New York Jewish Life Vol. 3 by New York Jewish Life

Jeffrey Wiesenfeld on Mistaking Liberalism For Religion

Top Officials Court Brooklyn

Israel’s Tourism Minister Speaks With NYJL

VOL. 1, NO. 3 | MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NEWS THAT MATTERS TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA | NYJLIFE.COM | FREE

UNITED AGAINST HATE: NEW YORK’S PUBLIC OFFICIALS RESPOND

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2 | NYJLIFE.COM | MARCH 22 – 28, 2017

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OPINION

The Danger to Judaism When Liberalism Is Mistaken for Religion BY JEFFREY S. WIESENFELD

The contentious political climate in which we find ourselves today places a majority of Jews in some combination of liberal / leftist / Democratic spheres. Combined, they represent nearly three quarters of American Jews. The enthusiastic participation of so many of these leftist Jews in causes of very questionable interest to the future of Jews in America is something I find gravely disturbing. Surely I have mercy (rachmunis) for innocent Syrian refugees, the victims of mass chaos in the Middle East resulting from the gross foreign policy mismanagement of the Obama years. The former President’s false “red lines” have resulted in the mass migration to the West of a population apart from western values, history, and institutions. Through proper vetting, individual refugees merit the historical promise of America, but not the fomentation of the type of ethnic imbalance we’ve seen in most European nations. Do liberal Jews ask why it is in the Jewish interest to invite large numbers of people to the US who intrinsically despise them, and Israel? My parents, and my wife’s parents, all survived the Holocaust. For them, and for those like them, “welcome the stranger” in scripture referred to those eager to integrate into their new homes, or at least not undermine it. But now I see things getting confused, and inappropriately linked. I see a Jewish majority proudly marching, working, and making coalitions with spurious partners—assisting the Black Lives Matter movement, cooperating with jihadists like Linda Sarsour (a virulent anti-Semite who would deny Jews their self-determination), and supporting participants in the BDS movement—in short, a potpourri of antiSemites. Where is the simple instinct of dignity to at least demand reciprocity for Jewish goals in exchange for Jewish support? It’s not quid-pro-quo, it’s basic coalition maintenance. It’s not extortion, it’s decency. In the name of “social justice,” those very Jews whose descendants are increasingly unlikely to be Jewish fight government tax incentives which would benefit Jewish education, while also being pro-choice advocates, and in the forefront of opposition to public charter schools. I am certainly pro-choice, but, for example, how twisted is it that liberal Jews march with Islamists alongside Planned Parenthood when those Islamists have no tolerance for Zionism? And now Linda Sarsour, the Brooklyn organizer with an increasingly national profile, insists that one cannot be a feminist if also a Zionist. Her Stalinist insistence on litmus tests for ideological purity has

liberal Jewish feminists - likely a redundant term, as there are probably no liberal Jews who aren’t feminists - twisting themselves in academic knots rather than simply being outraged. There are many more “symptoms” of this wretched Jewish world view, but I am more interested in attempting to describe the cause: Jews who came to America over a century ago were infused with a Bundist, leftist ideology. As Jews had been so persecuted throughout Europe, some believed that communism would be their savior. These Jews became a mainstay of the Democratic Party and the left. The American descendants of Jews who remained in Europe through the Holocaust, and those who lived under the communists of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, become more Republican. The strange alliance between lefty Jews and Islamists—including such luminaries as Bernie Sanders, George Soros, the notorious Blumenthals, Jill Stein, Rebecca Vilkomerson, and many other self-haters, is unfathomable to other faiths and communities. You can imagine outsiders thinking to themselves “who does this to themselves?” Jewish liberalism and leftism may have made sense in the era before labor unions, social security and other components of the basic social safety net. In fact, Jewish liberalism can be responsibly described as

the booster rocket that propelled those vital social services into being. But today, the inheritors of that activist legacy are the backbone of the BDS movement and other causes inimical to Jewish survival. What’s happened? Jews in the reform, conservative and orthodox movements used to be mostly in sync on core Jewish survival issues. However, as the conservative and reform movements began to see largely empty pews on Sabbath, their leaders concocted an expanded concept of “tikkun olam,” without the self-respect of insisting on reciprocity. Instead, “tikkun olam,” as opposed to the direct and simple injunction of God’s sovereignty in daily prayers, has morphed to Palestinian rights, Black Lives Matter, and “intersectional” partnering with deeply questionable causes. Legitimate social movements, even very discomforting ones, have become intertwined with violence against police officers, and now bizarrely under the umbrella of Jewish liberalism. I am not some perfectly-practicing orthodox Jew, but the fact is that the conservative and reform movements are disappearing, with their leaders having created an alternative religion through what the late Professor Stephen Plaut of Haifa University dubbed the “tikkun olam fetish.” We NEED the conservative and reform movements’ members—we need them to be more Jewish-focused—but the movements suffer from a self-destructive “replacement theology.” As Jews, we end up advocating for our enemies, and expecting no reciprocity, nor receiving it. I call it “tikkun olam for thee, but not for me.” What other racial / ethnic / religious / national group would foolishly do for others while receiving betrayal in return? For our critical role in the Civil Rights movement, because it was right thing to do (not because of the tikkun olam fetish), we now merit Black Lives Matter partnering with our enemies? Aside from some prosperous demographic zones such as Great Neck, Roslyn, Dix Hills, and White Plains, how many conservative and reform synagogues remain in the NYC communities where so many of us live or are from? Again, this is NOT to denigrate the conservative or reform movements, a person’s level of observance is their own business, but to make clear that people should go to synagogue for authenticity, not politics that undermine. As Mort Himmelfarb opined, “Jews like to live like Episcopalians, but they vote like Puerto Ricans.” Norman Podhoretz (not orthodox either) was more pointed, noting, “The problem with reform and conservative Judaism is that it’s become too much like the Democratic Party with a few holidays thrown in. It’s kind of like the Democratic Party at prayer.” If there are a majority of American Jews who wish to proclaim their liberalism or leftism, that’s their business – just don’t falsely attribute their philosophy and actions to scripture. Our scripture DOES remind us, “your enemies shall emerge from within you.” Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld, is a wealth manager and former senior aide to Governor George E. Pataki, Senator Al D’Amato, Mayor Ed Koch, Congressman Tom Manton and Borough President Claire Shulman. He sits on the board of several national Jewish organizations.

