March 5, 2015 Jewish Observer

14 ADAR 5775 • MARCH 5, 2015 • VOLUME XXXIV, NUMBER 5 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

Federation thank you event to feature Pulitzer Prize winner Lichtblau to speak about “The Nazis Next Door”

By Marianne Bazydlo The Jewish Federation of Central New York will hold an Annual Campaign “Thank You” event for donors on Wednesday, March 25, from 7-8:30 pm, at Traditions at the Links. Eric Lichtblau, Syracuse native and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, will speak about his book “The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men.” All donors to the 2015 campaign have been invited as guests of the Federation.

An hors d’oeuvre and dessert reception supervised by the Syracuse Va’ad Ha’ir will begin at 7 pm, followed by Lichtblau’s talk.

Lichtblau is an investigative reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, where he writes about national

security, money and politics, States after World War II and law enforcement and a range of quietly settled into new lives. other national issues. Lichtblau They had little trouble getting is a graduate of Jamesvillein. With scant scrutiny, many DeWitt schools and graduated gained entry on their own as from Cornell University in 1987 self-styled war “refugees,” their with a double major in governpasts disguised and their war ment and English. He served crimes forgotten; but some had help and protection from the as a fellow at the United States United States government. The Holocaust Memorial Museum Eric Lichtblau CIA, the FBI and the military Mandel Center for Advanced all put Hitler’s minions to work Holocaust Studies.

Relying on newly disclosed documents as spies, intelligence assets and leading and interviews with participants in this scientists and engineers, whitewashing chapter of postwar history, in his book their histories.

For the first time, once-secret govLichtblau tells the story of how America ernment records and interviews tell the became a refuge for Hitler’s men.

Thousands of Nazis – from concentra- full story not only of the Nazi scientists tion camp guards to high-level officers brought to America, but of the German in the Third Reich – came to the United spies and con men who followed them and

lived for decades as Americans entrenched in their communities. Today, a few Nazis still remain on American soil.

Lichtblau and his partner at The New York Times, James Risen, won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for breaking the story of the secret wiretapping program authorized by President George W. Bush weeks after the September 11 attacks. Lichtblau has also written investigative pieces on political corruption scandals, the Wikileaks files and the Edward Snowden-NSA revelations.

For information, to make a reservation or to a pledge, contact Marianne Bazydlo at 445-2040, ext 102, or mbazydlo@jewishfederationcny.org. Community members will have an opportunity to make a 2015 pledge at the event. Reservations will be held at the door.

Yom Hashoah essay and art competition

By Judith Stander The Jewish Federation of Central New York is accepting entries for the 2015 Yom Hashoah essay contest at three levels: middle and high school students, and adults. Entries at all levels have also been encouraged for the Yom Hashoah art competition. Deadline for entries for both categories is noon on Tuesday, March 31.

Anything submitted after this date cannot be considered.

The theme for this year’s Yom Hashoah competitions is “Why I should continue to learn about the Holocaust.”

Contest entrants should write an essay or a short story about a factual or fictional experience of an individual or family af-

fected by the Holocaust, with a timeline reflecting the period before World War II began, the war years or the years immediately after the war, covering a span from approximately 1937-1945. While fiction can be used, participants should try to be as factually accurate as possible.

Art entries can be any medium.

Organizers feel that remembrance obligates people to memorialize those who were killed and to reflect on how they could have been saved. Survivors have said that, as many faced their deaths, their last words were, “Remember us. Tell our story.” Survivors promised that they would remember and that the world would “never again” stand silent or look the other way.

Cash prizes of $50 will be awarded to first place winners in each section and $25 will be awarded to the second place winners in each section. In the art competition, there will be one first place prize of $50 and one second place prize of $25. Sponsors of this year’s awards include the Berg family, Birnbaum Funeral Services, Hillel at Syracuse University, Victoria Forman Kohl, the Mendel family, the Small family and the Jewish War Veterans Post #131.

Essays should be no longer than 500 words, accompanied by a cover sheet with contact information. Art pieces should be less than 10 pounds and generally no bigger than 36 inches by 48 inches. Es-

says may be sent electronically to Judith Stander at jstander@jewishfederationcny. org, or mailed or hand-delivered to Judith Stander, Jewish Federation of Central New York, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt, NY 13214. Art pieces must be hand-delivered by the deadline. For a copy of the guidelines for each contest, contact Stander at 445-0161, ext. 114, or jstander@jewishfederationcny.org.

Brandeis Baruch Society to meet March 15 campaign

By Marianne Bazydlo The Brandeis Baruch Society of the Jewish Federation of Central New York will host a get-together on Sunday, March 15, at 3:30 pm, at the Everson Museum of Art. Michael J. Balanoff will speak about his new work with Legal Services of Central New York.

The Federation’s Brandeis Baruch Society recognizes business, financial and legal professionals in the local Jewish community. The requisite for membership is a minimum family pledge of $1,000 to the Annual Campaign.

Brandeis Baruch Chair Bruce Smith said, “This is an opportunity for friends, colleagues and Federation supporters to get together in an interesting venue and learn about an important local institution that many of us may not be familiar with.”

Guests will have the opportunity to participate in a free, guided tour of the exhibition, “Prendergast to Pollack: American Modernism,” from the Munson-

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Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, touches the lives of so many which features 35 masterworks, who are under represented in from 2:30-3:30 pm. our judicial and bureaucratic Balanoff is an attorney who systems.” practiced commercial law for The event will be catered more than 40 years. In October,

by The Oaks and supervised he retired from that practice by the Syracuse Va’ad Ha’ir. and gave up his partnership at For more information, contact Bousquet Holstein PLLC to Marianne Bazydlo at 445-2040, start a new career as director of ext. 102, or mbazydlo@jewishdevelopment at Legal Services federationcny.org. Anyone in of Central New York, a law firm the business, financial or legal that provides free civil legal Michael Balanoff professions who is considering services to low-income families raising his or her family pledge and individuals. Its mission is to protect to $1,000 and becoming a member of the clients’ fundamental rights and provide Brandeis Baruch Society is welcome to them access to the justice system. attend to learn more about the Society.

Balanoff said, “LSCNY enables our clients to receive hope, dignity and a greater ability to advocate effectively for C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A themselves and their communities. The March 6....................5:42 pm......................................................... Parasha-Ki Tisa firm’s mission was the compelling factor March 13..................6:50 pm..........................................Parasha-Vayakel-Pekudai in my decision to make this career change, and help an organization that effectively March 20..................6:59 pm.........................................................Parasha-Vayikra

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Storytelling

Hockey night

IDF wounded vets

SAJE will host a storytelling event JCC Night will be held at the The Golshim L’Chaim program for pre-kindergarten-seventh Syracuse Crunch hockey game brings wounded IDF veterans to on March 21. grades on March 22.

Aspen to learn how to ski.

Story on page 5 Story on page 3 Story on page 7

PLUS Senior Living............................ 7 Calendar Highlights............. 10 B’nai Mitzvah......................... 10 Obituaries................................11

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ march 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775

UC Berkeley student government unanimously passes bill condemning antisemitism

By JNS staff JNS.org Associated Students of the University of California, the student government at University of California, Berkeley, on Wednesday passed a bill condemning antisemitism in a unanimous 20-0 vote.

The bill details a history of antisemitic incidents in the 10-school UC system throughout the past five years and states that the ASUC “should respect the right of the Jewish students at UC Berkeley to define, within the guidelines of the nation-

ally recognized definition put forth by the United States State Department, what is and is not antisemitism, in the same manner in which other communities are granted that right.” The State Department said, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions, and religious facilities.”

“As a brother of [the Jewish fraternity] AEPi, I saw the horrible antisemitic actions that occurred [last month] at our UC Davis chapter, where swastikas were spray-painted on their house, as well as discrimination against a Jewish student within the UCLA student government,” said ASUC Senator Ori Herschmann, the bill’s sponsor. “It’s extremely important for the ASUC and student governments alike to actively fight antisemitism and make sure all Jewish students feel safe on campus.”

Herschmann’s mention of UCLA refers

to a recent incident – also described in the bill’s text – in which Jewish student Rachel Beyda, who was vying for membership on the school’s undergraduate Judicial Board, was asked by a student government member, “Given that you’re a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community... how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view in your position?” The ensuing student government debate about Beyda centered on whether her Jewish affiliation created a “conflict of interest.”

Survey: Israelis pay Palestinian workers double the wages of P.A. and Gaza employers

By JNS staff JNS.org A European Union-funded survey conducted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics between October and December shows that Palestinians working in Israeli-controlled territory earn more than double the wages of Palestinians working in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of the West Bank.

In Israeli-controlled areas, the average

daily wage for Palestinians was 194.2 shekels, while in P.A.-controlled areas the average daily wage was only 91.4 shekels. Meanwhile, the average wage in Hamas-controlled Gaza was 66.1 shekels a day.

Last September, the P.A.’s official daily newspaper went as far as congratulating Israeli employers for their positive gestures toward Palestinian employees, Palestinian Media Watch reported.

“Whenever Palestinian workers have the opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to quit their jobs with their Palestinian employers – for reasons having to do with salaries and other rights,” the P.A.’s Al-Hayat AlJadida newspaper stated on September 21. “The [Israeli] work conditions are very good, and include transportation, medical insurance and pensions. These things do not exist with Palestinian

employers,” the newspaper added.

About 105,200 Palestinians were employed by Israelis by the end of 2014. Among that group, 20,200 are working beyond the 1949 armistice line (Green Line). About a quarter – 26.5 percent – of Palestinians in the workforce were unemployed at that time.

To see the results of the survey, visit the PCBS at www.pcbs.gov.ps.

Israel and Jordan sign “historic” agreement to replenish Dead Sea

By JNS staff JNS.org The governments of Israel and Jordan have signed a major agreement to build a desalination plant near the Jordanian tourist resort of Akaba, with the goal of working together to replenish the Dead Sea. Through the “Red-Dead” agreement, water that remains highly salty after going through the desalination process will be transferred to the Dead Sea, whose water is known for its saltiness.

of Central New York

Syracuse Office

The Dead Sea in Israel. (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)

Al-Jazeera retracts, apologizes for false story on Gaza flooding

By JNS staff JNS.org The Al-Jazeera network retracted and issued an apology for a story that claimed Israel purposely opened up dams in southern Israel that caused severe flooding in Gaza on February 23.

