M R U C A N EE BR N D T T O NI ID H O N A E K L G TE Y N FO S D. R A.
Opinion: Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan says Albany is LEADing
Shabbos Shorts: Aaron Short visits the Conservative Synagogue of Fifth Avenue
We endorse David Pepper for Brooklyn Civil Court
VOL. 1, NO. 23 | AUGUST 30-SPETEMBER 5, 2017 | NEWS THAT MATTERS TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA | NYJLIFE.COM | FREE
New York State Nurses Association:
40,000 RNs
Standing Strong to Protect Your Healthcare Right now, Congress is considering a bill— the Better Care Reconciliation Act—that would devastate our healthcare system, leaving 22 million people without coverage by 2026.
Older Americans could be charged five times more than younger Americans Children would be among the largest group hit by the Medicaid cuts Essential services may be eliminated, even for people with employer-based health insurance
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STAND WITH NURSES AND FIGHT FOR QUALITY HEALTHCARE FOR ALL
Publisher’s Note
NYJL Endorses David Pepper for Brooklyn Civil Court IN THIS UPCOMING ELECTION ON TUESDAY, SEPT. 12, THERE SHOULD BE NO CONFUSION: DAVID PEPPER DESERVES YOUR VOTE AND WILL BE A FINE JUDGE FOR OUR DIVERSE BROOKLYN. This paper’s first political campaign endorsement is in support of a candidate for Brooklyn Civil Court whose experience, temperament, accomplishments and vision qualify him as the type of judge you’d want to have making decisions that impact your life. Democratic Primary Election Day is on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Of the 11 candidates running for five boroughwide spots on the “people’s court,” David Pepper stands out. Over omelets and coffee last Wednesday morning, David and I spoke about Brooklyn, lawyers and lawyering, what makes for a fair judge, and the old Culver movie theater that used to be on 18th Avenue. “I used to go to the Culver on Sundays for horror movie double features, but wound up watching the films through my fingers because I covered my eyes,” Pepper admitted. “Or my friends and I crouched on the floor with everyone else. Those flicks were terrifying!” Civil Court judges are elected directly by the voters, unlike other important judicial posts that are either appointed or nominated for office by political party leaders without direct involvement of voters. Civil Court judges hear cases involving damages below a certain amount, serve in Housing Court and often also sit in Criminal Court. These public officials, because they are directly elected and because they hear cases involving the types of regular disputes that happen among regular folks, are truly the judges in our justice system who are closest to the people. A graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton and then
Brooklyn Law School, David Pepper is a real New Yorker. He practiced big-firm law before starting his career in the courts in positions of always increasing responsibility. “Big-firm lawyers—and remember I was one for a while—would send six-page letters that cost their clients $10,000, when they could have called me for an answer in three minutes. In Brooklyn, we focus on results,” he said. Pepper has worked in New York’s courts for over 20 years, helping to efficiently resolve all types of judicial disputes. Since 1996 he’s been the principal legal counsel to Supreme Court Justice Martin Solomon. Civil Court has a special place in this publisher’s heart, as I worked as court attorney right out of law school. I well remember the sheer volume of personal-injury cases that needed resolving, the late nights in Criminal Court, and the stress of trying to fairly address extremely difficult housing cases, which often involved possible evictions. Which is why Pepper’s vision for judicial temperament impressed me: “Give everyone the opportunity to be heard; nobody should ever feel as if they didn’t have the opportunity to make their case. If your decision will cause distress, do it gently. You don’t need a heavy hand all the time, though that’s sometimes required. And don’t ever enjoy the difficult decisions, especially when you’re presiding over a criminal case—this is a person we couldn’t reach.” Some candidates for Civil Court see the position as a form of retirement with great healthcare benefits and a pension. I’ve personally seen, and been
frustrated by, judges like that. I asked Pepper directly about the tendency of judges to slack off. “Some do, there’s no doubt about that,” he responded. “But I only know how to work hard all the time. It was an exhausting time, but one of my favorite experiences working in the courts was pulling double duty in the Bronx and in Brooklyn—I’d be conferencing personal-injury cases in the morning up in the Bronx, and then hustling back to Brooklyn to help in a felony crime courtroom in the afternoon. Voters should know that I’m not afraid of hard work. My first job as a young teenager, I had to be 14 years old, was cleaning up a butcher shop after school. No job has seemed quite as difficult since then.” After three refills, Pepper and I figured we’d had enough coffee, and he needed to get back to work. I asked him about old cases he’d been thinking about lately. “There was one, the first decision I drafted years ago for Judge Slavin when he was presiding over electionlaw cases,” he said. “It involved Marty Markowitz. He was running for reelection to the State Senate, and his candidacy was challenged because his name on the ballot was listed as ‘Marty’ when his proper name was ‘Martin.’ My draft decision, which Judge Slavin agreed with and signed, focused on that everyone everywhere knew Martin as ‘Marty,’ and that so long as there was no intent to confuse the voters, it was OK. That decision was challenged but upheld by the Appellate Court.”
