Syr1110 by Jewish Federation of CNY

30 CHESHVAN 5776 • NOVEMBER 12, 2015 • VOLUME XXXIV, NUMBER 22 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

Meet at the MOST to feature family fun on November 14 BY MARIANNE BAZYDLO Meet at the MOST, a Jewish Federation of Central New York community event, will be held on Saturday, November 14, from 6:30-9 pm, at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology, 500 S. Franklin St., Armory Square, Syracuse.

Committee Chair Pam Levine said, “At Meet at the MOST, listen to music by DJ Rick Deyulio; watch Hal Schulman perform his magic; marvel at the magical balloon animals created by the Twin Magicians; and take home special memories from the photo booth. And don’t forget delicious treats catered by

The Oaks and supervised by the Va’ad. There will be fun for all ages, from children to adults.” Tickets are available for purchase online at www.jewishfederationcny. org until the start time of the event and will be available at the door. Attendees also may purchase tickets at

445-2040, ext. 102. The ticket price is per family and includes admission to the museum. There will be a cash bar at the progrm. Valet parking will be available. Advance reservation automatically enters the ticket holder into a raffle for several baskets and gift certificates.

Bands sought for 14th annual JCC Battle of the Bands BY WILLIAM WALLAK The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse is seeking rock and other musical groups to enter and play in its Battle of the Bands concert. The 14th annual competition will be held on Saturday, January 16, at 7 pm, at the JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt. The winner will receive a $200 cash prize and the opportunity to play in a JCC 2016 spring showcase concert. There will be a modest admission charge and the event will be open to the public. Battle of the Bands entry forms are available online at www.jccsyr.org and at the JCC’s front desk. There is a registration fee per band and the deadline to enter is Monday, January 4. JCC Director of Children and Teen Services Mick Hagan said, “We had such a great Battle of the Bands concert last year. The diverse styles of music and quality of the

musicians were incredible, and the turnout was excellent as usual. I can’t wait to see what kind of bands enter this year.” JCC Battle of the Bands competitions have typically drawn up to 10 bands from all around Central New York. Last year’s winner was progressive-roots-rock-bluegrass band Casual Plaid from Marcellus High School. Judges for the 2016 Battle of the Bands will be Ryan Gorham, of Gorham Brothers Music, Syracuse; Chris Baker, music and entertainment reporter for The Post-Standard; and Katrina Tulloch, entertainment reporter for The Post-Standard. For every high school student admission, the JCC will donate $1 to his or her school district’s music department. For more information about the Battle of the Bands and registration, contact Erin Hart at 445-2040, ext. 133, or ehart@ jccsyr.org.

Last year’s JCC Battle of the Bands winning band, Casual Plaid, from Marcellus High School, performed at the competition held last January. L-r: Mike Clark, Aaron Fern, Sean King and Erica Ylitalo.

Can Paul Ryan create a “blank slate” and allay House’s partisan divide on Israel? ANALYSIS BY SEAN SAVAGE JNS.org Strained ties between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama in recent years have stood in contrast with a warm relationship between Netanyahu and Congress, particularly in the House of Representatives, which has been controlled by Republicans since 2011. Under the leadership of former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), the House has steadfastly approved pro-Israel legislation such as financial support for the Iron Dome missile defense system and majority opposition (but not enough to override a presidential veto) of the Obama administration-brokered Iran nuclear deal. Yet internal turmoil has plagued the Republican-led House, leading to a change in leadership with the election of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as the new speaker on October 29. “This begins a new day in the House of Representatives,” the 45-yearold Ryan, the former vice presidential nominee on Mitt Romney’s ticket, said after a vote by Republicans endorsing his

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC. (Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons) leadership. “We are turning the page.” In his new position of influence, Ryan faces a number of domestic challenges, ranging from budgets to immigration. He also faces the task of attempting to hold together strong bipartisan support for Israel as the Middle East continues to face unrest and violence. “Unfortunately what we have seen in recent years is a Republican Party moving in a pro-Israel direction and more ambivalence on the Democratic side,” presidential historian Tevi Troy, who

served as White House liaison to the Jewish community under President George W. Bush, told JNS.org. “Even if you look at the Obama administration, you see tensions between the old guard and the younger aides who want to hit Israel harder. “So there are some real questions on the Democratic side,” said Troy. “Paul Ryan will be continuing in the tradition of solid pro-Israel speakers – not just Boehner, but also former speaker Newt Gingrich.” While Boehner’s term as speaker was noted for his strong support of Israel, the Jewish state became an increasingly partisan issue under his watch – especially earlier this year, when Boehner broke from what the White House called “protocol” and invited Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on the Iran nuclear issue without first consulting Obama. More than 50 Congressional Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. “Boehner was very good on Israel, but the Netanyahu speech did rub a lot of people the

wrong way,” Troy said. “Paul Ryan could potentially create a blank slate where he can have strong bipartisan support for Israel, which is the place we need to be.” A prominent face in Washington as head of the Ways and Means Committee in the House, Ryan is perhaps best-known to most Americans as Romney’s running mate. At the time, many in the pro-Israel community praised Ryan for his strong support of pro-Israel legislation in the House, including his co-sponsorship of a July 2011 bill that opposed “unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state” and his backing of the Palestinian Accountability Act, which imposed restrictions on U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority. Ryan has also described the late Jack Kemp, the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee and U.S. House member from New York, as being his mentor. Ryan worked for Kemp as a speechwriter and researcher, and Kemp’s granddaughter See “Ryan” on page 10

C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A November 13...........4:25 pm.......................................................... Parasha-Toldot November 20...........4:19 pm........................................................ Parasha-Vayetze November 27...........4:15 pm...................................................Parasha-Vayishlach

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Holocaust money

Israeli tech

Kenya pop star

Clark University has a collection of A Boston microbrewery uses Israeli ex-diplomat Gilad Millo currencies used in concentration Israeli tech to use water from the is currently Kenya’s biggest pop star. camps and ghettos. Charles River in its beer. Story on page 8 Story on page 2 Story on page 6

PLUS Home and Real Estate........6-7 Chanukah Gifts....................... 8 Calendar Highlights............. 10 Obituaries................................11

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776

Palestinian human rights leader condemns Hamas, BDS at Cornell lecture

BY LAURA GUNDERSEN This article appeared online in the October 26 issue of THE CORNELL REVIEW. It is reprinted with its permission. Bassem Eid, founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group and an outspoken critic of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, spoke at Cornell recently, sponsored by CAMERA on Campus and Cornellians for Israel. “I am a human rights activist,” Eid said as he started his speech, adding that he had never been affiliated with any Palestinian political organization. “I spent around 26 years of my life protecting the rights of the Palestinians.” Born in the Jordanian-occupied Old City in eastern Jerusalem, Eid experienced first-hand the deterioration of the human rights situation under Palestinian Authority. This prompted him to speak about issues in Palestinian leadership and the complexities surrounding the topic. Eid focused on the broken leadership in Palestine. He explained that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine, is “anxious” to appoint a successor to avoid the election of a president outside of his family. Meanwhile, Fatah, Hamas and radical Islamists inside Israel are “competing” to increase violence in Jerusalem. “Palestine is a very divided society,”

Eid stressed, explaining that the conflict of leadership between Fatah, Hamas and the Islamist movement in Israel creates a “competition” for the destruction of Israel. Since Hamas took over the Gaza strip in 2007, “We almost signed five different agreements between Fatah and Hamas,” Eid said. “We are so far away from any kind of union between Gaza and Palestine. “There is a fight between Abbas and Fatah, and between Fatah and Hamas... and between the radical Islamists inside Israel. We are in the middle of the sandwich. Fatah is trying to increase the violence in East Jerusalem for political interests against Hamas.” Eid said that Fatah wants to show Hamas, “You can just sit in Gaza and count how many Jewish [sic] we are going to stab today. Of course, the Palestinians will never ever achieve anything from that.” The radical Islamists are also participating in violence in Jerusalem, and Abbas cannot interfere because it is in the interest of Fatah to keep the violence thriving, Eid explained. “This is how the Palestinian political parties... gain more political power” on the international stage. “When is the international community going to wake up? When is the international committee

going to interfere?” Eid asked, adding, “I think the majority of the Palestinians are totally against what is going on.” Eid noted that social media today is radicalized and pinned against the innocent because of government censorship. “Whomever [sic] wants to stab a Jew” can be “directly guide[ed] how to do it,” he said, noting that those who are shouting against the violence are silenced. When talking about a one versus twostate solution, Eid said that he believes that Israel and Palestine both deserve states, but “Unfortunately, the Palestinian demand right now is [a] three-state solution for two people, because Hamas is fighting for its own Islamic emirate in the Gaza strip; Abbas is fighting for his own empire in the West Bank, and the state of Israel... This is the solution unfortunately.” Eid went on to say that the majority of Palestinians have lost trust in their government and leadership. If Bibi Netanyahu were to meet with Abbas today, Eid said, the first questions to ask would be, “Whom you are you representing, West Bankers, Gazan people, or Palestinians?” In Eid’s opinion, “Abbas is only representing his two sons and his wife.” Now, there is an emphasis on how to deal with the widespread terror and a de-

emphasis on the human rights issue, Eid said. “The Oslo Agreement is going to bring another dictatorship regime to the Middle East,” with “huge violations of human rights” being committed by the Palestinians. Eid later discussed Palestine’s dependence on Israel for economic stability. There is “no interest in the boycott,” Eid said, referring to the BDS movement against Israel. He said that only with a better economy would the Palestinians do well, and that a boycott would “only harass Palestinians themselves. “Gaza is starving,” Eid went on, “And the main reason for that… is Hamas... It’s very clear that any normal country around the world is using its missiles and rockets to protect its own people. Unfortunately, Hamas used its own people to protect its own missiles and rockets, and this is why we lost over 2,000 people within 50 days of war.” Eid said that there is no clear solution, but that what is needed now is a “charismatic and courageous leader” to be interested in the people, which Palestine hasn’t yet seen. Meanwhile, Eid said, help is desperately needed from the international community to provide more help to Israelis and Palestinians to put an end to the violence that plagues the region.

