Syr0802 by Jewish Federation of CNY

29 TAMMUZ 5776 • AUGUST 4, 2016 • VOLUME XXXVII, NUMBER 15 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

For Jews of Nice, terrorist Leslie Fund donation funds JCC attack came as no surprise summer camp scholarships BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ AMSTERDAM (JTA) – To the millions of tourists who visit Nice annually, the city in southeast France is an ultimate holiday destination that offers inviting beaches and luxury casinos, stunning architecture and world-class museums. Sandwiched between the Maritime Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, Nice is France’s largest tourist destination after Paris, with five million arrivals each year and the country’s second largest domestic airport. Nice sees $1.6 billion in annual tourism revenue – 40 percent from its region known locally as Côte d’Azur and abroad as the French Riviera. But Nice has a dark side, as demonstrated in the terrorist attack of July 14, when a Muslim extremist killed 84 people on the Promenade des Anglais by plowing his truck through the crowds gathered for a fireworks show on France’s national holiday, Bastille Day. After the attack, thousands of tourists checked out hurriedly from hotels that had not had occupancy issues in years. The attack came as no surprise to many locals, including many of the city’s 20,000 Jews, who for years have been the targets of antisemitic attacks and harassment by members of a growing minority of fundamentalists from within the city’s large Muslim population. “The only Jews you see walking around with a kippah are the foreign tourists,” said Chalom Yaich, a caretaker at the Michelet Jewish community center and synagogue. One of Nice’s dozen-odd shuls, Michelet is located next to a car repair shop at the northern downtown area about a mile and a half from the glitzier beachfront area. “We locals have stopped wearing it years ago or covered it with a hat for safety,” said Yaich, 53. He was considering immigrating to Israel before the attack, he said, and is even more inclined to do so now. “Many have left already because Nice is especially affected by France’s problem with Islam,” Yaich said, noting that its young Jews are especially prone to leave, either for Paris or Israel. “We have an aging local population with an average age of 50 or 60,” he said. Nice has at least 60,000 Muslims, or 17 percent of the city’s population, according to estimates published in Le Monde, compared to a national average of about eight percent of the population. Indeed, more than a third of those killed in the attack were Muslim, the head of a regional Islamic association told The New York Times. Other estimates say 30-40 percent of the city’s population is Muslim. One Jew, Reymonde Mammane, was killed in the attack. The attacker, who was shot dead by police while carrying out the rampage, was identified as a Tunisian immigrant,

Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel. Although Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, was a petty criminal with no known links to terrorism and little apparent interest in religion, the Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which French police believe involved several accomplices. Local Muslim leaders denounced the attacks and organized a blood drive for survivors, saying the attacker was hardly representative of their community. Yet several other terrorist cells have emerged from the community in recent years. In February, a Muslim man with suspected terrorist ties stabbed three soldiers outside a Jewish community center in Nice. Like other Jewish potential targets throughout France, the center has been under armed guard since January 2015, when four Jews were killed by an Islamist at a kosher supermarket near Paris. The following month, Nice police raided several homes of alleged Islamist terrorists who were “in advanced stages” of preparing an attack, prosecutors said at the time. In recent years, Nice was among the five most troublesome areas listed in the annual report of the Paris-based SPCJ, a watchdog group on antisemitism, with an average tally of 15-20 violent incidents per year. In relative terms, Jews in Nice are twice as likely to experience such an attack than their coreligionists in Marseille, a nearby city with 220,000 Muslims and 80,000 Jews that sees approximately 2535 physical antisemitic attacks annually, according to SPCJ. The difference is felt on the ground, according to Yves Kugelmann, the Swiss editor-in-chief of the Tachles Jewish weekly, who is among hundreds of nonFrench Jews with pieds-à-terre in and around Nice. “There is more tension and apprehension in Nice than in Marseille, where even despite all the trouble we’ve seen in recent years, you still also have cafés with a mixed clientele of Jews of North African descent and Muslims from the same place,” said Kugelmann, who was in Nice when the attack happened. “It didn’t fundamentally change things for the local Jewish population because, firstly, in France today terrorist attacks are no longer surprising,” he said, “and secondly because it wasn’t aimed at Jews.” Hours after the attack, Yossef Yitschok Pinson, the rabbi of Nice’s Chabad House, told JTA that synagogue services and community events would go on as planned in Nice. Amid growing concern about Islamism, Nice has become a bastion for the French far right, where Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, a niece of party leader Marine Le Pen, garnered a whopping 34 percent of the See “Nice” on page 7

L-r: Andy Fox presented a $2,000 check from the Leslie Fund to Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Executive Director Marci Erlebacher during the Center’s 153rd annual meeting gala on June 5 at Owera Vineyards in Cazenovia. The funds will benefit the JCC’s summer camp scholarships and provide financial assistance for children to attend camp at the JCC. The Leslie Fund is a memorial fund established in 2013 at the Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York in memory of Leslie London Neulander.

At 3.1 million members, CUFI continues to promote Israel support as core Christian value BY SEAN SAVAGE JNS.org While much of the media focused on the recent terror attack in Nice, the failed coup in Turkey and the Republican National Convention, thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the nation’s capital recently to show their support for Israel as part of the 11th annual Christians United for Israel Washington Summit. Although world events may have overshadowed its latest gathering, CUFI’s base of support is considered louder than ever. CUFI has become not only the self-described largest pro-Israel organization in America, but also likely the largest evangelical Christian organization of its kind. As such, the group will likely play “a significant role” in shaping the future of American support for Israel. “Christians United for Israel in 11 short years has gone from 400 people in San Antonio, to 3,500 in our first gathering in Washington, DC, five months later... to 10,000, to 100,000, to 500,000, to one million in 2012, to two million in 2015. Tonight, we celebrate an active Zionist membership of 3.1 million people,” Pastor John Hagee, CUFI’s founder and national chairman, declared in his remarks at the Washington conference as part of its “Night to Honor Israel” celebration. CUFI defines “members” as e-maillist subscribers whose addresses do not produce bounce-backs when messaged. “I am often asked by members of the press, how did this [growth to 3.1 million

CUFI members] happen? I say that it is the Lord that has done this. The King of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, let His name be glorified, He has done this,” said Hagee. CUFI’s Christian-Zionist following has steadily grown despite the past decade’s erosion of support for Israel in other spheres See “CUFI” on page 7

2016 Federation Annual Campaign

Final 2016 Campaign Amount as of Aug. 1, 2016

1,100,235

THANK YOU!

