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20 ADAR I 5774 • FEBRUARY 20, 2014 • VOLUME XXXVIII, NUMBER 4 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

Campaign thank you event date changed to March 12

Rabbi and stand-up comic to perform in Syracuse

By Marianne Bazydlo The Jewish Federation of Central New York will present a comedy night featuring Rabbi Bob Alper in a 90-minute program on Wednesday, March 12, at Temple Concord, to thank donors to the 2014 Annual Campaign. The event will begin with a kosher wine tasting at 6 pm, followed by Alper’s performance at 7 pm. It will be open to all donors who have made a minimum gift of $18 to the 2014 Annual Campaign.

The event was originally scheduled for March 13, but the date was changed to one day earlier. There will be a minimal fee to attend and reservations will be held at the door. For information or to reserve seats, call 445-2040, ext. 102.

Adults and children 11 and older will be welcome. Since similar events with Alper in other communities have sold out, and seating is limited at Concord, organizers suggest that donors reserve

presented in a way that’s and their seats early. Parking will 100 percent clean. His humor be available at Temple Concord has been described as fast-paced and area lots. and sophisticated, yet gentle and Campaign Chair Phil Holstein unhurtful: all in all, a charming said, “This Federation event is and affable comedian.” one of the most important of Alper describes himself as the year. It is the community’s “the world’s only practicing opportunity to come together to clergyman doing stand-up comcelebrate our generosity and to be edy... intentionally.” A native thankful for our collective ability of Providence, RI, Alper is a to help our fellow Jews. Our goal graduate of Lehigh University. this year is to have 2014 people contribute to the Campaign, Rabbi Bob Alper He was ordained at Hebrew which is about 100 more than last year. Union College in Cincinnati, and is the first We hope to see hundreds of you at Temple Jew to earn a doctorate from the Princeton Theological Seminary.

Concord for this fun evening.”

He is the author of three books, “Life Federation President/CEO Linda Alexander said, “Bob’s unique background Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This,” a – he’s an ordained rabbi who served con- collection now in its fifth printing; the gregations for 14 years and holds a doctor- award-winning full-color cartoon book “A ate from Princeton Theological Seminary Rabbi Confesses”; and the newly-published – prepared him well for a 24-year comedy “Thanks. I Needed That.” He has also career with wonderfully unique material produced two best-selling comedy CDs

and a 102-minute DVD, “What are you... a comedian?”

Sirius/XM satellite radio plays Alper’s comedy routines several times daily, often between Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby. He has been seen on “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” Showtime, the BBC and CNN. He resides in rural Vermont with his wife, Sherri, a psychotherapist, and has said that “professionally, [he makes] people laugh; while she helps people cry.”

Free parking will be available in the Temple Concord lot, 910 Madison St.; at the 1200 East Genesee St. medical office building; and in the parking lot of Grace Church, 819 Madison St. There is also a Syracuse University parking lot at 404406 University Ave., but there is a fee. For a map of all available parking, visit www. jewishfederationcny.org.

For additional information, see the advertisement on page 8.

Community Program Fund Grants adults and Jewish professionals in active Jewish study, using fundamental ideas in Jewish mysticism to engage post-college Jewishs in a deeper understanding and involvement of Judaism in an enjoyable manner and setting.

See “Grants” on page 5

Our goal is 2014 donors in 2014!

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To date, we have 1,120 donors.

Federation's 2014 Campaign now stands at $408,719. lives in CNY an da le’s p r eo

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to forces that drive young innovators.” This should enhance the quality of the materials used to create and bring in expert speakers in the STEM fields.

The Rabbi Jacob H. Epstein High School of Jewish Studies – Shalshelet CNY has been designed to create a “stronger, more Jewishly-educated and more connected community” by encouraging students at the Rabbi Jacob H. Epstein High School of Jewish Studies to become madrichim (classroom assistants) in the religious schools of Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas, Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord, as well as encourage the madrichim in the religious schools to become Epstein students.

Jewish Music and Cultural Festival, musical reach-out to teenagers – This grant will pay for a band to present a United Synagogue Youth-endorsed musical program and workshop, sponsored by JMAC, that will be open to the entire Central New York Jewish teenage community.

Judaic Heritage Center of Central New York – Jewish Archives is a program that will hire the archivist at the Onondaga Historical Association to organize, index and permanently store records, photos and artifacts of the Central New York Jewish community and make them accessible for future generations.

Chabad House and SyraJews (JCC) – Kabbalah and Beer is a collaborative program designed to involve young

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the people who teach local children. It will include a day of learning; implementation by the teachers of what they have learned; individual follow-ups with the program presenters; sharing their learning with the communities where they teach; and a financial bonus for completion of the process.

Syracuse Jewish Family Service – The Kol Chai Program’s goal is to ensure that the Syracuse Jewish Family Service community resources are spent wisely and to the greatest effect, and that Jewish families are assisted in preventing crises or enabled to emerge from crises with the necessary resources, life skills and koach to be able to care for themselves and face a better future.

Judaic Heritage Center of Central New York – Stories from the Syracuse Jewish community will be included in a one-hour video that will provide a historic framework of reference for future generations. In addition, a 10-15 minute video on the Federation agencies will be produced to reveal the impact and value of the supported agencies in the community so that it can be used by the Federation to help raise funds.

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center – The Early Childhood Yachad Program at the JCC will support children with developmental delays and special needs throughout the 2014-15 school year and 2015 summer camp. The funds will go toward professional consultation, supplemental services and in-service teacher training.

Syracuse Hebrew Day School – Constructing Innovators: Creative Construction Club recognizes a need for students to nurture innovation, particularly in the STEM areas. The program will allow time during the day at school intended to “shape, build, create and invent, thereby opening minds

Jew

By Linda Alexander The Jewish Federation of Central New York awarded $77,295 in funding from its Community Program Fund. The Community Program Fund Grants are funded through last year’s Federation Annual Campaign and will support 14 programs offered by local Jewish agencies, schools, organizations and synagogues.

These programs will receive financial support from the Community Program Fund: Menorah Park – The Forget-Me-Nots Chorus Program will help people with dementia to connect with their caregivers through participating in music.

Syracuse Hebrew Day School – Participants of the Club 56 Youth Leadership Project for Upstate New York want to expand it to the six schools that comprise the Upstate New York Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. It would serve as a recruitment and retention tool for all of the schools, and the project has the potential to go national.

Hillel at Syracuse University – For the Hillel Alternative Spring Break, students will travel to Moore, OK, to complete hands-on service work in an effort to rebuild a tornado-devastated community. This trip intends to raise social awareness, inspire community service and help create a strong Jewish community.

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center – The Yachad Program is for children with special needs on the autism spectrum. The program will support children with special care during vacation camps, school closures and within the afterschool program. Without the program, parents will be forced to take time off from work.

Syracuse Area Jewish Educators – The Teachers Education Program will educate

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The 2014 Campaign is underway!

To make your pledge, contact Marianne at 445-2040 ext. 102 or mbazydlo@jewishfederationCNY.org.

C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A February 21..............5:25 pm..............................................................Parasha-Vayakel February 28..............5:34 pm..............................................................Parasha-Pekudai March 7....................5:42 pm.............................................................. Parasha-Vayikra

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Congregational notes

Women in the IDF

Life in the desert

Local shuls plan classes, concerts, The IDF highlight s women A tour of Israel’s Arava region Purim celebrations and mishloach soldiers, including two Americans reveals the country’s pioneering who made aliyah. work in desert agriculture. manot services, and more.

Story on page 5 Story on page 8 Stories on page 4

PLUS Small Business Profiles........... 9 Calendar Highlights................10 Mazel Tov...................................10 Obituaries.............................10-11

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ february 20, 2014/20 ADAR I 5774

a matter of opinion An open letter to the Presbyterian Church

By Reverend Christopher M. Leighton Ed. Note: The Jewish Council on Public Affairs supports the ideas expressed here, saying, “A recent publication by The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Israel Palestine Mission Network is ‘worthy of a hate group, not a prominent American church,’ said JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow. ‘The Presbyterian congregational resource, titled ‘Zionism Unsettled,’ is ‘an affront to Jews, Israel, peacemaking and truthtelling.’” To read the complete statement, visit Federation’s website at http://JewishFederationCNY.org. The JCPA statement and Leighton’s letter are reprinted with permission of the respective authors.

In preparation for the 221st meeting of the General Assembly in Detroit this June, the Presbyterian Church finds itself traveling down a familiar path. The Israel Palestine Mission Network and their allies have once again mounted initiatives that advance an extremist posture with respect to the Palestinian-Israeli impasse. Their agenda threatens to polarize our community, betray relationships with our Jewish colleagues and ultimately undermine our credibility as “peacemakers.” Despite the resolution approved at the 218th General Assembly “to avoid taking broad stands that simplify a very complex situation into a caricature of reality where one side clearly is at fault and the other side is clearly a victim,” IPMN’s congregational study guide, “Zionism Unsettled,” subverts the ideals and the practices that our church has striven to uphold. It turns us from peacemakers to polemicists and from honest dialogue partners to partisan ideologues.

In years past, IMPN and its supporters have sponsored vigorous efforts to enact divestment policies. With each defeat, the champions of boycotts, sanctions and divestment have become more strident and less willing to consider the larger picture.

Their current strategy, this study guide, is not simply a critique of Israeli and American policies. It is a dishonest screed that attributes the plight of the Palestinians to a single cause: Zionism.

In his summation of the congregational study guide, Palestinian priest Naim Ateek contends, “Zionism is the problem” (p. 56).

He insists, “Zionism is false theology... a heretical doctrine that fosters both political and theological injustice... (a doctrine) that promotes death rather than life” (p. 57).

Throughout, the study guide characterizes Zionism as a source of “evil”; it insists “the major American Jewish organizations bear considerable responsibility” for a “pathology” that leads to “self-inflicted blindness” (p. 23). It portrays Zionism as inexorably leading to “ethnic cleansing” and “cultural genocide” (p. 53). The condemnation of Zionism, in all its forms, is not merely simplistic and misleading, the result of this polemic is the theological delegitimization of a central concern of the Jewish people.

The study guide revives the infamous 1975 U.N. Resolution 3379 that branded Zionism as racism. Although the United States played a vital role in exposing the antisemitic underpinnings of this resolution and for 16 years worked valiantly, and ultimately successfully, to rescind this smear campaign, the Presbyterian Church is poised to resuscitate this vicious platform.

Even a cursory study of history reveals the varied and complex forms that Zionism has taken throughout the centuries. The yearning for their national homeland has been woven into the Jewish community’s daily life for millennia. The Torah (Deuteronomy) and the Tanach (2 Chronicles) both end with images of yearning to return to the land; synagogues face Jerusalem; the Passover seder celebrated annually concludes with the prayer, “Next year in Jerusalem.” To suggest that the Jewish yearning for their own homeland – a yearning that we Presbyterians have supported for numerous

other nations – is somehow theologically and morally abhorrent is to deny Jews their own identity as a people. The word for that is “antisemitism,” and that is, along with racism, sexism, homophobia and all the other ills our church condemns, a sin.