The concentration camp currency you never heard of BY PENNY SCHWARTZ WORCESTER, MA (JTA) – In the 70 years since the fall of the Third Reich, the trappings of Nazi power have become infamous icons of evil – think of the swastika flag, the yellow badge or the striped concentration camp uniform. But have you ever heard of “Holocaust money,” the currencies that the Nazis forced on Jews and others in concentration camps and ghettos? If not, you’re not alone. Even scholars have largely neglected the subject. “It’s a mystery to me,” said Deborah Dwork, a professor of Holocaust history at Clark University here, regarding why there isn’t more contemporary research on the currencies. Dwork hopes to change the situation. The university’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, which she directs, is making a newly acquired collection of the notes and coins available for study this fall. “Clearly this is an under-researched area,” Dwork said. “It is a salutary reminder that we think we know so very much, but there are areas about which we know very little.” Robert Messing, an amateur numismatist, or currency expert, who graduated from Clark in 1959, donated the collection last spring. The university and the Strassler Center have funded Marissa Natale, 20, a junior studying history, the Holocaust and genocide, to research the collection and con-

Marissa Natale is researching a new collection of Holocaust money for Clark University and considering how students may be able to use it. (Photo courtesy of Clark University)

sider how students may be able to use it. The first known use of Holocaust money was in the Lodz ghetto in Poland in 1940. Over the next five years, the Nazis introduced currencies in concentration camps and other ghettos in Germany and occupied Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands. Each camp or ghetto had its own currency – with unique denominations and designs – to be used only within its gates. Natale said Holocaust money was part of a complex economic system that served to strip European Jewry of its resources and further the Nazis’ genocidal aims. Jews could redeem the money under Nazi regulations or through black markets for food, clothes and other goods. In concentration camps, Nazi officials and some factory owners paid Jewish slave laborers “bonuses” in the currencies to make them work harder. Thousands of Jews were worked to death during the Holocaust. In ghettos, currencies served to compensate Jews when Nazi officials confiscated their valuables and cash. While ghetto residents relied on food rations, there was never enough to eat, and cash could be the difference between life and death. Coins in the Lodz ghetto were made of a flammable alloy and sometimes used as fuel. The ghetto currencies also served to mark the Jews who carried them, putting them at risk if they left the ghettos, where they were legally required to stay. Banknotes from the Theresienstadt concentration camp are included in the Strassler Center’s collection. Both the blue 50-krone notes and the pink 100krone notes feature an image of Moses, bearded and holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments, and a stylized Star of David. The notes were designed by a Theresienstadt inmate named Peter Kien, Natale explained. Nazis officials forced Kien to alter his original design to make Moses look more stereotypically Jewish and, ironically, to make his hands cover the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” Handling notes and coins from the Holocaust, Natale said, brings the reality of the genocide home for her. She predicts the Holocaust money will resonate with other students as well. “We all use money. See “Currency” on page 5

Some of the Holocaust money in the collection at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. (Photo courtesy of Clark University)

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Amateur numismatist Robert Messing with Clark Professor Deborah Dwork at the Massachusetts university. (Photo courtesy of Clark University) All articles, announcements and photographs must be received by noon Wednesday, 15 days prior to publication date. Articles must be typed, double spaced and include the name of a contact person and a daytime telephone number. E-mail submissions are encouraged and may be sent to JewishObserverCNY@gmail.com. The Jewish Observer reserves the right to edit any copy. Signed letters to the editor are welcomed: they should not exceed 250 words. Names will be withheld at the discretion of the editor. All material in this newspaper has been copyrighted and is exclusive property of the Jewish Observer and cannot be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. Views and opinions expressed by our writers, columnists, advertisers and by our readers do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s and editors’ points of view, nor that of the Jewish Federation of Central New York. The newspaper reserves the right to cancel any advertisements at any time. This newspaper is not liable for the content of any errors appearing in the advertisements beyond the cost of the space occupied. The advertiser assumes responsibility for errors in telephone orders. The Jewish Observer does not assume responsibility for the kashrut of any product or service advertised in this paper. THE JEWISH OBSERVER OF CENTRAL NEW YORK (USPS 000939) (ISSN 1079-9842) Publications Periodical postage paid at Syracuse, NY and other offices. Published 24 times per year by the Jewish Federation of Central New York Inc., a non-profit corporation, 5655 Thompson Road, DeWitt, NY 13214. Subscriptions: $36/year; student $10/ year. POST MASTER: Send address change to JEWISH OBSERVER OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, 5655 Thompson Road, DeWitt, NY 13214.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK JCC offers Pre-Turkey Day vacation camp for children November 25 WILLIAM WALLAK The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse will hold a Pre-Turkey Day vacation camp for children in kindergarten-sixth grade on Wednesday, November 25, from 9 am-4 pm, at the JCC, 5655

Thompson Rd., DeWitt. Many activities have been planned for the event. Half-day options, as well as early and late care extending the day from 7 am-6 pm, will also be available. The Pre-Turkey Day vacation camp will feature

JCC holding kosher turkey raffle The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse has announced it will hold its annual kosher turkey raffle. Tickets can be purchased at the front desk of the JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt, or from participants in the center’s After School Program. Up to three winners will be drawn on Friday, November

20, at 5:45 pm, in the JCC’s main lobby. Winners do not have to be present to win. Raffle proceeds will benefit the JCC’s Children’s Department. For more information, contact Mick Hagan, director of children and teen services, at 445-2040, ext. 129, or mhagan@jccsyr.org.

SHDS BUDS event: Thanksgiving treat November 22

Thanksgiving arts and crafts, games, sports in the gym, movie time and other activities for children to enjoy. Full-day campers will be asked to bring a non-meat lunch. An afternoon snack will be provided. Half-day options for the camp will run from 9 am-noon and 1-4 pm. Early registration pricing and a discount for siblings is available through Wednesday, November 18. Registration will be discounted for JCC members; however, membership or JCC program enrollment is not necessary for a child to attend the Pre-Turkey Day vacation camp. For more information or to obtain a registration form, call 445-2360 or visit www.jccsyr.org.

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The Syracuse Hebrew Day School Bringing Up Day Schoolers programs bring together young children, from birth-first grade, and their parents for shared social and educational programs. The fall festival event on October 18 included sensory activities, a scavenger hunt, pumpkin decorating, stories, songs and a snack. The next event is scheduled for Sunday, November 22, from 2-3 pm, in the kindergarten classroom at SHDS. Organizers hope this “Thanksgiving Treat” will be “an engaging opportunity” for children and parents alike. Children will participate in Thanksgiving-themed crafts, activities and stories, while the parents will have time for coffee and conversation. At right: Children and their families sang a fall song during the Syracuse Hebrew Day School BUDS Fall Festival.

ISSUE

Wednesday, November 11......... November 26 Tuesday, November 24, early... December 10 Tuesday, December 22, early.......... January 7 Wednesday, January 6................... January 21

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center senior dining menu NOVEMBER 16-20 Monday – stuffed shells Tuesday – sweet and sour meatballs over rice Wednesday – chicken fried rice Thursday – crustless vegetable quiche Friday – brisket NOVEMBER 23-27 Monday – vegetable lasagna Tuesday – beef stew Wednesday – Thanksgiving lunch – roast turkey Thursday – closed Friday – closed 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 Monday-Friday at noon. Lunch reservations are DeWitt’s newest breakfast and deli!

MAC’S LOCAL YOLK

(315)446-0915 • Corner of E. Genesee & Erie Blvd. E. DeWitt, NY (former IHOP location)

Some of our favorites:

• corned beef & pastrami sandwiches • deli salads • lox & bagel • lox & egg scramble • potato pancakes • blintzes • matzo ball soup & lots of other delicious dishes

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 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)

MIKE LESSEN 256-6167 donatecars@twcny.rr.com Charitable Auto Resource Service In our 10th year of enriching the religious sector

Women TIES Syracuse Event “Getting Your Name in Print” Sponsored by The Reporter Group

Judith Shenouda - Owner, Shenouda Associates Inc. Kelly Klein - Owner/Editor of Natural Awakenings, Rochester Tracy Higginbotham - President, Women TIES

Tuesday, November 19 12 - 2:30 pm Rico’s Ristorante, 320 East First Street, East Syracuse, New York Cost $33 RSVP to www.womenties.com or 315-708-4288 by November 16. This is a women only event.

