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6 NISAN 5776 • APRIL 14, 2016 • VOLUME XXXVII, NUMBER 8 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

Yom Hashoah community observance Sunday, May 1

BY JUDITH L. STANDER The Jewish Federation of Central New York will hold the 2016 annual Yom Hashoah community memorial observance on Sunday, May 1, from 3-4:30 pm, in the sanctuary of Temple Concord, 910 Madison St., Syracuse. The event will be free and open to the community, and there will be a reception following the program.

This year’s featured speaker will be Stanlee J. Stahl, the executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, an organization that seeks to fulfill the dual goals of the traditional Jewish commitment to “hakarat hatov,” the searching out and recognition of goodness. The JFR seeks to “repay a debt of gratitude” to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The second goal of JFR is to preserve the legacy of the rescuers through a national Holocaust education program.

The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called “Yom Hashoah.”

The official “Days of Remembrance” for 2016 are May 1-8. The actual date of Yom

Hashoah this year falls on Thursday, May 5.

The date was set aside by the United States Congress to honor the memory of those who were lost during the Holocaust.

This includes more than six million Jews, along with five million additional victims, including Poles, Roma (gypsies), Muslims, Soviet prisoners of war, Afro-Germans, political dissidents, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Slavs and Asians.

Everyone attending the community observance can light a yellow Holocaust memorial candle before sitting down. At the opening of the program, all of the names inscribed in the Federation’s Book of Remembrance will be read aloud by area rabbis and cantors. Organizers have noted that many in the audience find the program “an emotionally moving experience” as the list of names is read. Organizers hope that “reading these names aloud annually will reaffirm that the community has not forgotten the people behind the names.”

Attention will be paid to World War II survivors, liberators and rescuers who live in Central New York. Each will be invited to light a tall memorial candle in recognition of their particular life experience. In addition, candles will also be lit to recognize

the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazi regime, with another lit for the five million others killed and one for the victims of more recent genocides.

A display of posters from the JFR will be set up for viewing in Temple Concord’s social hall. Titled “Rescue: Traits that Transcend,” it will focus on traits that are said to be “recognizable to young and old alike.” The posters’ message will be that the righteous are not just heroes from the past, but also role models for the present.

They will be in English and will be available on loan to religious or public schools as local resources in the teaching of the Holocaust. Posters in Spanish, Croatian and Polish are available through JFR.

This year’s Yom Hashoah Planning Committee is chaired by Alan Goldberg and includes Linda Alexander, Michael Balanoff, Cantor Francine Berg, Sarah Charney, Robin Ciciarelli, Linda Cohen, Susan DeMari, Vicki Feldman, Joel Friedman, Susan Jacobs, Victoria Foreman Kohl, Myrna Koldin, Ilene Mendel, Liza Rochelson, Brian Small, Victoria Sonne, Judith Stander, Ruth Stein and Marcy Waldauer.

Parking in the synagogue lot will be reserved for guests with mobility issues.

Alternate parking in the area will be available. For more information, contact Stander at the Jewish Federation of Central New York at 445-0161, ext. 114, or jstander@jewishfederationcny.org.

Temple Concord to hold third annual “Mensch of the Year” awards Temple Concord’s third annual “Mensch of the Year Awards” will honor five people who are said to have made “significant contributions” to the Central New York community. This year’s event, scheduled for Sunday, May 22, at 5:30 pm, will be held at a new venue, Pascale’s Italian Bistro at Drumlins. The event will feature Avi Lieberman, a Los Angeles comedian. Free parking will be available.

Mensch of the Year honorees are Randi Bregman, Laura Serway, Cindy Seymour, David Hoyne and the late Dolph Schayes.

CNY Central news anchor Megan Coleman will emcee the event.

Event Chair Vicki Feldman said, “This year’s event is not to be missed. Our men-

Meet at Benjamin’s reminder

Jewish Federation of Central New York will hold the “Meet at Benjamin’s” “friend-raising” cocktail party on Saturday, April 16, from 8:45-10 pm, at Benjamin’s on Franklin, 314 S. Franklin St., in Armory Square.

The event will be sponsored by Pastabilities, Mr. Shop and Neil and Robin Goldberg. The event is for adults only. No RSVP will be needed. For any questions, contact Marianne Bazydlo at 445-2040, ext. 102, or mbazydlo@ jewishfederationcny.org.

schen are the cream of the crop, people who help others through, and in addition to, their everyday work. Dolph was the highest order of mensch and I know he would have been thrilled to receive this honor. We’re honored to celebrate his wonderful life and contributions.”

Feldman added, “Pascale’s at Drumlins will provide great food and great atmosphere.”

See "Mensch" on page 9

2016 Federation u Annual Campaign Goal: $1,200,000

904,309

$

as of April 11, 2016

To make a pledge, contact Marianne Bazydlo 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 April 15.....................7:30 pm.......................................................Parasha-Metzora April 22.....................7:38 pm.......................................................Parasha-Passover April 23.....................after 8:43 pm............................................................Passover April 28.....................7:45 pm.....................................................................Passover April 29.....................7:46 pm.......................................... Parasha-Passover/Yizkor May 6........................7:54 pm............................................... Parasha-Acharai Mot

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Teen funders

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Passover

The Foundation's teen funders Israel’s water technology will be Local synagogues announce their are accepting grant applications the theme of this year’s local Yom Passover services and events; Ha’atzmaut celebration. from area organizations. children's books; a look at matzah.

Story on page 3 Story on page 3 Stories on pages 7, 11-12

PLUS Personal Greetings................11 Healthcare Greetings........... 13 Calendar Highlights............. 14 Obituaries..........................14-15

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776

Antisemitic incidents in Austria up more than 80 percent

BY JTA STAFF (JTA) – The number of antisemitic incidents reported in Austria increased by more than 80 percent last year, according to the Austrian Forum Against antisemitism. The forum said 465 incidents were recorded during 2015, with more than 200 of them being Internet postings hostile to Jews.

The total number of Internet postings reported to Austria’s constitutional protection authority as offensive remained stable in 2015, but the number of postings liable to be used in criminal proceedings doubled compared to 2014, an Interior Ministry spokesman told Reuters.

“The whole picture is terrifying,” Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Commu-

nities of Austria, told the news agency.

There was a clear trend of increasingly hostile behavior by Muslims against the 15,000 Jews living in Austria, the Jewish community representative said.

“There is an increasing concern in our community that if the proportion of Muslims in Austria continues to rise due to immigration, due to the refugees, this

could become problematic for us,” Raimund Fastenbauer said.

In several European countries, including France and the Netherlands, watchdog groups attribute most antisemitic incidents to immigrants from Muslim countries. The Austrian Forum Against Anti-Semitism began monitoring antisemitic incidents in 2003.

A MATTER OF OPINION Scholars against anti-Zionism

BY BEN COHEN (JNS.org) – Throughout the years, I’ve spoken at or attended a number of academic conferences on the subject of rising antisemitism. Parleys like these are essential for boosting our understanding of why, seven decades after the end of the World War II, the taboo around antisemitic invective – whether directed at Jews as Jews, or through code words like “Zionists” – has been broken. Historians, sociologists and political scientists, along with scholars from similar disciplines, all play a decisive role in determining how the trajectory of antisemitism changes even as its core themes, like its implacable opposition to Jewish sovereignty and its dark warnings about powerful Jews working against the national interest, remain the same.

From April 2-6, all these topics again came under the spotlight at a major conference at the Indiana University Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism, under the able direction of Professor Alvin Rosenfeld. The papers delivered suggested that the conference was digging deep into the weeds: throughout the four days, attendees discussed why antisemitism and anti-Zionism exercise little attraction in countries such as Japan, India and China; examined the manipulation of the Holocaust in public debates around Israel and Zionism; and revisited, through such subjects as Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry of 1946 on the future of the land of Israel, the historical foundations of antisemitism in our own time.

All very interesting and perhaps even a little obscure, you might think, but don’t make the mistake of believing that a conference like this one was a purely ivory tower affair. The very title of the conference – “Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and the Dynamics of Delegitimization” – made clear what the conference organizers correctly regarded as the heart of the current problem.

“Our goal is to open more eyes toward what is happening,” Rosenfeld told The Algemeiner, “to get more people to start paying attention to contemporary antisemitism and the role that hostility to Israel plays in generating it.”

Thus do we come to the perennial question of whether anti-Zionism is antisemitism. It’s a question that is often put to me, and my brief answer is that “historically, the two were distinct, but today, they are largely the same. The great scholar of antisemitism, Professor Robert Wistrich, whose sudden passing in 2015 robbed the academic community of one of its sharpest and most charismatic figures, put it much more precisely, and it is worth quoting in full: “Anti-Zionism and antisemitism are two distinct ideologies that throughout time (especially since the creation of Israel in 1948) have tended to converge, generally without undergoing a full merger. There have always been Bundists, Jewish communists, Reform Jews and ultra-Orthodox Jews who strongly opposed Zionism without being Judeophobes. So, too, there are conservatives, liberals and leftists in the West today who are pro-Palestinian, antagonistic toward Israel and deeply distrustful of Zionism without crossing the line into antisemitism. There are also Israeli ‘post-Zionists’ who object to the definition of Israel as an exclusively or even a predominantly ‘Jewish’ state without feeling hostile toward Jews as such. There are others, too, who question whether Jews are really a nation; or who reject Zionism because they believe its accomplishment inevitably resulted in uprooting many Palestinians.

None of these positions is intrinsically antisemitic in the sense of expressing opposition or hatred toward Jews as Jews. Nevertheless, I believe that the more radical forms of anti-Zionism that have emerged with renewed force in recent years do display unmistakable analogies to European antisemitism immediately preceding the Holocaust.”

In this regard, Wistrich stressed the “grim associations” between the Nazi boycott of German Jews during the 1930s and the current Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions hate campaign targeting the Jewish state. It is these functional overlaps between old and new forms of antisemitism, rather than the stated intentions of those who engage in boycotts of Israel, that really

A MATTER OF OPINION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Yasher koach to Chabad for Purim hospital visits To the Editor: When I visit hospital patients dressed in a clown costume on Purim, I am invariably asked if I have come to visit the children.

With glee, I respond that I am actually there to visit the adults! The significance of our survival as a people in spite of those who arise in every age to seek our destruction can only be fully appreciated by adults.

It is with this in mind that I so much appreciate Rabbi Yaakov Rapoport’s arranging for visiting students, Yosef Brook

and Mendy Shloush, to accompany me on my Purim visits at Crouse and SUNY Upstate University Hospitals. They were available to read the megillah for any Jewish patient who wanted to hear it and was able to do so. Yasher koach to Rabbi Rapoport, Yosef and Mendy for their efforts.

Rabbi Irvin S. Beigel Staff chaplain, Crouse Hospital, and associate chaplain, Upstate University Hospital

matter. Put another way, most boycotters will, often at the same time, angrily deny that they are antisemites and insist that the charge of antisemitism is a meaningless smear designed to choke off free debate about the legitimacy of Israel. But what counts is how these political views are put into practice.

Examine that and you will find, as recent research by the AMCHA Initiative watchdog group has revealed, a verifiable correlation between anti-Zionist activism and antisemitic outrages.

What AMCHA has shown is that the more exposed a university campus is to the propaganda of anti-Zionism – the slander that Israel is an apartheid state, the denial of Jewish indigeneity in the land of Israel, the celebration of Palestinian violence against Jews and Israelis – the more likely it is that Jewish students will face harassment. The fact that it is Jews living in the Diaspora, rather than the state of Israel itself, that are first in the line of BDS fire tells us a great deal about both the beliefs and tactics of this campaign.

