Syr1210 by Jewish Federation of CNY

9 TEVET 5774 • DECEMBER 12, 2013 • VOLUME XXXVII, NUMBER 24 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

Community Program Fund grants offered By Linda Alexander The Jewish Federation of Central New York is offering grants to Jewish beneficiary and non-beneficiary agencies, synagogues and organizations in Central New York. The annual Community Program Fund grants are financed from prior years’ Federation Campaign funds in an effort

to encourage new programs; aid study or pilot projects; or provide for emergency and unanticipated needs by the Jewish organizations in the community. Federation beneficiary agencies and other Jewish organizations may apply individually or as a joint applicant with other organizations. Collabora-

tion between agencies, synagogues and organizations is “strongly urged,” but not required. There will be 11 grants available for a total of $60,000: three at the $10,000 level, four at $5,000 and four at $2,500. The Request for Proposal application is available through Kathie Piirak at the

Federation office at KPiirak@JewishFederationCNY.org. The application deadline is Friday, January 10. The Allocations Committee headed by Ellen Weinstein and Cheryl Schotz will review the applications and make recommendations to the Federation board.

Jewish Federations organize emergency response to Typhoon Haiyan The Jewish Federations of North America are mobilizing a communal response to Typhoon Haiyan, which has wrought widespread destruction in the Philippines. JFNA has opened a mailbox for Federations to support relief efforts by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which is raising funds for relief efforts. JDC is consulting with local officials, the Filipino Jewish community and global partners to assess the evolving situation on the ground in the Philippines. More

than 10,000 people are feared dead, with reports of ocean surges as high as trees. The central city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte is among the worst hit on the Pacific nation. The Federation-supported JDC has led relief efforts for previous storms in the Philippines, and helped support the local Jewish community in a nation that sheltered 1,000 European Jews fleeing the Nazis during World War II. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the

Filipino people suffering from this terrible storm’s unimaginable destruction,” said Cheryl Fishbein, chair of JFNA’s Emergency Committee. The JFNA Emergency Committee is coordinating the Federation response with JDC and its global disaster relief partners. Donations can be made on the Jewish Federation of Central New York’s website, www.jewishfederationcny.org, or mailed to JFCNY, 5655 Thompson Rd., Syracuse, NY 13214, with “Typhoon Haiyan Relief

Fund” in the memo line. Jewish Federations have supported the Jewish communal response to disasters around the world and at home, raising tens of millions of dollars for emergency assistance and longer-term aid. Most recently, Federations supported the national response to severe flooding in Colorado. In recent years, Federations responded to tsunamis in Japan and southeast Asia, the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast.

Syracuse Rabbinic Council After a nearly four-year hiatus, the Syracuse Rabbinic Council met recently to elect new leadership and return to a higher profile in the Syracuse Jewish community. At the meeting, attended by Rabbis Irv Beigel, Daniel Fellman, Daniel Jezer, Andrew Pepperstone and Evan

Shore, all present agreed that the local Jewish community is strengthened when the rabbis join together. After electing Fellman as the new chair, all agreed to continue meeting every other month in the coming year. The rabbis also discussed ways for

the synagogues to work together. One area of need they noted involves Hillel at Syracuse University. The prayer books used by students are old and out-of-date. Most students who attend services do not recognize the prayer books, since their home congregations have adopted newer

versions. Accordingly, the rabbis agreed to begin raising funds to purchase new Orthodox, Conservative and Reform prayer books for Hillel. Anyone who would like to contribute toward this effort should contact Fellman at Temple Concord, at 475-9952.

“Lost” Indian Jews coming to Israel By Ben Sales SDEROT, Israel (JTA) – A Kassam rocket had just landed across the street, but it couldn’t wipe the smile off David Lhundgim’s face as he entered his apartment in this embattled town near the Gaza border. Born in the rural provinces of northeast India, Lhundgim had lived in Sderot since

Jewish immigrants of the Bnei Menashe arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Israel on December 24, 2012. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

he moved to Israel in 2007, and by at least one measure he seemed to be well-adjusted: Lhundgim didn’t flinch when he heard bombs explode outside. For him, immigration to Israel was the fulfillment of a biblical promise; explosions were but a minor nuisance. “After 2,000 years in exile, we would have lost our community,” Lhundgim said in an interview last year. “All of our lives were about how to move to Israel and keep the commandments.” It’s not hard to understand why Lhundgim sees his life story as one of biblical prophecy fulfilled. Until age 24, he lived in a remote corner of northeast India in a community that believes itself to be descended from the ancient Israelite tribe of Menashe. Ritual similarities to Judaism – such as an animal sacrifice around Passover time – strengthened those beliefs. Today, Lhundgim is among some 2,000 Bnei Menashe that live in Israel; another 7,000 are in the pipeline waiting to immigrate. The Israeli government recently gave approval for 899 more Bnei Menashe to come. The community has been permitted to move en masse despite having once prac-

ticed rituals with only glancing similarity to Judaism and claims of ancient Jewish ancestry that some politicians and experts find dubious. “This is a bluff,” said Avraham Poraz, a former Israeli interior minister who temporarily halted Bnei Menashe immigration a decade ago. “They don’t have any connection to Judaism.” The Bnei Menashe are hardly the first group to make claims of ancient Jewish ancestry in a bid to gain Israeli citizenship. The Falash Mura, Ethiopians who claimed to be descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity more than a century ago, were brought to Israel starting in the early 2000s. But unlike the Falash Mura, whose immigration, absorption and conversion to Judaism was largely organized and funded by the government and the Jewish Agency,

the Bnei Menashe’s immigration has been wholly organized and financed by a private organization – Shavei Israel, a nonprofit that aims to bring groups with Jewish ancestry to Israel and reconnect them to Judaism. Shavei founder Michael Freund, a conservative columnist and former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is almost singlehandedly responsible for bringing the Bnei Menashe to Israel. His organization has provided them with a Jewish education in India, taught them Orthodox Judaism in preparation for conversion and brought them to Israel – all on Shavei’s dollar. Founded in 2004, Shavei now works with groups of claimed Jewish descent in Europe, South America and China. Permanent Shavei emissaries are stationed in See “Indian” 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 December 13............4:12 pm.............................................................. Parasha-Vayichi December 20............4:14 pm.............................................................. Parasha-Shemot December 27............4:18 pm................................................................. Parasha-Vaera January 3..................4:24 pm...................................................................... Parasha-Bo January 10................4:31 pm..........................................................Parasha-Beshalach

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Congregational notes

Holocaust survivors

Gomez Mill House

Joint Shabbat services, trips, Holocaust survivors in Israel The oldest Jewish site in North dinners and classes are being struggle to meet daily needs and America is gearing up for its 300th offered by area congregations. say the gov’t needs to help more. anniversary celebration. Stories on page 4 Story on page 7 Story on page 8

PLUS Health Care................................. 9 Calendar Highlights................10 B’nai Mitzvah............................10 Obituaries.................................. 11

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774

a matter of opinion SU and Al-Quds’ free speech farce By Miriam Elman Reprinted with permission of the Times of Israel and may be found on the newspaper’s website, www.timesofisrael.com. It appeared online on November 25. Miriam Fendius Elman is an associate professor at Syracuse University, where she researches and writes about Israeli politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has two books coming out on the topic – one that covers the challenges of Israeli peacemaking and another book that focuses on the city of Jerusalem. She is a member of SAMED, the Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue Group, a 30-year-old organization that includes Muslim, Jewish and Christian members who seek a just and lasting Middle East peace. Never have I been more proud of my university! Today, I found out that my school, Syracuse University, became the second U.S. institution of higher learning to sever its ties with Al-Quds University over a Nazi-glorifying rally held on the university’s campus on November 5. SU’s decision came three days after Brandeis suspended its own partnership with Al-Quds; but I had no idea that my university was keeping track of the recent

events in east[ern] Jerusalem, let alone that the administration was also considering a suspension of our ties with Al-Quds. I learned about it only after a posting to SU’s Middle Eastern Studies Program’s listserv, which copied a Jerusalem Post report by Henry Rome, “Syracuse Follows Brandeis in Halting Ties with Al-Quds.” So far, there has been no official statement from the SU administration. Granted, the university is now virtually shut down for Thanksgiving, but we were all around last week when we could have been invited to take part in these significant deliberations. Certainly faculty like me, who spearheaded the effort to solidify my campus’ connection with Al-Quds four years ago. In 2008, when I arrived at SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, one of the premier public policy schools in the United States, I was delighted to find an active and growing partnership between my university and the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. SU had been sending students to the IDC’s Institute for Counterterrorism for some years and, in exchange, we were hosting a group of IDC students every September. Their students were learning a lot about the makings of

good democratic governance; our students were learning a lot about Islamic radicalism in the Middle East. I thought a corrective was in order. I wanted SU students to meet Palestinian academics and I recommended reaching out to Al-Quds. While living in Israel in the 1980s, I had heard Sari Nusseibeh speak and was impressed then by his public support of peace and dialogue. I knew about the Al-Quds-Brandeis connection, too, and that Al-Quds was about the only Palestinian university that was still involved in cooperative programming with Israeli universities. I thought SU should be supporting Nusseibeh and I was delighted to make the shiduch (match). Since then, we have had four groups of graduate students – mostly law school students and public policy majors – participate in summer programs at the IDC and Al-Quds. Our students love the experience and the AlQuds faculty have been terrific, warm and gracious hosts to our students. To be sure, they are all critical of Israel and its policies, yet strongly advocate for Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation. They have presented another face of the Palestinians, one that complements, albeit not one that completely negates,

the viewpoint offered at the IDC. After being the matchmaker for my university and Al-Quds, I was shocked to learn about the November 5 Islamic Jihadsponsored demonstration on the Palestinian campus. Protesting the extra-judicial killing of a terrorist is one thing and is certainly protected free speech. I have no problem with Al-Quds students opposing the killing of Islamic Jihad’s Muhammed Aazi. (Aazi was among the planners of last year’s Tel Aviv bus bombing. He was killed by the IDF in a shoot-out in late October and the November 5 event was apparently meant to both commemorate Aazi, whose parents had been invited, and condemn the manner in which he was killed.) On the SU campus, we have had students and faculty publicly condemn extra-judicial killings, including the use of drones. Faculty and students even publicly voiced dissent to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Ours is a campus where nonviolent conflict resolution has deep roots, but it’s quite another thing for Al-Quds students to dress up like the SS and raise their arms in Nazi-style salutes. That is when free speech crosses the line into hate speech. See “SU” on page 6

