presenters at the program in the Bronx were there to discuss “Switch,” a job-search app that connects employers to potential employees quickly and discreetly. “Switch is a mobile job marketplace that connects tech and media professionals directly with internal hiring managers instantly, conveniently, and for free. There are no agencies or headhunters here,” said Ricky Chang, the Chief Technology Officer of “Switch.” The app was created by Israeli native Yarden Tadmor, a graduate of Tel Aviv University who is now based in New York, along with Switch.
continued on page 10
Page - 10
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Israeli Startups Like Tinder The easiest way to explain the way Switch works is to say that it operates for jobs the way the app, “Tinder,” works for dating. Both are essentially matchmaking mobile apps. Using smartphones’ geolocation technology, users can set a specific radius and can match with anyone (or any job) within that distance. Tinder uses Facebook profiles to gather information and analyze users’ social behavior. Then it seeks to match candidates who are most likely to be compatible based on geographical location, number of mutual friends, and common interests. Tinder allows users to accept or reject potential matches anonymously using simple swiping gestures. When two users express interest in each other, a match has been made and Tinder introduces the couple and allows them to chat. Passive Job-Seekers Mr. Tadmor’s app works similarly, but his clients are interested in bigger paychecks or more interesting work rather than in romance. His target is the individual who is gainfully employed and not eager for his boss to know he is even thinking about another job. Mr. Tadmor calls these people “passive job seekers,” and, he said, he is trying to “liberate them.”
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 9 He understands that people who already have a job in which they are successful are usually too busy to look for another one. These workers cannot entertain recruiters at work and they worry that should their current employers realize they are looking for another job, there could be repercussions affecting promotions, raises, training, and other perks. The key is allowing the “passive job-seeker” to showcase his background, skills, and experience, letting recruiters and companies know he is open to new opportunities, but without exposing his name or current role. Difficult Discretion A few decades ago, that was relatively easy, but the Internet has made discretion much more difficult. If an employee accepts a LinkedIn invite from his boss’s competitor, the boss has little difficulty discovering it. If the employee spends a few hours on Monster.com, the boss could find out. With Switch, there is no recruiter or headhunter. The app asks New York-based media and tech companies to post jobs directly for job-seekers. Based on the user’s LinkedIn profile (which has been uploaded to Switch), the app will recommend specific jobs to a passive jobseeker (the user), who remains anonymous. His profile is not
shown, even anonymously, to hiring managers who work at the same company. The user can anonymously swipe left to indicate he is not interested in the position being offered or right to show that he is. If the prospective employer and employee (user) match, Switch allows them to begin a text conversation. Both parties must approve before contact is initiated. “Data-Driven” By analyzing which jobs the user swipes right and left, Switch’s platform is designed to “learn” over time the kind of job that the user would be interested in. Mr. Tadmor calls it “data-driven job matching.” “We look at the actual selections you’re making and build a pattern of preferences,” he said. Despite his background at Tel Aviv University in philosophy and multi-disciplinary arts, Mr. Tadmor came to Switch with a substantial background in business development, search marketing, sales, and Internet technical expertise. Based on Experience He said he came up with the idea for Switch after his own experience recruiting people at past startups where he worked. He remembers the difficulty of trying to hire people covertly. Switch is already being used by many dynamic technology and digital media companies, including Facebook, Yahoo, Wikipedia, and SoundCloud. “It’s not just about the job seeker. Switch is also a social recruiting tool to help internal recruiters save on agency recruiting fees and activate job seekers by quick, direct communication,” he said. New Scholarship Lehman College President Ricardo Fernández saw the presence of the Israeli en-
trepreneurs on campus as winwin. On one hand, the Israelis’ efforts would “inspire us to greater work,” and on the other, it would “build bridges and create a brighter future for our borough and our city,” he said. At the end of the program, Mr. Aharoni announced that in cooperation with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), Israel will fund a $100,000 pilot scholarship program aimed at supporting qualified Hispanic college students from the US who want to study at universities in Israel. The initiative will give the winning candidates the opportunity to study in the country with the highest per capita number of university graduates, published scientific papers, patents, and Nobel laureates in the world. With a population of barely 8 million, Israel has produced more startups than Japan, China, India, and the United Kingdom. Israel has the third most startups on the NASDAQ, trailing only the UK and China. Building Bridges Fidel Vargas, president and CEO of the HSF said he was “thrilled” with this new program, “especially for the bond it creates between the Jewish and Hispanic communities that is grounded in our mutual commitment to advancing higher education for a better future.” Mr. Aharoni said the main idea behind the scholarship initiative and the startup showcase was “to bring Israeli technology to the Bronx community, so that the community can use it.” “Bringing technology and innovation and ideas to a place like Lehman is the right thing to do. That’s how you build bridges between communities,” he said. S.L.R.
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
The SchechTer Family PreSenTS...
n n n
n
n n n n n
n n n n n n n n n n
FirSt ChilD Free!
Our 20th spectacular year! Directly on the beach Oversized newly renOvateD rooms many with terraces Poolside fitness center with sauna & steam room Children’s dining room Superb day camp program Private seder rooms available Glatt kosher, strict supervision Gourmet cuisine with renowned Chef Andy Serano Cantor led or private seders Sumptuous “Tea Room” Top name entertainment Trips to major attractions Golf, tennis, watersports nearby Poolside BBQ’s Olympic-size pool + kids pool 2 min. to upscale Aventura Mall Daily services, shiurim, lectures Scholar-in-Residence Program
For reservations Call Caribbean Kosher tours:
1-800-327-8165
marcopolopassover@gmail.com
19201 COllinS ave., MiaMi BeaCh, FlOriDa www.MarcoPoloBeachresort.com Jewish Voice & Opinion 7.25”x 9.5”
Call Joy of aMit Children SoutheaSt Region:
954-922-5100
Page - 11
Page - 12
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
SINAI and Holy Name Agree: No Life Is More Important Than Another Last month, the SINAI Special Needs
Institute presented its Community Partnership Award to Holy Name Medical Center’s president and CEO, Michael Maron. Before the SINAI dinner where the award was given, SINAI Schools spokeswoman Abigail Hepner Gross recognized the seeming disparity. “By their names alone, SINAI Schools and Holy Name seem like unlikely partners. SINAI is an Orthodox institution that serves Jewish children with special needs. Holy Name is probably the top Catholic medical center in the state,” she said. However, those who attended the SINAI Schools annual benefit dinner learned that the two well-established and deeply respected institutions have more in common than their shared location in Teaneck. There is also history. For almost 20 years, Holy Name Medical Center (HNMC) has partnered with SINAI Schools, providing vocational training placement for its special-needs high school students and adults. Caring Professionals Founded in 1925 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace, HNMC has evolved into a dynamic medical center that combines the highest standards of clinical care and advanced technology. It is an environment
rooted in compassion and respect for its patients and the surrounding community. HNMC’s efforts to accommodate the growing Orthodox-Jewish community in Teaneck and beyond are well recognized. Some of that energy has helped SINAI students find training and employment. Since 1982, SINAI has been educating Jewish children with learning and/or developmental disabilities whose needs cannot be met in a regular education setting. To provide each student with an inclusive, personalized experience, SINAI has mainstreamed its divisions for students in grades 1-12 with regular Jewish elementary or high schools. The local schools with which SINAI has partnered include the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey in River Edge, and Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in and the Torah Academy of Bergen County, both in Teaneck. SINAI also offers an adult transitional program in its Nathan Miller SHELI (Supported Home Environment for Learning Independence) for men. This unique program, designed to meet the social, recreational, and emotional needs of young adults with developmental disabilities in the context of a supervised housing facility, guides its residents and promotes their independence as adults. Message of Hope During the SINAI dinner at the Marriott Glenpointe Hotel in Teaneck, Mr. Maron said HNMC’s partnership with SINAI provides “a message of hope…that we are all connected, all part of a great and moving plan as individuals and collective organizations.” “ No life is more important than another; every life matters, and the essence of each person’s heart, his or her purpose for being, is always best fulfilled when it takes the form of service to others, and especially those who are less fortunate,” he said. He equated SINAI’s mission to educate children with special-needs and disabilities with HNMC’s efforts to care for the sick and infirm. Both are “noble and honorable,” he said. “But what really makes both SINAI and Holy Name unique and different is that the foundation that kindles our purpose comes from a deep and abiding faith,” he said.
Trips to Israel Calling SINAI Schools “a light of hope, a beacon for all to see faith-based values in action,” he recalled how his many trips to Israel had “awakened my soul and ignited a fire in my heart.” Those trips, usually undertaken to forge partnerships between Israeli and HNMC physicians, researchers, and technicians, reminded him of SINAI’s goals. “They have renewed my faith and appreciation for how precious life really is; how little time we have to accomplish our destiny to make the world a better place because we have lived in it,” he said. Students and Families Other SINAI honorees at the dinner included Dr. Elie and Nancy Elmann of Englewood, Rabbi Brian and Laurie Gopin of Bergenfield, and Nathan and Judy Raphan of Fair Lawn, all parents and grandparents of SINAI students. Ruvan and Shelley Cohen of Manhattan used the occasion to announce the establishment of the Nathaniel Richman Cohen, z”l Scholarship Fund, named in memory of their son, a former SINAI student. Rabbi Shimshon Jacob, was also honored, along with his wife Ashley and their five young children. Rabbi Jacob was a SINAI student who with the school’s help overcame dyslexia and went on to earn several undergraduate and graduate degrees in addition to smicha. Former residents of Livingston, the Jacob family now resides in Jerusalem, where Rabbi and Mrs. Jacob work with other special-needs youngsters. Stigma One of the subjects tackled by several of the honorees was the issue of fear of stigmatization faced by SINAI children and their families. The general consensus was that while waiting for the necessary communal education to eradicate the negative perceptions, those families who need SINAI’s services must disregard the unfortunate casual and often hurtful remarks, facial expressions, and body language. The point was well made in the documentary, “Sweet Boy,” which was shown at the dinner. The youngster featured in the film had communication issues, which led to frustration and anger, but his parents resisted placing him in an environment where his special-needs could be addressed.
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 13
FrumDivorce: A Safe Haven for Observant Divorced Men and Women By Rivkie Stern Last month a comparatively new group, FrumDivorce, hosted 250 observant-Jewish divorced men and women at their third bi-annual “Focus on the Future” Shabbaton. From the moment of their arrival on Friday afternoon through checkout Sunday midday, these now-single Orthodox adults from throughout the US, Canada, and beyond enjoyed the elegant, scenic setting of the Renaissance Hotel in Westchester for a weekend filled with inspiration, laughter, and meaningful connections. FrumDivorce.org was founded in 2012 in order to provide guidance and support for observant Jews struggling through the difficulties and confusion of the divorce process. The group’s specific focus is on parenting and ways to deal with the emotional fallout of separation and divorce. “Divorce is a pain that cannot be put into words. For children, it sears the heart, and, for adults, it tears down the fabric and security of a home,” said Cantor Benny Rogosnitzky, a founder of FrumDivorce. “Divorce is likely the most traumatic, lifealtering experience a person may ever experience. Other than the experience of the passing of a loved one, there is little
Holy Name
cont.fr. p. 12
When they finally overcame the fear of being stigmatized, the results were dramatic. SINAI’s cadre of nurturing, caring professionals understood his difficulties and strengths, and after just a short time prompted a spurt in the boy’s self-confidence. When his anger subsided, the “sweet boy’s” transformation changed the lives of the entire family. A Living Testament For more information on the SINAI Schools, call 201-833-1134. For more information on HNMC, call 201-530-7902. Many of those at the dinner agreed with Mr. Maron that the public partnership between SINAI and HNMC can “ignite the good that lies in each person’s heart.” He called the partnership, a “living testament of respect for all humanity to be magnified so all will come to see more clearly that which unites us rather than that which divides us.” S.L.R.
in life that can be compared to the pain and upheaval that the divorce process will cause.” “Stepchildren” He called divorced men and women “the stepchildren” of the observant-Jewish community. “The time has come to embrace the painful reality that so many people are going through divorce. With love, understanding, and acceptance, our community can help its members who are going through divorce to begin the long and arduous road to healing and starting over,” he said.
To this end, FrumDivorce has become a resource, offering education as well as community-based support. It hosts events, lectures, and support groups, and offers referrals. According to Cantor Rogosnitzky, a spiritual leader of Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue, the feeling most often experienced at the onset of the divorce process is panic. Men and women wonder if they and their children will survive; they worry about finances and are fearful of the social and emotional repercussions. Jewish women worry about receiving their
continued on page 14
Page - 14
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Interesting Reading for March: An Insider’s Account of the Founding of the Jewish State Is Useful Today To the Gates of Jerusalem: The Diaries and Papers of James G. McDonald, 19451947, edited by Norman JW Goda, Richard Breitman, Barbara McDonald Stewart, and Severin Hochberg (Indiana University Press, published in association with the United States Holocaust Museum)
Frum Divorce Jewish writ of divorce, the get, which must be issued by the soon-to-be ex-husband. Take My Kids to Shul While the group depends on the efforts of divorced men and women helping each other, it also recognizes the part played by the community at large and looks for support from married Jewish couples. One of FrumDivorce’s new-
By Norman JW Goda, University of Florida, and Richard Breiman, American University Reviewed by Dr. Alex Grobman Why should we care about an obscure committee from 1946 whose recommendations concerning Palestine have been largely forgotten? Because these recommendations changed Middle Eastern
and global politics thereafter. The recently published 1946 diary and papers of James G. McDonald, a refugee expert from the 1930s, document his work while serving on the “Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry Regarding the Problems of European Jewry and Palestine.” The British government devised this committee to recruit expert opinion and
US government support for views that served Britain’s imperial interests. The first of those views was that the thousands of Jewish refugees in Europe should not be allowed to immigrate to Palestine, lest the Muslim world burst into flames, endangering Allied geopolitical interests from the Suez Canal
Full Weekend Events like the “Focus on the Future” Shabbaton are designed to help divorced Jewish men and women cope with the stresses of their situation. The event featured inspiring lectures, meet-and-greets, gourmet catered cuisine, and round-the-clock programming. Guest lecturers included Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn, Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein, Naomi Klass Mauer, and Prof Faye Zakheim. The Motzei Shabbat catered Melave Malka included comedian Modi and a concertstyle Carlebach kumzits with Yehuda Green. By Sunday morning, some guests were ready to engage in a workout in the hotel’s fitness center, some even signed up for the “Boot Camp” exercise program, while others chose to sleep in. After a fivestar buffet breakfast, the program continued with lectures by Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein and handwriting analyst Dr. Ari Korenblit. Many Events FrumDivorce holds many such events, including its Purim Celebration this year: “It’s All about Our Kids,” Melave Malkas, and various lectures and support sessions. Its Facebook page is a fount of guidance (“You deserve some-
one who would jump fences to be with you, not someone who is on the fence about being with you.”); inspiration (Rabbi Paysach Krohn: “People are always looking for the city of happiness, but they don’t realize that it’s in the state of mind.”); and hope (Tony Robbins: “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying”). The group is currently forming a new board and an executive group of volunteers. Those with the time and interest to help out are asked to contact FrumDivorce for more information. The phone number is 917597-8989; the email address is FrumDivorce@gmail.com. The website can be found at www.frumdivorce.org. “FrumDivorce helps parents continue raising their children after divorce in the most positive and safe environment possible. It attempts to strengthen parents in their time of need and offers a safe place to meet and socialize with others who have gone through a similar life-altering situation,” said Ms. Mauer, a FrumDivorce board member who has been involved with the organization since its founding. Y
continued on page 16
continued from page 13 est programs is called “Take My Kids to Shul,” in which local married families are being asked to volunteer on a regular basis to take children of divorced mothers to synagogue on Shabbat. “This allows mothers to ensure that their children, especially boys, get to experience shul in a meaningful way, with a responsible adult,” said Cantor Rogosnitzky.
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 15
PASSOVER MENU 2015 / 5775 QTY.
MEAT DEPARTMENT
SALADS
QTY.
DAIRY DEPARTMENT
GEFILTE FISH
14.99 LB.
CARROT RAISIN SALAD
9.99 LB.
PLAIN FARMER
7.99 LB.
HORSERADISH
6.99 LB.
COLESLAW
7.99 LB.
WALNUT RAISIN FARMER
11.99 LB.
CHOPPED LIVER
15.99 LB.
POTATO SALAD
7.99 LB.
PINEAPPLE FARMER
11.99 LB.
VEGETARIAN CHOPPED LIVER 15.99 LB.
CUCUMBER SALAD
9.99 LB.
CHOCOLATE FARMER
11.99 LB.
STUFFED CABBAGE *
4.99 PC.
HEALTH SALAD
9.99 LB.
PLAIN CREAM CHEESE
6.99 LB.
CHICKEN SOUP
9.99 QT.
ISRAELI SALAD
9.99 LB.
VEG. CREAM CHEESE
8.99 LB.
CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP
9.99 QT.
BEET SALAD
9.99 LB.
SCALLION CREAM CHEESE
8.99 LB.
VEGETABLE SOUP (PARVE)
9.99 QT.
HEARTS OF PALM SALAD
11.99 LB. CHEESE BLINTZES
3.50 EA.
MATZA BALLS (4 LARGE) * ROAST CHICKEN CHICKEN CUTLETS *****
8.00 / 4PCS. 8.99 LB. 19.99 LB.
BROC. & CASHEW SALAD QUINOA SALAD www.glattkosher.com
11.99 LB. EGGPLANT PARMESAN 2-3lb. TIN 11.99 LB. MATZAH LASAGNA 2-3lb. TIN * BROCCOLI QUICHE 2-3lb. TIN
10.99 LB. 10.99 LB. 10.99 LB.
GRILLED CHICKEN CUTLETS
19.99 LB.
CHICKEN FRANCHAISE CHICKEN MARSALA CHICKEN FLORENTINE BONELESS STUFFED CAPON * SWEET & SOUR MEATBALLS * BRISKET OF BEEF (GRAVY) CORNED BEEF ROAST BEEF GRAVY PASTRAMI TURKEY BREAST SMOKED TURKEY BREAST TURKEY PASTRAMI SALAMI BOLOGNA POTATO KUGEL SWEET MATZAH KUGEL * BROCCOLI SOUFFLÉ * SPINACH SOUFFLÉ * CAULIFLOWER SOUFFLÉ * CARROT SOUFFLÉ * SWEET POTATO PUDDING * STUFFED DERMA (KISHKA) MATZAH FARFEL * CARROT TZIMMES ROAST POTATOES CRANBERRY RELISH
19.99 LB. 19.99 LB. 19.99 LB. 16.00 PC. 14.99 LB. 28.99 LB. 26.99 LB. 26.99 LB. 8.99 QT 26.99 LB. 19.99 LB. 19.99 LB. 19.99 LB. 12.99 LB. 12.99 LB. 9.99 EA. 9.99 EA. 11.99 EA. 11.99 EA. 11.99 EA. 11.99 EA. 11.99 EA. 11.99 LB. 11.99 LB. 11.99 LB. 11.99 LB. 11.99 LB.