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 3

SCHUMER IN THE NEWS

Trump Budget Could Hurt NYPD Counter-Terrorism Efforts U.S. Senator Charles Schumer slammed the budget proposal put forth by President Donald Trump last week, focusing in on proposed cuts to Homeland Security that could cost New York City as much as $190 million in funding. “NYPD and terrorism experts alike say it again and again: terrorists or other evil-doers look to exploit our weakest links. Cuts like the ones proposed by the Trump budget would not only weaken the security apparatus of this city, but they could turn a weak link into something far more serious,” said Schumer. President Trump’s plan would slash $700 million in funding to several of the agency’s key programs, like the Urban Area Security Initiative or UASI. That fund provides large cities like New York with additional money for everything from equipment to planning and training local law enforcement with the goal of preventing terror attacks or responding quickly in the aftermath. “Federal security funds, like UASI, are the cornerstone of effective preparedness and prevention against terror threats and enable the NYPD to do all they can to keep New Yorkers safe and secure,” Schumer said. He added that the cuts were especially difficult for New York City to shoulder considering they are already spending tens of millions in additional security expenses to protect Trump Tower, the permanent home of First Lady Melania Trump. He called on his colleagues in Congress to not only reject this budget proposal but also to increase funding for New York City, including money specifically earmarked for the added costs the NYPD has had to endure in their protection of Trump Tower. “These dollars prevent costly and crippling disasters, but more importantly, these dollars save lives and so, it makes no sense for this funding to be slashed. New York City continues to be the number one target for terrorism in the United States and federal anti-terror funding should reflect that reality.” Trump’s budget proposal also would cut $20 million in funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program or NGSP. The program provides financial assistance to organizations at high risk for terror attacks, like Jewish Community Centers. “At a time when perpetrators are terrorizing the Jewish community across the country, even here in New York, it makes no sense to slash FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program; we should be putting more money in terrorism prevention for

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UASI Funding Over the Years FISCAL YEAR ENACTED APPROPRIATION NYC ALLOCATION

2016 $600M $178,632,000 2015 $587M $180,926,000 2014 $587M $178,926,000 2013 $558,745,566 $174,290,662 2012 $490,376,000 $151,579,096 2011 $662,662,100 $151,579,096 2010 $832,520,000 $151,579,096 2009 $798,631,250 $145,137,750

at-risk non-profits, not less,” Schumer said. In last year’s budget, more than $5 million in federal funds from the NSGP went to 66 Jewish organizations in the New York City metro area for everything from police protection as well as preparedness training for staff. Last week, Jewish community officials urged Congress to preserve the security assistance program. “Congress should consider ways to strengthen the program rather than dismantle it,” William Daroff, the Washington director of the Jewish Federations of North America, said Thursday in testimony to a

Protecting Trump Tower: The estimated the cost to the NYPD of protecting Trump Tower is about $130,000 a day. President Trump has been in office for about 60 days, making the total bill to New York City around $8 million. That doesn’t account for the roughly $25.7 million in costs the NYPD incurred protecting Trump Tower from election day to inauguration day, when Trump spent much more time in the building.

House subcommittee. Groups like Jewish Federations, which lobbied for the program, oppose such a rollover, saying smaller nonprofits would get lost in the competition for the funds. Former President Barack Obama also proposed a rollover. “Keeping the programs separated and segregated serves the interests of the country,” Daroff said. Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration argue that applicants for the preparedness grants must do more to show need.

BDSWatch

Bipartisan Group of U.S. Senators Push Combatting BDS Act Far Left: Sen. Joe Manchin Left: Sen. Marco Rubio

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators have introduced a new bill that would protect state and local governments who take action against companies who support the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement. The Combatting BDS Act amends a 1940 law providing more legal protections for states and localities who stand against BDS. It primarily bans any actions or laws that would preemptively limit a state or local government’s right to put restrictions on people or businesses who support BDS. The bill was introduced by Democrat U.S. Senator from West Virginia Joe Manchin and Republican U.S. Senator from Florida Marco Rubio and co-sponsored by New York Senator Charles Schumer, along with more than 30 other senators. “By protecting states and local governments that dissociate with companies that participate in BDS, we send the message loud and clear that we will not stand for those who unfairly target and boycott Israel,” said Senator Schumer. A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last year, but did not pass. “As a staunch supporter of Israel, the most democratic nation in the region, I am urging my colleagues in Congress to pass this bipartisan bill and stand with our ally, Israel, against those that seek to unfairly financially target and discriminate against it,” Schumer added.

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MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 5

Publisher’s Note

News that matters to Jewish communities in the New York City metropolitan area

As a member of the Board of Advisors of the College I attended, SUNY Albany’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, I often speak with students interested in exploring careers in politics, law, or government. Their lack of cynicism is refreshing, and sincerity reinvigorating. These young people—even the graduate students seem young to me—have always been around technology, and it shows. The wider world, at least on a superficial level, is not alien to them the way it was to those of us who didn’t start travelling until young adulthood. Social media, overseas internships, and more and more diverse immigrant students, who often travel “home” on vacations, bring different perspectives to the classroom. But I wonder whether this flavor of international urbanity is miles wide but not so deep. Do pictures on Facebook or Instagram really teach? Sure, shots from your friend’s meal in Spain may deserve a thumbs up, but are you learning about that country’s civil war, Gaudi’s stunning buildings, or their chronic youth unemployment? Are Tweets from Israel the same as spending time reading about the politics of legislative coalitions? Blogging from Paris is fun, but unless it’s also about the history of ballet in the royal court, is it educational? Latin American vacations are stunning, but understanding how the collapse of oil prices is roiling the region with protests is also important. Has online experience eclipsed studying in educational value? Should this be worrisome? I recently had an email exchange with a Rockefeller student, a wonderful and engaging young woman with an internship in Albany City Hall. I recommended a recent long essay in

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The Atlantic discussing controversial approaches to the dynamic of Obama voters from 2008 and 2012 voting for Trump in 2016. She indulged me by reading through the piece, and wrote back with her thoughts. My follow-up may have scared her off: “My President Was Black” is an interesting read, but be more generous with yourself. It’s not about checking your own biases, though that effort is commendable. Rather, don’t think about yourself at all. It’s a difficult thing to do, I know, and harder still for younger adults, but really try to suppress all ego or sense of self when reading these pieces. Instead, is my suggestion, strain to inhabit the writer’s head, their motivations (why is this piece being written at all?), agenda, experiences, and hopes. Think back to the opening images, where Coates describes the scene of black royalty in the arts, business, fashion, literature, and music at the White House for the last party....last supper perhaps? The hairstyles, clothes, humor....And then the closing words of the Obamas rising up, defying gravity. The criticisms of his administration, which made up the bulk of the middle of the piece, the damning of the white electorate.....the writing has a rhythm. All feels like music, doesn’t it? Jazz, I’d say. Confrontation, improvisation, adaptation—set to scales. I recently finished the autobiography of Miles Davis, in which his descriptions of music read the same as Coates on politics and race. Everything is connected, or at least can be connected, if you have the ear for it. Social movements, history, politics, gender studies, art, music, psychology, bad mystery novels, and pop culture. Indulge your appetite for all of it, and think across

topics, markets, and industries. I deeply believe what I wrote above. Familiarity, even a cursory one, with literature, art, pop culture, music good and bad, how money works, fashion, scripture, engineering—something! —ahead of just being somewhere or clicking on your phone, makes for a truly interesting person. As the technology around social media becomes more advanced—it’s now possible to watch minute long movies in your Facebook feed—are hours in the library imperiled? At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I still remember a sixteen page New Yorker article I once read on crop dusting in Arkansas. While parts of that piece could have been tighter, a pithy top ten list can’t convey the same depth of information. Yes, students learn differently these days, but there are still things to know that can only be absorbed through reading, reading more, and reading again. Ideally, the technology and social media platforms that seem, at least to me, to be too superficial to be a person’s sole source of news, instead supplement and enhance information also learned elsewhere. Maybe a Tweet encourages buying a book for your Kindle, maybe Facebook post piques interest in an old magazine article. At New York Jewish Life, we pledge to provide news and information on a variety of topics, our goal being to turn out—week after week—a newspaper we’d want to read if we ourselves hadn’t published it.