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 August 5...................8:02 pm..............................................Parasha-Mattot-Masei August 12.................7:53 pm................................ Parasha-Devarim (Tisha B’Av) August 19.................7:42 pm................................................. Parasha-Vaetchanan

INSIDE THIS ISSUE In Lithuania...

Sisterhood Symposium

Tisha B’Av

A Lithuanian concentration camp The annual Sisterhood Symposium Community synagogues announce is now being used as a wedding will look at “Kabbalah: The Hidden their Tisha B’Av services and Wisdom of Judaism.” and party venue. classes. Story on page 3 Story on page 2 Story on page 4

PLUS Congregational Notes............ 4 Women in Business................ 6 Calendar Highlights............... 7 Obituaries................................. 7

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ AUGUST 4, 2016/29 TAMMUZ 5776

JCC’s “So-Long Summer” vacation camp starts August 22

BY WILLIAM WALLAK The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse will hold a “So-Long Summer” vacation camp. The camp will be for school-age children entering kindergarten-sixth grade, and will be held from 9 am-4 pm on weekdays, August 22-September 2, at the JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt. Early- and late-care options will be available to extend each day from 7 am-6 pm. Half-day options will also be available

on most days. Children can attend just one day, or up to all 10. “We have so many cool things planned each day, it will be like one big end-ofsummer bash,” said Mick Hagan, JCC director of children and teen services. “We’re going to make this a summer to remember, with lots of cool activities such as arts and crafts, games, swimming, sports and more.” The camp will feature a variety of age-appropriate indoor and outdoor

activities, as well as special theme days such as “water day,” “superhero day” and “wacky Wednesday.” Field trips to Clark Reservation State Park, Green Lakes State Park and the New York State Fair have also been planned. All campers should bring seasonally appropriate clothing for outdoor activities, including sneakers, swimsuits, towels, hats and sun block. Full-day campers have been asked to bring a non-meat lunch. An afternoon snack will be provided.

Registration for the “So-Long Summer” vacation camp will continue up until the camp starts, space permitting. Early registration pricing is available through Friday, August 12. Current JCC membership or program enrollment is not required to enroll a child. Discounts are offered for JCC members and siblings. For more information or to obtain a registration form, call 315-445-2360 or visit www.jccsyr.org.

JCC Fitness Center renovations starting August 22 BY WILLIAM WALLAK The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s Neulander Family Sports and Fitness Center will soon be undergoing a facelift and improvements. The JCC Fitness Center’s first floor adult fitness room will be overhauled with a new floor, all new state-of-the-art cardio machines and new strength training equipment. The fitness room and its adjoining multi-purpose weight room will

be closed for the renovations beginning Monday, August 22. It will reopen on Friday, September 2. During the partial closure, the JCC’s group exercise classes in its dance studio, spin/TRX room and second floor yoga studio will continue as scheduled. The indoor running/walking track and Schayes Family Gymnasium will also remain open. However, the gym may operate on a reduced schedule certain days to

accommodate equipment and supplies deliveries. Participants of programs being held in the gym should call ahead to confirm schedules. “We’re very excited to bring in the new equipment and give our facility a nice refresh in order to better meet the fitness needs of our members,” said Patrick Scott, sports and fitness director. “Some of the equipment will be upgraded versions of what we currently have, and

some will be new to the JCC. During the approximately two weeks of down time during the renovations, we encourage our members to take advantage of the Fitness Center’s more than 50 group exercise classes offered weekly and lap swim in our outdoor pool to add a little variety to their normal workout routines.” For more information about the JCC Fitness Center’s renovations, call 2344522 or visit www.jccsyr.org.

PJ kites at the Art Park with the Israeli Scouts PJ Library® will members will have an opportunity to play with kites on Sunday, August 7, from 11 am-1 pm, at the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, 3883 Stone Quarry Rd., Cazenovia. There will be a modest park charge per adult and children under 16 will be free. Participants will meet at the pavilion by the Secret Garden, where they can decorate and fly their kites.

Two Israeli Scouts will join the group. They will teach participants some Hebrew words and talk about Israeli culture. One of them will give pointers on video-making to the PJ Our Way Kids (9-11-year-olds). Participants can bring a dairy picnic lunch. Snacks will be provided. Registrations have been requested and can be made by contacting Carolyn Weinberg by at pjcny@jccsyr.org.

U.S. sees jump in antisemitic attacks in 2015 BY JNS STAFF (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) – Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased in 2015, with the number of violent attacks jumping from 36 in 2014 to 56 in 2015, the Anti-Defamation League has reported. According to the ADL report for 2015, a total of 941 reported antisemitic attacks were recorded in the U.S., compared to 912 in 2014. The incidents included physical assaults, vandalism, harassment and threats. Specific attacks included Chasidic Jews being fired at with paintballs and air rifles while on their way to synagogue, and statements like “Jews should go back to Auschwitz. Hitler was right.”

Another finding indicated antisemitic incidents at colleges and universities nearly doubled last year. A total of 90 incidents were reported on 60 college campuses in 2015, compared with 47 incidents on 43 campuses in 2014. Campus antisemitic incidents accounted for 10 percent of the total incidents reported in the U.S. in 2015. ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said, “We know that for every incident reported, there’s likely another that goes unreported. So even as the total incidents have remained statistically steady from year-to-year, the trend toward antisemitic violence is very concerning.”