CHAROSES NECK BONES SEDER PLATE (COMPLETE) HORSERADISH ROOT (PINT)
13.99 LB. 2.00 EA. 28.95 EA. 11.99 EA.
SPECIALTY PASSOVER ITEMS
www.maadan.com
DAIRY DEPARTMENT
10.99 LB. 10.99 LB.
NO ORDERS TAKEN FROM DAIRY DEPARTMENT DESSERTS ALL DAIRY ITEMS BELOW NO ORDERS TAKEN FOR BAKERY GOODS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN OUR SHOW CASES ALL BAKERY GOODS BELOW NOVA (FRESHLY SLICED) 38.00 LB. WILL BE AVAILABLE MARCH 29, 2015 SABLE (FRESHLY SLICED) 49.95 LB. 7 LAYER CAKE 11.99 EA. BAKED SALMON 29.00 LB. ALMOND MACAROONS 11.99 EA. WHITE FISH 14.99 LB. APPLE CAKE 11.99 EA. CHUBS 20.99 LB. ASSORTED COOKIES 11.99 EA. GRILLED SALMON 23.99 LB. BLACK & WHITE SWIRL 11.99 EA. FRIED FLOUNDER 23.99 LB. BON BONS (CREAM FILLED) 11.99 EA. HERRING IN WINE SAUCE 12.99 LB. BROWNIES 11.99 EA. HERRING IN CREAM SAUCE 12.99 LB. CHOC CHIP MANDELBREAD 11.99 EA. HERRING SALAD 9.99 LB. CHOC DIP MACAROONS 11.99 EA. KIPPERED SALMON SALAD 16.99 LB. CHOC DIPPED LEAVES 11.99 EA. WHITE FISH SALAD 13.99 LB. CHOC. SANDWICH COOKIES 11.99 EA. TUNA FISH SALAD 12.99 LB. CHOCOLATE CHIFFON 11.99 EA. EGG SALAD 9.99 LB. CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE 11.99 EA. FRESHLY SLICED CHEESE CHOCOLATE NUT WAFER 11.99 EA. AMERICAN WHITE 10.99 LB. CHOCOLATE ROLL 11.99 EA. CHEDDAR 11.99 LB. HONEY CAKE 11.99 EA. EDAM 13.99 LB. JELLY ROLL 11.99 EA. EMEK 13.99 LB. KRAKOVSKI COOKIES 11.99 EA. GOUDA 13.99 LB. LADY FINGERS 8.99 EA. HAVARTI 13.99 LB. MARBLE CHIFFON 11.99 EA. HAVARTI (DILL) 13.99 LB. MARZIPAN (RAINBOW) 11.99 EA. MOZZARELLA 10.99 LB. MOCHA ROLL 11.99 EA. MUENSTER ORANGE RIND 10.99 LB. NUT CAKE 11.99 EA. SWISS DOMESTIC 13.99 LB. RAILROAD CAKE 11.99 EA. SWISS IMPORTED 19.99 LB. FRUIT SALAD 11.99 LB. * GEBROKTZ FRUIT COMPOTE 11.99 LB. ***** CHICKEN CUTLETS AVAILABLE IN SHMURAH MATZAH BOTH GEBROKTZ AND NON GEBROKTZ HAND SHMURA MATZAH 32.00 LB.
Or To Make Your PESACH Really Easy, Just Enter The Amount Of Guests You Would Like To Order For From Our "COMPLETE DINNER MENU" Which Includes: Gefilte Fish With Carrots
And Horseradish, Chicken Soup With Large Fluffy Matzah Balls, Potato Kugel, Carrot Tzimmes, Garden Salad, Fresh Fruit Compote, Seder Plate, Macaroons And Cake.
10 PEOPLE INCREMENT PER ITEM SORRY NO SUBSTITUTIONS Please Enter Number Of People Below MAIN COURSE SECTION
PASSOVER WINE AND
Roasted Chicken
$ 35.00 Per PersonGOING
Chicken Franchaise Chicken Marsala Boneless Capon Brisket Of Beef
$ 35.00 Per Person $ 35.00 Per Person $ 35.00 Per Person $ 35.00 Per Person
PICKUP HOURS FOR PASSOVER
SPINACH QUICHE 2-3lb. TIN MUSHROOM ONION QUICHE 2-3lb. TIN
LIQUOR SALE
ON NOW THROUGH THE END OF PASSOVER
www.glattkosher.com www.maadan.com
SPECIAL HOURS FOR PASSOVER
PROVIDING HOMEMADE GOODNESS FOR 33 YEARS WE THANK YOU STUART & YOSSIE MA'ADAN IS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE VA'AD OF BERGEN COUNTY ( R.C.B.C. )
ORDERS ACCEPTED UNTIL 3/27/2015 - 2:00PM NAME:
Wednesday 4/1/2015 7:30a.m. - 7:00p.m. Mon.- Tues. 4/6/15 - 4/7/2015 7:30a.m.-7:00p.m. ADDRESS: Thursday 4/2/2015 7:30a.m. - 8:00p.m. Wednesday 4/8/2015 7:30a.m. - 7:00p.m. Friday 4/3/2015 7:00a.m. - 12:59p.m. Thursday 4/9/2015 7:30a.m. - 4:00p.m. Sat.-Sun. 4/4/15 - 4/5/15 CLOSED Fri.- Sat. 4/10/15 - 4/11/2015 CLOSED TEL: TEL: 201-692-0192 446 CEDAR LANE E-MAIL ADDRESS: PICKUP DATE: email: stuart@maadan.com email: yossie@maadan.com
TIME:
Page - 16
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Interesting Reading to the oil refineries of Iran. The second was that the Jewish Agency, which represented the Jewish population in Palestine, was to be dismantled owing to its resistance to British policies. Sympathetic to the plight of the Jews in Europe, McDonald was instrumental in bringing the committee to a very different set of recommendations during four months of testimony and travel through Europe and the Middle East. McDonald’s efforts convinced President Harry S. Truman to break with British policy on Palestine. Without US support, Britain abandoned its mandate and turned the Palestine issue over to the UN, which recommended partition. The course for the establishment of Israel in 1948 was foreshadowed in 1946, and McDonald was its unknown and largely unsung hero. Not that it was easy. The British Foreign Office under Ernest Bevin sought to discredit Zionism as a dangerous and destabilizing nationalist cult. British officers testified in London that “Zionist policy in Palestine has many similar features to … Nazi philosophy” including “the Nazi idea of Lebensraum.” McDonald challenged all of this. In one case, in his characteristic polite language, he countered: “I was surprised and somewhat shocked at the General’s characterization of Zionists as marked by Nazi tendencies. Having known something about the Nazis in first-hand experience and having dealt with their victims over a considerable period, I wonder if the General didn’t really mean that there are few Zionists, very few, whom one could characterize this way if at all.” Some British members of the committee were also initially hostile. Did Europe’s Jewish refugees really wish to go to Palestine, or were they manipulated by aggressive Zionist agents? And how would more Jewish immigrants in Palestine not cause chaos? McDonald determined to find out for himself. In Europe, he made it a point to hear from Jewish wartime rescuers while talking personally to Jewish refugees, virtually all of whom, from Orthodox rabbis to prewar non-Zionist leaders, called for movement to Palestine. In Palestine itself, McDonald spoke with Jewish Agency leaders who talked of their
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 14 determination to work with the local Arabs and be good neighbors to the Arab states. He was moved by David Ben-Gurion’s private comment that “only the Jews could win the confidence of the Arabs and thus … stabilize that part of the world….” Arab royalty, cabinet ministers, clerics, and academics were hostile and opposed any compromise. They blamed the Holocaust on the Jews for their offensive characteristics, compared Zionism to the measles and the plague, and lamented
Jewish control of everything from Wall Street to the American press. In their testimonies, Arab leaders also praised Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who had been a thorn in Britain’s side in Palestine for decades. AlHusseini spent the war in Berlin hobnobbing with Hitler, Himmler, and Eichmann, and broadcasting to Cairo that the Arabs must rise up and kill the Jews of Palestine. His kinsman, Jamal, testified before the Committee in Jerusalem that should the British leave Palestine, the 450,000 Jews who had immigrated and settled since the Balfour Declaration would have to go. “[In] a few months,” Jamal said, “things will…be much better, and we shall return with the Jews merely to the same conditions that existed before the Great War.” The British would never allow the Mufti to rule Palestine. But this was precisely the point. For the British to protect the Jews of Palestine, their forces would
have to remain, and for them to remain in Palestine, the promises of the Balfour Declaration had to be nullified. As the Anglo-American Committee repaired to Switzerland to write its recommendations, McDonald found that he was almost alone in insisting on the formation of a Jewish state. But it was his insistence that the British fulfill their mandate by remaining in Palestine while lifting Jewish immigration restrictions that swayed the Americans on the committee. Fearing that the committee might reach an impasse, the British reluctantly agreed, but they insisted on including in the final recommendations numerous escapes, not the least of which was the discrediting of Zionism as overly nationalistic with a penchant for communism, and an unwillingness to work with the Arab population. McDonald fought a battle against such language in the final report, citing it as contrary to all that the committee had seen and heard. Against all odds, McDonald won. Then-Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatly jumped over the carefully-constructed line between the anti-Zionism professed by Arab witnesses professed and the antisemitism that actually drove them. “We fear the great influence wielded by Jews everywhere,” he told an American diplomat after the committee’s recommendations were published. “[C]an you not see that, while Moslems and Christians can work together, it is abnormal that either should make common cause with Jews? They have always been troublemakers; our Quran inveighs against them specifically.” The practitioners of today’s anti-Israeli discourse would do well to read McDonald’s account. In it, they would find not only that their assumptions concerning Zionism as an aggressive form of racism are incorrect, but also that their carefully constructed dichotomy between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is not as principled as they think. Aside from being odious on their own, those now-discredited assumptions once served the ends of British imperialism in the Middle East. Yet in fact, anyone interested in the prehistory of Israel should be interested in McDonald’s account in order to see the hopes and expectations that accompanied the Jewish homeland. Y
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
Parade
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 17
continued from page 1
Israel, anti-Jewish boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). The rules acknowledge that the real goal of BDS-supporting groups is “to delegitimize Israel.” In addition, the rules maintain that no group will be allowed to march if it does not recognize Israel as the Jewish state. “These rules aptly focus on what the marching groups really do, rather than simply taking purported ‘official’ policies at face value when those policies differ from the groups’ real anti-Israel activities,” said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America. Another Agenda Mr. Klein demands that the JCRC enforce the letter and spirit of its new laws against anti-Israel groups marching in the parade. He is joined in this by others, including Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W PR; Richard Allen, an activist involved in many pro-Israel and pro-Jewish causes, including the protest against the Metropolitan Opera’s production of the antisemitic “Death Of Klinghoffer” last fall; and Hank Sheinkopf, a leading strategist for the Democrat party, These critics argue that the UJA and JCRC will not act against NIF because many of the Federation leaders are prominent NIF donors. These include UJA-Federation President Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, Jewish Communal Fund President and JCRC Board Member Karen Adler, and leaders David Hochberg, Carole and Saul Zabar, Sally Gottesman, Edith Everett, and others. “Of particular concern is the fact that Doctoroff uses her position at the UJA to promote the agenda of the NIF,” said Mr. Torossian. According to Helen Freedman, president of Americans for a Safe Israel, in 2012, the Jewish Communal Fund granted the NIF $343,971. Mr. Torossian was even more appalled that some synagogues from the Reform and Conservative movements were giving money to NIF. Letting Them March He is convinced that in the end the JCRC will avoid using its own rules in favor of NIF’s “left-wing extremists.” JCRC leaders have already told him the new rules apply only “to the signs groups will be allowed to carry.” “The parade is attended overwhelmingly by yeshiva students and Israeli-Americans,
but, unfortunately, the powers-that-be are playing word games and not leading,” he said. He said it was a shame they are disregarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explanation for the meaning of BDS: bigotry, dishonesty, and shame. Forked Tongue While the NIF says it does not support BDS, its funding policies indicate otherwise. NIF has contributed huge sums of money to organizations that actively promote BDS. NIF provides them with material support, and engages in other activities generally considered anti-Israel. On its website, NIF makes a distinction
between areas inside and outside the Green Line. It objects to BDS inside the Green Line, but endorses and encourages BDS efforts against Jews and their businesses in Judea and Samaria. According to the website, NIF policy “opposes the occupation and subsequent settlement activities” and “will not exclude support for organizations that discourage the purchase of goods or use of services from settlements.” NIF’s critics say that position flies in the face of the new Marching Group Rules. “The 2015 rules mean that the 2015
continued on page 18
Passover 2015
MatzaFun’s FourTeenth outstanding year at the New Jersey Shore.
Celebrate with a pampered PassoveR multi-million dollar
renovation • Kashrus under Kehillas Bais Benzion • • • •
Rabbi Zushe Blech Only 55 Minutes From NYC European Spa “Pamper Yourself” 2 Miles of Boardwalk featuring Pier Village Ocean View & Private Balcony With Every Room
at featuring all new luxurious chic spacious sleeping rooms, suites, ballrooms and public spaces. • FREE Transportation to Great Adventure
on NCSY Day • Scholar in Residence: Rabbi Ephraim Kanarfogel Dean of Jewish Studies Program, Stern College • Outstanding teen, children and toddler program • Refrigerators in all sleeping rooms • Complementary WiFi
Call Jay | 800-752-6050 | 215-332-2444 | www.matzafun.com follow our blog
Page - 18
Parade
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 17
Israel Day Parade will not be marred by extremist groups that promote, fund, and assist harmful boycotts and sanctions against Jewish-Israeli businesses, whether these businesses are located in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, or Judea and Samaria,” said Mr. Klein. Definition of BDS Just last month, senior officials of NIF-funded organizations signed a petition calling on European countries to boycott products from Judea and Samaria, restrict entry of residents of Judea and Samaria to Europe, and reject academic cooperation with Israel. “We call on you to not only label settlement products produced in violation of international law, but, as we do ourselves, to also boycott them,” the petition said. “If that does not mean BDS, what does?” said Messrs Torossian and Sheinkopf, in a piece they wrote jointly. The piece attracted a great deal of attention not only for its content, but also because Mr. Torossian is associated with more right-wing positions and Mr. Sheinkopf is a prominent Democrat. Their op-ed, which was widely distributed, called on the Jewish community to take a stand against NIF, not only in opposition to the group’s participation in the parade, but in mainstream Jewish communal life.
Some groups, including Birthright, which offers young Jews a free trip to Israel, and Young Judea, a Zionist youth group formerly under the auspices of Hadassah, are already shunning NIF. Letter to Norway The NIF has funded numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which promote BDS, including Machsom Watch, Women against Violence, Social TV, and Mossawa, all of whom signed a letter in 2009 to the Norwegian Government Pension Fund, urging it to divest from Israel. That letter was signed also by the Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP), which, until 2011, had been a recipient of NIF funds. NIF disassociated itself from CWP only after an acrimonious struggle in which many pro-Israel groups documented the pro-BDS positions adopted by CWP. Nevertheless, before its disavowal, CWP used NIF funds to launch its “Who Profits from the Occupation” campaign in which CWP identified and targeted Jewish-Israeli businesses for BDS. Not a Tragedy That same year, NIF’s associate director in Israel, Hedva Radovanitz, said she “believed that in 100 years Israel would be majority Arabs and that the disappearance of a Jewish state would not be the tragedy that
Israelis fear since it would become more democratic.” NIF has not denied its funds to other recipients, many of which agree with Ms. Radovanitz, such as the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which promotes BDS, justifies Palestinian terrorism by calling it “armed struggle,” and participates in efforts to impede Israeli counter-terrorism measures. ISM’s co-founder, George Rishmawi, is on record justifying the “need” for terrorism. Goldstone Report NIF has given grants to Adalah (The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel), B’Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), and Breaking the Silence (IDF veterans who claim Israel is guilty of discrimination at best and war crimes at worst). All three groups provided 90 percent of the information later found to be false to the UN’s Goldstone Report accusing Israel of war crimes in the 2008 Gaza incursion. Although the Goldstone Report was eventually disavowed by its author, Judge Richard Goldstone—who said the information he received was biased and the result of poor investigation—the notorious report is still the basis for many groups that promote BDS. Breaking the Silence (BtS) sends representatives to tour college campuses in the US where they accuse Israel of war crimes. Lawfare and Rage NIF still supports Adalah, which around the world trains people in how to use legal maneuvers against Israel in international courts. This effort, which forces Israel to defend itself against frivolous suits, is referred to as “lawfare.” Just recently, Adalah launched a “Discriminatory Laws in Israel” page on its website.
B’Tselem, which still receives NIF funds, engages in weekly protests on Israel’s borders, seeking to humiliate and enrage Israeli soldiers into reacting while B’Tselemsupported photographers film the hoped-for confrontations. B’Tselem then sends highly edited clips to news organizations. NIF’s Main Goal During Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in the summer of 2014, NIF regularly dispatched emergency grants to fund proPalestinian protests in Israel. B’Tselem’s NIF-supported activities prompted Knesset Deputy Speaker Yoni Chetboun to condemn the organizations as detrimental to the IDF. “The main goal of the NIF is to undermine the Israeli Army, by knowingly financing leftwing Israeli groups that try to get young Israeli soldiers prosecuted for war crimes,” he said. Echoing the charges made by many Palestinian leaders, B’Tselem’s former director of intelligence, Lizi Sagi said, “The state of Israel actually proves its adherence to the values of Nazism.” “We are ready to kill 1,500 people regardless of race, religion, or gender, so long as our national erection will continue. Israeli tanks have turned into Israeli Viagra,” she said, adding that, in her eyes, “[Israeli] Memorial Day is a big sin. Its purpose has become a pornographic coronation circus of bereavement.” Money Trail According to investigative journalist Edwin Black, who has made a career out of following money trails, the NIF’s 2012 financial records indicate grants of $255,477 to B’Tselem and $209,161 to Adalah. Since 2010, NIF has given Adalah $1,673,634. “These groups are among the many NIF grantees that operate at the front line of anti-Israel information,” said Mr. Black.
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Matan Peleg: “On the one hand, the New Israel Fund cries that they ‘love Israel,’ while, on the other hand, millions of NIF dollars go to supporting some of the most active and vociferous organizations that delegitimize Israel, work toward increasing international pressure on Israel, persecute IDF soldiers all over the world, and strive to erase the Jewish identity of the State of Israel.” Another NIF grantee, Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF), accuses Israel of arresting “nonviolent Palestinian protesters” and holding them in prison on “trumped-up charges.” HRDF executive director Alma Biblash recently called Israel “racist” and “murderous,” and described the country as a “temporary Jewish apartheid state.” She actively promotes the socalled Palestinian “right of return,” which would allow hundreds of thousands of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and 1967 and their descendants to flood back into Israel proper, demographically destroying the Jewish state. Between 2011 and 2013, NIF awarded HRDF $332,625. Only Annihilation Among NIF’s flagship programs is its Shatil Social-Justice Fellowship, a 10-month stint in which fellows spend 32 hours per week interning in an NIF-approved, individually selected Israeli NGO. Writing about an NIF training seminar, a participant, who identified herself as “left-wing, Zionist, and religious,” told Ma’ariv that she found herself lodged between a Palestinian and a Jewish “human rights activist,” both of whom negated the Jewish State’s right to exist. “With people who want to annihilate the State without ruling out violent means, who believe that the State of Israel was born out of sin and who apologize for its existence, who loathe Israel and its symbols, who justify
harming Israel, its soldiers and all its institutions, who devote their lives and efforts towards turning Israel into a bi- or multinational country. These people are fighting for one nationality alone—Palestinians. These same people oppose communal or civil national service for Arabs within the State. They also equate Israel’s actions with those of Nazi Germany,” she wrote, adding that she wondered if “NIF donors know their money is funding the destruction of the state.” Jewish Law Last year, Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie of the Upper East Side’s Edmond J. Safra Synagogue refused to allow his shul and those Sephardic synagogues and yeshivot under his auspices, more than 600 families, to participate in the parade as long as groups endorsing BDS efforts against Jews anywhere were welcomed. Rabbi Abadie pointed to Jewish law which expressly forbids harming or interfering in the ability of other Jews to earn a livelihood. “There’s no difference between Israel and the settlements. To single out any area in Israel is discriminatory and immoral,” said the rabbi. Mr. Sheinkopf agreed, “Those who stand with the NIF are standing against Israel. To suggest otherwise is a lie. I urge anyone affiliated with the NIF to stop supporting this organization financially,” he said. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing In Israel, Matan Peleg, CEO of the grassroots right-wing Zi-
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
onist organization, Im Tirzu, said he appreciated American-Jews’ growing awareness of NIF’s activities. To Mr. Peleg, NIF’s participation in the parade is the “dangerous threat” of “the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.” “On the one hand, the NIF cries that they ‘love Israel,’ while, on the other hand, millions of NIF dollars go to supporting some of the most active and vociferous organizations that delegitimize Israel, work toward increasing international pressure on Israel, persecute IDF soldiers all over the world, and strive to erase the Jewish identity of the State of Israel,” he said. He does not believe that NIF officials will finally be able to fulfill the rules’ requirement that they support Israel as a Jewish state. To do that, he said, NIF would have to renounce its affiliation with B’Tselem, Adalah, and BtS. “Will the leopard be able to change its spots?” he said.