Al-Jazeera posted on its website, “Editor’s note: An earlier version of this page hosted an article which stated that Israel had, without warning, opened a number of dams, which had resulted in a part of Gaza being flooded. This was false. In southern Israel, there are no dams of the type which can be opened. We apologize for this error.”

The French wire service Agence France-Presse posted a similar story and video headlined “Gaza village floods after Israel opens dam gates,” also making the

claim that Israel intentionally flooded Gaza by opening dams. While AFP has taken down its video and story, it has not issued an apology.

The Daily Mail posted a similar apology, but did not retract its article on the subject.

In actuality, the flooding in Gaza was the result of heavy winter rains and drainage issues in the region.

“The claim is entirely false, and southern Israel does not have any dams. Due to the recent rain, streams were flooded throughout the region with no connection to actions taken by the state of Israel,” an Israeli spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories told the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America media watchdog group.

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Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom visited Jordan on Thursday for an official ceremony that marked the signing of the Israel-Jordan agreement.

“This is a historic agreement,” Shalom said, the Times of Israel reported. “Today we realize the vision of Binyamin Ze’ev Herzl, the visionary of the state, who already at the end of the 19th century understood the need to revive the Dead Sea. This is the most important and significant agreement since the peace treaty was signed with Jordan [in 1994].”

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MARCH 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK SHDS presents Purim musical on March 11

By Lori Tenenbaum The Syracuse Hebrew Day School drama club, under the direction of Jim Kerr-Whitt, will present a comical Purim musical on Wednesday, March 11, at 7 pm, at Temple Concord. “They Cast Lots!” is an original retelling of the Megillat Esther written by local composers Eric Gould and Jonathan and Aveeya Dinkin. The doors will open at 6:30 pm.

Presented in years past to a paying audience, “They

Cast Lots!” will be presented this year free of charge to all members of the Jewish community. Donations toward future drama club endeavors will be welcome.

Production numbers in the fully-staged performance will include such songs as “Kick the Queen Out,” “What to Do about the Jews” and “Bye-Bye Haman.”

“It will be a very enjoyable evening for young and old,” said Kerr-Whitt. “This is Jewish family entertainment at its finest.”

SAJE storytelling for religious schools

Syracuse-Area Jewish Educators will host a communitywide storytelling event for pre-kindergarten-seventh grades on Sunday, March 22, from 9 am-noon, at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas. The event will be for the children of all of the local religious schools, as well as the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and any unaffiliated children in the age group.

Storyteller Judith Black (http://storiesalive.com), of Boston, will share her artistry and stories, as well as provide opportunities for the students to interpret their own stories. The purpose of the program is to bring together Jewish children from Central New York for a morning of Jewish learning; while also providing an opportunity for social interaction. SAJE consists of representatives from all of the local Jewish educational organizations.

For more information, contact SAJE president Cantor Paula Pepperstone at epsteincny@gmail.com. The event is funded by a grant from the Community Grant Program of the Jewish Federation of Central New York.

S E N I L D A DE Deadlines for all articles and photos for the Jewish Observer are as follows. No exceptions will be made.

DEADLINE The Syracuse Hebrew Day School drama club will present a Purim musical, “The Cast Lots!” on March 11, at 7 pm, at Temple Concord.

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center senior dining menu March 9-13 Monday – macaroni and cheese Tuesday – stuffed cabbage Wednesday – pulled barbecue chicken Thursday – meatloaf with gray Friday – apricot chicken March 16-20 Monday – baked ziti Tuesday – chicken rollatini Wednesday – parmesan-encrusted tilapia Thursday – Swedish meatballs with egg noodles Friday – honey-glazed chicken The Bobbi Epstein Lewis JCC Senior Adult Dining Program at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center offers Va’ad Ha’ir-supervised kosher lunches served Monday-Friday at noon. Reservations are required by

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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. To attend, one need not be Jewish or a member of the JCC. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Leesa Paul at 445-2360, ext. 104, or lpaul@jccsyr.org.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ march 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775

congregational notes Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas CBS-CS bowling night The Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas Sisterhood and Men’s Club will sponsor a couples bowling night on Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 pm, at BowlMor, 201 Highland Ave., East Syracuse.

For more information, contact Rachael Porter at kerafam@gmail.com. Both groups function to provide educational, social and community-building opportunities.

Men’s Club Shabbat The Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas Men’s Club will hold its annual Men’s Club Shabbat On Saturday, March 21. It will lead the service for the morning and have honors at the Torah and throughout the service. The kiddush following services will be sponsored by the Men’s Club.

The CBS-CS Men’s Club is said to play “a vital role” within the congregation. It organizes the ushers for the High Holidays; ensures that the books for the High Holidays are changed over each year; builds the congregational sukkah; gives candlesticks or kiddush cups to each b’nai mitzvah; co-sponsors, with the Youth Committee, an annual summer picnic; does the barbecuing at the annual BackTo-Shul barbecue each Labor Day; and sponsors breakfasts and other programs throughout the year on different topics.

For more information, contact Men’s Club President Tony Kenneson-Adams at aka@twcny.rr.com.

Shabbat Services March 13 and 14 There will be two special Shabbat services from Friday-Saturday, March 13-14. Cantor Robert Lieberman will lead a service, with Jonathan Dinkin on piano, on March 13 at 6 pm. This special service

Temple Adath Yeshurun

occurs three times annually.

Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas teens will participate in “It’s Cool to Daven in Shul,” a service when post-b’nai mitzvah youth lead the service and give the d’var Torah, on March 14. In addition, CBS-CS sixth-grade students who attend the Syracuse Hebrew Day School will read Torah that morning.

During the winter break camp at the Temple Adath Yeshurun Rothschild Early Childhood Center, Emily Wilcox (left) and Luca Grifasi worked on a blanket to be donated to Vera House. Five blankets were made by the campers attending the program. Also during the week, the children made a “get-well” mural for Golisano Children’s Hospital; as well as drawings and letters for soldiers serving in the armed forces. The theme for the winter break camp was “random acts of kindness” and, each day, the children participated in a different act of tikkun olam.

Temple Concord Steffi Bergman displayed some of the ingredients in her moussaka casserole that she entered into the third annual Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas cook-off. Each year, the cook-off is part of the congregation’s Volunteer Recognition Shabbat, a service when everyone who has given of their time and talents throughout the past year is recognized and thanked.

L-r: Marilyn Frankel, Rachael Porter, Caleb Porter, Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone and Marc Beckman made hamantashen in the Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas kitchen for the mishloach manot (Purim baskets) that go to all congregational members, CBS-CS college students and clients of Syracuse Jewish Family Service.

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Sisterhood Tea The Temple Concord Sisterhood will hold a “Tea” on Sunday, March 8, at 9:30 am, in the synagogue’s social hall.

There will be a light kosher-style breakfast. Guest entertainer will be “Amelia Earhart.” There will be no fee for the event and the public has been invited.

Participants are asked to donate gentlyused bras, which will be sent to “Free the Girls,” a program that helps girls escape sex trafficking.

For more information, contact Ellyn Roloff at egr.dec@verizon.net or Fran Volinsky at svolinsk@twcny.rr.com.

Scholar series presents Michael Chaness

By Drew Lovejoy Syracuse University doctoral candidate Michael Chaness will discuss the situations facing American Jews and Native Americans on Tuesday, March 10, at 7 pm. Throughout American history, Jewish customs and memorials have been protected and celebrated. Conversely, Native American customs and memorials have been ignored, shunned or destroyed. Chaness aims to investigate these contradictory responses by American society, along with possible solutions. He will conclude the program with a discussion of possible partnerships between the Jewish community and Native Americans.

Chaness arrived at Syracuse University in 2004 to begin his master’s degree and decided to continue with his doctoral degree. His academic expertise includes indigenous religions, modern religious expression among the Haudenosaunee and creation mythology among various religions. Chaness is also a supporter of the Onondaga Land Rights Action.

The Temple Concord Scholars Series is celebrating six years of bringing university professors and other experts into the community discuss a variety of topics. It is made possible through donations to the Temple Concord Learning Fund. The programs are held on Sundays at 11 am or on Tuesdays at 7 pm.

Admission will be free and open to

the public, but donations will be welcome. For more information, contact the synagogue at 475-9952 or office@ templeconcord.org.

Cinemagogue screens “The Golden Pomegranate”

By Drew Lovejoy Temple Concord’s Cinemagogue series will present the film “The Golden Pomegranate” on Saturday, March 14, at 7 pm.

The feature film explores Israel’s creation from the perspective of a Sephardic Jewish family.

“The Golden Pomegranate” is the story of Mazal, a child-bride from Yemen. Told from the perspective of Noa, Mazal’s great-granddaughter, the film explores the dangers of 19th century Jerusalem.

To survive, Mazal clings to her culture and religion.

Temple Concord’s Cinemagogue film series offers a variety of films with Jewish themes, Israeli filmmakers and JewishAmerican stars.

The program will be appropriate for all ages. Admission will be free and open to the public; but donations will be welcome. For more information, contact the synagogue at 475-9952 or office@ templeconcord.org.

Temple Concord hosts Central New York Jazz Trio

By Drew Lovejoy The Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series at Temple Concord will present the Central New York Jazz Trio on Tuesday, March 17, at 7 pm, to teach audiences what makes a jazz song “swing.” The trio, consisting of percussionist Larry Luttinger, Joe Carello on saxophone and Jimmy Cox on keyboards, will use call-and-response numbers and audience participation to make the event educational.

Temple Concord’s Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series is in its 13th year of bringing music and the performing arts to Syracuse.

The program will be appropriate for all ages. Admission will be free and open to the public, but donations will be welcome. For more information, contact the synagogue at 475-9952 or office@ templeconcord.org.

MARCH 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

JCC night at the Syracuse Crunch on March 21 Family and friends of the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center have been invited to see Central New York hockey rivals Syracuse Crunch and the Utica Comets compete on Saturday, March 21, JCC Night. The game will begin at 7 pm at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena in downtown Syracuse.

Tickets are available at a discount and may be purchased at the JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd., DeWitt. They may also be pre-ordered at the reduced rate by calling the Crunch’s Rory Specia at 473-4444, ext. 24.