Michael Tobman, Publisher

PUBLISHER

Michael Tobman LAUNCH EDITOR

Michael Gareth Johnson EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Sara Werden BUREAU CHIEF

Maxine Dovere DESIGN

LETTER7

OUR CIVIC LIFE

FourQuestions

01 Are you better off now than you were four years ago? No, but I am very hopeful about the future, both near and long term.

TED GHORRA

Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman

Have you ever been the target of discrimination? I am generally thick skinned, but yes, when certain people assume you fit a certain mold, and speak or act towards you in an inappropriate way based on those incorrect generalizations, I simply correct them factually, and leave them questioning their own mindset. Facts and pragmatism should precede and succeed hyperbole and misinformation.

03 What was the last television show you binge-watched? Two shows: Billions, and This Is Us

04 What was your favorite vacation from your childhood? Going to California with my family: Visiting Disneyland, Seaworld, and Hollywood. Seeing stuntmen filming on set, and the Jaws ride!

MARCH 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 7

OUR CIVIC LIFE

UNITED AGAINST HATE NEW YORK OFFICIALS RESPOND TO JCC THREATS BY MICHAEL GARETH JOHNSON

“These senseless, hateful attacks are unacceptable and should be investigated thoroughly and expediently. I urge you to do everything in your power to track these perpetrators down and prevent future attacks.”

–Sen. Charles Schumer in a letter to the FCC asking for the agency to unblock phone calls from people placing threats to JCC’s

In the current political landscape it seems increasingly rare that politicians find an issue or event where there is universal agreement, especially among Democrats and Republicans. But emerging from the shadows generated by threats against Jewish Community Centers, and other Jewish institutions, is a united light of condemnation from New York’s most prominent leaders. There have been more than 150 threats against JCC’s and other Jewish organizations, like museums, since the beginning of 2017, including dozens in New York. Recently, another seven JCC’s received threats on Purim, including two in New York. State and local officials have responded with strongly worded statements of disgust and have pressured law enforcement agencies to do more to track down the culprit or culprits and to provide more funding for

security at Jewish facilities. Law enforcement officials believe the majority of the threats are coming from one source and almost all of them have been found to be not credible. They are concerned that the alarming trend could lead to more anti-Semitic activity. Many Democratic officials, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, have blamed the uptick in anti-Semitism on the election of Donald Trump as President, citing the rhetoric he used during the campaign. In recent weeks though, de Blasio has backed away from that charge, instead taking the track of many other Democrats, and Republican leaders, by focusing on solutions like calling for more attention from federal agencies. Here is a sampling of what some of New York’s most prominent elected officials have said about the threats and the rise in anti-Semitism.

“[This] is a despicable and cowardly act that will not be tolerated in New York. It is especially repugnant that this latest act of anti-Semitism took place on Purim, a day that we celebrate the resiliency of the Jewish people. Like all New Yorkers, I am profoundly disturbed and disgusted by the continued threats against the Jewish community in New York. As New Yorkers, we will not be intimidated and we will not stand by silently as some seek to sow hate and division. New York is one family, and an attack on one is an attack on all.” –Gov. Andrew Cuomo following a threat on a JCC in Brighton

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OUR CIVIC LIFE

“New Yorkers shouldn’t have to live or worship in fear. Hate crimes and threats are on the rise and we can’t stand idly by and do nothing or pretend it’s not happening. Now more than ever we need to make sure our places of worship and community centers have the right resources to protect themselves. I’m asking the Trump administration to take these threats seriously and dedicate more federal dollars to protecting religious and community centers.” –Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a statement to the Department of Homeland Security asking for more funding to enhance security at Jewish institutions.

“We are in a state of vigilance. This is a very troubling reality. This is a moment in time, a moment in history where forces of hate have been unleashed and it is exceedingly unsettling to people who are the victims of that hate.” –New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaking at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center on Staten Island, which recently received a threat

“The emotion right now is so raw, so raw, that you’ve got people who are out of control. You have not only an ally, but a true friend. We will do everything possible to make sure they’re prevented from happening in the first place, if can be prevented, but reacting swiftly, God forbid something does happen.” –Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino speaking to Jewish leaders following several threats to Jewish institutions.

“A threat to any one person’s constitutional right to express freedom of religion is a threat to every citizen here in our county. We have worked and have recognized that we have to do more to combat terrorism.”

–Nassau County County Executive Ed Mangano at a news conference following a threat at Mid-Island Jewish Community Center in Plainview.

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 9

At Jewish Schools Hit by Bomb Threats, Trying to Teach Students Just Enough to Cope BY BEN SALES

NEW YORK (JTA) — On the morning of March 7, Rabbi Beth Naditch found out that two of her three children’s schools had received bomb threats. The anonymous calls placed to the MetroWest Jewish Day School and the Solomon Schechter Day School in suburban Boston turned out to be hoaxes, like the rest of the calls placed to some 120 Jewish institutions since January. And while the news was shocking, the threats were something Naditch and her husband had tried to make sure their sons—ages 9, 12 and 14—would be ready for. A week earlier, a relative had been evacuated from a Jewish community center during another bomb threat wave. And as a rabbi at a Jewish eldercare facility, Naditch spoke regularly with Holocaust survivors or refugees who were feeling echoes of their pasts. So she and her husband had spoken to their boys about anti-Semitism, why it’s returning and what to do if it reaches them. “My husband and I were just waiting for it to hit our kids,” Naditch said. “We were trying to walk a fine line between having them prepare and be aware of safety measures, aware that there are people in the world who want to hurt us or other people because they are anti-Semitic or racist, and trying not to terrorize them.” The Boston-area campuses were two of at least a dozen Jewish day schools that have received bomb threats since the beginning of the year. Most of the threats have targeted JCCs, largely affecting either adults who can process the distress or preschoolers too young to perceive it. But the threats against Jewish schools have placed parents, teachers and administrators in an uncertain position. Many of their students are old enough to understand the threats, but not old enough to cope by themselves. So schools have tried to walk a fine line: They want to give students enough information to answer their questions, but not enough to traumatize them. They want to explain anti-Semitism, but not normalize it. “This is something we may do, but it’s not a fun thing, it’s not a good thing, it was an unfortunate thing that happened,” Rabbi-Cantor Scott Sokol, head of school at MetroWest Jewish Day School, said he told his students. “We’re not looking to make it a bigger