Of course, campus bien-pensants will tell you that such data mean nothing because the real challenge is not perceived anti-Jewish prejudice, but the hierarchy of oppression that determines that Jews are the beneficiaries of white privilege. As Harvard University Professor Larry Summers put it in a recent Washington Post column, on too many American campuses, “[T]here is hypersensitivity to prejudice against most minority groups but what

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might be called hyper-insensitivity to antisemitism.”

Yet the portents are changing, and for the better. Seven states in the U.S. have now passed legislation to counter any material impact that the BDS hate campaign might have. The Board of Regents of the University of California recently determined in a statement that there are “antisemitic forms of anti-Zionism.” While this manifestly doesn’t mean that BDS advocacy is banned, it does stigmatize the underlying message as hate speech.

We need more of these victories against the antisemitic incarnation of anti-Zionism, and scholars of the phenomenon have a critical role to play.

Our adversaries have, for too long, enjoyed an uncontested playing field upon which to stake their claim that opposing Zionism is duty toward global justice.

Now, though, the triangle of pro-Israel advocacy, anti-BDS legislation and further scholarly unmasking of this movement’s malicious aims is finally making its mark.

Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org and The Tower Magazine, writes a weekly column for JNS.org on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics. His writings have been published in Commentary, The New York Post, Haaretz, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications.

He is the author of “Some of My Best Friends: A Journey Through TwentyFirst Century Antisemitism” (Edition Critic, 2014).

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AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK Grant applications requested by teen funders

BY NANCY BELKOWITZ AND LINDA ALEXANDER The Teen Funders Committee of the Jewish Community Foundation B’nai Mitzvah Program is accepting grant applications from local charitable organizations.

Grant recipients will be announced by the teen funders following the Sunday, May 22, meeting.

All applicants must be legally recognized charitable organizations. Grant applications must be received no later than Monday, May 16, by the Jewish Community Foundation B’nai Mitzvah Program, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt, NY 13214.

Grant requests can be for funding up to $1,000 and applicants must provide details of the proposed project and explain how it advances the organization’s mission.

For grant application information, contact Kathie Piirak at 445-2040, ext. 106, or kpiirak@jewishfederationcny.org.

The B’nai Mitzvah Program at the Jewish Community Foundation teaches the Jewish value of tzedakah through “hands-on” participation. More than 100 b’nai mitzvah funds have been established throughout the past 10 years. A b’nai mitzvah fund requires a minimum $250 donation from the teenager at the time of his or her bar or bat mitzvah. The donations are matched by the

Pomeranz, Shankman and Martin Charitable Foundation for an opening balance of at least $500. The teenagers can advise which charities will receive the funds.

All b’nai mitzvah fund holders can join the Teen Funders Committee meeting, where the teenagers are asked to contribute some of their fund money to a pooled

fund to be distributed by the group. In 2015, 12 organizations received funds totaling $5,800. Since spring 2009, the teenagers have distributed $34,850 to 58 non-profits, both Jewish as well as non-Jewish.

For more information, contact Piirak at 445-2040, ext.

106, or kpiirak@jewishfederationcny.org.

Yom Ha’atzmaut to highlight Israel’s contributions to world water crisis

BY DOUG HORNBACKER As the American press has noted, the Flint, MI, water crisis demonstrates that even countries such as the United States are not immune to problems in obtaining safe and plentiful drinking water. Some may see industrialized countries’ growing water problems as insignificant when compared to the rest of the world, where one in 10 people live without access to safe water, but, as announced at the World Economic Forum in January, “Global water crises – from drought in the world’s most productive farmlands to the hundreds of millions of people without

access to safe drinking water – are the biggest threat facing the planet over the next decade” (www.weforum. org/agenda/2015/01/why-world-water-crises-are-a-topglobal-risk/).

Israel is believed to have the technology needed to tackle the world’s growing water crisis. Israel’s exports of water products have tripled in the past five years and now total $2 billion.

To draw attention to Israel’s contributions in addressing the world’s water crisis, Syracuse’s Yom Ha’atzmaut See "Water" on page 6

ACTS annual spring banquet

BY MARK CASS The Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse will hold its 14th annual spring banquet on Tuesday, April 19, at Drumlins Country Club. This year’s theme will be “Transforming Syracuse: Claiming Power to Build an Equitable Community.” The event will begin with a social hour at 6 pm, followed by dinner and the program at 7 pm.

ACTS is a grass-roots, interfaith network advocating for social justice and a “more just and fair community that improves the quality of life for everyone.” ACTS’ involvement has led to the end of housing youth at the Onondaga County Correctional Facility in Jamesville; adding 275 places for 4-year-olds in Syracuse pre-kindergarten classrooms; and a youth council leadership training program that is preparing future social justice advocates.

This year’s keynote speaker, Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, is the director of the Central New York Chapter of the New

York Civil Liberties Union. He is a Syracuse University graduate who has been involved with a number of local groups, including the Spanish Action League, Center of Excellence and Islamic Society of Central New York.

Before taking his position at the NYCLU, Abdul-Qadir served under the ambassador of the Panamanian mission to the United Nations as an adviser to the ministers of finance, and the vice president/foreign minister. On a global level, he has created and managed international development projects in Sweden, South Africa, Turkey, the Balkans, Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt.

The event will feature the presentation of the social justice leadership awards. This year’s honorees include Marsha Weissman, former executive director of the Center for Community Alternatives; Derrick Dorsey, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Syracuse and president of the Syracuse City School District Board of Commissioners; and Mohamed Khater, president of

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center senior dining menu APRIL 18-22 Monday – macaroni and cheese Tuesday – salad plate with tuna, broccoli and macaroni Wednesday –chicken fried rice Thursday – Passover seder – brisket Friday – closed for Passover APRIL 25-29 Monday-Friday – closed for Passover The Bobbi Epstein Lewis JCC Senior Adult Dining Program at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse offers Va’ad Ha’ir-supervised

Ê

kosher lunches served Monday-Friday at noon. Lunch reservations are required by noon of the previous business day. 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. To attend, one need not be Jewish or a member of the JCC. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Cindy Stein at 445-2360, ext.

104, or cstein@jccsyr.org.

the Islamic Society of Central New York. They are being honored for “their commitment and actions to bring equity to the community.”

New this year will be the presentation of a new award for clergy leadership. Reverend Dr. Nebraski Carter, pastor of Living Water Church of God in Christ, will be this year’s recipient. The new award is being named the Reverend Dr. Nebraski Carter Clergy Leadership Award in his honor.

Tickets are still available for purchase online at www. acts-cny.org or by contacting Liso Smith at 416-6363.

Event organizers are expecting more than 450 attendees, including elected officials and other community leaders.

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THE JCC, CONG. BETH SHOLOM & TEMPLE CONCORD, GLADLY ACCEPT DONATED VEHICLES THRU C*A*R*S (a locally owned Manlius company) “giving to your own” (it’s what you do best)

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776

CONGREGATIONAL NOTES Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas The Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Sisterhood is sponsoring its third annual trip to the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown on Monday, July 25, at 1:30 pm. This year’s presentation will be “The Thieving Magpie” by Rossini. The community is welcome to join the excursion. There will be a limited number of tickets available, so those interested have been encouraged to make a reservation as soon as possible. The trip will be open to the community.

The Glimmerglass website has said of opera, “[E]veryone seems to be in love with Ninetta. [B]ut when she takes the blame for a theft perpetrated by a bird,

her life is turned upside down. This rarely heard comic opera boasts a dazzling score and sensational situations.”

The trip will include round-trip luxury coach transportation from CBS-CS, a backstage tour, a private preview, lunch and the performance. There will be a cost for the day-long trip, with lower prices for teenagers and children.

For the cost and more information, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org. Payment is due by Sunday, May 1. For more information, contact Nancy Belkowitz at 682-8254 or belkowitzn@yahoo.com.

Temple Adath Yeshurun

Temple Concord TEMPLE CONCORD ANNUAL SPRING COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVE Temple Concord vice president and blood drive coordinator Mark Kotzin is signing up donors, with appointments available every 15 minutes between 9 am-1:45 pm, for the TC annual spring community blood drive. With the local blood supply at extremely low levels right now, Kotzin says donated blood is going out to hospitals almost as quickly as it is coming in, and supplies need to be replenished.

Anyone wishing to donate can make an appointment by calling the TC blood donor hotline at 288-0773, e-mailing Kotzin at concordvampire@verizon.net or going online to www.redcrossblood.org and searching under sponsor code “templeconcord” to access the synagogue’s drive. Donors can also sign up using the Red Cross app on their smartphone.

Donors also have a new ability to speed up their donation process by using the Red Cross’ “rapid pass” system to pre-register,

read the educational materials and answer the donor questionnaire from the comfort and privacy of their home computer the day of the drive. Visit www.redcrossblood. org/rapidpass on the morning of the blood drive to use this new tool.

TC SCHOLAR SERIES PRESENTS STEVEN KEPNES

BY LESLIE BROCKSMITH Steven Kepnes, Ph.D., will speak at the next Temple Concord Scholar Series lecture on Tuesday, April 26, at 7 pm. Kepnes is the chair of the Department of Religion at Colgate University and director of the Fund for the Study of the Great Religions. He will discuss Jewish philosophy.

Kepnes is the author of Jewish Liturgical Reasoning, as well as articles that have been featured in The Harvard Theological Review, Judaism, Journal of Jewish Studies and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

The event will be free and open to the public. Donations will be welcome. For more information, contact the TC office at 475-9952 or office@templeconcord.org.

First person

World Interfaith Harmony Assembly

L-r: Temple Adath Yeshurun Religious School students Jordynn Shapiro, Noah Mowers and Ari Gnacik performed a puppet show about Joseph and his brothers.

L-r: Isaac DuChene, Jordan Burns and Oscar Cimmet, as well as the other children in Storah Time, celebrated Purim by making crowns and hearing the story of Queen Esther. The program featured the traditional groggers and booing. Storah Time is the Jewish enrichment program held every Tuesday at Rothschild Early Childhood Center at Temple Adath Yeshurun. The program is open to the community. For more information, contact Alicia Gross at alicia@adath.org.

At left: Jacob Montalbano practiced the tree pose in the weekly yoga class during the after school program at the Rothschild Early Childhood Center at Temple Adath Yeshurun. The program recently received a donation of 20 yoga mats from Gaiam, a yoga supply company.

BY ELIZABETH “BETTY” LAMB “Opening the Windows of Understanding,” the sixth World Interfaith Harmony event, was held on February 8 at the Mosque of Jesus, Son of Mary, on Park Street in Syracuse. What an amazing event this was for me this year as president of Women Transcending Boundaries.

I am still in awe at welcoming more than 600 people to the event. To see the faces of so many cultures and faiths come together in the newly-formed faith community at the Mosque of Jesus, Son of Mary, took my breath away. The mosque was filled with people sitting on the prayer carpet and on chairs, and standing along the sides, eager to listen and learn about each others’ faith community.

I have attended all six World Interfaith Harmony Assembly events. Each one was special. After two years of lots of snow, I said, “We put in a prayer request for good weather this year and the Lord has blessed us with it.” It was also the first time that we have held this event on any time other than on a Sunday afternoon.