The March 21 event will see the Syracuse Crunch and Utica Comets meet for the fifth of six games between the

two teams this season. This will be the last game between the two teams held in Syracuse this season, and the contest has been called “one of the fiercest rivalries in the American Hockey League.” Tickets are selling quickly, so those interested in attending have been encouraged to visit the JCC or place an order before it is too late.

Since Utica joined the league last season, the Crunch are said to have played some of its most memorable games against the Comets, including a 2-1 victory in November at the Frozen Dome Classic held at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome. The crowd of 30,715 was the largest to ever watch an indoor

Red Cross blood drive at Menorah Park

By Stewart Koenig Menorah Park of Central New York held a Red Cross blood drive on February 9. According to Activities Director Alexandra Ryan, more than 20 blood donations were made. She said, “It’s very important to give our employees a chance to give back to the community and this is a great opportunity.” Menorah Park employees and nonemployees donated.

At right, l-r: Cynthia Ruiz donated blood while Red Cross donor specialist Lee Wall watched over her.

Trent McBain, Red Cross operations specialist, processed a donation and Kayleigha Kline, a C.N.A. at Menorah Park, donated blood.

professional hockey game in the United States.

For more information about JCC Night at the Syracuse Crunch on March 21, contact the JCC at 445-2360 or visit www.jccsyr.org.

PJs for PJ!

During March, PJ Library® will be working on a mitzvah project, PJs for PJ. Participants have been asked to bring in new pajamas to be donated to the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate Medical University.

Among the needed items are new pajamas of all sizes, from babies to adults, as parents sometimes need to spend the night in the hospital. There will be collection bins at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse and Jerome and Phyllis Charney Early Childhood Development Program wings during March.

The PJ Library® is a nationally-acclaimed literacy program started by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that gives free Jewish bedtime stories, CDs and DVDs to families raising Jewish children. The PJ Library Central New York chapter is a program of the JCC and is supported by The Sam Pomeranz Trust, Jewish Federation of Central New York, Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York Teen Funders, 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-8years-old in Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego Counties. For more information and to sign up, visit www.pjlibrary.org or email pjcny@jccsyr.org.

B’nai Israel of Auburn announces 2015 Legacy Fund Award

By Herbert D. Sussman and Judith Stander Funds have been awarded to the Jewish Federation of Central New York through a fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York to help support the scholarship needs of local first-time Jewish campers.

The Legacy Fund of Congregation B’nai Israel of Auburn, NY was created at the Foundation in 2013, when the congregation was forced to close, to honor the synagogue’s 110-year history. The goal is to sponsor Jewish activities and “good works” in Central New

York. In this way, it is believed the remaining assets of the congregation will allow its name to survive and honor members who worked through the years to maintain a Jewish presence in Auburn.

B’nai Israel Congregation was started in 1903 by Jews who had arrived in the Auburn area during the late 1890s.

The congregation grew from conducting services in a borrowed hall to having its own building by 1921. After the Great Depression of the 1930s, the members voted to change its affiliation from Orthodox to Conservative and a section of the Fort Hill Cemetery of Auburn was

The 2015 Israeli election video wars

By Orit Arfa JNS.org Forget pollsters. These days, to get a sense of an Israeli politician’s popularity among the electorate, the place to go is his or her Facebook and YouTube video portals.

Granted, the number of views for a candidate’s video may be slightly less reliable than the latest polling data.

But more and more politicians and political parties are realizing that to promote their respective brands ahead of Israel’s March 17 election, they must utilize a new political weapon: the “viral video.”

If a video’s views are the chosen metric, then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party are leading the polls with the highly popular “Bibi-sitter” ad, which has been featured in The New York Times and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The ad has Netanyahu posing as the only competent “babysitter” to watch over an Israeli couple’s children and property. Exact numbers are difficult to gauge, given that videos are uploaded and re-uploaded on both YouTube and now Facebook, under various accounts and subtitles. But the “Bibi-sitter” video has far exceeded one million total views.

“I think you see a huge jump in resources being invested in the development of online videos in this election versus the last election,” said Avi Abelow, CEO of 12Tribe Films, an organization specializing in pro-Israel video and social media marketing, in addition to running the israelvideonetwork.com video portal.

The Meretz faction has come out with a cheerful music video that has its members, quite literally, partying. Shas came out with a serious “Shkufim (Invisible)” video highlighting the plight of Israel’s “invisible” lowest classes. The Zionist Union – an alliance between Labor head Isaac “Buji” Herzog and Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni – has tried its hand at an animated video about its socialist economic platform, supplementing the dry, broadcast-style soundbites of its other campaign ads.

Likud and Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) have emerged as the fiercest fighters in the video war over

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seats in the 20th Knesset. At times, Netanyahu and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett seem to be competing more for an Academy Award than for the premiership of Israel, with scriptwriters and actors becoming as crucial to their message and image as political strategists.

A pioneer in the field, Bennett had already used creative videos for advocacy when he served as head of the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Bennett launched his recent election campaign with a vignette that casts him in the role of a Tel Aviv hippie apologizing for merely walking down the street, the first video of his “Stop Apologizing” series that opposes perceived left-wing appeasement.

But video views don’t always translate into votes. As Bennett’s videos received buzz, his party lost several mandates, according to the polls. Jewish Home’s more religiously observant candidates expressed disappointment in Bennett’s appointment of a secular soccer player to the party’s list of Knesset candidates.

“You can have a fabulous online video strategy that is succeeding, bringing in more potential voters – and the campaign offline can go wrong, for whatever reason, and erase the gains of the video campaign,” 12Tribe Films’s Abelow told JNS.org.

Shlomo Blass – CEO of Rogatka, an Israeli mediaproduction company specializing in content-driven online campaigns (among its credits is the viral “We Con the World” music parody) – believes Likud’s video campaign has been the most successful one so far on the branding front. “[Netanyahu] is perceived as someone detached, almost not human, living in his bubble, and here you see him as very personable,” Blass told JNS.org.

Bennett’s campaign needed to have a much different effect, according to Blass. “Even though [Bennett’s] clips were pleasant and fun, he came across as a ‘dude,’” Blass said. “You want him to be your best friend, but I think when it comes to how you see him as minister of defense, branding-wise, it wasn’t productive.”

consecrated for the use of B’nai Israel members.

Through the decades, the size and the affiliation rate of the Jewish community in Auburn grew. In 1971, urban renewal purchased the existing property and, in 1973, a new building designed by John Critchley was consecrated. From the air, the new brick building resembled a Star of David, with a cathedral ceiling terminating in a central glass skylight that also had the Star of David as its supporting beams.

In 2011, the board was forced to begin the process of planning for the future, which projected a decline in the growth of the Auburn Jewish population. The property was sold and a philanthropic fund was created to assure the survival of the B’nai Israel name.

Federation President/CEO and Foundation Executive Director Linda Alexander said, “The generosity of this gift from the B’nai Israel Legacy Fund will assure the tradition of ‘l’dor v’dor’ for years to come. This is truly the basis on which Jewish life and experience are built, as we go from generation to generation. We thank the B’nai Israel Legacy Fund for its foresight and its generosity.”

Applications will be processed by the Jewish Federation. For more information, contact Judith Stander at 4450161, ext. 114, or jstander@jewishfederationcny.org.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ march 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775

From tragedy, families of slain Israeli teens create the gift of unity

At the same time, Shaar says, “We don’t

By Jeffrey F. Barken want everyone to think the same.” Frenkel JNS.org agrees, calling disagreements “an essential “In the Diaspora, people say they can’t part” of society. “Those dividing lines are remember a time when [Jews] came toall discussions that need to take place, and gether across denominations,” Racheli if they are true, honest debates, they should Frenkel, the mother of one of the three go on in a caring way,” she says.

Jewish teenagers who were kidnapped In that respect, the Jerusalem Unity Prize and killed by Hamas in Gush Etzion last aims to facilitate compassionate discussummer, tells JNS.org regarding her recent sions that transcend traditional barriers visit to the United States. “I’m convinced to solidarity among Israelis. The June 3 that it wasn’t an illusion. Chasidic Jews, Jewish Unity Day, meanwhile, encourages Orthodox, [and] seculars all came together, Diaspora Jewish communities to have a and we were one family.” voice in Israel’s future.

Frenkel refers to last June, when world The kidnapping and murder of three Jewry displayed what many considered to L-r: The Forward newspaper Editor-in-Chief Jane Eisner, Jerusalem Mayor Nir be uncommon unity during Israel’s search Barkat, Racheli Frenkel (mother of murdered Israeli teenager Naftali Frenkel) boys triggered a turbulent summer in Israel. for abducted teenagers Naftali Frenkel, and Ofir Shaar (father of murdered Israeli teenager Gilad Shaar) at a recent event After Palestinian teenager Mohammed Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach. Though the hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York. The event celebrated the launching of Abu Khdeir was murdered in an apparent revenge killing, a slew of Palestinian rocket teens’ dead bodies were found on June 30, the Jerusalem Unity Prize. (Photo courtesy of UJA-Federation of New York) attacks on Israel prompted the Jewish state an audio recording revealed that they were murdered shortly after being kidnapped on June 12. language. If we understand that there is a basic common to launch Operation Protective Edge, which started as an air campaign but transitioned to a ground operation From the perspective that they had already been killed, entity, then we can build a new platform.” the nearly three-week search for the boys was for naught.

Since they were launched on January 1, the three with the goal of destroying Hamas’s network of terror But that doesn’t take into account the search’s impact on unity prizes have garnered 180 nominees – spanning the tunnels running under the Gaza-Israel border. In all, the war would last 50 days. the Jewish people. “The story of Eyal, Naftali and Gilad, Jewish spectrum, from haredi to secular.

Despite the persistent hostility and distrust created by zichronam livracha (may their memories be blessed), Frenkel originally envisioned the prize as a purely gripped our people like few others and brought out the Jewish venture, but says she now believes “anyone can be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Frenkel has not shrugged best of us in the face of tragedy,” says Yoni Sherizen, nominated,” noting that many non-Jews provided support off efforts to bring about peace. “I am making a great program and development director at Gesher, an orga- after the teens were killed. Politically, the committee in effort not to raise my children on hate,” she says, adding, nization dedicated to bridging rifts in Israeli society. charge of selecting the winners is varied “from the left “When Mohammed [Abu Khdeir] was murdered, the first “Today, we are challenged to take hold of that unique and the right,” with the goal of assessing the nominees thing we did was speak out against this.”