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Rabbi Beth Naditch and her husband had already been talking to their children about anti-Semitism when bomb threats hit two of their sons’ schools the same morning. COURTESY OF NADITCH

deal than it was. At the same time, they understand this is something that happens more to kids at Jewish day schools.” Many schools delivered their messages based on the grade level. Students up to third grade in some schools were told they were going on a fire drill. Fourth- and fifth-graders in several schools were told there was a threat, they were safe and little more. Middle schoolers and high schoolers, many of whom read the news on their own, were given a fuller picture. But every school has placed limits on its communication. At MetroWest, Sokol asked students and parents not to post about the threat on social media. At the Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Aleph Bet Jewish Day School in Annapolis, Maryland, both threatened on Feb. 27, administrators opted to give the students no more information than necessary. “Talking that directly with our older students helped them understand, ‘OK, this was a threat, it’s no longer there,’” said Sarah White, head of school at Aleph Bet. “That was the only conversation we’ve had with them. At school, you’re expected to be safe. If

things are organized, things are calm and teachers are in control, you feel safe.” Administrators at various schools told JTA that that their top priority was to get students back in class and on schedule. Several schools returned to a regular school day following a brief evacuation. At MetroWest, kids were dressed in pajama pants celebrating the Purim holiday on the day the threat came; they opted to continue their weeklong festivities. At the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School outside Washington, D.C., which also was threatened on Feb. 27, high school principal Marc Lindner said police did not require the students to leave class. “Our general approach was we wanted to keep things as normal as we possibly could,” Lindner said. “There wasn’t anything real about it. It was just an empty threat. That’s what was communicated.” A couple administrators said speaking with anxious parents may have been the biggest challenge they faced -- though no administrator told JTA that students had been pulled out of school. One of those parents, Rabbi Abe Friedman, said that while he was concerned with his 9-year-old’s safety, she was more interested in talking about the games they played during the evacuation. “My wife and I were more emotionally affected by it than she was,” said Friedman, whose daughter attends the Perelman Jewish Day School outside Philadelphia, another school threatened on Feb. 27. “She didn’t seem all that interested when I brought it up, and I didn’t want to put it on her because of my need to talk about it.” For teachers, the bomb threats have meant broaching anti-Semitism with children, sometimes before it appears in their curriculum. Several school officials said they have filtered that conversation through the lens of how much support they have received from Jews and others in the wider community. “They are taking what’s happening across the nation very personally,” said Allison Oakes, head of school at the Lerner Jewish Community Day School in Durham, North Carolina, which was threatened on Feb. 22. “We wanted to focus on, yes, this is happening in our world, but let’s take a look at everyone trying to support us.” As the wave of bomb threats rolled on, the AntiDefamation League put out a list of “5 Tips for Talking with Children about Bomb Threats at Jewish Community Centers.” Like Oakes, the ADL urged adults to focus on the “helpers” who supported the community after a threat. And some parents and teachers have tried to explain the threats by way of the Jewish calendar -- particularly the recent holiday of Purim, which celebrates the Jews’ survival in ancient Persia in the face of an enemy’s threat. This, Naditch told her sons, is sort of like a modern version of that story. “He really wants to know why,” Naditch said of one of her boys. “Why would anybody want to hurt us just because we’re Jewish? And it’s a hard thing to answer. “We’ve tried to connect it to Jewish history. I can’t say to them everything’s going to be fine. I can’t say to them you don’t have to worry because they do have to worry.”

YeshivaMemories It’s a tale as old as time, HAFTR’s become my home. It’s where I learned to rhyme and the true meaning of “shalom.” From student to staff to HAFTR mom of two, The memories span over 25 years. However, one moment remains at the front of the queue That I’d love to share with my peers. A senior in High School, with a passion for song; Our choir teacher suddenly chose a new path to take, I found myself leading the group- staying strong, Let me tell you, this was no piece of cake. Slowly but surely, melody & harmony fused; Showtunes & Disney medleys filled the halls. Administrators, faculty & students amusedThe voices of students adorned the walls.

LESLIE (REIS) GANG HAFTR High School Class of 2003

To still be a part of the HAFTR family, Watching my children follow my lead, It truly means the world to me. One day it’s their memories you may read.

Director of Admissions & Communications, HAFTR

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 11

Jewish Theological Seminary Hosts International Rescue Committee President & CEO David Miliband REBECCA BARADACH, FORMER DIRECTOR & SENIOR PROTECTION OFFICER OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, GUIDES DISCUSSION AFTER MILIBAND REMARKS

BY STAFF

On the heels of news that President Trump’s revised executive order temporarily banning refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries would be halted before it could take effect, David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and former UK foreign secretary, spoke to a crowd at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan about how communities of faith can most effectively respond to the most serious refugee crisis since World

War II. The free public lecture was orchestrated by The Jewish Theological Seminary’s Louis Finkelstein Institute, which brings together great thinkers from diverse academic, social, political, and religious spheres to wrestle with the most urgent challenges of the day, such as the current refugee crisis we face globally. Miliband has been outspoken in his opposition to

David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former UK foreign secretary, addresses a crowd at the Jewish Theological Seminary on the day President Donald Trump’s revised executive order on refugees and immigrants was slated to go into effect. PHOTO COURTESY OF JTS

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both iterations of the President’s executive order, calling the premise “cruel and counterproductive, stranding some of the most vulnerable and most vetted people in the world.” Miliband’s major warning to the United States is that the only “winner” in this situation are the extremists telling Muslims not to trust the west, he strongly believes this ban will have negative foreign policy implications on all western countries currently grappling with obligations to refugees. Following Miliband’s remarks, attendees discussed how best to come together as an interfaith community to protect and welcome refugees and immigrants as U.S. policies continue to evolve. Rebecca Bardach, the former director and senior protection officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, led the Q & A.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Power Players Visit Brooklyn Top elected officials made high profile trips to Brooklyn in March to discuss a host of issues including housing, transportation and state and city funding for key programs.

TOP RIGHT:

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie visited the powerful Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club last Thursday. FAR LEFT:

Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Frank Seddio. LEFT:

(Left to right): Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, Senator Roxanne Persaud and Councilman Alan Maisel

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and State Assembly Housing Committee Chairman Steven Cymbrowitz discussed affordable and supportive housing, and senior social services at the Mirage Diner on Kings Highway in Brooklyn.

MARCH 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 13

Tom Falik, Chairman of American Friends of Kishorit, singer songwriter David Broza, Shuki Levenger, Kishorit founder and now CEO, and Shira Reichman, Director of Development at the first Kishorit event in New York

Calling Kishorit Home BY MAXINE DOVERE

“This is our child. His needs are special. We will not always be here when she needs us.” Meeting the needs of long term care is a major challenge to the parents of a disabled adult child. Parents, often themselves aging, or unable to maintain a disabled adult child in their family, seek a home that will care for a child throughout his or her lifetime. Kishorit, a “home for life” for adults with special needs in the Western Galilee, provides such a secure home in a community “with a deep sense of social belonging and full membership” for adults with disabilities . Recalling the first time he saw Kishorit, twenty years ago, American Friends of Kishorit Chairman Tom Falik told New York Jewish Life that the community “is a place of hope.” He spoke about sitting around a dinner table with 20 special needs families. Sitting under the sky on a Galilee mountain “all the families