Open 6am-8pm daily Friday & Saturday 6am-10pm Sunday 7am-8pm Fresh, local, made to order

Visit the JO online at jewishfederationcny.org and click on Jewish Observer

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776

CONGREGATIONAL NOTES Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas ANNUAL INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas will hold its annual joint Thanksgiving program with Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church on Sunday, November 22, at 4 pm, at CBS-CS, 18 Patsy Ln., Jamesville. This year’s theme will be “From Fragility to Action.” The theme was chosen by Reverend Peter Shidemantle, of Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, and Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone, of CBS-CS, in light of the current refugee crises in the Middle East, Europe and across the globe, and Syracuse’s welcoming of hundreds of refugees in recent years. At the same time, the two congregations have recognized that there are women and children in the Greater Syracuse community who are refugees from their own homes, who are seeking guidance and shelter through Vera House, a local organization for women in crisis. This year, members of both congregations will bring items for Vera House to give to women and children when they first seek shelter. As part of the Thanksgiving celebration, participants will sort supplies and assemble welcome baskets in partnership with Operation Soap Dish, a project started by CBS-CS member Adena Rochelson that collects and distributes toiletries and household products for those in need. The baskets will contain necessary toiletries for the women, as well as

bags of toys for the children. Donations will be accepted at CBS-CS between November 8-16. Cash or gift cards will also be welcome. Members of the community can donate to the project and join the two congregations at the program on November 22. The program will include the annual joint adult choir, with the addition of a joint youth band. For more information, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@ cbscs.org. ANNUAL GIFT/JUDAICA SHOP SALE The CBS-CS Sisterhood is now holding its annual gift/Judaica shop sale, with an additional merchandise display available on Sunday, November 22 from 9 am-2 pm. The CBS-CS Sisterhood Judaica shop will have merchandise for Chanukah, as well as ritual items for year-round, for personal use and for gift-giving. Gifts for adults and children will be available, including a collection of children’s books, on November 22. Some of the artists whose works are for sale include Tamara Baskin, Emanuel, Osian Liany, Patrick Meyer, and Gary Rosenthal. The CBS-CS gift shop is open Sunday mornings during religious school, during the week from 9 am-5 pm, or by appointment with Linda Herman by calling 446-8777.

Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation AM GHALCHI TALK Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse will host a breakfast on Sunday, November 22, featuring a talk by an Iranian Jew, Sam Ghalchi. The breakfast is scheduled for 9 am, with the talk to follow, starting at approximately 9:30 am. The event will be free and open to the public. Ghalchi, who manages real estate properties in downtown Syracuse, has been in the U.S. for 40 years, with the last eight in Syracuse. He has attended services at STOCS, and has two children attending the Syracuse Hebrew Day

School. He is still in contact with family living in Iran. Ghalchi will speak about the Jewish community’s long history in Iran, dating at least back to the biblical Book of Esther, and about the situation currently facing Jews there. Having knowledge of Iranian and American societies, he is expected to provide insights into both, including his thoughts about the American Jewish community and, specifically, Jewish life in Syracuse. The presentation will feature a question-and-answer period. For more information, contact the STOCS office at 446-6194.

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Temple Adath Yeshurun DECODING JEWISH JARGON BY BARBARA S. SIMON Temple Adath Yeshurun Rabbi Paul Drazen will offer a three-part course, “The Language of Jewish Living,” starting on Sunday, November 15, at 11 am. All classes with be held at TAY, 450 Kimber Rd, Syracuse, in the Muriel and Avron Spector Library. The community is welcome to attend. He said, “I don’t have a mystery Jewish language decoder ring, but I empathize with all of us who wish we did. To serve

as the next best thing, the goal of the course is to help all who choose Judaism – born in or opted in – to be familiar and comfortable with ‘Jewish jargon.’The sessions are open to all who want to confirm what they know, learn something new or just join in a lively discussion on the topic. Knowledge of Hebrew is not required to participate.” The first class session will focus on “Life Cycle Language, from Anninut to shalom Zachor.” The class will review the language and help organize the many terms relating to customs, ceremonies and life cycles, from birth to death. Future sessions include “Worship and Shabbat words: from Aaron H’kodesh to Zemirot” on Sunday, December 13, and “Holiday words: from Akdamut to Yom Yerushalaim” on Sunday, January 10. See “TAY” on page 8

L-r: Georgia Horn, with teacher Elise Cominsky, made challah for Shabbat Experience, part of the Rothschild Early Childhood Center’s Jewish enrichment program. Held on Fridays at 10 am in the Nancy R. Weisberg Board Room at Temple Adath Yeshurun, children from birth-5years-old, accompanied by a parent or caretaker, are welcome to attend. For more information about the program, visit www.rothschildearlychildhoodcenter. org or call 445-0049.

Margie Miller, Women’s League Area services chair and a member of the WLCJ Executive Committee, recently met with a group of Temple Adath Yeshurun Sisterhood members at the home of interim Sisterhood President Joan Siegel. L-r: Shirley Gnacik and Miller.

L-r: Morrisa Golden-Sieradski, Lisa Joseph and Lev and Aree Grunstein participated in the first session of the Temple Adath Yeshurun tot parenting group. The group will explore Jewish teachings and contemporary psychological insights and how they can be incorporated into modern parenting. The group, led by Alicia C. Gross, co-director of the Rothschild Early Childhood Center, will meet one Sunday a month and discuss chapters from “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee” by Wendy Mogel, Ph.D. The book was recommended by Susan Wyner, director of learning enrichment for United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. She recently led a Syracuse Area Jewish Educators workshop for all Jewish teachers in Syracuse. For more information on the group, contact Gross at alicia@adath.org.

Temple Concord SEASONED CITIZENS Local ventriloquist Larry Brennan (at right) performed impersonations and ventriloquism for two dozen audience members at the October 13 Seasoned Citizens program at Temple Concord. The free program is another in a series of programs at Temple Concord open to the Syracuse community, including the scholar series, Cinemagogue and the Goldenberg Cultural Series. The next Seasoned Citizens program will be held on Tuesday, November 10, at 2 pm, in the social hall of the synagogue, 910 Madison St., Syracuse. It will feature Foutch and Ferrara, a flute and guitar duo that performs classical, Spanish and Latin music. For more information about Seasoned Citizens, contact coordinator Janis Martin at jmmartin@twcny.rr.com.

SCHS

BY SHANNON SMALL A Jewish Federation of Central New York Community Program Fund grant of $20,000 has helped establish the Syracuse Community Hebrew School for grades threeseven, which opened its doors in September. In addition to the Federation funding, money was secured from the Pomeranz, Shankman, and Martin Charitable Foundation at a level of $30,000 annually, as well as money from Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord. The Dorothy and Marshall Reisman Foundation gave $3,600. The school grew out of a desire of the three participating synagogues to provide “a high quality Jewish educational experience,” with “an increased sense of community.” For its first two years, it is being hosted by Temple Adath Yeshurun. It will then alternate locations every two years. In order to ensure a “creative” learning environment for Jewish children of all levels and abilities, the Syracuse Community Hebrew School has hired a special education teacher as a member of the teaching staff. Andrea Speer has served in this capacity since the school opened in September. Speer is said to be “excited” to Andrea Speer be a part of the Syracuse Community Hebrew School in its inaugural year, saying, “I have enjoyed watching children from all over the community bonding and learning together at the community school. There is an incredible amount of staff and student energy present in the school, even though it is after a long day of ‘regular’ education.” Speer sees her mission of meeting the learning needs of every student as a challenge, but is confident in her and her colleagues’ abilities to rise to the occasion, “by consulting with the teachers and assistants, and working with Lauren Rosenstein, our special education teaching assistant. We are already seeing strategies and accommodations being implemented that are benefitting the students and maximizing learning.” She received her bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Connecticut and her master’s in special education from Syracuse University. She has taught for more than 30 years in the Jewish and Syracuse communities. She decided to be a special education teacher after a summer job as a teaching assistant in the North Syracuse Early Education Program. She said, “I loved working there so much that I switched my major from psychology to special education. Since then, I have taught students from birth-adulthood. My passion continues to be helping others succeed to their greatest potential in school and in life.” Speer has worked with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds throughout her career as a special educator, including teaching struggling children to read and working with reluctant students in incarcerated settings. She added, “Perhaps my greatest achievement occurs each time I am able to find a way to help individuals perform a task or understand a concept that they had previously struggled with. An example that stands out in my mind was when I taught essay writing skills to a student who had passed all other sections of the GED test except the writing. After working with me for a few months, he retook the test and passed. He said he did it because he kept hearing my voice in his head saying, ‘details, details, details!’ and was visualizing the steps of the graphic organizers I had kept making him fill out.” Speer grew up in the community and has been a lifelong member of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas. She says she is happy to have a chance to give back to the community that gave her and her family so much. “My hope is that the SCHS is a place that, wherever it is housed, students feel positive about attending, and they enjoy being with other Jewish youths, and learning together to the best of their abilities.”