Moving forward, the unity prize’s organizers hope that solidarity and make it [the boys’] legacy – to strengthen in the spirit of unity and without bias, Frenkel says. last summer’s scars, which brought disparate Israeli and the bonds between our people and break down barriers Both Shaar and Frenkel are aware that the upcoming Jewish communities closer together, engender a lasting that are created by our differences.”

March 17 Israeli election prompts divisive talk that distracts The Frenkel, Shaar and Yifrach families have teamed from their message of unity. “The media emphasizes the new dialogue. “We lived a very quiet life,” Frenkel says, with Gesher as well as the city of Jerusalem to establish differences and disputes,” Frenkel tells JNS.org. “[But] 80 recalling her late son’s childhood. “I think Naftali wasn’t the recently launched Jerusalem Unity Prize, which will percent of the time, we agree, and we should focus on this naïve. He knew there are no easy answers, yet he grew up very confident of our future in Israel.” be presented for the first time on “Jewish Unity Day,” to in Israel. We try to take the sweet out of the bitter.” be marked with special events on June 3 in Jerusalem. The unity initiative offers 100,000 shekel (about $25,000) prize packages in three separate categories: individuals and orgaContinued from page 5 nizations, social initiatives, and Israel and the Diaspora. The three recipients of the prize will be recognized for enhancing While there is no exact formula for a viral video, afraid of them, and this commercial brought it home.”

Jewish bonds and communal understanding.

Blass identifies three major elements: humor, relevance On the other hand, Bracha Benaim, an Israeli AmeriDuring their first trip abroad since last summer, Frenkel to current trends and dissemination. Abelow identifies can who recently returned to Israel from New York, was and Ofir Shaar, the father of the late Gilad, spoke at an two additional elements that create that “share factor.” “mortified” by Netanyahu’s ad. “I was hoping it was event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York that “One, it’s unexpected,” Abelow said. “It’s something fake,” she said. “What does ‘Bibi-sitter’ have to do with celebrated the establishment of the Jerusalem Unity Prize. different. It catches you off-guard. The second component anything? How does that promote Bibi in any way?”

The new prize “reminds us to find common ground and is entertainment value.”

Benaim, however, is still voting for Netanyahu. “Who raise each other up, not just in crisis, but always,” said The videos have had little effect on undecided Israeli else am I going to vote for?” she said.

Eric. S. Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation. voter Liami Lawrence. A public relations consultant and The video strategy, meanwhile, has advantages other Shaar notes the cynical saying that there are often “two aspiring stand-up comedian who recently made aliyah than attracting voters. “New media is a conversation Jews, three opinions,” but says that “at the end of the sen- from Los Angeles, Lawrence is leaning toward voting with your audience,” said Blass, adding that online metence we are one heart.” He tells JNS.org that the Jerusalem for the new centrist party, Kulanu, which thus far has dia enables candidates to target specific audiences and Unity Prize initiative is “trying to make a uniformity, a new not produced any notable videos. Lawrence called the measure their level of engagement.

“Bibi-sitter” video “brilliant,” but is no closer to voting Online media campaigning is far less regulated for Likud because of it. At the same time, the video than traditional print, radio and television advertising, deterred Lawrence from supporting Netanyahu’s most although Likud was required to remove its “Knesset formidable opponents. kindergarten” ad featuring children acting as Knesset From JNS.org “I think [‘Bibi-sitter’] was the most amazing political leaders. The use of children is forbidden in political Jewish foundation opens competition commercial I’ve ever seen,” Lawrence said. “Me person- campaigns. ally, I hesitate to vote for Herzog or Livni because I’m Speaking to members of the foreign press as part for $250K disability inclusion prize of a Knesset tour held ahead of the elections, Knesset The Ruderman Family Foundation – an organization Speaker Yuli Edelstein referred to the emerging online headquartered in both Boston and Israel that promotes video campaign industry as a “balagan,” Hebrew slang the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Jewish for “mess.” community – on March 2 launched its fourth annual “It’s totally open space as far as new media is conRuderman Prize in Inclusion global competition, which cerned,” Edelstein said, acknowledging that what may equally splits a $250,000 prize among five organizabe forbidden on radio is unrestricted on social media. tions who have demonstrated a commitment to Jewish “[It’s] very difficult to do anything about it because the disability inclusion “through innovative programs and moment we start legislating too much about Internet, I services.” The foundation is accepting submissions for guess we’ll lose Internet.” the prize until April 20.

That means Israeli voters can continue to take out their The “Bibi-sitter” video ad featuring Prime Minister popcorn, just like the “Bibi-sitter” at the end of his ad, Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the March 17 and enjoy the video-slinging until March 17.

Israeli election.(YouTube screenshot via Benjamin Netanyahu)

Video

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The Zionist Union alliance’s animated video about its socialist economic platform. (YouTube screenshot via Zionist Union)

The vignette casting Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett in the role of a Tel Aviv hippie apologizing for merely walking down the street, the first video of his “Stop Apologizing” series that opposes perceived left-wing appeasement. (YouTube screenshot via Naftali Bennett)

MARCH 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

Wounded IDF vets learn to ski – and overcome obstacles

By Uriel Heilman (JTA) – After Yinon Cohen lost his legs in an accident involving a rocket-propelled grenade, it wasn’t clear he’d ever be able to walk again, much less ski down a peak in the Rocky Mountains. A fresh-faced soldier in the Israel Defense Forces’ elite Golani brigade, Cohen was in an advanced weapons training course in February 2003 when his sergeant inadvertently fired an RPG, an explosive weapon capable of piercing armored vehicles, straight into his legs.

Just moments before, Cohen had been nodding off, and his exasperated sergeant ordered him to stand for the remainder of the class. That ended up saving Cohen’s life. Had he been seated, Cohen would have been struck in the torso and almost certainly killed. Instead, he found himself dazed in the smoke-filled room, trying to piece together what was happening as soldiers around him panicked.

When he awoke a day later in the ICU unit of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, a psychologist delivered the grim news: He had lost both legs below the knee.

Cohen’s response was instinctive, he recalls. Looking at his parents’ tear-stained faces, he said, “Be thankful that I’m alive.” Then his father recited the Kiddush – it was Friday evening – and they all cried.

Loau Mrai, an Israeli Druze who participated in Golshim L’Chaim’s 2012 class, used a monoski with outriggers to control his descent. (Photo by Nina Zale) Fast forward to 2014 and Cohen, a native of the Tel Aviv suburb of Petach Tikvah, found himself standing on a snowy mountain 8,000 miles away and more than 8,000 feet above sea level, insisting to his incredulous

ski instructor that he didn’t need any special equipment other than his prosthetic legs to ski down. It was Cohen’s first day on the slopes as part of Golshim L’Chaim-Ski to Live, a Colorado program that brings wounded Israeli veterans and victims of terrorism to Aspen to learn how to ski – and boost their spirits.

Now in its eighth year, Golshim is the brainchild of Aspen’s Chabad rabbi, Mendel Mintz. A skier himself who is on the snow about one day a week, Mintz got the idea for it from a program for wounded U.S. veterans whom he spotted one day on the slopes.

Golshim, which brings about a dozen Israelis each winter, is focused on skiing and physical activity. The group eats breakfast and dinner together at the Chabad Center and most nights local community members join the group for some kind of program or recreational activity.

At a cost of about $5,000 per person, Golshim L’Chaim is supported by local donors, including the local Jewish Federation, UJA Aspen Valley. The program is free for the Israeli participants.

“Imagine someone without legs coming here to ski and a week later skiing down Aspen,” Mintz told JTA. “They feel they can do anything after that. The local community gains more than we give. It’s truly inspirational.”

Tips on selecting the right nursing home (NAPSI) – The number of people over age 50 providing care for at least one living parent has soared to more than 10 million, according to the Center for Long Term Care Research and Policy at New York Medical College. This responsibility frequently comes at a time when caregivers are confronted with many other stressors, including retirement, financially supporting adult children or dealing with health concerns of their own.

Caring for aging loved ones often involves making difficult decisions about when to begin searching for a senior living facility and how to select the right one. Sue Mullaney, a geriatric nurse practitioner, knows first-hand the emotional, financial and physical toll these kinds of decisions can take. Mullaney is the national director of clinical programs for Optum CarePlus, which coordinates care in nursing homes across the nation. She offers these tips to help ease the burden for people beginning the search for a nursing home:  Evaluate the quality of health care. Learn how each prospective facilit y coordinates care, as well as how and when residents will have access to medical professionals.

Are supervisors on-site to oversee the qualit y of care provided? Are registered nurses or nurse practitioners available for additional care coordination? Knowing each facilit y’s procedures will help you make the best choice.  Determine the right treatment option. Some nursing homes specialize

in rehabilitative ser vices, while others focus on caring for patients with specific conditions, such as Alzheimer’s or stroke recover y. Depending on your loved one’s needs, search for a facilit y with the right specialization.  Consider the appearance. When it comes to selecting a nursing home, you can judge a book by its cover. Take a good look around a facility’s dining area, community spaces and living areas, as well as the exterior grounds. Are they clean and well cared for? Are employees courteous and professional? Are residents interacting and participating in activities? These answers are important to determine the quality of life at a facility.  Set clear expectations. Once you select the right nursing facilit y, ask the staff to develop a written care plan for the individual who will receive care. Request a time to review it with family members.

By communicating care needs to facilit y staff early in the process, you can help prevent a lapse in care during the transition. This process will also help you build relationships with personnel and set expectations for methods and frequency of communication with family members.  Throughout the process, remember that the more information you have, the more comfortable you and your loved ones will be with your decision. Considering these criteria will help you prioritize your needs and select the right facility.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ march 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775

Making Room on the Bench for students with disabilities

By Gabe Friedman NEW YORK (JTA) – Standing in the back of an open elementary school classroom at the Luria Academy, a Jewish Montessori school in Brooklyn, Dana Keil asks in a whisper if a visitor can tell which children in the room have special needs. “I guarantee you won’t be able to tell,” she said. And she’s right.

Yet Keil, 25, estimated that nearly half the children in the room have some type of disability that requires what’s called an “individualized education program,” or IEP. As the director of special education and support services at the Prospect Heights academy, Keil is an advocate of including all types of children, including those with disabilities, into the same classroom.