This Lithuanian concentration camp is now a wedding venue BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ KAUNAS, Lithuania (JTA) – In this drab city 55 miles west of Vilnius, there are few heritage sites as mysterious and lovely looking as the Seventh Fort. This 18-acre red-brick bunker complex, which dates to 1882, features massive underground passages that connect its halls and chambers. Above ground, the hilltop fortress is carpeted with lush grass and flowers whose yellow blooms attract bees and songbirds along with families who come here to frolic in the brief Baltic summer. It’s also a popular venue for graduation parties and wedding receptions, complete with buffets and barbecues, as well as summer camps for children who enjoy the elaborate treasure hunts around the premises. Most of the visitors are unaware that they are playing, dining and celebrating at a former concentration camp. In 1941, thousands of Jews were imprisoned, starved and finally massacred

by Lithuanian Nazi collaborators at the Seventh Fort in what was then the largest mass killing in the country’s history. The complex is believed to be the first concentration camp located on territory that Nazi Germany conquered following its eastward invasion. Even by the unfortunate commemorative standards in Eastern Europe – where many Jewish cemeteries and Holocaust sites have been damaged or neglected – the Seventh Fort is unusual for its erasure of the recent past. It was privatized in 2009 and is now owned by the Military Heritage Center – a non-governmental association run by a 37-year-old Lithuanian informatics specialist, Vladimir Orlov – which charges admission fees of approximately $4 to some parts of the compound and organizes parties at the venue. Critics say this reality is a byproduct of the Lithuanian state’s alleged failures in confronting the country’s dark history during the genocide. See “Venue” on page 5

The PJ Library Central New York chapter is a program of the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse and is supported by the Pomeranz, Shankman and Martin Charitable Foundation, Jewish Federation of Central New York, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse, Syracuse Hebrew Day School, Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord. The PJ Library in Central New York serves children from 6-months-8-yearsold in Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties. For more information or to sign up, visit www.pjlibrary.org or e-mail Carolyn Weinberg at pjcny@ jccsyr.org.

At right (l-r): Alicia, Lucy and Marissa Spevak painted leaves during PJ in the Park at Clark Reservation on July 24.

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AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK September 20 Sisterhood Symposium to look at Kabbalah BY ETTARAE ALPERT This year’s Sisterhood Symposium, “Kabbalah: The Hidden Wisdom of Judaism,” is designed to take away the “mist and myth” of Kabbalah and “offer insight into its life-changing wisdom.” It will be held on Tuesday, September 20, at 6:30 pm, at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse and will include a fullcourse dinner. The event will be open to the community. Presented by the Sisterhood of Congregation Beth

Sholom-Chevra Shas and the JCC, the event will be led by guest speaker Dr. Eitan Fishbane and CBS-CS Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone. Fishbane is an associate professor of Jewish thought at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, where he teaches courses in the literature and history of Jewish mysticism, from medieval Kabbalah to modern Chasidism. He is the author or editor of six books and has devoted his research and writing primarily to the

development of Kabbalah in medieval Spain. Kabbalah has its origins in ancient times and was believed to be understood only by the most mature and pious men. The symposium will be a guide to help attendees understand this practice of mystical Judaism. Tickets for the symposium and table sponsorships are available by contacting the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org. The deadline to purchase tickets is September 9.

Auburn Public Theater executive director talks about theater and “My Son The Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy” BY RABBI RACHEL ESSERMAN Editor’s note: The Off-Broadway show “My Son The Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy” starring Brad Zimmerman will be performed at the Auburn Public Theater in Auburn from August 11-20. For information about dates and times, or to purchase tickets, visit http://auburnpublictheater. org or call 315-253-6669. When Jewish Observer Advertising Representative Bonnie Rozen learned that the play “My Son The Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy” was going to be performed at the Auburn Public Theater in Auburn in August, she was hoping to get an advertisement for the newspaper. What she discovered is that another member of the tribe was the executive director of the theater. How did Carey

Before moving to Auburn, Eidel spent 10 years in New York City and then another 15 in Los Angeles. In an e-mail interview, he noted that in New York he was “an aspiring actor and stand-up comedian (i.e. I had lots of

At right: Brad Zimmerman will perform in the OffBroadway show “MySonTheWaiter: A Jewish Tragedy” at Auburn Public Theater in Auburn from August 11-20.

See “Theater” on page 4

S E N I L D A E D

Eidel – a comedian and actor who appeared in numerous television shows and had a role in Steven Spielberg’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” – find himself in a small town in Central New York?

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day-Friday at noon. Dinners are served on Monday at 5 pm throughout the summer, thanks in part, to the Dr. Morton and Mrs. Libby Maloff Summer Senior Dinner program. Reservations for dinner are required by the Wednesday before each dinner. Lunch reservations are required by noon on 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.

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AUGUST 8-12 Monday – 5 pm dinner – brisket Tuesday – hot corned beef sandwich Wednesday – spinach cheese quiche Thursday – chicken fried rice Friday – Marsala meatballs 15-19 AugustAUGUST 20th Monday – panko-encrusted honey mustard salmon Tuesday – beef stew over egg noodles e copy, “Matinees, too!” under “group rates available” Wednesday – baked ziti Thursday – imitation crab cakes with lemon-dill sauce Friday – roast turkey The Bobbi Epstein Lewis JCC Senior Adult Dining Program at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center offers Va’ad Ha’ir-supervised kosher lunches served Tues-

Deadlines for all articles and photos for the Jewish Observer are as follows. No exceptions will be made.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ AUGUST 4, 2016/29 TAMMUZ 5776

CONGREGATIONAL NOTES Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas CBS-CS HOLDS SHIRAT SHABBAT SERVICES Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas will hold its monthly Shirat Shabbat service on Friday, August 19, at 6 pm, with Lisa Levens. A former Boston-area resident and member of the Boston Zamir Chorale, Levens has begun to compose

new melodies for the service, which starts Shabbat. The service will be preceded by an asefat Shabbat with snacks and socializing at 5:45 pm. Services are open to the community. For more information, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org.