Currency

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People held it in their in hands as part of their everyday lives. It connects people throughout time,” she said. Much of Natale’s knowledge of Holocaust money comes from reading copies of Shekel, a magazine published by the American Israel Numismatic Association. Issues of the magazine and other documents were donated along with the currency collection by Messing, a founding member of the association. First drawn to the subject because he lost family members in the Nazi genocide, Messing has now spent nearly 50 years researching, collecting and writing about Holocaust money. He donated his collection in hopes that it will become another symbol of the Nazis’ crimes – and one that people can hold in their hands. “It’s a real artifact that said these horrible things did happen,” he said.

NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

Cooks and Books class for preschool begins December 2 BY WILLIAM WALLAK The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s Jerome and Phyllis Charney Early Childhood Development Program will offer a weekly Cooks and Books class for 3-5-year-old children on Wednesdays, starting on December 2, from 1:15-2 pm, at the JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt. The four-week class will create, learn and have culinary programs. Children will read and cook, with stories such

as “Alphabet Soup” and “Everybody Bakes Bread.” Registration for Cooks and Books will continue until the class begins. Children do not need to be enrolled in the JCC’s Early Childhood Program. JCC membership is not required to take the class; however, members receive a discount. For more information, call the JCC’s Early Childhood Program at 445-2040, ext. 120, or visit www. jccsyr.org.

JCC adds new member referral program The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse recently added a new member referral program as a benefit of membership with the Center. JCC members in good standing will receive one month added to their annual membership term for every friend or family member they refer who joins the JCC Sports and Fitness Center. New JCC members who join as a result of a referral will receive a special discounted rate off the cost of an annual fitness membership. The referral program does not apply to short-term or special promotional offers.

Nick Finlayson, JCC membership director, said, “We’re very pleased to be able to say ‘thank you’ to our established members and to our new fitness members through this new referral program, which recognizes loyalty to the JCC. It’s an honor when new members come through the door because of a friend or family member’s recommendation.” For more information about the JCC’s new member referral program, or to make a referral, contact Finlayson at 445-2040, ext. 140, or nfinlayson@jccsyr.org, or visit the fitness desk.

DO YOU KNOW? Your Federation dollars at work – communal space at SHDS JACKIE MIRON TheAllocations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Central New York awards community Program Fund Grants annually during the fall. The grants are available to all Jewish organizations, agencies, and synagogues in the Central New York community. The funds come from Federation’s Annual Jackie Miron Campaign and 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 then votes on the recommendations. The Syracuse Hebrew Day School was awarded a $10,000 grant to create a communal Jewish space in the basement level of the building that includes the cafeteria. A hub of daily life at SHDS, the cafeteria provides more than an eating space for the students. Many programs operate in the much-used area, and the current cluttered, overused place needs a remodel to accommodate changing and increased use. On one end of the room, the Parent Teacher Organization’s area will be enclosed with moveable partitions. On the other end of the room, the designs include adding a working oven, a hand washing station, counters and storage. It is the school’s wish to create an additional learning environment that will

also enhance the aesthetic appeal to students and visitors. SHDS intends to invite a greater number of community members to perhaps bake challah on Shabbat, make latkes for Chanukah or teach a lesson on how to make hamantashen. For safety and security, funds will also be used to upgrade doors to the outside as in other areas of the school, and paint the area as needed after upgrades. School security is one of the most important issues to students, parents and faculty in educational settings. Plans for the remodel are in the works, and current strategy is to complete the project while students are on school break in February. Visual impact is important to the students who use the space every day, and for visitors whose impression is made from attending a community event. SHDS wishes to present a safe and appealing environment for everyone. Head of School Lori Tenenbaum said, “Just as the kitchen is the heart of a home, so would having an updated, warm area of our school become the heart of our learning community.” Your Federation dollars have made this upgrade possible for the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and the families and visitors who will increasingly use the space. Earlier this year, SHDS implemented a program for educational inclusion written about in a previous Jewish Observer. The April 30, 2015, article can be viewed online at www.jewishfederationcny.org in the drop-down menu for the JO.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776

The Oaks open house had something for everyone

The Oaks at Menorah Park held an open house on October 16, including tours of the facilities; a performance by concert pianist Lisa Spector, whose mother, Trudy, is an Oaks’ resident; and an Israeli kosher wine tasting. Mary Kimberly, director of The Oaks, said, “This was a successful and enjoyable event. We were pleased to show

Don Siegel was the chef for a kosher Chinese dinner held at The Oaks on October 18.

off The Oaks and our residents and guests were enthralled by the spectacular performance of Lisa Spector.” CHINESE DINNER AT THE OAKS The Oaks at Menorah Park hosted a full dining

Cantor Paula Pepperstone tasted the winter melon soup with mushrooms cooked inside minipumpkins at the Chinese dinner at The Oaks.

room for a kosher Chinese banquet on October 18. Chef and cookbook author Don Siegel, working with The Oaks staff, prepared an 11-course meal.

Concert pianist Lisa Spector gave a mini-concert on October 16 for residents of The Oaks, including her mother, who is a resident there.

New microbrew made from Boston river water – with Israeli tech BY PENNY SCHWARTZ BOSTON (JTA) – An Israeli-founded water purification company has teamed up with Boston-based Harpoon Brewery to channel the once-famously polluted Charles River into a new beer. Desalitech, which started in Israel seven years ago and then moved to Boston, is using its patented technology to provide water for Harpoon’s Charles River Pale Ale. The limited-edition beer is on tap this week at Boston’s HUBweek, a weeklong science and art festival. Desalitech President Nadav Efraty said helping to produce the beer is part of his company’s mission to better the environment. “Water scarcity is a global challenge that affects millions across the world – we are proud to be a Massachusetts company that is providing solutions and making an impact here in the U.S. and

beyond,” he said in a statement. Desalitech uses a closed-circuit reverse osmosis system developed over decades in Israel by Efraty’s American-born father, Avi. A chemist who moved his family to Israel in the mid-1970s, the elder Efraty serves as the company’s chief technical officer. In 2013, Desalitech established its world headquarters in Greater Boston, attracted to the region by former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who led several high-profile trade missions to Israel. Once heavily polluted, the 80-mile-long Charles River achieved fame thanks to the 1960s rock hit “Dirty Water” by the Standells. The song, a favorite of Boston sports teams, has been recorded and performed by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to the Dropkick Murphys.

Over the decades, the river, which separates Boston from Cambridge, has been cleaned up considerably, with some of its previously most polluted portions now open to swimming. Desalitech approached Harpoon in September about a collaboration. The idea appealed to Harpoon President Charlie Storey, who said in interviews that he remembers growing up in Boston hearing that if he ever fell into the Charles River, he’d need to get to an emergency room. “Harpoon is proud to call Boston our home and to do our part to build a stronger, more sustainable environment and community,” Storey said in a statement. Harpoon, an employee-owned company established in 1986, is now the 15th largest microbrewery in the United States.

Cost-saving winter preparedness tips (NAPSI) – There are several easy and cost-effective ways that homeowners can winterize their homes this storm season. Generac Power Systems offers six easy steps that will save you money while keeping your family and home safe during the long winter storm season.

Though there are many things that homeowners can do to keep their homes safe and their energy bills down this winter, Generac recommends starting with these: %% Top Off Your Attic Insulation – A high percentage of heat loss occurs through poorly insulated roofs. Make sure your attic is insulated with the minimum R-value for your climate (up to R-49 for northern states). Also, check the rim joist areas above the foundation walls, and plug any gaps with fiberglass insulation. %% Dial Down the Thermostat – Most people can live comfortably with a temperature around 68 degrees. Setting it

lower than that when you’re away or asleep will also save on energy. Consider purchasing a programmable thermostat that will lower the temperature automatically during off-peak times. %% Replace or Insulate Windows – Consider replacing old windows with energy-efficient ones, or put up window-insulating kits. The clear plastic film can reduce drafts, saving energy and avoiding the costs of window replacement. %% Fill Gaps with Caulk Sealants – Replace old caulk joints See “Tips” on page 7

NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

Chabad Lubavitch of Central New York to sponsor a Jewish scribal arts demonstration This program will be made possible by a grant from the Community Program Fund of the Jewish Federation of Central New York. Chabad Lubavitch of Central New York will sponsor a Jewish scribal arts demonstration with veteran sofer (scribe) Rabbi Yehuda Clapman on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:30 pm, at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt. Rabbi Clapman has studied and practiced Jewish scribal arts for the past 40 years, and has given talks and presentations to audiences around the country and overseas. He is the subject of the book “A Torah Is Written” (Jewish Publication Society) by Paul and Rachel Cowan. There will be separate demonstrations for the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and local community Hebrew schools.