Page - 19
Big Donors Mr. Torossian said, in any case, because the NIF empowers terrorists, it “must be shunned.” That message has not yet reached some of NIF’s more prominent donors, such as Californian Irwin Jacobs, a cofounder of Qualcomm, or the Leichtag Foundation. The Oregon-based Fohs Foundation was established in 1937 by Julius and Cora Fohs “to help build a Jewish homeland in Palestine.” According to the website, the Fohs were concerned with “promotion of a living environment favorable to Jewish identity, community, prosperity, and security, and to help ensure a bulwark against the periodic emergence of antisemitism throughout history.” In the early 2000s, however, the foundation switched its focus to concentrate on “an under-recognized and underfunded area: challenges asso-
continued on page 20
costa rica kosher adventures
passover & all year round! UPCOMING TOURS Arenal Volcano & Rainforest Adventure
December 21 - 28, 2014 & August 9 - 16, 2015 Ocean Resort & Beach Adventure January 18 - 25, 2015 & June 28 - July 5, 2015
PASSOVER BEACH ADVENTURE April 3 - 12, 2015 • 3 Days Touring & Adventure Included • Entire Resort Kosher for Pesach! • New Location! Luxury Resort
888-665-6743 PassoverInCostaRica.com CALL
kosherletters@gmail.com
Page - 20
Parade
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 19
ciated with the status of the Arab-Palestinian population.” Working for Arab Equality Mrs. Doctoroff, the president of the UJA, traveled to Israel in 2008 with a group called Encounter. She reported that “one of the most impactful experiences” of that trip was her “home-say with a Palestinian family” in Bethlehem. “Seeing the common humanity speaks loudly to what needs to be done…Putting food on the table, taking kids to piano lessons, and providing for a better life are hard to do there—these are things that Palestinians in the West Bank struggle with daily and we take for granted,” she said after the trip. That visit prompted her to become part of the JFNA Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society. Upon her return to New York, she participated for more than a year in a dialogue with Palestinian leaders at the Palestinian Mission to the UN. The wife of former NY Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, the UJA president admits she “still love[s] Israel,” but is “more knowledgeable” about the divisions and wants “to help heal” them, presumably by donating to NIF. Non-Jewish Jerusalem According to Mr. Torossian, Encounter has another upcoming trip to the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem, during which the group has no plans to visit any of the Jewish families now living in the area.
Mr. Torossian said these trips consist of Jewish participants spending “the entire time listening to Palestinian views.” “Not one Palestinian when discussing their long-term vision for the region, advocated a two-state solution nor expressed any empathy for Jewish aspirations,” he said. Threatened Bloodbath According to Mr. Torossian, one Palestinian presenter said that unless there is a “one-state solution,” meaning that Israel disappears, “there is going to be a bloodbath.” “In response to this, most participants clapped,” he said. According to Mr. Torossian, this group, in which Islamists and the radical Jewish left are represented, has “sanitized the death and carnage of the Second Intifada as a mere ‘civil uprising’ which the Arab world would be wise to emulate.” Jewish-Arab Equality He pointed out that Mrs. Doctoroff is also a board member of the Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society. The group’s annual report discussed the need for “job placement and integration of Arab teachers into Jewish schools.” “There are surely many issues for Israeli and American Jews to tackle, but the president of the largest Jewish organization in North America must have more important concerns than Arab teachers in Jewish schools. Tellingly, she has not been an advocate for Jewish teachers in
Arab schools to end the rampant anti-Israel sentiment among Israeli Arabs, or eliminating the books and courses that teach antisemitism to Palestinian children,” he said. Mr. Torossian understood that Mrs. Doctoroff has a right to “these radical, extreme viewpoints.” But “they are different from those of American Jewry” and, in any case, do not justify NIF’s BDS activism, he said. “There is no spin which UJA-Federation can provide for the simple fact that their president financially supports a number of different organizations that harm Israel,” he said. Applying Pressure Not surprisingly, Mr. Torossian’s outspoken criticism, some of which has received national and international coverage, raised hackles at the UJA and JCRC. Rabbi Michael Miller, the JCRC’s executive vice-president and CEO; Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA; and Jerry Levin, UJA’s past president, placed calls to Mr. Torossian’s friend, Israel’s former Ambassador Danny Ayalon. They were hoping to pressure Mr. Ayalon into silencing Mr. Torossian, but the former ambassador both knew and approved of his friend’s remarks. Mr. Torossian was furious. “Instead of owning up to their mistake, the JCRC is digging its heels in and calling in favors to quiet pressure,” he said. Counter-Pressure He denied that the issue is right versus left, but rather right versus wrong. He said he is aware that many of these Jewish leaders, some of whom he knows well, talk about their families in Israel, their love for the state, and how long and hard they have worked for the Jewish people. “While many of these people tell me privately they abhor NIF, they will not speak out publicly,” he said. He is asking those who care about this issue to contact Rabbi Miller at millerm@jcrcny.org and Michael Mittelman head of the Salute to Israel Parade, at mittelmanm@jcrcny.org So far, Mr. Torossian’s response has been to tell the leaders they are wrong. “Being a good Jewish leader requires determination, strength, and integrity. Being a good person does not necessarily qualify one as a good Jewish leader,” he said. S.L.R.
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 21
Passover 2015/5774 Butterflake Bake Shop 448 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666
Tel 201-836-3516
R.C.B.C. Supervision (fax) 201-836-3056
***NO HALF OR QUARTER POUNDS****** 5 ITEM MINIMUM ORDER***
Visit us at WWW. Butterflake.com
Quantity
Item
Sponge Loaf or Marble Loaf Honey cake Loaf*** Jelly Roll Apricot Jelly Roll Raspberry All Chocolate- Chocolate Roll Mocha Roll Yellow Cake /Mocha cream Seven Layer Chocolate Brownie Railroad cake cake Coffee Cake -Crumb cake with chocolate & raspberry filling Heavy French Raspberry Crunch Cake Mandel Bread*** Sugar Free Mandel Bread ****** Coconut Macaroons Choc Coconut Macaroons Almond Flavored Macaroons Choc Almond flavored Macaroons Chocolate Dipped Macaroons Rainbow Cookies Leaf Cookies Assorted Fancy Cookies Bon Bons Chocolate Truffle's Ring cakes All White/ Apricot Crumb/ Marble ****NEW**** Fudge Layer-All Chocolate layer/Fudge In & Out Shadow Layer yellow & chocolate cake / Choc.Cream/ Vanilla cream Mocha Layer- Yellow cake/Mocha&Apricot filling/Mocha out All White Layer - Yellow Cake/White Buttercream in & out. Clown Layer- Yellow Cake /Chocolate cream in/ Vanilla out Macaroon Layer- Yellow cake /Raspberry & Apricot jam/ Macarron top. Flourless Chocolate Torte- Rich Dense Chocolate Cake Chocolate Blackout Layer Chocolate cake/Choc.cream/ Chocolate crumbs Chocolate French Éclair -Chocolate cake/ Vanilla cream/ Chocolate Icing Ringy Dingys- 4 Chocolate 2 inch cakes with chocolate icing (NEW) Cupcakes- assorted Pack of 6 Apple Crumb Pie**** 8 inch Large Linzer Cookies 2pk**** Large "Almond Style" Horns 2-pk Cheese Cake * Dairy Cheese Cake s/f* Dairy Potato Kugel- Half Pan Shallow**** Potato Kugel -Round 7" pan***** Passover ROLL**New* (keep Frozen till use) Bag of 6 Passover HOTDOG Roll *NEW* (keep Frozen till use) Bag of 6 ***All items with asterisk contain matzo meal*** Birthday cakes available for Passover
Name Telephone # Credit Card __________________ Security code
EXP DATE____________ ZIPCODE Email
Pick up Dates - please circle a day and put desired time - Last day for orders March 30th Pick Up dates Wednesday April 1st Thursday April 2nd Friday April 3rd Open Chol hamoed April 7th- April 8th- April 9th - April 10th
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Price 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 9.95 13.95 14.95 14.95 14.95 14.95 14.95 14.95 15.95 15.95 15.95 15.95 15.95 15.95 19.95 19.95 19.95 19.95 19.95 19.95 24.95 19.95 17.95 9.95 8.95 15.95 6.95 7.95 15.95 15.95 24.95 8.95 9.50 9.50
Each Each lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. loaf Loaf lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. pack pack each each each each each each each each each each each
Page - 22
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Film Festivals, Movies, and TV Thurs. March 12
Reel Abilities Film Festival: “The Astronaut’s Secret” and “Jon Imber’s Left Hand,” with director Richard Kane and Jon Imber’s widow Jill Hoyt, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 1:30pm and 7:30pm, 845-362-4400 ext 100 Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Israel Film Festival: “Cupcakes,” includes dessert cupcakes, Kolo Klub, Hoboken, 7:30pm, 201-820-3900
Sun., March 15
“Crossing the Line: The New Face of Antisemitism on Campus: What Evert Parent and College-Bound Jewish Student Needs to Know,” for parents and high school students, Marlboro Jewish Center, 3pm, MJCCTL. EVENTBRITE.COM Film: “Arranged,” for teens and adults, includes discussion and refreshments, Riverdale YMHA, 5pm, MultiFaithEvents@gmail.com NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Chagall-Malevich,” includes dessert reception and post-film discussion with lead actress Kris-
tina Schneidermann, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 1-800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 Film: “Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Homefront,” Cong B’nai Tikvah, North Brunswick, 8pm, 732-640-5086 Film: “Reb Elimelech,” with Hanoch Teller, Cong Ahavas Israel, Passaic, 8:30pm, 201-410-2012
Mon., March 16
Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Israel Film Festival: “Hill Start,” includes discussion with film critic George Robinson, Ramsey Theatre, 7pm, 201-820-3900 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Farewell Herr Schwarz,” Dolan Performance Hall, College of St Elizabeth, Morristown, 7:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114
Tues., March 17
NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Villa Touma,” with director Suha Arraf, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503715-1114 Reel Abilities Film Festival: “Endless Abilities,” with filmmakers Tripp Clemens, Harvey
Burrell, and Zachary Bastian,” JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400 ext 100
Wed., March 18
NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Advanced Style,” includes jewelry workshop and discussion with stylist Debra Rapoport, JCC, West Orange, 12:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114; for workshop, 973-530-3481 Reel Abilities Film Festival: “Endless Abilities,” with filmmakers Tripp Clemens, Harvey Burrell, and Zachary Bastian,” JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 1:30pm, 845-362-4400 ext 100 Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Israel Film Festival: “Gett,” includes discussion with Rabbi Jeremy Stern of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA), Teaneck Cinemas, 7pm, 201-820-3900 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Magic Men,” with director Guy Nattiv, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114
Thurs., March 19
Film: “Three Minutes in Po-
land, Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film,” Glen Kurtz, JCC, Bridgewater 7pm, 908-7256994 x201 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Run Boy Run,” with Holocaust educator Chaim Lauer, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114
Fri., March 20
NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Chagall-Malevich,” JCC, West Orange, 12:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 Motzei Shabbat, March 21 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “24 Days: The True Story of the Ilan Halimi Affair,” JCC, West Orange, 8:45pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 Movie Night, for teens, spons by NCSY, private home in Highland Park, 9pm, smulevitz@ncsy.org
Sun., March 22
NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Border Living,” JCC, West Orange, 12:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 Movie: “Cinderella,” for children ages 8 and up, younger chil-
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com dren with adult, spons by Cong Etz Chaim, at AMC, East Hanover, 1pm, 973-994-2620 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “An Apartment in Berlin,” JCC, West Orange, 2:15pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Little White Lie: A Jewish Girl’s Discovery That Her Biological Father Is African-American,” with filmmaker and subject Lacey Schwartz. JCC, West Orange, 3:45pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Havana Curveball,” for teens, includes representatives of the Cuban-Jewish community and from Areyvut who will conduct a teen workshop on Bar/Bat Mitzvah and other teen chesed projects, JCC, West Orange, 5:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Israel Film Festival: “Zero Motivation,” includes discussion with IDF Capt (Res) Bur Ashrov, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-820-3900 Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force,” with West Point Rabbi Henry Soussan and a Jewish War Beterans’ Honor Guard, Lafayette Theater, Suffern, 7pm, 845-3624400 Film: “Zero Tolerance,” JCC, Tenafly, 8pm, 201-408-1427
Mon., March 23
TV: “Little White Lie: A Jewish Girl’s Discovery That Her Biological Father Is AfricanAmerican,” Channel 13, 10pm
Tues., March 24
Film: “The Red Tent,” includes dinner, JCC, Margate, 5pm, 609-822-1167 ext 113 Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Streit’s Matzo and the American Dream,” with Streit Family members Alan Adler and Aaron Gross, includes a box of Streit’s Matzo, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Here One Day” and “Reel Abilities,” includes discussion with filmmaker and film subject Kathy Leichter, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775 Wed., March 25
NJ Jewish Film Festival: “The Outrageous Sophie Tucker,” with producers Susan and Lloyd Ecker, JCC, West Orange, 12:30pm, 800494-8497 or 503-715-1114 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Stateless,” includes discussion with Mike Drob, Amir Shaviv, Mark Hetfield, and Dr. Inga Veksler, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-4948497 or 503-715-1114
Thurs., March 26
Film: “You’re Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t,” includes panel discussion with director Scott Kirshenbaum, Alzheimer’s specialists Amy Matthews and Kerry Mills, Dr. Harvey Gross, and Carol Silver Elliott, JCC, Tenafly, wine-and-cheese reception, 6:45pm; film, 7:30pm, 201408-1401 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Shtisel: Episodes 1-3,” love in the hareidi community, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-4948497 or 503-715-1114
Motzei Shabbat, March 28
Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Deli Man,” with director Erik Greenberg-Anjou, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 8:45pm, 845-3624400 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Hill Start,” JCC, West Orange, 9pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114
Sun., March 29
NJ Jewish Film Festival Shorts: “Broken Branches,” “The Other Side,” “On the Road to Tel Aviv,” “Tzniut,” and “Welcome and Our Condolences,” with filmmaker David Formentin, JCC, West Orange, 12:30pm, 800-4948497 or 503-715-1114 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Igor and the Cranes’ Journey,” for teens, JCC, West Orange, 3:30pm, 800-494-8497 or 503-715-1114 NJ Jewish Film Festival: “Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force,” with Jewish historian Chaim Lauer, JCC, West Orange, 7:30pm, 800-4948497 or 503-715-1114 TV: “Siege of Masada: Evidence behind the Powerful Legend,” Smithsonian Channel, 10pm
Mon., March 30
TV: “Siege of Masada: Evidence behind the Powerful Leg-
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
end,” Smithsonian Channel, 8pm and 11pm
Tues., March 31
Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Run Boy Run,” with film critic Steven Schaefer, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400 TV: “The Dovekeepers, Part I,” women who arrived at Masada and forge a common bond for survival, Smithsonian Channel, 9pm
Wed., April 1
TV: “The Dovekeepers, Part II,” women who arrived at Masada and forge a common bond for survival, Smithsonian Channel, 9pm
Mon., April 6, Chol Hamoed Film: “Prince of Egypt,” Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 8pm, 405-388-8556 or 732-545-2407
Tues., April 7, Chol Hamoed
Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent,” with Deborah Prinz, Rachel Pasternak, and producer/director Dr. Rachel Fisher, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400
Wed., April 8, Chol Hamoed
Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Run Boy Run,” with film critic Steven Schaefer, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 1:30pm, 845-362-4400
Mon., April 13
Film: “No Place on Earth,” discussion led by Chris Nicola, JCC, Bridgewater, 7pm, 908-725-6994 x201 Sisterhood Movie Night, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, 7pm, 732-446-3000
Tues., April 14
Rockland County Jewish
Page - 23
Film Festival: “Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop,” and “Welcome to Kutshers,” with director Ian Rosenberg, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400
Wed., April 15
Yom HaShoah Commemoration: Film: “Escape from Auschwitz,” includes Q&A with Eva Vogel and Hedy Brasch, Drew University, Baldwin Gymnasium, Madison, 10am, 973-408-3600
Thurs., April 16, Yom HaShoah
Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Deli Man,” with director Erik Greenberg-Anjou, AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 1:30pm, 845-362-4400 Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “24 Days: The True Story of the Ilan Halimi Affair,” discussion with Dr. Charles Asher Small, Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco, and Rep Nita Lowey (D-NY), Lafayette Theater, Suffern, 7:30pm, 845-362-4400 Motzei Shabbat, April 18 Rockland County Jewish Film Festival: “Zero Motivation,” with film program director Isaac Zablocki and Rep Nita Lowey (D-NY), AMC Theaters, Palisades Mall, West Nyack, 8:45pm, 845-362-4400
Sun., April 19
Film: “Body and Soul,” the ancient and modern Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, includes discussion with filmmaker Gloria Greenfield, Temple Beth-El of Jersey City, 4pm, office@betheljc.org Film: “Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Homefront,” Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 5pm, 718-796-4730 Y
Page - 24
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
The Log: Wed., March 11
“Not Fade Away, a Memoir of Senses Lost and Found,” Rebecca Alexander, includes lunch, JCC, Bridgewater, noon, 908-7256994 x201 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 1-2:30pm and 7-8:30pm, 201797-1770 Efshar Circle, for independent special-needs young adults, includes sports, cooking, and Judaic activities, Friendship Circle, Livingston, 3pm, 973-251-0200 Cancer Support Group, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, 4pm, 201-833-3336 “Justice Beyond the Holocaust and Rwanda: How the Memory of the Holocaust Has Shaped Ideas about Justice, Human Rights, Military Intervention, and Property Restitution,” Bildner Center Master Teacher Institute in Holocaust Education, Rutgers, New Brunswick, 4:30pm, 732-932-2033 Free Tutoring, for students in grades 1-5, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 4:40pm, weineri@maayanot.org Teen Scene, for special-needs teenagers, includes games, sports, and dinner with volunteers, Friendship Circle, Livingston, 5pm, 973251-0200 Talk It Out Torah: Cultural Conversations in Judaism, for high school students, Jennifer Romanoff, includes pizza dinner, spons by NCSY, at Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 6pm, romanoffj@ncsy. org or 305-332-6036 Yeshivat Beit Hillel of Passaic Dinner, honoring Rabbi Aryeh
and Batya Mandel, Zev and Chani Karpel, and Morah Shoshana Meyersdorf, at Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 6pm, 973-777-0735 CPR and AED Course, Jonathan Silver, Chabad of West Orange, 6:30pm, 973-342-2763 Nechama Comfort: A Support Group Dedicated to Helping All Family Members Who Have Experienced Infant and Pregnancy Loss at Any Time in Their Lives, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-837-9090 Holding Hands Support Group, for families who are grieving the death of a child of any age from any cause, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-837-9090 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 Eye on Israeli Elections: A Pre-Election Forum, Benny Avni, Ron Jacobsohn, and Yitzhak Ben-Horin, JCC, Tenafly, 7:45pm, 201-408-1456 “Become a Love and Logic Parent: 3 Parenting Styles,” for mothers, Rabbi Dani Staum, at Adolph Schreiber Hebrew Academy of Rockland (ASHAR), New City, 8pm, 845-641-5094 Makhela Israeli-Style Choir, in Hebrew, Zvi Klein, JCC, Tenafly, 8pm, 201-408-1427 Jewish Yoga Dance, for women, Shelly Dembe, Chabad of Teaneck, 8pm, 201-907-0686 Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431 Mock Israeli Elections, Rut-