14 | NYJLIFE.COM | MARCH 22 – 28, 2017

spoke about their hopes for their children at Kishorit. “There was nothing like this in Israel at the time,” he said. “The parents worried about the future of their children.” As a parent of disabled children, Falik understood in the most personal way. A request was made to The Jewish Agency for Israel, the land use authority, to secure Kishor, an abandoned kibbutz, to transform it into Kishorit. Falik, also a member of the Board of Directors of The Jewish Agency for Israel at the time, was able to help facilitate the transfer of the failed kibbutz property. Yael Shiloh, the noted Israeli textile artist, and Shuki Levinger were there at the beginning. Yael is now Chairman of the Board; Shuki is Kishorit’s CEO. Tom, too, understood the need very personally: he is the father of two disabled children. Twenty years after the first residents arrived, 171 people with disabilities,

including autism, Down’s syndrome, schizophrenia, and other special needs, call Kibbutz Kishorit “home.” The staff ratio, including professional and support personnel, is approximately one to one. Kishorit is an active, multi-industry enterprise generating an annual revenue of over 7 million shekels. Funds earned go towards the 10,000 Shekels per month needed to care for each resident. The kibbutz’s agricultural component produces 550,000 liters of milk, cheese, and organic eggs. Prize winning wines, baked goods, and an array of organic vegetables, both for kibbutz consumption and for sale also support Kishorit. “It’s a fully working kibbutz,” says Reifman, “Every member is employed in real, revenue generating enterprises.” Among these is the Kishorit kennel which breeds internationally renowned miniature schnauzers and dachshunds, “We have a room full of prizes!” The kibbutz is home to a therapeutic riding center famous throughout Israel, manufactures plastics components for a major Israeli industrial company, has a workshop producing wooden toys and hosts a TV production studio. Under the tutelage of Yael Shilo, Kishorit residents create unique wall hangings. Their 5 foot square works of art have been exhibited in Israel at gallery opening hosted by President of Israel Shimon Peres, and have been displayed in the

United States. “The therapeutic value of art is immense,” says Reifman. “Art gives people with disabilities a unique opportunity to express themselves.” About three years ago, a new segment of residents significantly changed the population. A group of mainstream families, some with a professional or personal connection to the disabled population, have moved to and reinvigorated Kibbutz Kishor. They participate in a unique, thoroughly integrated community. “Being part of Kishorit adds a special meaning to life,” their Director of Development told NYJL. Mainstream families give their earned profits as a donation to the kibbutz. “When someone comes to Kishorit, we promise to care for them forever. Knowing their child is secure, gives great peace of mind to aging parents.” Kishorit’s treatment philosophy is one of inclusion. The kibbutz has three “silos” of care—residential, vocational, social skills—and is a long term residential facility offering a safe, secure ”home for life.” “We provide ‘fluid care,” says Reifman. Options range from virtually independent living in a supported apartment in the nearby city of Karmiel to a 24 hour on-kibbutz nursing facility. Residents can move between facilities as needs change. “Remaining in the community helps recovery,” says Reifman. The Kishorit facility, however, is currently at total capacity. Demand continues to increase, and the needs of some families’ adult children can not be accommodated. The American Friends of Kishorit is joining international Kishorit “Friends” organizations to raise funds to construct additional facilities. Chairman Falik noted that, while revenue from its industries and Israeli government support help maintain Kishorit, donations are urgently

needed to increase the community’s ability to meet the growing needs of Israel’s disabled and aging population. “Parents give what they can—some give significant funds,” he said. “Families are asked to donate as they can.” After some 25 years as a community, Kishorit will dedicate its first synagogue close to the Passover holiday. The beit knesset dedicated to the memory of Leon Charney, has been endowed by his family. Charney, long time host of the Charney Report, was a lawyer, real estate executive and recognized authority on Middle East politics. On March 18, the AFK offered a special evening featuring famed Israeli singer David Broza. It was a “first time” event for the AFK. Tom Falik told NYJL that “similar evenings in Canada and London have been wonderfully successful. Among the concerns discussed was the development of a state of the art fire prevention system, a major concern since a rash of fires in 2016. Kishorit remained out of the reach of the flames during the crisis, but fires burned around the community, forcing evacuation of the next town, “Imagine, said Shira, “moving 171 people with many levels of disability in the middle of the night!” Providing shelters, too, is a continuous concern at Kishorit: the psychological and other stress presents great challenges to the professional staff. “The staff is outstanding, really first class,” commented Herb Krosny, the internationally known film writer and director. His son, Andrew, is a Kishorit resident. Krosny called Kishorit’s programs “the best, most unusual and most innovative” worldwide. For his son, Kishorit living at Kishorit “is a fantastic opportunity...an incredible environment.” David Broza, a true embodiment of mench, was

the musical enticement of the evening. “David would love to make it a better world,” Falik said. The internationally known musician raised spirits and opened hearts, singing both his signature and less well known compositions. “Kishorit is amazing—a magnificent place on top of a mountain,” says Falik. “Come visit. It is an oasis in so many ways.”

Kishorit has created a small “sister community” to meet the needs of Israel’s Arab disabled. Arab language and culture are incorporated into contemporary treatment models with cooperation and interaction between the two communities. Parents who can support their child do so. Some funds are forthcoming from Israel’s government and charitable contributions.

Israeli singer songwriter David Broza gave his gift of song to Kishorit at its New York fund raising celebration

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 15

OUR WORLD

In Bid to Defeat Le Pen, French Right-wing Candidate Cozies Up to Jews

Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

US Urges UN to Withdraw Report Accusing Israel of Apartheid (JTA) — The United States called on the United Nations to withdraw a report that accused Israel of committing apartheid against the Palestinians. The U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia — an agency based in Beirut, Lebanon, and comprised of 18 Arab member states, including what is identified as the State of Palestine — released the report Wednesday. In its conclusion, the report says it “establishes, on the basis of scholarly inquiry and overwhelming evidence, that Israel is guilty of the crime of apartheid.” Nikki Haley, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, slammed the report. “The United States is outraged by the report,” Haley said in a statement. “The United Nations Secretariat was right to distance itself from this report, but it must go further and withdraw the report altogether.” Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, also criticized the report. “The attempt to smear and falsely label the only true democracy in the Middle East by creating a false analogy is despicable and constitutes a blatant

16 | NYJLIFE.COM | MARCH 22 – 28, 2017

lie,” Danon said in a statement. A U.N. spokesman said the report was published without consulting the international body’s Secretariat and “does not reflect the views of the secretary-general,” Antonio Guterres. The report was prepared by Richard Falk, a former U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights who has compared Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians to the actions of the Nazis, and Virginia Tilley, a professor of political science at Southern Illinois University. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations called on Guterres to directly reject the report. “This latest outrage perpetrated against Israel by a UN body must not be allowed to stand,” said a statement quoting the Presidents Conference chairman, Stephen Greenberg, and executive vice president, Malcolm Hoenlein. “Secretary General Guterres should unambiguously reject the ESCWA report and undertake to prevent similar unwarranted attacks in the future.”