For me, the sixth year of this event was especially poignant, as the roots of WTB are based in the Christian and Muslim traditions through the collaboration of Betsy Wiggins and Danya Wellmon as a direct result of 9/11. WTB has always reached out to the other faith communities and InterFaith Works. In 2010, WTB co-founder Danya Wellmon went to InterFaith Works to see what we could do to honor the World Interfaith Harmony Week, just established by the United Nations General Assembly.

King Abdullah II, of Jordan, a world peace leader, had proposed the idea to the U.N., which unanimously established this special week of peace. Hence, the Syracuse faith communities have celebrated peace with the U.N. and the world in a mosque at the sixth WIHA. This was the culmination of years of interfaith work and WTB’s mission of peace.

When I look back at the first WIHA in 2011 and see how the Syracuse community has gathered together and grown in peace and harmony throughout the years, it fills me with a sense of wonder. Bethany Baptist Church was the first host community.

There was song, dance and celebrations of many cultures and religions. The church’s choir sang. The Jewish community has had a significant presence in all of this.

The Torch of Peace was passed in 2012 to Temple Concord. Fifteen different faith communities participated, sharing their faith stories. Rabbi Daniel Fellman passed the Torch of Peace to Reverend John Werner in 2013. Reverend Werner was then pastor of the recently united parishes of Holy Trinity and St. John the Baptist.

The Torch of Peace passed on to the faith community of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2014. It snowed for most of the event and church youth went out afterward and cleaned off the cars and directed traffic. This was the year we did a very special peace banner with everyone’s hand print imprinted in colorful paints.

The snowiest year of all was 2015, with travel advisories and emergency parking.

St. Paul’s, Syracuse, and the Downtown Episcopal Church hosted the event. The Syracuse community still came to listen and share with each other. The warmth of the St. Paul’s community more than made up for our blizzard. Despite the weather, there were still eight faith communities in attendance. The choir from Unity from the Valley sang, as did Oy Cappella from Hillel at Syracuse University, which represented the Jewish community. The Islamic Society of Central New York and Temple Concord teamed together for dialogue and sharing. President Mohammad Kater and Rabbi Daniel Fellman were both out of town. President Kater’s wife, Magda, and the newly-arrived Temple Concord cantor, Cantor Kari Siegel Eglash, who had little time to prepare, were both wonderful.

And so the Torch of Peace passed in 2016 to the Mosque of Jesus, Son of Mary.

It is the former Holy Trinity parish. We were all delighted that Reverend Werner was able to give the opening blessing.

The masters of ceremony were Reverend Georgina Hegney, St. Paul’s, and Huma Ahmed, Mosque of Jesus, Son of Mary, and the Torch of Peace passing was complete.

The faith leaders of the InterFaith Works Roundtable lit candles. Fifteen faith communities gathered to share with each other: St. Paul’s, Syracuse, the Chapel of Malek Missionary at St. Paul’s, Thekchen Choling USA Vajrayana Buddhist Temple, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rapha Community, Syracuse Seeds of Peace, Sikh Foundation See "Harmony" on page 5

APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

Shining Stars Celebration 2016 set for Thursday, May 26, at Menorah Park

BY JUDY SCHMID The 11th Shining Stars celebration has been scheduled for Thursday, May 26, from 5:30-8 pm, “under the tent” at Menorah Park, 4101 E. Genesee St., DeWitt. The celebration will coincide with Older Americans’ Month.

Event Co-chair Steven Sisskind said, “This celebration recognizes those employees, volunteers and residents that are known to ‘shine brightly’ on the Menorah Park campus. My wife, Robin, and I are honored to announce nine very special individuals who bring

their vitality, their generosity and their compassion to all of us affiliated with Menorah Park.”

The 2016 honorees include Beth Beach – The Oaks at Menorah Park – marketing; resident Shirley Klein – The Oaks at Menorah Park; resident care aide Amy Correia – The Inn at Menorah Park; resident Shirley Jacobs – The Inn at Menorah Park; therapy aide Marva Reddock – Jewish Home Health and Rehabilitation; Joe Layou, LPN – Jewish Home Health and Rehabilitation; resident Sherwin Glazer – Jewish Home Health and Rehabilitation; food service worker Joe Vespi – Jewish

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Home Health and Rehabilitation; and volunteer Sid Lipton – Menorah Park.

Tickets for the event will include dinner. Reservations are required no later than Monday, May 16. For more information, contact Patricia Kibby at 446-9111, ext.

118, or pkibby@menorahparkofcny.com.

Menorah Park of Central New York is a non-profit organization that offers services intended to “enhance residents’ potential for wellness and independence” and provide a variety of senior independent living and caring options in “a relaxed, comfortable community setting.”

Israeli Scouts Friendship Caravan coming in July

BY MELINDA GREENMAN The local organization of the Central New York Chapter of Friends of Israel Scouts is looking for families with school-age children to host a member of the Tzofim Friendship Caravan from July 23-July 30. Organizers said that hosting an Israel Boy or Girl Scout can give the family “a lifelong personal connection with Israel.”

Committee members work to make sure that the Israel Scouts have “a memorable stay” in Syracuse.

The Tzofim Friendship Caravan is one part of a delegation of Israel Scouts (Tzofim) who are sent to the U.S. each summer to represent Israel. Like Scouts throughout the world, the Israel Scouts are said to be “always prepared” and learn the principles of “working with spirit”

The 2015 Tzofim Friendship Caravan members posed for a group photo. This year’s Israel Scout Caravan will visit Syracuse at the end of July.

DO YOU KNOW? Your Federation dollars at work – Hillel at SU JACKIE MIRON The Allocations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Central New York awards Community Program Fund Grants each year in addition to the annual allocations made in the spring.

Based on the success of the 2015 annual campaign, community program grants are available to Jackie Miron all Jewish organizations, agencies and synagogues in the Central New York community.

The funds are given out in amounts of $10,000, $5,000 or $2,500. The Allocations Committee reviews the grant requests and makes recommendations to the board, which votes on the recommendations.

Hillel at Syracuse University is one of the beneficiary agencies of the Federation; so this Community Program Grant is in addition to the regular funding. Hillel at SU was recently awarded $2,500 toward a project called “Conferences to Campus Scholarship.” The mission of Hillel is to foster a Jewish community on campus that promotes and embraces diversity, as well as makes Judaism relevant to Syracuse University students by building on the things they find compelling in Jewish life, and empowering them to act.

The funds would allow students to earn a scholarship to attend conferences where they would meet other college students in an immersive and experiential educational experience. The conferences are specifically focused on

different aspects of Jewish identity, such as commitment to the state of Israel or Jewish music. Students are able to explore their Jewish identity through a number of different entry points and outlets.

In order to earn scholarship funding, the student must complete a thorough application process, and each one is obligated to bring back to campus what they learned.

Students attend Songleader Boot Camp, described as being “led by nationally renowned Jewish leaders, educators and music artists and (which) teaches participants specific skills and strategies to inspire transformative change in their Jewish communities.” Modern Jewish music will be alive through students at Hillel elevating student experiences of Jewish life on campus, in particular Shabbat and holidays. The current grant will help send one or two students to next year’s conference. If it is successful, there will be an allocation each spring.

Hillel supports and encourages students of all Jewish backgrounds and experiences. This diversity, inherent to the organization and its culture, enables Hillel to be a space where students can explore varying aspects of their Jewish identity, and hone leadership and networking skills.

The Jewish Federation of Central New York leadership believes that funding these conferences will help build relationships, educate meaningful worldwide issues, and broaden the experience for participants and the greater Hillel community. Your Federation dollars are helping to form the next generation of informed and experienced leaders.

by “providing community service.” While all members of the delegation represent Israel, the Tzofim Friendship Caravan uses song and dance as its means of expression.

The schedule of activities and shows has been made with working parents in mind. The Israel Scouts have said they “really want to bond with their host family.”

They are all 17-years-old, have completed the 11th grade and are going to be seniors in high school.

A past host family said, “Our Israeli guests become part of our family as soon as the teenager arrives in our community. My family has developed lasting friendships with our Scouts that have only deepened throughout the years. Taking advantage of hosting a Scout has been a unique way for my family to learn about Israel.”

The hosting relationship is said “to go beyond simply providing food and a bed.” The host families have been thought of as “surrogate families” during the Scouts’ stay.

Combined with the opportunity for the Israeli teenagers to teach one-on-one about Israel, the personal contact has been considered “invaluable.”

To learn how to host a Scout, sponsor a performance or make a donation, or for more information, contact Chairs Melinda and Bud Greenman at 457-7201.

Harmony

Continued from page 4

of Syracuse, All Saints Roman Catholic parish, Unity of Syracuse, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Bhutanese Nepali Hindu Community, Turkish Cultural Center, the chaplains of Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University, the Baha’i community of Syracuse and the greater Muslin community of Syracuse. Seven members of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, with Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone, read from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s writings. Their sharing of Judaism and how prayer brings God back into the world, and increases God’s presence in the world and the statement that the symbol of God is a human being, every human being, was very powerful. The greater Muslim community of Syracuse concluded the evening. We were then all invited to experience the Isha Prayer with Imam Muris Neimarlija.

Beth Broadway and I were honored to share again the welcome to this event, and have WTB members Daryl Files and Reverend Penny Hart co-chair it. Reverend Hart is WTB vice president and Files is a longtime member of the WTB council and advisory board. She is also a key person at InterFaith Works. The planning committee is also amazing and dedicated, jewels of peace. Now the question is, what will next year bring?

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776

Syracuse Hebrew Day School at the Central New York Science and Engineering Fair

Syracuse Hebrew Day School students and alumni attended and excelled at the Central New York Science and Engineering Fair on March 20.

Receiving awards were participation certificate – Mali Lamanna, Shaynah Sikora, Eitan Spinoza and Jack Wells; sixth grade highest honors – Max Fagelman; sixth grade honors – Meilin Lamanna, Kiru Morrissette and Henia Zames; fifth grade highest honors – Hana Kang and India Roopnarine; fifth grade high honors – Abigail Hinshaw

and Ainsley Resig; fifth grade honors – Eli Goldstein and Sam Wells; Broadcom Masters Award – Max Fagelman; seventh grade highest honors – Ryan Hinshaw, SHDS class of 2015; eighth grade honors, Honeywell Summer Science Week at the MOST Scholarship, SUNY Oswego Genius Olympiad Award, SUNY Cortland Chemistry Award – Maya Roopnarine, SHDS class of 2014; and SUNY Cortland Science Leadership Scholarship $10,000 – Isaac Tenenbaum, SHDS class of 2011.

PJ Library At left: Families attending the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s annual Purim carnival had the opportunity to vote for their favorite PJ Library® books. L-r: Carolyn Weinberg, Esa Jaffe (back to camera) and Isabella Weinberg.

Syracuse Hebrew Day School students posed for a group photo while presenting their science fair projects.

Back row (l-r): Hana Kang, Abigail Hinshaw, India Roopnarine, Mali Lamanna and Maya Roopnarine; Middle row: Eitan Spinoza, Sam Wells, Henia Zames and Jack Wells. In front: Eli Goldstein.

Activists and lawmakers make push to improve Israel’s image in Latin America

BY ALINA DAIN SHARON (JNS.org) – Activists and lawmakers say that more needs to be done to promote a positive view of Israel in Latin America, where two archenemies of Israel – the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and Iran – are gaining traction and influence.

“The reality is that Latin American support for Israel has been eroding gradually throughout the years,” said Leopoldo Martinez, the Latin America director of the Israel Allies Foundation, which recently sponsored the Second Annual Latin America Summit on Israel in Miami.