Michael Tobman, Publisher
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CANDLE LIGHTING
Friday, Sept. 1 Candles: 7:10 p.m. Shabbat Ends: 8:08 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 Candles: 6:58 p.m. Shabbat Ends: 7:56 p.m.
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Rex Tillerson, Heeding Objections, Says Anti-Semitism Envoy Post to Be Filled (JTA) — The State Department will fill the post of special envoy for the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism following the urging of lawmakers and Jewish groups, but will do away with or combine dozens of other diplomatic positions. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the announcement in a letter sent Monday to Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The special envoy post, which was mandated in the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, has remained unfilled since Trump’s inauguration in late January, as have many other such posts. The envoy monitors acts of anti-Semitism abroad, documents the cases in State Department reports, and consults with domestic and international nongovernmental
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and Jewish leaders have been urging Tillerson to keep the office open and name an envoy. According to the Tillerson letter, the office will be returned to the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, with two positions and $130,000 in funding. “I believe that the Department will be able to better execute its mission by integrating certain envoys and special representative offices within the regional and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State Department, May 18, 2017 functional bureaus, and eliminating PHOTO BY ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES those that have accomplished or outlived their original purpose,” organizations. he wrote. “In some cases, the State The Office to Monitor and Combat Department would leave in place Anti-Semitism has been unstaffed since several positions and offices, while in July 1. other cases, positions and offices would Congress members, Jewish groups be either consolidated or integrated
with the most appropriate bureau. If an issue no longer requires a special envoy or representative, then an appropriate bureau will manage any legacy responsibilities.” Other envoys that will be retained include the special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority; special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS; the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom; and the special envoy for Holocaust issues. Of 66 current special envoys or representatives, 30 will remain. Nine positions will be eliminated, 21 integrated into other offices, five merged with other positions, and one transferred to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
BDSWatch
Israel Will Not Evacuate More Settlements, Netanyahu Pledges JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel will not evacuate any more settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged. “We are here to stay forever,” the prime minister said at an event in the northern West Bank settlement of Barkan commemorating the 50th anniversary of Israel’s settlement of the West Bank. “There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel. “This is the inheritance of our ancestors. This is our land.” Netanyahu noted that the areas from which Israel has withdrawn its citizens have become launching grounds for rockets aimed at Israeli communities. “Samaria is a strategic asset for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said, using the biblical term for the West Bank. “It
is the key to our future. Because from these high hills, the heights of Mount Hatzor, we can see the entire country, from one side to the other. “So we will not fold. We are guarding Samaria against those who want to uproot us. We will deepen our roots, build, strengthen and settle.” A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the statement by Netanyahu, The Associated Press reported. Palestinian official Nabil Abu Rudeineh also called on the United States “to deal with these provocations.” Netanyahu’s speech comes less than a week after he met with Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump on the Middle East, and
A view of a portion of the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim PHOTO BY URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES
a delegation of U.S. officials to discuss how to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. His visit to Barkan is the third at an official event in the West Bank in
recent weeks. Earlier in August, he spoke at a ceremony establishing a new neighborhood in Beitar Illit, and in June he addressed a ceremony inaugurating a new medical school at Ariel University.