PARIS (JTA) — Even to his supporters, France’s center-right presidential hopeful Francois Fillon is a flawed candidate. Dogged by corruption scandals Fillon, who represents The Republicans party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, was indicted Tuesday for allegedly funneling public funds illicitly to his children and wife. Fillon, a career politician and former prime minister, has denied the allegations. Nonetheless, his supporters are willing to forgive him these problems, as they see Fillon as likelier to beat the front-runner in the race, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Additionally, many of these supporters see him as more likely to act tough on radical Islam than his left-wing rivals. But there is an added layer of complexity for Jewish backers of Fillon: The candidate has made vaguely critical remarks about ritual slaughter and said that at some indeterminate point in history, Jews had to be forced to obey French law. On Monday, Fillon -- who is running a credible third in the polls behind Le Pen and the centrist independent Emmanuel Macron -- attempted to mend fences with French Jews. For the first time in his campaign, he attended a town hall meeting with some 700 members of the community organized by the CRIF federation of Jewish communities. For Fillon, it was a partial success at best. Dozens of supporters welcomed the candidate by chanting “Fillon President” at the meeting at a Paris hotel. Meyer Habib, a Jewish lawmaker and former CRIF vice president, endorsed him publicly. Fillon earned applause at least a dozen times when he pledged to support Israel and curb jihadism.

Nevertheless, the applause was weak and sporadic, and the audience questions were critical. By contrast, the former prime minister, Manuel Valls, who lost the Socialists’ primary election this year, received thunderous applause at similar gatherings. Fillon rebuked France’s support for a UNESCO resolution passed last year that ignored Jewish ties to Jerusalem, calling it “an error and historical untruth that complicates peace efforts.” And he vowed never to normalize ties with Iran as long as that country “continues to call for Israel’s destruction.” He said he supported Palestinian statehood “only if the future Palestinian state is reached by an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.” Fillon also promised to “be more careful,” in reference to his controversial remark last year during a radio interview in which he claimed Jews in the past had lacked respect for the rule of law. As for ritual slaughter, he assured the crowd that his comments from 2012, when he said that the practice “has little to do with modern science,” does not mean he would act to outlaw the custom. Last year, French Jews and Muslims formed a joint effort to defend against attacks on kosher and halal practices. “Jewish values, they are, well, they’re our values,” Fillon said. “Jews had a very major role in building the French republic,” he added, noting that Jews have lived in France “since time immemorial.” During the two-hour talk, Fillon made little effort to present any Jewish or pro-Israel credentials other than assuring the audience of his desire to curb anti-Semitism and radical Islam while defending French Jews. He repeatedly explained that he was their best defense against a

OUR WORLD

victory for Le Pen. “Without a candidate for the center-right, Mrs. Le Pen would have a field day,” Fillon warned. “Some in the right wing would express their anger by going so far as to vote for her.” Many in the crowd remained uninspired by Fillon’s bleak description of French society, and were unimpressed by his failure to apologize for mismanaging his financial affairs and accusing Jews of lawlessness. “He’s precise and logical, but I heard nothing that will inspire young people or instill hope in the minds of those seeking meaningful change,” said Emmanuel Attlan, a 30-year-old finance executive who attended the meeting. “He’s got nothing but fairy tales to offer,” said Henry Battner, president of the Farband association of Ashkenazi French Jews. Serge Sznajder, a scholar on Eastern Europe and a Farband board member, used Yiddish to describe is impression of Fillon. “Let me sum it up this way: Gurnisht,” he said, which means “nothing.” Fillon, Sznajder said, “is not against Jews, he just doesn’t know us, doesn’t get us, he has no idea, he never had too many dealings with Jews in Sablé-surSarthe,” Sznajder added, naming the countryside town where Fillon began his political career in 1983. Both Szajder and Battner said they will vote for Macron. Albert Cohen, 53, an unemployed Parisian, quietly cracked jokes about Fillon from his seat, calling him “the thief ” even though he plans to vote for him. And Olivia Cattan, an author and activist for people with disabilities, asked the person sitting next to her “not to yawn or we’ll all fall asleep.” According to a poll Tuesday, Le Pen is leading the race with a 26.5 percent approval rating, followed by Macron at 25.5 percent. Fillon was third at 18.5 percent and the far-left Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon had 13.5 percent. The top two vote-getters in April’s first round will advance to the second and final round on May 7. Fillon, who won his party’s primaries despite predictions he would finish third or fourth, cited the false forecasts in advising his listeners to distrust polls. Macron, who has avoided populist statements about Islam in a positive campaign promoting national reconciliation, is the “kind of candidate that floats on the cloud thanks to a nice platform, but come elections, voters will be faced by the divides once more, and that’s when candidates like Macron crash,” Fillon said. An independent candidate has not won a French presidential election in over four decades, since the 1974 victory by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Countless French voters who are worried about radical Islam, Fillon also argued, would vote for Le Pen if made to choose between her and the reconciliatory Macron. On Feb. 4 in Lyon, Macron riled the right and even some centrists when he said, “There is no French culture, there is culture in France, and it is diverse, different and made up of multiple cultures.”

French Presidential candidate Francois Fillon

Fillon disagreed at the CRIF meeting, saying “France is not multicultural, it is diverse but has one language: French.” Despite Le Pen’s efforts to woo Jewish voters by promising that she will be their “shield” against Islam, most of them are distrustful of her National Front party. It was founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has multiple convictions for Holocaust denial and incitement to racial hatred against Jews. His daughter kicked him out in 2015 for making anti-Semitic statements, but he remains honorary president of the party and has many supporters in its ranks.

Marine Le Pen has also said, if elected, that her effort to ban the religious garb of Muslims would include kippahs in some public spaces. The kippah prohibition would be necessary to preserve equality, she said. By contrast, at the CRIF talk, Fillon said he would focus only on Islam and would not change any of the religious liberties now afforded to Jews and Christians in France. “Banning citizens from wearing all religious symbols goes against my understanding of religious freedom,” he said. “Today there is one religion that poses an integration problem, and that is Islam.”

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 17

Baruch HaBaim! Jeep Tour of the Negev

Israel Welcomes You! BY MAXINE DOVERE

The vibrance of the country and variety of possibilities for visitors to Israel is incredible. Whether dancing at a “hot” Tel Aviv club in the early hours of a Saturday morning or sharing the unreal serenity of praying with a new bride at the Western Wall in the holiness of pre-dawn Jerusalem, swimming with schools of rainbow fish in the warm waters of Eilat or climbing a snow capped mountain to watch the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, Israel offers virtually unlimited choices, many within an hour or two drive from between destinations. Masada or the Jordan Valley, the Galilee, Caesarea, a kibbutz or a bike tour through the Negev, being a tourist in Israel is a never ending continuum of new experiences. Yaviv Levin, the Minister of Tourism, is charged with “getting the message out.” On a recent visit to New York,

18 | NYJLIFE.COM | MARCH 22 – 28, 2017

the Minister discussed the practical realities of getting people to Israel and the positive and wide ranging effects that a visit to Israel can have. Making Israel a “go to destination for vacation is important,” he says. Since taking position as Minister, Levin has worked to increase flight schedules from Europe, enabling

vacationers to reach Israel’s beaches, restaurants or clubs more easily, even if just for a long weekend. “Israel is not a single experience,” the Minister stressed. “It is a destination of many experiences, from the religious pilgrimage to a music festival to the Negev trek. The four or five hour flight is quick and, with the additional of