About the cover

This year’s Passover cover was designed by Jenn DePersis, production coordinator of The Reporter Group, which publishes the Jewish Observer.

“Sympathy has... increased for the Palestinian cause as populations of Arab and Palestinian descent in various Latin American countries have become more nationalistic and radicalized. Growing Iranian influence in Latin America has become a major concern,” he told JNS. org, citing the situation in countries such as Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

While “there is not a BDS movement in Latin America as we know it in the United States... there are small but very well-organized groups that are willing to boycott and sabotage any pro-Israel initiative that supports Israel

Water organizing committee has decided to make Israel’s water technology a theme of this year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration, on Thursday, May 12, from 6-8 pm, at Temple Adath Yeshurun, 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse.

Yom Ha’atzmaut committee Co-chair Orit Antosh cited IDE Technologies as an example of Israel’s contribution, saying, “IDE is a world leader in mega-size seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants as typified by the Sorek Project in Israel. Commissioned in 2013, the Sorek desalination plant is the world’s largest and most advanced desalination facility, providing clean, potable water for more than 1.5 million people, comprising 20 percent of the municipal water demand in Israel.”

Antosh noted that, based on the results of the Sorek Project, IDE obtained a $1 billion contract to provide a SWRO facility to the San Diego County Water Authority. San Diego’s project has been delivering clean water to about 300,000 people since December 2015. Based on its results, 15 other desalination facilities are being proposed throughout the state of California.

Committee Co-chair Linda Chait Davis noted that Israel is also “a leader in water-efficient irrigation” and said, “Israeli-invented drip irrigation helped achieve 70-80 percent of water efficiency in agriculture, giving Israel the highest ratio in the world of crop yield per water unit.”

Israel’s Netafim is considered the global leader in drip- and micro-irrigation solutions and water-saving technologies. Founded in 1965, Netafim today provides equipment and services in more than 110 countries, which enable farmers to produce more with less water. Netafim was the 2013 Stockholm Industry Water Award laureate.

In addition to being considered in the forefront in terms of fresh water generation and conservation, Israel is also said to make “major contributions” to the treatment and recycling of waste water, as pointed out by the third Committee Co-chair Nurit Nussbaum. She said, “Israel, with an 80 percent water recycling rate, is by a factor of more than 400 percent the world’s leading country in water recycling.”

in the region,” Martinez explained.

During the Israel Allies Foundation’s Latin America summit, held on March 6, parliamentarians from 13 Latin American and Caribbean nations signed a resolution in support of Israel and against BDS. The declaration’s signatories stated their “support for the Jewish people to live in peace, safety and security in the land of Israel,” emphasizing that “strong relations between the Western Hemisphere and Israel are crucial to the spread of freedom, democracy, and justice around the world.”

See "Latin" on page 12

Continued from page 3

L-r: The 2016 Yom Ha’atzmaut Co-Chairs are Orit Antosh, Nurit Nussbaum and Linda Chait Davis. Israel’s water technology will be a major theme of this year’s Yom Ha‘atzmaut celebration on Thursday, May 12.

Israeli efficient wastewater treatment innovator Emefcy was one of 10 companies selected as “2012 New Energy Pioneers” at the fifth annual Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit in New York. Emefcy’s solution uses electrogenic bacteria to produce electricity directly from wastewater at the same time as treating it.

Antosh, Davis and Nussbaum have invited the community to this year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration on May 12. In addition to learning about Israel’s contributions to solving the world’s water crisis, the event will include a “Cantors’ Concert” organized and led by local cantors and Joe Eglash, a musician and songwriter. Eglash is known in the field of Jewish music and is the creator of www.oySongs.com. The concert will unite the voices of local adult choruses with children from all of the Syracuse religious schools in a celebration of the 68th anniversary of Israel’s statehood. A free Israeli dinner will also be served.

For more information about the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration, e-mail the organizers at yh68syr@gmail.com.

APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776 ■

Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas (USCJ affiliated), 18 Patsy La. off Jamesville Rd., DeWitt, 4469570. For youth programs, call 701-2685.

Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse (Orthodox, affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America), 4313 E. Genesee St., DeWitt, 446-6194.

Temple Adath Yeshurun (USCJ affiliated), 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse, 445-0002.

Temple Concord (Reform, affiliated with Union for Reform Judaism), 910 Madison St., Syracuse, 475-9952.

Chabad House at SU. All services at Chabad House, 825 Ostrom Ave., 424-0363.

Hillel – Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life at Syracuse University Campus, 102 Walnut Pl., Syracuse, 422-5082. For information, visit www.suhillel.org or call 422-5082.

Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas FRIDAY, APRIL 22 – EREV PESACH Conservative daily service (CBS-CS and TAY) Ta’anit Bekhorim Schaharit service, Mishnah Siyum and breakfast at Temple Adath Yeshurun at 7:30 am Mechirat chametz (sale of chametz) 10 am Ma’ariv 6 pm First seder SATURDAY, APRIL 23 – FIRST DAY Shacharit services at 9:30 am Second seder SUNDAY APRIL 24 – SECOND DAY Shacharit services at 9:30 am THURSDAY, APRIL 28 Sisterhood study session at 10:30 am

Passover prep and highlights CONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM-CHEVRA SHAS SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS Cantor Paula Pepperstone will lead services on the first and eighth days, beginning at 9:30 am.

The first day, Saturday, April 23, will include Hallel chanted with Passover melodies. Musaf, led by the cantor, will include the annual recitation of Tal (the prayer for dew) and will include a full repetition of the Amidah.

The eighth day, Saturday, April 30, will include a multi-voiced Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs). Yizkor, chanted by Cantor Pepperstone, will occur during the Torah service. Following services, Jeanette Powel will lead an introduction to environmental Judaism in preparation for CBS-CS’s Scholar-In-Residence in March 2017.

There will also be services on the second and seventh days, Thursday, April 24, and Friday, April 29, also at 9:30 am. The community is always welcome to participate in services at CBS-CS. For more information about CBS-CS or Pesach services, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org.

SHAAREI TORAH ORTHODOX CONGREGATION OF SYRACUSE Rabbi Evan Shore will hold his seventh annual “Passover Prep – Ten things I didn’t know about the seder” program on Sunday, April 17, at 11 am, at Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse, 4313 E. Genesee St., DeWitt. The program will be free and open to the public.

Its text can be approached “on many levels” and, so the night traditionally has been thought of as one for education, questions and answers. Delving into 10 different commentaries, spanning the ages, Rabbi Shore will share insights that he hopes can make the seder “come alive.” There will be source material handouts in English and Hebrew, providing a number of questions to be shared at the seder.

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Passover

FRIDAY, APRIL 29 – SEVENTH DAY Shacharit services at 9:30 am SATURDAY, APRIL 30 – EIGHTH DAY Shacharit services at 9:30 am, Yizkor CBS-CS lunch and learn with Jeanette Powell at 12:15 pm

Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse FRIDAY, APRIL 22 – EREV PESACH Morning services at 6:45 am Siyum Burn chametz until 11:44 am Candle lighting at 7:38 pm Mincha at 7:40 pm Start seder after 8:40 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 23 – FIRST DAY Morning services at 9:15 Mincha at 7:25 pm Candle lighting at 8:44 pm Start seder after 8:44 pm SUNDAY APRIL 24 – SECOND DAY Morning services at 9:15 am Mincha at 7:15 pm Havdalah at 8:45 pm MONDAY-THURSDAY, APRIL 25-28 Chol Hamoed services at 6:30 am Monday-Wednesday Mincha and Ma’ariv at 7:30 pm THURSDAY, APRIL 28 – EREV SEVENTH DAY Candle lighting at 7:45 pm Mincha at 7:50 pm FRIDAY, APRIL 29 – SEVENTH DAY Morning services at 9 am Mincha at 7:45 pm Candle lighting at 7:46 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 30 – EIGHTH DAY Morning services at 9 am Yizkor at 11 am Mincha at 7:35 pm Havdalah at 8:52 pm Chametz reverts to your possession after 9:10 pm

JEWISH OBSERVER

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Temple Adath Yeshurun FRIDAY, APRIL 22 – EREV PESACH Services with Siyum Bekhorim (Fast of First Born) at 7:30 am Complete biyur chametz by 11 am Candle lighting at 7:38 pm Evening services 5:30 pm Erev Passover evening service at 5:30 pm First seder promptly at 6:30 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 23 – FIRST DAY Morning services at 9:15 am Mincha following morning services Candle lighting at 8:20 pm SUNDAY, APRIL 24 – SECOND DAY Morning services at 9:15 am Mincha/Ma’ariv evening service at 8 pm MONDAY-THURSDAY, APRIL 25-28 – CHOL HAMOED Morning services at 7:30 am Mincha/Ma’ariv at 5:30 pm Candle lighting at 7:41 pm FRIDAY, APRIL 29 – SEVENTH DAY Morning service at 9:15 am Candle lighting at 7:22 pm Mincha/Ma’ariv evening service at 5:30 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 30 – EIGHTH DAY Morning service (Yizkor) at 9:15 am Mincha/Ma’ariv at 8 pm Passover ends/chametz permitted at 8:30 pm

Temple Concord FRIDAY, APRIL 22 – EREV PESACH Service from 5:30-6 pm Congregational seder dinner (reservations required) at 6 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 23 Passover Shabbat service at 11 am SATURDAY, APRIL 30 Yizkor at 11 am

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See "Passover" on page 10

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776

For the first time, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord celebrated Purim together. Held at Temple Adath Yeshurun, there were approximately

300 people who came to participate.

Many wore costumes and most stayed to hear the entire Purim shpiel, a short “Star Wars”-themed rendition of the Book of Esther.

At left: Temple Adath Yeshurun Ba’al Tefilla Esa Jaffe was dressed as Princess Leia a n d Te m p l e Concord Rabbi Daniel Fellman w a s d re s s e d as Han Solo.

(Photo courtesy of Rosalie Spitzer) Temple Adath Yeshurun Rabbi Paul Drazen (dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi) narrated the Purim shpiel. (Photo courtesy of Rosalie Spitzer)

Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas CBS-CS Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone was dressed Darth Vader. (Photo courtesy Rosalie Spitzer)

STOCS Rabbi Evan Shore posed with children in front of a representation of the Wailing Wall.

Temple Concord Cantor Kari Siegel Eglash was dressed as C-3PO. (Photo courtesy of Rosalie Spitzer)

Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse held a Purim celebration.

Purim celebrants socialized with “Queen Elizabeth II” and her “family.” Other attendees’ costumes included Queen Esther, King David and the Queens of Hearts and Diamonds. Entertainment was provided by Jason the Magician, with comedy by Rabbi Evan Shore and Cantor Marvin Moskowitz. Included in the committee were Audrey Meyer and Deborah Shore.

Above: Children dressed up and paraded around the room at the three-synagogue Purim celebration. (Photo courtesy of Rosalie Spitzer) At right: Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas Director of Youth and Education Julie Tornberg, dressed as Minnie Mouse, posed with Rachel Pettiford, her helper and granddaughter.

(Photo courtesy of Rosalie Spitzer)

To all our readers,

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Kosher Passover!

APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

JCC’s Purim Carnival a day of fun for families

BY WILLIAM WALLAK Hundreds of families attended the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s annual Purim Carnival on March 20.

For the holiday, the JCC’s hallway ceilings were decorated with paper chains made by children in the after school program. A mini-indoor midway occupied the Schayes Family Gymnasium and featured carnival games for children, an inflatable slide and obstacle course, face painting,

Purim Carnival volunteer Brianna Smith worked on a face painting design for Iris Horowitz.