Rabbi Clapman has visited Syracuse in the past. Organizers think that many people have never seen a Torah written, nor have they an idea of the process of making Torah, mezuzah or tefillin scrolls. They think people may know that it is something sacred to Jews, but do not relate to it in their daily lives, and that many people do not know what is in the mezuzah or tefillin case. The presentation will consist of following the steps in taking a piece of animal skin and turning it into parchment, on which the scribe writes with a special goose quill. Participants will then have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on ink-making workshop, making the dyo ink used by scribes for thousands of years. The next step is seeing how the words, lines and spacing of the letters in the Torah are

mapped out, as everything is meant to be “very exact.” All of the participants will practice with a goose quill on charts forming the letters and writing with the quills

on parchment. Participants will also see inside the black boxes of the tefillin and mezuzah and learn about their designs and significance.

NEWS IN BRIEF From JNS.org

Reform Judaism umbrella passes transgender rights measure

The umbrella body of Reform Judaism in the U.S. passed a resolution to recognize the rights of transgender individuals on Nov. 5. The Union for Reform Judaism voted on the “Resolution on the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People” at its biennial conference in Orlando, FL.. URJ’s Commission on Social Action prepared the resolution, which was passed without opposition, affirming Reform Judaism’s commitment to “full equality, inclusion and acceptance of people of all gender identities and gender expressions.” Reform congregations, clergy, congregants and other affiliate institutions will now be asked to refer to transgender people by the name and gender of their choosing, include genderneutral bathrooms and use gender-neutral labels. They will also be called upon to create programming and materials that “will empower such institutions to be more inclusive and welcoming of people of all gender identities and expressions,” reported the Forward.

Ideas for small spaces (NAPSI) – Living large in a little home may not only simplify life, minimize costs and reduce environmental impact, it can be easier to achieve than many realize. Following these easy tips from www.homes. com can help make rooms feel bigger and brighter. 1. Open floor plans and furniture placement that leaves views open make spaces easy to navigate and the room feel bigger. 2. Light colors on walls and furniture help small spaces feel large. Letting in natural

Tips

light extends the feel of the room beyond its boundaries. 3. Get double-duty furniture: tables and ottomans with hidden storage space. Clean spaces look bigger, so keep clutter out of sight. 4. Store smart and stay organized. Shelving units maximize wall space for storage; add baskets on the bottom shelves for extra capacity. Fill clear containers with seasonal clothing and items and slide them under couches and beds.

Continued from page 6

around your window and door trim (both inside and outside) that can shrink and leak over time. Use a spray foam sealant to fill in the gaps left around pipes, wires, TV cables or bath and dryer vents. %% Get an Energy Audit – Most local utilities can arrange a home energy audit to pinpoint where to focus your winterizing efforts. Thermal-imaging cameras, which use infrared technology to show where heat is escaping the house, are available to rent in many areas, so try one out before winterizing to know exactly what needs to be done. %% Install a Source of Backup Power – Because power outages are also a concern during winter storm season, FEMA recommends investing in a source of

backup power, like an automatic home standby generator that automatically provides power for heat and electricit y when there is a power outage. Automatic home backup generators turn on as soon as the power goes out and stay on until utilit y power is restored. That means homeowners won’t lose money on holiday food costs if the refrigerator won’t work during a power outage. And homeowners can still work remotely, even when the power is out, plus families won’t have to relocate to a hotel. Basic winterizing for a home can often be done for less than $200, but by investing in installations like attic insulation and a generator, you get the best level of protection from winter storms.

PROVIDING THE BEST REHAB SERVICES AND THERAPISTS. SO YOU CAN GET WELL AND GET HOME. After surgery, you need the right place to recover. Elderwood offers a wide range of rehab services, no matter what level of care you require. We’ll customize a treatment plan to your personal needs, using protocols and technologies that coordinate your care more effectively for enhanced strength, improved motion and decreased pain. You’ll benefit from therapists with highly specialized training, along with access to diagnostic services that no longer require a hospital visit. So you can get well and get back home, faster. It’s why Elderwood is the right place, for the right care.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776

This Israeli ex-diplomat is Kenya’s biggest pop star

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ (JTA) – Zipping between meetings at Nairobi’s fivestar hotels wearing a suit and tie, Gilad Millo looks every bit the ex-diplomat he is. But looks can be deceiving: Though he may be balding and slightly pudgy, Millo is one of Kenya’s hottest pop stars. He’s so popular, in fact, he’s known throughout the country simply as Gilad, a la Madonna or Prince. “The word ‘celebrity’ feels strange, but, yeah, people now ask me to pose for selfies with them,” said Millo, the former deputy head of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Kenya, speaking to JTA by telephone from his home in Nairobi recently. Millo made his musical debut in April with the song

TAY

Continued from page 4

Reservations have been requested to assure there will be enough copies of the booklet. Reservations can be made by contacting info@adath.org. The offering will be an initiative of the Adult Education chavurah. For questions or additional information, contact Rabbi Drazen at rabbidrazen@adath.org or visit www. adath.org.

L-r: Hannah Groskin, Joyce Rosenfeld, Norene Lavine and Rena Cantor were among the 50 Temple Adath Yeshurun Hazak members who attended the paidup membership brunch on October 18. The DeWitt Choraliers provided entertainment, singing a variety of songs.

“Unajua” – “Do You Know” in Kiswahili, one of Kenya’s four official languages. By May, “Unajua,” a mellow tune about the lingering attachment of ex-lovers, topped the weekly chart of X FM, a popular Kenyan radio station, and stayed on the top 10 lists of other stations for months. By August, the track received a rave review in the Daily Nation, one of Kenya’s largest newspapers. In the video, Millo, an Ashkenazi Jew, walks with his bicycle and guitar around the Nairobi neighborhood where the song’s producer lives. A classier indoors set is used for the song’s guest artist: Wendy Kimani, a young Kenyan singer who rose to fame in 2008 as a finalist on the East African version of “American Idol.” Kimani – who recently moved to Amsterdam, where she lives with her Dutch husband – concedes that Millo does not exactly possess the looks that Westerners would expect for an up-and-coming pop star. But in Kenya,”the masses are still quite rural, so they’re not so much into looks and fashion,” she said. “For them it’s all about the music,” Kimani said. “If someone has the music, that’s all that they care about.” Plus, the song topped the charts before the video was released – so few people knew Millo was what East Africans call “mzungu,” a white man. “And even after, many couldn’t believe Gilad was really singing because few white people in Kenya speak Kiswahili,” Kimani said. Music has always been a major part of Millo’s life. In his 20s, he was a member of a Jerusalem rock band, White Donkey. Millo was planning to become a professional musician rather than follow in the footsteps of his late father, Yehuda Millo, who served as a diplomat for 37 years. But when Millo’s son was born, his wife, Hadas, said that “there’s no money in music and we need to find a real job,” Millo recalled in an interview that he gave recently to Israel’s Channel 2. After working as a journalist, he became a diplomat in 2003. Millo served in Nairobi and Los Angeles before leaving Israel’s Foreign Ministry in 2008 and settling in Nairobi permanently. “The connection with Kenya was instant,” Millo said. “I’ve never encountered a more open, generous people.” It was only recently, a quiet afternoon when his wife and teenage kids were away, that Millo called up a music

Gilad Millo recorded his second single at a studio in Nairobi on October 1. (Photo by Raymond Ndikwe) producer, M.G., whom he had met through a friend. Millo showed up at the studio with a song he wrote just “to see how it goes,” he recalled. “We realized we had a hit the second we finished recording,” Millo said. Thanks to “Unajua,” he has landed dozens of guest appearances on Kenyan radio and television shows. There he promotes his campaign about farming for the Balton CP Group – the British firm where Millo works as head of business development and public relations – which represents mostly Israeli agriculture and communications companies. “After we establish that I’m white, that I sing in Kiswahili and that this place is home for me, there’s still 10 minutes of airtime, so the interviewers and I often go into other things that I’m passionate about,” Millo said. Titled “Farming is Cool,” the campaign tries to appeal to the millions of young Africans who swapped their now-aging rural communities in favor of the perceived opportunities of big metropolises like Nairobi and its suburbs and slums, where only a third of about six million residents have adequate sewage systems. The aim is to attract young people to more sustainable and advanced agriculture. Millo recently released his second single, “Sema See “Star” on page 10

CHA N UK AH Once again this year, The Jewish Observer is inviting its readers and local organizations to extend Chanukah greetings to the community by purchasing a Chanukah greeting ad, which will appear in our November 26 issue (Deadline: Nov. 17). Chanukah begins this year on the evening of Dec. 6. You may choose from the designs, messages and sizes shown here - more are available. You may also choose your own message, as long as it fits into the space of the greeting you select. (Custom designs available upon request.) The price of the small greeting is $18 (styles B & E), the larger one is $36 (styles A, C, D & F ) and the largest one (style G) is $68. To ensure that your greeting is published, please contact Bonnie Rozen at 1-800-779-7896, ext. 244 or bonnie@ thereportergroup.org. Checks can be made payable to The Reporter and sent to: The Reporter, 500 Clubhouse Rd., Vestal, NY 13850 2015

Style A -$36 • Actual Size: 3.22” x 1.975”

Chanukah Greetings!

May the lights May the lights of Chanukah of Chanukah shine in shine in your your hearts hearts forever forever

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Happy Chanukah!