Tisha B’Av around the community Saturday, August 13 CONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM-CHEVRA SHAS Service at 9 pm TEMPLE ADATH YESHURUN Mincha, Maariv, Havdalah at 8:05 pm SHAAREI TORAH ORTHODOX CONGREGATION OF SYRACUSE Erev Tisha B’Av Class 6 pm Mincha 7 pm Se’udat shlishit 7:15 pm Fast begins 8:05 pm Shabbat ends 8:59 pm Maariv 9 pm Eicha TEMPLE CONCORD Erev Tisha B’Av service 8 pm

Sunday, August 14 COMBINED CONSERVATIVE SERVICES Morning services at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas 9 am Mincha at Temple Adath Yeshurun 1:30 pm Maariv at Temple Adath Yeshurun 8:30 pm SHAAREI TORAH ORTHODOX CONGREGATION OF SYRACUSE Morning services 8:30 am Afternoon of learning 3:15-7:35 pm Mincha 7:35 pm Fast ends 8:50 pm

Israel authorizes transfer of aid into Syria BY JNS STAFF (JNS.org) – The Israeli government has authorized the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria for the first time since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. “Israel finally agreed to allow in three types of aid: medical, educational and food,” said Moti Kahana, an American-Israeli businessman and philanthropist who is leading the delivery project using his own money. The aid is being transferred into Syria by having the supplies placed inside a “safe zone” in the Syrian town of town of Quneitra on the Israel bor-

der, Kahana said. The supplies include medical equipment so that Syrians can construct a field hospital and treat their wounded inside the country. The Israel Defense Forces is securing the transfer of the supplies. “Civilians are in a difficult situation and we want to help them and not wait for others,” said Druze Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud), according to The Jerusalem Post. The Israeli decision comes as the Iranian news agency Fars reported that an See “Aid” on page 7

Temple Adath Yeshurun HAVA NAGRILLA Temple Adath Yeshurun will host its annual Hava Nagrilla barbecue with Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas at Temple Adath on Friday, August 26. The program will be open to the community. The kick-off to the event will be Tot Shabbat at 5:15 pm in the Syracuse Community Garden at TAY. Young children and their families will have an opportunity to usher in Shabbat in an outdoor setting. Dinner will begin at 6:15 pm, and reservations have been requested by Friday, August 19, to either the TAY office at info@adath.org, or the CBSCS office at office@cbscs.org. There will be a charge for the dinner, with a family maximum price. Children aged 5 and younger will be free. Vegetarian options are available upon request at the time of registration. The Shabbat in the Round service

Theater

‘day jobs’).” The move to L.A. worked to his benefit: There he “found success as an actor, writer, acting teacher and director.” It was family that precipitated the move to upstate New York. “I met my future ex-wife, Angela Daddabbo, in Los Angeles,” he said. “She was working as a film producer and after we married and had our daughter, Gianna (16), we decided that the best place to raise her was in her home town of Auburn, NY. Although working steadily, I was ready for a change and we relocated to Central New York. Both her parents were here and my folks still lived four hours away in Westchester County, so being around family was a major consideration. We also had a second child, Heschel, who is now 9.” Eidel didn’t originally pursue show business in Auburn. “We purchased [Daddabbo’s] relative’s pizzeria in downtown Auburn and embarked on a new adventure,” he said. “I used to say that I used matzo-rella in my pizzas!” A friend in Los Angeles influenced his choice: “[The friend] used to tell us that whenever he needed to get grounded in his life, he would work in the kitchen of a kibbutz or ashram to center himself. We chose pizza dough. After the unexpected death of Angela’s parents, we needed a reason to stay in the area. Although I love to eat pizza, it was not our passion.” His heart still belonged to show business. “We had both always dreamed of running a theater, but it was not practical in either New York or Los Angeles for us,” he said. “After a Feng Shui consultant for our restaurant mentioned the bad energy coming from the old Grants Department Store across the street, Angela got the idea to create the theater. The pizzerias (I had opened two more) were doing well, so we were able to get a mortgage and purchase the building using Angela’s small inheritance from her parents. We were back in show business, but had no idea how we were going to pay for the building! We formed a nonprofit and held an open house in what was basically a broken down former pool hall. Almost 500 people showed up, so we knew we had something to build on. Eventually, we donated the building to the nonprofit Auburn Public Theater and continue to work as staff members. Although Angela and I split up about six years ago, we remain committed parents and have a wonderful working relationship. She’s still the artistic director and I am executive director.” Daddabbo chooses most of what the theater produces or presents, since “as an

will begin at 7 pm. The musical service will be led by Ba’alat Tefillah Esa Jaffe and Cantor Paula Pepperstone, and will include an adult choir. Rabbi Paul Drazen and Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone will participate in the service, which will be followed by an oneg. Temple Adath Yeshurun is located at 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse. For more information, e-mail info@adath.org or office@cbscs.org. SISTERHOOD COFFEE AND DESSERT The Temple Adath Yeshurun Sisterhood will meet for coffee and desserts on Thursday, August 11, at 7 pm, in the slate foyer at the synagogue. Sisterhood President Alison Bronstein said, “It’s a time for women of our congregation to connect, and enjoy a cup of coffee and a sweet nosh.” For more information or to make a reservation for the free event, e-mail Bronstein at alisonbronstein@gmail.com.

Continued from page 3 Auburn native, she has a great perspective on what the community needs, as well as what they want to see,” Eidel said. The theater offers multiple types of events – from theatrical performances to the showing of independent films to classes in dance, acting and music, to community events in partnership with other local or regional organizations. Eidel noted that, in addition to grants they receive at the theater, “we re-grant about $150,000 a year in New York state funds to smaller nonprofit organizations and artists over a five-county region.” Eidel noted that the area does not have a large Jewish community. “When we arrived in Auburn, there were only a few Jews left... and the police were still looking for them!” he joked. “There was actually a synagogue in Auburn, but it had no name on it as not to draw attention (true).” However, his religion made no difference to his neighbors. “In all honesty, the people of Auburn have been wonderful and, although they’re not sure what to do with me, they have accepted me as a valued member of the community,” he said. “I live in the Skaneateles school district, so much of my time is spent there with my kids. That’s a much different community than Auburn, but also very accepting. Essentially, living in two communities has allowed us to ‘bridge the gap’ between them and we now have a healthy percentage of Skaneateles residents attend our events on a regular basis.” As for choosing to bring “My Son the Waiter” to Auburn, Eidel said, “We knew it would be a risk to do a show with ‘Jewish’ in the title, but we also knew that it was smart, funny and would expand the cultural offerings for the community. Our other two shows this summer, ‘Late Nite Catechism’ and ‘The Calamari Sisters’ featured Catholic and Italian themes, so this was a good compliment to those.” Eidel feels strongly about the theater. “After my New York and Los Angeles career and my experiment in the pizza world, helping to create and run Auburn Public Theater has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” he said. “Although I was not raised here, I feel that we have left a public institution that contributes to a better quality of life for the citizens of Auburn, as well as for the surrounding communities. It has been a true ‘labor of love.’ I am so proud of what all of our staff, Board of Directors, volunteers and patrons have built. And we intend to develop and grow all of our programs, as long as the community wants us here! So... buy some tickets!”