Mensch

caricature drawings and “Israeli dodge ball” in the GaGa pit. Preschool students participated in crafts and face painting in the dance studio and played in the inflatable bounce house. Children also dressed in costumes, a Purim holiday custom.

The event also featured safe ID and car seat safety checks by the DeWitt Police; a used book sale; activities and displays sponsored by local synagogues; a PJ Library® activity table; and a magic show.

Esther’s Café, set up in the Anne and Hy Miller Family Auditorium, offered homecooked kosher food.

Mick Hagan, the JCC’s director of Children and Teen Services and one of the carnival’s primary organizers, said, “We’re so happy with the excellent turnout again this year. The food was excellent, the kids had a blast and it was a great day of fun all around. It’s so awesome to be able to give back to the community like this.”

As in the past, 100 volunteers helped with running the attractions and concessions. Hagan added, “We couldn’t have pulled this off without all of our wonderful volunteers and participating

organizations. And, of course, we really appreciate all of the families who came out

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to celebrate with us. They’re the reason why we do this each year.”

The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s Schayes Family Gymnasium started to fill up with Purim Carnival attendees, who made their way through the attractions.

Continued from page 1

Lieberman is an Israeli-born comedian who grew up in Texas, went to college in New York City and is now based in Los Angeles. He appears on national television, in comedy clubs and at Randi Bregman private events. Jenny Wolkowitz, chair of a day school event in St. Louis, said, “I would recommend him to any group, from young to old, from Reform to Orthodox.

Avi’s world is our world, brought to life.”

Bregman is executive director of Vera House Inc., a not-for-profit human service agency that focuses on services for those affected by domestic and sexual violence.

Bregman is co-chair of the Syracuse Area Domestic and Sexual Violence Coalition and chair of the Human Services Leadership Council of Central New York. She serves on the New York State Office of Victim Services Advisory Council, the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Policy Committee and the board of the Food Bank of Central New York.

She has co-facilitated support groups for women who have experienced abuse and provided case management, counseling and advocacy for individuals affected by domestic and sexual violence. Among other awards, Bregman has received the Social Justice Award and Distinguished Alumna Award from the Syracuse University School of Social Work and BIZEVENTZ Non-Profit Executive of the Year, as well as the Hannah G. Solomon Award from the Greater Syracuse Section at-large of National Council of Jewish Women.

After a career in the media industry and in law enforcement, Serway and Seymour, respectively, have put their efforts into “re-energizing” the deteriorated Hawley Green District. In 2014, they were awarded the first-ever Community Visionary Award from CenterState CEO, sponsored

by Wegmans. They co-own Laci’s Tapas Bar, Laci’s Real Estate Ventures, Laci’s Lunchbox and Laci’s Luscious Sauce.

Seymour serves on the Syracuse Women’s Commission and was co-director of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Serway gives her time to Safe Kids of Central New York, New York State Brain Injury Association, Priscilla Mahar Animal Welfare Foundation, American Heart Association and is on the WISE Women’s Business Center Advisory Board.

Hoyne, born in Thomastown, County

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Laura Serway and Cindy Seymour The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse board member Diane Wladis ran the “7–11” game for the Sevak family. L-r: Wladis and Sarah (standing), Lauren, Skylar (on Lauren’s lap), Sophie, Sadie and Chris Sevak.

David Hoyne Dolph Schayes Kilkenny, Ireland, established Kitty Hoynes, named after his mother, in 1999. In addition to offering “a warm atmosphere where everyone knows your name,” he is said to regularly offer “his heart and his establishment” to the community. Since 2005, Kitty Hoynes has hosted the Saint Baldrick’s fund-raiser where heads are shaved to raise money to help fight children’s cancer. Saint Baldrick’s is said to be “well on its way” to this year’s goal of raising $450,000. Hoyne has been festival director for the Syracuse Irish Festival. Through an annual golf tournament and other charitable giving, he contributes to many charities, including Family Tapestry, an organization that helps children with mental health challenges, and the now inactive Project Children, which brought children from Northern Ireland to Central New York for the summer.

Schayes was a Temple Concord member known for entertaining with a joke or story at Brotherhood meetings. Designated one of the 50 greatest NBA basketball players of all time, Schayes helped bring a championship to Syracuse with the Nats in 1955.

He was the first head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, and returned to Syracuse to raise his family and serve Syracuse and elsewhere. Within the Jewish community, Schayes was said to be “deeply involved” in Temple Concord, the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse and elsewhere. He was also a coach and supporter of Maccabi USA basketball.

To purchase tickets or for more information on sponsoring the Mensch of the Year awards dinner, contact Temple Concord at 475-9952 or office@templeconcord.org.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776

Coming home: A mother leaves Prague in a cattle car and her son returns on Air Force One

BY ROBERT SUSSMAN Reprinted with permission from Jewish Life magazine, www.jewishlife.co.za, download the free Jewish Life app on iOS and Android.

Norman Eisen met Barack Obama as law school classmates at Harvard University, where they became friends, remaining in touch even after their school days ended. When Obama eventually won the U.S. presidency, he appointed Eisen, in 2009, to serve as his Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform. Only a Ambassador couple of years later, in 2011, the president tapped Eisen to be the Norman Eisen U.S. ambassador to the Czechs, (Photo by Sharon Farmer a position once famously held by Shirley Temple Black. And it was Photography) no coincidence that Obama chose Eisen to be ambassador in Prague of all places: “The president thought it would be a remarkable thing for the son of a Czechoslovak Holocaust survivor to return and represent the U.S… No one from my immediate family had returned since my mother fled Communism in 1949, and the symbolism of [returning there] was just too unique an opportunity to pass up.”

It wasn’t her flight from Communism that kept Eisen’s mother, Frieda, a”h, who was born and raised in Czechoslovakia, away, but memories of other events. In 1944, Frieda – along with her parents, siblings and other family members – was sent to Auschwitz. Although she and two siblings miraculously survived, their parents and other relatives weren’t as fortunate, Hashem vikom damam (may Hashem avenge their blood).

On his first day as ambassador, following all of the formal greetings and arrival ceremonies, after everything had quieted down a bit and everyone else had gone to sleep, Eisen sat alone in the library of his new home reflecting on the events of the day. The head of the ambassador’s household, Miroslav Cernik, came into the room and informed the ambassador that there was something Cernik wanted to show him. Cernik led Eisen to a small, ornate table and proceeded to ask Eisen to please look underneath the table.

The ambassador, who thought it a rather unusual request, complied nonetheless, and proceeded to get down on his hands and knees, crawling under the table. Nothing could have prepared Eisen for what he found there: a sticker with the clearly discernable image of an eagle and a swastika, the formal symbol of the Nazi party, emblazoned upon it, thus marking the table as former Nazi property. Cernik quickly explained that he had not wanted Eisen to make the upsetting discovery for himself by chance. Eisen, who

Table and Nazi logo (Photo by Ambassador Norman Eisen)

had envisioned carrying out the many responsibilities of his office, was simply unprepared for such a thing and described seeing the sticker as “a punch in the gut,” hitting him on an emotional, as well as a physical, level.

In an ironic twist and perhaps even with a nod to yet another of our many enemies that were decimated The Nazi stamp on the for us by Hashem, Eisen underside of the table would later use that very (Photo by Ambassador table, during his tenure as Norman Eisen) ambassador, as the stand for his Chanukah menorah.

But the Nazis, yemach shemom v’zichrom (may their names and memory be blotted out), were not the original owners of that table or that house. The U.S. ambassador’s residence in Prague, named Petschek Villa, was originally built by a wealthy Jewish industrialist by the name of Otto Petschek in the late 1920s. Czech. German. English.

Hebrew. If the walls of that home could only speak and we, likewise, understand their many languages, oh what fantastic tales they could surely tell. Petschek, who made his money from coal mine holdings as well as banking, was one of the wealthiest men in Czechoslovakia, before his untimely death in 1934. With Germany’s designs for Czechoslovakia clear and the threat of an invasion on the horizon, Petschek’s family fled the country in 1938.

The property was subsequently seized by the Germans and commandeered for use as the headquarters of the See "Prague" on page 15

Six Israeli universities rank among world’s top 100 (JNS.org) – Six leading Israeli universities were ranked among the world’s top 100 universities in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

The 2016 QS rankings, which compared top universities in the world in 42 different areas of study, included six Israeli universities – Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Bar-Ilan University.

Published annually since 2011, the QS World University Rankings by Subject highlight the world’s top-performing institutions in a broad spectrum of individual academic areas, such as in arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine,

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Israeli universities had more places in the top 100 universities by subject – 64 – than all of the universities in the Middle East combined.

Hebrew University was Israel’s most-featured top 100 university, ranking three times in the 51-100 section

Passover Hillel at Syracuse University FRIDAY, APRIL 22 An inclusive community seder, in the Carrier Dome, which is open and accessible to all. Doors will open at 7 pm at Gate C. The seder will start at 7:30 pm. No entry allowed after 8:30 pm. Tickets required. There is a charge and reservations are required. For more information, contact Hillel at 422-5082, or Hillel@suhillel.org.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23 Traditional second seder at 7:30 pm at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life. Doors will open at 8 pm.

The seder will start at 8:30 pm. There is a charge and reservations are required. For more information, contact Hillel at 422-5082, or Hillel@suhillel.org.

Lunch, from 11:30 am-2 pm, and dinner, from 5-7 pm, will be served at the Winnick Hillel Center during Passover. Reservations have been requested. Students can use a meal swipe if they have a Syracuse University meal plan. There will be a charge for those not on a meal plan.

Cash, credit (Visa, MC, Amex), checks and SUpercard are accepted. For the seders, individuals must bring their SUID and pick up their tickets in person at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life during business hours.

Seder tickets are available until Tuesday, April 19, from 10 am-6 pm. No phone, Internet or e-mail reservations will be taken. For the seders, each student with a valid student ID may receive only one ticket. All Syracuse/ ESF faculty and staff may receive two tickets. As long as there is room, family members may join the seders.

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Haifa-based Technion ranked twice in the top 100 for computer science and information systems as well as mathematics, Tel Aviv University ranked in the top 100 for anthropology and the Weizmann Institute ranked high for biological sciences.

Continued from page 7

Ticket prices apply to all family members as well. Guest passes can be used. Kosher for Passover meals are served at Hillel all week long. For more information, contact Hillel at 422-5082 or Hillel@suhillel.org.

Chabad House FRIDAY, APRIL 22 – EREV PESACH Service at 7:30 pm Seder at 8:15 pm. There will be a cost to attend and reservations are required and can be made at www. chabadsyracuse.com. Click on “donate” and indicate that it is for a seder, or call 424-0363.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23 – FIRST DAY Service at 10 am Services at 8:30 pm. Second seder at 8:30 pm.

SUNDAY APRIL 24 – SECOND DAY Service at 10 am THURSDAY, APRIL 28 – EREV SEVENTH DAY Service at 7:30 pm FRIDAY, APRIL 29 – SEVENTH DAY Morning service at 10 am Evening service at 7:30 pm SATURDAY, APRIL 30 – EIGHTH DAY Morning service at 10 am Yizkor service at 12:30 pm Farewell to Passover dinner – moshiach’s seudah 7 pm – free Passover ends on Saturday, April 30, at 8:52 pm Please wait a half hour before eating chametz to give Rabbi Yaacov Rapoport time to buy it back.