gers Hillel, New Brunswick, 9pm, 732-545-2407
man, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-837-2795
“How to Run a Financial Household,” Diane Nissen, spons by the Jewish Business Network for Jewish Professional Women, Ives Architecture Studio, Fair Lawn, 8:45am, , 973-902-5932 or 201773-9111 Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Pre-Pesach Book Sale, to benefit the school library, Livingston, 9am-3pm; also Fri., March 13, 9-11am “Divine New York: A Religious History of New York City,” Ronald Brown, and “Daring: My Passages,” Gail Sheehy, JCC, Tenafly, 10:30am, 201-408-1454 “Prophets and Prophesy,” Leah Herzog, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 11:45am, 201-833-4307 Golden Age Program, for seniors, Rabbi Steven Exler, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, learn and light lunch, noon; learning, 1pm; Golden Age Adult Bat Mitzvah Class, 2pm, 718-796-4730 Webinar: “Be Spiritually Prepared for Passover,” Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller, 2pm and 10pm, http://jewishworkshops.ontraport. com/t?orid=393&opid=63 Mussar Vaad Teleconference: “Pesach in the Context of a Woman’s Personal Growth,” for women, Dina Schoonmaker, 2pm, 732-665-6202 or 1-253-3971495, pin 7462# then press 1# Yeshivat Lev HaTorah Dinner, honoring Dr. Steven, Anna, and Rabbi Aryeh Kirshblum, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 5:30pm, 201907-0180 A Multi-Generational Evening of Unity and Inspiration: Mega Challah Bake, for women and girls ages 12 and up, spons by Chabad of Cherry Hill, at the FoxEDU Center, Cherry Hill, 7pm, Dinie@thechabadcenter.org or 856-874-1500 Dovid HaMelech Shiur, Rabbi Marc Spivak, spons by Cong Ohr Torah, at a private home in West Orange, 8pm, AndrewNBecker@ gmail.com or 973-669-7320 “Insights into Parshat HaShavua,” Rabbi Michael Shmid-
Last Day to Donate NonPerishable Food to Benefit Six Food Pantries and a Local Elementary School, at Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 201-928-1881 “New York’s Lower East Side: A Revolving Door for Immigrants: 1820 to Today,” Prof Thorin Tritter, JCC, Tenafly, 10am, 201-408-1426 “The Greatest Pain: Confronting the Loss of a Loved One,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at the Egg Harbor Twnshp Library, 11am, 609-822-8500 Shabbat across America, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, family service, dinner, 6pm; family service, 6:45pm, 718-796-4730 “True Freedom: Gaining or Regaining Mastery over Yourself and All That Comes with It—Topics in the Haggadah,” Rabbi Noach Orlowek, scholar-inresidence, Passaic Torah Institute, 6:30pm, 973-594-4774 Turn Friday Night into Shabbat Community Dinner, Rabbi Moshe Schapiro, Hoboken Chabad Center, 6:30pm, 201-386-5222 Carlebach Davening: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 6:40pm, 201-833-0515 Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, includes Gortham Burger dinner for teens, West Orange, 6:40pm, 973-736-1407 Rabbi Daniel Lapin, scholar-in-residence, part of Shabbat across America, Cong Ohr Torah, Edison, through Shabbat, March 14, 732-777-6840 Rabbi Yitzchak Blau, scholarin-residence, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, through Shabbat, March 14, 201-907-0180 Prof Lawrence Schiffman, scholar-in-residence, Cong Anshe Chesed, Linden, through Shabbat, March 14, 908-486-8616 Shabbat across America, includes dinner and a program, Cong Ohr Torah, Edison, 6:40pm, 732-777-6840; “A Shlock Rock Shabbaton:
Thurs., March 12
Fri., March 13
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 25
“Separate Yourself Not from the Community” The Use of Secular Music during Tefillah and ‘A Shabbat in Liverpool’ with 27 Beatles Songs Put to Tefillah and Zemirot,” Lenny Solomon, includes dinner, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, services, 6:30pm; dinner, 7:30pm, 732-446-3000 Discover the Suburban Torah Center Shabbaton, at the Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, through Shabbat, March 14, 973-994-2620
Shabbat, March 14
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 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 Pi Day: Pie-Making and a Pie-Themed Kiddush, for children ages 4-12, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 10am, 732-247-3038 Rabbi Berel Wein, scholarin-residence, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, “Ways of Pleasantness,” 10:45am; “Rav Kook and His Times, 5:55pm; “Nineteenth-Century Eastern Europe and Today’s Jewish World,” 6:45pm, 201-836-8916 Dr. Marc Shapiro, scholar-in-residence, Young Israel of Fort Lee, “Judaism and Islam: New Perspectives on Old Problems,” 11:30am; “Sense and Censorship: Is Historical Truth and Orthodox Value?” includes lunch, noon; “Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg and the Challenge of Halacha and Modernity, 6:30pm, 201-592-1518 Rabbi Noach Orlowek, scholar-in-residence, Passaic Torah Institute, “True Freedom: Gaining or Regaining Mastery over Yourself and All That Comes with It—What Is a ‘Master’ and Why Should I Become One?” 11:30am; “The Way to Becoming a True Master—The Chovos Halevovos’s
Advice,” 4:45pm; and “Peace of Mind—What Is It and a Path to Attaining It,” includes Sheudat Shlishit, 6pm; 973-594-4774 “Walking in the Ways of Hashem,” for women, Rebbetzin Holly Pavlov, spons by the She’arim College of Jewish Studies for Women in Jerusalem, at Cong Ahavas Israel, Passaic, 3pm, batyarosner@yahoo.com “How Jews Relate to Our Enemies: Haggadah, Talmud, Midrashim, and Modern Commentaries,” Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Adler and Conservative Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky, at Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 4pm, 201-837-2795 x101 Seudat Shlishit, Ma’ariv, and Musical Havdala, for high school students, spons by NCSY, private home in West Orange, 5pm, romanoffj@ncsy.org or 305-332-6036
Motzei Shabbat, March 14
ATARA Sisterhood Meet the Members Night, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 8:30pm, suezelig@ gmail.com Cong Ahavath Torah Dinner, honoring Dr. Francine and Aaron Stein, Rachael and Dov Eisenberger, and Rabbi Mordechai and Shoshanna Gershon, at the shul in Englewood, 9pm, 201-568-1315 NJ Yachad Rocks—An Evening of Music, featuring dueling pianos and dinner, to benefit NJ Yachad programs for special-needs children and adults, private home in Teaneck, 9pm, 201-833-1349 Shlock Rock Concert: Keep on Shlocking, Lenny Solomon, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, 9pm, 732-446-3000 Shiur, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Young Israel of Riverdale, 9pm, 718-548-4765
Sun., March 15
Davening and Bikur Cholim at Daughters of Miriam in Clifton, meet at Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 8:15am; davening, followed by breakfast and bikur cholim, 8:45am, samapprais@aim.com Jewish Community Relations Council Legislative Breakfast, honoring Yael Levy, Bead Silver, and John Evans, Riverdale
YMHA, 9am, 718-548-8200 Project SARAH (Stop Abusive Relationships At Home) Breakfast, featuring NYC Prosecutor Jill Starishevsky, honoring Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, Rabbi Jonathan Knapp, Rivka Zauderer, Aliza Schachter, and Rachel Wertenteil, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 9:30am, 973-777-7638 Torah Circle and Hebrew School, for special-needs children and teens, in separate groups, art, baking, sports, music, holidays, traditions, and Hebrew with volunteers, Friendship Circle, Livingston, 9:30am, 973-251-0200 Men’s Club Breakfast: “Mobile Computing,” Joel Iserson, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, 9:30am, 732-446-3000 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 9:30-11am, 201-797-1770 Mitzvah Clowning, with Areyvut, Jewish Home at Rockleigh, 10am, 201-244-6702 Israel and Pearl Stern Memorial Lecture: “Jews for George: What America’s First
Jews Teach Us about Americans Today,” Rabbi Dr. Meir Yaakov Soloveichik, includes brunch, Community Synagogue of Monsey, 10:15am, 201-337-0742 “Guide to the Perplexed: Israeli Politics Made Simple(r),” Yuval Shefi, Temple Beth Shalom, Brigantine, 11:15am, 609-266-0403 Sunday Circle, for special needs children, includes activities and lunch, spons by The Friendship Circle, at the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, noon, 201-262-7172 Sofer on Site: Rabbi Gedaliah Druin, for children, includes Sofer demonstration and hands-on workshop, Cong Ohr Torah, Edison, noon, MarcGBerg@verizon.net Mitzvah Day, spons by the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ, Paramus, telethon, 9am; community-wide food drive, 1pm, 201820-3947 The Maccabeats in Concert, JCC, Tenafly, 2pm, 201-569-7900 Matan: Discover How the Bat Mitzvah Girl Can Connect to
continued on page 26
Page - 26
The Log
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 25
Traits Such as Kindness, Faith, Power of Prayer, and Zionism, for girls nearing their 12th birthday in Essex, Morris, and Union Counties, Jennifer Romanoff, private home in Livingston, 2pm, 305-332-6036 or 973-900-1341 Mussar Vaad Teleconference: “Pesach in the Context of a Woman’s Personal Growth,” for women, Dina Schoonmaker, 2pm, 732-665-6202 or 1-253-3971495, pin 7462# then press 1# Trip to the Big Apple Circle in Bridgewater, for children (under 6 with an adult), leave Cong Ohr Torah, Edison, 2:15pm, MarcGBerg@verizon.net Mitzvah Clowning, with Areyvut, at Brighton Gardens, West Orange, 3pm, 201-244-6702 Pre-Pesach Boutique, featuring gifts, The Wandering Que Texas BBQ, and the chance to sell jewelry for cash, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck 4:30-9pm, mkopel35@gmail.com Cong Shomrei Torah Dinner, honoring Sharon and Michael Glass and Ceil and Sam Heller, at the shul in Fair Lawn, 5pm, 201-791-7910 “Coping with the Empty Chair at the Seder,” Rabbi Steven Exler, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 5:15pm, 718-796-4700 ext 108 or 718-601-9714 Cooking Demo and Tasting with Jamie Geller, Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, 6pm, mtkatchen@ yahoo.com or 973-992-9294 Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Israel Film Festival: “The Green Prince,” includes discussion after the film, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-820-3900 Pre-Pesach Hat Sale, to benefit Yeshiva Shaarei Tzion, private home in Highland Park, 7-9pm, 732-393-0112 or 732-985-6378 “Montessori and Mesorah,” Rabbi Eli Mansour, Netivot Montessori School, East Brunswick, 8pm, 732-985-4626
Mon., March 16
Support Group: “Advocacy 101: How to Be the Best Advocate for Your Child and Yourself,” for mothers with children with special-needs, Batya Jacob, CCC, and Chani Herrmann,
LMSW, includes breakfast, spons by Yachad, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 9:30am, 201-833-1349 or herrmann@ou.org Lunch and Learn: Major Halachic Responsa, Rabbi Jay Weinstein, spons by the Young Israel of East Brunswick, at Giddy’s Pizza, East Brunswick, noon, 732-254-1860 “Rescuer: A Presentation of Gentile Rescuers during the Holocaust,” for high school teachers, Rider College, Lawrenceville, 4pm, http://education.state.nj.us/events/ Jewish Federation, Devra Karger, private home in Fort Lee, 5:30pm, 201-820-3951 “From Caregiver to Perpetrator: How to Recognize and Report Elder Abuse,” staff of the Center for Hope and Safety, at the JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1450 “After Paris, Where Do We Go from Here,” David Harris, spons by the Rockland Jewish Federation, Orangetown Jewish Center, Orangeburg, 7:30pm, 845-574-4099 “Jewish Law and Ethics,” Rebbetzin Maxine Pilavin, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, 7:30pm, 732-446-3000 “Englewood State of the City Address: Master Plan Zoning Ordinance, the Light Rail, and other Issues,” Mayor Frank Huttle, Cong Ahavath Torah, Englewood, 7:30pm, 201-568-1315 Computer Safety and Preventing Identity Theft, Detectives Mike Lemanowicz and David Boone, spons by Hadassah, Fair Lawn Jewish Center, 7:45pm, 201-981-6467
Tues., March 17
Distribute Pesach Products to Clients of the Bronx Jewish Community Council, pick up at the BJCC pantry, Pelham Parkway, Bronx, 9:50am-12:30pm or 12:203pm, 718-652-5500 “De-Clutter for Pesach and Get a New Lease on Life,” Eileen Bergman, includes lunch, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 11:15am, 973-736-1407 “Jewish Harlem,” with Marty Schneit, JCC, Bridgewater, noon, 908-725-6994 Prayer Vigil and Protest
on the 23rd Anniversary of the Bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, protesting the cover-up of that bombing and the Jewish Community Center two years later, spons by AMCHA, at the Argentinian Consulate, 12 W 56th St, Manhattan, 5pm Yeshivat Noam of Paramus Dinner, honoring Sheva and Dov Adler, Deborah and Eitan Florino, Ilissa Green, and Morah Rachel Levy, at Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 5:30pm, 201-261-1919 ext 126 Refa’enu Peer-Led Mood Disorder Support Group, for those with depression, bipolar disorder, and/or related anxiety and their loved ones, Ben Porat Yosef, Paramus, 7:30pm, dena@ refaenu.org, www.refaenu.org Mom’s Night Out, for mothers of special-needs children, The Friendship Circle, Paramus, 8pm, 201-262-7172 Beit Midrash Learning, Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, 8pm, 973-994-2620 Pre-Pesach Halacha Shiur, Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton, Passaic, 8:30pm, 973-330-2285
Wed., March 18
Deadline to Order Shmurah Matzah Prepared at the Chardim Shmurah Matzah Bakery under the Supervision of Rabbi Benjamin Yudin, through Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 204noble@gmail.com Netivot Montessori School Tour, for prospective families, East Brunswick, 9:15am, 732-985-4626 Trip to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in NY, includes kosher dairy lunch and a tour with Dr. Eddy Portnoy, presentation on Yiddish Theatre by Prof Debra Caplan, and workshop on understanding and preserving family artifacts, especially those related to Yiddish, bus leaves JCC, Edison, 9:30am, 732-494-3232 ext 3614 One Book, One Community: “NYC’s Lower East Side: A Revolving Door for Immigrants,” Thorin Tritter, JCC, Tenafly, 10am, 201-408-1418 International Affairs: Israeli Trouble Spots and Prospects
for Peace, Saul Fathi, Riverdale YMHA, 10:30am, 718-548-8200 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 1-2:30pm, 201-797-1770 Free Tutoring, for students in grades 1-5, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 4:40pm, weineri@maayanot.org Teen Scene, for special-needs teenagers, includes games, sports, and dinner with volunteers, Friendship Circle, Livingston, 5pm, 973251-0200 Sisterhood Passover Cooking Class, Chefs Barbara and Evan Zagha, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, 7pm, 732-446-3000 “Remains of the Borscht Belt—The Deterioration and Disappearance of the Catskills Hotels,” Heidi Warner, includes review of her photography exhibit, JCC, West Orange, 7pm, 973-530-3413 “Educating in the Divine Image: How Gender Issues Influence the Education of Jewish Children in Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshivoth,” Chaya Gorsetman, JCC, Tenafly, 7:30pm, 201-569-7900 Shalva Chai Chapter of AMIT Mother-in-Israel Evening, honoring Joyce Straus, Elizabeth Straus, Diana Straus, and Julia Baruch, at the Moriah School, Englewood, 7:30pm, 212-792-5690 or sarac@ amitchildren.org “Become a Love and Logic Parent: Setting Limits,” for mothers, Rabbi Dani Staum, at Adolph Schreiber Hebrew Academy of Rockland (ASHAR), New City, 8pm, 845-641-5094 Shomer Shabbos Boy Scout Meeting, for boys in 6th grade or 11 years old and up, Bais Medrash L’Torah, Rabbi Davis’s shul, Passaic, 8pm, HFishman@rafterpllc.com Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 8pm, 973-736-1407 Cong Ahavas Achim Sisterhood Book Club: “City of the Sun” by Juliana Maio, private home in Highland Park, 8:30pm, 732-247-0532
Thurs., March 19
“Prophets and Prophesy,”
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Leah Herzog, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 11:45am, 201-833-4307 Play and Lecture: “The Mitzvah Project,” Rockland Community College, Suffern, noon and 7pm, 845-574-4099 Senior Book Club: “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry,” by Rachel Joyce, Riverdale YMHA, 1pm, 718-548-8200 New Moms’ Support Group, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, 1:30pm, 201-833-3124 Mussar Vaad Teleconference: “Pesach in the Context of a Woman’s Personal Growth,” for women, Dina Schoonmaker, 2pm, 732-665-6202 or 1-253-3971495, pin 7462# then press 1# Pizza Party and Jewish Cultural Club, spons by NCSY, at Millburn High School, 2:35pm, romanoffj@ncsy.org or 305-332-6036 “After Liberation: The First Five Years—Life after Liberation in Countries behind the Iron Curtain,” Drs Ann Saltzman and Joshua Kavaloski, Prof Nathaniel Knight, and witnesses Eva Vogel and Mark Scher, spons by the Drew University Center for Holocaust Study, Young Center for the Arts, Union, 4pm, 973-408-3600 “How Did Jews Get to Europe?” Avraham Groll, spons by the Jewish Genealogical Society of North Jersey, at YMCA of Wayne, schmoozing, 7pm; lecture, 7:30pm, 973-595-0100, 732-4127606, or 973-226-7049 Play and Lecture: “The Mitzvah Project,” Rockland Community College, Suffern, 7pm, awinograd@holocauststudies.org Seminar on Security Concerns, Bergenfield Police and Homeland Security’s Faith-Based Initiative Program, at Cong Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, 8pm, 201384-0434 “Insights into the Haggadah,” Rabbi Yosef Adler, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-837-2795
Fri., March 20
Last Day to Give Leftover Mishloach Manot Food to Shearit ha-Plate of Bergen County, original packaging with kosher certification visible, no loose items or anything perishable, 917-5939290 or 201-362-3845
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest Teachers’ Conference, with Deborah Batiste, Alan Chernoff, and child survivor Michael Zeiger, includes kosher breakfast and a chance to discuss Holocaust lesson plans, Jewish Federation, Whippany, 8:30am, holocaustcouncil@jfedgmw.org “The Pursuit of Liberty: Are We Really Free?” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at the Egg Harbor Twnshp Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Shabbat Chazzanut, Chazzan Netanel Hershtik and the Hamptons Synagogue Choir, for men and women, Carlebach-style davening, Young Israel of Teaneck, 6:50pm, 201-837-1710 Prof Marc Schapiro, scholarin-residence, Cong Ahavath Torah, Englewood, through Shabbat, March 21, 201-568-1315 Cong Ohr HaTorah Youth Shabbaton, Bergenfield, through Shabbat, March 21, 201-244-5905 or 201-385-1761 Yachad Shabbaton, for special-needs young adults as guests, Young Israel of East Brunswick, through Shabbat, March 21, 732254-1860 Teen Shabbaton, spons by NCSY, includes dinner at Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park 7pm, aayouth100@gmail.com or smulevitz@ncsy.org “Iran’s Nuclear Threat: Negotiations,” Jeremy Bob, scholarin-residence, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 8pm, jneug@yahoo.com Teen Shabbat Dinner and Oneg, spons by NCSY, private home in West Orange, 8pm, romanoffj@ ncsy.org or 305-332-6036
Shabbat, March 21
Rabbi Steven Krul, scholarin-residence, Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Teaneck Apartments, at Torah Academy of Bergen County, Teaneck, 8:45am, 201-836-3828 or 212-909-6951 Shabbat Chazzanut, Chazzan Netanel Hershtik and the Hamptons Synagogue Choir, traditional davening, Young Israel of Teaneck, 9am, 201-837-1710 Shabbos Magic, for grades 1-7, Joe Gill, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 11am, 973-994-2620 “Soulmates: Jewish Secrets
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
to Meaningful Relationships— Becoming a Better Half: Jewish Insights into Preserving Marital Harmony,” for women, Rebbetzin Sarah Shemtov, Chabad House, Riverdale, 12:30pm, 718-549-1100 Oneg, for teens, spons by NCSY, private home in Highland Park, 2:30pm, smulevitz@ncsy.org Pre-Pesach Workshop: “Create Meaningful and Engaging Sedarim for Children and Transform Your Seder into a Truly Memorable Experience,” Dr. Zalman Suldan, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 4pm, 201-836-6210 Pre-Pesach Chocolate Mock Seder, for children in nursery-grade 2, Erica and Jason David, Cong Beth Aaron, 4pm, 201-836-6210 Jeremy Bob, scholar-in-residence, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, “Post Gaza-Israeli Security and Challenges, including War Crimes Allegations,” 4pm; “The Impact of Impending Israeli Elections,” 6pm, jneug@yahoo.com Shiur, Prof Alan Brill, private home in Teaneck, 5:30pm, shalomk@hotmail.com “Secrecy and the Beginnings of Kabbalah,” Jonathan Dauber, Cong Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, 6:35pm, the.rogovins@gmail.com