Bryn Mawr to Place Moratorium on Buildings Named for an Anti-Semitic Founder NEW YORK (JTA) — Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia said it will place a yearlong “moratorium” on the use of the name of a founder and past president who was a known anti-Semite. The name of the library and great hall are named for M. Carey Thomas, who served as the private college’s president from 1894 to 1922. According to biographer Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Thomas prevented the hiring of Jewish teachers at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, and later made sure she was not dealing with Jewish candidates for faculty positions at the college. Horowitz also noted that Thomas lobbied against the admission of a Jewish student, Sadie Szold, to the Bryn Mawr School in 1886. Thomas “had a profound impact on opportunities for women in higher education, on the academic development and identity of Bryn Mawr,
and on the physical plan of the campus,” college President Kim Cassidy wrote in a letter to the Bryn Mawr community last week. “(S)he also openly and vigorously advanced racism and anti-Semitism as part of her vision of the College. Some
Bryn Mawr College
of you have suggested that the College rename Thomas Library and Thomas Great Hall because of this legacy, and others have suggested making that history explicit in other ways.” Cassidy wrote that a working group
of faculty, students, staff, trustees and alumni was formed in the spring “to educate us and to lead reflection on our institutional histories of exclusion, as well as resistance, and to organize our thinking and actions as a community. “I understand, however, that this is an especially raw moment for members of many different marginalized groups whose rights and dignities are being attacked so openly and so viciously,” the letter said, referring to Charlottesville and similar far-right rallies and incidents across the country. Cassidy said in the letter that the college will “place a moratorium on the use” of the name “Thomas” to refer to the library and the Great Hall for the 2017-’18 academic year while the issue is debated by the working group. According to the Forward College Guide, Bryn Mawr has 1,346 undergraduate students and 200, or 15 percent, are Jewish.
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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Rebellious New Likudniks Are Crashing Netanyahu’s Party BY ANDREW TOBIN
TEL AVIV (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under investigation for corruption, has often claimed that his left-wing political enemies are out to get him. Now his supporters have alleged that leftists are even infiltrating his right-wing Likud party. Two weeks ago, David Bitan, the chairman of the governing coalition and an unswerving Netanyahu ally, pledged to block a group calling itself the New Likudniks from carrying out a “coup” against the prime minister. “A person who doesn’t believe in the values of the Likud and comes in purely so he can blow it up and change it in a way that will harm it is criminal in every way,” Bitan told Israel’s Ynet news website. “We have the right to defend ourselves against hostile control.” Bitan spoke for many Likud members worried about the New Likudniks, whose ranks have dramatically expanded in recent months. But the group’s officials, and its supporters within the Likud, denied it is either hostile or leftist. Rather, they said, the group simply wants the Likud to return to its moderate nationalist but liberal roots. The New Likudniks was founded in 2011 by leaders of the social justice protests, which that summer saw hundreds of thousands of Israelis take to the streets to demand government action on behalf of the middle class. The group’s stated agenda is to push what it says are middle-class interests from within Likud. It takes no position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “We are you. We are members of the middle class,” the New Likudniks website says. “Employees, students, conscripted soldiers, taxpayers. Loving the country from the left and right from top to bottom.” After hardly growing for years, the New Likudniks’ membership began to surge in late 2016, going from about 3,000 to more than 12,000 today among a total of 100,000 Likud members. The group’s Facebook page has nearly 16,000 followers. According to officials of the group, the catalyst for its growth was Netanyahu’s high-profile vilification in November of Ilana Dayan, one of Israel’s most respected journalists. The prime minister’s office accused Dayan of trying “to topple the right-wing government and bring about the establishment of a left-wing government.” She devoted six minutes to
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reading the entire written statement on air, provoking public outcry. Netanyahu has continued to provide fodder for the New Likudniks’ criticism of the party’s alleged anti-democratic tendencies. This includes calling in January for the pardon of an Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian terrorist, backing a law passed in February that allows retroactive legalization of West Bank outposts, and this month alleging that Israel’s “fake news” media and law enforcement are conducting a “witch hunt” against him. Netanyahu is the subject of two ongoing corruption investigations—one for allegedly accepting gifts from wealthy supporters and the other for allegedly trying to strike a deal for better newspaper coverage. An indictment is also pending against his wife for alleged misuse of state funds. The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing by his family. Ohad Gan Raveh, a software engineer in Modiin, north of Jerusalem, joined the New Likudniks last year. He said the Likud was a natural fit for his political views but that he is frustrated with corruption in the party and in Israel in general. “I consider myself right wing, and it’s one of the only democratic parties in Israel,” he said, referring to the fact that Likud is one of three major Israeli