Wishing peace, health and happiness to all this Passover The Faculty & Staff of the S.U. Jewish Studies Program

APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776 ■

BY PENNY SCHWARTZ (JTA) – Afikomen hunts, a rambunctious pup and the catchy classic “Dayenu.” All are featured in a half-dozen new Passover books for children that will inform and entertain even the littlest kid – or a whole herd of ‘em.

The eight-day holiday kicks off this year on the evening of April 22. Why not pick up a new tome for the tyke in your life? Prices are about two zuzim and up.

“PASSOVER IS COMING” BY TRACY NEWMAN, ILLUSTRATED BY VIVIANA GAROFOLI; KAR-BEN; AGES 1-4; $5.99 This colorful board book is the latest addition to a lively series that introduces young kids to the Jewish holidays. Here, the green buds of spring are the first hint that Passover is coming. Readers follow a family as it prepares for the holiday, from spring cleaning and using home-grown parsley for the seder plate to learning the Four Questions and anticipating the hunt for the afikomen.

The joyful refrain – “Passover is coming!” – repeats at the end of each verse and is sure to build excitement as the date approaches.

“PESACH GUESS WHO?” BY ARIELLA STERN; ILLUSTRATED BY PATTI ARGOFF; HACHAI; AGES 3-5; $9.95 Hachai continues to create lively, interactive books appealing to haredi Orthodox families. Young kids will enjoy the rhyming clues to “who am I” questions – “I’m a food that’s baked in a hurry, but I still taste great, don’t worry!” – in this lift-the-flap book about Passover. The whole mishpacha – mom, dad and the five kids – all lend a hand to sweep and clean the house. They watch as workers bake handmade matzah and make startled faces as they bite into the bitter herbs. The end page poses a series of holiday observance questions (the answer key is color- and number-coded) and there’s a glossary, too.

“ABC PASSOVER HUNT” BY TILDA BALSLEY; ILLUSTRATED BY HELEN POOLE; KAR-BEN; AGES 3-8; $17.99, HARDCOVER; $7.99, PAPERBACK A lively alphabet hunt is on in this large format, brightly illustrated book that introduces young kids to Passover themes, customs and foods. The clever clues, from A to Z, are thought-provoking and range from easier spot-the-answer picture puzzles to more challenging questions (“At last the Jews had found their home, how many long years did they roam?") that will keep kids engaged and entertained. Balsley keeps things interesting with a variety of activities, including puzzles, mazes, riddles and maps. There’s an illustrated answer key at the end, along with a brief explanation of the holiday.

“MORE THAN ENOUGH: A PASSOVER STORY”

BY APRIL HALPRIN WAYLAND; ILLUSTRATED

BY KATIE KATH; PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE; AGES 3-5; $16.99 This lively book is a riff on the Passover favorite “Dayenu,” a song that echoes with the theme of gratitude.

Readers follow a contemporary family as it readies to celebrate the holiday, including a trip to the farmer’s market, where it doesn’t take much to convince mom to adopt a kitten from a shelter. They chop apples for charoset, dress up for grandmother’s seder and hunt for the afikomen. The word “dayenu” repeats throughout the story. The colorful, cartoon-like illustrations bring the story to life – many are full-page or double-spread. The happy ending includes a Passover sleepover. The book concludes with an author’s note, glossary and the music to “Dayenu.”

“KAYLA AND KUGEL’S ALMOST PERFECT PASSOVER” BY ANN KOFFSKY; APPLES & HONEY PRESS; AGES 3-5; $9.95 In this second “Kayla and Kugel” book, the fun starts right away as the young girl and her dog invite readers into their home for a seder. When Kayla makes her own

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haggadah, the rambunctious Kugel gets tangled in the ribbon and knocks over the glue. In simple, easy-to-follow verse, Kayla tells young readers some of the basics of a seder. She smiles at the sweet taste of charoset, but her braids stand on end and she scrunches her face at the bitter taste of maror, symbolizing slavery. Kids will enjoy the mayhem when the mischievous Kugel sets the family off on an adventurous hunt for the afikomen.

The end pages include a search-and-find activity. The author’s note from Koffsky poses open-ended, engaging questions to spark family conversations, such as “Why do you think many holidays have songs to go with them?”

“A PLACE FOR ELIJAH” BY KELLY EASTON RUBEN; ILLUSTRATED BY JOANNE FRIAR; KAR BEN; AGES 5-9; $17.99 This endearing story – the first Jewish picture book from the acclaimed author of “The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes” – opens on the first night of Passover as a young girl named Sarah is anxiously setting the table, making sure to include a place for Elijah. As the seder unfolds, a rainstorm and cold winds threaten Sarah’s neighborhood, and there’s a power failure. The lights stay on in Sarah’s home, however, and one by one, the neighbors appear at the family’s door and Sarah sets another place. First it’s Mrs. Faiz, the florist, then Bagel Ben and Doughnut Dan. Kids will take notice when Music Man Miguel and his mischievous monkey Manny join the growing crowd. But when the young boy who sells magazines arrives, Sarah is worried that there is no longer a seat for Elijah. Kids will be surprised by the story’s satisfying end. The large illustrations match the gentle tone of the story and capture the multicultural life of the neighborhood. Ruben told JTA she was inspired by the haggadah passage “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” She wanted to evoke the sense of tolerance and welcoming strangers – a prominent theme of the seder.

Wishing you and your family peace, health and happiness this Pesach and family

May your Passover seder be joyous!

The Beckman Family

A Joyous Passover To all

Elihu & Iris Cohen

Wishing the Syracuse Jewish Community a Happy Passover!

Bonnie Rozen, Advertising Executive

Wishing you a Happy Chanukah!

Sydney Tenenbaum & Deidre Zehner

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Matzah mania! Who knew that mixing flour and water could be so nuanced?

BY MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN JNS.org How hard can making matzah be? Mix flour and water, and bake.

Actually, there are various ways that one can go about producing matzah – and the results are all a little different. When you’re standing in the supermarket just before the holiday trying to choose matzah, it might help to know what you are looking at. It’s not just the orange box versus the blue box, or even handmade versus machine-made. According to leading kashrut supervisors at the Star-K and Orthodox Union kosher-certification providers, there can be differences between the flour, the baking process and even the time it takes for the matzah to be produced.

The flour: Rabbi David Stein, head of the Star-K in Israel, says the differences between matzah start even before the wheat is harvested. There are three types of flour: shmurah mi’sh’as k’tzirah (made from grains that have been supervised from the time of their harvesting until the actual baking of the matzah),

Latin

Handmade matzah production in the Meah She’arim neighborhood of Jerusalem in March 2012. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv) shmurah mi’sh’as techina (made from wheat guarded from the time it is milled into flour) and shmurah mi’sh’as lisha (watched from the time the flour is mixed

with water). In all three cases, the “watching” aspect (“shmurah” in Hebrew) is meant to ensure that the wheat does not get wet and transform into chametz (a leavened product). The longer the grains are watched, the more kosher – and generally, the more expensive – the matzah will be.

Hand vs. machine: The most obvious difference between types of matzah is how the matzah is produced: hand and machine are the two most common types. Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operation officer of the OU’s kashrut department, says handmade matzah precisely reflects that description. “This is the way it was always done before the advancement of machinery and the way it is still done in many communities,” Elefant says. The reason that many people still opt for hand matzah is for the intention behind the process, explains Elefant. Not only is it a Torah commandment to eat matzah on Passover, but according to some opinions, the Torah requires us to perform the act of making matzah “l’shmah,” for See "Matzah" on page 13

Continued from page 6

The resolution also said that the BDS movement contributes to antisemitic attitudes, which is “detrimental to a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and must be rejected by all actors that seek peace.”

According to Dina Siegel Vann, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs in Washington, DC, Chile has the “largest Palestinian community outside of the Middle East, and they have been very active [against Israel]... for many years,” even before BDS became an organized global movement.

“Now…they have started to piggyback on [BDS],” Siegel Vann told JNS.org. In Venezuela, she said, “we know that the [Hugo] Chavez/[Nicolas] Maduro government has had a traditional pro-Palestinian, pro-Iran type of stance for different reasons since 2005.” She added that in many Latin American countries, “There are sectors in foreign policy that identify with the Palestinians and the Arab world, absolutely.”

A number of South American nations have in recent years formally recognized Palestinian statehood, starting with Brazil’s 2010 recognition of a Palestinian state based on Israel’s pre-1967 borders. According to a Jerusalem Post op-ed written by the Israel Allies Foundation, only Panama, Mexico and Colombia have not followed suit in South America.

In February, the Palestinian Authority opened its first-ever embassy and diplomatic mission in the Western Hemisphere in Brazil. At the same time, Brazil refused to accept Israel’s nominee as its ambassador to the South American nation, former Israeli settlement movement leader Dani Dayan. While the Brazilian government did not reveal its specific rationale for resisting the nomination, more than 40 Brazilian social movements had signed a petition calling on the government to reject Dayan’s appointment over “acts in clear violation of international laws and the basic rights of the Palestinian people.” One Brazilian lawmaker even likened Dayan to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

“We coordinated with [Brazilian] Congresswoman Geovania de sa Rodrigues, a member of our [Israel Allies Foundation] network and vice president of the Evangelical Friendship Group inside the Congress of Brazil, who spearheaded a letter to support Dani’s nomination,” Martinez told JNS.org.

The letter was signed by 199 members of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies (the country’s lower legislative house) and four member of the Federal Senate (the upper

house), but the Brazilian government did not respond to it. The Israeli government ultimately re-assigned Dayan as Israel’s consul general in New York.

Giving another example of his group’s pro-Israel advocacy in Latin America, Martinez noted an Israel Allies Foundation meeting last year in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, a gathering attended by 20 members of that country’s parliament.

“We discussed several issues, including the necessary support for Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East and their role on the frontline with the Islamic State threat to Europe and the rest of Western civilization.

From this meeting, we established a Costa Rica Israel Allies Caucus comprising one-third of the parliament.

The members signed a pro-Israel resolution, in which one of many points included support for their government to move back their [Israeli] embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Martinez said.

Yet, two weeks after the meeting in Costa Rica, he said, “pro-Palestinian media activists went to the Legislative Assembly asking questions, pressuring the parliamentarians who signed the resolution to put them in an uncomfortable position for supporting Israel and for signing that declaration.”

Agustin Barrios Gomez, a former lawmaker in the Mexican Congress, told JNS.org in an interview facilitated by the Israel Allies Foundation that in Mexico, antisemitism is often associated with “the general disposition on behalf of certain political actors on the right and on the left to see the Arab-Israeli conflict through the lens of Palestinian victimization. In that narrative, people gloss over violence and terrorism, thinking that there is a viable interlocutor for Palestinian statehood.

“My electoral district in Mexico City is home to 70 percent of all of Mexico’s Jewish population,” he said.

“I would be remiss if I were not sensitive to their needs and aspirations. Further, while I think we all agree with respect to the urgency of achieving a lasting peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, I am disturbed by the antisemitic undertones and blackmail implicit in the BDS movement.”

Gomez also believes that Latin American nations should view Israel more positively because of “the strong ties that our citizens have with both the [Jewish] Diaspora and the Israeli state,” and the “common cause that we all need to make with respect to terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism.

“I think the [Israeli Allies Foundation] summit in Miami was instrumental in opening our eyes to the very

real danger that Iran poses in pushing its agenda in our hemisphere,” said Gomez, who was a speaker at the early-March summit.