The study guide correctly notes that there are secular Zionists and religious Zionists.

There are Zionists who are militant and support the annexation of lands conquered in 1967. There are also Zionists who are sharp critics of Israel’s settlement policies, who are staunch supporters of a Palestinian state and who struggle in solidarity with Palestinian activists. Not only are Vladmir Jabotinsky and Meir Kahane Zionists, but so are Abraham Joshua Heschel, Peter Beinhart andAri Shavit; so are the supporters of Americans for Peace Now, J Street and a number of other Jewish organizations with whom we might work together. A sweeping indictment of Zionism amounts to blanket condemnation of the vast majority of Jews; it prevents collaborative work between our church and Jewish peace groups, and it renders us bigots.

The authors of “Zionism Unsettled” are right to note that many Christians and Jews (and I hasten to add Muslims) have too often avoided honest and searching conversations about the Palestinian-Israeli impasse. The ethical and theological commitments at the heart of all three traditions make this encounter crucial. The current situation is intolerable, most especially for displaced and victimized Palestinians, but also for the future of Israel. Yet, the task of “peacemaking” requires a venue in which hard questions can be asked, sharp disagreements explored and shared commitments forged. Lamentably, this congregational study guide makes such honest engagement impossible.

The study guide fails to meet the historical, ethical and theological standards that the Presbyterian Church has previously set, as samplings demonstrate.

The study guide is riddled with historical errors and glaring omissions. For example, it highlights maps that trace Israel’s expansion from 1946-2014. Beneath the maps, the caption reads, “the inexorable expansion of Israeli control over former Mandate Palestine is, by now virtually complete.” The words and images are combined to demonstrate the conclusion that a two-state solution is unimaginable. Palestinian centers “have become isolated ‘bantustans’ administered under a discriminatory, two-tier legal system that privileges Jewish Israelis, an inevitable – if contested – comparison has been made to apartheid-era South Africa” (p. 18). The result: an intractable problem that the authors trace to the immutable character of Israel and its Jewish supporters. The maps do not show the return of Sinai to Egypt or the withdrawal from Gaza, but settle for a stereotype of Israel that is incapable of negotiation and territorial concessions.

The authors go to great lengths to document the worst expressions of Zionism and the American Jewish community, while completely exonerating the Palestinians from any ideologically driven teaching that fails to promote peace. Nowhere does it mention the atrocities Arabs inflicted on Jewish communities from the time of the British Mandate to the most recent suicide bomber or rocket launched into Israel. There is no acknowledgement of the murderous and slanderous Hamas charter and the violence of Hezbollah. My point is not to document the failings on the side of the Palestinians or to suggest an equal burden of fault in the prevention of achieving a peaceful settlement. It is rather to note that there is blood on the hands of both Israelis and Palestinians, and culpability extends to Syria and Iran as well as the United States. A more honest and comprehensive reckoning is demanded.

The study guide treats the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in isolation from the turmoil engulfing the larger Middle East.

The instability of the region adds greater complexity to the already fraught negotia-

tions. Meanwhile, the desperate position of Christians in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon far surpasses the predicament in which Palestinians find themselves. Given the fact that Christians within Israel proper are the only population in Middle East to experience demographic growth in recent years, the accusation of “hard” or “soft” ethnic cleansing is a disturbing example of misrepresentation (chapter 8, pp. 49-54).

The study guide presents a noble picture of Islam as an inclusive religion of peace demanding “humans to act justly, condemning any form of discrimination, offering equal rights to Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans” (p.

50). The dangers of Islamic extremism are utterly disregarded, and the excesses of Islamic zealotry recounted in the global reports on an almost daily basis go unmentioned. Jews, Christians and Muslims are all susceptible to manipulation, and extremism can deform any movement. To suggest that only Zionism, or by extension the Jews, is “the problem” is an act of bearing false witness.

The study guide repeatedly maintains that Israelis,American Jews and Christian Zionists find justification for dispossession, racism, injustice and “the ongoing killing of Palestinian and other Arab children” within the Old Testament (pps. 8, 15, 22, 31, 34, 46, 49 and 57). Nothing in Judaism or Christianity, save for the most severe distortion, promotes the killing of children. The study guide offers a cheap shot, and cheap shots are not the tools of peacemakers, or disciples of Jesus.

The study guide maintains that the Palestinian plight is the result of a fusion of the ethnocentrism of the Old Testament with the power of a colonizing empire (p. 5, 34). The journalist Zvi Bar’el is enlisted to deliver the indictment: the marginalization of the Palestinians is accepted as a state necessity and “hatred of Arabs is the part of the test of loyalty and identity that the state gives its Jewish citizens. A good Jew hates Arabs” (p.

36). The offense behind these ludicrous generalizations is compounded by an insistence that the situation is “inexorable” (pps. 5-6), “the pathology is inherent within Zionism” (p. 8) and “that racism is the cornerstone of Zionism” (p. 50). Thus, instead of moving readers toward the conversations with neighbors and governments needed for negotiating

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peace, the guide precludes any engagement.

Given the alleged intractable and intransigent character of American and Israeli Jews, what is the point of engaging them at all? A study guide that touts the virtues of love and peace, that insists on the importance of truth-telling and humility, and that espouses a deep commitment to justice delivers instead a chalice of slander, bigotry and hostility.

The study guide presumes to speak for the Palestinian people, just as the Kairos Declaration claims to be the voice of the Palestinian Christians. The Palestinian population is far more diverse than the guide indicates; there is no political and theological uniformity as its authors assume. To understand the broad array of views, it is imperative we attend to Palestinian Christians who dissent from the tactics of Sabeel and are at variance with the advocates of Kairos. (See Malcolm Lowe, “Who are the Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem?” http://www.gatestoneinstitute. org/4142/jerusalem-churches.)

The study guide maintains that Krister Stendahl, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich and Paul Van Buren and many other Christians stand in solidarity with the Jewish people because of guilt: It sees the need to make theological reparations for the Holocaust as the driving force behind their support for Israel and their negligence of Palestinian suffering (chapter 6, pp. 37-43). This reductionism is an astonishing dismissal of scholars who asked the honest question: How can Christians affirm their own tradition without simultaneously negating the integrity of Judaism and the Jewish people?

As if the repudiation of these Christian scholars were not enough, the study guide maintains that Rabbi David Hartman, one of the most renowned Jewish scholars in recent memory, exhorted his community to respond to terrorism by “wiping out the Palestinians” (p. 41). The reference comes from an article in The Washington Post wherein Hartman describes the dangerous climate into which Israel is slipping. His point is descriptive, not prescriptive. He notes that terrorized people are susceptible to dreadful vengeance and he seeks to counter that reaction. To accuse Hartman of the extremism that he and his colleagues at the Hartman Institute have spent See “Letter” on page 3 All articles, announcements and photographs must be received by noon Wednesday, 15 days prior to publication date.

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FEBRUARY 20, 2014/20 ADAR I 5774 ■

AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK JCC Purim Carnival

The staff at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse is planning the annual Purim Carnival, scheduled this year for Sunday, March 16, from noon-4 pm. The carnival is the largest annual community event hosted by the JCC, and features a day of games and prizes for toddler-school-aged children. There will be entertainment, safe ID and car seat safety checks, and a book sale.

Esther’s Café will open for lunch at 11:30 am in the JCC auditorium with a variety of Va’ad-supervised kosher foods, including hamantashen. Children have been encouraged to dress in costume.

The annual event is made possible through the continued support of local volunteers who staff the event. Individuals can sign up now to volunteer for one or two of the available volunteer shifts, 11:45 am-2 pm and 1:45-4 pm, with tasks such as overseeing games, serving food and helping out in the prize room. Students seeking to fulfill volunteer credits at school can do so at the carnival. Upon completion of their shift, students will receive a letter showing proof of participation from the JCC. Director of Children and Teen Services Amy Bisnett said, “Volunteers are crucial to the continued success of our carnival and our event would not be what it is today without the recurring support of the more than 100 volunteers.”

She added, “This carnival has become something that

Volunteer Ben Ramer watched Ariella Kornfeld try her luck at the game of Plinko at the 2013 Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center’s Purim Carnival. This year’s carnival will be held on Sunday, March 16. the community has grown to look forward to every year.

It’s also a great way to see familiar faces and reconnect with others.”

To sign up to volunteer, contact Leesa Paul at the JCC at 445-2360 or lpaul@jccsyr.org.

Yom Ha’atzmaut chorus The Yom Ha’atzmaut 2014 organizing committee is seeking volunteers for this year’s adult and teen chorus to sing at the annual event on Tuesday, May 6, from 6-8 pm, at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse.

The chorus will practice on Sundays, March 30, April

6 and 27, and May 4, at 7 pm, at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas. Cantor Paula Pepperstone will direct the chorus.

For more information, or to volunteer, contact the committee at Israel66cny@yahoo.com.

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center senior dining menu February 24-28 Monday – blintzes with cottage cheese and strawberries Tuesday – choice of deli sandwich Wednesday – salmon filet Thursday – meatloaf Friday – chicken Wellington March 3-7 Monday – TBA Tuesday – Margherita pizza Wednesday – Swiss steak Thursday – blackened salmon with blue cheese sauce Friday – roast beef au jus The Bobbi Epstein Lewis Jewish Community Center

Letter

Senior Adult Dining Program, catered by Tiffany’s Catering Company at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center, offers kosher lunches served Monday-Friday at noon. Reservations are required by noon on the previous business day and there is a suggested contribution per meal.

The menu is subject to change. The program is funded by a grant from the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth and the New York State Office for the Aging, with additional funds provided by the JCC and United Way of Central New York. To attend, one need not be Jewish or a member of the JCC. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Leesa Paul at 445-2360, ext. 104, or lpaul@jccsyr.org.

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Federation – Dov Waxman

By Judith Stander Professor and author Dov Waxman will speak to the community at a free public forum on Thursday, March 6, at 7 pm, at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center in the Anne and Hy Miller Family Auditorium. His topic will be, “The Changing American Jewish Relationship with Israel: From Unconditional Support to Critical Engagement,” and the program will be free and open to the public. His presentation will be co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Central New York, Syracuse University’s Middle Eastern Studies Program, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Judaic Studies Program and Hillel.

Waxman is the co-director of the Northeastern University Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development, and a professor of political science, international affairs and Israel studies.

When asked to comment on what has driven him to move in his current direction of research and education, he said, “I have always been motivated not only by my interest to learn more about Israel, but also by a strong desire to use the knowledge that I gain to try to help promote better relations between Israelis and Palestinians and between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel.”