political parties that hold primaries. “Most people don’t know this, but the real power is in the hands of party electors. They decide who enters the Knesset.” But many Likud members, as well as journalists and pundits, have questioned the right-wing credentials of the New Likudniks. They have accused members of the group of being undercover leftists desperately seeking to compensate for their diminished status in Israeli politics. After all, the Likud has now been in power for nearly a decade. “You are the people of Meretz and the Labor Party who joined the Likud. You infiltrated the Likud,” Deputy Knesset Speaker and Likud member Nava Boker told a leader of the New Likudniks during a TV panel discussion this month. “Your ideology contradicts the values of the Likud. Be honest. Go to the parties that fit you.” Tamar Zandberg, a lawmaker for the left-wing Meretz party, agreed. “[The Likud] is not your place as left-wing people, and it is one of the biggest displays of losing by the left wing,” she said on a TV panel in July. “The democratic left-wing parties, those who believe in themselves, should raise our heads and fight for our own way to replace the Likud, not to join the Likud.” Many have compared the New Likudniks to the Feiglinites, a far-right group led by the firebrand Moshe Feiglin that tried to take over the Likud in the early 2000s to prevent Israeli territorial withdrawals. The group, which had as many as 7,000 members, eventually overcame opposition from Likud officials. But it accomplished little, and most of its members departed ahead of the latest election. According to Hebrew media reports, Likud officials really began to take note of the New Likudniks when increasing numbers of their members began joining the protesters who for months have gathered every week outside the Petach Tikvah home of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, complaining that he is dragging his feet on the various Netanyahu probes. Pro-Likud counterprotesters have also shown up. Immediately after Bitan threatened to take action against the New Likudniks, the Likud blocked online registration for the entire party. Also, on Aug. 22,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Knesset member David Bitan at a Likud party meeting at the parliament in Jerusalem, June 12, 2017 PHOTO BY YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90
Likud lawmaker Yoav Kisch announced that he plans to submit a bill to stop the group by counting all ballots cast in a primary as votes for that party in the general election. Ostensibly, the move would discourage stealth leftists from casting Likud primary votes. The New Likudniks have already expressed disappointment in Kisch, who has denounced the group after it helped elect him to the Knesset for the first time. Members of the New Likudniks have played into criticism of the group: Numerous members and even officials have told Israeli reporters that they are Meretz voters and have no intention of voting for Likud in a general election. “In 2015, no, I did not vote Likud,” group official May-rav Sutton told a TV interviewer in February. “What, did I marry them? I don’t understand. Like, why do I owe anything to the party when the Likud’s list [of candidates] is not deserving in my eyes?” Still, some Likud members have defended the New Likudniks. “A large proportion of the New Likudniks hold liberal, legitimate views on the Likud’s moderate side,” Likud lawmaker Yehudah Glick wrote on Facebook Aug. 19. “It is possible to impose sanctions against specific people if they know that their goal is to undermine the Likud from within. The burden of proof [is] on the party. Alas, if we could only bring in those we like.” Inbal Samet, another New Likudniks official, argued that voting is not the only measure of commitment to a
party. She and the 44 other members of the group’s leadership believe in the Likud’s constitution, she said, which expresses Zionist, democratic and freemarket values. They support candidates who embody those values on the model of the party’s founder and first prime minister, Menachem Begin. “Candidates have to know the charter, and they have to act upon it,” Samet told the JTA. “A lot of things happening today are completely illiberal and do not promote equality between races, sexes and genders. These are the things we want to see promoted. In order to deal with our bigger problems, we first need a healthy society and a healthy politics.” Samet said the New Likudniks do not consider candidates’ views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because its officials are divided on the issue and see no solution forthcoming anyway. However, she said when people tell her they hold socialist economic views, she makes clear the group is not for them. She acknowledged that some Israelis have joined the New Likudniks primarily in hope of undermining the Likud, but characterized them as misguided outliers. The group as a whole is committed to strengthening the Likud, she said, and is already doing so by testing its democratic institutions. “I think all this will be good for the Likud in the long run because the party is going to come out the other side stronger,” she said. “Is it good for the New Likudniks? As far as I’m concerned, the stronger we are, the stronger the Likud will be.”