a matter of opinion American Jews, embrace your dual loyalties The Iran nuclear agreement has set up American Jews’ nightmare scenario: an apparently intractable conflict between their allegiances to the U.S. and to Israel. By Dov Waxman This article appeared in the online version of Haaretz on November 16 and the paper version on November 27 and is reprinted with the permission of Haaretz. An American government achieves a landmark diplomatic agreement with an archenemy of Israel, potentially averting a costly war for the United States but possibly risking Israel’s very survival. This nightmare scenario for American Jews – forcing them to choose between their loyalty to the U.S. and their loyalty to the Jewish state – is now becoming increasingly real as a result of the interim agreement that the Obama administration has just signed with Iran over its nuclear program. According to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Geneva agreement was “a historic mistake,” and one that has made the world “a much more dangerous place.” In stark

contrast, President Obama has hailed the accord, claiming that it “opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure.” This is not merely a clash between two leaders. What is at stake here goes well beyond the uneasy relationship between Obama and Netanyahu. Despite whatever pro-Israel lobbyists in Washington, DC, might say, the U.S. and Israel simply do not have identical national interests when it comes to Iran. To be sure, neither want Iran to have a nuclear weapon and both are determined to prevent this, but the United States could live with something less than this – Iranian nuclear enrichment – if it really had to, whereas Israel, or at least the Netanyahu government, clearly believes that it cannot. As long as Iran retains the technical ability to produce a nuclear weapon, Israel faces an existential threat, however remote that threat may be. The U.S., on the other

a matter of opinion Standing up to help keep Israel safe

By Pamela Wells A new year is right around the corner. By most experts’ estimates, 2014 could be the year that Iran finally has enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon. I learned this a few weeks ago, on a brisk November evening, along with nearly a hundred other members of our Central New York community, when the Northeast regional political director of AIPAC, Dr. Sharon Goldman, came to Temple Adath Yeshurun to deliver a briefing on the latest issues with Iran, the U.S. and Israel. AIPAC is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, sometimes called “America’s pro-Israel lobby.” Whenever I think of Israel, I think of my brother John, who lives there with his wife and children, a 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy. Whenever I think of Iran building a nuclear weapon, I imagine that weapon exploding in the neighborhood of my brother’s family. I was thrilled to see such a large group

of Central New Yorkers come out on a Tuesday night to hear Goldman’s message. Living where we live, it is so easy to put the welfare of Israel way down at the bottom of our priority lists. We can go days, even months, without sparing a single thought for Israel’s security. My children are in third and fourth grade at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School, where they are learning about the Iroquois and invertebrates. When their Israeli cousins are their age, their schools will teach them to function during emergency situations. “The program is initially directed toward existing threats in the pupil’s own surroundings, his house, the way to school, etc.” explains the Israel Defense Force Home Front Command website. “Very slowly, it begins to touch on wider subjects, such as ways to defend yourself during a missile attack.” Did I mention this program starts in second grade? We don’t live in Israel; but we cannot See “Safe” on page 5

hand, faces no such threat. It is simply too big, and too far away, to be destroyed by Iranian nukes even if the ruling clerics in Iran were suicidally inclined. That two different countries should read the strategic map differently should hardly come as a surprise to anyone. But this basic and unavoidable fact is, however, discomforting for many American Jews. For decades, it has been an article of faith within the American Jewish community that America and Israel shared the same interests and values. In synagogues across the country, the flags of both countries are

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displayed patriotically side by side. Unlike less fortunate Diaspora Jews who often found themselves caught between the demands of their countries of citizenship and their loyalty to the Jewish state, American Jews prided themselves on their difference. America was Israel’s best (sometimes only) friend and Israel was a valuable ally to the U.S., a “strategic asset” as pro-Israel groups like AIPAC so often proclaim. By insisting on the unity of interests between the United States and Israel, American Jews could avoid the thorny issue of See “Loyalties” on page 7 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.

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AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK Calling all high school bands The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse will host the 12th annual Battle of the Bands on Saturday, January 18, at 7 pm. After the change in venue last year, the event will once again be held at The SPOT, the JCC’s teen center at ShoppingTown Mall in Syracuse. In the past, there have been up to 10 bands from throughout Central New York in competition. To register a band, contact Katie Sutliff at 445-2360, ext. 133, or thespot@jccsyr.org. The application packet can be downloaded from the JCC’s website, www.jccsyr.org, or picked up at the JCC front desk. There is a registration fee, and payment and forms must be received by Friday, January 3. This year’s judges will be Jeremy Johnston, of Subcat Recording Studios; Ryan Gorham, of Gorham Brothers; Christopher Baker, music editor at The PostStandard; and Scott Dixon, from 95X. Included in the grand prize will be $200.

There will be a modest admission fee and the event will be open to the public. For every ticket sold, the JCC will donate a dollar to each band’s high school’s music department in order to give back to the young music community.

At right: The 2013 Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Battle of the Bands winner, Kill the Lites, included band members from West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius high schools. They also won the fan favorite award. Former JCC Director of Children and Teen Services Lori Inella-Venne posed with the Kill the Lites band members. L-r: Andrew Marotta, John Hanover, Julianne Cary, Katie Hanover, Inella-Venne and Ryan Ondocin.

Good deeds go a long way at the JCC

In celebration of the season of giving thanks, the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Early Childhood Development Program recently held its second annual food drive. In the spirit of mitzvot, children and their families were asked to bring in non-perishable food items to the JCC. The food collected will be donated to the Temple Concord food pantry, one of the most utilized food pantries in Onondaga County. The children filled two collection bins to overflowing with their donations. Each child who added food to the collection bins put his or her name on the wall to be recognized for their chesed, which recognizes their kindness and generosity.

At right: Mayde Anastasio, Kylie Johnson, Jonah Gadarian and Swetha Lingam from the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community of Syracuse Early Childhood Development Program helped collect food to be donated to the Temple Concord food pantry.

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center senior dining menu December 16-20 Monday – pot roast Tuesday – soup and salad bar Wednesday –chicken à la king Thursday – barbecue beef sandwich Friday – orange chicken December 23-27 Monday – grilled salmon burger Tuesday – lemon baked fish Wednesday – closed Thursday – grilled chicken wrap Friday – chicken Florentine Italiano December 30 – January 3 Monday – Swedish meatballs Tuesday – noon Year’s Eve party – lemon chicken Wednesday – to be announced Thursday – to be announced Friday – to be announced January 6-10 Monday – to be announced Tuesday – to be announced Wednesday – to be announced Thursday – to be announced Friday – to be announced The Bobbi Epstein Lewis JCC Senior Adult Dining Program, catered by Tiffany’s Catering Company at the

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center, offers kosher lunches served Monday-Friday at noon. Reservations are required by noon on the previous business day and there is a suggested contribution per meal. The menu is subject to change. The program is funded by a grant from the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth and the New York State Office for the Aging, with additional funds provided by the JCC and United Way of Central New York. To attend, one need not be Jewish or a member of the JCC. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Leesa Paul at 445-2360, ext. 104, or lpaul@jccsyr.org.

PJ Library® play date

The PJ Library® in Central New York will hold a family play date at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center on Sunday, December 22, from 10:30 am-noon. There will be story time, a snack and time in the family gym class with inflatable toys. Families who are not JCC members will be welcome to attend. The PJ Library is a nationally-acclaimed literacy program started by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. It gives free Jewish bedtime stories, CDs and DVDs to families raising Jewish children. In Central New York, the PJ Library is a program of the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse and is supported by the Sam Pomeranz Trust, the 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-years-old. For more information or to sign up, visit www.pjlibrary.org or e-mail Alicia Cafarchio Gross, program coordinator, at pjcny@jccsyr.org.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774

congregational notes Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas

MELAVA MALKA on December 21 Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas will hold its second melava malka on Saturday, December 21, at 7 pm. The Kabbalists in Sfad created an additional musical service for the longest night of the year. Just as the Sabbath bride is welcomed with Kabalat Shabbat, the Kabbalists wanted to hold onto the Sabbath presence a little longer, to “linger in the presence of the Sabbath Queen.” The congregation decided to do this with music – a “Hebrew hootenanny,” or “Jewish jam session.” The service will not be a performance with an audience, but a circle. The program will feature food and singing. The event will be free and open to the community. For more information, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org. CBS-CS Chinese Dinner 2014 – “Street Food for the FaintHearted” By Don Siegel This year’s Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Chinese feast has been scheduled for Saturday, January 11, at 7 pm, and will feature authentic Beijing and Taipei street food. The dinner will be open to the community and there will be a charge to attend. Paid reservations will be required by Monday, January 6, with an indication of special dietary needs for those who are vegetarians, and whether people will eat chicken or fish. For more information or to make a

reservation, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org. Adult Hebrew class Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas will offer two adult Hebrew classes, starting on Monday, January 13. The classes will be for beginners and more advanced adults. Hebrew II will meet on Mondays from 7-8 pm, starting on January 13 and ending in early May. The class will emphasize vocabulary, Hebrew roots, reading proficiency and siddur comprehension. It will be for anyone who can pronounce the aleph-bet and wants to build from there. It will be taught by Sarah Saulson from the textbook “Aleph isn’t Enough,” which is available online. Ruth Stein will teach Hebrew III on Tuesdays, from 7-8 pm, starting in late January and continuing until early May. The class will help students continue to build vocabulary, basic grammar, Hebrew roots and a study of biblical passages. Both classes will be free for CBS-CS members, with a charge for non-members. Students will be responsible for purchasing their own books. For more information or to decide which class is right, contact Saulson at 449-9423 or sfsaulson@twcny.rr.com or Stein at 446-5429 or stein.ruth@ gmail.com. To register, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org. Each class must have a minimum enrollment to run.