AUGUST 4, 2016/29 TAMMUZ 5776 ■

DO YOU KNOW? Your Federation dollars at work – Chabad Lubavitch votes on the recommendations. BY JACKIE MIRON Chabad Lubavitch of Central The Allocations Committee New York has received a $1,000 of the Jewish Federation of grant for two programs under Central New York awards MERKOS, the educational arm community Program Fund of Chabad Lubavitch. The main Grants each year in addition to purpose of the programs is to the annual allocations made in instill in children the traditional the spring. Based on the success Jewish values of compassion, of the 2015 Annual Campaign, social justice, and integrity by community program grants Jackie Miron teaching them to see the world are available to all Jewish through “Jewish lenses” and showing them organizations, agencies, and synagogues how they can make the world a better place. in the Central New York community. The first program, “Project Grow,” is The funds are generally given out in amounts of $10,000, $5,000 or $2,500, intended to give children a sense of combut sometimes for smaller amounts to petence in addressing trying situations, accommodate as many organizations and strategies for problem solving. It aims as possible. The Allocations Committee to promote how they can be productive reviews the grant requests and makes members of a group, respond empathetrecommendations to the board, which ically to challenges and conflicts and

look for peaceful, win-win solutions. It works on team building and seeing other perspectives, tolerance and resilience, and building emotional intelligence. Project Grow classrooms are student-led learning communities supported by nurturing, specially-trained staff, and are open to all children in the Jewish community, regardless of affiliation or enrollment in religious school. Sessions are geared to be child-centered, hands-on and short-term, rather than a year-long, commitment. The second program, “Jewish Heroes – Program and Teach with Cards,” is geared toward students 9-11 years old. Classes are designed around heroes cards, and resemble other card-collecting hobbies. The cards provide content that organizers hope are enjoyable to learn and easily absorbed,

JEWISH OBSERVER

and motivate and captivate children with little knowledge of Jewish history. The rollout of the programs is subject to acquiring additional funds needed to execute a full-scale design. However, it is hoped that even a reduced scale will be possible with the grant. Chabad Rabbi Yaakov Rapoport would like the community to know that Chabad House is planning to open a satellite location in the Fayetteville-Manlius area to better serve the community, and to make these programs more accessible to the targeted age group. The Jewish Federation of Central New York recognizes the power and possibility of further engaging local Jewish youth with Project Grow and Jewish Heroes, as these programs have had success in other Jewish communities.

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Continued from page 2

“It just says a lot of bad things about my country,” said Ruta Vanagaite, a Lithuanian novelist who drew international attention to the site in a book she co-wrote last year with Efraim Zuroff, the Israel director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The apparent amnesia surrounding the fort, she added, is also indicative of “the attitude to the people who were killed.” The remains of 5,000 murdered Jews are buried at the fort in mass graves that are marked by a few poles and rocks. Relatives sometimes light candles in memory of the dead. The Military Heritage Center’s website tells of the area’s Holocaust-era significance and offers, for a fee, tours of the former killing site alongside a general tour about the fort’s military history. It also has a military history museum, but does not have a permanent exhibit about the Holocaust. The Seventh Fort is one of several issues featured in Vanagaite’s best-selling book “Our People,” which is currently being translated from Lithuanian to English. A groundbreaking treatise on Lithuanians’ complicity in the Holocaust, the book flies in the face of the government-promoted narrative that speaks of Lithuanians merely as victims of the Russian occupation that replaced the German one. This sentiment is prevalent across Eastern Europe, but is particularly strong in Lithuania, the only country in the world that formally considers Russia’s domination of its territory a genocide. The perception of victimhood, according to Zuroff, for decades has precluded an open debate on the role of thousands of Lithuanian collaborators – some of them honored as patriotic heroes for their anti-communist credentials – in the murder of 95 percent of the country’s Jews. Jonny Daniels, founder of From the Depths, a Holocaust commemoration group in Poland, said he was “shocked and disgusted” during his visit to the Seventh Fort earlier in July. The site is below “any level of decency and respect,” he said, adding that Lithuania’s government “should hold their heads in shame and be condemned internationally that such an important and holy site be privatized.” In Poland, Daniels said, “one could be prosecuted for much less.” The criticism notwithstanding, Lithuania recently made gestures that drew praise from local and international Jewish groups. Recently, the country’s parliament passed naturalization laws that facilitate the acquisition of Lithuanian nationality for descendants of Litvak Jews. The city of Vilnius, which opened a Yiddish institute in 2001, is planning to build $10 million Jewish museum and is carrying an archaeological excavation of its former

great synagogue. But Lithuania also has faced criticism for honoring collaborators, including Jonas Noreika, who is believed to have helped murder Jews, and Juozas Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis, the leader of a local pro-Nazi government. The latter was reburied in Lithuania in a state funeral in 2012, while the former is commemorated with a memorial plaque on a park near the home of Vilnius’ mayor. Lithuania has laws against displaying Nazi and communist symbols, but it is one of a handful EU countries where one can display a swastika with impunity as per a 2010 court ruling that defines a Baltic variant of the symbol as an ancient part of Lithuanian tradition predating its use by the Nazis. Nonetheless, “classic” swastikas, identical to the ones featured on Nazi Germany’s flag, are sometimes featured in ultranationalist marches that are held annually across Lithuania. In a country where many again feel threatened by an expansionist Russia, the veneration of such figures as Noreika and Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis “goes hand in hand with cases of disrespect toward the victims” at the Seventh Fort, Zuroff said. “There’s also an element of concealment – if it’s not commemorated, then it didn’t happen,” he added. Orlov, the operator of the fort, insisted events are not held on the area where the Holocaust victims are buried, which he said accounts for two percent of the entire compound. “Every place you see in Lithuania has some tragic story. This place is no different,” he told a JTA reporter who inquired about costs for a wedding reception. Assuring his interlocutor a reception would not be a problem, Orlov promised to send a quote indicating cost. The e-mail was never received – though perhaps it was snared in the interviewer’s spam filter. Orlov said the financial reports of his organization were “confidential information,” but added it had a growing income of approximately $35,000 annually. All revenues go toward maintenance and educational work on the Seventh Fort, he said, and to paying a staff of 11 an average monthly salary of $11o – about a third of