Most discussions on Iranian influence in South America include Argentina, the site of two terror attacks on Israeli and Jewish venues that killed a combined 114 people and injured hundreds more: the 1992 attack on the country’s Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association Jewish center in Buenos Aires. Both attacks have been linked to Iran and its proxy, the Hezbollah terror group.

Shortly after the Israel Allies Foundation’s Miami summit, the World Jewish Congress held a plenary assembly in Buenos Aires, at which it adopted a resolution that “considers the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and all other attempts to delegitimize the state of Israel, to be manifestations of antisemitic discrimination against the only truly democratic country in the Middle East, and damaging to any genuine efforts for peace in the region.”

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, told JNS.org that “with the exception of Venezuela,” with whom Iran shares “ideological antipathy” toward the U.S., the prospect of business ties with Iran is what motivates Latin American countries to warm up to the Islamic Republic. Some of the sanctions relief Iran secured in its nuclear deal with world powers likely “flows disproportionately into the coffers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” which in turn may use some of those funds to set up terror cells in places like Latin America, according to Rubin.

But what might create positive change for Israel in this region, particularly when it comes to the views of Latin American lawmakers? The Israel Allies Foundation promotes a focus on shared Judeo-Christian values. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll revealed that nearly 90 percent of Latin Americans identify as Christians. While two-thirds of those Christians are Catholic, there is also a steady rise in the number of evangelical Christians in the region, and evangelicals are known for their “strongly pro-Israel” views.

“Latin American support for Israel should be instinctive” because of this “shared Judeo-Christian heritage,” said Martinez, who expressed hope that in the aftermath of the Miami summit, “if there is any attempt of the BDS movement in Latin America…[lawmakers] can recognize it very fast…[and] react in coordination to defeat it.”

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Matzah

JEWISH OBSERVER

13

Continued from page 12

the sake of the mitzvah. “Many people prefer hand matzah for the seder because the baker has to have that intent of making matzah and a machine does not have the ability to have intent,” says Elefant.

Yet making matzah is an inexact science, Stein says, explaining that not all machine matzah or all hand matzah is made the same. “If you don’t know where you are getting your hand matzah, it is better to get machine matzah,” he says.

There are three types of machine matzah as far as the level of kashrut is concerned, but much more variation in hand matzah practices. Stein says the Jewish sages teach that it takes at least 18 minutes for matzah dough to become flour. The kashrut level of matzah changes depending on how careful the factory is about these 18 minutes. In the most lenient factories – the so-called “regular” machine matzah factories – the matzah-making machine isn’t cleaned almost all day long. “Some regular factories will have someone standing there with a vacuum cleaner that will clean the dough as it falls off,” says Stein. “Some don’t, and the machine goes straight through the cycles without cleaning. Really, anything that falls would be botul (‘insignificant’ in Jewish law), but this is not the best situation.”

The next level of machine matzah is 18-minute matzah. This is matzah produced in a factory where the machinery is designed to be dismantled and thoroughly cleaned every 18 minutes.

In either case, there is always a team of dough kneaders who ensure the dough not being fired is constantly kneaded; as long as the dough is being kneaded, it will never become chametz.

A final and strictest level is matzah “chabura.”

According to Stein, in this situation, all dough must make it into the oven within 18 minutes, whether or not it’s being kneaded. After 18 minutes, the machinery and all of the tools, bowls and other materials are thoroughly cleaned. “These people make sure there

Handmade matzah came out of the oven. (Photo by Ariel Palmon via Wikimedia Commons) is no chametz left over,” says Stein. “The price of this level – and each different level – is significantly different.” Today, most machine matzah consumed around the world is imported from Israel, where there are dozens of matzah factories. Only one machine matzah factory – the facility of Manischewitz—exists in the United States, according to the OU. Non-traditional traditions: There are some smaller communities, especially variant sects of Chasidim, that add extra levels of stringency to their matzah baking practices. For example, according to Stein, there are those who mill their matzah by hand. “This is not a very popular chumra (stringency),” says Stein, noting that today this is mostly practiced by the Sanzer Chasidim of Kiryat Sanz, in the Israeli city of Netanya. Another stringency is “kefirah shel yad,” hand-reaped matzah.

Finally, there are those who hold that the matzah eaten at the seder must be made in the afternoon on

the same day Passover starts. The holiday begins on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, when the Passover sacrifice was brought to the Jewish Temple. The matzah being baked that afternoon models the time of the sacrifice. Such an enterprise requires great care. “People who do this will start at chatzot (mid-day),” says Stein, who does this himself in his synagogue in Rehovot, Israel.

Alternatives: Today, there is a growing community of gluten-free individuals who cannot eat matzah made of wheat flour and water. For those people, oat matzah is produced. Stein says he knows of no hand-made oat matzah factories, but that the product is becoming plentiful on the grocery store shelves.

“It is very difficult to eat oat matzah if something isn’t done to take the bitterness out,” says Stein.

“The oat matzah is very expensive.” Sephardim eat a softer version of Ashkenazi matzah. There is “nothing theoretically wrong with this,” says Stein.

“Ashkenazim don’t eat it because we are afraid. The Ashkenazi minhag (custom) is to eat only matzah that is crisp and thin,” he says.

Egg matzah – which is no longer made with eggs, but rather with apple juice or grape juice, according to Elefant – is another type of matzah that Sephardim love and Ashkenazim should stay away from, unless there are extenuating circumstances. “The halachah (Jewish law) says that other liquids mixed with chametz make the flour rise quicker,” says Elefant. “Avoid it, if you don’t have to have it.” The same goes for chocolate-covered matzah. “On Pesach, we try to avoid foods that are chametz or can become chametz with one exception: matzah,” Elefant says with a chuckle.

He continues, “Pesach is a holiday of customs and traditions. Each family and community has its own traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. One thing remains consistent: matzah.…

The matzah we eat is forever.”

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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.

Saturday, April 16 Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Shorashim family service at 10:30 am, followed by chocolate seder at noon Jewish Federation of Central New York presents “friend-raising” cocktail party at Benjamin’s on Franklin at 8:45 pm Sunday, April 17 Temple Concord spring blood drive at 9 am Na’amat donor lunch at 10:30 am at CBS-CS PJ Library® Passover at 11 am and again at 1 pm at the Museum of Science and Technology Jewish Music and Culture Festival preview party at 4 pm at the Jamesville home of Karen Lawitts and Howard Wolhandler Temple Adath Yeshurun Torah Tots model seder from 9:30-11 am Monday, April 18 Syracuse Hebrew Day School board meeting at 7 pm CBS-CS lunch and learn at noon at Hillel at Syracuse University, 102 Walnut Pl. Tuesday, April 19 ACTS annual dinner at 6 pm at Drumlins Country Club Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Executive Committee meeting at 6 pm, followed by board meeting at 7 pm Rabbi Epstein School at 6:30 pm at TC Wednesday, April 20 Syracuse Community Hebrew School at 4 pm at Temple Adath CBS-CS board meeting at 7:30 pm CBS-CS, TAY and TC lunch and learn at noon at Bousquet and Holstein, 110 W. Fayette St. Thursday, April 21 Rabbi Epstein School meets at 7 pm at Wegmans Café Friday, April 22 Erev Pesach - first seder TC congregational seder at 6 pm, Reservations required TAY congregational seder at 6:30 pm, Reservations required Saturday, April 23 Passover - second seder Tuesday, April 26 TC Scholar Series with Steven Kepnes on Jewish philosophy at 7 pm Wednesday, April 27 Deadline for the May 12 issue of the Jewish Observer Saturday, April 30 Last day of Passover Sunday, May 1 Community Yom Hashoah commemoration at Temple Concord at 3 pm

D’VAR TORAH

Bitter no more

BY RABBI EVAN SHORE

Erev Pesach, I have had a special job for over 35 years. My duty is simple - t crucial for the seder: wash a horseradish root, peel it and then grind it for use at the seder at night to fulfill the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs.

If the weather is nice, I go on the back porch. However, regardless of where I perform my job, my eyes tear and my nasal passages react.

What is the meaning behind the maror (bitter herb)?

The Rambam, based upon the Talmud in Pessacheem, teaches us at the seder, we must see ourselves as if we departed from Egypt right now. The need for contrast is crucial to understand the difference between servitude and freedom. No Jew alive today has experienced the bitterness of the Egyptian slavery. The eating of the maror helps us appreciate the lives the Hebrew slaves endured under the cruel Egyptians.

Some commentators on the haggadah remark that the Hebrews were so immersed in their miserable servitude, that they had no idea how bitter their existence actually was. This may help explain a quote from Rabban Gamliel in the Mishna: anyone who has not discussed the following three things has not fulfilled their obligation: namely, Passover sacrifice, matzah and maror. A quick look will reveal the order is incorrect. If the Passover seder is to help us relive – or experience the Egyptian servitude ourselves, maror should have been mentioned first.

The answer is quite simple. The Hebrews did not fully comprehend the terrible lives they were suffering.

The only reality they understood was slavery. However, once they tasted the Passover sacrifice and the matzah baked in haste on their way to freedom, they appreciated how bitter their lives used to be in contrast to the new reality of freedom. It was at this point, that eating the maror drove home to them how embittered their years in Egypt were.

Please God, let the Jewish people experience no more bitterness; and let us all be together in Jerusalem this year!!

Rabbi Evan Shore is the rabbi at Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse; an instructor at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and Rabbi Jacob Epstein High School of Jewish Studies; chaplain at Menorah Park and the rabbinic authority for the Syracuse Vaad Ha’Ir.

B’NAI MITZVAH Zachary Coelho

Zachary Coelho

Zachary Coelho, son of Rick and Erin Coelho, of Fayetteville, became bar mitzvah at Temple Adath Yeshurun on April 2. He is the grandson of Steve and Sheila Coelho, of East Syracuse; Bonnie Kennedy, of Syracuse; and Michael and Suzie Short, of Liverpool.

He is a student at Wellwood Middle School and attends the TAY Religious School. He enjoys soccer and technology.

NEWS IN BRIEF From JNS.org

Israel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet U.N. climate change goals

The Israeli government has unanimously approved a plan to reduce the country’s emission of greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency, in a plan to help the Jewish state meets the goals of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Under the plan, Israel will

allocate $133 million for government guarantees to loans given out to energy efficiency programs, and another $80 million to grants for energy efficiency projects, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses working in the field. The Israeli government estimates that this will save the Israeli economy about $8 billion, bringing Israel closer to meeting the goals set at last December’s U.N. conference in Paris. “We hope that the plan we are approving today will first of all lead to a reduction in sickness caused by pollution, and in addition will lead to greater efficiency and savings in the economy,” said Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Globes reported.

IDF said to be eyeing purchase of “suicide drones” LARRY METZGER Owner

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The Israel Defense Forces is interested in purchasing “suicide drones,” an Israel Aerospace Industries official said on April 10. IAI has developed a suicide drone called Rotem (“Juniper”) that is capable of carrying grenades or cameras, and can be remotely manned by infantry soldiers at the tactical level. “This is a tool that will change the face of battle at the battalion commander level,” the IAI official said, Israel Hayom reported. The cost of the Rotem is said to run tens of thousands of dollars. The IAI official said such drones have been sold to foreign militaries, but he would not specify which ones. The weight of the Rotem is light enough that soldiers can carry up to two on their backs in special carrying cases. The Rotem carries two fragmentation grenades that explode when the drone hits its target.

OBITUARIES PHYLLIS CHARNEY

Phyllis Charney, 93, died on March 24 at Crouse Hospital.