Temple Adath Yeshurun Two congregations come together to celebrate Shabbat By Sonali Eaton Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord will participate in a joint Shabbat on Friday, December 20, beginning with a traditional Shabbat dinner at 6 pm. The dinner will be followed at 7 pm by a musical service led by Rabbi Charles Sherman, Rabbi Daniel Fellman and TAY Baalat Tefillah Esa Jaffe, with the participation of both synagogues’ adult choirs. There will be a cost for the dinner, with a reduction for children ages 5-12, and no charge for those under 5. Reservations are required by Friday, December 13, and can be made by calling the TAY office at 4450002 or the TC office at 475-9952. Jaffe described the music as merging the musical traditions of both synagogues, saying, “It’s very special that the two choirs can join their voices together in song to usher in Shabbat.” TAY President Howard Weinstein said, “In the spirit of bringing our Jewish community together, this combined dinner and musical Shabbat was created. We welcome all to come and participate.” Sherman said, “In a world frequently fractured and broken, it’s important that there are opportunities that bring us together. In that spirit, the Shabbat dinner and service, while recognizing our legitimate differences, theologically and

Fifth-grade students Ella Brodey (left) and Rachel Bronstein (right) enjoyed the marshmallow dreidels they made at the Temple Adath Yeshurun Religious School Chanukah program on November 24. ‘halachically,’ builds upon our common traditions and interests. Shabbat makes no distinctions between our religious movements. It is a sacred day of rest, connecting with ourselves, families, friends, community, faith and God.” Fellman added, “More than ever, the Syracuse Jewish community benefits and is strengthened by recognizing our similarities. Our two communities share a history of joining together for Shabbat. For many years, there was a pulpit exchange between Temple Adath and Temple Concord. After an absence of 25 years, I’m thrilled that this relationship is being renewed.” See “TAY” on page 6

Temple Concord Southern Jewish Heritage Trip Temple Concord will host an informational meeting on Sunday, January 12, at 11 am, for a Southern Jewish Heritage trip from April 27-May 4. Rabbi Daniel Fellman will meet with interested participants in the TC chapel, when people can learn about the pre-trip event from Friday-Sunday, April 25-27, as well as trip venues, travel plans and other details. Trip registration packets will be available that morning. The trip will be open to the community. For more information, contact Fellman’s assistant, Kate Adler, at 475-9952 or rabbiassistant@templeconcord.org. Seventh-grade trip to Safe Haven By Stephanie Marshall Temple Concord seventh-grade students concluded their Holocaust studies with a trip on November 24 to the Safe Haven Museum and Education Center in Oswego. The class learned about the 982 Jewish refugees who came to Oswego in 1944. The Museum and Education

Center is dedicated to telling the stories of these individuals. Seventh-grade teacher Maria Carson said, “It was very interesting. I think the students gained a lot by going there.” See “TC” on page 7

Temple Concord third-grade students Nathan Warren and Hannah Blumenthal presented their chanukiyot made of brownies, marshmallows and pretzels.

Temple Concord kindergarten and first-grade students listened to a Chanukah story read by Brian Rosen. Listening to the story were Lillian Engel (in the background), Emma Waldman (in the foreground), Sydney Bergquist and Tyler Stanton.

DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

SHDS – Club 56

follow up, helping at the food pantry. We were also treated to a visit from the fourth and fifth grade from Binghamton’s Hillel Academy. They joined us at the pantry and spent the rest of the day at SHDS. It was really nice to make new friends!” Co-head of school Barbara Davis added, “Recently, someone asked if we taught character education at SHDS. The answer is that we do not teach it, we embody it. Good manners, kindness, helpfulness, caring, sharing, respect for one another – menschlikeit, in short – are the foundation of our school. Our highest award is the Mensch Award. Our daily prayers express appreciation for all the good in our world; the acts we praise most highly are deeds of loving kindness expressed in many ways. We don’t teach character education, we live it.” Rabbi Evan Shore, who teaches Bible, laws and customs at the school, described the list of topics that he covers each week on Midot Monday: “honoring parents, tzedakah, lashon hara (slanderous talk), gossip, bullying, sensitivity to others, table manners, honesty, collective responsibility, forgiving, slowness to anger, loving and pursuing peace, what makes a friend and bikkur cholim (visiting the sick).” “Values,” added Davis, “are at the heart of an SHDS education.” Shirilan-Howlett recently described a lesson she learned about tzedakah, saying, “Tzedakah is a really amazing mitzvah. Just one dollar can really make a difference. You can give to Jewish National Fund to help trees grow. You can give money to Helping Hounds, which rescues abandoned animals. You can give to Meals on Wheels, which gives food to food pantries; the food pantries give food to families who are poor and don’t have the money to buy food for themselves. It can even be giving a little bit to doctors who are trying to figure out a cure for babies who have rare diseases. See “SHDS” on page 8

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By Phyllis Zames The Club 56 program for fifth and sixthgrade students at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School teaches “leadership through action.” The purpose is to promote a “richer and deeper” sense of leadership and to do more than simply donating money. The program is based on the Jewish mandate of tikkun olam, “repairing world,” and aims to reflect the three pillars on which the world is said to stand: Torah, tzedakah and gimilut chasidim – knowledge, charity and acts of loving kindness. Club 56 has been active for three years, during which time the members have worked with local synagogues, the Federation and Menorah Park; led services and read Torah; developed a “Kidz Project” in conjunction with Super Sunday; and worked on joint projects with the residents of Menorah Park. The projects have engaged the students at the curricular and extracurricular levels. The club holds classroom discussions about the historical and social contexts for its projects and the needs they address. It also encourages students to contemplate their roles as citizens in the community. “Club 56 stands for leadership, helping others and serving the community,” said Syracuse Hebrew Day School Co-head Lori Tenenbaum, in describing the students who “put mitzvot into action” through community service. Club 56 President Alethea ShirilanHowlett described the activities of the group, saying, “Club 56 has been busy! In mid-November, the members helped at the SHDS auction. We sold raffle tickets, served tables and pitched in any way we could. The following week, our whole club went to the food pantry at Temple Concord. They were expecting a large pre-Thanksgiving shipment, and we helped unload and stack the items. It really made us more thankful for all that we have to see what so many others have to make do with. Club 56 intends to

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L-r: Syracuse Hebrew Day School Club 56 members Elise Beckman, Kyla Cooper, Maya Roopnarine, Rachel Scheer, Yuval Kelchner and Itai Spinoza helped sort and stack groceries at the Temple Concord food pantry. For more information on Club 56, visit http://crm.ravsak.org/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=358.

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leave her security at the bottom of our priority lists – especially not now, when a nuclear-capable Iran is such a realistic possibility. So it was great to see a crowd of Central New Yorkers gather to educate themselves on these issues. It is also important to recognize that we can do more than just “stay alert.” We can reach out to our members of Congress to say that the U.S.-Israel relationship is of the utmost importance. I have seen it firsthand. When I am engaged and speak to my representatives on behalf of the U.S.Israel relationship, they become engaged, and make it their business to go to briefings and learn more facts – which, if not for our relationship, they might not have done. I wasn’t alive when Israel was founded. It’s not the lingering fear and horror of the Holocaust that spurs me to act in Israel’s best

Continued from page 2 interests. It is a brand new fear of today’s modern warfare. Question: do you know the difference between long-range rockets, Kassam rockets, missiles and mortars? Answer: If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, it won’t matter. Israel has done a fantastic job protecting itself for 65 years, but we cannot behave as if it is a child who has grown up, and all the work is done. Israel’s security must be maintained. It needs ongoing support, and I take that responsibility as seriously as Israel’s founders took theirs. It’s the job I can do, in my lifetime. The year 2014 is sure to bring new challenges to those who work to maintain the safety and security of the U.S. and Israel. One prediction I know will come true – I will be among the proud Americans standing up to help keep Israel safe.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774

Jerusalem explored in a new way through bike tours

By Sybil Kaplan JNS.org JERUSALEM – What kind of ground can you cover in three hours in Jerusalem? Start at First Station (the renovated train station), go to the Haas Promenade for views of the city, continue past Mishkenot Shaananim and the historic windmill, through the Russian Compound, on to Jaffa Street, over the “harp” string bridge crossed by light rail passengers, through the Supreme Court area and the Knesset, past the Israel Museum to the Valley of the Cross, and back through the neighborhood of Rehavia. The above itinerary represents the first collaboration of its kind in Jerusalem: bike tours launched by the Inbal Hotel and outdoor tour operator Gordon Active. Inbal Communications Manager Barak Roth says the Inbal “is the first hotel in Jerusalem to take upon themselves such an endeavor,”

TAY

choosing Gordon Active as a partner “because they’re the leading company [in Israel] when it comes to bike tours.” Amir Rockman, bicycle director of Gordon Active, recently kicked off the initiative by leading a bike tour from the Inbal for Israeli journalists (including this reporter), in a journey that was abbreviated from the tour company’s usual route through Jerusalem. Accompanying Amir was his brother, Asaf, with whom he has operated Gordon Tours (the parent company of Gordon Active) for the past five years. The Rockmans are a family of bicyclists from Jerusalem. On the press tour, Amir commented that he lives in Caesarea and bikes 30 miles  to Tel Aviv on a regular basis. Asaf bikes seven miles – mostly uphill – from the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Nekofa, where he lives, to the city. For the new tours, the Inbal provides riders the bikes, a helmet, a bottle of water and a map for $30 for a full

Continued from page 4 TC President Irv Bodofsky said, “Joining with our fellow Jews in order to celebrate Shabbat is a joy that we fail to experience often enough. I am glad and excited that we have this opportunity.” The musical Shabbat service will be followed by an oneg Shabbat and no reservations will be required for the service, which will be open to the community.

day or $20 for half a day. As part of the hotel’s “wellness concept,” Roth said the biking initiative offers participants “a new way of exploring Jerusalem and discovering what they didn’t know.” Gordon Active (www.gordonactive.com) offers the following biking options: half or full day tours of Jerusalem; half or full day bike tours of Tel Aviv; night tours See “Tours” on page 8

Amir Rockman, bicycle director of Israeli tour operator Gordon Active, outside the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem. (Photo by Barry A. Kaplan)

Hazak board members and Chanukah bazaar coordinators Ruth Borsky (left) and Marcia Mizruchi (back right) posed with one of the raffle winners, Kassidy Hirsh (lower right), on November 17. Stephanie Lynne pulled the winning ticket. Hazak sponsored the annual event with all grade levels of the TAY Religious School participating. Chanukah music played in the background while the children shopped.