A film crew prepared to record at the former concentration camp known as the Seventh Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania, on July 12. (Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz) the minimum wage in Lithuania. In their book, Vanagaite and Zuroff revealed that in 2012, Orlov discovered human remains in the area he had purchased. When authorities did not answer his request for resolving issues that arose with his discovery, he had the remains of thousands of Holocaust victims exhumed and placed in trash bags. “In the pit we discovered a layer of lime, through which what looked like sticks were sticking up. They were the bones of the people shot,” the book quoted Orlov as saying. “After pumping the water out of the ditch and sticking a hand down there, I felt an endless number of bones. Their depth might be several meters.” He went to the police, the Cultural Heritage Protection Department and the Jewish community to report his discovery, according to the book. But failing to

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Jonny Daniels, founder of the Polandbased Holocaust commemoration group From the Depths, at the entrance to the Seventh Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania, on July 12. (Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz)

achieve any result, the book said, Orlov “packed the bones into three garbage bags and left them in a storage space.” Following reports on the situation by the local media, the Kaunas city administration had the bones reburied in 2014 where they had been discovered. Despite these problems, Lithuanian society is for the first time on the path to dealing with its Holocaust record, Zuroff said. The book he wrote with Vanagaite triggered the first major public debate in mass media on the subject, leading to initiatives to revoke state honors for collaborators and a pledge by state historians to “try to publish” this year a list of about 1,000 known Holocaust perpetrators. Sponsored: “Why Be Jewish?” Edgar Bronfman’s clarion call to a generation of secular, disaffected and unaffiliated Jews. Get it now!

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D’VAR TORAH

The limits of leadership BY JEFFREY STANTON In the heat of August, at the head of Av, we approach the end of Numbers and reach some troubling topics. Mattot means “tribes” and is the fifth word in the Torah portion. In the second through fourth aliyot of this reading (Numbers 31:1–31:54), the text conveys the grisly details of the final military engagement of Moses before his death, a devastating attack on a tribe called the Midianites. According to one translation, the Israelites “took

the field against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and slew every male.” Despite the extraordinary extent of this carnage, when the commanders return to base, Moses nonetheless chastises them for sparing the male children, as well as every woman “who has known a man carnally.” Today we call this genocide. Across the generations, commentators have struggled with this chapter and its cool treatment of the nearly complete annihilation of

a large tribe of people. The justification suggested by the narrative in the Torah is that the Midianite women had previously caused the Israelites to commit a host of sins – idolatry, adultery, drunkenness – which, in turn, brought a plague that killed 24,000 people. After the Midianite men, women and boys were slain, the text says that 32,000 girls remained alive, with some commentaries suggesting that these would

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Specialty: Women’s consignment clothier Location: Lyndon Corners 6903 E. Genesee St. Fayetteville, NY 13066 Name: Detta Poster Phone: 315-251-0414 E-mail: Feconsignment@gmail.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 am-6 pm, Sat. 10 am-5 am Fashion Exchange Consignment Clothing is located at Lyndon Corners in DeWitt. The shop offers gently used as well as new upscale boutique women’s clothing sized 0-24. Labels include Bryn Walker, Lilith, Gucci, Carlisle and Chico’s. Fashion Exchange provides a large selection of clothing, handbags, jewelry and more. New items arrive daily and consignors provide goods from all over the world! Come in for a truly a unique shopping experience. Fashion Exchange accepts consignments by appointment only and is always looking for designer clothing and handbags. Stop in and see what’s new! Gift certificates are available.

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Full service coffee shop. 403 1st St., Liverpool 128 West Genesee St., Fayetteville 115 Solar St., Franklin Square, Syracuse 144 Walton St., Armory Square, Syracuse Anna Dobbs Liverpool – 461-8151 Fayetteville – 637-1511 Franklin Square – 424-7650 Armory Square – 424-8840 Mon.-Fri. 6 am-7 pm, Sat. 7 am-7 pm, Sun. 8 am-6 pm Since Anna Dobbs opened her first coffee shop in 1995, Freedom of Espresso, her woman-owned and operated business has grown to include four stores in Armory Square, Fayetteville, Franklin Square and Liverpool. Each of the stores has its own individual personality and fits into its surroundings with a corresponding sense of style, but they share a dedication to presenting quality options that stay away from the notion of same-ness. The stores are developed with a respect for their surroundings and an intent to build community. Freedom of Espresso strives to offer more than just a product to its customers. Staff roast coffee and bake pastries daily to ensure that you always get the best products. Anna believes Central New Yorkers deserve more than an average cup of coffee, and if presented with quality will choose it over national chains.

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Nice

OBITUARIES ADA ROTHSCHILD

Ada Rothschild, 95, died on July 23 at home. A native Syracusan, she spent her entire life in the area, residing in her home in Liverpool for almost 60 years. She was a self-taught burlesque tap dancer, using the stage name Maxine Reynolds. It was while performing at a club that she met her future husband. They married and participated in the community in many ways throughout the years. While he pursued various careers – from boxing promotions, restaurant ownership, State Fair director, auto dealer, politician and War Memorial director – she was always at his side, working with him on each of these endeavors. She volunteered at the St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary for many years. She was predeceased by her husband, Norman E.; her sister, Sally Cross; and brothers, Howard Lane and Philip Levitz. She is survived by her children, Barbara, Arnold and Clare Rothschild; four grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and several nieces and nephews. Burial was in the Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements. Contributions can be made to the Humane Association of Central New York, 4915½ W. Taft Rd., Liverpool, NY 13088; Helping Hounds Dog Rescue, 6606 Kinne Rd., DeWitt, NY 13214; or the S.A.D.A. Charity Preview, 770 James St., Syracuse, NY 13203. 