Sun., March 22
“Haggadah,” Rabbi Itamar Rosensweig, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 8:30am, 201-837-2795 Deliver Pesach Packages to Homebound, Isolated, and Lonely Jewish Seniors, spons by the Bronx Jewish Community Council, 9am, 917-693-3084 Pre-Pesach Hat Sale, Cong Rinat Yisrael, 9-10:30am, 201-837-2795 Torah Circle and Hebrew School, for special-needs children and teens, in separate groups,
Page - 27
art, baking, sports, music, holidays, traditions, and Hebrew with volunteers, Friendship Circle, Livingston, 9:30am, 973-251-0200 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 9:30-11:30am, 201-797-1770 Musical Performance: Peter and the Wolf, narrated in Hebrew, JCC, Tenafly, 10am, 201-408-1427 Volunteer Work, for high school students, includes pizza lunch, spons by NCSY, at Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 10am, romanoffj@ncsy.org or 305-332-6036 Uncle Moishy and the Mitzvah Men, East Hill Synagogue, Englewood, 11am (doors open 10:15am), 201-569-4008 New and Used Clothing Giveaway, for men, women, and children, donations accepted but not required, Cong Ahavas Yisrael, Highland Park, 10:30am-2:30pm, 732-762-0490 Sunday Circle, for specialneeds children, includes music, art, baking, stories, and lunch, Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, River Edge, noon, 201-262-7172 “How to Teach the Holocaust to Your Children,” for parents of children ages 9-17, Dr. Paul Winkler, includes two workshops and one-on-one guidance, East Brunswick Public Library, 1pm, 732-390-6950 Mussar Vaad Teleconference: “Pesach in the Context of a Woman’s Personal Growth,” for women, Dina Schoonmaker, 2pm, 732-665-6202 or 1-253-3971495, pin 7462# then press 1# Schanzer/Kreitman/Dennis Family Torah Dedication, includes dessert buffet, Cong Ohr
continued on page 28
Page - 28
The Log
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 27
Torah, Edison, 3pm, 732-777-6840 Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County Dinner, honoring Debra and Juda Engelmayer, Leah and AJ Schreiber, and Susan and Yaacov Weinstock, at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton, 5pm, 201-907-0686 Bat Mitzvah Club, for girls in grades 5-6 (11-13), Shterna Kaminker, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 5pm, 856-874-1500 Jewish Girls Club, for 8th grade girls, Mussie Mangel, includes crafts, food, and relevant Jewish themes, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 5pm, 856-874-1500 Chabad CT Meeting: Model Matzo Bakery, for teenagers, Chabad of Margate, 5pm, 609892-7101 Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David Dinner, honoring Rabbi Eliezer and Sharon Zwickler, Saba and Fara Azar, Andrew and Nili Yolin, and Max and Bernita Feldman, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel, West Orange, 5:30pm, 973-736-1407 Beyond Bat Mitzvah Club, for girls in grade 7 and up who have recently celebrated their bat mitzvahs, Shterna Kaminker, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 6:30pm, 856-874-1500 Ladies Got Talent Program, by women for women, talent show and women-only dance party, at the Mt. Sinai Jewish Center, Washington Hts, NY, 6:30pm, ladiesgottalent@gmail.com Soulmates: Jewish Secrets to Meaningful Relationships – Jewish Insights into Marital Harmony,” for women, Rebbetzin Altie Kasowitz, spons by the Rosh Chodesh Society, Chabad of West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-325-6311 “The Four Sons: Raising Parents,” Rabbi Eli Mansour, Netivot
Montessori, East Brunswick, 8pm, 732-985-4626
Mon., March 23
Deadline to Submit Work for Art Exhibit: “Jewish Life Cycles: Rites of Passage and Milestones,” spons by the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ and Nahariya, Israel, submit up to three images of two works in jpg format with a statement of no more than 350 words about the work, joyceg@jfnnj.org or 201-820-3908 or 201-503-9796 Lunch and Learn: Major Halachic Responsa, Rabbi Jay Weinstein, spons by the Young Israel of East Brunswick, at Giddy’s Pizza, East Brunswick, noon, 732-254-1860 “Jewish Law and Ethics,” Rebbetzin Maxine Pilavin, Cong Sons of Israel, Manalapan, 7:30pm, 732-446-3000
Tues., March 24
Walking Tour through Chassidic Brooklyn, with Frieda Vizel, leave JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 9am, 845-362-4400 Caregivers Support Group, for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, JCC, Tenafly, 10:30am, 201-569-7900 “Dalton Trumbo (Robert Rich): An Early Victim of the Hollywood Blacklist,” Dick Burnon, includes the film, “Trumbo,” JCC, Tenafly, 10:45am, 201-569-7900 Jewish Israeli Club, includes pizza, spons by NCSY, Livingston High School, 2:40pm, romanoffj@ ncsy.org or 305-332-6036 “How to Teach the Complex History of the Holocaust,” for teachers, staff of Echoes and Reflections, Katz JCC, Cherry Hill, 3:30pm, 856-751-9500 ext 1240 “Laughing on the Way to Hell: A Study of the Holocaust and the Boundaries of Humor,”
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
Harry Furman, esq, Cumberland County College, Vineland, 4pm, HolocaustCoalition@gmail.com Jewish-Themed Social Experience, for special-needs adults, spons by the Friendship Circle and J-ADD, Paramus, 6pm, 201-262-7172 “Je Suis Juif: Identity and Responsibility in a Complicated World,” for men and women, Former US Amb Meryl Frank, spons by Hadassah, private location in Highland Park, 7pm, 732-985-5919 or 732-937-5447 “Rhapsody in Gershwin,” Ted Rosenthal and Trio, Riverdale YMHA, 7:30pm, 718-548-8200 “Daring,” Gail Sheehy, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 7:30pm, julies1@jccrockland.org or 845362-4400 Haggadah Shiur, Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton, Passaic, 8pm, 973-330-2285
Wed., March 25
Deadline to Order Shmura Matza from the Shatzer Matza Factory in Brooklyn through Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 551265-7430 Support Group: “Eating for Energy: 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy by Eating the Right Foods,” for mothers with children with special-needs, Gail Guzman and Chani Herrmann, LMSW, includes breakfast, spons by Yachad, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 9:30am, 201-833-1349 or herrmann@ou.org Passover Model Seder, for seniors, Rabbi Steven Exler, Riverdale YMHA, 11:30am, 718548-8200 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 1-2:30pm, 201-797-1770 Jewish Student Union: Passover Edition, for high school students, includes pizza, spons by NCSY, at Montclair High School, 2:40pm, romanoffj@ncsy.org or 305-332-6036 Cancer Support Group, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, 4pm, 201-833-3336 “Justice Beyond the Holocaust and Rwanda: How the Memory of the Holocaust Has
Shaped Ideas about Justice, Human Rights, Military Intervention, and Property Restitution,” Bildner Center Master Teacher Institute in Holocaust Education, Rutgers, New Brunswick, 4:30pm, 732-932-2033 “Talk It Out Torah: Cultural Conversations in Judaism,” for high school students, Jennifer Romanoff, includes pizza dinner, spons by NCSY, at Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 6pm, romanoffj@ncsy. org or 305-332-6036 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 “Become a Love and Logic Parent: Consequences vs Punishment,” for mothers, Rabbi Dani Staum, at Adolph Schreiber Hebrew Academy of Rockland (ASHAR), New City, 8pm, 845-641-5094 Makhela Israeli-Style Choir, in Hebrew, Zvi Klein, JCC, Tenafly, 8pm, 201-408-1427 Dovid HaMelech Shiur, Rabbi Marc Spivak, spons by Cong Ohr Torah, at a private home in West Orange, 8pm, AndrewNBecker@ gmail.com or 973-669-7320 Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431
Thurs., March 26
Harry Ettlinger: Last of the Original Monument Men, who recovered art and artifacts stolen by the Nazis during WWII, JCC, Tenafly, 10:45am, 201-408-1418 “Prophets and Prophesy,” Leah Herzog, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 11:45am, 201-833-4307 Mussar Vaad Teleconference: “Pesach in the Context of a Woman’s Personal Growth,” for women, Dina Schoonmaker, 2pm, 732-665-6202 or 1-253-3971495, pin 7462# then press 1# Jewish Cultural Club: Passover Edition, for high school students, includes pizza, spons by NCSY, at Millburn High School, 2:35pm, romanoffj@ncsy.org or 305-332-6036
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com “A Night to Celebrate Israel and Israel Bonds,” with Israeli Consul General Ido Aharoni, honoring Rabbi Ron Isaacs and Aviv Alter, includes dinner, JCC, Bridgewater, 6:30pm, 908-725-6994 x201 “A Meaningful (and Fun) Seder,” for women, Chabad Jewish Center, Basking Ridge, 7:30pm, mherson@chabadcentral.org “Haggadah,” Rabbi Ezra Wiener, Cong Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, 8:30pm, 201-837-2795 “What’s It Like to Be a Match for Bone Marrow Donation?” Ilana Adams, includes Gift of Life Bone Marrow Drive, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 8:30pm, 732545-2407
Fri., March 27
Last Day to Order LargePrint Haggadot from the Jewish Braille Institute (JBI) International, call 800-999-6476 or 800-433-1531 ext 127 “Rise of the Machine Matzahs: The Evolution of the Humble Matzah,” Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, spons by Chabad at the Shore, at the Egg Harbor Twnshp Library, 12:15pm, 609-822-8500 Limmud FSU (Former Soviet Union) Glatt Kosher Shabbaton, for Russian-Jewish émigrés, with Victor Shenderovich, Igor Irten’ev, Igor Schupak, and Evgeny Kogan, includes children’s programming, Sheraton Parsippany Hotel, Parsippany, through Sun., March 29, info@limmudfsuus.org Jewish Caucus of the Hudson County Republic Club Free Shabbat Dinner, for Republicans, political conservatives, libertarians, and free thinkers, private home I Hoboken, 7:30pm, J.Soto.Einstein@gmail.com Chinese Shabbat HaGadol Dinner, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, 7:30pm, www. bethaaron.org/event/shabbat-hagadoldinner1.html Shabbat, March 28, Shabbat HaGadol Sephardic Minyan, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8:45am, shausler@justice.com Young Singles and Young Adults Minyan and Lunch, Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, Minyan, 9:15am; lunch, 12:30pm, 732247-0532 Educational Prayer Service,
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
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 Gala Kiddush Luncheon, Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, 11:30am, 201-836-8916 Shabbat HaGadol Lunch, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, noon, suezelig@gmail.com Shabbat HaGadol Lunch, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck, noon, www.bethaaron.org/event/shabbat-hagadol-lunch1.html Motzei Shabbat, March 28 Shiur, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Young Israel of Riverdale, 9:30pm, 718-548-4765
Sun., March 29
Davening and Bikur Cholim at Daughters of Miriam in Clifton, meet at Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 8:15am; davening, followed by breakfast and bikur cholim, 8:45am, samapprais@aim.com Pre-Pesach Youth Sports Event, for ages 3-15, includes obstacle courses and races, spons by Cong Ahavath Achim, at the New York Sports Club, East Brunswick, 10am, aayouth100@gmail.com “The Last of the Original Monument Men,” Harry Ettlinger, JCC, Tenafly, 10:45am, 201-408-1418 Sen Lindsay Graham (R-SC), spons by NORPAC, private home in Englewood, 4pm, 201-788-5133 Pesach Party, for specialneeds children and volunteers who work with them, The Friendship Circle, Paramus, 5pm, 201262-7172 Mitzvah Clowning, with Areyvut, with the Friendship Circle for special-needs teens, at the Torah Academy of Bergen County, Teaneck, 5pm, 201-244-6702 JACS Meeting, 12-steps meeting for Jews in recovery, Rabbi Steven Bayar, Cong B’nai Israel, Millburn, 6pm, 973-379-3811 Kashering of Utensils for Pesach, Cong Beth Aaron, Teaneck 6:30-8:30pm, 201-836-6210 Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), spons by NORPAC, private home in Englewood, 7pm, 201-788-5133 Matzah-Making and a Mov-
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
ie, for high school students, spons by NCSY, private home in West Orange, 7pm, romanoffj@ncsy. org or 305-332-6036 Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), spons by NORPAC, private home in Englewood, 7pm, 201-788-5133 Friendship Circle Banquet, honoring the volunteers who work with special-needs children and teens, at the Friendship Circle, Livingston, 8pm, 973-251-0200
Mon., March 30
Smile on Seniors, for senior men and women, includes brunch, Chabad House, Wayne, 11:30am, 973-694-6274
Tues., March 31
Last Day to View Exhibit: “The Cutting Edge: Paper Cuts by Dena Levie,” JCC, Tenafly, 201569-7900 Volunteer Orientation, for parents and middle school and high school students who want to work with special-needs children and teens, spons by The Friendship Circle, at Cong Beth Tefillah, Paramus, 8pm, 201-262-7172 Beit Midrash Learning, Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, 8pm, 973-994-2620
Wed., April 1
Mock Passover Seder, for seniors, with Rabbi Gary Katz, JCC, Tenafly, 11:15am, 201-569-7900 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
Page - 29
“Strength to Strength,” support group for parents whose children ages 15-25 are dealing with chemical dependency, psychological disorders, and/or cooccurring issues, Dr. Jeffrey Berman, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1403 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 Beyond Bar Mitzvah Club, for 8th grade boys and those who have recently celebrated their bar mitzvahs, Rabbi Yitzchok Kahan, includes light dinner, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 7:30pm, 856-874-1500 Shomer Shabbos Boy Scout Meeting, for boys in 6th grade or 11 years old and up, Bais Medrash L’Torah, Rabbi Davis’s shul, Passaic, 8pm, HFishman@rafterpllc.com Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431
Fri., April 3, First Seder
Pesach Big Bread Burn, Jewish Center of Teaneck parking lot, 9:30-11:42am, 201-833-0515 Latest Time to Eat Chametz, 10:24am Latest Time to Burn Chametz, 11:42am Free Passover Seder, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7pm, 718-796-4730 Community Passover Seder, spons by Chabad at the Shore, Cong Rodef Shalom, Atlantic City, 7:15pm, 609-822-8500 15-Step, Multi-Sensory Passover Seder, Chabad of West Or-
continued on page 30
Page - 30
The Log
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 29
ange, 7:15pm, 973-325-6311 Pesach Seder, Rabbi Aharon Ciment, Cong Arzei Darom, Teaneck, 7:15pm, president@ArzeiDarom.org
commentary, prayers in English and Hebrew transliteration, at Cong Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, 9:45am, 201-966-4498 or 201-836-4334
Free Passover Seder, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 8:30pm, 718-796-4730
Davening and Bikur Cholim at Daughters of Miriam in Clifton, meet at Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 8:15am; davening, followed by breakfast and bikur cholim, 8:45am, samapprais@aim.com “Bagels, Tefillin, and Breakfast,” Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky, Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe, NJ, 9:30am, 732-656-1616 Beyond Bar Mitzvah Club, for boys in grade 8, Rabbi Yitzchok Kahan, Chabad Center, Cherry Hill, 12 noon, 856-874-1500 Yom HaShoah Commenoration: “A German Life: Against All Odds, Change Is Possible,” Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, Rockland Community College, Suffern, 5pm, 845-574-4099
Motzei Shabbat Pesach, April 4 Second Seder
Tues., April 7, Chol Hamoed
“Chicks with Sticks Knitting Circle,” hats for preemies, children with cancer, and IDF soldiers in Israel, private home in New Brunswick, 1pm, 732-3398492 or 732-246-7366 Refa’enu Peer-Led Mood Disorder Support Group, for those with depression, bipolar disorder, and/or related anxiety and their loved ones, Ben Porat Yosef, Paramus, 7:30pm, dena@ refaenu.org, www.refaenu.org
Wed., April 8, Chol Hamoed
Cancer Support Group, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, 4pm, 201-833-3336 Abused Women’s Confidential Support Group, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201-837-9090 Thurs., April 9, Chol Hamoed “Save, Send, Delete: Why Poles and Jews Fight about Polish-Jewish Relations,” Dr. Danusha Goska, Cheng Library, William Paterson University, Wayne, 3:30pm, 973-720-2000 Shabbat, April 11, Last Day of Pesach Educational Prayer Service, spons by the Jewish Learning Experience, includes discussions and
Motzei Shabbat, April 11 No Chametz until 8:45pm Sun., April 12
Mon, April 13
Caregivers Support Group, for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-569-7900
Tues., April 14
“Greeks and Jews during WWII,” Isaac and Diana Dostis, Seton Hall University, South Orange, “We Are Not Alone: Greek Jews and the Holocaust,” 9:15am; “Greeks and Jews during the War: Lives to Save,” 11am; “Moral Courage, 1:15pm, 973-761-9751 Middle School Learning through Experience: Workshop
Presentations by Survivors of the Holocaust: Whoever Saves One Life Saves the Entire World,” includes Keynote Presentation by Nick Winton, son of Sir Nicholas Winton; and presentation, “Cyberbullying In Real Life,” Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, 9am; also Wed., April 15, 9am, 908-526-1200 ext 8524 Yom HaShoah Commemoration and Lunch ‘n’ Learn Panel Discussion: “Memories of Liberation,” Alex Aidekman Family JCC, Whippany, 12 noon, 073-929-3067 Bereavement Support Group, Rabbi Bryan Kinzbrunner, Stein Hospice, Somerset, 4pm, 732-227-1212 “A World Without Jews: The Nazi Imagination from Persecution to Genocide,” Alon Confino, Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, 7:30pm, 848-932-2033 Beit Midrash Learning, Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, 8pm, 973-994-2620
Wed., April 15
Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 1-2:30pm and 7-8:30pm, 201797-1770 Free Tutoring, for students in grades 1-5, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 4:40pm, weineri@maayanot.org Yom HaShoah Seder, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 6:30pm, 718-796-4730 Nechama Comfort: A Support Group Dedicated to Helping All Family Members Who Have Experienced Infant and Pregnancy Loss at Any Time in Their Lives, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-837-9090 Holding Hands Support Group, for families who are grieving the death of a child of any age from any cause, Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-837-9090 “Strength to Strength,” support group for parents whose children ages 15-25 are dealing with chemical dependency, psychological disorders, and/or co-
occurring issues, Dr. Jeffrey Berman, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1403 Yom HaShoah Commemoration, Cong Ahavath Torah, Englewood, 7pm, 201-568-1315 Holocaust Remembrance Evening, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 7:15pm, 732-545-2407 Canvas and Cocktails: Paint with an Instructor, for women, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 7:30pm, 856-874-1500 Shomer Shabbos Boy Scout Meeting, for boys in 6th grade or 11 years old and up, Bais Medrash L’Torah, Rabbi Davis’s shul, Passaic, 8pm, HFishman@rafterpllc.com Tehillim Group, Cong Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck, 8:15pm, 201-2895474, 917-902-9303, or 201-836-3431 Thurs., April 16, Yom HaShoah “A Conference on Medicine, Bioethics and the Holocaust: Reflecting on the Past to Protect the Future,” Drew University, Madison, “The UNESCO Casebook on Bioethics and the Holocaust: An International, Humanitarian Perspective,” Dr. Tessa Chelouche, 9:30am; “Nazi Physicians, Genetic Research, and the Mission of Racial Eugenics,” Patricia Heberer Rice, 10:30am; “Medicine, Ethics, and the Holocaust,” Dr. Michael Berenbaum, 11:30am; kosher lunch, 12:30pm; Survivor Testimony, 2pm; Panel Discussion: “The Lasting Legacy of the Holocaust for Medicine, Ethics, Health Policy, and Human Rights Endeavors,” Dr. Chelouche, Dr. Berenbaum, Ms. Rice, law Prof Michael Perlin, Dr. Allen Keller, and Dr. Arthur Caplan, 3pm; “Heuristic Workshops Dedicated to Brainstorming Ideas on How to Integrate the Lessons of Nazi Medicine into Current Education and/or Outeach within the Medical, Academic, and General Communities, 4:30pm; refreshments, 6pm; “Euthanasia in Germany, Assisted Dying in Europe and the US Today: What Are the Lessons from the Past?” Dr. Caplan, 7pm, 973-408-3000 Holocaust Remembrance Program, includes survivors’ candle-lighting and video of Gene Woods’ Holocaust study program in Europe, Bayonne City Hall, 6pm, 201-436-6900
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 31
New Classes This Month Sundays
Pirkei Avos Shiur, Rabbi Chaim Shapiro, Khal Adas Yeshurun, includes breakfast, Paramus, 8am, 201-967-9898 Support Group for Parents with at-Risk Children, Rabbi Shmuel Gluck, private home in Clifton, 9:30am, bcsufian@aol.com The Technology Awareness Group (TAG), free internet filtering services on all devices, private office in Passaic, 10:30am-1pm, 973-658-5824 Men’s Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 3-4pm, 201-833-0515 ext 205 “Complicated Me: Why Is Teenage Life So Complicated?” for teenagers, Rabbi Mendel Stiefel, includes pizza and sushi dinner, Chabad Center, Rockaway Township, 6pm, 973-625-1525 ext 105