Last September, she earned a $100,000 fellowship from the Joshua Venture Group, a Jewish nonprofit, to start Room on the Bench. Through the Luria-based initiative, Keil is beginning to counsel other Jewish community schools in the New York City area on how to implement inclusion models. “Even though the Jewish community has been progressive for centuries, this is one area where we are honestly very far behind,” Keil said.

Inclusion is standard practice in public schools thanks to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed in 1990. The federal statute mandates that a child with a disability cannot be placed in a separate classroom unless the severity of the disability precludes learning in a normal classroom. However, the law does not apply to private schools and some disability advocates say that

At the Luria Academy in New York, classrooms are inclusive, meaning students with and without disabilities learn together. (Photo courtesy of Luria Academy)

the Jewish community has not done enough Keil is confident that other Jewish day to make children with disabilities, and their schools could be more inclusive, but that families, feel welcome in its day schools. many find it easier and less costly to put those Keil said that many Jewish day schools do with disabilities in separate classrooms with not accept applicants who have any kind of separate teachers – even though SEIT services IEP, even if their disabilities are purely physiare frequently government funded, as they cal and not intellectual. Although an IEP can are at Luria. Some schools also charge higher be prescribed for an incredibly wide range tuition for those with disabilities; Luria does of disabilities, from spina bifida to an autism not. “It’s not difficult to do this,” Keil said. “It spectrum disorder, Keil said that most Jewish just takes the right attitude and being strategic day school administrators “see an IEP as an IEP Dana Keil, director with your resources.” instead of looking at the individual child.” of special education However, Marc Kramer, the executive diHidden Sparks, a nonprofit that runs profesrector of Ravsak, a nonprofit organization that and support services sional development programs for teachers who oversees 130 Jewish community day schools at the Luria deal with children with disabilities at Jewish across the country, said that while all Jewish Academy, launched day schools strive to accommodate children schools, said that while inclusion programs like Luria’s are “extremely rare,” it is hard to the Room on the of all abilities, not all of them are equipped to estimate the approximate number of Jewish Bench initiative. do so. “Schools have come to believe deeply schools that practice varying levels of inclu- (Photo courtesy of that they should not have the admission model Luria Academy) sion across the country. of accepting all Jewish kids,” Kramer said.

At Luria, the inclusion model means that there are “Rather, they’ve adapted the model of accepting all no separate classes or activities for students with dis- Jewish kids that they can serve well.” abilities who require a SEIT (pronounced “see-it”), or He added: “What’s going to be true and right for one special education itinerant teacher. The SEIT sits in the school or one child may not de facto be right for another regular class and helps a specific student with a disability school or another child.” comprehend the lesson. (The only occasional exception Ravsak, of which Luria is a member, is conductis occupational or physical therapy, which some students ing a nationwide study of the ways that Jewish day engage in for a period of the day to work on physical schools teach and adapt to students with disabilities, characteristics needed for the classroom, such as motor Kramer said. skills or balance.)

For Keil, having siblings with disabilities inspired Deborah Wassertzug, whose 8-year-old son, Jonah, her career choice. Her three brothers have disabilities, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, said such as auditory processing disorder and ADHD. his personal needs have been recognized and met in When she attended a summer camp with her younger a classroom that includes students with and without brother to help him socially and emotionally, Keil disabilities. “Attending to tasks for long periods of found her calling. “The director of the camp told time is definitely difficult for Jonah, but luckily his me, ‘If you don’t do this for the rest of your life, teachers recognize this and give him freedom to take you’re crazy,’” Keil said. “So I said that’s it, that’s movement breaks when needed,” Wassertzug said. As my field.” a result, she said, “He has never felt excluded from any Since then, Keil has also worked to dispel the notion aspect of school life.” that students with disabilities slow down the intellectuOne mother with three children at Luria without dis- ally “gifted” students. Many of the children she deals abilities – she did not want her name used in print to with that have disabilities are known as “2e,” or “twice protect her privacy – said the students hardly recognize exceptional” – meaning that they have both a disability who has disabilities and who does not. “I asked my son and a high intellectual capacity. if anyone treats the kids with special needs differently, “Gifted education is special education,” Keil and he said, ‘why are you asking?’” she recalled. “I said. “It’s exactly the same thing, just the other end thought, ‘wow, he doesn’t even realize.’ They are all of the spectrum.”

See “Bench” on page just one of the friends.”

Vets The logistics are daunting, starting from transporting the wounded Israelis from Israel over multiple flights.

Some come with a spouse or sibling to assist in their care, and on the mountain, each Israeli may be escorted by up to three or four instructors. Medications must be managed, doctors must be consulted and Golshim keeps oxygen on hand in case the altitude becomes difficult for the visitors.

For the ski instruction, Golshim L’Chaim hires Challenge Aspen, an organization that runs adaptive ski programs for people with physical and cognitive disabilities, including wounded U.S. soldiers. Many participants ski with specially equipped chairs, tethers and outriggers – poles with mini-skis on the bottoms. “Our goal is to have the soldiers become as independent as possible,” said John Klonowski, director of Challenge Aspen’s military program and a veteran ski instructor with the Golshim L’Chaim groups.

“The learning curve is pretty quick. It doesn’t really matter if you’re in adaptive equipment,” he said. “We’ll get folks out on a ski hill, and they have an opportunity to feel like they’re just like everyone else. Especially for people in wheelchairs, this is one of very few opportunities to be out of the wheelchair. Once you’re out there, everybody’s doing the same thing – feeling the speed, the wind in their face, out in the great outdoors.”

When Cohen turned up his first day, the instructors presented him with a monoski, a chair connected by a shock to a fat ski. “I said no, I’m doing it on my legs,” Cohen recalled. “They thought there was a language miscommunication. In the end, I did it on the legs.”

Always athletic, Cohen had tried not to let his disabilities limit him. His initial rehab after the RPG explosion had lasted nearly a year. Because his knees were spared in the explosion, he was given prosthetics and slowly was able to learn to walk anew. Cohen joined other Israelis on their post-army trips to the Far East and South America, though instead of trekking, he rode horseback or on scooters. Back in Israel, he enrolled in Bar-Ilan University, studying criminology.

“Without strong faith in God, I couldn’t have gotten through it,” Cohen told JTA, noting that the part of his legs left intact were what had been covered by the tzitzit

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ritual fringes he wears every day. “You talk to the man upstairs and you know you’re not alone.”

But there were limitations. Cohen couldn’t run. He often found himself the subject of curious stares. And like many wounded veterans, he struggled at times to keep his spirits up.

At Aspen, Cohen says, his success skiing gave him a new boost. “When I skied all the way down, I saw that anything is possible,” said Cohen, now 31. “I came back to Israel and it gave me strength to believe in myself.

If I look at myself as handicapped, people will treat me that way. If I consider myself a healthy person, people will look at me that way.”

Ariela Alush, 37, who also was on the Golshim L’Chaim program last year, said her Aspen trip proved transformative for her. Alush was vacationing with two friends in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in October 2004 when terrorists detonated a car bomb just a few feet from her bungalow.

She suffered a spinal injury, a head fracture, a broken hand and shrapnel in her ear; one of her friends was killed.

After two years of ear surgeries and rehab, Alush eventually was given a clean bill of health. But she remained traumatized by her experience, disoriented and anxious. She was fearful of traveling overseas and never took vacations. After the bombing, she temporarily lost her sight, and she associated the idea of vacation with the darkness that had befallen her in Egypt. “When you have post-traumatic stress disorder, you never feel safe.

You’re always bothered by something,” Alush said.

“But as soon as I got to Aspen, I felt embraced by the Jewish community there. I felt like I was in a safe place.

I experienced something primal. Just as in Sinai I had my first difficult, dark experience, Aspen was a good, positive experience of light.”

But when Alush tried skiing, her first bad fall triggered a flashback to the bombing in Egypt 10 years earlier.

She couldn’t get up. Alush panicked. A ski patrol rescue team was called in to bring her down the mountain. For two days, Alush sat disheartened, traumatized anew.

Then one of the program participants gave her a camera.

Alush, a film student, perked up. She filmed the snow, the mountains, her friends on skis. Slowly, she says, she felt she was regaining control through the camera lens.

Finally, she felt ready to try skiing again.

“I only skied for two days that week, and not even alone. But the therapeutic value of the experience was, in my eyes, worth everything,” Alush said. “In Aspen, something in my pace of life changed. I went back to Israel and I returned to work in a different way. I went back to working on my movie, I had ambition again.

Something new had awakened in me.”

For Cohen, the high at Aspen soon was followed by one of the worst lows since his accident. After several years on artificial legs, his prostheses were worn out.

Cohen wanted new prostheses that would allow him to be more athletic, but his Israeli doctors told him that because he had lost his legs in a violent explosion rather than a careful amputation, that wasn’t possible – at least not without additional risky surgery. For the first time since his rehab, Cohen was confined to a wheelchair.

After months of research, Cohen found a New York outfit called A Step Ahead Prosthetics that said it could design him an advanced prosthetic. But it would cost $150,000 and Cohen couldn’t afford it.

When his new friends in Aspen heard about his predicament, they sprang into action, within weeks raising 80 percent of the cost. An Israeli nonprofit, Dror for the Wounded, which provides medical, psychological and financial assistance to wounded Israeli soldiers, donated the balance. “Without Golshim L’Chaim it wouldn’t have happened,” Cohen said. “They said the whole time, “Don’t worry, we’ll get the money.’”

Cohen was fitted with his new prostheses late last summer. “It’s a real success,” he said. “I can walk and even run. I hadn’t run in 12 years.”

This year’s Golshim L’Chaim program, scheduled for late February, will include several soldiers injured in last summer’s Gaza war, according to Mintz. “When you see what these people have gone through and what they’re able to do, it’s mind-boggling,” Mintz said. “It puts life in perspective.”

This article is a part of JTA’s partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation. Guided by Jewish values, the foundation advocates for and advances the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the Jewish community.

To learn more, visit www.rudermanfoundation.org.

MARCH 5, 2015/14 ADAR 5775 ■ JEWISH OBSERVER

Aspiring haredi cooks train for restaurant jobs

By Ben Sales JERUSALEM (JTA) – Five haredi Orthodox men are standing around a large wooden table crowded with bowls of chopped tomato, garlic, carrots and greens, their ritual fringes poking out from under their aprons. Each is wielding a large chef’s knife.