Bibi and Trump to Meet
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump will meet Sept. 17 in New Jersey, an Israeli newspaper reported. The meeting will take place while Netanyahu is in New York for the opening of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Israel Hayom reported Sunday. Neither the prime minister’s office nor the White House has officially announced the meeting. The Israeli paper did not provide a
site for the meeting. Afterward, Netanyahu will return to Israel in time for the Rosh Hashanah holiday. The two leaders met at the White House in mid-February, and again in May when Trump visited Israel as part of his first overseas visit as president. Prior to attending the General Assembly, Netanyahu reportedly will visit Argentina and Mexico—the first visits to those countries by a sitting Israeli prime minister.
Swastika Drawn on New York City Church That Shares Space with Synagogue Swastikas, Anti-Semitic
(JTA) — A swastika was drawn on a church in New York City that has shared space with a nearby synagogue. The swastika was found at the bottom of the doorway of the Methodist Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew on Manhattan’s Upper West Side last Wednesday, according to the West Side Rag. The church has shared space with B’nai Jeshurun, a local liberal synagogue, since 1991. It appeared to be drawn with a felt-tip pen and was found as two of the church’s pastors were attending a local interfaith rally against white
supremacy and hate in response to the recent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The swastika was drawn underneath a banner that said “Hate has no home here” in multiple languages, including Hebrew. “We obviously don’t know what motivated this, but we will continue to speak out against hate, hate speech and anti-Semitism, particularly in light of the recent events in Charlottesville and the approaching Jewish High Holy Days,” said a statement by the church’s senior pastor, Rev. K Karpen, according to the West Side Rag.
Graffiti on Long Island (JTA) — Swastikas and other antiSemitic graffiti were found spraypainted on a Long Island, New York, high school. The walls, doors and windows in the back of Syosset High were vandalized between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday, Nassau Police told the local media. In addition to the anti-Semitic graffiti, “MS13” was painted on the school building. MS-13 is a
Salvadoran-based street gang that has been blamed for more than 20 killings on Long Island in the past year and a half. Syosset is at least 15 miles from the nearest towns where the gang is said to be active. In a statement condemning the graffiti, Syosset Board of Education trustee Joshua Lafazan said he would call for increased security patrols at all school district buildings.