L-r: Alicia Carfarchio Gross, Isaac DuChene and Dean Bratslavky gathered around the menorah as part of the Rothschild Early Childhood Center’s Storah Time program. The children made their own candles out of beeswax.

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

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Continued from page 2

Kudos to Brandeis President Frederick Lawrence for insisting that Nusseibeh issue an Arabic and English condemnation of the event. Lawrence made the right call. While promoting academic freedom and free speech, university professors – and especially university presidents – need to also exercise their own free speech by denouncing stunts like the November 5 rally for what they are: hate-driven, ugly and unacceptable attacks on the university’s values. It is hard to fathom Nusseibeh’s first public statement on the matter – a speech that Brandeis found unacceptable. Rather than publicly declaring the event unconscionable and suspending the students involved, Nusseibeh turned his ire on the Israeli reporters who broke the story. Calling them “Jewish extremists” who were “vilifying” his campus (they are actually self-identified Leftists), Nusseibeh claimed that condemning this Nazi-glorifying event would merely strengthen the BDS campaign and embolden the Palestinian anti-normalizers. Nusseibeh has tried to walk all this back in subsequent statements, but the damage has already been done. He could have used the Nazi-style demonstration on his campus as a teachable moment – an opportunity to tell his students that the worst forms of anti-Israelism, like those that involve equating Israelis with Nazis, are the types of bigotry that are beyond the limits of a legitimate debate. Instead, Nusseibeh managed to trivialize the 3,000-year-old Jewish attachment to the land of Israel by saying that without Nazi ideology, “there would not have been the massacre of the Jewish people in Europe; without the massacre, there would not have been the enduring Palestinian catastrophe.” Here Nusseibeh gives voice to the ultimate problem and the reason that peace remains elusive: the Palestinians still think that Israel is an unfair “price” that they alone paid for the Holocaust. There remains a weird inability for the Palestinians, even someone as thoughtful and “moderate” as Nusseibeh, to acknowledge that Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people. At Syracuse University, our goal is to provide a balanced discussion on Israel and the Middle East. Even as we support a multi-faceted examination of Israel and critically engage Israeli policies, there are no apartheid weeks or staging of mock checkpoints; no attempts to boycott Israeli speakers; no move to divest. Instead, we foster such a positive atmosphere that recently two SU undergrads, a Jewish-American and an American-Palestinian, co-founded an Israeli-Palestinian student dialogue group. Given our mission to offer a rich educational experience that exposes students to multiple perspectives about Israel and to protect all of our students from harassment, there is no way we could maintain our relationship with Al-Quds under the current circumstances. I would have liked to have known about my university’s plans to suspend its ties with Al-Quds University before the decision was made. It would have been nice to learn about it from my fellow colleagues and not from a Jerusalem Post article. And a wider group of SU faculty, including some who would have no doubt advocated for a longer wait-andsee period before severing the relationship, should have been consulted. But while the decision-making process was less than ideal, I believe that Syracuse University made the right move. In refusing to stand up to bigotry and antisemitism from the get-go and in no uncertain terms, Mr. Nusseibeh forfeited, at least for the time being, the right of his university to interact with mine.

DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774 ■

Chabad Chanukah

Rabbi Yaakov Rapoport (center), director of Syracuse Chabad, adjusted the flame on the shamash “candle” after U.S. Congressman Dan Maffei (right) lit it. The menorah was located in Clinton Square, in downtown Syracuse. Syracuse firefighter Chris Clayton (left) looked on. (Photo by Mike Waters)

Chanukah at the Religious School The religious school prepared for Chanukah on November 24, with classes rotating through a variety of experiential Chanukah activities, including creating their own chanukiah made from brownies, marshmallows and pretzels; singing Chanukah songs; listening to a Chanukah story; playing dreidel;

Continued from page 2 and making and eating latkes. Some of the older classes also rotated through the kitchen to help out with the annual volunteer “Latke Brigade,” in which members work to make the latkes served at the congregational Chanukah dinner. When the whole school came together for weekly tefillah, the students presented the story of Chanukah.

JEWISH OBSERVER

Struggling Holocaust survivors in Israel say gov’t must do more By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – Breakfast costs Dov Jakobovitz $2. Lunch costs him $2.25. Both are served in the public old-age home in south Tel Aviv where he lives. But the food is not to his liking. Jakobovitz longs for the dishes he ate as a child in Transylvania – gefilte fish, goulash, chicken wings – rather than the rice-and-salad fare more typical of the Israeli diet. A restaurant he enjoys in the center of the city serves such Ashkenazi fare, but he can’t afford it. For dinner, he eats leftovers from lunch. But Jakobovitz knows it could be worse. Born in the Romanian town of Satmar in 1928, Jakobovitz was deported with his family to Auschwitz at age 14. The memory of watching his mother sent to the left in the selection line, to the gas chambers, still haunts him. “In the concentration camp, we ate the shavings of carrots and vegetables,” he recalls. “We had wooden shoes. We ate from our hands, from our hat. We’d be satisfied with enough to eat from that. That was in Auschwitz.” Jakobovitz made it to prestate Israel in 1947 and was immediately drafted into the Haganah, the Zionist military organization. He fought in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence and in the 1967 Six-Day War. Today he can’t meet basic monthly expenses. He receives $1,200 every three months in reparations from the German government and another $120 per month from Israel, but it’s not enough. Jakobovitz skimps on buying medicine to save money. He doesn’t buy new clothes and purchases only the cheapest shoes – they hurt his feet. Only rarely does he splurge on organized day trips for the elderly. And he’s not alone. A report this year by the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel

Dov Jakobovitz, 85, lives in an old-age home in a poor neighborhood of Tel Aviv. He survived Auschwitz and fought in two Israeli wars, but now he doesn’t have enough money for food. (Photo by Ben Sales) found that a majority of Israel’s 192,000 survivors are struggling economically. Another 40 percent report feeling “very lonely.” Two-thirds are unsatisfied with government assistance for survivors. And 92 percent feel the government doesn’t invest enough in their welfare. “There are still gaps between the response and what’s needed,” said Roni Klinsky, the foundation’s CEO. In the past, “people got less help and weren’t organized enough to get assistance. The state always has troubles. There are wars and new immigrants. But the survivor issue wasn’t a high priority.” The issues are pressing now, Klinsky says, because of the dwindling number of survivors – it’s the last chance to make a substantive difference for many of them. An estimated 37 survivors die every day in Israel, a rate that within five years would nearly halve the survivor population to just over 110,000. In the state’s first decades, some Israelis reacted to survivors with ambivalence, See “Survivors” on page

Temple Concord seventh-grade students visited the Safe Haven Museum in Oswego. L-r: Liam Kaplan, Ron Blumenthal, Shayna Myshrall, Emma Clardy and Julia Fay.

Loyalties

Continued from page 2

“dual loyalties.” They could comfortably maintain emotional ties and allegiances to both countries, secure in the belief that there was no conflict of interest between them. This was always something of a convenient fiction, even at the height of the Cold War, when Israel’s strategic value to the U.S. was greater than it is today. It is now obviously false, at least to honest observers. When an Israeli prime minister directly appeals to American Jews to oppose a major diplomatic initiative of an American president, as Netanyahu recently did in his address to the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, the American Jewish community is confronted with a test of loyalties. Faced with this test, some may be driven, whether consciously or not, by their sense of ethnic solidarity or religious conviction to support Israel, while others will choose to support their president’s foreign policy. Some will also surely argue that Israel’s interests are ultimately best served by the Obama administration’s policy toward Iran. The American Jewish community will certainly be divided, even if most of the major organizations claiming to represent it align themselves with the Netanyahu government. Just as American Jews have long disagreed amongst themselves over the peace process, with the Palestinians and the American government’s role in it, they now disagree over American policy toward Iran’s nuclear program. Indeed, this disagreement is evident in the latest American Jewish Committee survey of American Jewish opinion. Although an overwhelm-

ing majority (84 percent of respondents) are concerned about the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, 46 percent believe that a combination of diplomacy and economic sanctions is either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to prevent this, whereas 52 percent think this is unlikely. Similarly, 45 percent say they will oppose a U.S. military attack against Iran if diplomacy and sanctions fail, compared with 52 percent who would support it. In the coming months, as the interim nuclear deal with Iran is implemented and negotiations for a comprehensive agreement get under way, the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government are likely to continue to disagree, at times publicly and testily, over the Iranian nuclear program, and this will cause many American Jews to feel deeply conflicted. This is the unavoidable burden of having dual loyalties. It is a burden that should neither be denied nor wished away: Difficult as they are to manage, American Jews should embrace their dual loyalties as an expression of their multifaceted identity. Dov Waxman is an associate professor of political science at Baruch College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is also the co-director of the Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development at Northeastern University. He is the co-author of “Israel’s Palestinians: The Conflict Within” (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and the author of “The Pursuit of Peace and the Crisis of Israeli Identity: Defending/Defining the Nation” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).