Mondays
Cardio and Core, for women, Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck, 9:15am, RachelAshendorf@gmail.com SAVI Takanot: Domestic Violence Support Group for Orthodox Jewish Women, Liana Goldmintz, LCSW, free and confidential,
The Log
continued from page 30
Yom Hashoah Commemoration: Children’s Opera Brundibar, with students of the Thurnauer School of Music and Ella Weissberger, who played the cat in the original Theresienstadt cast, JCC, Tenafly, 7pm, 201-408-1418 Yom Hashoah Holocaust Memorial Day: “Survivors and Survival,” Howard and Nancy Kleinberg, spons by the Jewish Community Council of Greater Teaneck, at Teaneck High School, 7:30pm, atblancjay@optonline. net, Foxy555@aol.com, or Felicia0221@optonline.net
Fri., April 17
PJ Library Bim Bam Shabbat, for toddlers and pre-schoolers, Barnes & Noble, Palisades Center Mall, West Nyack, 4pm, 845-3624200 ext 180 Carlebach Davening: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 7:15pm, 201833-0515 Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 7:15pm, 973-736-1407 Aviva Sterman, scholar-inresidence, Cong Anshe Chesed, Linden, through Shabbat, April 18, 908-486-8616
Shabbat, April 18
Carlebach Minyan, Cong Darchei Noam, Fair Lawn, 8:45am, rabbidonath@gmail.com Rabbi Gideon Weitzman of PUAH Institute, scholar-in-
residence, Cong Ahavat Shalom of the Teaneck Apartments, at Torah Academy of Bergen County, Teaneck, 8:45am, 201-836-3828 or 212-909-6951 Tefilat Shlomo: The Carlebach Tefila of Riverdale, includes light and healthy Kiddush, at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 9am, 718-796-4730 Shiur, Prof Alan Brill, private home in Teaneck, 5:30pm, shalomk@hotmail.com “Men Are from Mars and Woman Are Also: The Relationship between Men and Women as Seen through Parshat Bereishit,” Shoshana Chanales, Cong Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, 7pm, the.rogovins@gmail.com
Sun., April 19
Art Exhibition: “Jewish Life Cycles: Rites of Passage and Milestones,” spons by the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ and Nahariya, Israel, curated by Sheryl Intrator Urman, at the Belskie Museum of Art and Science, Closter, through Sun., May 3, 201-503-9796 or 201-820-3908 Davening and Bikur Cholim at Daughters of Miriam in Clifton, meet at Cong Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, 8:15am; davening, followed by breakfast and bikur cholim, 8:45am, samapprais@aim.com Family and Teen Mitzvah Day, JCC Rockland, West Nyack, 9am-2pm, 845-362-4400 ext 179
Mount Sinai Medical Center, Manhattan, 2pm, 212-423-2147 “Return of the Exiles: Sefer Ezra,” for high school students, includes pizza and doughnuts, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 6pm, 973-994-2620 “Widows and Widowers: You Are Not Alone,” Judy Brauner, LCSW, JCC, Tenafly, 6:15pm, 201-408-1456, begins March 23 “Establishing Financial Freedom,” Jewish Family Service, Teaneck, 7pm, 201-837-9090 JRecovery Anonymous, peer support group and 12-step program for Jewish alcoholics, addicts, and anyone affected by addiction, including family members and friends, Jewish Family Services, Milltown, 7:30pm, 732-777-1940 “Book of Jeremiah,” Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 7:30pm, 718-796-4730 Women’s Aquacise and Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 7:309:30pm, 201-833-0515 ext 205 Beis Midrash Program, Rabbi Adam Frieberg, Rutgers Hillel,
continued on page 32
Torah Circle and Hebrew School, for special-needs children and teens, in separate groups, art, baking, sports, music, holidays, traditions, and Hebrew with volunteers, Friendship Circle, Livingston, 9:30am, 973-251-0200 Highland Park-Edison Bikur Cholim Event, Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein, The Pines Manor, Edison, 9:30am, 732-640-5545 Fair Lawn Gown Gemach, spons by Chabad of Fair Lawn, 9:30-11:30am, 201-797-1770 Hadassah Youth Aliyah Luncheon: Celebrating Our “Women with Heart,” Stacy Horowitz Greenblatt, honoring Elise Gonzales, Marsha Hines, Paula Kondioti, Rose Reiss, and Rachel Weintraub, at Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, noon, rachel@weintraubworld.net “Exploring Mysteries of Africa from the Jewish Perspective,” Irene Shaland, includes Photo Show: “Face-to-Face with Africa,” by Alex Shaland, Fort Lee Public Library, 2pm, 201-592-3614 Matan: Discover How the Bat Mitzvah Girl Can Connect to Traits Such as Kindness, Faith, Power of Prayer, and Zionism, for girls nearing their 12th birthday in Essex, Morris, and Union Counties, Jennifer Romanoff, private home in Livingston, 2pm, 305332-6036 or 973-900-1341 Bat Mitzvah Club, for girls in grades 5-6 (11-13), Shterna Ka-
minker, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 5pm, 856-874-1500 Jewish Girls Club, for 8th grade girls, Mussie Mangel, includes crafts, food, and relevant Jewish themes, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 5pm, 856-874-1500 Super Sibs, for girls in grades 1-6 who have a special-needs sibling, The Friendship Circle, Paramus, 6:30pm, 201-262-7172 Beyond Bat Mitzvah Club, for girls in grade 7 who have recently celebrated their bat mitzvahs, Shterna Kaminker, Chabad of Cherry Hill, 6:30pm, 856-874-1500 “Soulmates: Jewish Secrets to Meaningful Relationships—Defining Marriage’s Boundaries,” for women, Rebbetzin Altie Kasowitz, spons by the Rosh Chodesh Society, Chabad of West Orange, 7:30pm, 973-325-6311 Shiur, for women 21-25, Rebecca Skaist, private home in Fair Lawn, 8pm, shoshanahrubin@gmail.com “Hakaras HaTov—Gratitude: The Secret to Jewish Success,” Charlie Harary, Esq, spons by Achieving Change through Torah, private location in Highland Park, 8pm, 732-572-8762 Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus Women’s Rosh Chodesh Event, Rebbetzin Sara Frieberg, Rutgers Hillel, New Brunswick, 8:30pm, 732-545-2407 Y
Page - 32
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
New Classes
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 31
New Brunswick, 7:30pm, rabbiadam@rutgershillel.org or 732-545-2407 “Uncoupling: Coping with Divorce and Separation,” Judy Brauner, LCSW, JCC, Tenafly, 7:45pm, 201-408-1456, begins March 23 Beginners Gemara Shiur, Rabbi Chaim Shapiro, Khal Adas Yeshurun, Paramus, 8pm, 201-967-9898 Navi Shiur: The Last Period of Elisha HaNavi’s Life, for women, private home in Spring Valley, 8:15pm, 845-300-4880 Pre-Pesach Series, Rabbi Jay Weinstein, Young Israel of East Brunswick, 8:30pm, 732-254-1860 Torah Portion Class, Rabbi Moshe Yasgur, spons by the Jewish Learning Experience, at Cong Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, or by phone (712-432-0373; access code 947046#), 8:30pm, 201-214-7742
Tuesdays
Training for Hospice Volunteers, by the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group Hospice, private location in Red Bank, 9:30am2pm, 732-224-6933, begins March 24 “Book of Exodus,” Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 10am, 718-796-4730 Bereavement Group: Understanding Your Grief after the Death of Your Child,” spons by the Holy Name Hospice and Palliative Care Services, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, 11:30am, 201-833-3000 ext 7483, begins March 17 Alateen, an anonymous, confidential 12-step program for frum girls ages 9-19 who have friends or family with any addiction or behavioral disorder, Rikki Wisotsky, LCSW, Cong Tiferet Israel, Passaic, 7pm, 973-249-7435 Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus Women’s Shiur and Dinner, Rebbetzin Sara Frieberg, spons by Rutgers Hillel, private home in New Brunswick, 8pm, 732-545-2407 Young Professional Chaburah Class, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler and Rabbi Yosef Sharbat, Cong Ahawas Achim Bnai Jacob and David, West Orange, 9pm, 973-736-1407
Wednesdays
Training for Hospice Volunteers, by the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group Hospice, private location in Monroe, 9:30am-2pm, 732-224-6933, begins March 25 “The Parsha through the Eyes of the Nesivos Shalom,” for women, Chani Juravel, Ohr Somayach, Beit Shvidler, Monsey, 9:45am, 845-425-1370 Krav Maga, for adults and students in grades 9 and up, Maor Tiri, Cong Etz Chaim, Livingston, 7pm, 973-994-2620 The Technology Awareness Group (TAG), free internet filtering services on all devices, private office in Passaic, 8-9:30pm, 973-658-5824
Mazal Tov Mazal Tov to the Bar Mitzvah Boys: Aryeh Alter, Zachary Buller, Michael Chernak, Moshe Drucker, Andy Elbaum, Ikey Gutlove, Billy Krause, Ezra Lynn, Elisha Moshe Mann-Robison, Josh Morris, Isaac Nahmias, Gavi Recht, Jake Rothenberg, Israel Rouemy, Avraham Zev Sobolofsky, Aryeh Teller, Yoni Wilks, and Jason Zucker; and the Bat Mitzvah Girls: Gwen Caplan, Alexandra Degen, Elisheva Feman, Liat Frumer, Gabriella Goesman, Nechama Goldenberg, Samantha Greenberg, Tova Kaplan, Sophia Koffsky, Laina Lumerman, Jessica Maza, Sophia Mazel, Mindy Neubort, Daniella Rothschild, Sarit Schwechter, Ellie Shron, Aaliyah Speiser, Merav Spira, and Eliana Matana Wachstock Y
Women’s Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8-9:30pm, 201-8330515 ext 205 In-Depth Talmud Class: Arvei Pesachim of Masechet Pesachim, Rabbi Jay Weinstein, Young Israel of East Brunswick, 8:30pm, 732-254-1860
Thursdays
“B’chol L’vavcha U’vachol Nafshecha: The Interplay of Torah and Psychology,” Rivka Kahan and Dr. Rayzel Yaish, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, 10am, 201-833-4307, begins April 16 Tractate Megillah and Choshem Mishpat, Dr. Chaim Presby, Cong Ohav Emeth, Highland Park, 8pm, 732-247-3038 The Technology Awareness Group (TAG), free internet filtering services on all devices, private office in Passaic, 8-9:30pm, 973-658-5824 Men’s Swim, Jewish Center of Teaneck, 8-9:30pm, 201-833-0515 ext 205
Fridays
Shabbos Minyan, Yeshiva Bais Hillel Bais Medrash, Passaic, five minutes after candle lighting, 973-472-2948
Shabbat
Shabbos Minyan, Yeshiva Bais Hillel Bais Medrash, Passaic, learning, 8am; Minyan, 9am; Gala Kiddush, 11:30am, 973-472-2948 Free Community Shabbat Lunch, no reservation required, spons by Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County, Teaneck Chabad House, noon, 201-907-0686
Motzei Shabbat
Navi, Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, live via satellite, Young Israel of Fair Lawn (201-797-1800); Cong Ahavas Achim, Highland Park (732247-0532); Cong Tifereth Israel, Passaic; JEC, Elizabeth (908-591-5929); Cong Khal Zichron Mordechai, Monsey (845-356-7188); Cong Keter Torah, Teaneck; Cong Ohr Torah, West Orange (973-669-7320), Cong Bais Torah, Suffern (845-352-1343), 9:30pm
Special
Photography Exhibit: “Remains of the Borscht Belt—The Deterioration and Disappearance of the Catskills Hotels,” Heidi Warner, JCC, West Orange, Mon-Thurs, 5:30am-10pm; Fri, 5:30am6pm; Sun, 7am-7pm, until Sun., April 26, 973–530–3413
Apply Now for Internships
Wakefirn/ShopRite has summer internships in many fields, including IT, Corporate Finance, Human Resources, Limited Partnership, and Marketing. Candidates must be entering their junior or senior years of college with a 2.9 GPA, a valid driver’s license, and transportation, deadline is March 31: http://wakefern.shoprite.com/careers/ summer-internship/. For questions, oksanasaf@yahoo.com Tower Tomorrow Summer Fellowship in Washington, DC, spons by The Tower Magazine, a publication of The Israel Project, a nonprofit educational organization providing factual information about Israel and the Middle East to the press, policymakers, and the public. Candidates are undergraduate or graduate college students who will participate in a rigorous writing seminar and learn about coverage of Israel and the region. Stipend is $2500 and fellows are eligible to apply for monetary grants to help establish campus publications. Deadline to apply is March 20, TowerTomorrow@theisraelproject.org American Friends of Migdal Ohr (which serves over 10,000 orphaned, abused, and/or impoverished children in Israel) is seeking an unpaid, part-time (at least five hours per week) Development and Communication Intern. College or graduate-school student will assist with all marketing communications efforts. Email allyne@MigdalOhrUSA, org with the subject line: Development & Communications Intern Kefida, a free College-Peer Israel Experience, The Jewish Federation of Atlantic County is offering young adults, ages 19-24, to participate in Kefida in the mornings, and be at the leisure in Israel the rest of the day. Contact Yuval@JewishByTheShore.org or 609-381-2285 Y
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
After the Speech were three potential Republican Presidential candidates, Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Dr. Rand Paul (R-KY). While some critics said the letter should have gone solely to Mr. Obama, others said that in public form it still had the same effect. “It was meant to discourage the Iranian regime from signing a deal, but also to
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 33
continued from page 1 pressure the White House into giving Congress some authority over the process,” said Bloomberg News reporter Josh Rogin. “Iran’s ayatollahs need to know before agreeing to any nuclear deal that any unilateral executive agreement is one they accept at their own peril,” said Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR), who wrote the letter.
Danger to America Some observers said it was no coincidence that the lawmakers were prompted to action after hearing Mr. Netanyahu outline the dangers to the US if Iran were allowed to acquire nuclear capability. During his speech, Mr. Netanyahu noted that Iran’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
program is not even part of the negotiations, although those missiles would give the Islamic Republic the means to deliver its potential nuclear arsenal all over the world, including to every part of the US. Mr. Obama responded to the Senators’ letter by announcing that if there is an agree-
continued on page 34
Page - 34
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
After the Speech ment, “we’ll be able to make the case to the American people, and I’m confident we’ll be able to implement it,” he said. Even some of Mr. Obama’s supporters admit that his critics, now armed with Mr. Netanyahu’s arguments, may be able to challenge his case. Iranian Expansionism In any case, even members of the Obama administration, none of whom attended the speech, have felt it necessary to respond to some of the points Mr. Netanyahu made in his speech. For example, Mr. Netanyahu described Iran’s efforts to expand its influence across the Middle East. “Iran’s goons in Gaza, its lackeys in Lebanon, its revolutionary guards on the Golan Heights are clutching Israel with three tentacles of terror. Backed by Iran, Assad is slaughtering Syrians. Backed by Iran, Shiite militias are rampaging through Iraq. Backed by Iran,
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 33 Houthis are seizing control of Yemen, threatening the strategic straits at the mouth of the Red Sea. Along with the Straits of Hormuz, that would give Iran a second choke-point on the world’s oil supply,” he said. A few hours after Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, a US State Department official told reporters that, even if a nuclear deal is reached with Iran, America will “confront aggressively” Iran’s moves to seize power. His comments came as several sources in Arab states made clear that they agreed with Mr. Netanyahu and were urging Mr. Obama to change his Middle Eastern policy, which they claimed has allowed Iran to expand its control. Popular Prime Minister There were strong hints of Mr. Netanyahu’s popularity in the US even before he stood up to speak. While the media focused attention on the 47 Democrat Congressmen who
Teaneck Taxi WORLD CLASS TRANSPORTATION
CAR SERVICE & LIMOUSINE
“Serving over 500 cities worldwide” 10% INSTANT DISCOUNT FOR ONLINE RESERVATIONS 24 HOURS - 7 DAYS A WEEK FOR ALL YOUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS: SEDANS | STRETCHES | MINIVANS | SHUTTLE VANS | BUS CHARTERS WWW.TEANECKTAXI.COM 201-836-8282 | 1-888-441-8294 800 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ 07302 CORPORATE ACCOUNTS | LOCAL & LONG DISTANCE | LICENSED & INSURED
skipped the speech, they represented less than 25 percent of the House. Only eight Democrat Senators did not show up, which means more than 90 percent of Senators and Representatives attended. Those who did not show up blamed Mr. Boehner for issuing the invitation without first discussing the idea with Democrats in Congress and the White House. In January, just after the announcement broke that Mr. Netanyahu had been invited to speak, furious Obama administration officials claimed Mr. Netanyahu had accepted the invitation without first clearing it with the White House. That argument was put to rest when it was revealed that Mr. Netanyahu had waited to make sure the White House had been notified of the invitation before he accepted it. Conditions to Acceptance Rep Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), who boycotted the speech, called Mr. Netanyahu “misguided.” “While success with Iran is far from assured, we must seek to overcome the misguided approach of those like Mr. Netanyahu who would reject any reasonable nuclear agreement,” he said. In his speech, Mr. Netanyahu made it clear that he would accept an agreement as long as it denied Iran the ability to acquire nuclear weapons capability. Although the Obama administration has argued there is no way to accomplish that short of war, Mr. Netanyahu explained to Congress that war should not be necessary to convince the Iranians to relinquish their nuclear weapons aspirations. He suggested retaining or ratcheting up the existing crippling sanctions against Iran until the mullahs in Teheran yield to three conditions: “First, stop its aggression against its neighbors in the Middle East;
second, stop supporting terrorism around the world; and third, stop threatening to annihilate my country, Israel, the one and only Jewish state.” Withdraw the Concessions Two concessions the US has already admitted making to Iran should be withdrawn, he said. The first, he said, is that Iran would be able to retain the entire nuclear infrastructure it has so far managed to build. “According to the deal, not a single nuclear facility would be demolished,” he said. This would leave the Iranian centrifuges spinning and the “breakout” time to create a nuclear weapon “about a year by US assessments and even shorter by Israeli assessment,” he said. He recognized that the deal calls for restrictions to be imposed on Iran’s nuclear program. However, he said that inspectors “document violations; they don’t stop them.” He pointed out that Iran has already defied inspectors on three separate occasions, and therefore can be expected to do so again. A Bomb in Ten Years Legally The second concession is even more dangerous, he said: after a decade, Iran would be allowed to restart its program, thus achieving the right to acquire nuclear weapons while still adhering to the agreement and keeping sanctions at bay. He stressed that if the US and its partners negotiating with Iran are not prepared to insist that Iran change its behavior before an agreement is signed, then at the very least, “they should insist that Iran change its behavior before the deal expires,” when Iran will be allowed to resume its nuclear program. “If Iran changes its behavior, the restrictions would be lifted. If Iran doesn’t change
continued on page 36
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 35
Page - 36
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
After the Speech
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 32
its behavior, the restrictions should not be lifted. If Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act like a normal country,” he said. A Bad Deal He noted that on many occasions, Mr. Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry have insisted that no deal with Iran would be better than a bad deal. Mr. Netanyahu told Congress the deal they were negotiating is so bad “we’re better off without it.” However, the alternative is not war, but, rather, “a much better deal,” he said. “A better deal that doesn’t leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure and such a short break-out time. A better deal that keeps the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in place until Iran’s aggression ends. A better deal that won’t give Iran an easy path to the bomb. A better deal that Israel and its neighbors may not like, but with which we could live, literally. And no country has a greater stake than Israel in a good deal that peacefully removes this threat,” he said. “Nothing New” Despite these concrete suggestions, Mr. Obama—who said he did not watch the speech, but was briefed on it later— insisted the Prime Minister had offered “nothing new” and no “practical alternatives” to the deal with Iran. Nevertheless, the President seems to have responded to the speech by backpedaling on his enthusiasm for the negotiations. Although there were hints that the deal was all but certain, Mr. Obama has told reporters he believes the chances are greater that a deal will not be reached.