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Meet the Candidates for District Attorney BY MICHAEL SPITZER-RUBENSTEIN, SHAKINGNEWS
Ama Dwimoh
This year’s contest for Kings County District Attorney has not garnered much attention, but it is incredibly consequential. As the chief prosecutor for Brooklyn, the district attorney can help decide what police and prosecutors focus on, as well as how residents of the most populous borough interact with the criminal justice system. And given Brooklyn’s size and stature, the district attorney’s leadership influences law enforcement across the country. For 24 years, Charles Joe Hynes served as Brooklyn’s district attorney. Initially elected as a progressive reformer in 1989, Hynes’ reputation was tarnished by scandals and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct over the years. In 2013, running for a seventh term, Hynes lost to Ken Thompson, a former federal prosecutor and civil rights leader. Thompson, the first African American to serve as Brooklyn district attorney, was a progressive leader who cracked down on gun violence and stopped the prosecution of low-level marijuana arrests. Thompson created an internal unit to review and exonerate wrongful convictions, a clear rebuke to Hynes’ leadership. Controversially, however, he declined to seek prison time for Peter Liang, the rookie NYPD officer convicted of manslaughter for killing Akai Gurley. Thompson’s time in office, however, was much shorter than Hynes’ tenure. Last fall, he announced he had cancer and died just days later. Now, his former deputy and the current acting district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, and five other candidates are running for the seat.
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Eric Gonzalez
Patricia Gatling
Ama Dwimoh
The child of an African immigrant from Ghana and a Native American mother, Ama Dwimoh came to work at the Brooklyn district attorney’s office right out of law school. First under former District Attorney Liz Holtzman and then with Joe Hynes, she worked in the Special Victims Unit on some of the most horrific cases, including child abuse and domestic violence. Under former District Attorney Joe Hynes, Dwimoh created the Crimes Against Children bureau and the Child Advocacy Center, and that experience underlies her worldview. “When children are safe, families are stable. And when families are stable, communities thrive,” Dwimoh says. As district attorney, she promises to advocate on behalf of the vulnerable: seniors, children, youth, women and immigrants. And she’ll practice “proactive justice” to address mental health, drugs and other issues. After leaving the DA’s office, she worked with Ken Thompson from the beginning of his campaign and pledges to uphold his legacy. Currently, Dwimoh is the special counsel for Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, where she created a program offering free legal services for everyone in Brooklyn. For her, her experience is a differentiator, as she has worked with families from every community in the borough. As DA, Dwimoh would focus on rebuilding trust in the criminal justice system. There’s a perception of a bias and she wants to fight that, making the DA’s office more fair, accountable and trustworthy for Brooklyn’s communities. That includes adapting a level of cultural
sensitivity, paying attention to community events, and working with community leaders with an ear to the ground like Orthodox Jewish rebbetzins and wigmakers. And she would be an advocate for people who need help, taking a long-term view to prevent crime and not just prosecute it. Dwimoh promises that though some may not agree with her, they’ll always know where she stands.
Patricia Gatling
Patricia Gatling says she’s been preparing to be district attorney since law school, but her dedication to justice came much earlier. As a child, she went with her 70-year-old grandfather to vote for the first time in 1964, just months after the nearby Mississippi Burning murders of three civil rights workers: James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner. Gatling’s grandfather resolved to cast a ballot, overcoming legal oppression and threats of violence and economic harm. Seeing his pride after voting, she realized that entrenched, dehumanizing systems could be changed. Now she’s trying to do the same for what she describes as a “broken criminal justice system.” Gatling worked for Joe Hynes, challenging the Latin Kings and Jamaican drug gangs as a narcotics prosecutor, experience that she cites as demonstrating the importance of working with communities. By listening to community members, she realized that there were civil solutions to keep people from doing drugs—methods that would work better than just locking people up.
Her view that prosecutors should work with the community led to her creation of ComAlert, the first re-entry program started by a DA. The program helps people leaving jail stay out of trouble through drug treatment, employment and housing services. Gatling wants to prioritize that work to prevent future crime and recidivism, which she says Hynes started but Thompson took to another level. She’s not afraid to take on police and prosecutors, either. Early in her prosecutorial career, she trained police officers to follow the law in dealing with cases. As the New York City human rights commissioner under
Anne Swern
Mayor Bloomberg, she took on the NYPD so that a Sikh traffic officer could wear his turban. Now she wants to create a Prosecutorial Integrity Bureau to audit cases, take complaints and prevent wrongful convictions. Gatling would also reform the DA’s office by having senior attorneys examine cases and question police officers early on to prevent problematic cases from going forward. She also emphasizes discovery and bail reform so that the accused can defend themselves and don’t just languish on Rikers Island because they can’t afford a $200 bail. With technology and community organizations, she would make sure defendants get to court without needing to be held in jail. As Gatling sees it, her vision and experience running the Human Rights Commission sets her apart: “As a prosecutor you want to fix the problem and you think punishment. As a human rights lawyer, you want to heal human suffering. I can merge those two visions.”