NOW is the time to make your donation to the Jewish Federation of Central New York. With the stock market at an all-time high, contribute those windfall profits to a local cause to help the Central New York Jewish community. Gifts of appreciated securities held longer than 12 months offer a two-fold tax savings: 1. If a donor itemizes deductions, he/she will receive a charitable income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the securities on the date of the gift. 2. The donor does not pay capital gains tax on the increase in the value (the gain) on the securities. (PLEASE NOTE: If donors sell the stock and transfer the proceeds – the savings do not apply.) For more information, contact Campaign Associate Marianne Bazydlo at 445-2040 ext. 102.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774

Gomez Mill House, oldest Jewish site in North America, approaches 300th anniversary

By Paul Foer JNS.org MARLBOBO, NY – The oldest Jewish site in North America is not Newport’s famed Touro Synagogue, or any other synagogue. Rather, it is a stone structure tucked away on the west side of the Hudson River, about 60 miles north of Manhattan. Due to its multiple uses and inhabitants over the centuries, the Gomez Mill House – built in 1714 in Marlboro, NY – is one of the best-kept secrets in American Jewish history, and also holds a place in greater American history. With its 300th anniversary approaching, its story may very well become familiar to a much broader audience. “Most Jewish visitors [to the Gomez Mill House] are surprised that the story is not about the Jewish religion or about being Jewish, but about the story of Jewish pioneering success in America and Jewish contributions to the founding of America,” says Ruth Abrahams – executive director of the Gomez Foundation for Mill House, a group of historic-minded citizens and descendants of the families that have owned the property—in an exclusive interview with JNS.org that serves as the first public announcement of the house’s tercentenary celebrations. Luis Moses Gomez came to the Hudson Valley wilderness from Manhattan with two of his sons to expand his trading and commodities business. He built a trading post and a mill next to each other on a fast-flowing creek. Today, visitors can marvel at the original blockhouse trading post’s two-foot-thick stone walls and huge fireplaces at each end. While that original structure has been built up many times

SHDS

Continued from page 5 But tzedakah isn’t just money. It can be cutting off your ponytail so a little girl or woman who has cancer does not have to be embarrassed by being bald. Or tzedakah can even be donating toys to children in the hospital on one night of Chanukah instead of getting presents yourself. And one of the highest forms of tzedakah is teaching someone how to get a job and/or food for themselves, instead of just giving them one chicken and then leaving them. But one of the things you should not do is embarrass the person you give tzedakah to. You should never, ever say the person’s name or last name while giving them tzedakah. So next time you pass the tzedakah box, or light the candles for Chanukah, eat a filling meal, or notice how you probably don’t have a disease that is life-threatening, remember the people who don’t have trees. Remember the children who are sick in the hospital and don’t have any toys or entertainment. Remember the little girls and women who have cancer and don’t have any hair. Remember the people who have almost or no food at all. Remember the babies that might die from a scary disease. Remember that you have the ability to give a little and make a change.”

The Gomez Mill House. (Photo by Daniel Case via Wikimedia Commons) with oak floors, massive roof beams, a second story and an attic, it’s not so much the building itself as what went on there throughout the generations that captivates visitor and historian alike. Gomez, born circa 1654, is believed to have been the grandson of Gomez de Salazar, comptroller of the treasury for Spain’s King Philip IV. His father, Isaac, also a royal adviser, was forced by the Inquisition to leave Spain and moved to France, where religious liberty was guaranteed through the Edict of Nantes. Gomez married in France and moved to London with his father and other members of the extended family. After his first wife died, he moved to Jamaica, where many Sephardic Jews had settled, and married his second wife. Five of his six sons eventually married women of the West Indies and lived in America. Records show that Gomez – trader, merchant and possibly ship owner – became quite wealthy and, by 1703, he paid taxes in New York City. Papers of “denizenship” granted from England’s Queen Anne in 1705 provided special privileges for him as a non-Christian resident of the colony, including that of owning land without an oath of allegiance to the Crown sworn in the name of the Church of England. In 1714, he purchased 2,400 acres of land and built a fieldstone blockhouse into the side of a hill along a stream that became known as “Jews Creek.” Gomez chose to be near Algonquian Delaware Indians, as well as local residents and travelers heading north, so that he could trade with those groups. But it was timber and lime that drove the industry that he and his son, Daniel, conducted for more than 30 years. Before the Revolutionary War, the Gomez Mill House was purchased by Wolfert Acker, a Dutch American who added a second story, as well as an attic with bricks made from local clay. Acker served as a lieutenant in the New Marlborough Company of Minute Men, chairman of the Committee of Safety and Observation, and Newburgh town supervisor while General George Washington was in the Newburgh area and his army was camped nearby at the Fishkill Depot. After the war, Acker established a landing on the Hudson, with a ferry to cross the river to the town of Wappinger and a packet line to carry freight. In the 19th century, William Henry Armstrong made the Gomez Mill House his family’s home for four decades, adding a kitchen wing, porch and stone walls. The property’s best-known owner in the 20th century was Dard Hunter, a craftsman and paper historian who built a paper mill on Jews Creek that resembled an English country cottage with a thatched roof. He made paper by hand, cut and cast type and hand-printed his own books. Abrahams, the Gomez Foundation for Mill House  executive director, tells JNS.org that Jewish visitors to the historic site are “impressed with the presentation of connecting stories” of the house’s five owners over the course of three centuries. The house has “as many motivated visitors as our complex history inspires,” she says. Annually, roughly half of those visitors come from synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, other Jewish community groups and Jewish individuals and families. “About 1,500 school children visit us per year, including 900-1,200 from the Newburgh school system third grade, who come to fulfill the New York state requirement for a local history experience,” Abrahams says. “This latter program will be in its 17th year in 2014. The other 1,000 or so visitors come for the American history, Hudson Valley visits, or are paper enthusiasts interested in the Dard Hunter Mill and library exhibit. Our Sunday programs bring in about 500 additional visitors.” For its 300th anniversary celebration, the house is planning a number of events and a fund-raising campaign. “Programs will include guest lectures by such Jewish scholars as [New York University professor] Hasia Diner and [award-winning journalist and author] Andree Aelion Brooks,” she says. “Other special events include a ‘Celebration of Paper Day’ that will bring Dard Hunter III to the site to make paper using the 100-year-old beater in his grandfather’s paper mill, a Paper Sculpture Garden Exhibit and printing on an early 20th-century press.”

The mill, dam, and bridge at the historic Gomez Mill House. (Photo by Paul Foer) From July 20-22, the first official Gomez family reunion will be held in New York City and at the Gomez Mill House, with more than 200 Gomez descendants expected to attend from 14 U.S. states and around the world. Abrahams says she is planning a local and national public relations campaign for the tercentenary, with outreach to the countries that trace the Luis Moses Gomez family history – Spain, France, England and Jamaica. Abrahams says that as head of the house’s foundation, she grapples with the challenge of “finding financial security for the site and its needs through the generosity of private donations and grants, and renewed leadership on the Board of Trustees, when there is a need to replace those who pass on or who must leave for other reasons. “All else follows when these are in place: site maintenance, restoration, renovation, improved and expanded exhibits and public information and access, more staff and improved visitor facilities,” she says. The foundation in 1997 restored the Dard Hunter Mill, in addition to the site’s dam and bridge. In 2010, these sites underwent a second major restoration. In 2011, Hurricane Irene swept through the area, washing away part of the road in front of the house and the site’s entire public spaces. The current parking lot has been repaved and other improvements are under way. After nearly 300 years – all starting with a Jew whose family, despite being advisers to the king of Spain, was expelled by the Inquisition – the house remains American history made manifest. “Better than any single house and site in the history-laden Hudson River Valley, the Mill House symbolizes and sums up our regional and national history,” says Harry Stoneback, professor of English at the State University of New York at New Paltz, on the house’s website. “It is a most dramatic and absolutely irreplaceable incarnation of American history.”

Tours

Continued from page 6 of Jerusalem; full day 20-mile tours of the Judean hills with visits to wineries; nine-day, 20-35 mile per day tours of northern Israel; eight-day, 25-40 mile per day tours from Jerusalem to Eilat; seven-day tours, including five days of 60-90 miles per day, from Jerusalem to Eilat; six-day tours across the Galilee; Negev mountain bike safaris of one to three days; and six one-day mountain bike tours. Outside of biking, the company offers 14-day self-guided tours; three food and wine tours of varying lengths; the Israel Deluxe – a nine-day tour including spa hotels, visiting wineries, farms and restaurants; and five different family programs. Count Zohar Dublin, an account executive for a Tel Aviv public relations firm, is a fan of Gordon Active’s new bike tour from the Inbal Hotel. “I really enjoyed the ride through the streets of Jerusalem,” Dublin said. “The ride was beautiful, and this was a great chance to tour the city in a different and more active way.”

Inbal Hotel Communications Manager Barak Roth (left) and Amir Rockman, bicycle director of Israeli tour operator Gordon Active, outside the Inbal in Jerusalem. (Photo by Barry A. Kaplan)

DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

For many agunot, halachic prenups won’t break their chains

By Talia Lavin NEW YORK (JTA) – For years, Rachel Light felt like a hostage, worried she would be forever trapped in her marriage to Eben Light. Even in April 2012, after Eben was arrested for allegedly threatening her and was slapped with a restraining order, Rachel was unable to get a writ of Jewish divorce, or get. That made her an agunah – Hebrew for “chained woman” – putting her in the company of hundreds of other Orthodox women who cannot remarry because their husbands refuse to grant them divorces according to Jewish law, or halachah. Fortunately for Rachel, who was Modern Orthodox, she and her husband had signed a halachic (Jewish ritual) prenuptial agreement. In 2013, hers was the first such prenup to be enforced in a U.S. civil court. Light obtained her get and a substantial financial settlement in Connecticut. “I’m so thankful that I happened to have signed it, because I don’t know that I’d be remarried today with an awesome, wonderful new family without it,” Light told JTA. “But nevertheless, it’s not going to be able to help everybody in every case, and I would love to see a solution that could.” First developed in the 1990s in an attempt to protect women from becoming agunot, halachic prenuptial agreements stipulate that the couple in a dissolving marriage must come before a predetermined court of Jewish law. If the man refuses to provide the get, he must provide a financial settlement, typically in the range of $150 per day – an agreement enforceable in civil court. Yet while halachic prenuptial agreements have been touted as a solution to the agunah problem, they have hardly been a panacea – because many are reluctant to sign them in the first place. “Those who are most likely to need to use it are least likely to sign it,” said Rabbi Jeremy Stern, director of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, or ORA, which says it deals with more than 150 cases of agunot per year. The problem is unique to the Orthodox world, because non-Orthodox movements have rejected or found ways around traditional rules that give husbands practically all the leverage. And, frustratingly for advocates on behalf of agunot, most Orthodox couples hail from segments of the community that aren’t interested in halachic prenups. “The problem is in the black-hat and haredi community, where they don’t have prenups or rabbis don’t agree to enforce the idea of having a prenup,” said Stanley Goodman, director of an organization known as GET – Getting