Their instructor, wearing an embroidered chef’s outfit and grasping a raw chicken thigh, tells his charges to cut the limb along the bone and pull it apart with their hands. Hunched over their cutting boards, the men get to work.

“I like good and tasty food, and I think I need to get to a higher level,” said Avraham Blau, a haredi father of seven hoping for a career as a cook. “I’m always critical of others’ food. I always have suggestions that bug me with their food.”

Blau and his four classmates are the first students in a six-week culinary arts program run by the Jerusalem Kivun Center, a government-funded initiative launched last year to train haredi Orthodox Israelis for full-time employment. After the program, they hope to become professional chefs in Jerusalem restaurants.

Haredi men training to be chefs at a culinary course run by the Jerusalem Kivun Center on January 4. (Photo by Ben Sales) Increasing haredi participation in Israel’s labor force has been a central goal of the Israeli government, which has passed a raft of legislation since 2013 aimed at integrating haredi Israelis

French chief rabbi rejects Netanyahu’s call for aliyah

By Gabe Friedman NEW YORK (JTA) – France’s chief rabbi, Haim Korsia, rejected Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent call for European Jews to move to Israel. At a news conference on February 19 following a speech at Park East Synagogue in New York, Korsia said there had been a Jewish presence in France for 2,000 years and, echoing recent comments by French French Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia, left, and New York Prime Minister Manuel Valls, City Mayor Bill de Blasio at Park East Synagogue in said that “France will no longer New York City on February 19. (Photo by Spencer be France” if there were a mass Platt/Getty Images) Jewish exodus.

“His job is to say that,” Korsia said of cannot accept any amount of crime.”

Netanyahu. “It’s his nation. But our intenKorsia, 51, who speaks English softly tion is to give a real choice to French and and deliberately, and with a thick French Jewish people. For a real choice, there has accent, also reserved special praise for to be security and serenity in France.” de Blasio, who visited Paris in a show Korsia praised the French govern- of solidarity less than two weeks after ment’s efforts on behalf of the Jewish the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the community, noting the deployment of Hyper Cacher market. “As a society, it 10,500 soldiers to guard Jewish schools was very moving,” Korsia said. “Your and synagogues. “We felt very alone message was heard by all the Jewish for a long time,” he said. “Now we communities of Europe.” feel together.”

De Blasio spoke after Korsia. “The Some 200 people – New York City reason I went to Paris was because we Mayor Bill de Blasio among them – came as Americans have some responsibility to Park East for the chief rabbi’s address. here to say to our European brothers and Korsia said that France’s massive unity sisters that indifference only leads us down rally, which drew millions into the streets a very dangerous path,” he said. “No one in the wake of two terrorist attacks in Jewish living in Europe should have to January, might not have happened had beg for protection.” the attack on a Jewish supermarket not A chorus of children from the synbeen preceded by the attack on the Charlie agogue’s elementary school sang the Hebdo magazine offices. national anthems of France, Israel and the “I’m not sure if there wasn’t an attack United States before the speeches. on Charlie Hebdo that they would have Korsia, who became France’s chief marched,” said Korsia, referring to the rabbi in 2014, is seen as a relative progressatirical magazine where 12 people were sive who wants to modernize France’s gunned down on January 7.

Orthodox community, especially in regard The chief rabbi also stressed the need to women’s rights. Last July, he appointed for harsh punishment of antisemitic acts in a woman to a new high-level position – a the wake of the January attacks and other bold move in a country where until 2006 antisemitic incidents across Europe in re- women could not serve in the Consistoire, cent weeks. In Copenhagen, one man was the body that governs Jewish religious killed recently when a gunman targeted life in France. the synagogue he was guarding.

The country’s two previous chief rabbis In response to the recent discovery of were embroiled in scandals. Rabbi Gilles 250 destroyed graves in a French Jewish Bernheim admitted to several instances of cemetery, Korsia emphasized that anti- plagiarism and Rabbi Michel Gugenheim semitic crimes on any scale should be was caught extorting more than $100,000 scrutinized. “How many graves would from a woman in exchange for a Jewish we tolerate?” he said. “Ten? Twenty? We divorce decree, or get.

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into the country’s military and economic ranks. Many haredi men receive stipends to study Torah well into adult life and only 45 percent participate in the labor force, as opposed to 81 percent of all Israeli men.

Most of the 2,500 haredim who have attended Kivun’s classes have trained for desk jobs with minimal physical labor and relatively steady hours. But Kivun Director Yehiel Amoyal said the culinary class helps meet Jerusalem’s high demand for chefs and appeals to those who want to work with their hands. “We want to stream jobs to where there’s employment,” Amoyal said.

In an effort to help the job search, Kivun invited hotel and restaurant managers to watch the students chop vegetables.

Managers offered jobs to students pending

completion of the course based on, among other things, how fast they chopped, whether they maintained posture and how many chopped carrots fell on the ground. Though seven of the initial 12 students dropped out of the course, the remaining five were guaranteed jobs in kosher Jerusalem restaurants after they graduated at the end of January.

“Regarding inclination to cook, whoever has the motivation to learn and advance will get where he wants,” said Maor Gross, the manager of Papagaio, a South American restaurant that will be hiring one of the trainee chefs. “I’m looking for good people who want it, who have a work ethic.”

A love of cooking drove some of the students to the course. Blau, 37, who has managed a print shop and jewelry store, revels in cooking at home and has long dreamed of becoming a chef. But concerns about cooking non-kosher food and working with women kept him from culinary school until he learned of Kivun’s course.

“I have a lot of experience with meat and I was weak on dairy,” said Blau, who now enjoys making lasagna and quiche, and will work at a branch of Café Café, a chain of upscale dairy restaurants, after the course. “Cooking entrecote, I would do it too well done. Now I do it mediumwell and it’s much juicier. That raised my skill level.”

The course, which meets two to three times each week, covers 21 cooking skills, from desserts to pasta, meat and fish. Instructor Itai Farkas calls it a crash course in what can be a demanding profession.

“It’s like basic training – taking people who haven’t worked and making them work 200 hours a week,” Farkas said.

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d’var torah

Vayakel – the glories of creation calendar 2x 8.65

By>Judith S. Huober Gifts. Gorgeous gifts. Offerings of the works of women’s hands and those of great artists; the riches of chieftains, households and single individuals: gold, silver and copper... yarns of blue, purple and crimson... goats’ hair, tanned ram skins, dolphin skins and acacia wood... oil and spices, aromatic incense... lapis lazuli and other stones... And that’s only in the first nine verses. Later on comes more stunning details about pure gold, the shape of almond blossoms, twisted linen, and the cubits and the loops and the clasps and the horns...

The Torah portion of parasha Vayakel (Exodus 35:1-38:20) essentially consists of one long orgy of voluptuous description, modified by a rather political injunction limiting the actual creative work to a few, supremely gifted members of the community. What is the function of the sensual and sensible telling: of the giving and the collecting and the creating, and the designation of what is the ultimate in artisanal skill and judgment, all lent to the execution of the utmost in finely detailed artistic endeavor – the building of God’s house?

There is the obvious function: the glory of the house of God must reflect the glory of God, and the shopping list and the instruction manual for this task must set a properly glorious stage to adequately motivate the donations and the work. The mandate to build God’s house is thus a mandate to surpass all previous creative measures in opulent, luxuriant contributions and in consummate artistic rendering. Such a surface reading of the text, however, fails to capture the deeper mandate of this parasha.

A core message inheres in the passage to attend to the glory of the human spirit, in partnership with – and in fulfillment of – the One in whose image we are created. The human spirit feeds on the sensual and is nourished by the artistic; and the well-fed and healthy human spirit is what unlocks our ability to come together as a community and collectively work to the glory of God. Indirectly, we are being reminded that spiritual and emotional health depend on a connection to the earthly and the sublime, to the richness of color and texture and scent and simultaneously to the controlled human working of these blessings.

Simply put, we keep ourselves mentally healthy

when we enjoy – yea, revel in – the sensual gifts of God’s earth. Speaking of them and thinking of them, engaging directly with our senses and spirits to enjoy and create with them: this contributes to well-being and staves off its opposite, depression, and other crippling emotional states.

Maimonides, physician and sage, understood the relationship between beauty and human psychological health. The human spirit achieves its highest expression when it is helped to do so through exposure to the best offerings produced by the interplay of our senses and our artistic capacities. He said, “Similarly, if a person is overcome by melancholy, he should endeavor to purge himself of it by listening to songs and music, strolling through gardens and magnificent buildings, and frequenting attractive works of art.

(Shomoneh Perakim – The Rambam’s introduction to the Tractate of Avot [“Ethics of the Ancestors”]).

This is why mental health professionals incorporate creative and sensual experiences into preventive, as well as remedial strategies. “The contributions that art can make to psychological well-being via enjoyment, immersion, development of skill, revelation and expression of emotion, shaping of self, connections with people and a culture, and the potential for transcendent experience apply both to people without mental disorders and those with mental disorders.” (Michael Friedman, LMSW http://www. huffingtonpost.com/michael-friedman-lmsw/artmental-health_b_1562010.html) Some in human history have recommended asceticism to refine the spirit. Perhaps there is a time and condition for that recommendation. In this passage, however, we are reminded that to contribute to the glory of God, we must first care for our spirits, and we care best for those by immersing ourselves in the glories of creation.

Judith Huober is director of Syracuse Jewish Family Service and founding director of IMPARA: the Rodney and Marjorie Fink Institute at Menorah Park for Applied Research on Aging. She has more than 30 years of experience in for-profit and notfor-profit management and strategic development; communications; community organizing; education; and technology/health care. Huober was editor and then executive editor of the Jewish Observer of Central New York for seven years.

“City of Gold” captures flavor of Los Angeles

By Anthony Weiss PARK CITY, Utah (JTA) – If you live in Los Angeles and care about food, you already know Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times.

You may have traced one of his pithy reviews to a mini-mall in the San Gabriel Valley for Sichuanese handtorn noodles, or to an unromantic stretch of Hollywood Boulevard for blood-thickened Thai boat noodle soup, or to Compton for succulent barbecue, or to one of dozens of other neighborhoods far from Rodeo Drive or Venice Beach and other icons of Los Angeles culture.