Eric Gonzalez
Eric Gonzalez says he’s been doing the work and will keep doing the job if he’s elected district attorney. The current acting district attorney, he touts his work stopping the flow of illegal guns; protecting immigrants; and reforming the criminal justice system to make it work better, and more fairly, and to keep Brooklyn safe. Growing up in East New York in the ’80s and ’90s, Gonzalez was surrounded by crack cocaine and violence, along with widespread distrust of the police department. Even as a child, he knew the impact of law enforcement and how considerations of justice, fairness and safety played out in that work. Gonzalez
says he never really left his community and made a commitment to give back. That led him to a 20-year career as a prosecutor, working his way up to chief assistant under Ken Thompson. They shared a vision for reforming the district attorney’s office, and after Thompson got sick, he told Gonzalez to run for the post. “I could not and would not let the office go back to what it was before,” Gonzalez defiantly declares. In the 10 months since Gonzalez took over, he’s emphasized continuing the innovation of the district attorney’s office that started under Thompson. To make
Vincent Gentile
it easier for domestic-violence witnesses to cooperate without fear of reprisal, he developed a program of sending complaints directly to victims’ smartphones for them to sign, rather than in the mail. He’s maintained a focus on stopping illegal guns, overseeing the largest gun trafficking case in history. And in response to ICE’s outrageous raids on immigrant communities, Gonzalez set up a new Immigrant Affairs Unit. It’s not just about justice for him, but also about public safety: assuring immigrants that they can cooperate with law enforcement. Underlying Gonzalez’s work is a simple vision: reducing reliance on police and jails while keeping Brooklyn safe. That includes a recent high-profile dismissal of over 100,000 old arrest warrants. He touts the work of the Young Adult Court, which includes social workers helping individuals with drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues and other life skills. People who complete the program and stay out of trouble don’t end up with criminal records. Gonzalez implemented a new policy to stop asking for bail except for serious offenses. According to Gonzalez, 2016 was the safest year in Brooklyn’s history, and 2017 is looking to be even safer. And for that, he claims credit. “I’ve been doing the work; I’ve been getting the job done.”
Anne Swern
Anne Swern considers herself a lifelong public servant. Upon graduating from law school, she went right into the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. After working as an assistant district attorney for four
different DAs over 33 years, she decided to change course, becoming a public defender. One of the key challenges for any district attorney, according to Swern, is the need to manage and lead a large organization. As she says, for any policy to truly be enforced, “You have to make sure it happens with every assistant district attorney in every courtroom in every case with every victim and every defendant.” Swern points to her leadership experience as the managing counsel of the Brooklyn Defenders as a key differentiator compared to her opponents. While
Marc Fliedner
there are dangerous, violent people who need to be incarcerated, there are many people who are not violent but are nonetheless awaiting trial on Rikers Island. Swern promises to reform the system—to get at the root causes of violence and implement alternatives to incarceration. As an example of how that could work, she cites her involvement in setting up the Red Hook Criminal Justice Center, which combines community services and educational programming to help people involved in the criminal justice system. For Brooklynites, perhaps the biggest changes would pertain to marijuana cases. While the district attorney’s decision to drop marijuana-possession prosecutions was widely heralded, Swern thinks it doesn’t go far enough, since people smoking marijuana are still prosecuted and the law is enforced in a discriminatory way. As she asks, “Are these cases coming from Brownsville and East New York or are they coming from Park Slope and other neighborhoods?” Moreover, old marijuana cases aren’t sealed, so those cases still turn up in background checks and databases. Swern also advocates procedural reforms to how the office operates, including discovery reform so that defenders can better represent their clients. She would also stop prosecutors from overcharging defendants. Moreover, she would reduce sentences and bail amounts so that fewer people would be incarcerated, and those who were would spend less time in prison. “I have solutions,” she declares. Vincent Gentile and Marc Fliedner declined repeated interview requests.