that oversees many agunah cases. In Equal Treatment. current versions of its halachic prenup, Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for the Beth Din of America exercises abthe haredi Orthodox Agudath Israel solute control over the payments and of America, said Agudath does not may waive them at its discretion. advocate the use of halachic prenups. “They’re emasculating their own “There is a concern that introducing and prenuptial,” Susan Aranoff, co-difocusing on the possible dissolution of rector of the advocacy organization a marriage when it is just beginning Agunah International, said of the is not conducive to the health of the marriage,” Shafran said. “I don’t think For many agunot, halachic prenups Beth Din of America. “The way the it is really possible to gauge their effi- won’t break their chains (Photo by beit din enforces it is a smokescreen that deprives the woman and does not cacy without data, and in any event, it Shutterstock) protect her.” would be impossible to know when the In response, Weissman told JTA: “In a vast majority existence of a prenup might have eased the way toward a divorce when a marriage might, with effort and determina- of cases, the woman will walk home with the get and not push the case for support.” tion, have been saved.” Rachel Light says it wasn’t until she took her agreement Even the centrist Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America, which reiterated its support for prenuptial to civil court in New Haven that she was able to receive her agreements in a recent statement, does not require its get. Her then-husband had avoided multiple summonses to member rabbis to request a halachic prenup before the beit din without any consequences, she said. In such cases, the beit din, as an extralegal entity, has only performing weddings. “Rabbinic authorities that are guiding the RCA, with whom we consult, feel it is inap- one recourse: to issue a seruv, a religious contempt-of-court propriate to make an absolute obligation for members,” order akin to excommunication, in which the recalcitrant Rabbi Mark Dratch, executive vice president of the party is banned from participation in synagogues and other community institutions. In cases where individuals are RCA, told JTA. The RCA’s public statement on prenups came on the indifferent to this exclusion, or communities are unwilling heels of several high-profile cases of get refusal. In October, to cooperate, the seruv may be ineffective. While civil courts have more tools at their disposal, that the FBI announced it had arrested a group of men in New York who were accused of taking money to use violence to route presents challenges, too. Light’s case took a long compel recalcitrant husbands to give gets. Their methods time, cost a lot of money and ultimately did not guarantee allegedly included kidnapping and the use of electric cattle that her husband would grant her a Jewish divorce – only prods. Agunot were paying tens of thousands of dollars that he would have to pay if he didn’t. “I would love to think that our rabbis could come up for the service. In early November, the New York Post featured on with a more direct, protective solution, rather than a cirits front page the story of an agunah from Lakewood, cuitous thing that maybe some rabbis will use and maybe NJ, Gital Dodelson, who said her husband’s family had some couples will sign – which you have to take to civil demanded $350,000 and custody of the couple’s son in court anyway,” Light said of halachic prenups. “I would exchange for a get. A storm of media coverage followed, love to see our rabbis take this on full force and say this is prompting the husband’s father and uncle to temporarily something that we won’t allow.” Judy Heicklen, president of the Jewish Orthodox resign from their positions at Artscroll, a leading Orthodox Feminist Alliance, says a Jewish legal solution must be publishing house. One of the main problems with the halachic prenup, found to obviate the need for enforcement in civil court. advocates say, is the lack of enforcement of its financial “The prenup is not foolproof,” she said. “And on a philopenalties. Although the agreements stipulate a daily fine to sophical level, we would hope that the halachah would be paid by the husband to the wife while a get is refused, be strong enough to find a solution within halachah and these fines are nearly always waived in exchange for the not have to rely on secular authorities to solve a human get itself, according to Rabbi Joel Weissman, director of suffering issue that we should be able to solve within our the RCA-affiliated Beth Din of America, the religious court own legal system.”

Diabetes and eye health: a closer look (NAPSI) – Those with diabetes should take a good look at their eye health. That’s the word from the American Diabetes Association. It reports that nearly 26 million people in the United States have diabetes and 12,000-24,000 people lose their sight because of the disease each year. The American Optometric Association encourages Americans with diabetes to schedule annual, dilated eye examinations to help detect and prevent eye and vision disorders that could lead to blindness. People with diabetes are at a significantly higher risk for developing eye diseases including glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy, one of the most serious sight-threatening complications of diabetes. Consider the following: Those with diabetes are 40 percent more likely to suffer from glaucoma than people without diabetes. Those with diabetes are 60 percent more likely to develop cataracts. People with diabetes also tend to get them at a younger age and have them progress faster. With cataracts, the eye’s clear lens clouds, blocking light and interfering with normal vision.

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that causes progressive damage to the retina, the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. Damage to the tiny blood vessels that nourish the retina causes swelling of retinal tissue and clouding of vision. If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can cause blindness. Since early warning signs of diabetic eye and vision disorders are often subtle or undetected, the AOA recommends that people – especially African Americans and Hispanics, who have a higher risk of developing diabetes – look for initial signs and contact a doctor of optometr y if any of the following symptoms are present: sudden blurred or double vision, trouble reading or focusing on near-work, eye pain or pressure, a noticeable aura or dark ring around lights or illuminated objects, visible dark spots

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774

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, December 14 Middle school youth bounce program at the JCC at 7:30 pm Monday, December 16 Syracuse Hebrew Day School Board meeting at 7:30 pm Tuesday, December 17 Jewish Community Center Executive Committee at 6 pm, followed by board meeting at 7 pm Temple Concord Cinemagogue at 7 pm Wednesday, December 18 Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Board meeting at 7:30 pm Thursday, December 19 Foundation at Menorah Park Board meeting at 5:30 pm Temple Adath Yeshurun Board meeting at 7 pm Friday, December 20 Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord joint Shabbat celebration and dinner at 6 pm Sunday, December 22 The PJ Library7 play date at 10:30 am TAY Hazak film at 1 pm Monday, December 23 Early deadline for the January 9 issue of the Jewish Observer Tuesday, January 7 Federation CRC meeting at 4:45 pm Wednesday, January 8 TAY Hazak meeting at 8:45 am Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Executive Committee meeting at 7:30 pm Sunday, January 12 TC Brotherhood lox breakfast at 9:30 am Women of Reform Judaism trip to Matilda Gage House at 10 am Tuesday, January 14 TC scholar series at 6 pm Wednesday, January 15 TC Tu B’Shevat seder at 6 pm CBS-CS board meeting at 7:30 pm Thursday, January 16 Tu B’Shevat Foundation at Menorah Park board meeting at 5:30 pm Women of Reform Judaism dinner at Dolce Vita at 6 pm TAY board meeting at 7 pm Saturday, January 18 Jewish Community Center Battle of the Bands at The SPOT at 7:30 pm

d’var torah

Crown thy good with brotherhood By Dr. Yocheved Engelberg Cohen If you had to write a top 10 list of Jewish movies, what would you include? No, don’t make up the whole list now – just think about it for a couple of minutes and then keep reading. OK – there are so many, it is hard to choose, but I venture to guess that four out of five people surveyed would include “Fiddler on the Roof” in the count. One of the many sappy, yet touching, songs in the movie includes a blessing of Tevye to his daughters. Among other things, he says, “May you be like Ruth and like Esther.” It is true that these are Jewish heroines of sorts. However, this blessing is, in fact, not the traditional blessing bestowed upon daughters. The traditional blessing, generally done on Friday night, is “May God make you as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.” Given that this is the traditional blessing for girls, one might reasonably assume that the traditional blessing for boys would be “May God make you as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” However, one would be wrong. The traditional blessing to sons is, “May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe.” Not that I have anything against Ephraim and Menashe, but apart from hearing about their births and their namings, we really have almost no information about them. So, what did they do to deserve this eternal honor? I would like to suggest two possible answers.

b’nai mitzvah Zachary Taylor Vossler

Zachary Taylor Vossler, son of Michael and Beryl Vossler, of Brewerton, became bar mitzvah at Temple Adath Yeshurun on November 30. He is the grandson of the late Michael Billinson and the late Irene Billinson, of Syracuse, and John and Mary Vossler, of Bridgeport, also both deceased. He attends Christian Brothers Academy and enjoys history, technology and geography.

Zachary Taylor Vossler

Eli Weiss

Eli Weiss, son of Robert and Lisa Weiss, of LaFayette, became bar mitzvah at Temple Adath Yeshurun on August 17. He is the grandson of Jeffrey and the late Gerri Carmen, of Manlius, and Ruthe Weiss and the late Harold Weiss, of Fair Lawn, NJ. He attends Manlius Pebble Hill School. He enjoys playing lacrosse and basketball, as well as skiing, sailing and playing the piano.

Eli Weiss

Indian

Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, Italy and India – spots with particularly large populations of potential recruits. With an annual budget of approximately $1 million, the organization funds Jewish education and programming for what it calls “our lost brethren,” brings them on tours to Israel and, in some cases, manages their immigration. “Many of them are looking for ways to reconnect, and it behooves us to reach out to them and facilitate that process,” said Freund. “It is a strategic opportunity and it is one that is not being exploited to the fullest.” Nowhere has Shavei’s focus been more intense than with the Bnei Menashe. Freund began working with the group in 1997 while an aide to Netanyahu. He reached a deal with the government to allow 100 Bnei Menashe to immigrate every year under the auspices of Amishav, another organization working with the Bnei Menashe. Freund joined Amishav in 2001 and soon began running its operations. Freund sent teams of Jewish educators to Bnei Menashe communities in the Indian provinces of Manipur and Mizoram to teach Orthodox Jewish law and a right-wing narrative of Israeli history. Lhundgim said he was told that the West Bank, along with the entire land of Israel, belongs to the Jews. Amishav settled the initial groups of Bnei Menashe immigrants in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, including hundreds in Kiryat Arba, the Israeli settlement adjacent to Hebron. Yirmiyahu Lhundgim, 62, David’s cousin, who immigrated to Kiryat Arba in 1999, says Amishav didn’t teach him to differentiate among the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. “They said it was the land of