“Israel is not a single experience. It is a destination of many experiences, from the religious pilgrimage to music festival to a the Negev trek. The four or five hour flight is quick and, with the additional of volume carriers like RyanAir, growing more inexpensive.” –Yaviv Levin, Israeli Minister of Tourism

volume carriers like RyanAir, growing more inexpensive.” Boutique hotels abound, whether a Bedouin tent, a family bed and breakfast, a luxuriously rebuilt hundred year old building in Acre, or a five-star resort at the beach. Tours of every type are available, from single day museum visits to extensive travel, study or work programs. “Tourist Israel” has an abundance of information at their websites www.israel.travel or www. GoIsrael.com “The world is small,” said Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin. “What happens in one country can affect every other nation.” After just under two years in office, Levin says tourism presents “a huge opportunity” to establish relations with many countries, including Arab countries where there are often “excellent relations under the table.” The minister expressed his hope that cooperation will increase. Acknowledging the political implications, the Levin suggested that “we should work not inside out but outside in… that will improve relations. It will make open relations with major Arab countries more easy.” With a bit of humor, Levin confided that “the easiest job is to be Minister of Tourism.” The ministry was in need of change, he noted. “I said to the Prime

Beach at Eilat

Dancing on the beach in Haifa

Minister,” he recalled, ”do you want me to succeed? Then double my budget!” Levin is marketing Israel as “a positive destination.” “There is a change of vision… Israel is the best place for vacation! Israel’s beaches, food and culture are extraordinary,” he said. “And you have the added benefit: you can see the holy places whether you are Jewish or Christian!” Blevins began his enhanced marketing in Europe, promoting both the old and the new—Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Currently, efforts to increase tourism from both China and India are underway. The Minister noted that 118 million Chinese traveled in 2016, but only roughly 40,000 came to Israel. Additional flights from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong have already helped increase Chinese tourism by 200 percent. Agreements with Air India are also in the works. “If Arab countries were to permit Israeli planes to ‘fly over’

traveling from Israel to India would be shorter than from flying from Israel to London.” Flight availability is also being expanded in the United States. Blevins is working with El Al opening new routes from Miami and Boston. LOT, the Polish Airline, has increased its Israel-bound flights to 21 per week. Levin is now building the Israeli tourist market in Latin America. “When the boom will occur, we will be there,” he says. “I am very optimistic.” Noting that almost all the additional flights approach Israel from the west, he suggests that an artificial island could be created to be used as a airport. Ben Gurion would remain the destination for “long haul” flights and large aircraft. “A new airport is totally possible. The technology is there so that it can be done in five years,” he said. “The increase in the number of tourists in January and February of 2017 is almost double the latest budget increase,” Levin said.

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 19

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Trump Era Prompts Jewish Donors to Step Up Giving to Liberal Causes BY BEN SALES

ATLANTA (JTA) — For decades, the Lippman Kanfer family has focused its philanthropy on local Jewish communities and national initiatives to teach Torah—funding causes from the Anshe Sfard Congregation in Akron, Ohio, to a Jewish day school network. But since Nov. 8, Election Day, the family has been talking about another set of issues—refugees, voting rights and civic engagement. Like so many other things, its giving has been shaken by the Donald Trump administration. “When it’s time to step up, we have to step up,” said Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, the founding director of the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah. “We’re grappling with how much we step up fast, where the urgency requires us to act quickly.” Trump’s election has pushed the Lippman Kanfer family and other Jewish mega-donors to refocus their giving on domestic causes that reach beyond the Jewish community. The donors, some of whom had already funded liberal causes, cite the country’s political divides, the president’s policies targeting minorities and a proposed federal budget that reduces funding for social services and the arts. But Trump’s support for school choice could also aid funders supporting Jewish day school. “I don’t think private foundations can make up for draconian social service cuts in the federal budget,” said Susie Gelman, who chairs the center-left Israel Policy Forum and whose family funds programs for Jews in their 20s and 30s. “But I think funders can be strategic and smart, and form partnerships and try to address some of the issues now under threat.” Discussions of Trump’s election and its fallout have coursed through the Jewish Funders Network International Conference here this week. Several sessions dealt with bridging political divides and promoting civil conversation. Others addressed a perceived spike in anti-Semitism and the increasing need for security at Jewish institutions. On Tuesday, a session on government funding and American Jewry forecast that deep cuts in federal domestic spending could spell trouble for Jewish social service groups. The funders network’s focus on civil discourse grew during the election campaign. The group, which serves as a resource and hub for Jewish donors and foundations, issued guidelines in August for how philanthropists should conduct themselves. The

principles included “Consider and honor diverse viewpoints” and “Fund positive change, not hostility.” “Funders themselves sometimes use their power from their funding to force ideological positions,” said the network’s president, Andres Spokoiny. “Funders can [instead] fund organizations and people that strengthen civil discourse, that create spaces for dialogue and conversation.” Rather than make up for lost federal funding, some donors plan to focus on advocacy to prevent government budget cuts. The Nathan Cummings Foundation, which already funds a number of liberal groups—including some Jewish ones—hopes to encourage minority advocacy groups to unite around a common advocacy agenda. “Philanthropy can’t replace the NEA,” said the foundation’s president, Sharon Alpert, referring to the National Endowment for the Arts. “What philanthropy has always been poised at is creating partnerships with government that demonstrate how important government action and programs are to our lives. We need to engage even more deeply in making that case.” Mark Reisbaum, who donates to Jewish and LGBT arts initiatives in Northern California’s Bay Area, said he and other donors he knows now plan to donate to politicians who support arts funding. “For many funders, the political and public sector environment over the last decade was supportive and inclusive of their vision, so they didn’t feel the need to operate in that sphere,” he said. “In the current environment, they realize they can’t only fund the arts directly. They also have to try to influence the political sector.” Spokoiny noted that Trump’s policies may also serve Jewish interests, given Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ support for tuition vouchers for private schools. Jewish leaders have long fretted about rising tuition making Jewish day school prohibitively expensive. “There could be some positive things in terms of funding,” he said. “Day school funding could receive a boost from a government that believes in school choice.” Even Jewish programs with no political dimension have made adjustments in the Trump era. PJ Library, a program that sends Jewish books to children, has posted guidelines on its Facebook page helping

Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, founding director of the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, says her family is discussing ways to increase its giving to domestic issues. COURTESY OF KANFER ROLNICK

parents broach the topics of anti-Semitism and hate with their children. “We’re terribly saddened that children’s lives are being disrupted and that parents have to face this issue and be prepared for their children’s questions,” said Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, which funds the program, referring to the some 150 Jewish community centers and other institutions that have been hit with bomb threats since the start of this year. “But if we’re a trusted source in engaging around parents’ topics, this is a topic we have to address.” Combating Trump’s agenda may be a boon for organizations seeking to engage younger philanthropists. Michael Littenberg-Brown, 35, president of the Council of Young Jewish Presidents, a consortium of young donors, said his generation is more attracted to groups that provide a Jewish entry point to addressing global injustice, like HIAS, which advocates for refugees, or the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism. “The burden is to use this moment to help create the space for young funders,” he said. “Young people see themselves as global citizens, and that becomes a very important identity to them in addition to their Jewish identity.” Donors said that even with the shift to broader issues, parochial Jewish causes may not suffer. Reisbaum said that some of his fellow philanthropists have committed to donating more, corresponding to the spike in the stock market since Trump’s election. “For some people, that’s tainted money,” he said. “If I have these ill-gotten gains, I want to do more with them.”