Organizers hope that teenagers, as well as adults, will attend the program to learn more about the issues that affect today’s relationships between Israel and the global Jewish Diaspora, which includes the U.S. There will also be a presentation on Friday, March 7, at 10:30 am, on the SU campus, in Maxwell Hall, Room 204.

It will be free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

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their lives combating is slanderous. Hundreds of his students and colleagues (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) will testify to his commitment to advance peace and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. The study guide outrageously turns an honest ally into an unrecognizable enemy.

The study guide enlists various Jews to bolster their attacks, although the editors are quick to acknowledge that these voices are largely marginal. Many of these critics want to reform Israel; they want to expose and overcome the mistreatment of Palestinians; they want to stop the building of settlements; they want to end the occupation and build a durable peace. This does not mean that they seek to undo the U.N. resolution that established the state of Israel, and they may not appreciate being made accomplices to sweeping denunciations of the Jewish people and their sacred traditions. To suggest that Jews in the United States and Israel are incapable of rigorous self-criticism and instead function by “indoctrination” is not only out of touch, but expresses willful ignorance (p. 6).

Tragically, the IPMN rejects the American commitment to pluralism by undermining the grounds for honest interreligious dialogue. Instead of exploring hard questions, sifting empathetically through tangled experiences and opening discussion to divergent points of view, this study guide thrives on conspiracy and suspicion, incriminations and a spirit of despair.

It encourages congregations to retreat into their separate silos and to launch attacks on those who need to be welcomed to the table. This study guide may be intended to pave a way for justice and peace. Instead, it betrays the church, the truth and the spirit of reconciliation to which we are called.

Reverend Christopher M. Leighton is the executive director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies and an ordained Presbyterian minister.

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JEWISH OBSERVER

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ february 20, 2014/20 ADAR I 5774

congregational notes Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas CBS-CS MISHLOACH MANOT Project hits 12th year The Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas mishloach manot project, now in its 12 th year, will again help congregants fulfill two Purim mitzvot.

During Purim, it is a mitzvah to send mishloach manot – gifts of food – to friends, as well as matanot la’evyonim, giving gifts (charity) to at least two needy persons or worthy causes.

Mishloach manot baskets will be delivered and/or mailed to all synagogue members, including those living outside the Central New York region and college students. Baskets will also be given to Jewish Family Service for delivery to its Kosher Meals on Wheels clients.

The project also helps congregants support CBS-CS programs. Approximately one-third of the proceeds will go to the CBS-CS United Synagogue Youth chapter, which donates a percentage to tikkun olam (repairing the world). USY also uses the money for extra projects and to help send members to USY con-

ventions. Additionally, a third of the proceeds will go to the Women’s Connection (Sisterhood), which underwrites youth scholarships and b’nai mitzvah gifts. The last third helps fund other synagogue programs.

Furthermore, five percent of all net proceeds has gone to causes outside the Syracuse area. In the past, funds have been donated to victims of the Haiti earthquake; the Masorti Israel Emergency Fire Fund, to help those harmed by the 2010 fires in Israel; Operation Soap Dish, which collects toiletries for St. Lucy’s Food Pantry clients; and the American Jewish World Service. This year, the CBS-CS Board of Directors has chosen to support the Temple Concord Food Pantry.

The baskets will feature candy, snacks and hamantashen. This year’s process began on February 9, when more than 2,000 hamantashen were made by the Women’s Connection, teenagers and others in the CBS-CS kitchen. The baskets will be See “CBS-CS” on page 6

Temple Adath Yeshurun Sisterhood Rummage Sale The Temple Adath Yeshurun Sisterhood will hold its annual summer rummage sale on Sunday, March 2, and Monday, March 3, from 10 am-3 pm. The rummage sale provides resources for the synagogue, and clothing, household objects and more to members of the larger community.

To volunteer to help with the sale, contact Linda Levy at lglevy@twcny. rr.com. Donations will be accepted Monday-Thursday at the TAY Religious School entrance.

For more information or to arrange a pick-up, contact Robyn Gilels-Aiello at 427-0653 or Mary Gilels at 663-1219.

Jonah Jaffe and Ben Aber made scented Play-Doh spice boxes at Temple Adath Yeshurun’s Family Havdalah Happening.

Temple Concord

L-r: Emma Silverstein and Alethea Howlett made wooden tefillin sets as part of the Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas family b’nai mitzvah program and the Federation of Jewish Men’s Club’s World Wide Wrap, using the FJMC Build-A-Pair materials.

Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation Purim Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse will hold “Jewcy-Fruit,” a Purim seudah costume party on Sunday, March 16, at 5 pm. The event will feature a fruit-themed meal, a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle, fruitrelated activities for the children, a “Fruit IQ” quiz and prizes in every age group for the best fruit costumes.

There will be a cost to attend, with a maximum per family. Reservations have been requested by Sunday, March 9, and can be made by contacting the synagogue at 446-6194 or stocs18@ aol.com. Participants have been asked to stipulate a seating preference when making their reservation. Space will be limited.

Clinton String Quartet

By Stephanie Marshall The Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series will present the Clinton String Quartet on Tuesday, February 25, at 7 pm, featuring Michael Bosetti on violin, Sonya Stith Williams on violin, Kit Dodd on viola and George Macero on cello. The quartet has been playing together since 1982. It will play pieces from Mozart, Borodin and Haydn.

The quartet has played at numerous colleges and institutes in recent years and performs regularly with the Syracuse Society for New Music, where it has premiered works by many Central New York classical music composers. The quartet has also played at many community events and each member played with the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

Bosetti was an assistant concertmaster with orchestras in West Virginia and Nova Scotia, and first violinist with the Nova String Quartet. He served as assistant principal second violin with the North Carolina Symphony for the 1999-2000 season and currently performs with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Binghamton Philharmonic and Symphoria. He has also performed at several music festivals, including the Grand Teton Festival, the Chautauqua Institute, the Garth Newell and Wintergreen festivals and Glimmerglass Opera Theater.

Stith Williams has been the concertmaster of the National Orchestral Institute, the Quartet Program and two quartet residency programs in rural Kentucky. She

was a member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for 10 years and a member of the SSO String Quartet. She has been a member of Symphoria since 2012 and also serves on its board. She has played with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Binghamton Philharmonic and other local venues, including the Civic Morning Music recitals and the Skaneateles Festival.

Dodd performed as assistant principal violist with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

He has been featured as a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony and as chamber soloist with the Society for New Music, Skaneateles Festival and the Syracuse Camerata. He currently serves as a violist and librarian with Symphoria. He is also a member of the Onondaga Community College string faculty, teaching violin and viola.

Macero won the Queens concerto competition in New York. He moved to Syracuse in 1977 and was a member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, where he performed as a soloist. He plays as a regular soloist and chamber musician with the Society for New Music. He is a founding member of the Clinton String Quartet, recently performing in Rome, Italy and New York City for American Academy programs.

Shabbat dinner The February Shabbat dinner on Friday, February 28, will feature Broasters fried chicken. The dinner will follow the 6 pm Shabbat services with the Temple Concord See “TC” on page 6

The Clinton String Quartet will perform on February 25 at Temple Concord as part of the Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series. In front (l-r): Violist Kit Dodd and cellist George Macero. In back: Violinists Sonya Stith Williams and Michael Bosetti.

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Na’amat nutrition and wellness “Spring Forward – Health-Saving Time” will be Na’amat’s second event of the season to highlight women’s health and wellness. A lecture will be held on Sunday, March 9, at 10:30 am, at the Fayetteville home of Pam Morris. The event will be free and light refreshments will be served.

Suzanne Brisk, M.S., C.W.P., C.W.P.M., is the Pathway to Wellness coordinator at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Her presentation will emphasize nutrition and physical activity, linking them to overall well-being. She’ll also address the role of motivation in making healthy changes.

A native of Syracuse, Brisk has expertise in a range of professional settings. Her credentials include certified nutrition specialist, a certified wellness practitioner and wellness program manager, an American Council on Exercise personal trainer and Mayo Clinic certified tobacco cessation treatment specialist.

Avodah Chapter members and other interested community members are welcome to attend the program.

Reservations have been requested and may be made by contacting Karen Roberts by Sunday, March 2, at 446-2306 or karher5757@aol.com.

Youth Community Mystery Bus Tour

By Kathy Scott Participants for this year’s Community Mystery Bus Tour should be dropped off on Saturday, March 1, at 6:45 pm, at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center parking lot. After celebrating Havdalah at the JCC, high school students will travel by limousine, and middle school students by bus, to their unknown, indoor destinations. Pick-up will be at 10 pm at the

JCC parking lot.

The organizations supporting the annual joint venture are the JCC, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord. Non-Jewish students will be welcome to participate. Pre-registration will be required, so students should contact a youth advisor for the registration form. There will be a modest fee to participate.

At right: Community youth participated in a mystery bus tour in 2013. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, March 1.

Women Transcending Boundaries Women Transcending Boundaries will present a program on Kolam, which is known by different names in several Indian languages, a Hindu cultural tradition practiced by Jains, Buddhists and Parsis, on Sunday, March 9, from 3-5 pm, at the Jowonio School, 3049 E. Genesee St., Syracuse.

Kolam originated in the Indus Valley in northwestern India around 2500 B.C.E. At sunrise, local women would wash the area before their front doorstep and make creative

designs with rice powder to welcome the goddess of good fortune, Lakshmi, into their homes.

WTB has invited all women to learn more about Kolam and view examples of the ancient tradition, including its philosophy and aesthetics. Participants have been asked to drive around to the back of the building and enter through the back door.

For more information, visit www.wtb.org.

Female IDF soldiers shatter contemporary infantry lines

By Maayan Jaffe JNS.org From the inception of the Jewish state to the present, Israel’s military has been anything but a male-dominated institution. On May 26, 1948, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion established the Israel Defense Forces. Less than three months later, the Knesset instituted mandatory conscription for all women without children. Today, 57 percent of all officers in the Israeli army are women, according to the IDF. The IDF recently highlighted the stories of a select group of those women on its blog, in a list titled “8 Female Soldiers Who Shattered Barriers in 2013.” The article, which featured women in a variety of military roles and from diverse backgrounds, said that in recent years women have “taken increasingly high-level positions in the IDF.” The female soldiers included in the list “challenge

stereotypes,” wrote the IDF. Among those listed are two soldiers originally from the U.S.: Cpl. Dylan Ostrin, from Houston, who made aliyah at the age of 7, and Sgt. Sarit Petersen, from Maryland, who is currently in the process of making aliyah.