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May you and your family be blessed during the holiday and throughout the year! Your Name(s)

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NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

To Brighten the Festival of Lights

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Prices effective Sunday, November 8 thru Saturday, December 19, 2015 in our NY, PA,VT, NH, MA and CT stores only. All varieties may not be available in all stores.We reserve the right to limit quantities and substitute items. Not responsible for typographical errors.

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776

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, November 14 Jewish Federation of Central New York Annual Campaign kickoff, meet at the Museum of Science and Technology from 6:30-8:30 pm Sunday, November 15 PJ Library® love theme event at 10 am Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Hazak presents klezmer at 2:30 pm Monday, November 16 Syracuse Hebrew Day School Board of Directors meeting Tuesday, November 17 Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Executive Committee meeting at 6 pm, followed by Board of Directors meeting at 7 pm Goldenberg Series concert at Temple Concord at 7 pm Thursday, November 19 Temple Adath Yeshurun Board of Directors meeting at 7 pm Sunday, November 22 SHDS BUDS Thanksgiving treat at 2 pm Wednesday, November 24 EARLY deadline for the December 10 issue of the Jewish Observer Thursday, November 26 Thanksgiving Tuesday, December 1 Temple Concord Cinemagogue at 7:30 pm Sunday, December 6 First night of Chanukah Rabbi Daniel Fellman to present Jewish cooking history at Temple Concord at 10:30 am PJ Library Lego menorahs at 1 pm at the JCC

MAZEL TOV

Elise Ruth Beckman

Elise Ruth Beckman, of Fayetteville, became bat mitzvah at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas on November 7. She is the daughter of Karen and Marc Beckman, and has a brother, Ian, and a sister, Rachel. She is the granddaughter of the late Toby Beckman; Bonnie and Bill Tarkenton, of New Rochelle; and Linda and Robert Eberly, of Cortland. Elise Ruth She is a 2015 graduate of Beckman Syracuse Hebrew Day School and currently attends Wellwood Middle School, as well as the Rabbi Jacob Epstein School of Judaic Studies. She is an avid reader and writer, and is involved in dance and plays piano. She volunteers for the Jewish Federation of Central New York Super Sunday and participates in the Jewish Foundation of Central New York Teen Funders program. In keeping with her parashat, Chaye Sarah, she is interviewing members of the Syracuse community to commemorate their legacies.

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The Sambatyon River BY JIM BRULÉ In this week’s portion, Vayetze, there is a word that gives our sages pause. Well, more than one word, of course; but the one that gives rise to this particular midrash is from the verse Genesis 30:24: “And she called his name Joseph, saying: ‘Hashem add to me another son.’” This is Rachel speaking, and the troubling word is “another”: Joseph is her first-born. In what way is he “another”? The simple answer would be that the offspring of her maid, Bilhah, and Jacob were “hers,” but only in a legal sense. So what do the sages do? They begin by saying that “another” refers to a different exile from that of other tribes. “What?” you ask. Was there more than one exile for the 12 tribes? Listen: Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon said, “The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were not exiled to the same place as were the other ten tribes. The ten tribes were exiled beyond the River Sambatyon, whereas the tribes of Judah and Benjamin are dispersed in all countries.” (Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 30:24) Here’s where we enter another world. The Sambatyon is a legendary river, the name being a version of something like “Shabbatian,” or having to do with Shabbat. It is said to run with tremendous force the whole week, carrying along stones and earth, making it impossible to cross, and then resting on Shabbat. There are many stories about the Sambatyon. One of my favorites is recounted as “The Eternal Light” in Howard Schwartz’s collection, “Elijah’s Violin and Other Jewish Fairy Tales.” The constant feature of these stories is that one or more of the

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was an intern in Ryan’s office. “It is important to remember that Jack Kemp was his mentor, and [Kemp] was instrumental in forming the modern pro-Israel Republican Party,” Troy said. Kemp is also remembered by many Jewish Republicans for being the man who allegedly leaked the now-infamous statement by former George H. W. Bush administration Secretary of State James Baker, who purportedly said, “F**ck the Jews, they don’t vote for us anyway.” “As a result of Jack Kemp, Paul Ryan grew up in the pro-Israel GOP of the 1990s. Not the more mixed GOP of the ‘50s, ‘60s and into the ‘70s [that produced leaders like James Baker]. He is a child of the very pro-Israel Republican Party,” said Troy. U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), the lone Jewish Republican in Congress, told JNS.org that Ryan has the “potential to be a great speaker of the House” who will continue to “work to strengthen our relationship with Israel and pursue an effective foreign policy in the Middle East.” Israel is featured prominently on Ryan’s congressional website in the section on “Defense and Homeland Security.” Ryan states that America “has no better friend in the Middle East than the nation of Israel” and that he considers the Jewish state a “valuable ally against Islamic extremism and terrorism.” While Ryan tacitly supports a two-state solution, he believes that “real peace will require Palestinians to recognize that Israel has a right to exist” and cites the Palestinian terror group Hamas as one of the main impediments to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Notably, Ryan points to his co-sponsorship of H.R.938: United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 as one of his pro-Israel achievements. Like virtually all Republicans, Ryan is also opposed to the Iran nuclear deal, saying in a statement shortly after the framework agreement was signed in April 2014 that the pact “may slow down Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon, but it clearly will not prevent it.” In a letter to Obama in September, Ryan warned the president not to lift any unnecessary financial penalties against Iran. Ryan expressed concern that the White House would lay off some of the tax penalties for companies seeking to do business in Iran after initial sanctions are lifted. “The idea that a nuclear Iran can be deterred is unrealistic,” Ryan wrote to the president. “Instead of opening pathways for Iran’s nuclear and terrorist agenda, your administration should work with Congress to strengthen sanctions regimes until Iran changes its behavior.” Ryan also was supportive of Netanyahu’s address to Congress on the Iran nuclear threat earlier this year, saying on the NBC network’s “Meet the Press” program that he “absolutely” backed Boehner’s decision to invite Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress without consulting Obama beforehand. “I don’t know if I would say it’s antagonizing. I think we would like to hear from the leader of Israel on his thoughts on Iran,” Ryan said. Zeldin criticized Democratic members of the House

tribes of Israel is surrounded by this river and therefore unable to return to the Promised Land (as they won’t travel, of course, on Shabbat). In Schwartz’s story, one intrepid troupe makes it into and out of this special land by means of a tunnel beneath the river, which collapses before it can be used by the lost tribe. So, beyond being a story bordering on fantasy, what does this river hold for us in spiritual terms? To me, it holds a conundrum, a paradox, regarding observance. On the one hand, the tribe awaits the return to the Promised Land, which will be part of the coming of Moshiach, may it be soon and in our day! And yet, what holds them back and, presumably, the end of days? Their observance of Shabbat! But shouldn’t their observance hasten that time, not defer it? Ah, here for me is the secret: so long as we are performing a mitzvah for a benefit, we have missed the point of the mitzvah. On Shabbat, they are in Shabbat already – the taste of the world to come that is given to us every week. In that moment, that time, there is no future destination, only the eternal now. The most we can do is to live our lives fully, Jewishly, by whatever definition of Jewishly holds for us. Then we and those around us will be blessed with everything we can be, in its proper time and season. Jim Brulé is a maggid, a Jewish spiritual storyteller and guide. He is most often found at Temple Concord, where he leads services and study sessions. His most recent projects include two interfaith series, one with Christians and the other with Muslims.

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“who tried to politicize” Netanyahu’s address to Congress and expressed hope that during Ryan’s term as speaker, such partisanship on Israel will be put aside. “Standing with our strongest ally Israel should never be a partisan issue,” Zeldin told JNS.org. “It’s important that together, as members of Congress with a new speaker, we work across the aisle in a bipartisan effort to strengthen our relationship with our nation’s greatest ally, Israel.” Former White House Jewish liaison Troy believes that Ryan will not only face the growing sense of ambivalence from some Democrats on Israel, but also a broader ideological divide. “There is a deep ideological divide,” Troy said. “Are we a country that is supportive of Israel and recognizes that when there are terrorist attacks in Israel, we shouldn’t just say ‘we denounce all violence,’ like some Democrats like presidential candidate Martin O’Malley have recently said, but instead say that there are people who are terrorists with knifes who are blindly and indiscriminately killing innocent people? “That is a distinction worth making,” he added. “That is not a partisan divide, but an ideological divide. There are fundamental disagreements over the direction of our country.”

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Milele” (“Say Forever”), which the well-respected online magazine Afrika Nmbiu crowned as “the perfect wedding song.” He is working on a third single with a Kenyan artist, 22-year-old HK Gachago. He may be big in Kenya now, but Millo says he’s not making money from his music – yet. Still, whatever income his musical career may generate, he hopes to donate. In addition to hoping to help empower youth through farming, another cause is Israel for Africa, the nonprofit that Millo and his family established in memory of his father that promotes Israeli innovation and culture in Africa. “Europeans and Americans don’t always get the connection that many Israelis have with Africans,” he said. “But we feel it instantly, every time we crack a joke or slap one another’s back.”