MARCH 22 – 28, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 21

A Life Well Lived: Gershon Kekst Dead at 82 BY MAXINE DOVERE

The accolades were many; the admiration palpable. His leadership was compared to that of Moses. Gershon Kekst, said Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York, “was one who left the world stronger by his contributions.” Each Shabbat, as they quietly entered the synagogue, the connection and the caring between the two was tangible. With great care, Carol, his wife, would drape a talit across his shoulders, then help him raise his hand to caress the Torah as it passed through the congregation. Gershon Kekst, though his strength had been diminished by illness, remained a striking presence. Kekst, husband, father, grandfather, ardent advocate of Jewish education, and a force for good in both the Jewish and secular worlds, died Friday, March 17. His funeral brought together friends and family, leaders in many worlds, to celebrate a life superbly well lived, with honors much deserved. David Lefkowitz, Cantor Emeritus of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York, paid tribute in song, chanting a beloved composition commissioned by the Kekst family; “There is no replacing a person of wisdom” wrote Professor Daniel Zajfman, President of the Weizmann Institute, in a message read by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue. He praised Kekst, who had been Chairman of the Board of the Institute, as a man of success and modesty, committed to education. Chancellor Emeritus of the Jewish Theological Seminary Ismar Schorsch said Kekst was “one for whom the Torah was inscribed in his heart - an extraordinary, inspiring individual… an exemplar of the future. The current Chancellor, Professor Arnold Eisen called Kekst “larger than life,...a man who understood the power of science and the power of Judaism. Kekst, he said, would “report on what has been accomplished, not speak about what will be done.” How tender a soul,” he concluded “the epitome of a leader.” The Gershon Kekst Graduate School at JTS is named in Kekst’s honor. Gershon Kekst chaired the “Campaign for Brandeis” raising almost a billion dollars for the University. “Gershon’s knowledge and wisdom was remarkable, and he delivered his advice candidly but warmly,” said Lawrence Kanarek ‘76, Chairman of the Brandeis Board of Trustees. “Remember who you are and where you come from,” recalled his sons, David and Joseph, as they

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described their father. He was, they said “a man who believed in people at every level.” They shared stories of warmth and the strength of family. Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove described joining the Kekst family for Shabbat while still a rabbinical student, saying Gershon Kekst was a man who would “dispense

wisdom.” Gershon Kekst was President, Principal and Partner at Kekst and Company & Co. and was involved in some 3,000 deals during the 38-years he owned the company.

OPINION

Community First, Then Politics BY MICHAEL FRAGIN

I believe in the secret ballot. So I do not make a habit of disclosure as to whom I voted for in a given election. I am willing, however, to say whom I did not vote for. I did not vote for Trump or Clinton. Some might call that a cop out, a punt, or an abdication of citizenship. But I have my reasons. I am neither a Trump Jew nor a Clinton Jew. These labels have been foisted upon our community as the partisan divide deepens. And these labels, and the division created by them, is lamentable. There is no question that the Jewish community overall continues to lean towards Democrats. But there is an increasingly significant and growing Republican minority. The NYC electoral map shows heavily Jewish deep blue and deep red Jewish neighborhoods side by side. The best performing Republican areas in NYC are in Orthodox and Russian Jewish precincts in Brooklyn and Queens. Clinton Jews cannot understand how Trump Jews were attracted to such a scary candidate, while Trump Jews saw the potential continuation of the Obama Middle East policy as misguided and hopelessly naïve. These two groups of Jews—you and I, and our parents and children—are side-by-side but looking right past each other. Like much of the country we are unable to find common ground Bridging the divide has not been helped by the prominence of Jewish issues in the first weeks of this presidency. Promises to move the Embassy in Israel, a slow response to bomb threats against JCC’s, a nominee for Ambassador to Israel who used less than admirable adjectives about Jews on the left, the proposed cut of the State Department envoy for antiSemitism when that sickness is on the rise, and the bizarre kicker of omitting Jewish suffering when remembering

the Holocaust. At the same time, Jews, particularly Orthodox Jews, have prominent White House positions in the new administration. Ivanka and Jared, Jason Dov Greenblatt, David Friedman, and Boris Epshteyn have put the Jewish concerns, sensitivities, and even anxieties at the forefront of the first two months. This had led some Clinton Jews to be even further alienated with some questioning Trump Jews’ “Jewish values.” There are many other positives for Jews. Ambassador Nikki Haley has challenged the UN’s anti- Israel excesses. The Secretary General and others have taken notice. The President has made a strong and public commitment to Israel even if he did it by throwing a knuckleball in opening the door to a one state solution. This conservative not–Trump notClinton Jew would like to see our 45th President succeed. The success of the President is vital for our country. At the same time, I am disappointed that he has not been ready willing or able to grow into the job. I want what is best for America, which is for our President to look at the office of the Presidency as something bigger than himself. And if I want that for Washington, I also want that for my fellow American Jews. Jews should look at our community not with the political labels that we have worn as of late, determined to beat and discredit the other side, but as Americans who care deeply about the values of this country and the future of our brethren in Israel and around the world. As a political strategist I know that we will not all vote the same way or support the same team, but when the game is over we should be able to take off the uniform, shed the labels, and drink a l’chaim together. Michael Fragin is a Republican political consultant who has worked with candidates and on issues at every level of government throughout New York.

Technology Tots at HAFTR Preschool BY STAFF

Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) has created a very special iPad lab for their preschool classes. Using Krayon Kiosks that hold four iPads each, their littlest ones work with educational apps on numbers, letters, shapes, patterns, sequencing, and following directions. More importantly, these apps promote problem solving skills, and the preschoolers learn that learning itself is fun. It is amazing to watch these littlest techies use their intuitive skills to figure out how to use a new app. Doodle Buddy and Moma Art, for example, support their creative side while building computer literacy at three years old! HAFTR four year old classes are equipped with projectors and Apple TVs. Teachers are using this technology to introduce new letters

with ABCMouse and movement activities with Go Noodle. Each class has its own iPads for students to use at center time. A favorite app is Animal Flashcards which uses Augmented Reality technology to reinforce letter recognition. These young students are even learning to use the camera to document their building skills in the block corner. In dedicated technology classes, four year olds are learning computer science skills with the help of Bee-Bot, an adorable coding robot that doesn’t speak English or Hebrew. It only knows the language of computers: code! So the young coders create an algorithm with picture cards, helping students with directional language, planning ahead, and sequencing. HAFTR is committed to bringing developmentally appropriate STEM skills to even the youngest learners, preparing them for the workplace of the future’s focus on individuality, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.

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