Petersen, who recently completed her IDF term, served as a shooting instructor in the Nahal Infantry Brigade. Her job was to teach reconnaissance brigade soldiers (Special Forces) to use their weapons. Speaking from her parents’ home in Baltimore, Peterson waxed modest about being

By Nicholas Finlayson The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse held a bone marrow drive on February 4 to help “Ben,” a 14-year-old boy in need of a bone marrow transplant. The event brought in 30 people to show their support. To help coordinate the afternoon, 14 volunteers were also present.

Senior/Adult Program Director Leesa Paul said, “We were very happy with the turnout. It’s at events like this that the community really steps up to help others in need.”

Ben is the nephew of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas members Norma and Steven Weitman. He has acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is seeking a bone marrow match. Norma Weitman noted that, for the purpose of genetic matching, it is often more difficult to match Jews than other ethnicities because of their relatively small population. She emphasized that events such as the one on February 4 help increase the odds of a match.

Getting tested usually only takes about five-10 minutes.

After registering, individuals receive a swab kit, which contains four cotton swab sticks with instructions. Donors then swab each corner of their mouth, and insert the swabs into an envelope, which is then sent off for testing.

Ben’s grandmother, Marcia Cowing, was said to be “very satisfied” with the support from the community. She stated, “I think it’s wonderful when people are so willing to help a stranger in need. I think it’s remarkable, actually.

Ever since we discovered that Ben had leukemia, we have been out searching for a match. We are looking all over the world. I think it’s wonderful that the JCC is supporting this drive!”

Volunteers helped individuals sign up for the bone marrow registry before they completed and submitted their swab kits for testing. The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse held the marrow drive on February 4.

Grants

Continued from page 1 Chabad House – Jewish Scribal Arts Torah-making demonstration and Hands-On feature a participatory look at how a Torah, mezuzah and tefillin are made. Participants will learn how raw animal hides are made into parchment, how to make special dyo ink and use an old-fashioned quill made from a whittled goose feather to practice writing on parchment.

In addition to the Community Program Fund awards, $10,000 was granted to the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center to update the security system at the JCC. Allocations Committee Co-Chairs Ellen Weinstein and Cheryl Schotz led a committee that reviewed 17 grant requests. Other committee members included Linda Alexander, Cantor Francine Berg, Mark Field, Sam Gramet, Philip Holstein, David Horowitch, Helen Marcum, Jef Sneider, Ruth Stein and Steve Volinsky.

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ArtRage NORMAL photo exhibit

By Nancy Keefe Rhodes The ArtRage: the Norton Putter Gallery will host the photo exhibit “NORMAL: How the Nazis Normalized the Unspeakable” from February 22-March 29. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, February 22, from 7-9 pm.

Israeli-born, New York City-based photographer and archivist Dan Lenchner has built his collection of photos from Third Reich life throughout many years. While most of the pictures are not official propaganda, they depict the environment in which propaganda appeared. The photos show officers in various situations and locations, including boys at Hitler Youth summer camps, nurses and teenage girls practicing their goose-step, and nuns posing with former students in uniform.

Lenchner will also be at ArtRage on February 22 and will return to Syracuse for a gallery talk on Thursday,

CBS-CS

March 20, at 7 pm, with NORMAL’s curator, local arts writer Nancy Keefe Rhodes.

NORMAL features four film screenings on Tuesdays, February 25 and March 4, 11 and 18, at 7 pm, and a free evening workshop for educators about teaching genocide on Thursday, March 13, from 4-7 pm, led by Dr. Mary Johnson in collaboration with Syracuse University’s Regional Holocaust and Genocide Initiative and the Central New York Community Foundation.

ArtRage, located at 505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse, is wheelchair accessible, with off-street parking available around the corner at 408 and 414 Lodi St. For more information and details on the exhibition events and films, visit http://artragegallery.org or call 218-5711.

Continued from page 4

packed by volunteers of all ages on Sunday, March 9.

Then members will deliver them and wish their fellow congregants “chag Purim sh’meah.”

Iris Cohen stood by some of the bonsai she displayed at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas in celebration of Tu B’Shevat.

A photo in the exhibit “NORMAL: How the Nazis Normalized the Unspeakable” to be presented by ArtRage Gallery depicted members of Hitler Youth at summer camp in the 1930s. (Collection of Dan Lenchner, used with permission.)

The Syracuse Jewish Cemeteries Association thanks everyone who contributed to our campaign!

Anonymous $18,051 Elaine Abrams $36 Esther Adelson $118 Mark Adler $360 Eric Alderman $36 Richard and Maxine Alderman $50 Ellen Andrews $25 Sidney and Shirley Ashkin $54 George and Miriam Barrows $118 Peter and Barbara Baum $54 Helene and Gary Becker $36 Stanley Becker $36 William and Phyllis Berinstein $500 Bruce and Gail Berlin $18 Hollis Berney $36 Christopher Skeval and Carrie Berse $36 Shirley Berson $18 Ivy Besdin $118 Bet Havarim $640.60 Birnbaum Funeral Service $250 Martin and Ethel Black $54 Miriam Bladen $35 Audrey Branse $18 Alan Braverman $40 Dr. and Mrs. James Brodsky $118 Steven and Lynn Bronstein $118 Suggie Brumberger $54 Robert Buck $10 Jeanette Buff $20 Toby Stove Cannon $36 Gary and Bonnie Carney $360 Jayne and Larry Charlamb $118 Lynn and Cecile Cohen $36 Jack and Marcia Cohen $118 Stuart Cohen $300 Loren Cohn $118 Judie Rice in memory of the Cynkus Family $54 Barbara and Leslie Davis $36 Gary and Arlene Davis $118 Arthur Diamond $54 Dolores Diamond $18 Jonathan and Aveeya Dinkin $360 Lewis and Elaine Dubroff $250 Kevin Dushay $200 Amy Eliezer $50 Jane Elkin $18 Lawrence Ellison $100 Margret Ksander and Richard Ellison $54 Robert Ellison $36 Mark and Marci Erlebacher $118 Richard Estrine $54 Iris Evans $36 Anita Evers $36 Betty Feinberg $36 Florence Feldman $54 Sarah Feldman $54 Melissa and Rabbi Daniel Fellman $100 Mark and Sue Field $54 Marjorie Fink $360 Robert Finkelstein $36 Harley and Nadzieja Finkelstein $118 Sandra Rappaport Fiske and Jordan Fiske $36 Roberta Flatlow $300

Evelyn Fox $18 Wendy Meyerson and Andrew Fox $250 Heidi and David Francey $118 Judith Franklin $360 Paul Franklin Howard Friedman $118 Pauline Friedman $36 Linda Fuhrman $36 Rita Geller $36 David and Deborah Gerber-Ianuzi $118 Boris and Yelena Geyfman $36 Lisa Gilels $54 Victor and Harlene Gilels $36 Rosalind Gingold $54 Sandra K. Gingold $360 Seymour and Anne Ginsburg $10 Victor and Carol Ginsky $118 Lois Goldberg $360 Norma Goldberg $118 Ellen Golden $36 Marvin Goldenberg $500 Andra Vlosky Goldman $100 Harry Goldman $54 Michael and Wendy Evers Gordon Dr. David Grass $54 Asher and Joanne Greenhouse $36 Hannah Groskin $36 Norma Groskin $54 Sylvia Groskin $20 Bonnie and Gary Grossman Steven and Cindy Grossman $36 In memory of David and Irving Hammer $118 Inez Heal $18 Victor and Celaine Hershdorfer $300 Carol Davis Hershman $118 Yaacov and Sharon Glazier Hochstein $54 Alex and Chuckie Holstein $360 Nancy Holstein $18 Sanford and Marlene Holstein $36 Sherrie Hurwitz-Sicam $36 Sara Isgur $18 Rene Isserlis $118 Harriet Jachles $54 Jewish Federation of CNY $11,500 Rhea and Rabbi Daniel Jezer $100 Lee and Lori, and Rose Kalin/Franklin $270 Sheldon and Mateele Kall $2,000 Leonard and Irwin Kamp Foundation $10,000 Gertrude Kamp $108 Judith and Phillip Kaplan $54 Mark and Robin Kasowitz $500 Elaine and Lawrence Katzman $36 Ronnie Katzowitz $18 Ronald Kavanagh $36 Stephen and Theresa Kline $54 Alan and Myrna Koldin Louise Koppelman $36 Tess and Allen Kosoff $118 David and Betty Kravetz $18 Diane and Brett Kupperman $50 In memory of Paul Kussner $36 Judy Laffer $36 Bill and Lois Lakehomer $36

Gary Lavine Family $1,000 Donald Fitzgerald and Laura Lavine Adrienne LeBlang $118 Elliott Lessen $118 Gary Lessen $118 Benjamin and Susan Levine $360 In memory of Joseph and Sophie Levine $54 Mark and Jeannette Levinsohn $36 Marilyn Levy $54 Larry Liberman $25 Gabrielle and Keith Linzer $36 Marilyn Lipsy $36 Robin and Bud London $500 Ronald and Heidi Lowenstein $360 Jay Lurie $54 Elinor Lynne $36 Howard and Margo Lynne $36 Jack Lyon $118 Bobbi and Cliff Malzman $36 Arnold and Marilyn Manheim $118 Martin and Ruth Mann $100 Stan and Helen Marcum $36 David and Julia Hafftka Marshall $54 Emile Martin $118 Thelma Marx $18 Shush Martin $36 Peter and Nancy Matlow $100 Meryl Novor-Meadvin and

Michael Meadvin $118 Regina Meadvin $54 Michael and Sandra Meltzer $36 Stephen and Elaine Meltzer $118 Herb and Ilene Mendel $100 Julian Menter $100 Judi and Larry Metzger $36 Beverly Miller $36 Daniel Miller $36 David and Ruth A. Miller $72 Robert and Lynn Miller $100 Robert and Carole Millstein $36 Randie Mosenthal $18 Michael and Joy Moss $118 Norman and Ruth Nosenchuck $36 Marlene Paikoff $54 Judith Palmer $118 Deborah Cooper Passer $36 Harvey and Dorothy Pearl $36 Rabbi Andrew and

Cantor Paula Pepperstone $100 Eileen Phillips $500 Todd and Sarah Pinsky $500 Marilyn Pinsky $118 Stephanie Pinsky $118 Lynn Raichelson $100 Lee and Sharlene Raymond $25 Joseph and Dale Roth $36 Sandra and Eli Roth $36 David and Susan Rothenberg $180 Larry Rothenberg $118 Ada Rothschild $36 Ellen Rothschild $118 Philip Rothschild $54 Mel and Madeline Rubenstein $54

For more information or to make a donation, contact Bill Berinstein at 472-6341 or