Gilad Millo, left, with DJ Hypnotiq and Kiptoo “k4” Kirwa at a Nairobi recording studio on October 14. (Photo courtesy of Gilad Millo)

NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

OBITUARIES MIRIAM HARRIS

Miriam Harris, 91, died on October 28 at Menorah Park. Born in Albany, she had been a resident of Syracuse for more than 60 years. She and her late husband, Jimmy, owned and operated Bittersweet Nursery, of Jamesville, and The Bird’s Nest, of Fayetteville, for many years. She was considered the creative force behind their businesses. She is survived by her son, Donald (Susan), of DeWitt. Burial was in Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements. 

DONALD LAWITTS

Donald Lawitts, 90, formerly of Syracuse, died on September 20 in Weston, MA. Born in Syracuse, he graduated from Central High School, then served in the Navy in World War II. He later earned his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University. After graduate school and positions in social work, he returned to teach at Syracuse University’s Graduate School of Social Work, from which he retired in 1987 with the designation of professor emeritus. During his career, he served on the boards of several social services agencies and had a private practice in family and marriage counseling. He was a member of Temple Adath Yeshurun and an avid handball player at the Jewish Community Center. After retirement, he continued to serve the community as a volunteer, including the Meals on Wheels program. He was predeceased by his wife, Evelyn (Steamer) Lawitts, in 2006. He is survived by his sons, Michael, Steven (Nancy Ranger) and Joel (Pamela Buccitelli); six grandchildren; and five nieces and nephews, among whom are Syracuse residents Daniel Lawitts and Karen Lawitts (Howard Wolhandler), of Jamesville. 

ARLENE SEEMA GOTTLIEB MERRITT

Arlene Seema Gottlieb Merritt, 71, died on October 29 from Alzheimer’s disease. She had been receiving care at El Jen Health Care and Rehabilitation of North Las Vegas, NV, and spent her last days at Nathan Adelson hospice, also in North Las Vegas. Born in Brooklyn, she spent the first half of her adult life in Cortland, North Syracuse and Liverpool before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985, eventually settling in the Las Vegas, NV, area. A fan of baking, bridge and bingo, she especially enjoyed traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast to visit her children and grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Lawrence Merritt. She is survived by a son, Andrew (Lisa) King, of upstate New York; a daughter, Jody (Joe) Cooper, of DeWitt; seven grandchildren; and two brothers, Gregory Gottlieb, of North Las Vegas, NV, and Daniel Gottlieb, of Washington. Sisskind Funeral Home had arrangements. Burial was in the Shaarei Torah section of Oakwood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at www.curealz.org, or to Congregation Shaarei Torah, 4313 E. Genesee St., DeWitt, NY 13214. 

NEWS DIGEST From JNS.org

Judaica studio Mi Polin casts Polish Jewish history in bronze BY KATARZYNA MARKUSZ WARSAW, Poland (JTA) – When Helena Czernek and Aleksander Prugar opened their e-mail inbox several weeks ago, they found a message from a customer who had bought one of their bronze mezuzahs as an engagement gift. “The connection my family now has with the past was so overwhelming that it made my wife cry,” the customer wrote. “It will now be proudly displayed in our home and I will make sure every visitor knows the story. This bronze will truly be eternal.” Czernek and Prugar are the founders of Mi Polin, a Polish design studio specializing in the production of contemporary Judaica. For their Mezuzah From This House series, the pair traveled across Poland searching for traces of mezuzahs in the door frames of homes where Jews once lived. From the depressions left in the frame, Czernek and Prugar produce a plaster cast they then use to create a bronze mezuzah engraved with the traditional Hebrew letter shin and the address where the original mezuzah once hung. “We decided to use bronze because it is known from antiquity,” Prugar told JTA. “It is completely resistant to external conditions, does not rust. Without any problems our mezuzah will survive 1,000 years. Our casts are eternal.” Last year, Czernek and Prugar traveled to Sokolow Podlaski, a small town about 60 miles east of Warsaw. They stopped by the building at 4 Wilczynskiego St., which housed a kosher butcher shop before the Holocaust. The old A bronze mezuzah made door frame wasn’t there anyby Mi Polin from a trace more, but Czernek and Prugar of an old Polish mezuzah. found a door from the house (Photo courtesy of Mi lying nearby in a dumpster Polin) that had a trace of a mezuzah. Orie Niedzviecki, a Canadian lawyer whose grandparents came from Sokolow Podlaski, bought twomezuzahs made from depressions found there by Czernek and Prugar. One he gave to his parents, the other to a niece who had just moved to Israel. “The idea that this mezuzah is now in Israel along with some members of my family, and hopefully myself soon, provides some link to the past as the Jewish people move forward to its inevitable future as a free nation in its own homeland,” Niedzviecki said. Though some three million Jews lived in Poland prior to the Holocaust, most Poles do not realize that the marks still remaining on door posts were likely the spots where Jews had hung their mezuzahs. When the doors are replaced, one

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Aleksander Prugar, left, and Helenz Czernek with the remains of a mezuzah they planned to use to create a new piece of Judaica. (Photo by Katarzyna Markusz) of the last traces of the Jewish inhabitants of those homes often disappears, as well. In the town of Ostroleka, Czernek and Prugar last year found a home with traces of 10 mezuzahs. During a renovation, the owners had stripped them out and burned them, not understanding their significance. “In contrast to synagogues and cemeteries, mezuzah traces are the least visible part of the material legacy of more than three million Jews who once lived in Poland,” said Krzysztof Bielawski, who runs the Virtual Shtetl project at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. “Few people are turning attention to them. Helena’s and Alexander’s design is not only a documentation of the traces, it shows that each mezuzah is linked to the history of specific individuals.” Mi Polin has also produced a crystal mezuzah for the blind, with one of the Hebrew names for God written in Braille. They are also working on a spice box used in the Sabbath-ending service Havdalah that is based on the shape of the Tower of David in Jerusalem. Czernek and Prugar have produced 25 bronze mezuzahs from casts made in over a dozens cities and towns across Poland. They also take special orders from Jews abroad who wish to have mezuzahs from casts made in towns where their families once lived. For each cast they make, Czernek and Prugar send information about it to a local museum or municipal office to educate local residents about the Jewish legacy in their particular town and to increase the likelihood that more mezuzah traces can be found. They also organize training workshops to teach tour guides how to locate former Jewish sites around Poland. “We are working so that each of our products is not only a thing,” Prugar said. “We want to give some content, message, special meaning for each of them. Judaism is full of different meanings. It is tangible through our items.”

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Arab woman charged over spying on Haifa for Gaza terror group

An Arab woman with Israeli citizenship was charged on Nov. 5 with entering Israel from Gaza to spy on Haifa institutions and carry out terrorist attacks on behalf of a jihadist group in October, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said. Nazrin Hassan Abdullah Hassan, 40, was recruited by the Katim Al-Muhajadin terror group, or “Holy Warriors Battalion,” particularly because she has Israeli citizenship and could more easily execute attacks on Israeli soil. Hassan, mother of seven, is married to a Gaza resident and has recently been living in Gaza. While spending time in Israel during some part of 2014, she was asked to collect intelligence on Israel’s government buildings and infrastructure in Haifa, including a port in Haifa, a train station, Haifa’s Israeli Interior Ministry branch, a courthouse, a synagogue, and security arrangements at each of those locations. “Upon her return to the Gaza Strip, she passed on this information (including pictures taken with her smartphone) to the terror organization, clearly knowing that it will be used to carry out terrorist activities,” the Shin Bet security said in a statement.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ NOVEMBER 12, 2015/30 CHESHVAN 5776

NEWS IN BRIEF From JTA

Report: Israeli intelligence provided ISIS intercepts in Russian plane crash case

Some of the intelligence intercepts being used to assess what happened to a Russian airplane that crashed over the Sinai Peninsula came from Israel. Israeli officials would not comment on the claims by an unnamed U.S. official and a diplomatic source, CNN reported on Nov. 8. The communications between ISIS affiliates in Sinai were captured by Israeli intelligence focused there and passed along to the United States and Britain, the sources said, CNN reported. Investigators looking into the crash of the Metrojet flight bound for Russia told Reuters on Nov. 8 that they are “90 percent sure” a bomb on board is the cause. All 224 people aboard were killed in the Oct. 31 crash, including a former program director for Hillel Russia. The Sinai affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for bringing down the passenger flight, saying it was in retaliation for Russian airstrikes on rebels in Syria’s civil war. Russia began launching airstrikes on Syria in September, saying it was coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad to combat terror groups such as the Islamic State.

Arrest made in attack on Rabbis for Human Rights activist

A Jewish-Israeli man was arrested in the assault on a Rabbis for Human Rights leader. Israel Police on Nov. 8 brought in the man who in October threatened Rabbi Arik Ascherman with a knife while he was helping Palestinians harvest olives near the settlement of Itamar, not far from the West Bank city of Nablus, Haaretz reported. The masked assailant kicked and punched Ascherman. The incident was caught on video. In a statement released on the Rabbis for Human Rights Hebrew-language website, Ascherman, the former executive director of the human rights organization, thanked police for apprehending the suspect, adding that the arrest proves the police can arrest right-wing attackers of Palestinians when they try. “Even when suspects are arrested for attacking Palestinians, there are very few convictions,” Ascherman said in the statement, citing statistics from the human rights organization Yesh Din. “We hope that the truth will be found out quickly in court and in the interrogation room – while preserving the rights of the suspect – and that the suspect will be severely punished if he is found guilty.”