Born in Haverhill, MA, she was a Syracuse resident for most of her life. She met her future husband, Jerome, in grade school, and they were married and raised their children in Syracuse. She was the co-founder of Charney’s Men’s Clothing Stores, soon to celebrate its 63 rd year in business. She had continued to work and support the family business, even at 93 years of age.

When her husband died in 1992, her will and determination to serve her family and her community prevailed. She was a president of the Sisterhood of Temple Beth El and served on the synagogue’s Board of Trustees. Temple Beth El honored her with the Sisterhood Woman of Valor Award and also the Shomer Award. The Syracuse Jewish Community Center recognized her outstanding service to the community by awarding her its honest honor, the Kavod Gadol Award. Most recently, she was inducted into the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s Hall of Fame. Her focus was always to serve her family, her community, her family of co-workers at Charney’s and, most especially, to serve the needs of local children.

She was predeceased by her husband, Jerome, in 1992.

She is survived by her children, Mel (Sarah) Charney and Karen (Sheldon) Kruth; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Burial was in Beth El Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions can be made to The Jerome and Phyllis Charney Early Childhood Development Program at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse, 5655 Thompson Rd., Syracuse, NY 13214. 

BARBARA “BUNNY” OPPENHEIM EISENSTEIN

Barbara "Bunny" Oppenheim Eisenstein, 93, died on March 22 in Sarasota, FL. Born in North Manchester, IN, she met her husband in Columbia, MO, and raised their family in St. Louis, MO, and Long Island. She lived several years in New York and New Jersey before retiring to Long Boat Key and then Sarasota more than 30 years ago.

She was an avid reader and loved the arts, needlework and gardening. She was also an excellent cook.

She cared deeply about the environment and the rights of others, and her philanthropic efforts were targeted toward those interests.

She was predeceased by her husband of more than 73 years, Albert, in 2014; her brother, J. Philip Oppenheim; and her son-in-law, James Furner, in 2011.

She is survived by her children, Robert (Karolyn), Sylvia Fumer, Lesley (Paul) Newman, of Jamesville, James (Barbara) and Richard (Sheila Anderson); 14 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and many friends.

Sisskind Funeral Service had local arrangements.

Contributions can be made to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota, FL 34236; Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy., Sarasota, FL 34236; Tidewell Hospice, 1751 Mound St. #101, Sarasota, FL 34236; or the Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org. 

LIONEL RAYMOND FLEISCHER

Lionel Raymond Fleischer, 89, died on November 27, at Loretto in Syracuse.

Born in Syracuse, he most recently lived in Cortland.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-45. He was an entrepreneur, and among other businesses, owned a chain of five women’s apparel stores in Syracuse, Lexington, KY, and Indianapolis, IN. He was also co-owner of Tyrol House, a ski shop in DeWitt. He was an avid golfer and a longtime member of LaFayette Country Club. He was a passionate boater and fisherman, and spent much time on the St. Lawrence River on his boat.

He also skied in Vermont and locally at Labrador and Toggenburg.

He was predeceased by his second wife, Sandy Kennedy Fleischer, in 1994.

He is survived by his sons, Mitchell (Kim), of Richmond, VT, David, of Watertown, MA, and Barry (Whitley), of Boston, MA; his stepsons, Stephen Kennedy, of Clay, and Geoffrey (Gabriella) Kennedy, of Ramsey, NJ; his first wife, Phyllis Edelstein Carr, of Manlius; seven grandchildren; and many friends.

Burial was in the Temple Concord section 30 of Woodlawn Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements. 

APRIL 14, 2016/6 NISAN 5776 ■

OBITUARIES

Prague

R’ AVROHOM CHAIM YISROEL RAPPAPORT

R’ Avrohom Chaim Yisroel Rappaport, 88, one of the founders of the Chabad-Lubavitch community in Toronto, Canada, died on March 28 in New York City.

The funeral was held on Tuesday at Shomrei Hadas Chapel in Brooklyn, from where it passed by Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters, 770 Eastern Parkway, on its way to Kennedy Airport. All of his children and some grandchildren accompanied him to Israel, where he was buried in Tzfat, Israel.

A descendant of the Great Halachic authority of the 17th century, Rabbi Shabtai HaKohen Rappaport, known as the SHaCH, R’ Avrohom was born in 1927 in Riminov, Poland, to Yosef and Tzivya Chaya (Ginsburg) Rappaport, prominent members of the Sadiger-Rizshin Chasidic court. Under the Molotov (Stalin)-Ribbentrop pact of 1939, his family was exiled to Siberia, where he spent the war years. His father, Yosef, died shortly after their exile. He was a courier for the Polish Government in Exile.

At the end of the war, he and his mother made their way to Prague, from where they tried to get to Israel, where they had family. They were unsuccessful, however, due to the British blockade. Rabbi Avraham Price, one of the leading Toronto rabbis, procured student visas for many young survivors, including R’ Avrohom, to come as students to his yeshiva. He brought his mother to Canada shortly thereafter. In Canada, he became very close to the Chabad Lubavitch community and the Lipskier-Duchman family. He visited Crown Heights often and developed a close relationship with Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson from the early years of Rabbi Schneerson’s leadership.

Rabbi Schneerson took a personal interest in R’ Avrohom, and strongly encouraged him to get married. In 1955, he met and married Rechyl (née Rubin), also a survivor, and they settled in Toronto, where they were considered “pillars of the Lubavitch community.” Through the years, R’ Avrohom and Rechyl had many private yechidus meetings with Rabbi Schneerson, and received many personal letters of advice, as well as shlichus missions.

Building a successful real estate business, R’ Avrohom soon became a major supporter of many Jewish charitable causes, including Chabad of Toronto, where he was a founding member of the Bet Joseph Lubavitch Synagogue, Chabad of Miami, the Colel Chabad organization of Israel and most notably, his recent rebuilding of the famed Tzemach Tzedek shul in Tzfat, founded and named after the third rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch.

He was one of the guests of honor at the Lubavitch Yeshiva dinner in New York for many years, and later was the given that same honor for the dinners benefitting Rabbi Schneerson s Shabbat Candle Lighting campaign, which he supported strongly and was very involved in personally.

He was predeceased by his wife, Rechyl, in 2015.

He is survived by his children, Chanie (Rabbi Yaakov T.) Rapoport, of Syracuse, Ruthie (Yehudah) Backer, of Brooklyn, Yossi (Chavie) Rappaport, of Toronto, Canada, LaLa (Avrumi) Slansky, of Brooklyn, Yehudis ( Dovid) Kagan, of Los Angeles, CA, and Ezriel (Malka) Rappaport, of Miami, FL; as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Contributions can be made to the Chabad RCM Children’s Library, Chabad, 113 Berkeley Dr., Syracuse, NY 13210. The RCM Children’s Library and Resource Center was established in 1988 by the Avraham Rappaport family of Toronto, in memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, wife of the Lubavitcher rebbe. 

To advertise, please contact Bonnie Rozen at 800-779-7896, ext. 244 or bonnie@ thereportergroup.org

Prague residence (photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org) The author is indebted to Mordechai Luchins for bringing this story to his attention, and to Ambassador Eisen for kindly providing him with the sources for this story, as well as making the time to read it and offer suggestions and corrections. This article (including all of the quotations) was adapted from the following sources: Anyz, Daniel. “Wes Anderson and Norman Eisen: Two Americans in Prague.” HN Weekend Magazine.

Fairclough, Gordon. “Transforming a Home’s Dark History.” The Wall Street Journal.

Goldman, T.R.. “The World of Norm Eisen.” The Washington Post.

Kirchik, James. “Norman Eisen, Obama’s Ambassador to Prague, Bolsters Liberalism.” Tablet Magazine.

Shapiro, Ari. “For U.S. Ambassador, Ties To Prague That Transcend Diplomacy.” NPR. Transcript of Ambassador Norman Eisen’s nomination before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Tuesday, August 2, 2011. http://prague.usembassy.gov/ambassadors_ residence.html

NEWS IN BRIEF From JNS.org

Lebanese teachers call for revised stance on Israel in national curriculum

Lebanon’s national school curriculum, which has traditionally defined Israel as the country’s sole enemy, is currently under review after several teachers asked the Lebanese Ministry of Education to make revisions, the Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Akhbar reported on April 7. The Lebanese teachers said they “do not want to involve politics in the education system, which should be neutral and not subject to political perceptions. ...We do not want to educate our children to hate, even if the enemy (Israel) occupies our land, violates our sovereignty and overlooks our border.”

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SHIRLEY STOVER

Shirley Stover, 90, a nearly lifelong Syracuse resident, died on March 23 at the Weinberg Campus in Amherst.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. After working briefly in the fashion industry in New York City, she returned to Syracuse, where she was a longtime employee in finance at Bristol-Meyers. Her passion in life was playing golf with her friends.

She was predeceased by her sister, Yetta Herr, and brother, David Stover.

She is survived by several nephews and nieces, William Herr, Ellen (Gene) Warner, Brian (Fredda) Stover and Toby (David) Cannon.

Burial was in Beth El cemetery. Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions can be made to the Cancer Research Fund 06950, 750 E. Adams St., Syracuse, NY 13210. 

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Wehrmacht (German armed forces) commander of Prague, General Toussaint, his staff, and other Nazi officials and aides during their seven-year occupation of Prague. Occupied afterwards briefly by the Russians and then the Czechoslovak General Staff, the U.S. leased the property in 1945 before eventually buying it from the Czechoslovak government in 1948.

On his arrival at the Petschek Villa, Eisen had the home returned to its Jewish roots and made suitable for a Torah-observant Jewish family to live in, kashering the kitchens and affixing mezuzos to the doorposts of the residence where he and his family would be staying. The kitchen staff “went into overdrive mastering the Jewish dietary laws,” learning to make traditional Jewish foods like challah and matzah ball soup, and sourcing kosher products, especially a variety of kosher meats, which were unavailable in Prague, and had to be ordered from either Berlin or Vienna. Like other Jewish families around the world, Eisen and his family kept Shabbos in their new Czech home each week, albeit while sometimes in the company of various dignitaries and dining in a room and at a table that were once in the hands of the Nazis.

As Eisen describes it, “It [was] mind-blowing, eating on kosher State Department china where the commander of the Nazi Wehrmacht used to live.”

Frieda opted not to return to her homeland, even when her son was there serving as the ambassador. She passed away in 2012, during her son’s tenure in Prague, but not without a “tremendous sense of triumph” at the fact that her son had returned to the country of her birth as the representative of the most powerful nation on earth.

Frieda was fond of telling people, “The Nazis deported us in cattle cars and my son flew back on Air Force One,” a reference to a trip that Eisen made to Prague with Obama in 2010 for an international treaty signing ceremony.

At Eisen’s nomination before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (which took place several months after Eisen had already begun serving his tenure in Prague, due to his having initially received a recess appointment), U.S. senator (retired) and former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman testified regarding Eisen’s appointment: “[I]t is indeed a profound historical justice…that the ambassador’s residence in Prague, which was originally built by a Jewish family that was forced to flee Prague by the Nazis, [which], in turn, the Nazis took over…as their headquarters, now 70 years later, is occupied by Norman and his family. And I might, on a point of personal privilege, add that they observe the Sabbath there every Friday night and Saturday. So if you need any evidence that there is a God, I offer that to you.” Eisen was later confirmed by the Senate and ended up serving in Prague for almost four years, one of the longest tenures of any recent U.S. ambassador there.

“In every generation, our enemies rise up to destroy us, but Hashem rescues us from their hand.” (From The Pesach Haggadah)

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