Muriel Rubin $118 Bobbie Rudolph $36 Richard Rudolph $36 Robert Sarason $100 Selma Schlessinger $54 Sharon Schloss $54 Irving and Cheryl Schotz $118 In memory of Elaine Schwartz $118 Sandra and Phillip Schwartz $54 Steven and Laurie Segal $54 Jean Seligman $36 Connie and Larry Semel $360 Bertram C. Serling $36 Seth Shapess $36 Barbara Shapiro $54 Marla and Steve Share $36 Michael and Amy Shaw $36 Leah and Rabbi Charles Sherman $100 Melvyn Shindler $360 Deborah and Rabbi Evan Shore $100 Bette and Don Siegel $36 David and Lisa Silverman $118 Robert and Harriet Silverman $54 Paul Silverstein $136 David and Barbara Simon $54 Shirley Sims $360 Steven and Robin Sisskind $500 Malcolm and Sandra Smith $36 Sally Sokolsky $54 Murray and Carole Solomon $25 Estate of Avron Spector $10,000 Andrew and Helen Spector $200 Seymour Spevak $54 Judith Stander $36 Arthur and Dorothy Steinberg $36 Carol Yaffe and Peter Steinberg $54 Richard and Pamela Strauss $36 Barbara Sutton $36 Jeffrey Swartz $118 Syracuse Jewish Children’s Foundation $1,000 Reva Tankle $118 Sandy and Delia Temes $108 Sydney Tenenbaum $54 Peter and Sandra Townsend $54 David Troeger $54 Sharon and David Turnbull $54 Louis Orbach and Anastasia Urtz $54 Geta Vogel $118 Steve and Fran Volinsky $100 Irving Wagner $54 Larry and Lynn Wallace $118 Mark J. Wallace $36 Ruth Wandner $36 Anita and Howard Weinberger $100 Allan Weinreb $54 Richard Wilkins $36 Roslyn Wilkins $36 Larry and Rosalie Young $36 Linda Vlosky Zack $75 Milton and Shir-Lee Ziegler $54 Sandra Ziegler $100 Marsha and Aaron Zimmerman $100

williamberinstein@hotmail.com

Yes, I want to support the SJCA and help preserve these sacred spaces by making a donation today.

Enclosed is our tax-deductible contribution to the SJCA: ¨ $36 ¨ $54 ¨ $118 ¨ $360 ¨ $500 ¨ $1,000 ¨ $5,000 ¨ $ OTHER Name:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Email:__________________________________________________________________ ¨ Mark here if you want your contribution to remain anonymous and do not want your name and donation to appear in The Jewish Observer of Central New York. * Your personal information will not be distributed to third parties for marketing purposes.

Please mail to: Syracuse Jewish Cemeteries Association, Inc., PO Box 741, DeWitt, NY 13214

TC

Continued from page 4

band, Ruach. There will be a fee for the dinner and reservations will be required. For more information or to make a reservation, call the TC office at 475-9952.

Purim Temple Concord will hold a family Purim program, including making and tasting different types of hamantashen, creating a variety of masks, a light dinner and Havdalah, on Saturday, March 1, from 5-7 pm. The program will be for family members of all ages. There will be a small fee to attend. To RSVP, contact the Temple Concord office at 475-9952.

Homosexuality and Judaism Maria Carson, a graduate student in religious studies at Syracuse University, will teach three classes on homosexuality and Judaism at Temple Concord on Tuesday, March 4 and 18, and April 1, from 7-8:30 pm. The free classes will be open to the community.

The first of these three classes, “Homosexuality and Judaism,” will focus on differing contemporary Jewish approaches to homosexuality. Legal (halachic) and ethical arguments permitting or not permitting homosexuality in varying movements of Judaism will be discussed, with particular emphasis on the Reform movement’s open and accepting position.

The second class, “Judaism and Gender,” will focus on contemporary egalitarian and non-egalitarian positions about gender and Judaism. Two examples of Jewish feminists – Judith Plaskow, an egalitarian liberal Jew, and Blu Greenberg, a non-egalitarian Modern Orthodox Jew – will discuss their approaches to feminism, egalitarianism and gender roles. Particular attention will be paid to the Reform movement’s understanding of gender within the Jewish tradition.

The final class, “Jewish Peoplehood,” will focus on the relationships of understanding Judaism as a religion and as a cultural identity of a particular people. Special attention will be paid to early reformer Abraham Geiger’s articulation of Judaism as a liberal religion, and Mordecai Kaplan’s understanding of Judaism as primarily a civilization with particular cultural rites and norms.

For more information, contact the TC office at 4759952.

Symphoria

By Stewart Koenig Temple Concord’s Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series will present Symphoria, Syracuse’s re-formed symphony orchestra, in a program of American music on Saturday, March 8, at 7 pm, at the temple, 910 Madison St., Syracuse.

Conducted by Travis Newton, the full symphony will perform music from the Great American Songbook, inTravis Newton will conduct a program cluding songs from the Great American Songbook as by Richard part of the Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Rogers, Jerome Kern, Series on Saturday, March 8.

George Gershwin and Cole Porter. The orchestra will also include Broadway music from shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Carousel.” The guest artist will be Syracuse-area saxophonist Joe Carello.

Newton is director of music and arts administration at LeMoyne College. He has played in and conducted more than 500 performances of Broadway musicals, as well as guest conducted with orchestras of Syracuse, Charleston, Greensboro and more.

Goldenberg Series Chair Vicki Feldman said, “This is a rare chance to see our community’s orchestra up close.

Symphoria has brought symphonic music back to Central New York, and we are pleased and proud to host them at Temple Concord. This will be a great show.”

Guests will be seated at tables in the synagogue’s social hall, and desserts, wine, beer and other beverages will be available for sale.

There will be a charge to attend and reservations will be required. For more information, a reservation form and updates on additional offsite parking, visit www. templeconcord.org or call the TC office at 475-9958.

Bowling

By Syephanie Marshall Many Temple Concord members gathered at Bowl Mor Lanes in East Syracuse on February 9 for the fourth bowling competition hosted by Concord’s Women of Reform Judaism and Brotherhood.

Event organizer and WRJ Co-President Fran Volinsky said, “The energy was high and everyone had a great time. There is always laughter and friendship to be found – regardless of the scores.” Prizes were awarded to those with the highest score, lowest score and most gutter balls, among others.

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First U.S. envoy of her kind taking close relationship with Holocaust survivors to new level

By Debra Rubin JNS.org Aviva Sufian was just 8 years old when her mother took her to an American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors event in Philadelphia in 1985. She remembers survivor after survivor standing up and announcing, “My name is, and this is where I’m from.”

Sufian, whose grandparents had come to this country shortly after World War I, says her parents “placed a primacy on my understanding the world they came from,” including understanding the devastation of the Jewish people under the Nazi regime.

“I had a close relationship with Holocaust survivors in the community I grew up in,” said Sufian, 37, who lived in Houston, studied Yiddish in high school and college, and as a student at Columbia University in New York conducted interviews with survivors for the Shoah Foundation.

Sufian’s career has since focused on the elderly, both in the Jewish communal and government sectors. Named in late January as the first special envoy for U.S. Holocaust survivor services, she will be combining her background in the field of aging with her knowledge of Holocaust survivors.

“In many ways, I feel like stepping into this role is coming home to an issue very near and dear to my heart,” Sufian said in an interview with JNS.org.

In her new role, Sufian will continue to work in the Administration for Community Living at the Department of Health and Human Services, where, since 2012, she has been director of regional operations helping to maximize the independence, well-being and health of older adults, people with disabilities and their families and caregivers.

Her envoy role, the White House announced, will be as an advocate for survivors currently living in poverty, as well as those who may not be receiving services for which they are currently eligible.

About 120,000 Holocaust survivors live in the United States, with some 25 percent living in poverty, compared with 9 percent of the general elderly population, according to the White House.

Sufian’s appointment is part of a White House initiative that Vice President Joe Biden had announced in December to help survivors. The initiative also includes a public-private partnership to raise awareness about and provide support for survivors.

In general, the administration is looking for ways to “help people stay in their homes

and communities and live in settings of their choice,” Sufian said.

That objective is particularly important for Holocaust survivors who “have specific issues and needs based on their experiences – issues of social isolation, issues around institutionalization that harken back to their experiences during the war,” said William Daroff, vice president for public policy at the Jewish Federations of North America, who praised Sufian’s appointment.

“The White House imprimatur that comes with it will help to ensure that there’s added focus and attention on this key population,” he said.

Asked why Holocaust survivors should be singled out for special attention among all elderly individuals living in poverty, Daroff told JNS.org that it is “because they are Americans who are in need – just like it’s the role of the federal government to help with your parents or my parents who have specific needs and who are in need of help.”

Sufian said it will be her job to work across agencies – among them HHS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Transportation – to help the agencies understand the needs of survivors and ensure that survivors know what’s available to them.

“We want them to age well with comfort and dignity and the honor and respect they deserve,” she said.

Some advocates for Holocaust survivors are pushing for state Medicaid waivers to use for home health care.

Sufian is unsure of her involvement in that push. “I am in listening mode right now,” she said. “I plan to identify barriers and service gaps, and will work with my counterparts within HHS, across the federal government, and with cities and states to improve access to home- and community-based services.”

Jack Rubin, a Holocaust survivor who testified January 15 before a United States Senate Select Committee hearing titled “Aging in Comfort: Assessing the Special Needs of America’s Holocaust Survivors,” said Sufian’s appointment is inadequate.

“We believe that a serious assessment by this committee of the actual cost of needed in-home care and basic emergency services such as medicines, dental care, hearing aids, food, rent, utilities, transportation and other vital services will show a multi-billion dollar

savage actions” of the Nazi redeficit,” he said, according to his gime, Rubin told the committee. prepared remarks for the hearing.

“Survivors’ mental and physical Rubin said survivors are not health care needs are more exseeking funds from the U.S. tensive, more complex and more government, but rather seeking dire than other elderly people, and the government’s assistance require serious, comprehensive in pressuring Germany and responses,” he said. companies that had insured “I’m sure the vice president Holocaust victims before the meant well” when he announced war, yet have not paid off those his initiative, but “it’s not going policies, to take responsibility for survivors not just in the Av i v a S u f i a n , to solve the problem,” Rubin told United States, but worldwide. the first special JNS.org.

For her part, Sufian said such “The Holocaust survivors in envoy for U.S. this country strongly believe even Holocaust survivor matters are in the purview of the at this very late date, we must services. (Photo State Department. “I will be sharreturn to the origins of Chancel- by Department of ing what I learn about the needs lor [Konrad] Adenauer’s promise Health and Human of survivors with my colleagues at the State Department and with in the 1950s when he said that Services) others in the federal government modern Germany must take care of all of the needs of survivors due to the as appropriate,” she said.