Two Jewish Congressmen who boycotted the speech agreed with the President. Rep Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) called Mr. Netanyahu an “alarmist” and a “cheerleader for the US’s greatest single blunder in our history, the Iraq War.” Although he said he had listened to the speech, Mr. Blumenauer insisted the Prime Minister “gave no alternative path forward, just a series of demands.” He denied that those “demands” represented a “path forward.” Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said the speech was “an effort to stampede the US into war once again.” Making It Important But these Congressmen were the exception. In the hours before the speech, tickets for the address were in such high demand that the New York Times compared the event to a first-rate rock concert. Democrats who decided to boycott the speech were besieged with requests for their tickets, and according to the Times, were distributing them “as if they were a form of valuable currency.” “If I had 100 tickets, I’d be the most popular guy in town,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). He said the President’s pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to delay the speech or cancel it, and the White House’s encouragement of a Democrat boycott only called more attention to the address. “They made it the most talked about thing in Washington, and I think it blew up in their face[s]. Everything [Netanyahu] says, people want to hear, and people
wanted to be in that room to listen, they wanted to be there in person. It’s become an historic speech,” said Mr. Graham. Shortly before the speech, Sen Charles Schumer (D-NYP said tickets to hear Mr. Netanyahu were “hotter than fresh latkes.” Mr. Boehner’s office said they had received requests for “ten times” as many tickets as were available, and Rep Lee Zeldin (R-NY), the only Jewish Republican in the House, said he alone could have filled the gallery “in a New York minute.” No Secrets Before Mr. Netanyahu’s address, there were warnings from the White House that it would take offense were he to mention any sensitive information to which Israel was privy on the negotiations with Iran. It would appear that the chances that would happen were slim. In mid-February, the White House and the State Department admitted that sensitive details of the nuclear negotiations were being withheld from Israel because the administration feared Israeli officials would leak such information to the public in an effort to torpedo the talks. “The US is not going to be in a position of negotiating this agreement in public, particularly when we see that there is a continued practice of cherry-picking specific pieces of information and using them out of context to distort the negotiating position of the US,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, making clear that his criticism was directed at Israelis and their supporters. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that one of the steps the administration was taking to ensure that “classified negotiating details stay behind closed doors” is to withhold them from Israel. She also directly blamed Israel for misrepresenting the talks. “I think it’s safe to say that not everything you’re hearing from the Israeli government is an accurate reflection of the details of the talks,” she said, adding that with Israel, “there’s a selective sharing of information.” When he spoke to Congress, Mr. Netanyahu made clear that the only details he would address were those that had already been made public in news reports. Pushing Iran as a Ally In an unsubtle bid to win increased American approval for Iran, the Obama administration had been signaling that
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Iran was becoming an active force seeking to undermine the Islamic State (IS), which—before Mr. Netanyahu spoke— many Americans assumed was the most dangerous Islamist enemy they faced. During his address, Mr. Netanyahu corrected American misconceptions about that assumption. He explained that the battle between Iran and IS was only to determine whether Shiite militant extremists (Iran) or Sunni militant extremists (IS) would dominate. Both sides regard the US and the West in general, including Judaism and Christianity, as the enemy. “Don’t be fooled,” he said, “The battle between Iran and ISIS doesn’t turn Iran into a friend of America. Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam. One calls itself the Islamic Republic. The other calls itself the Islamic State. Both want to impose a militant Islamic empire first on the region and then on the entire world. They just disagree among themselves who will be the ruler of that empire. In this deadly Game of Thrones, there’s no place for America or for Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don’t share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone. So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.” The Greatest Danger He explained that the difference between the two extremists is that “ISIS is armed with butcher knives, captured weapons, and YouTube, whereas Iran could soon be armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs.” The key is to remember that “the greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons,” he said. “To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war. We can’t let that happen,” he said. Alienating or Winning? Before he spoke to Congress, opponents of Mr. Netanyahu’s speech suggested his address could have the effect of alienating some pro-Israel Democrats. This argument claimed that Democrats who might otherwise have been inclined to oppose the President’s position if it seemed too lenient about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, would choose to stand with Mr. Obama if they felt he had been shown disrespect by Mr. Netanyahu.
As Israeli commentator Isi Leibler said after Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, it seemed clear that far from having alienated opponents of the President’s deal, the Prime Minister’s “impassioned exposure of the dangers of capitulation undoubtedly contributed to a tougher approach by Congress—which could overcome a Presidential veto.” Mr. Leibler dismissed the argument— made chiefly by Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents—that his speech to Congress, while stirring, was little more than “theatre.” Mr. Leibler said that while listening to the Prime Minister, he “felt an extraordinary sense of exhilaration that I could live to see the leader of an empowered, tiny Jewish state address the parliament of the world’s most
Page - 37
powerful nation—for the third time—with pride and dignity as a Zionist and receive such enthusiastic standing ovations.” Holocaust Card After Mr. Netanyahu acknowledged Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel, who was in the audience at the personal behest of Mr. Boehner, and made references to Jewish victims of persecution before the birth of the Jewish state, some of the Prime Minister’s opponents berated him for “exploiting the Holocaust.” Mr. Netanyahu’s supporters, including British professor and activist, Alan Johnson, of the British Israel Communications and Research Center, said the
continued on page 39
Page - 38
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Ess Gezint: The New Passover Menu A fabulous new Pesach cookbook is available this season, and it belongs on the shelf of everyone who would like to try something new this year without feeling enslaved to complicated recipes. Renowned food editor and writer Paula Shoyer (author of two older cookbooks for people who know dessert
is the most important part of a meal) has just come out with The New Passover Menu (Sterling Epicure). She includes seder menus, menus for Shabbat Pesach, for the last two days, and for all of chol hamoed. It will add to making sure this is a Chag Kasher v’Sameach, everyone. Y
Coconut Schnitzel with Almond Butter Sauce Chicken 1½-2 lbs chicken scaloppini (or create your own slices that are 2” x 5” x 1/3” thick; or pound boneless chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper with a frying pan) ½ cup matzoh cake meal or potato starch 3 large eggs, beaten ¾ cup matzoh meal, Passover crumbs, or Passover panko 1 cup dried coconut flakes (not shredded coconut)
not toasted 2 tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp black pepper 3 Tbs vegetable oil or more as needed Sauce ½ cup almond butter ¾ cup boiling water 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 Tbs cider vinegar 1 Tbs finely chopped red onion 1 Tbs sugar Salt and black pepper
To make the sauce, whisk the almond butter and boiling water in a medium bowl or 2-cup measuring cup. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and whisk well. May be made 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.
To make the chicken, preheat the oven to 300°. Place the cake meal in one shallow bowl and the eggs in another one. In a third shallow bowl, mix the matzoh meal, coconut flakes, garlic powder, and salt and pepper until well combined. Heat 2 Tbs of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Dip both sides of each slice of chicken into the cake meal. Then dip each piece into the eggs, and finally into the coconut coating. Working in batches, cook each piece of chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden, not cooked through. As each piece finishes browning, remove to a baking sheet. When the frying pan seems dry, add more oil. When all the chicken pieces have been cooked, place in the oven at 300° for 10 minutes. Serve with the almond butter sauce on the side.
Banana Charoset
3 large ripe bananas 2 cups ground walnuts 2 Tbs sugar ½ tsp ground cinnamon pieces
2 Tbs sweet kosher wine 2 apples, shredded 1 cup walnut halves, chopped into ¹/3-inch
Place the bananas, ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and wine into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until the mixture comes together. Transfer to a small bowl, add apples and chopped walnuts, and stir to combine.
On Marcia’s Table: Butterflake’s Best By Marcia Kaplan If you think you’ve tried and enjoyed every kind of challah under the sun—egg, water, chocolate chip, cinnamon, za’atar, seeded and seedless— I’m here to tell you that if you haven’t tried the wonderful new challah made by Richie and his terrific Butterflake bakers, you’re missing out. It’s a beautifully braided challah made from pumpernickel, rye and semolina dough. Not only is it lovely to look at on the Shabbat table, it also tastes excellent. It’s not sweet, but it’s very flavorful. My guests couldn’t get enough.
There’s just one catch: If you’re interested in trying the challah, you need to go early on Friday. It’s the only day they make it and it sells out real fast!
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
After the Speech Prime Minister had a duty as Israel’s leader “to remind the world what happens when murderous tyrants who promise genocide against the Jews, as Iranian leaders have repeatedly done, are appeased.” “To sneer and attack him for doing so, to dismiss his words as ‘playing the Holocaust card,’ was a bloody disgrace,” said Professor Johnson. Mr. Leibler characterized as “miserable” those who berated Mr. Netanyahu for his alleged “exploitation of the Holocaust.” Parallels Many of Mr. Netanyahu’s supporters also appreciated the parallels between the Nazis and the Iranians. Sen. Cruz thanked Mr. Netanyahu for focusing “on the single greatest security threat facing America—the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.” “We’re at a moment in history where echoes of the past can be heard. The nuclear deal being negotiated with Iran, I believe, would be a historic mistake on the same order of magnitude as Munich,” he said, adding that “the promises from the negotiators are ‘peace in our time,’ and yet to allow the theocratic, extreme mullahs in Iran to have nuclear weapon capability increases dramatically the likelihood that those weapons of great destruction will be used to murder billions of people.” Purim Lessons After returning to Israel just in time for Purim, Mr. Netanyahu, while attending a Megillah reading in the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, recalled that in his address to Congress, he mentioned the story of Esther. He told congregants that Hitler is said to have quipped that if the Jews survived his regime, “they will celebrate another Purim.” “The Nazis were beaten, but the Jews did not celebrate,
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 39
continued from page 37
because they managed to destroy a third of our people. There was no king to give us license to defend ourselves, and, even if there had been, we would not have had the resources to do so,” said Mr. Netanyahu. He told the congregants that with the current threats facing Israel, there are “two lessons to learn from Purim.” The first, he said, is to “speak up and scream out against all the dangers facing us before it is too late.” “That is what I did in Washington. I called on the US and its allies not to sign onto the bad deal that is developing with Iran that will be a danger to Israel, the region, and the whole world,” he said. The second lesson is that Israelis must be “ready to defend ourselves by ourselves,” he said. Moving Reference Many Congressmen and Senators seemed to have deeply moved by Mr. Netanyahu’s reference to the Purim story. Rep Louie Gohmert (RTX) said he felt Mr. Netanyahu had fulfilled the role of Queen Esther in exposing the threat posed by Iran—not just to the Jewish people, but to the entire world. Calling the address “fantastic,” Mr. Gohmert said it was “the kind of speech I hoped we would have heard from a US President a number of years ago.” Repercussions But while Israel and Congress seem never to have been closer, relations between the Jewish state and the White House are at an all-time low. This means that no matter who becomes Prime Minister after this month’s election, Jerusalem will have to approach the remaining 22 months of Mr. Obama’s tenure with extreme caution. There are rumors that Israel should no longer expect the
US to exercise its veto power at the UN Security Council to protect the Jewish state from global sanctions. Mr. Obama has made clear that if a left-wing candidate wins in Israel, he intends to try again to force Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders, which most supporters of the Jewish state see as indefensible. Old Threats Mr. Isler pointed out that these threats from the Obama White House were present long before House Speaker John Boehner invited Mr. Netanyahu to address Congress. Almost from the day he assumed office, Mr. Obama has been pressuring Israel to retreat to the 1949 armistice borders. He forced Israel to accept a nine-month freeze on all construction in Judea and Samaria, including the eastern Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem, in a bid to woo the Palestinians to the peace table. The freeze turned out to be useless, and some Israelis believe it contributed to the current housing shortage in the Jewish state. Bias Although Mr. Netanyahu began his address to Congress by lauding pro-Israel actions he attributed to Mr. Obama, many supporters of Israel regard the current administration as distinctly biased against the
Jewish state; and some say against Jews. “Only last month, he trivialized the antisemitic attack on the Paris supermarket as emanating from ‘a bunch of violent, vicious zealots who behead people or randomly shoot a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris,’” said Mr. Leibler. He recalled that last summer, while Israel was responding to thousands of Hamas missiles hurled into civilian areas from Gaza, the administration delayed replenishing arms for the Jewish state. When criticized for this behavior at the height of Operation Protective Edge, the White House characterized the delay as “bureaucratic.” Working against Egypt, Too Towards the end of the war in Gaza, the administration seemed to seize the opportunity to discomfit both Mr. Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. While Cairo was in the midst of trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorists, the Obama administration unsuccessfully tried to replace Egypt with Qatar, one of Hamas’s chief sponsors. Mr. Obama’s hostility towards Egypt stems from Mr. Al-Sisi’s successful overthrow of the Islamist extremist Muslim Brotherhood regime.
continued on page 40
Page - 40
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
European Streets: An Antisemitic Shooting Range Where Classic Jew Hatred Fuses with Radical Islam Throughout Europe, government leaders have re-
sponded to attacks on local Jews and their institutions in a Jekyll-and-Hyde manner. On one hand, after the attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, government leaders decried antisemitism and almost pleaded with local Jewish communities not to flee the continent for safer homes in Israel or the US. At the same time, governments throughout Europe have engaged in anti-Israel activities, including boycotts and rhetoric that demonizes not only the Jewish state, but in effect all Jews who feel an allegiance to it. The Dutch Labor Party (PvdA), the junior partner of the current Dutch government, is an example. The party lists its positions on major political
After the Speech “Netanyahu’s speech could not worsen Obama’s attitude towards Israel,” said Mr. Leibler. Impact on Elections He argued that, given the immense support the Prime Minister and Israel currently enjoy from Congress and the American people, if Mr. Netanyahu is re-elected, the President might “think twice before
issues on its website. On the international affairs subsection for the Middle East, only one item is listed: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. From this website, it would appear that except for this issue, the Middle East is a bastion of peace and quiet. Overlooking the centuries-old Shi’ite-Sunni Muslim conflict, the issue of jihadis returning from the Middle East to wreak havoc in Europe, and the hot revival of the Cold War in Ukraine between the Ukrainians and Russia, the PvdA’s website claims that no other prolonged conflict has had as great an impact on the world as has the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It does not mention the incitement to violence by Palestinians, including both Hamas and the supposedly more moderate Fatah ruling
the PA in Judea and Samaria. While the website faults Israel for the situation, and asks for an investigation of possible war crimes committed in the 2014 Gaza War, it asks Hamas only to stop shooting at Israeli civilian targets in southern Israel. Highlighting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict while omitting mention of all others in the Middle East is manipulative, according to Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, an Israeli commentator. “It is adopting the approach of Arab and Muslim propagandists who want the West to focus entirely on Israel and look away from the many cases of Islamo-Nazism and the other widespread criminality rampant within the Muslim world,” he said. Last summer, a study conducted by the World Zionist Organization (WZO) found that,
from 2013 to 2014, there had been a 436 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in Europe. These included throwing rocks at police officers during an anti-Israel protest in France, attacking Jews with baseball bats in Paris, and firebomb attacks on Jewish properties in Toulouse and Germany. In France alone, the number of antisemitic acts doubled during 2014, when 851 incidents were recorded compared with 423 the previous year. Acts of physical violence jumped from 105 to 241, according to France’s major umbrella Jewish group known as the CRIF. In a statement released less than three weeks after Islamist attacks in Paris left 17 people dead, including four Jewish men taken hostage in a kosher supermarket, the CRIF said the antisemitic acts represent 51
concessions, Mr. Leibler said. Mr. Herzog is running with former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in a party they call the Zionist Union, an amalgam of Mr. Herzog’s Labor Party and Ms. Livni’s Hatnuah Party. If elected, Mr. Herzog will serve as Prime Minister for two years, followed in rotation by Ms. Livni. For his part, Mr. Netanyahu
returned to Israel sounding confident that he had accomplished his mission. “There are more and more voices, especially in the US, but also in other places, that support Israel’s position,” he said, adding that he hopes “these more realistic views will receive tangible expression in the negotiations,” which Israel is closely monitoring, he said. S.L.R.
continued from page 39 embarking on another campaign to marginalize Israel.” If Mr. Netanyahu’s opponent, the much more left-wing Yitzhak Herzog, is elected, Mr. Leibler suspected it would encourage the White House to view the new Israeli government as more pliable. This would intensify White House pressure on Israel to make further
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
Ad With Coupon
Bounce! Trampoline Sports . . . . . . . . . 14 Chopstix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ShopRite Pesach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7 Teaneck Road Bagels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Burial Services
Eden Memorial Chapels . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Camps & Summer Programs
Camp Regesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Camp Naim in Costa Rica . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Hotshots Summer Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Ramapo Col.’s Summer Youth Prog. . 25
Car Service
Teaneck Taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Catering Halls
Simcha Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Charities
Donate Your Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Umbrella Tzedaka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Computer Services
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 41
Index of Advertisers Medical Services
Employment Opportunities
Senior Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Events/Entertainment
Holy Name Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychotherapy, Chana Simmonds . . 43
Bounce! Trampoline Sports . . . . . . . . . 14 4/6-8: NCSY Six Flags Great Adventure . 8 5/13: NORPAC Mission to D.C. . . . . . . . 37
Miscellaneous
Home Products & Services
Jeff Wilks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
American General Windows . . . . . . . . Devora Farrell, Pesach Cleaning . . . . . Shalom Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teaneck Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kosher Restaurant, Take-Out
43 38 43 10
Butterflake Bakery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Cake & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Chopstix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Dovid’s Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Ma’adan Passover Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ShopRite Pesach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7 Teaneck Road Bagels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Glitter Galore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Musician
Real Estate
House for Sale, West Orange . . . . . . . . 46 Ruby Kaplan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Passaic Apartments & Office Space . 42
Travel & Vacations
Costa Rica Kosher Adventures . . . . . . Kosher Jerusalem Rentals . . . . . . . . . . Kosherica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marco Polo Pesach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MatzaFUN Tours Passover . . . . . . . . . . Passover with “Flakey” Jake . . . . . . . . . Quality Hotel, Montreal . . . . . . . . . . . .