In eating your way down the trail he has blazed, you may have acquired a taste for a different notion of Los Angeles, for the city as a mecca to which the foodways of East and West, both high and low, all make hajj to tell their story upon your palate.

“City of Gold,” a documentary by Laura Gabbert that premiered January 27 at the Sundance Film Festival here, is a dual portrait of both Gold and the city he loves.

The camera follows him as he roams from restaurant to

Bench

Continued from page 8

Although Room on the Bench is only a few months old, Keil has already begun working with other schools and hopes to change what she sees as the fundamental problems with the current private school model. “It’s not working – it’s not fair to the kids, it’s not fair to the parents, it’s not fair to the community,” Keil said.

“When these kids are older and we expect them to join back into the community after being excluded for their entire childhood, it would be difficult for them to be successful.”

This article is a part of JTA’s partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation. Guided by Jewish values, the foundation advocates for and advances the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the Jewish community.

To learn more, visit www.rudermanfoundation.org.

At right: Jonathan Gold shown in “City of Gold” digging into a Poseidon Tostada from the Mariscos Jalisco taco truck in Los Angeles. restaurant analyzing the food, pointing out subtleties in the metropolitan texture and philosophizing upon the nexus between food, culture, history, geography and anything else that comes to mind.

As Gabbert and Gold lucidly demonstrate, Los Angeles, far from the sprawling, undifferentiated mass derided by its critics, is a multicentric metropolis defined by its many variegated neighborhoods and enclaves. And as Gold explains in his wanderings around the city, it is this profusion of subcultures and their intermingling that create the essence of the city. “It’s this incredible mosaic of neighborhoods, and in a very real way, food is the best way to experience that,” Gold told JTA. Restaurant critics are famous for the lengths they take to maintain anonymity, but Gold renounces the tradition in the movie – and in a recent essay on the subject, where he admits that his identity has long been an open secret in the restaurant world – to reveal his true, or at least his physical, self. He is pale and freckled and rotund – the last being the result, he jokes, of eating his way through so many bad restaurants in search of the good ones. Hardly schlubby, Gold carries himself grandly, almost regally, with a long shower of blond hair to his shoulders, matched by a small mustache.

He has a remarkable palate – in a recent interview, Gold noted in passing that water from the cooler was a tad bitter – and a knack for a vivid turn of phrase, as when

he described the critic’s search for anonymity as being “like the fat man’s version of the ‘Bourne Identity.’”

A Los Angeles native, Gold grew up in in a liberal, Reform Jewish household surrounded by books and culture, and with a father whose “idea of religious observance was to drop us off at the shul for religious school and then go get a lot of deli, come back and pick us up.”

His mother, who came from a Louisiana family and converted to Judaism when she married, could cook a few Southern specialties, but in Gold’s words, “There was a lot of Hamburger Helper and Kraft dinners and fried chicken and this kind of Jell-O she learned to make where she put in a little bit of orange sherbet.”

Gold first began to expand his tastes in high school when he dated an Asian-American girl whose mother cooked traditional Chinese four-course dinners. As a young man, Gold began to explore the city in earnest.

While working as a proofreader at a legal newspaper, he decided to eat his way down the length of Pico Boulevard. What started as a lark became an education in urban culture.

“You’d notice that somebody would be selling tamales out of a cart, and then you’d run into them a few months later and they’d have a little grocery store with some Salvadoran stuff on the shelves, and then maybe they’d start selling pupusas over a counter, and then it became a full-fledged pupuseria, and you’d see culture unfolding in real time,” Gold said. “It was fascinating. It was a really interesting way to learn about Los Angeles.”

Gold slowly transitioned from proofreading into writing, first as a music reviewer – Gold majored in music at UCLA – for the L.A. Weekly newspaper, where he profiled his classical music heroes like Philip Glass and Pierre Boulez. When the owner of the paper asked him to review restaurants, Gold agreed because he was behind on his rent. “I turned out to like that,” he recalled.

“I thought it was kind of a scam, and it turned out to fit in with my writing style really well.”

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obituaries David Gold

David Gold, 88, died on February 16 at Menorah Park.

Born in New York City, he was a graduate of the University of Maryland Dental School. While serving in the Army Air Corps, he met his future wife. They settled in Stamford, CT, where he established his dental practice and they raised their daughters.

He and his wife loved boating and traveled to Jamaica many times. They owned several boats and cruised on Long Island Sound, heading to Florida and through the locks to Canada. Upon retiring, they spent half their time in North Palm Beach and half in Stamford. They moved to The Oaks of Dewitt in 2007.

He was predeceased by his sister, Thelma Katz.

He is survived by his wife of more than 65 years, Annette; their daughters, Ellen (Bob) Tartakoff, of Jamesville, NY, and Joanne (Jodie Shapiro) Gold, of Florence, MA; and three grandchildren.

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

Contributions may be made to the Employee Fund at Menorah Park, 4101 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13214. 

NEWS IN bRIEF From JNS.org

Report: Egyptian army given green light to strike Gaza

The Egyptian military has received authorization from the country’s government to carry out strikes in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian media reported on March 1. According to the reports, the Egyptian government’s legal adviser sanctioned the legitimacy of an attack in Gaza following a Supreme Court decision on Feb. 28 to label Hamas a terrorist group. Senior Egyptian officials believe the likelihood of an Egyptian military attack in Gaza is slim, and that the court decision was likely made as a deterrent measure and to hint that the military option is on the table in light of Hamas involvement in terrorist attacks in Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on March 1, as part of efforts to create a united Arab front against Islamist extremism.

IDF holds surprise drill in Judea and Samaria

The Israel Defense Forces on March 1 held a wideranging surprise exercise across Judea and Samaria that involved air, ground, and intelligence forces, as well as several special forces’ units. The drill has been described as the largest exercise the IDF has held in the area in three years. Citing a military source, Israel Hayom reported that the unannounced drill was ordered by new IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot in an effort to gauge military readiness for a possible security escalation in the area.

Brig. Gen. Nadav Padan, commander of the IDF’s 162nd Division, headed the exercise, during which thousands of regular soldiers and some 13,000 reservists were mobilized. Given the Palestinian Authority’s economic situation, the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the overall instability in the Middle East, the IDF is said to be preparing for various scenarios in Judea and Samaria. Accordingly, the exercise simulated soldiers’ abductions, riots and clashes between civilians and security forces. A senior IDF officer said the exercise was set up as soon as Eizenkot took office and did not represent any change in the military’s alert level in the area.

Marsha Helf

Marsha Helf, 57, died on February 26 in Chevy Chase, MD. Born in Syracuse, she was a resident of Syracuse until moving to Chevy Chase, MD, in 2011. She attended the Devereux Foundation School in Devon, PA, for children with developmental disabilities. As an adult, she participated in programs at Consolidated Industries and Hutchings Psychiatric Center.

She is survived by her brother, Tom (Michelle Brafman); a niece; and a nephew.

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

Contributions may be made to the Devereux Foundation, www.devereux.org or 444 Devereux Dr., Villanova, PA 19085. 

Harold Siegel

Harold Siegel, 92, died on February 18 at Crouse Hospital.

Born in 1922 in Syracuse, he graduated from Central High School and received his bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Syracuse University. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and began his career with Hughes Aircraft in California. While at Hughes, he held positions in California, Germany and Switzerland.

He came home to Syracuse in the late 1950s and took an early retirement, but grew bored and worked with his cousin, Aaron Baskin, in their auto repair business.

He was also a leather goods restorer at Henry Frank Co. He worked in stained glass and precious stones, creating jewelry. He was an active member of the Gem and Mineral Society of Syracuse.

He was predeceased by his sister, Hilda Diamond, in 2014.

He is survived by his nieces, Judith (Morris) Torres, of Fayetteville, and Sheila (Harry) Mains, of West Palm Beach, FL; and three great-nephews.

Burial was in Frumah Packard Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Employee Fund at Menorah Park, 4101 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13214. 

Jobs

Continued from page 9

Cooking may prove difficult for haredi men, as restaurants and hotels often demand they work nights, weekends and holidays – times the men are used to spending with their families. But Blau says he’s willing to make that sacrifice to pursue a craft he loves. “If I have a career and a salary, it’s worth it to take evenings, Saturday nights and minor holidays,” he said. “In a few years, I’ll have experience and a salary, and the ability to go far.”

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Laura Sloane

Laura Sloane, 88, died on February 21 at Westchester Hospital.

A life resident of Westchester, she was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.

She was predeceased by her husband, Leonard.

She is survived by her sons Gary (Mona), Stuart (Susan), of Jamesville, and David; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Burial was in Westchester. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements.

Contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 6390 Fly Rd., 2nd Floor, East Syracuse, NY, 13057. 

Joseph Weinrauch

Joseph Weinrauch, 97, died on February 20 at home.

Born in Harlem, NY, he had been a resident of the New York City area until 1993, when he and his family moved to Syracuse to be closer to family. He was a World War II Army veteran, having served with the 41st Infantry Division in the South Pacific. He received a bronze star for his service. After the war, he met his future wife at a USO dance.

He was a former commander of the Schiff Center JWV in the Bronx, and also a member of Onondaga Post 131 JWV. He was a postal clerk in midtown New York City until retiring. He was active in the co-op city anglers’ club and the Democratic Committee. Until very recently, he went to nursing homes with his friend, Mike Burns, and entertained the residents with songs and dance. As a 97-year-old, he was often considered “the life of the party.” He was a voracious reader and received an honorary high school diploma from Fayetteville-Manlius High School when he walked with his grandson and the other graduates of the class of 2004. He was a member of Temple Adath Yeshurun.

He was predeceased by his wife, Evelyn, in 2002.

He is survived by his daughter, Audrey (Richard Zwirn) Weinrauch; three grandchildren; and a large extended family.

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

Contributions may be made to the Minyan Fund at Temple Adath Yeshurun, 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse, NY 13224. 

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Flavor

Continued from page 10 Gold’s reviews quickly attracted widespread notice, and he began to write for the Los Angeles Times, Gourmet and other outlets. In 2007, he became the first – and to date only – food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Gold’s erudition on food, spices, history and geography is staggering, yet in traveling the city in “City of Gold” and listening to Gold talk, it becomes obvious that he is describing not simply restaurants and neighborhoods, but the entire process through which people combine ideas and spices to create a new culture and a new city.