CUFI

vote in the second round of voting in the 2015 regional elections, losing by fewer than 10 points to another right-wing candidate, former Mayor Christian Estrosi. In Nice, the French Jews live among Arabs in and around the city center, between the Jean-Medecin neighborhood and Gambetta. And while this creates more familiarity than in other French cities with Muslim and Jewish enclaves, it also generates more friction than in Marseille, where Jews and Arabs interact, but live mostly apart as a result of Jewish migration to the suburbs in recent decades. Many Jews also live in the affluent towns around Nice and in pricey villas atop the cliffs overlooking the Nice Cape east of the city, not far from the borders of the Principality of Monaco, located approximately eight miles from the city. And while they will sometimes attend services at the Chabad synagogue or the Ashkenazi shul, “they are not exactly the synagogue crowd,” Kugelmann said. Traditionally a cosmopolitan and tolerant port city near the Italian border, Nice has had a Jewish presence since at least the 12th century, according to Leon Alhadeff of Sefarad, a French organization promoting Sephardic culture. “It drew them because it was a crossroads of cultures,” he wrote on the Sefarad website. Ironically, perhaps, it is now drawing Islamists for the same reasons, according to Philippe Granarolo, a writer and historian who wrote about the truck attack in the Le Figaro newspaper. The city was targeted, he wrote, because Nice, “by far the best-known French destination in the world after

amazing organization. In 10 years, you’ve gathered more than three million members and [have become] active on more than 300 college campuses. CUFI never shies away from standing with Israel and standing with the truth.” Beyond being a platform for traditional evangelical Christians, CUFI has also made a concerted effort to tap into diversity in America. “We’ve seen growth throughout the multi-ethnic body of Christianity – the African-American community, the Asian community, the Hispanic community – and we have even hired a Native American outreach coordinator,” Pastor Dumisani Washington, CUFI’s diversity outreach director, told JNS.org. Washington explained that the diversity among CUFI’s supporters reflects the diversity of Israel. “This is in parallel with Israel, where you see people from all over the world, both Jews and non-Jews,” he said. “The church is the same way – people from all ethnic backgrounds, particularly here in the United States, and we have seen growth. “If you see the people here [at the CUFI summit],” added Washington, “you see people from every ethnic background, and that’s one reason why we think [CUFI] has grown so much, because people are coming from all different sectors of the church.”

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Continued from page 1

of influence. The movement has also tapped into a desire by many Christians to seek out a connection to their roots amid various global threats and uncertainties. “It is not possible to say that I am a Christian and not love the Jewish people,” Hagee said. David Brog, who was one of the founders of CUFI and now serves as director of its Executive Board, explained that CUFI has become the successor group to previous evangelical Christian movements in the 1980s and ‘90s. “If you look back at evangelical politics in America, it was really the Moral Majority [political organization] in the 1980s that brought evangelicals back into American politics in a real way. At the time, [Moral Majority founder] Jerry Falwell wrote that there were four founding issues in the Moral Majority: a strong American defense, family, pro-traditional values, and strong support for Israel and the Jewish people,” Brog said. According to Brog, many at the time did not realize that support for Israel was one of the core values of the Moral Majority. Instead, people tended to focus more on the social issues, and that is how the Moral Majority is now remembered. “In the 1990s, the Moral Majority gave way to Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition,” said Brog. “It was [founded at] the same time, it was a pro-Israel group, but we tended to associate them with social issues because that’s what was hot back was then.” But the 9/11 attacks changed all of that, Brog explained, turning Israel into “one of the top issues for evangelicals. “All of a sudden this distant land of Israel, battling these Islamic enemies, [made] many realize that we are also facing the same threats and enemies,” he said. CUFI was founded in 2006, five years after 9/11, and has seemingly come along in the right place at the right time to fill the gap left by previous evangelical organizations. Throughout the country, CUFI works with dozens of evangelical pastors who hold CUFI-sponsored events and advocate on behalf of Israel within their communities. This grass-roots effort is at the heart of CUFI and may explain why the organization has become such a powerful, yet understated, force in American politics. Pastor Scott Thomas of the Free Life Chapel in Lakeland, FL, told JNS.org that CUFI “helps churches and congregation members to embrace and understand the message of what Israel is, and reintroduce them to the Bible again. “The Bible did not originate in the church. It originated outside of it, it is a Jewish document. Understanding that has given us context. That educational context has triggered a passion for Israel and the Jewish people, and CUFI has been that vehicle. It has been a natural on-ramp,” Thomas said. Pastor Tim Burt, who serves as associate pastor at the Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, MN, added that CUFI has become a place for fractured pro-Israel organizations to come together in “a powerful” way. “There’s always been lovers of Israel; there’s always been many organizations that supported Israel,” Burt said. “But sometimes it is a God moment in time, where Pastor Hagee came along with his leadership, coupled with David Brog, and created this platform at the right time. ... It allowed for all these lovers of Israel to come together, it was a recipe for success.” In his address to the CUFI summit via satellite, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “CUFI is an

JEWISH OBSERVER

Paris, for over a century has symbolized France’s touristic appeal; Mediterranean culture and openness to the other banks of” the Mediterranean Sea. Sponsored: “Why Be Jewish?” Edgar Bronfman’s clarion call to a generation of secular, disaffected and unaffiliated Jews. Get it now! Continued from page 4 Aid Iranian general has visited Quneitra. While his motives

for visiting the town are not known, Arab media outlets are reporting his visit is the first time Iran has officially recognized that one of its chief officials has been near the Israeli-Syrian border, Yediot Achronot reported.