Rabbi Zvi Elimelech of Dinov (author of Bnei Yissas’char), cited by Rabbi Gil Rosen (http://irshalem. blogspot.co.il/2012/01/power-of-prayer.html) among others, suggests a very simple, yet profound, answer. In the course of delivering the blessing to Ephraim and Menashe, Jacob places his right hand, which is understood to be the stronger and better arm, on the head of Ephraim, the younger son, and his left and weaker hand on the head of Menashe, the older one. While this disturbs Joseph, we do not find that either of the brothers expresses anger or anguish. The constant fraternal envy that has been haunting the family for generations seems to finally be over. When Jacob sees that these two grandchildren get along, he declares that these two are to be role models for all time. According to this explanation, the reason Ephraim and Menashe merit the Jews using them in a blessing is that they have an admirable and extremely important character trait – brotherly love. Their relationship with each other is outstanding. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin (https://web.archive.org/ web/19990821072431/http://shamash.org/tanach/tanach/ commentary/ravriskin/vayigash.riskin.90) sees the eternal relevance of Ephraim and Menashe differently. He suggests that there are two basic approaches to preserving minority identity when faced with a majority culture. One approach is to isolate ourselves and live a very insular existence. This is the strategy of Joseph’s brothers. The other possibility is to share our vision with all nations and cultures in a fearless manner, encountering opposing or secular systems confidently. This is the path of Joseph. Rabbi Riskin points out that few of us are presented in our lives with the issues and challenges of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – we do not need to “discover” God, or undergo a binding, or build a nation. However, we do face the challenges of Joseph and – even more so – of Ephraim and Menashe, the first of the tribes who are neither born nor die in the land of Israel, and for whom the land is but a cultural memory. They are the first exilic Jews who must consciously choose to be Jewish. They live in a culture full of tombs, pyramids, sexual immorality and animal gods. Ephraim and Menashe are fully integrated in Egypt. Yet they remain Jacob’s loyal descendants. To paraphrase an old song, “If they can make it there, they’ll make it anywhere.” It is the challenge of Joseph, Ephraim and Menashe that Jews have faced throughout the exile. We bless our children to be like them – children of the Diaspora who nevertheless choose Judaism. According to this explanation, the reason Ephraim and Menashe merit the Jews using them in a blessing is that they have an admirable and extremely important ability – preserving identity and devotion to God. Their relationship with the community and the Divine is outstanding. May we all be blessed, like Ephraim and Menashe, with excellence and success in our relationships on the interpersonal, communal and divine realms. Dr. Yocheved Engelberg Cohen and her husband, Rabbi Uri, were the first couple of the Syracuse Kollel. They now live in Ramat Beit Shemesh, where Yocheved translates professionally from Hebrew to English. Continued from page 1

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar greeted members of the Bnei Menashe in Givat Haviva, an Israeli absorption center where they lived while undergoing conversion to Judaism. (Photo by Ben Sales) Israel, so we would live anywhere,” he said. “We didn’t know anything about it.” In 2002, author and translator Hillel Halkin wrote a book about the group called “Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel.” He concluded that though the group may have had distant Jewish ancestry, none of their recent forebears were Jews. “What is specious is the myth that these people in northeast India for generations lived Jewish lives,” Halkin told JTA. “They were animists. They were not monotheists and did not practice anything remotely resembling Judaism.”

At a 2003 Knesset hearing, Labor Knesset member Ophir Pines-Paz accused Amishav of “turning these people into sacrifices of Israeli right-wing policies.” Later that year, Poraz suspended the Bnei Menashe’s immigration. In 2005, then Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar endorsed the Bnei Menashe’s claim to Jewish ancestry. Immigration resumed the following year, but the newcomers were settled in northern Israel rather than the West Bank. “We wanted to make it clear that there was no hidden political agenda,” said Freund. Freund claims that Shavei is apolitical, but some of its activities suggest it has a right-wing agenda. A 2012 trip of Poles of Jewish descent organized by Shavei visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a mostly Arab city in the West Bank, and spent Shabbat in Mitzpeh Yericho, a settlement deep in the West Bank. Freund says such tours are meant to show participants the land of Israel and Jewish historical sites. Settling early Bnei Menashe arrivals in Kiryat Arba was a practical rather than ideological decision; Freund wanted them in a religious environment and Kiryat Arba was willing to accept them even though they had not yet formally converted. If Freund’s objective is to make faithful Jews out of the Bnei Menashe, he may well be succeeding. David Lhundgim is a practicing Orthodox Jew who studies daily in a yeshiva. He has heard the doubts cast on the Bnei Menashe, but like the rockets that occasionally fall around him, they do not shake his faith. “The whole goal was to come to Israel,” he said. “Every Jew needs to know that the essence is to return. A person who thinks that exile is OK has a mental disorder.”

DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774 ■

obituaries Ruth Elberger Fleischer

Ruth Elberger Fleischer, of Watertown, MA, died on November 17. She started Watertown Together, an organization of neighbors helping neighbors with services, so elderly community members can stay in their homes. She served as president and helped secure the organization’s first grant. She also worked at Boston College as an information and program specialist for the National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services, an organization that assists other organizations that offer services to people with disabilities. She previously served as the director at a training and consulting firm, Knowledge Management at the Forum Corporation, where she directed all knowledge management efforts within the global corporation. She started her career as the school psychologist with Brookline Public Schools. She is survived by her husband of 15 years, David L. Fleischer; a child, Evan; her parents, Shalom and Liba Elberger; a sister, Anna Elberger; and her in-laws, Lionel Fleischer, and Phyllis Edelstein Carr and Richard Carr, of Manlius. Levine Chapels in Brookline, MA, had arrangements. Contributions may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Breast Cancer Research, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445. 

JEWISH OBSERVER

NEWS digest From JTA

Netanyahu: “Cold peace” with Palestinians necessitates Israeli security force

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the case for a continued Israeli security presence in the West Bank even if his country reaches an accord with the Palestinians. “Any peace we have is likely to be initially a cold peace,” Netanyahu said in an address delivered via satellite to the Saban Forum, an annual gathering in Washington of Israel and U.S. persons of influence. A deal coming out of the current talks between Israel and the Palestinians must allow “Israel to defend itself by itself,” he said. “Those security arrangements must be based on Israel’s own forces.” Netanyahu’s statement comported with a retreat in U.S. expectations of a final status agreement next year, made clear at the same forum over the Dec. 8 weekend, where President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry each said that Israeli security concerns necessitated a continued Israeli presence in the West Bank during a transitional phase. Palestinian negotiators have said that a continued Israeli security presence is a deal breaker, although they are open to an international security force. Netanyahu pushed back again against claims by Obama,

Kerry and others that new Iran sanctions would derail talks between the major powers and Iran aimed at ending Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program. “We shouldn’t assume that more and tougher sanctions won’t lead to a better deal,” a specific repudiation of Obama’s claim over the Dec. 8 weekend, although Netanyahu did not name Obama. Netanyahu said a failure to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capability would upend not only the Israeli-Palestinian talks but also could unsettle Israel’s peace deals with Egypt and Jordan. Netanyahu’s appearance was to have been in the form of an interview with the journalist Charlie Rose; instead, he decided to give a short speech. Netanyahu, as Obama did, affirmed that the two leaders have a strong and positive relationship. “Sometimes we differ because we have these different perspectives, but we always share our views honestly sincerely and respectfully,” the Israeli leader said. “I don’t know if there are any other two leaders of the world today who speak more openly and more frequently on such matters.”

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Marian S. Lavine

Marian S. Lavine, 93, of Syracuse, died on December 9. Born in Latvia, she emigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1921 and settled in Syracuse. She graduated from Oswego State Teachers College, where she earned her degree in teaching, and then graduated from New York University, where she earned her master’s degree in counseling. She also attended Albany State University and Columbia University. Her early years teaching were spent in Hudson, NY, and then in Elmira, NH, where she started her counseling work. She worked as a counselor at Jericho High School on Long Island, where she was department chair for many years. She retired from her Jericho position in 1975. She was a member of the New York State Teachers Association, the National Educational Association and the Long Island Guidance and Personnel Association. After retiring, she was a member of the New York State Retired Teachers Association, the New York State United Teachers, the Retired Teachers in Florida and AARP. More recently, she spent much of her time as a volunteer member of the literary campaign in Broward County, FL, teaching adult students to read. She spent her early years in Syracuse; retired to Lauderhill, FL; and, in 2008, returned to live at The Oaks of DeWitt. She is survived by many nieces and nephews. Burial was in the Chevra Shas Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements. Contributions may be made to Menorah Park, 4101 Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13214. 

Morton Miller

Morton Miller, 90, of Syracuse, died on November 28 at Crouse Hospital. A lifelong resident of Syracuse, he was a graduate of Central Technical High School and Washington Radio Institute. He was a U.S. Army tech sergeant and served four years in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. He was an officer in Onondaga Post 131 of the Jewish War Veterans. For many years he worked as a technician for Philco and later was assistant chief engineer and engineering supervisor at WNYS-TV 9. He was a life member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. An avid fisherman and woodworker, he was a member of Temple Adath Yeshurun. He is survived by his wife, Muriel; two sons, Howard, of Santa Fe, NM, and Michael, of Chestnut Ridge, NY; a daughter, Deborah Clair, of Havertown, PA; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson. Burial was in Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements. 

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Marion Rosenfeld Speer

Marion Speer, 81, died on November 17 at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, she lived 32 years in Syracuse before relocating to Las Vegas in 1994. She was an accomplished Mah Jongg player, who loved to bake and cook. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Howard; four sons, Alan, Burt (Amy), David (Lisa) and Stan (Andrea), of Manlius; a sister, Leah; and 11 grandchildren. Burial was in Palm Memorial Park-Northwest, Las Vegas, NV. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society. 

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ DECEMBER 12, 2013/9 TEVET 5774

NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA

Cuban Jewish leaders meet with Alan Gross

Cuban Jewish leaders who met with Alan Gross said the imprisoned American-Jewish contractor “was in better spirits.” Havana community President Adela Dworkin and vice president David Prinstein met with Gross on the last day of Chanukah, Dec. 5, two days after Gross marked his fourth year in jail in Cuba, according to the Associated Press, citing a statement from the Beth Shalom Temple in Havana. The Cuban Jewish leaders have met with Gross for other Jewish holidays throughout his imprisonment. “During the encounter we could see that he was in better spirits, more physically recovered,” the statement reportedly said. Gross, 64, a subcontractor for the State Department on a mission to hook up Cuba’s small Jewish community to the Internet, was arrested in December 2009 as he was leaving Cuba. The Maryland resident is serving a 15-year sentence for “crimes against the state. Gross says he has lost 100 pounds since his imprisonment and suffers from painful arthritis. He reportedly leaves his shared cell once a day for one hour. In a letter sent earlier in December, Gross asked President Barack Obama to personally help secure his release. The Cuban government has indicated that it wants the United States to allow the return to Cuba of five spies in prison or on probation in the U.S. in return for negotiations on Gross. Jewish and faith groups, and Gross’ wife, Judy, demonstrated on behalf of Gross last week at Lafayette Park outside the White House along with officials from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.