Food is simply the most delicious way to sketch that evolution.

“Everything comes from a place, everything is there for a reason,” Gold said. “There’s cultural reasons, there’s historical reasons, there’s geographical reasons why what you’re getting on a plate is there.”

He added, “There are worlds to be explored in a single taco.”

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Kerry decries Human Rights Council’s “obsession” with Israel

(JTA) — There is an “unbalanced focus” on Israel by the United Nations Human Rights Council, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told its members.

“No one in this room can deny that there is an unbalanced focus on one democratic country,” Kerry said in an address to the council on March 2 in Geneva.

“It must be said the HRC’s obsession with Israel actually risks undermining the credibility of the entire organization,” he added, citing the fact that only Israel is a permanent agenda item on the council’s schedule.

Kerry’s defense of Israel at the council came as Israeli

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to address a joint session of Congress on March 3, where he was to criticize the Obama administration for the nuclear deal it is negotiating with Iran and the world powers.

Kerry did not attend the speech, and instead traveled from Geneva to Switzerland to resume nuclear negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

“We will oppose any effort by any group or participant in the U.N. system to arbitrarily and regularly delegitimize or isolate Israel,” Kerry told the council. “When it comes to human rights no country on earth should be

free from scrutiny, but neither should any country be subject to unfair or unfounded bias.”

During his speech, Kerry also denounced human rights abuses in Syria, North Korea and Ukraine.

On March 2 in Geneva, Kerry told reporters that he was “concerned” unrevealed details about the proposed deal with Iran would become public. While he did not mention Netanyahu by name, Kerry’s comments came after an unnamed Israeli official was quoted as saying that Israel knows more about the proposed deal than Congress and that Netanyahu would reveal these details during his address to Congress on March 3.

had Jewish ancestry. Khodorkovsky, a Russian Jew who left for Switzerland in 2013, made the warning in a statement posted on Feb. 28 on his website. The dissident, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison following graft trials that critics alleged were designed to eliminate his political ambitions and criticisms of human rights abuses by Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted that Nemtsov was murdered “a hundred meters from the Kremlin.” Nemtsov died hours after appealing for support for a march on March 1 in Moscow against the war in Ukraine. “I know that for many people Boris’s death will become so much of a Rubicon that the entire country may become different,” wrote on his website.

“Will we find ourselves standing even closer to the precipice of all-out war of everybody against everybody? Or will we find within ourselves the strength to understand that political differences are not a reason to stop acting like human beings?” An unidentified attacker in a car shot Nemtsov four times in the back as he crossed a bridge in view of the Kremlin, police said. Putin condemned the murder and said he has was closely monitoring the investigation amid widespread speculation that Nemtsov was eliminated by the Kremlin, as were other dissidents before him. Leonid Bershidsky, a Russian Jewish journalist, in an Op-Ed published on bloombergview.com wrote that the death validated Nemtsov’s criticism of Putin “in the most terrible way.”

Bershidsky also criticized Putin’s government for what he said amounted to incitement against Nemtsov, writing that Nemtsov’s name was “on every list of traitors published on the Internet and aired on state TV.... It did not help that he was Jewish,” he wrote. “There was a strong undercurrent of antisemitism in the smear campaign.”

against the Palestinians, as did Almagro. They also said “Gaza is a big concentration camp.” Vazquez, who is from the same party as Mujica, when asked if he agreed with the president, said that Israel “was not committing genocide.” Vazquez, 74, is serving as president for the second time. During his first administration, 2005-10, he made an official three-day visit to Israel as a guest of then-President Shimon Peres. An oncologist, he also traveled to Israel in 1982, representing Uruguay in an international seminar about cancer research. One month ago, Uruguay said it has “opened the door” to Israel’s help with security following a suspected bombing attempt near Israel’s embassy, for which Israel implicated Iran.

NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA

AIPAC emphasizes Iran talks at recordbreaking conference

AIPAC launched its largest-ever conference with a focus on the Iran nuclear talks. The legislative focus of the conference, which started on March 1 with a recordbreaking 16,000 activists in attendance, is two bills that seek increased congressional involvement in the nuclear talks underway between Iran and the major powers.

Activists who visited Capitol Hill on March 3, the last day of the conference, were to seek co-sponsorship for a bill that adds new sanctions on Iran should it walk away from the talks. They also planned to lend their voices to a measure that subjects any deal with Iran to congressional approval. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto both bills, saying that any congressional interference in the talks under way between Iran and the major powers risks scuttling the negotiations. AIPAC speakers emphasized that they do not want to scuttle the talks and instead are seeking to ensure that there is congressional review and the deal is watertight. “The ability to look at this, to submit it for approval or disapproval, is a critical role for Congress to play,” Howard Kohr, AIPAC’s CEO, said at the opening plenary. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the talks, was to speak to the conference on March 2. On March 3, he was to address Congress in a speech that has engendered controversy because Netanyahu and the Republican congressional leadership arranged it without consulting Democrats or the White House. Kohr acknowledged the furor, but noted that AIPAC was encouraging lawmakers to attend the speech. “There’s no question that the way this speech has come about has created a great deal of upset among Democrats,” he said. “It frankly may have upset people in this room.” Also to address the conference was Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, who recently said Netanyahu’s speech is “destructive” of the U.S.Israel relationship. Kohr in his opening remarks said that AIPAC also backs suspending assistance to the Palestinian Authority as long as it pursued statehood outside the framework of negotiations and sought legal action against Israel in international courts.

Nemtsov murder risks civil war, Russian dissident Khodorkovsky warns

The murder of former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov risked plunging Russia into civil war, Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky said. An unidentified shooter on Feb. 28 gunned down Nemtsov, a leading opposition politician in Russia. Nemtsov was a Christian, but said he

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Italian lawmakers urge recognition of Palestinian state

Italian lawmakers backed a nonbinding resolution urging the government to recognize Palestine as a state.

Italy’s Chamber of Deputies voted by 300-45 to pass the motion presented by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party, the news site repubblica.it reported on Feb. 27. The symbolic vote does not change the position of the Italian government, which like other European countries still supports a negotiated two-state solution.

Ireland, Britain, France and the European Parliament held similar votes toward the end of last year. Sweden went further, officially recognizing Palestine, whereas Spain’s congress passed a motion that says Spain should recognize a Palestinian state only after its establishment is agreed upon in bilateral negotiations with Israel.

Ex-Israel envoy tapped to head Uruguay Foreign Ministry

The new president of Uruguay appointed the country’s former ambassador to Israel as head of the Foreign Ministry. Dr. Tabare Vazquez on March 1 named Bernardo Greiver as secretary general of the ministry – a move that was seen as signaling closer Uruguay-Israel ties. Greiver, who is Jewish, has spoken publicly in recent years in favor of strong ties between Israel and Uruguay. The new Uruguayan foreign minister, Nir Novoa, said in a radio interview that Greiver was tapped “because he knows the office, he is a diplomat with experience and is a hard worker.” Novoa told Universal Radio that he “talked with members of the Jewish community and they are pleased with this appointment. Without any doubt, this can be considered as a signal to Israel,” he said. “Uruguay had a very important role in the creation of the state of Israel and we need to continue on this path.” In 1947, Uruguay voted at the United Nations in favor of declaring a Jewish state in Israel. The other two countries in the South American cone, Argentina and Chile, abstained. Greiver succeeds Luis Almagro, who served between 1991-96 as the Uruguayan ambassador to Iran. Recent events have shown some tension related to the Iranian presence in the South American region and especially in Uruguay.

President Jose Alberto “Pepe” Mujica, who stepped down on March 1, said during Israel’s 50-day operation in Gaza over the summer that Israel was committing “genocide”

China, World Jewish Congress to commemorate Shanghai Ghetto liberation

The World Jewish Congress and China’s government are preparing a joint commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Shanghai Ghetto. The People’s Republic of China and WJC intend to host the ceremony in September, the parties said in a joint statement to the media the week of Feb. 26. More than 23,000 Jewish refugees lived in the ghetto in Shanghai, which was then occupied by Japan – an ally of Nazi Germany and cofounder of the fascist Axis powers. Some of the refugees in the ghetto arrived there from Lithuania, where the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara gave transit visas into Japan to approximately 6,000 Jews in defiance of orders from Tokyo. “We will commemorate, for the first time, part of the Holocaust that tends to get less attention,” said WJC President Ronald Lauder, who will chair the commemoration event. “This historic event also marks another step towards strengthening the bonds between the Chinese and Jewish people.” The event, the first to be co-organized by the WJC and China, will bring 100 WJC representatives to Shanghai.

Robert Singer, CEO of Lauder’s organization, finalized the joint commemoration during a meeting in London with Qiu Yuanpin, a Chinese minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. “It is in the best interests of world Jewry that we forge even closer relations with Beijing,” Singer said. Yuanpin said in the joint statement with the WJC: “Both Chinese and Jewish nations have suffered at the hands of Fascist forces, but, ultimately, achieved final victory after unyielding struggle.”

Chinese officials in recent years have stepped up their rhetoric against Japan, demanding more explicit expressions of regret for atrocities committed during World War II from the current government of the island nation. Historical tensions between the Asian powers are further complicated by efforts

by Japan’s right-wing government to beef up the country’s military capabilities, ending decades of a pacifist prohibition on maintaining offensive capabilities.

Study: Global antisemitism reaches seven-year high

Global antisemitic incidents reached a seven-year high, a new study found, while social hostilities involving religion declined somewhat in 2013 following a six-year peak. The Pew Research Center’s annual study of global restrictions on religion, released Feb. 26, reported that approximately one-quarter of the world’s countries are “grappling with high levels of religious hostilities within their borders.” Christians and Muslims, together making up more than half of the world’s population, faced harassment in the largest number of countries. However, the study noted a “marked increase in the number of countries where Jews were harassed.” In the 77 countries in which Jews were harassed, Jews were “much more likely to be harassed by individuals or groups in society than by governments.” The study reported that in Europe, harassment of Jews and Muslims was “particularly widespread,” with Jews experiencing harassment in 34 European countries and Muslims in 32 countries.

As in the previous years of the study, social hostilities involving religion were highest across the Middle East and North Africa. The study ranked 198 countries and territories by their levels of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion. The initial report was published in 2009.