Yitzhak Navon, 94, Israel’s first Sephardic president, buried in state funeral

Yitzhak Navon, Israel’s first Sephardic president and the first president to visit Egypt, was buried in a state funeral on Mount Herzl. Navon, who served from 1978-83, died on Nov. 6 at 94. His body lay in state on the morning of Nov. 8 before his funeral at noon. Along with his family, the mourners included current and former Israeli leaders. In his eulogy at the funeral, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Navon “a jewel that adorned our capital, Jerusalem.” Navon served in four Knessets, becoming one of the Labor Party’s most respected members. He served one term as president; he chose not to vie for the position a second time, preferring

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to serve again in the Knesset. During his presidential term, he threatened to resign unless an investigation committee was set up to look at the events that took place in 1982 at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, where an Israel-allied Lebanese Christian militia massacred hundreds of people. Netanyahu also remembered Navon on Nov. 8, at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting. “Israel’s heritage was his guiding principle as president, especially the heritage of Sephardic Jewish communities, and he also worked to advance this heritage among all parts of the nation as deputy prime minister, minister of education and culture and – of course – as president,” the prime minister said. “I will always remember the clarity of his spoken Hebrew. The love of Jerusalem was embedded deep in his heart; this was the city in which he grew up and lived, and wrote books to which he was deeply linked. He will be remembered as a president who brought people together; his memory will be enshrined in the heart of the nation.” The current Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, who also eulogized Navon at the funeral, said in an earlier statement that Navon “created a new style and practice for the presidency. Yitzchak was a noble man, unceremoniously aristocratic, a president who came from the people, and whom the people greatly loved and appreciated.” Navon, Israel’s fifth president, was born to a Sephardic family who had lived in Jerusalem for more than 300 years. He worked as a teacher and in the 1940s became an officer in the Haganah, which later became the Israel Defense Forces. He was one of the closest advisers to Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and also served as private secretary to Israel’s first foreign minister, Moshe Sharet. Navon was the author of several books and a play.

Amos Oz: I won’t appear at Israeli Embassy events, but I oppose BDS

Israeli writer Amos Oz announced that to protest what he sees as extremist government policies, he will no longer participate in Israeli Embassy-sponsored events. Oz, who is arguably Israel’s most famous and most widely translated author, told The Jerusalem Post on Nov. 5 that “Following the radicalization in the policy of the present government in various areas, I told my hosts abroad that I prefer not to be a guest of honor in events organized for me by Israeli embassies.” However, the 76-year-old novelist, memoirist and essayist told the POST, “I strongly oppose the BDS [movement] and I strongly oppose the idea of boycotting Israel. My decision is aimed against the government, not against my country.” Oz, whose memoir “A Tale of Love and Darkness” was adapted into a film by Israel-born actress Natalie Portman earlier this year, was one of the first Israelis to call for a Palestinian state, in a 1967 article, and was a founder of the Peace Now organization.

P.A. shutters paper that criticized its Israel ties and accused it of torture

The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank shuttered the local office of a pan-Arab newspaper over its reporting on Palestinian security coordination with Israel. As Palestinian-Israeli street violence surged in October, Al Araby Al-Jadeed daily accused the administration of jailing “dozens of (Palestinian) political prisoners on charges of resisting (the Israeli) occupation,” Reuters reported on Nov. 6. The newspaper, which publishes a broadsheet in London, Beirut and Doha, also accused the P.A. of torturing prisoners in Palestinian jails. The paper branded the closure on Nov. 3 as politically motivated. Such domestic scrutiny is touchy for Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, whose forces have helped Israel curb violence in the West Bank while he publicly condemns Israeli crackdowns and alleged policies at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Palestinian administration closed Al Araby Al-Jadeed’s Ramallah bureau “as it lacked a license to operate,” Deputy Information Minister Mahmoud Khalifa told Reuters. He did not elaborate. An Oct. 20 letter from the Information Ministry to the attorney general, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said the newspaper had published a report that was “offensive to the state of Palestine and its security services.”

Israeli troops rescue Africans seriously wounded by Egyptian troops

Israeli troops evacuated to medical treatment five people who Egyptian soldiers shot as they tried to cross over into Israel. Two of the casualties sustained critical injuries to internal organs, and the remaining three were lightly wounded after Egyptian border guards opened fire on Nov. 6 on 29 Africans who tried to cross over to Israel, according to the news site nrg.co.il. An Israel Air Force helicopter flew the wounded to the Soroka Medical Center, where the two critically wounded Africans were rushed to surgery. The 24 Africans who were unharmed during the attempt to cross the border were taken to a

detention facility for illegal immigrants. According to reports compiled for the Israeli Knesset, approximately 60,000 Africans have illegally entered Israel from the Sinai Peninsula at a rate of several thousand people each year. The erection in 2012 of a wall along Israel’s border with Egypt brought down the infiltration rate drastically, to several dozen annually. Egyptian soldiers are under orders to shoot anyone approaching the border. Israel regularly rounds up Africans who cross into it and place them in detention facilities. Immigrants with a refugee status are granted work permits and are allowed to live at a place of their choosing.

U.S. slaps Hezbollah agents with sanctions

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned several foreign entities for procuring military equipment for Hezbollah, part of an intensified bid to isolate Iran and its proxies. The Treasury on Nov. 5 named Vatech SARL, a Lebanon-based company, and the China-based firms Le-Hua Electronic Field Co., Aero Skyone Co. Limited and Labico SAL Offshore. Also named were the owners of the entities. According to the Treasury statement, the entities have supplied unmanned aerial vehicles and material for improvised explosive devices to Hezbollah. Adam Szubin, the acting undersecretary of terrorism and financial intelligence, in recent months has told Israeli officials and Congress that his office is intensifying its scrutiny of Hezbollah, partly to demonstrate a commitment to monitoring disruptive activities by Iran in the wake of the nuclear deal reached between the Islamic Republic and six world powers in July. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss strategies for keeping Iran isolated when they meet in Washington shortly. One of Israel’s principle objections to the sanctions relief for nuclear restrictions deal, negotiated by the Obama administration, was that sanctions relief would free Iran to expand its influence in the region. Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, launched a war against Israel in 2006 and is helping Bashar Assad, another Iranian client, maintain power in Syria. “Today’s action highlights Hezbollah’s exploitation of the commercial sector to support its military capabilities and facilitate acts of terrorism,” Szubin said in the statement. “Treasury will pursue any individual or company providing support for this violent group.” Treasury accused Hezbollah of sending to Yemen the explosive devices manufactured with parts purchased by Le-Hua for use by the Iranbacked Houthi insurgency in that country. Separately, the Anti-Defamation League recently called on the U.S. Senate to confirm Szubin as undersecretary. “Especially as all eyes are on how Iran complies with the recently reached nuclear agreement, blocking the confirmation of this watchdog would be counterproductive and send just the wrong signal,” Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO, said last week in a statement. “The Senate should send a clear message to the world that there is unflinching bipartisan support for enforcing U.S. sanctions against Iran.” The confirmation of Szubin reportedly has been hindered by Republican unhappiness with the Obama administration’s Iran and Russia policies.

Polish city of Lodz receives first new Torah scroll since WWII

The Jewish community of the Polish city of Lodz received its first new Torah scroll since World War II, its rabbi said. The scroll, donated to the community by the British Jewish philanthropists Hilton and Louise Nathanson, was introduced recently during a ceremony in the city’s synagogue, the rabbi of the Jewish Community of Lodz, Symcha Keller, told the PAP news agency. “It is a wonderful culmination to the 210 years of existence of the local community and the 20th anniversary of its return to its prewar headquarters,” Keller said of the donation made by the Nathansons. The donors chose Lodz after celebrating their son’s bar mitzvah there because their families hail from Lodz and Radom, PAP reported. The scribes of the Torah, which took six months to write, outlined the last few letters for the Nathansons to fill in during the ceremony under a scribe’s supervision. Chief Polish Rabbi Michael Schudrich also attended the event. Lodz, which is located in central Poland, had hundreds of thousands of Jews before the Holocaust. Prior to receiving the new scroll, the Jewish community of Lodz, which is made up of a few hundred members, used an older scroll that predates World War II and was so frail it had to be handled with extreme care lest it tear, according to David Szychowski, the Lodz envoy of the Israeli Shavei Israel organization, which aims to help people with Jewish ancestry return to Judaism. Earlier this year, Beit Trojmiasto – the Reform Jewish community of cities of Gdansk, Gydinia and Spopot – dedicated a synagogue in Gdansk. It was named Beit Haim Dov in honor of Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, the director of Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland, which is a support group for Beit Polska, the umbrella organization for Polish Reform and Conservative Jewish communities.