Calendar Highlights

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

Sunday, August 7 PJ Library® kites at Stone Quarry Art Park in Cazenovia from 11 am-1 pm Monday, August 8 Temple Concord board meeting at 6 pm Wednesday, August 10 Temple Adath Yeshurun “Chat and Challenge,” a discussion with a Jewish slant on current events, at 7:30 pm Thursday August 11 Jewish Community Foundation annual meeting at 6 pm Friday August 12 Temple Concord Shabbat in the Park at the Jewish Community Center at 6 pm Saturday, August 13 Erev Tish B’Av - see Tisha B’Av schedule for times and locations Sunday, August 14 Tish B’Av - see Tisha B’Av schedule for times and locations Wednesday, August 17 Deadline for the September 1 issue of the Jewish Observer Menorah Park annual golf tournament at Drumlins, starting with lunch at 11:30 am Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas board meeting at 7:30 pm Thursday, August 18 Temple Adath Yeshurun Executive Committee meeting at 6 pm, followed by board meeting at 7 pm Sunday, August 21 The Oaks presents a free concert with the Rovit Trebicka Trio at 7 pm

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Jewish Central New digging York IsraeliObserver officials: Hamas 5 x 15 7/8

six miles of terror tunnels per month

BY JTA STAFF (JTA) – Hamas is digging more than six miles of tunnels leading from Gaza to Israel each month and some are undetectable, Israeli defense and diplomatic officials said. Citing a Channel 2 news report quoting unidentified officials, the Times of Israel reported the estimate on July 27. “We have no perfect solution” to the threat, the officials were quoted as telling Chan- Israeli paratroopers inspected the entrance of a tunnel nel 2, “and neither does any they discovered in the northern Gaza Strip on July other country.” 18, 2014. (Photo by IDF Spokesperson/Flash 90) While there have been numerous reports in recent months of 27 to the allegations with a statement ongoing tunnel digging – and of Israel saying they are “without foundation” and destroying some tunnels – this appeared “false.” The statement said that from Noto be the first public estimate quantifying vember 11, 2013-July 3, 2014, “the tunnel the threat. threat was presented, in its full severity, In May, Israel’s Shin Bet security at nine separate Cabinet meetings. The service said it had acquired “extensive protocols show this beyond all doubt.” information” on terror tunnels from Gaza According to the statement, six months terrorists it has detained. Investigators prior to Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s also learned about the tunnel excavators’ military operation in Gaza in 2014, from work methods, tools and procedures. For January 16, 2013-July 9, 2014, Netanyahu example, diggers use several methods to “convened six professional discussions disguise their activity, such as a prohibi- on the issue of the tunnels.” The defense tion on exiting tunnels in work clothes. minister, the army’s chief of staff, GOC Excavators are required to shower and Southern Command, heads of the IDF’s change clothes inside the tunnels, the engineering and technology branches Shin Bet said. and field commanders were among the The Shin Bet also said last August that participants in the meetings, it said. Hamas is monitoring Israeli activity to At the discussions, the statement locate the tunnels while building them. said, “the prime minister directed that The Channel 2 report on tunnels came operational and technological solutions amid claims that Prime Minister Benjamin be advanced to meet the tunnels threat.” Netanyahu mishandled the 2014 Gaza Sponsored: “Why Be Jewish?” Edgar war and that the scope of Hamas’ tunnel Bronfman’s clarion call to a generation network had caught him by surprise. of secular, disaffected and unaffiliated Netanyahu’s office responded on July Jews. Get it now!

Limits

serve the Israelites as “handmaidens.” The chapter is also highly specific about the “booty” obtained by the Israelites during the campaign, including precisely 808,000 head of livestock, as well as a huge haul of gold, silver, copper, iron and lead. This detailed numeric accounting of the remains of the day reveals another curious possibility: the account of the destruction of the Midianites is, if not fictional, at least fanciful. A basic assessment of the geography of Midian makes it farfetched that a nomadic collection of tribes could have maintained anything like this number of livestock in near desert conditions. Even the suggestion that 32,000 girls remained after the slaughter is suspect as it implies a population that could not have been subdued, let alone eradicated, by the small army that the Israelites fielded. Adding to the incredulity, verse 49 indicates that not a single Israelite warrior was killed in the whole campaign. The question arises, then, why the Torah would exaggerate the conduct and outcomes of the war to such an extent. It is likely that two different threads were woven together to create this account. First, the connection between the earlier moral corruption instigated by the Midianites and the depiction of the complete destruction of their tribe was meant to send an unambiguous message to readers: nobody gets away with messing with the prohibitions in the Torah. Any individual or group that leads the Israelites into degradation will regret the result. Secondly, the connection between these narrated events and the end of Moses’ life and influence on the Israelites is not accidental. This is Moses’ last stand in many different respects. His admonition to the commanders to execute the women and boys is clearly an overreach that is out of line with the

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principles of compassion that appear elsewhere in the Torah. Relatedly, Moses’ instructions to the commanders did not come from God, as other directives did earlier in the chapter. Finally, and most importantly, while it is common for the Torah to state, “it was done,” or provide some other positive indication that a command was followed, there is no indication in the text that the commanders actually followed through on Moses’ order. Moses was furious – not an unusual depiction in the Torah – but he was also transitioning quickly toward incapacity. So perhaps the account of the destruction of the Midianites was meant to send a message about the consequences of immorality – and the limits of leadership. In many modern societies, we have established a shared understanding of the evilness of genocide, and no civilized person would conscience genocide as a consequence for the moral failings of individuals or groups. Nonetheless, people often still fall prey to the error of exaggerating bad events and behaviors to highlight moral implications and failures. In fact, it is often leaders, or would-be leaders, in our society who are most likely to advocate excessive actions based on such exaggerations. The Torah teaches that there should be consequences to moral failings and bad behavior, but we must temper the demagogic impulses of leaders who are too quick to exaggerate those failings for their own persuasive purposes. Jeffrey Stanton is associate provost for academic affairs at Syracuse University and a member of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas. He has been a member of Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas since moving to the Syracuse area in 2001. When not writing a d’var Torah, he is working on a textbook for introductory statistics students.