NEWS IN bRIEF From JNS.org

Israeli universities thank U.S. counterparts for fighting academic boycott

Israeli university presidents sent a letter on Feb. 13 to their colleagues in the United States, thanking them for fighting against the academic boycott against Israel. Hillel Israel initiated the letter, which was sent to 150 universities and colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, and Duke. “We are honored that you stand beside us in this unacceptable situation,” Hebrew University of Jerusalem President Professor Menachem Ben-Sasson wrote, according to Israel Hayom. “We have been closely following our U.S. colleagues’ efforts to condemn the academic boycott,” Hillel Israel Director-General Alon Friedman said. “When we saw that these effort were bearing fruit, we saw fit to update the heads of universities in Israel.”

Denmark bans kosher slaughter

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) – Kosher slaughter became illegal in Denmark starting on Feb. 17, and the move has stirred the ire of Jewish and Muslim organizations in that country and worldwide. “Animal rights precede religious rights, I am for religious slaughter, but it must be done in a way that does not bring pain to the animal. This can be accomplished only by stunning,” Danish Food and Agriculture Minister Dan Jorgensen told reporters. The Jewish population in Denmark stands at around 6,000, largely centered in Copenhagen. Finn Schwarz, the president of the Danish Jewish community, said the policy hurts minority groups who have little power to defend themselves. Speaking to European Union officials, European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said the Danish government’s decision contravened EU laws protecting religious freedom to slaughter animals according to religious guidelines. Israeli Deputy Religious Services Minister Eli Ben-Dahan said, “Antisemitism is showing its real face throughout Europe and grows stronger among governing institutions.”

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Arava tour reveals Israel’s pioneering work in desert agriculture

By Sybil Kaplan JNS.org Arava, literally meaning “desolate” and “dry area” in Hebrew, on the map is a section of the Jordan Rift Valley, running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south, where it ends at Eilat and the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east.

The Arava region – 15 miles south of the Dead Sea, past the hotels and 83 miles north of Eilat – is home to the annual agricultural expo called “Desertech,” the largest agricultural expo in Israel, which recently took place for the 23rd year.

In the actual exhibition area of Desertech are more than 150 agriculture-related exhibitors. A food court, arts and crafts market, and stage with musical performers are all nearby.

There are seven communities in the Arava, five based on agriculture and two on tourism, with 800 families among them. The Arava Agricultural Research and Development Center and the Arava Scientific Research and Development Center hold Desertech near Moshav Hatzeva. (A moshav is a cooperative agricultural community of individual farms.)

In the Arava, 600 local farmers are involved in cultivating 10,000 acres of desert land. They produce 150,000 tons of vegetables per year, primarily tomatoes and peppers, but

Date palms in the Arava. (Photo by Barry A. Kaplan) also cherry tomatoes, eggplants and mangoes. Remarkably, 60 percent of fresh vegetables exported from Israel annually come from the Arava. The following are highlights from a recent tour of the region: Arava Agricultural Research and Development Center Leading a tour at the Arava Agricultural Research and Development Center (Arava R&D Center) is Maayan Kitroin, who is in charge of flower research.

Soldiers

chosen for the IDF blog entry. “There are awesome people doing awesome things in the army all the time,” she said with a giggle.

A 2010 graduate of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, Petersen told JNS.org that she was “surprised” at her selection, though she was one of the first to hold her position in the IDF. Petersen trained soldiers slated for elite army units.

They had already completed at least eight months of basic training, and often had several additional months of more intense training. She said that she and her colleagues would “sit for hours and hours” planning and analyzing how they were going to take these men from “regular soldiers to Special Forces – to even better.

“We would spend hours and hours on an exercise list.

We would look at their old ones, see what they had done and figure out how to make it harder and faster, how they could run more. Then we would go to the shooting range and make them do all of these [exercises] we had set up for them and they would do it,” she said. “We would do it first, to test it out, and then they would do it.”

Is Petersen good with a gun? “Yeah,” she said. “I am a pretty good shot.”

Petersen said she shot her first gun as a 14-year-old on a vacation with a friend in Nevada; they shot cans in the desert. “I thought, ‘Wow! I am really good at this and it is really fun,’” she reminisced, noting that she could never have dreamed then of her time in the IDF.

Sarit Petersen, of Maryland, who is on the IDF’s recent list of “8 Female Soldiers Who Shattered Barriers in 2013.” (Photo courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces) Other female soldiers on the list have different roles.

Take Pvt. Or Meidan. She moved to a southern kibbutz in Israel from Uganda. In November 2012, her town was a regular target of Hamas rockets. Today, she is an Iron Dome missile defense system operator. Also listed is First Sgt. Monaliza Abdo, an Arab-Israeli combat soldier. While most Arab-Israelis don’t even take part in army service, Abdo rose through the ranks to become a commander, teaching soldiers how to combat terrorism and other threats. In December, she completed three years of service – one more

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“The Arava is a desert climate – hot, long summers, short, dry winters, with the average rainfall 30 millimeters (1.18 inches) a year,” she says. “With essentially no water, as well as poor soil which is a bit salty, water is found by drilling underground.”

The R&D Center supports the Arava’s farmers in their crop-growing activities and also looks for new crops to bring to the region. In one net house (like a greenhouse, but covered with a net) at the Center are vegetables. A greenhouse nearby has flowers for export. Kitroin notes Trachelium, which she calls “long-day flowers, enjoyed mainly in the British market.” Lights are used to extend the growing time for the flowers each day.

Strawberries in the desert? The Arava R&D Center pulls it off. Strawberries are planted in a cool greenhouse and hung on plastic trellises. They are grown for the local market.

The R&D Center not only investigates vegetables and flowers, but also orchards, organic agriculture, fish, plant protection, herbs and quality control.

For a reservation to tour the R&D Center, e-mail visit@ arava.co.il or call 972-53-866-6114.

Arava Scientific Research and Development Center Dr. Rivka Ophir and her assistant at the Arava Scientific See “Arava” on page 12

Continued from page 5 than the required number for Israeli women.

Lt. Amit Danon, a former Israeli national champion in rhythmic gymnastics, became a combat officer in the mixedgender Caracal Battalion. She is also on the IDF’s list. “She was one of the first women to become an officer in a combat unit,” Risa Kelemer, a commander who also serves in Caracal, told JNS.org. Kelemer, who is from Baltimore, said Caracal is the only co-ed combat unit in the world.

“Boys and girls play the same roles,” she said, noting that despite this she has felt little tension from the men she works with. “I encounter more difficulty when I am in civilian life. I meet someone who says, ‘You are a combat soldier? Girls aren’t combat soldiers!’”

Kelemer does not pretend to be as strong as her male counterparts, though she said she is able to hold her own. When it comes to an operation, however, she said each person has a role. Kelemer, for example, is a trained grenade launcher.

Another female comrade is a sharp shooter. Another is a medic. “Combat is not just running with 50 pounds on your back,” said Kelemer, “though we also do that.”

Katja Edelman, originally from Kansas and now a student at Columbia University, recently completed her service as a combat infantry soldier in the IDF’s canine unit. In that role, she worked with dogs in the field and trained them back at the base. She told JNS.org that the IDF “has a lot to be proud of regarding integration of women… I felt like I had amazing opportunities in my service and was able to do many of the same things men do… It was always important to me to demonstrate professionalism and capability to set the right precedent for a continued and hopefully expanded role for women in the IDF.” Edelman said she did feel pressure to prove herself in the IDF, and she went to extra lengths not to show signs of fatigue “even if the boys were openly exhausted.

“I feel that most women in male-dominated workplaces can relate,” she said.

Kelemer’s mother, Amian Frost-Kelemer, said she is “incredibly impressed with and proud” of her daughter.

But she is also “petrified.”

“She believes she can do whatever the guys can do. She is really fast. But the weight they have to carry is not great for a woman’s body,” Frost-Kelemer told JNS.org. “Mentally, there is no issue. Physically, the reality is that as strong as she is, it is about heart – she is there for the heart.”

Maayan Jaffe is a freelance writer in Overland Park, KS.

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Mike’s latest venture, Charitable Auto Resource Service (C*A*R*S), accommodates religious organizations, appealing to members for auto donations. Presently, the JCC, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas and select churches anticipate monetary gain from donated vehicles. Accordingly, Mike’s business card reads, “Giving to your own.”

Setting up a C*A*R*S program requires no signed contracts, keeping the entity void from any specific obligatory commitments. For program information, or to donate, contact C*A*R*S at donatecars@twcny.rr.com or call Mike at 256-6167.

Small business web tips (NAPSI) –David Friend, who was recognized by Ernst and Young as one of New England’s Entrepreneurs of the Year, shares five tips to help small business owners be smart with their online efforts and their business.

1. Use social media platforms to connect with your customers, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Pinterest, to remind your customers of your offerings. Sharing an update at least once a week will keep your followers engaged.

2. Online review sites, from Angie’s List to Yelp, give people a number of ways to voice their opinions. Monitor these sites regularly to see what customers are saying about your business. And know the dynamic isn’t just one way.

You can use this as an opportunity to gracefully accept compliments or tactfully respond to criticism; however, be careful not to engage in an argument.

3. You’ve got mail. In today’s fast-paced times, consumers may find it easier to send an e-mail instead of calling with a question or inquiry. Try to respond quickly, which will show customers that you care about them and that you are able to help them with any issues. A quick answer can improve overall customer satisfaction.

4. Beware of data thieves. With more business conducted online than ever before, cyber security should be top of mind. To protect your data, do not open suspicious e-mails, use strong passwords, and make sure your anti-virus and anti-malware signature database is up to date.

5. Make sure you’re protected. Results from a recent study

by Carbonite revealed that small businesses have big gaps in their data backup plans, which puts them at risk for losing valuable information in the instance of power outage, hard drive failure or even a virus. In fact, the study showed that small businesses continue to choose risky and unreliable technologies: 50 percent use external hard drives, yet 40 percent didn’t start backing up until they experienced a hard drive failure.

42 percent use USB/flash drives primarily because it is perceived as easy, yet only 6 percent believe USB/flash drives are actually reliable.

More than one-third use CDs/DVD drives to back up data, even though 62 percent feel they are inconvenient or risky.

Just like seat belts and insurance, you may only appreciate online backup after it’s too late. However, its implementation is very easy and cost effective. It gives business owners peace of mind and more time to focus on the matters at hand.

Online backup services often offer an affordable and reliable way for small businesses to back up their data.

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315-445-9856 (Fayetteville) Faxes: 315-622-3522 (Liverpool)

315-445-9802 (Fayetteville) E-mails: liverpool@drmalara.com fayetteville@drmalara.com Website: www.DrMalara.com Hours: Evenings and Saturday appointments available in both offices Dr. Richard Malara has been providing “Professional Eye Care With A Personal Touch” to the people of Central New York since 1992. He has been involved in numerous “Gift of Sight” community service projects, as well as nine overseas medical missions projects. Dr. Malara is a yearly participant in the “Save Your Vision” campaign through the American Optometric Association. Dr. Malara is a Syracuse native who has chosen to locate his practices here to give back to the community he was raised in.