19 40 48 11 17 35 12
Rivkie.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Antisemitism
percent of all racist acts committed in France, even though Jews represent only one percent of the French population. France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, estimated to be between 500,000 and 600,000. It also has the continent’s largest Muslim population, estimated at approximately five million. According to the WZO, there were increases elsewhere in the world, too, including a 1200 percent rise in the number of antisemitic incidents in South America, an increase of 600 percent in South Africa, and an increase of 800 percent in Australia and its neighboring islands constituting what is generally referred to as Oceania. There was an increase of 127 percent in the US and 100 percent in Canada. But the WZO said France is currently the most dangerous country in the world for Jews, a fact already noted by members of the French-Jewish community who have been immigrating, especially in Israel,
continued from page 40 in record numbers. “The ongoing incitement against the State of Israel in the world media, the joining of various ‘human rights’ groups with pro-Arab organizations and neo-Nazi institutions, is translated by an angry, brainwashed mob into antisemitic incidents in which Israeli flags are burned, mezuzot are uprooted from homes of Jews, Jewish shops are torched, and the deligitimization of Israel undermines the security of hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world,” said Yaakov Hagoel, head of the World Zionist Organization’s Department for Activities in Israel and Countering Antisemitism. He equated 2014 with the era just before the outbreak of World War II. “The dimensions are enormous and incomprehensible,” he said. Reports from Europe last month showed that the antisemitism there is worsening. In most cases, the perpetrators of these acts are young
Muslim men. The attacks in France and Denmark show that the Islamists’ first target is a group seen to have insulted Islam, such as the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris and the free-speech conference, “Art, Blasphemy, and the Freedom of Expression,” in Copenhagen, featuring Lars Vilks, a 68-yearold artist who has faced multiple death threats for drawing cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed. Another group represented at the conference was the French-based FEMEN, which has staged nude protests at churches and mosques. Inna Shevchenko, a leader of FEMEN, attended; Francois Zimeray, the French ambassador to Denmark, was also at the conference. The second target is usually local police, and the last is a Jewish institution. In Paris, it was a kosher supermarket; in Copenhagen, it was the synagogue. The attack on the shul occurred about 1am Motzei Shabbat, well after the syna-
gogue was closed, except for a bat mitzvah party with about 50 people, including many children, that was being held in the social hall. Because of the earlier attack on the café, a cadre of police were stationed outside the synagogue. The only non-government protection was from Dan Uzan, a 38-year-old private guard from the Jewish community, who was shot and killed by the terrorist, Omar El-Hussein, a 22-year-old Danish-born Muslim who police believe was radicalized in Danish prisons. According to a Lebanese website, Elnashra, Mr. El-Hussein’s father was a PalestinianArab, and his mother was Jordanian. The site reported that his parents had resided in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon before moving to Denmark in 1985. Mr. El-Hussein was born in 1992 and never resided in the camp or even visited it. Two weeks before embarking on his rampage,
continued on page 42
Page - 42
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Antisemitism Mr. El-Hussein was released from prison after serving a term for aggravated assault. Hours before approaching the synagogue, Mr. El-Hussein killed Finn Nørgaard, a 55-yearold film director attending the free-speech event who stepped outside. Mr. El-Hussein also wounded five Danish police officers. Danish intelligence said he was inspired by the Islamist attacks in Paris. Two other Danish Muslims (who are believed to have advised Mr. El-Hussein) have also been arrested. According to Eva Blum, a Copenhagen-based Jewish journalist who was at the bat mitzvah celebration, the party guests took shelter in the shul’s basement when they heard the shots and remained there for hours after the shooting. “Someone shouted that the dancing and singing should stop and that we should all go down to the basement. First, we were in one room together, and then some of us moved into a second, more secure room. We realized something bad had happened, and we stayed where we were, even though it was very hot,” she said. They had no idea what was happening until the father of the bat mitzvah girl heard the police and security guards talking. He told the adults that
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 41 Mr. Uzan had been shot. The children were told that there had been an attack and that they were being protected. Rabbi Yair Melchior, the Chief Rabbi of Denmark, characterized Mr. Uzan as “irreplaceable.” A graduate of the community’s Jewish school, Mr. Uzan began serving as the shul’s security guard at an early age. He received a degree in politics and lived in Israel, where he learned to speak Hebrew fluently. As he did after the attack in Paris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his country’s condolences to the Danish people and the Jewish community, and called on all Jews living in Europe to immigrate to Israel. “Jews have been murdered again on European soil only because they were Jews, and this wave of terrorist attacks— including murderous anti-Semitic attacks—is expected to continue. Of course, Jews deserve protection in every country but we say to Jews, to our brothers and sisters: Israel is your home. We are preparing and calling for the absorption of mass immigration from Europe. I would like to tell all European Jews and all Jews wherever they are: Israel is the home of every Jew,” he said. Naftali Bennett, Israeli Diaspora Minister and head of the Jewish Home Party, agreed,
telling the Danish-Jewish community, “We will not agree to get used to the point where people can just shoot the Jews in the streets of Europe. You cannot make the streets an antisemitic shooting range. The State of Israel is standing with you at this difficult time and is ready to help.” He said that while the “new antisemitism” is cloaked in antiIsrael rhetoric, “it’s the same old thing, classic antisemitism fusing with radical Islam, which is growing in Europe.” There are about 8,000 Jews in Denmark—most of them in Copenhagen—2,000 of whom are active members of the Jewish community. Last summer during the conflict in Gaza, windows were smashed in Copenhagen’s Jewish School, Carolineskolen, and antisemitic graffiti was spraypainted on the walls. Rabbi Melchior, said he was “disappointed” by Mr. Netanyahu’s call for emigration, saying that he and other Jews in Copenhagen do not want to “let terror win.” “Terror is not a reason to move to Israel. Hopefully, the security should do what they do, but our lives have to continue naturally. Terror’s goal is to change our lives, and we won’t let it,” he said. He suggested the Danish community’s first line of action was “to gather and be there for each other.” Rabbi Melchior is the son of former Labor Minister Rabbi Michael Melchior who supported the Oslo Accords and still believes in “efforts to conduct a dialogue and to build coalitions with the world around us, including with Islam.” Jeppe Juhl, a spokesman for the Danish-Jewish community, thanked Mr. Netanyahu for his “concern,” but, on behalf of the community, said, “We are Danish—we’re Danish
Jews, but we’re Danish—and it won’t be terror that makes us go to Israel. So we understand his concern for our well-being and we value his concern, but we are Danish and we’re staying in Denmark. If we move to Israel, it’s for other reasons.” French President Francois Hollande responded to Mr. Netanyahu’s call with a statement that Jews were welcome in Europe and France. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who condemned the terror attacks on Jews in Paris and Copenhagen as acts of “Islamofascism,” said he “regretted” Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks and accused the Israeli Prime Minister of making them as part of his re-election campaign. “My message to French Jews is: France is wounded with you and does not want you to leave,” said Mr. Valls. The French officials’ comments came after a chilling expose on French TV in which a journalist, Zvika Klein, walked through Parisian streets with a kippah and tzitzit. The camera caught the resulting insults, including spitting, and threats and general attempts at humiliation at the hands of Muslim passers-by. Mr. Valls himself was the target of an antisemitic remark directed at him because his wife, Anne Gravoin, is Jewish. During a TV interview, former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas was asked if Mr. Valls is “under Jewish influence.” Mr. Dumas replied, “Probably. Everyone knows he is married to someone, a respected person by the way, who has influence over him.” Many French Jews still recall the incident in February 2006, when French-Jewish Ilan Halimi was found dead on a street in Paris after having been kidnapped and tortured by a Muslim gang over a three-week period. While
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 43
“Honor the Professional According to Your Need”
the gang wanted money from Mr. Halimi’s family and community, according to news reports, they admitted they tortured him “with particular cruelty simply because he was Jewish.” According to the former Danish Chief Rabbi Bent Lexner, the attack on the synagogue was not a surprise, due to Denmark’s activity against Islamists in Afghanistan and ISIS. “We know Denmark is on the top list of people who state terrorist attacks in Europe,” said Rabbi Lexner. He did not think the attack would prompt mass Aliyah, chiefly because most of those interested in immigrating to the Jewish state have already done so, although he conceded there might now be a few more families who are ready to leave. In response to the attacks and world-Jewish leaders urging protection for the local Jewish communities, Danish Prime Minister Helle ThorningSchmidt told reporters that “Jews are a very important part of Danish society.” “I say to the Jewish community—you are not alone,” she stressed, adding that “attacks against Jews hurt all of us.” She promised to address the fears being voiced by the Jewish community and that local security forces would remain vigilant in efforts to
prevent similar attacks from occurring in the future. The rhetoric echoed those of French government officials after the attacks in Paris. The same words were heard in the middle of February after 300 Jewish graves were defaced in a cemetery in the region of Sarre-Union in Alsace in northeastern France. Five boys, ages 15-17, have been arrested, but, according to prosecutors, there is no indication they were targeting the Jewish community. One of the boys reportedly said they were unaware the cemetery was for Jews. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the European Jewish Association, said EU countries tend to “bury their heads in the sand and do not act to prevent the phenomenon [of antisemitism] in either security or education.” Pointing out that the Danish police were guarding the synagogue only because of the earlier attack on the café, Rabbi Margolin accused European governments of not yet internalizing the need to secure all Jewish institutions “24/7.” If the police had not shot and killed the gunman, he might have been able to enter the synagogue and confronted the celebrants at the bat mitzvah party. In a disturbing trend, despite words from heads of state that are intended to let the
Jewish community know that antisemitism will be fought, the European courts have been deeming antisemitic activities legitimate forms of expression to convey displeasure with the State of Israel. Last month, an Austrian who was identified only as “Ibrahim” posted on Facebook a picture of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler along with a fictitious quote: “I could have annihilated all the Jews in the world, but I left some of them alive so you will know why I was killing them.” He also called on Allah to “annihilate the Jewish state.” A fellow Facebook user noticed the postings and reported them to the police, who launched an investigation, not so much because they were antisemitic, but because Austrian law bans glorification of the Nazis. “Ibrahim,” a 29-year-old barber in Linz, justified his rant
in the context of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza last summer. According to the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten newspaper, Linz’s prosecutor accepted Ibrahim’s argument and closed the case, ruling that he had simply been expressing “displeasure toward Israel.” Outraged Jewish groups, including the Austrian-Israel Society, said the prosecutor’s ruling “legitimizes antisemitic agitation through Austria’s judiciary.” As a result of the uproar, a more senior prosecutor said he would re-evaluate the case. In Germany, where a new eight-person commission on antisemitism does not include a single Jew, the situation is similar. While a spokeswoman for Germany’s interior ministry told reporters that the question of religious affiliation of the ex-
continued on page 46
Page - 44
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
Letters to the Editor The Destruction at the Mosul Museum
Speaking with great sadness on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a museum whose collection proudly protects and displays the arts of ancient and Islamic Mesopotamia, we strongly condemn the destruction by the Islamic State at the Mosul Museum as an act of catastrophic destruction to one of the most important museums in the Middle East. The Mosul Museum’s collection covers the entire range of civilization in the region, with outstanding sculptures from royal cities such as Nimrud, Nineveh, and Hatra in northern Iraq. This mindless attack on great art, on history, and on human understanding constitutes a tragic assault not only on the Mosul Museum, but on our universal commitment to use art to unite people and promote human understanding. Such wanton brutality must stop, before all vestiges of the ancient world are obliterated. Thomas P. Campbell Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, NY SLR: In Gaza in 1965, Egyptian archaeologists thought they had discovered a Byzantine church with the mosaic of an angel playing a harp. Further excavation proved it was a synagogue, and the mosaic, which dated back to the sixth century CE, was of David wearing a crown and playing a lyre, labeled in Hebrew. When the David discovery was made public, Arabs gouged out the mosaic of David’s face. When Israel captured Gaza in 1967, the mosaic was transferred to the Israel Museum for restoration and is now on show at the Museum of the Good Samaritan, located on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road, near Ma’ale Adumim. As Mr. Campbell must know, the Islamic State plans to take over Europe before it heads for America. We just hope the last European to leave the continent remembers that we have some pretty important works of art in those cute museums. It would be nice if another generation gets to see the Mona Lisa.
An Open Letter to Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Who Boycotted PM Netanyahu’s Speech
Dear Representative Schakowsky: In the past, you have said you have an innate reaction to support Israel manifest in your Jewish DNA. At your press conference following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic speech before Congress, you said something different, namely that what you had heard felt to you like “an effort to stampede the US into war once again.” I gather from this remark that you are not a student of history. As you should recall, during the first Gulf War, Israel remained silent. As the Iranians do today, Saddam Hussein repeatedly threatened to destroy the Jewish State. It was reported and confirmed that, for years, he provided significant funds to the families of Palestinian terrorists who lost their lives attacking Israel’s civilian population. In total, Iraq launched 88 Russian SCUD missiles, 46 were fired at Saudi Arabia and 42 at Israel’s civilian population. Respecting the desires of the US, Israel did not respond. I do not recall a nation able to respond to an attack on its home soil and against its civilian population, not acting on its
internationally recognized right to respond in kind to an act of war. Do you? The last person in the world who wants war with Iran is Netanyahu. He knows that the Iranians’ first target, whether Israel is involved in that war or not, will be the civilian population of his nation. Netanyahu took the unusual step of appearing before Congress, with the knowledge that our President was not in favor of his action. Contrary to what the American press has reported, that action may very well hurt him in the upcoming Israeli elections. He was motivated by one issue only: his desire to protect the civilian population of Israel and the very survival of his nation and the world. It is the Prime Minister’s assessment, as well as that of the majority of Americans, that what we know of the negotiations by the US with Iran, will lead to Iran’s becoming a nuclear power. Iran already has the ability to deliver a nuclear warhead to Israel and is in the process of developing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles that would enable it to deliver a nuclear warhead to New York and Washington. But the first bomb it launches will be at Israel. The Prime Minister believes that a tougher stance in negotiations with Iran on the part of the US will yield the goal we all seek: an Iran unable to develop a nuclear bomb. Your cynical conclusion that Netanyahu would like nothing better than to have the US enter into a war with Iran, thus allowing American blood to be shed in a confrontation that would significantly accrue to the benefit of Israel, has been from time immemorial one of the traditional canards of antiSemitism: that Jews manipulate the world to their own benefit. You have forgotten that from the very birth of the Jewish State, it has been Israeli policy not to involve American troops in its defense. The Prime Minister is himself a seasoned warrior on behalf of his nation. He lost his brother in the famous Entebbe raid. He fully understands the horrors of war. I understand your partisan politics, your desire to stand with our President. Yet, to mouth an accusation against the Prime Minister of Israel which smacks of classical antisemitism is unacceptable even from a partisan politician. Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz Chicago, IL To fax this letter to Ms. Schakowsky, use 202-226-6890
The Unthinkable Is Now Thinkable
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu powerfully described in unmistakable terms the threat that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose to Israel, the region, and the world. Afterwards, I thanked him for presenting the Iranian threat in such clear and concise terms for all to understand. Every Member on the House floor felt the Prime Minister’s passion and resolve to confront this challenge. For President Obama and his team, Iran is a problem to manage. For Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is a threat to his country’s existence. Critics must now deal with the substance of the Prime Minister’s concerns, which I have long shared. The Foreign Affairs
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Page - 45
“Thought Is the World of Freedom” (R’ Dov Ber of Mazeritch) Committee has consistently raised concerns with the troubling outlines of this agreement: How does an Iran with industrial-scale enrichment capacity—key bomb-making technology—make the US and Israel safer? How does an Iranian nuclear program, which will spur similar programs among neighboring rivals, make the Middle East less combustible? How does it make sense for an agreement with a revolutionary regime—that has been in power since 1979—to expire after just ten years? Indeed, negotiators have a long way to go to get to an agreement that will be in the long-term national security interests of the US. The ‘unthinkable’ of a nuclear Iran is now thinkable, with all of the dire consequences it would mean for our allies in the region. The Prime Minister underscored, bolded, and capitalized the tough questions: How will negotiators from the US and our partners respond? Deal or no deal, Congress will soon have its say on these negotiations. This is crunch time for the US and Israel regarding the Iranian and growing terrorist threat in the region. Mr. Netanyahu’s speech was historic. The Prime Minister got many standing ovations for his speech. House Speaker John Boehner deserves one for making it happen. Rep Ed Royce (R-CA) Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee Washington, DC
What You Can Do
We are living in historic times. Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu came to speak before a joint session of our Congress, to plead for the safety of our beloved Israel. He explained with clarity and detail, the tremendous threat that Iran poses, not only to Israel, but to the entire free world. If you watched the speech, you may have felt helpless and depressed at this grave and serious world problem. Seeing Eli Wiesel in the audience was a stark reminder of the Holocaust, and a time not so long ago. However, as Bibi so eloquently said, “The days when the Jewish people remain passive in the face of genocidal enemies are over.” Gone also is a time when the American-Jewish voice is silent. As an American, you have the ability to do one of the most important things that you can for the Jewish state: be politically active on behalf of Israel.
Israel needs us now more than ever. If you go to this site: https://ohsaynation.com/#!compose?i=28&t=37& you can quickly and easily send an important message to the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and the Senate Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance, encouraging them to support S. 269, the “Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015,” introduced by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The bill would impose strict sanctions on Iran if the ongoing diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran (and the rest of the P5+1) fail to achieve an agreement by the June 30, 2015 deadline. This bill has already passed the Senate Banking Committee 18-4 and we are seeking additional Co-Sponsors. We also need co-sponsors for the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which establishes a procedure for Congressional review of any nuclear agreement with Iran, and if necessary allows for no sanctions relief to be granted. On such a crucial matter to US national security, Congress must assert his historical role in foreign policy, review any agreement, and object if a bad agreement is reached. Please call Senator Schumer at 212-486-4430, Senator Gillibrand at 212-688-6262, and Senator Booker at 973-639-8700 or 856-338-8922, and ask them to cosponsor the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act This is critical to the safety of Israel, America and the entire free world! Dr. Ben Chouake Englewood, NJ Dr. Ben Chouake is president of NORPAC, a non-partisan political action committee whose primary purpose is to support candidates and sitting members of the Senate and House of Representatives who demonstrate a genuine commitment to the strength, security, and survival of Israel. 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) 569-2845. The FAX number is (201) 569-1739. The email address is susan@jewishvoiceandopinion.com
Page - 46
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
Antisemitism perts on the commission was not a criterion in the selection process, Anetta Kahane of the Berlin-based Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which promotes human rights, said, “Nobody would even think of creating a conference on hatred of Islam without Muslims or a round table on the discrimination of women without women.” The spokeswoman, who said department policy requires her to remain anonymous, said the commission— which is creating a report to be handed over to German’s parliament within two years—would invite various Jewish groups to address them. The new report is supposed to be the basis for a government discussion on how to tackle antisemitism, which has been on the rise in Germany. This commission is the second such attempt by Germany to deal with antisemi-
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice and Opinion”
continued from page 43 tism. Jewish leaders criticized the earlier commission’s 2011 report for not bringing about any changes. More than 100,000 Jews make their homes in Germany. Last summer, protesters waving PA flags and pictures of the late Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat shouted antisemitic slogans at rallies against Israel’s military action in Gaza. In dozens of videos, crowds in Berlin exclaimed, “Allahu Akbar (Allah is great) and Death to Israel.” In one particularly shocking video, thousands of demonstrators chanted, “Jew, Jew, cowardly pig, come on out and fight on your own.” A Berlin imam openly prayed for the annihilation of Zionist Jews, asking Allah to “kill them to the very last one.” After Mr. Netanyahu’s call for European Jews to make Aliyah, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country
was “glad and also grateful” to have a Jewish community. She told reporters the German government and its officials will do everything possible to ensure the safety of GermanJewish institutions and citizens and that it was a “disgrace” that Jews in Germany faced insults, threats, or violence. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, fearing a “pan-European epidemic” of antisemitic attacks, said “condemnation is insufficient.” In an open letter addressed to European Council President Donald Tusk, the Wiesenthal Center’s director for international relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, noted that if the office of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris or the free-speech conference had not also been attacked, “the kosher supermarket and synagogue would fall into the forgotten litany of antisemitic incidents in Europe.” Dr. Samuels issued a call for a “European-Union wide conference of States, NGOs, law enforcement, Internet experts, interfaith leaders, and educators to combat antisemitism on every front.” In Manchester, England, where antisemitic incidents have soared by 80 percent in the past year, a petition with 2,500 signatures requested that the Palestinian flag be flown in front of the town hall. The incidents include verbal abuse, physical attacks, vandalism, desecration of cemeteries, and requests to boycott Kedem, a cosmetics shop which sells Dead Sea products. According to Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan, Manchester has a strict policy of tackling hate crimes, defining it as a crime committed against someone because of their disability, race or ethnic-
ity, religion or belief, or sexual orientation and transgender identity. This background prompted Manchester-based journalist Richard Mather to suggest that the Greater Manchester Police take the lead and categorize anti-Zionism rhetoric and imagery as incitement to racial hatred. “When an individual or group threatened to harass a person or a group of people because of their pro-Israel attitudes, that is a hate crime. In the case of the Kedem protests, incitement took the form of words, pictures and videos. It also included information posted on YouTube and other social media,” he said. Mr. Mather, who is not Jewish, dismissed the argument that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. “Of course it is,” he said, “but it is something more. It is an irrational and prejudicial hatred of the State of Israel and her supporters—both Jews and gentiles.” He explained that because so many anti-Zionists claim not to be antisemitic, “anti-Zionism must be exposed as a particular kind of hatred if it is to be contested.” To justify their claim, some anti-Zionists point to the tiny minority of Jews who are also anti-Israel. To Mr. Mather, this means only that “anti-Zionism” and “anti-Zionist” can become useful epithets to be directed against Jews and Gentiles who incite hatred against the Jewish State and its supporters. “Anti-Zionism should be treated with the same public disgust as homophobia and misogyny. In other words, anti-Zionists should be publicly and legally ostracized,” he said. This would mean classifying terms of abuse, such as
http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com “Zio-Nazi,” “Zionists are the Nazis of the Middle East,” and any comparisons of Israel with Nazi Germany as hate speech, he said, whether it occurs on the street, in the media, or on college campuses. “Defacing the Israeli flag with a swastika is incitement to hatred and must be seen as such,” he said. The same would be true of applying double standards to Israel, requiring behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation. “Denying Israel’s right to exist and/or calling for the State of Israel to be dismantled or destroyed is a form of hate speech. Calling for a war against an entire country and attempting to abolish the Jewish State is incitement to genocide,” he said. He pointed out that Zionism was born out of Europe’s inability to accept Jews into their societies. “Now after having achieved
March 2015 / Adar-Nissan 5775
the goal of Jewish self-determination in the Middle East, along comes anti-Zionism, which essentially denies Jews a homeland. So where are Jews expected to go? Europe has made it clear that Jews are not welcome. Therefore, with nowhere else to go, the only logical alternative is the disappearance of the Jewish people. That is anti-Zionism and it is a form of racial hatred,” he said. Without such a designation, Europe is doomed to repeat the scenario during World War II, when Jews were refused entry to virtually all countries, including the US. “It’s time to put anti-Zionists on the defensive. Despite their façade of concern for human rights, do they believe that Jews are not entitled to exist as a people?” he said. Israeli Foreign Minister and chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Liberman, agreed. “The entire in-
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
ternational community should no longer settle for declarations and rallies against this terror, but should shake the rules of political correctness and maintain a bitter war of right against Islamist terrorism and its roots,” he said. Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky applauded the long-term plan recently approved by the Israeli Cabinet to help absorb thousands of potential immigrants. Without this, he said, thousands of Jews fleeing Europe might prefer Canada, the US, or Australia over Israel. He said he was gratified to see Israeli leadership actively encouraging Jews from the Diaspora to immigrate to Israel. However, Israel would have to follow through and provide solutions, especially in housing, he said. Many would-be immigrants have no more than $70,000 in the bank, which is not sufficient to buy an apartment in
Page - 47
Israel. The situation was different for Russian immigrants in the 1980s and early ‘90s who were given special mortgage rates and buildings for immigrants. “Without these, they will look elsewhere,” he warned. He recognized that the media sometimes calls him “the prophet of doom” regarding European Jewry. But he is certain “there is no future for Jews in Western Europe.” “It can take five years or 20 years, but there is a strengthening of the Islamist community and the growing hatred of Israel from the liberal community. These two forces make Europe a very uncomfortable place for Jews,” he said, adding that while he does not know how many years it will be before the mass exodus, “they need to know the nearest and most attractive option is Israel.” While 7,000 immigrants arrived in Israel in 2014, some 15,000—especially from France—are expected in 2015.
Jewish Voice and Opinion PO Box 8097 Englewood, NJ 07631
Periodicals POSTAGE PAID at Englewood, NJ & additional offices