Nelson Mandela dies at 95

Nelson Mandela, the revolutionary South African leader who forged close ties with his country’s Jews in his fight to dismantle the apartheid regime, has died. Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, was 95. The current president, Jacob Zuma, announced his death on Dec. 5. Throughout his struggle against his apartheid, including 27 years imprisonment, Mandela found allies among that country’s Jewish community. “I have found Jews to be more broad-minded than most whites on issues of race and politics, perhaps because they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice,” Mandela once wrote. There were tensions between Mandela and the Jewish establishment over his African National Congress’ alliance with the Palestine Liberation Organization. After his election in 1994, however, Mandela sought out Jewish leaders and embraced them, making clear he saw a thriving Jewish community as essential to his country’s well-being. Mandela visited Israel and the Palestinian areas in 1999. In both cases, he confronted and complimented his hosts, telling Israelis he sympathized with Palestinian aspirations for statehood, and Palestinians that he understood the fears of Israelis, considering years of Arab rhetoric that countenanced the elimination of Israel. Jewish groups mourned his passing, with statements from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish World Service and B’nai B’rith International coming in the minutes after the announcement of his death. “Nelson Mandela was a modern-day prophet for human dignity whose voice was heard around the world, and he inspired me and millions of other Jews with his message of equality for all,” Ruth Messinger, the AJWS president, said in a statement. “May his memory be a blessing.”

Venice court upholds expulsion of KKK leader David Duke

A court in Venice upheld a decision by Italian authorities to expel former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke from the country. The decision, issued on Dec. 5 on the heels of Duke’s expulsion by police in the northern province of Belluno, said Duke planned “to establish an organization aiming to exterminate the black and Jewish races in Europe.” In expelling Duke, Belluno authorities were upholding a Swiss travel and residency ban on the KKK chief dating from 2009 that was valid in Italy.

Survivors

deriding them as passive and weak. The Dorner Report, a 2008 government study on public assistance to survivors, charged that “as they built, developed and defended the land... successive governments of Israel neglected the right of survivors to personal reparations.” Klinsky says attitudes have changed and Israelis now respect the resiliency of Holocaust survivors. The government also has dedicated $1 billion in additional funding to survivors over the past four years. Recently elected Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who often references his father’s Holocaust experience, has added about $28 million in aid to survivors annually over the next five years. “The state of Israel is trying to aid them to not only die with respect, but to to live with respect,” said Menachem Wagshel, the Social Welfare and Social Services Ministry’s coordinator for Holocaust survivors. “We need to look at the coming years as critical, when we can still assist them to give them the best care.” Among the challenges facing the government in meeting that commitment is defining just who qualifies as a Holocaust survivor. Following the Dorner Report, the government expanded its definition to include those who escaped or performed forced labor, doubling the number of recognized survivors. Klinsky and Wagshel are now formulating for the first time a unified list of Israeli survivors that they hope to finish within two years. Wagshel also is creating a government office that will handle all survivor concerns, consolidating a sprawling apparatus. One potential beneficiary of all that is Ruth Eizenberg, who escaped from Kiev to

Continued from page 7 the Ural Mountains as a child, arriving in Israel in 1972. Eizenberg, 79, has asthma and trouble walking. She lives in a fifth-floor walkup in Jerusalem. A government-funded caretaker who visited her twice weekly was dismissed recently because, Eizenberg said, a nurse misjudged her ability to live unassisted. Eizenberg is requesting the caretaker’s return, but thus far without success. “It’s hard for me to get home,” she said. “I can barely get into the bath.” Eizenberg’s most reliable help comes from Yedida Freilich, 25, a student who visits once a week as part of Adopt-a-Safta, a volunteer program founded in 2012 to provide company for lonely survivors. During her last visit, Freilich helped Eizenberg acquire a cane from Yad Sarah, a nonprofit that aids the disabled and elderly. “When you know you’re seeing the same person on the same day at the same hour, it gives structure to a life that is otherwise inactive,” said Jay Schultz, Adopt-a-Safta’s founder. “It’s a more healthy social and mental environment for the survivor.” Another new initiative to address survivor loneliness is a community center founded two years ago in a bomb shelter in central Jerusalem. In newly renovated rooms, the center hosts holiday celebrations, lectures and activities for 120 regular attendees. Jakobovitz frequents a similar center in Tel Aviv. The programing is nice, he says, but the government needs to take more responsibility. “I want to rest,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of demands. I’d like to live a little better, to go into a store and buy a shirt or shoes that are comfortable. I know this is my last stop and I’m too old to want. I don’t need money to spend, just to live.”

The Italian province’s authorities described Duke as “socially dangerous for his racist and antisemitic views.” Duke had been living in a mountain village near Belluno since 2011. He allegedly used a false name, Ernest, to enter Italy on a study visa. Police discovered his true identity when he tried to renew his residency permit. “We commend the police and the judiciary in Italy for recognizing that David Duke is a dangerous antisemite and racist who poses a serious threat to civil society,” Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. “His recent attempts to establish a neo-Nazi group in Europe are only a continuation of his four-decade-long crusade to spread his hateful racist ideology in the U.S. and around the world.” Italian authorities have cracked down recently on neo-Nazi extremists. In November, police raided the homes of suspected members of the Stormfront white supremacist Internet site.

Turkish students held at Auschwitz museum for alleged Nazi salute

Two Turkish tourists were detained by guards at the Auschwitz museum for appearing to make a Nazi salute. The tourists, a man and a woman, both 22, were taking pictures of each other in front of the gate to the former Nazi death camp under the iconic sign “Arbeit macht frei,” or work makes you free, and raised their right hands in the gesture of a Nazi salute. Both are studying history in Budapest. They had stopped at a hotel in Krakow and before making their visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum. “They probably will be accused of public promotion of Nazi symbols,” which is illegal in Poland, police spokesman Mariusz Ciarka told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper. If found guilty of the charge, they could be facing two years in prison. In October, two other students from Turkey made similar gestures at the museum at Majdanek at a group of Israeli students. Accused of promoting a fascist regime and insulting Jews, the Turkish students could be facing up to three years in prison.

German court: Accused Nazi war criminal unfit for trial

Accused Nazi war criminal Hans Lipschis was released from custody in Germany after being diagnosed with dementia. The arrest warrant against Lipschis, 94, was canceled on Dec. 6 due to a psychiatrist’s determination that the alleged former SS guard at Auschwitz was suffering from the early stages of the illness and therefore might not sufficiently understand and respond to the charges against him, according to reports. Lipschis had been held in the Hohenasperg prison hospital near Stuttgart since May on charges of complicity in hundreds of murders at the Nazi death camp. A state court in Germany must decide if a trial should take place, reportedly depending on Lipschis’ state of health. At the time of his arrest, Lipschis was called one of the 10 most wanted Nazis in a report by Zeit Online newspaper. In April, he told the German newspaper Die Welt Am Sonntag that he was in Auschwitz “as a cook the whole time.” Lipschis, a native of Lithuania, reportedly moved to Chicago in 1956. He was stripped of his American citizenship and deported in 1982 after U.S. immigration authorities determined that he had lied about his Nazi past in order to gain entry into the country. His arrest in Germany last spring followed the release of information to German courts on about 50 former Auschwitz guards. All the suspects are approximately 90 years old.

Study: Companies with Israel ties added $6.2 billion to Mass. economy

Companies with connections to Israel contributed $6.2 billion to the Massachusetts economy last year, a new study found. The study, released on Dec. 5, was conducted by the consulting firm Stax and supported by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. It found that, when accounting for other business spending, the full economic impact of companies with Israel ties contribute $11.9 to the state economy. Revenues from this sector are growing three times as fast as the overall state economy. “Massachusetts has become a home away from home for Israel’s innovation economy,” Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said. The rapid growth is a bright spot in the state, which is home to more than 200 companies with ties to Israel, up from 78 three years ago, according to the report. The businesses, which range from information technology to life sciences and software, employed more than 6,600 people in 2012. Israeli entrepreneurs are attracted to Massachusetts because of its high concentration of top tier academic and research institutions, a highly educated workforce, access to venture capital and concentration of high technology industries, the study found. The higher education factor is evident in the fact that nearly one-third of the Israeli-founded companies were started by Israeli alumni of Massachusetts colleges, the study says.

Ukraine announces plans for Jewish tourist routes

Ukrainian authorities announced plans to improve travel to Jewish pilgrimage sites. “The route will include about 10 places of worship in the Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Poltava and Khmelnitsky regions,” the cabinet of the governor of the Cherkasy region, Sergei Tulub, said in a statement to the daily Vesti. Ukraine has hundreds of graves of rabbinic figures, including the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chasidic movement who is buried in Medzhybizh. “Conditions will be created to improve the safety and quality of service, while meeting the needs of pilgrims’ travel services,” the governor’s office wrote. In much of Ukraine, public transportation relies on Soviet-era buses and narrow roads lacking in stops and restrooms. Shimon Buskila, a figure in the Breslov Chasidic movement, told JTA he was contacted by regional authorities to help with designing the network. “There is a lot of willingness, but the people responsible for constructing the network naturally have limited knowledge of Judaism, and even less understanding of Chasidic history,” he said. According to Buskila, who lives in the central Ukrainian city of Uman, some 75,000 Jews arrive annually to visit the grave of the founder of the Breslov movement, Rabbi Nachman, who was buried in the city in 1810. Of those, 30,000 make the pilgrimage on Rosh Hashanah. “The authorities realize that this could be a source of income,” Buskila said.

Israeli developer of swallowable camera bought for $860 million

An Irish company will purchase Given Imaging Ltd., an Israeli firm that developed a swallowable camera to diagnose problems in the digestive tract. Covidien Plc agreed to acquire Given Imaging from shareholders of IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. for about $860 million, it was reported on Dec. 8. Given Imaging is the inventor of the PillCam, a swallowed optical endoscopy technology. Covidien acquired three other Israeli medical device companies, all in 2012, according to the Israeli business daily Globes. IDB subsidiaries Discount Investment Corp., Elron Electronic Industries and Rafael Development Corp. hold stakes in Given Imaging. The three companies were set to approve the deal on Dec. 8. The deal also must be approved by shareholders of Given Imaging. Given Imaging is expecting to be approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration next year to sell PillCam Colon in the United States, according to Haaretz.