Dr. Matthew Durkin grew up in Central New York and has been practicing in this area for almost 15 years.

The experienced and friendly doctors and staff at Malara Eyecare & Eyewear Gallery provide state-of-the-art eye care while keeping your individual needs and concerns as their primary focus.

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Dr. Tucker has practiced ophthalmology in the Syracuse area since 1988, treating patients with eye diseases, including cataracts, glaucoma, dry eye and macular degeneration. He provides eye care to patients of all ages, including children, especially patients with emergency eye problems. The office has free parking and accepts most insurance plans.

Dr. Tucker’s family taught him the importance of helping others. Carrying on his family tradition, he supports numerous community charities and the work of the Dalai Lama, with whom he has had private audience.

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Calendar Highlights To see a full calendar of community events, visit the Federation's community calendar online at www.jewishfederationcny.org. Please notify jstander@jewishfederationcny.org of any calendar changes.

Sunday, February 23 Fifth Florida reunion at 11 am Monday, February 24 Syracuse Hebrew Day School Board meeting at 7:30 pm Tuesday, February 25 Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center Executive Committee at 6 pm, followed by board meeting at 7 pmTemple Concord presents Clinton String Quartet at 7 pm Wednesday, February 26 Deadline for the March 6 issue of the Jewish Observer Saturday, March 1 TC Purim Havdalah at 5 pm Community teen mystery bus tour at 6:45 pm Sunday, March 2 Temple Adath Yeshurun rummage sale from 10 am-3 pm Monday, March 3 TAY rummage sale from 10 am-3 pm Tuesday, March 4 TC program on homosexuality and Judaism at 7 pm Wednesday, March 5 Deadline for the March 20 issue of the Jewish Observer TAY Hazak meeting at 8:45 am Thursday, March 6 Federation presents Dov Waxman at the Jewish Community Center at 7 pm Saturday, March 8 TC presents Symphoria at 7 pm Sunday, March 9 TAY adult education Chavurah presents program on Jewish art at 9:30 am TC Brotherhood and Women of Reform Judaism present program on the Affordable Care Act at 9:30 am

mazel tov Brulé – Harsch wedding

Rachel Esther Brulé and Michael Harsch were married on September 1 on the rooftop of Ramscale Studio in New York City.

Present were 54 of the couple’s family and closest friends, representMichael Harsch and ing 14 different Rachel Esther Brulé nationalities. Brulé is the daughter of Jim and Jill Brulé, of Fayetteville. Harsch is the son of Drs. Wolfgang and Herta Harsch, of Berlin, Germany.

Rachel is assistant professor of politics at New York University – Abu Dhabi, and Michael is a faculty fellow of social science at the same institution. The couple will reside in New York City until their move to Abu Dhabi this fall.

d’var torah

Vayakel

By Jim Brulé The midrash for this week’s portion, Vayakel, takes us to one of the deepest questions that each religion must face: what is the Eternal One’s role in human suffering?

The path they take is a bit circuitous, but it is moving. It starts with the phrase, “And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood...” (Exodus 37:1) The Hebrew for acacia wood, shittim, also means a particular place, shittim, one of the many places where we Israelites got into trouble. And so we get our first question about why the Ark of the Covenant should be made from wood that reminds us of our rebellion against God’s laws. The midrash draws upon some proof texts and explanations. In brief, it first reminds us that the Eternal One heals us, as is proven in Jeremiah 30:17, “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds.” Then, it suggests that the ways of God are unlike those of man, for a man inflicts a wound with a knife and heals with a plaster, but God heals with the very thing with which He wounds.

It finds many examples of this, but concludes with shittim, reminding us that it was in shittim that Israel sinned by committing harlotry with the daughters of Moab (Numbers 25:1), but it was also through shittim that they were healed, for it says, “And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood.”

Now, the problem of theodicy. The presence of evil in a God-created world is perhaps the greatest challenge that any theology must face, especially if it says that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and loving. As Rabbi Harold Kushner suggests, you can only have two of the three unless you’re willing to say that there are “higher purposes” unknown to mere humans, which are served by the deaths of innocent babies, for example.

However, most of these problems exist at the “boundaries” of our experience: those disturbing extremes that create huge challenges for every religion. For me, this notion – that we are healed by the wound that the Eternal inflicts upon us – is a paradox that can strengthen us in that broad middle-of-the-road, even if it doesn’t satisfactorily answer the problems at the extremes.

Do you know how we build up our muscles and therefore become stronger? We do it by breaking down muscles, tearing them apart in exercise. Then when they heal, they come back not merely repaired, but with more volume and power.

Do you know how we keep our intellects sharp, our brains healthy? By taking on challenges that stump us, by exercising our cognitive skills in much the same way as we do our physical bodies.

I believe that the challenges that we encounter are opportunities to engage with God and thereby become healed – and strengthened. Am I ready to say that the Eternal sends us pain and suffering to improve us? No, I am not.

I am, however, ready to say that God is a healing force that is always available to us, and that the quality of the challenge we find most difficult to face is often the one that will lead us to the most growth if we can encounter it in a spiritually positive manner.

So, let’s take this one step further. In the Talmud, we learn that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai, a great healer, could not heal himself – it took another to heal him (brachot, 5b). And so I believe it is with us and the Eternal that, no matter how great a healer one may be, it cannot be simply the challenges that heal us.

We are obligated as creatures not only made in the image of the Divine, but as sparks of the Divine in this world, to reach out to each other and help heal the wounds that have been inflicted – by whatever means. Then, I believe, it will be true that the Eternal will heal us – the Divine in each of us can and will heal each of us.

Jim Brulé is a maggid, a traditional Jewish storyteller and preacher. A member of Temple Concord, he regularly shares his work with congregations across the Syracuse community and the U.S.

obituaries Elinor Bragman

Elinor Bragman, 81, died on January 20.

A life resident of Syracuse, she had retired from New York state.

She was predeceased by her parents; and a brother, Alan.

She is survived by her brother, Howard, of Syracuse.

Burial was in Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements. 

Lillian Dinkin

Lillian Dinkin, 94, died on February 6 in Guilderland, NY. Born in the Bronx, she graduated from James Monroe High and received a bachelor of arts in education at Hunter College and a master’s in education from CW Post College.

She taught for more than 30 years in the Plainedge, NY, school district and was committed to social activism. She helped start the first preschool in her Long Island community, as well as at her synagogue, Temple Beth Avodah.

In her later years, she helped two people get their green cards. She loved folk dancing, swimming, bridge, art and Yiddish music.

She was predeceased by her husband, Isador Dinkin, in 2004.

She is survived by her children, Jonathan (Aveeya) Dinkin, of East Syracuse, and Jesse (Valerie) Dinkin; as well as two grandchildren.

Contributions may be made to Temple Concord, 910 Madison St., Syracuse, NY 13210 or Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, P.O. Box 271, DeWitt, NY 13214. 

Shirley Goldman Gould

Shirley Gould (née Goldman), 96, died on January 29 in Skokie, IL. She was a member of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, IL. She was the historian of the Goldman and Cohen/Mesigal families, and the “matriarch” of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation minyan. In collaboration with psychiatrists from the Alfred Adler Institute, she wrote five books on having a family council and raising children, She was predeceased by her husband, Joseph E. Gould; and siblings, Minni Horwich Richmond, Irving (Gertrude) Goldman, Frieda (Arnold) Shure and Sidney (Lillian) Goldman.

She is survived by her children, Ruth (Lawrence) Kurlandsky, Arthur (Carol Robinson) Gould and Shepard Gould; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Burial was in the Shalom Cemetery, Arlington Heights, IL. Levayah Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions may be made to Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 303 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60202. 

Larry Rothenberg

Larry Rothenberg, 65, died on February 2 at home in Manlius.

A life resident of Syracuse, he had retired in 2009 from Onondaga Beverage Co., where he was a sales representative and industry leader. In retirement, he enjoyed breakfasts and coffee with friends and cruising with the Corvette Club. He was a member of the National Guard and also a member of Temple Adath Yeshurun, where he ushered during the High Holidays and was active with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York, the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Foundation and the Manlius Fire Department.

He was predeceased by his father, Joe, in March 2006; his daughter, Amy, in December 2008; and his wife, Janice, in July 2009.

He is survived by his mother, Helen, of Syracuse; brother, Steve (Marsha), of Fayetteville; sister-in-law, Susan Snyder; four nieces and nephews; his aunt, Muriel Elman, of Syracuse; his former son-in-law, Tom Fazzio; and several cousins.

Burial was in Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions may be made to any of the organizations that were important to him. 

NEWS IN bRIEF From JNS.org

Ariel Sharon Park to be inaugurated

The Ariel Sharon Park near Tel Aviv will inaugurate a new compound on Feb. 18, marking the completion of a massive conversion of a former landfill into an eco-friendly park.

A helicopter tour of the park, located on the former Hiriya landfill, was held on Feb. 12 ahead of the grand opening.

“Work on the park is ongoing and the next stage of development is ready to go,” park overseer Moshe Borochov said, according to Israel Hayom. “When completed, the entire mountain will be open for the public.” Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister and general, died on Jan. 11.

Israel Aerospace Industries unveils new Super Heron drone at Singapore Airshow

Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled its new Super Heron drone on Feb. 11 at the 2014 Singapore Airshow.

The heavy version of the Super Heron can remain airborne for 24 hours while its light version can fly for up to 48 hours. It is still undetermined at what point the new drone will enter service in the Israeli Air Force.

“Israel’s presence here [at the Singapore Airshow] is proof of it being a superpower in this field,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said, Israel Hayom reported.

FEBRUARY 20, 2014/20 ADAR I 5774 ■

obituaries

JEWISH OBSERVER

11

NEWS digest

Alan S. Silver

Alan S. Silver, 93, died on February 3 at the Syracuse Veterans Hospital.

He graduated from Syracuse University magna cum laude in 1942 and received a bachelor of science in accounting. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a master sergeant from 1942-46, and was the accountant for the post exchange, air transport command in Barrackpore, India, 15 miles from Calcutta. He also served in the Asian Pacific Theater for one and a half years. He retired in 1985 after 35 years with the IRS in the examination division, where he was the group manager and large case examiner.

He was predeceased by his wife, Jean, in 1997.

He is survived by his daughters, Judy (Glenn) Anderson, Andrea (Russell Hunter) Silver, Shirley Silver and Barbara Silver; one granddaughter; and his sister, Roberta Fredericks.

Burial was in the Temple Concord section of Woodlawn Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions may be made to the Gregory J. Harris Military Courtesy Room, 5701 E. Circle Dr. #335, Cicero, NY 13039. 

Mildred Sipzner

Mildred Sipzner, 86, of Cortland, died on February 9 at SUNY Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

She worked in a card store, where she enjoyed helping people find items.

She was predeceased by her daughter, Denise Geller.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan Suben; and two grandsons.

Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society. 

From JTA

Israeli absorption chief prepares plan for French Jews

Israel’s minister of immigrant absorption said she will submit to the government a plan easing the path for the growing numbers of French Jews coming to Israel. Sofa Landver while visiting Paris on Feb. 12 told JTA that though she and her team expect mostly young immigrants, her ministry has prepared plans adapted to all ages and sectors designed to ‘’erase all bureaucratic hurdles’’ confronting new arrivals. In addition, the plan will consist of reinforcing in Paris and other French cities the Israeli government personnel who assist those interested in making aliyah. According to the Israeli ministry’s data, 3,301 new immigrants arrived from France last year, the highest number from that country since 2000.

Landver said she will present the program in an upcoming Cabinet meeting. ‘’Immigrating to Israel is a decision each individual makes on his own,’’ she said, ‘’but we consider it important to discuss our plans with the French Jewish leadership and to have their support.’’ Asked whether she considered the rise in antisemitic incidents in France to be the prime motivation for immigrating to Israel, Landver said that a community confronted with an increase in Jews leaving “reflects signs of discomfort, signs of insecurity and perhaps of antisemitism. Waves of Jews leaving their community are

bound to have their reasons,” she said. Landver said she and her team found that a recurrent message they encountered in France were parents encouraging their children to build their future in Israel rather than in their native land.

Germany improving pensions to Naziera laborers living in Israel

Thousands of Jews now living in Israel who were forced to work in Nazi ghettos will receive improved pensions under an agreement worked out between Israel and Germany. A formal announcement is expected later in February, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Cabinet visit Israel for their annual joint meeting and talks, which were initiated in 2008. An Israeli delegation and Germany’s Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs worked out the agreement in negotiations in Berlin. The adjustment would affect approximately 13,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel who applied for the pension after 1997 and had received retroactive payments for a maximum of four years. Under the proposed change, all applicants, whether forced to work or were paid for their labor, will be eligible for retroactive payments back to 1997, even beyond the four years. The average payment per person would be about $20,500, according to Der Spiegel magazine. There are separate compensation programs for surviving slave laborers and for those who were paid at the time.

David Jay Speer

David Jay Speer, 57, died on January 21, in California.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, he grew up in Syracuse. He graduated with a bachelor of science from the University of Georgia and received a master’s in education from California State University, Northridge. In his younger years, he owned and operated a pizza business and moved to California to work as operations and quality control of the original California Pizza Kitchens. He was a member of Temple Ahavet Shalom.

He coached baseball and football for all three of his sons. He taught at Fremont High School in Los Angeles for seven years. At the time of his death, he was a chemistry teacher at Northridge Academy High School in Granada Hill, CA. He was predeceased by his mother, Marion Speer, in 2013.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Lisa Harrison Speer; sons, Derek Speer, of Santa Rosa, CA, Aaron Speer, of Granada Hills, CA, and Jacob Speer, of Granada Hills, CA; his father, Howard Speer, of Las Vegas, NV; brothers, Bert (Amy) Speer, of Rochester, NY, Alan (Barbara) Speer, of Miami, FL, Stanley (Andrea) Speer, of Syracuse; many nieces and nephews; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Joe and Betty Harrison, of Hot Springs, AR; sister in-law, Nancy (Tom) Parker, of Suffolk, VA; and brother in-law, Ben (Tracy) Harrison, of Frisco, TX. Groman Eden Mortuary, Mission Hills, CA, had arrangements.

Contributions may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202, or the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718. 

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NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA

Pope praises Jewish-Catholic dialogue in AJC audience

Pope Francis called on Jews and Christians to work together to construct a “more just and fraternal world,” and said he looked forward to his upcoming visit to Israel. Francis made his remarks during an audience at the Vatican on Feb. 13 with a 50-member delegation of American Jewish Committee leaders. He called his visit to Israel, scheduled for May, a pilgrimage of “communion, hope and peace.” Francis praised theAJC for its work in promoting Jewish-Catholic dialogue. He noted that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Nostra Aetate declaration, which launched the formal dialogue and, he said, “constitutes for the Church the sure point of reference for relations between Catholics and Jews. It is important that we dedicate ourselves to new generations the heritage of our mutual knowledge, esteem and friendship which has, thanks to the commitment of associations like yours, grown over these years,” he told the group. AJC President Stanley Bergman called Francis a “true friend.” He said the pope’s visit to Israel in May is “eagerly anticipated.”

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ february 20, 2014/20 ADAR I 5774

NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA

European Parliament head “hurt” by Knesset walkout of “extremists”

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European Parliament President Martin Schultz labeled as “extremists” the Israeli lawmakers who walked out during his speech to the Knesset. Schultz told the German newspaper Die Welt on Feb. 13 that he was “surprised and hurt by the harsh reaction because the speech I delivered was pro-Israel.” The Jewish Home party members who walked out in the middle of the address are “extremists,” he said. The lawmakers left after Schultz criticized Israel using incorrect facts and party head Naftali Bennett has called on Schultz to apologize for his misstatements. “Naturally, I cannot only say things that would be pleasant to everyone’s ears. I must also present the controversial side of the things,” Schultz told Die Welt, adding that he “presented to the Knesset the position of the European parliament.” Speaking in his native German, Schultz accused Israel of allowing its citizens to use four times the amount of water per person that is allocated to Palestinians, a figure that reportedly is highly inflated. He also criticized the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Schultz also said there is no European economic boycott of Israel and that the European Union will always stand

by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later criticized Schultz for what he called “selective hearing. He said that he visited Ramallah and heard from Palestinian youth that an Israeli citizen uses four times as much water as a Palestinian,” Netanyahu said of Schultz. “According to both the Palestinian water authority and our data, this number is not true and is significantly smaller. The parliament president said, in all honestly, ‘I didn’t check.’ But that didn’t prevent him from casting aspersions.”

More possibly Nazi-looted art removed from Gurlitt home in Austria

Another cache of valuable art possibly looted by the Nazis was discovered at the Austria home of Cornelius Gurlitt. On Feb. 10, a collection of 60 works by such artists as Renoir, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Liebermann, Monet and Manet was removed from the Salzburg home to a secret location, where experts are examining their provenance. Gurlitt told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper that the Salzburg collection is worth far more than the 1,400 works confiscated from him nearly two years ago in Munich in the course of an investigation for tax evasion. In Germany, a task force is investigating the Munich collection, and photos of at least one-third of the works have been displayed on the government-sponsored lost-art website. The Austria collection will remain hidden, according to Gurlitt’s attorney Hannes Hartung, who told Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the works would not be shown to the German task force. Gurlitt thanked Austria for agreeing to hold the Salzburg collection in an undisclosed location while their provenance is checked, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. Gurlitt has decried the German decision to display works from the Munich collection online in an attempt to discover if any were stolen from Jews or from museums during the Nazi period. He claims it is a violation of his privacy.

Many of the works may legally belong to Gurlitt. Gurlitt’s father, Hildebrand, was a collector whom the Nazi authorities designated to procure works for German museums and for profit. In the immediate postwar years, U.S. military authorities confiscated works in Hildebrand Gurlitt’s possession, but then released them. His son eventually inherited the collection.

Arava

Research and Development Center have a research room with 250 desert plants originating from Eilat to the Dead Sea. Since many plants are the basis for drugs, Dr. Ophir is using the extracts and compounds from these plants on animal models to determine their therapeutic application for human diseases. “Desert plants produce something useful for humans because they survive in harsh conditions,” says Ophir.

Using a zebra fish, she is attempting to study potential value for Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and the Center is also “working with cancer cells to see which plants are good [in the fight] against cancer,” she says. The Center is also using a worm to research brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, and surveying the Arava plant library for possible breast cancer drugs.

A coral-growing farmer Seven miles south of the Arava R&D Center is the community of Ein Yahav, where Assaf Shaham began growing corals in 2008 after a career doing lighting design for architects and the stage. “Six years ago, I saw a lot of water is not used because it is too salty, and in 2010 there was an agreement that the removal of corals from the ocean was stopped,” Shaham says.

Shaham realized that corals had a biomedical use for bone structures. He began to grow them in large rooms in salt-waterfilled tanks, replicating the conditions of the ocean. Shaham says he “may be the only person growing coral in the world.”

Ohad Schwartz – founder and CEO of CoreBone, a company that works with the corals grown by Shaham – says, “We make a patent to give corals a diet to make them grow bone faster.” CoreBone’s patented technology is a process that embeds bioactive materials into the skeletons of corals during the growth process, to produce a bone substitute that can be used in orthopedic and dental procedures.

“We grow [coral bones] at least 10 times faster than nature,” Schwartz says.

With human or animal bones, “one risks disease or rejection and synthetics are not strong enough,” explains Schwartz. The global market for orthopedic and dental bone-graft substitutes is growing rapidly, particularly due to the demands of the aging population.

CoreBone is waiting approval of the

Continued from page 8 regulatory process in Europe in the next half year, and Food and Drug Administration approval by the end of 2014, to enter the dental and orthopedic markets with specifically grown corals. The Israeli government and the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist are helping the project financially.

“Blueprint Negev’” Since the central Arava is not connected to Israel’s national water system, it can only get its water supply through local drillings and reservoirs built by the Jewish National Fund. Recently, the JNF began its “Blueprint Negev” campaign to develop the Negev and to encourage people to relocate there. Specifically for the Arava, in conjunction with the Central Arava Regional Council and the Israeli government, JNF is building a medical center for health services and emergency care.

It will replace the 40-year-old clinic there.

Thousands of date palms Standing at dusk in a date plantation, surrounded by thousands of date palms that are 18 meters (59 feet) high, was an awesome experience for those of us on the tour. Itay Asael of Moshav Tzofar was our guide. He explained that the farmers in the five agricultural-based Arava communities manage the date plantations together, some growing since the 1970s.

The trees produce one to one-and-a-half tons per acre, primarily of the plump and tender medjool variety.

Asael told us, “Date palms are both female and male. The primary purpose of male date palms is as pollinators, and one male is enough to pollinate 100 females.”

These trees yield approximately 150 kilos (330 pounds) per tree, per year. Asael says these dates “are exported to Europe and the U.S., but we are now reaching into markets in China and India.”

Pick your own organic veggies A fun, final stop in the Arava is the Meloh Ha’tenne greenhouse, specifically for tourists. For a nominal amount, you can pick your own tomatoes and peppers. To make a reservation, call 972-52-291-3379 or 972-52-366-6606.

As a tour of the Arava reveals, Israel is a global leader and pioneer in desert agriculture.