AUG. 30 – SEPT. 5, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 9
CONSERVATIVE SYNAGOGUE OF FIFTH AVENUE Exclusive BY AARON SHORT
The Conservative Synagogue of Fifth Avenue looks a little like that house from the movie Up. Nudged between a stately row of condominium towers on East 11th Street sits a two-story former carriage house that is home to one of the only conservative denominations in Downtown Manhattan. A door in the wrought-iron fence edging the property line swings toward a charming brick-and-stone courtyard that congregants walk along to get to the tiny shul. A sharp left through the entrance and you’re inside the cozy, well-lit sanctuary. The room is a little cramped, but soon that will change. In 2015, board members appealed to a higher power—the city Landmarks Preservation Commission—to expand the sanctuary by removing the façade and extending the front of the building by 12 feet. The building is a city landmark that dates back to 1852, when it was built as a stable, so the LPC must approve any renovation plans. It was an artistic residence before it became a synagogue in 1961. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Despite opposition from Manhattan Community Board 2, the city approved the board away. (Tickets are $275 and available via PayPal on the members’ proposal in January 2016, although work shul’s website: http://www.csfanyc.org/.) hasn’t started yet. The shul’s membership largely tilts above the age The congregation is preparing for the new year in of 55. Most regulars are in their 60s and 70s and have the meantime, but the synagogue’s energetic Rabbi lived in Greenwich Village for decades, and some are Joe Schwartz skipped a recent Friday-night service in even in their 90s. There are, however, a fair number of late August because he was home sick. postdoctoral and graduate students engaged in their “He was coughing the whole time he was talking to studies at New York University. me on the phone,” said one board member. “I said, Former Mayor Ed Koch, who lived three blocks ‘Don’t come in and hack over everyone. Get better.’” away, occasionally stopped by. A man in his 70s Instead, Rabbi Emeritus David Gaffney filled in, warmly remembered the three-term mayor as “affable and another board member, Sam Swartz, pitched in and very smart.” as cantor. The sanctuary itself is largely spare, with white About two dozen congregants attended Shabbos, walls and a low ceiling save for two electric memorial though the synagogue can fit 80 before it becomes plaques that contain the names of several hundred a fire hazard. But the board members won’t risk deceased members. overcrowding for the High Holiday services—which The ark is away from the street at the northern end will be at the Center for Jewish History five blocks of the room, which is awkward since it’s a custom to
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pray facing east toward Jerusalem—another reason why the renovation is occurring. Rabbi Gaffney led a swift hour-long service from the Siddur Sim Shalom prayer book; the service started promptly at 6 p.m. He interrupted his cantor only twice, to mention a new class on psalms that will be offered in the coming year, and to recount a story of watching an Itzhak Perlman concert at Tanglewood during a thunderstorm, which he described as a spiritual experience. “There are a lot of storms in your life. Always listen for the music above the storm,” he said. Near the end of the service, a woman wearing a black knit sweater dotted with white hearts carried a silver tray with plastic shot glasses of wine and grape juice for kiddish. The wine was sweet and medicinal, just as it should be.
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AUG. 30 – SEPT. 5, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 11
Jewish Life, Hamptons Style BY MAXINE DOVERE
For three months every summer, the towns and villages of the South Fork of Long Island multiply their populations manyfold. Summer residents bring a lot more than beachwear and party dress to the gilded enclaves known collectively as “the Hamptons.” As the last decades of the 20th century marched across the calendar, Jewish life in the Hamptons grew exponentially. Floating homes hosted minyanim (prayer quorums) that grew into synagogues and community centers. Shabbat services led to rich Jewish-content programming, and year-round connections developed. Jewish cultural programming—Jewish film festivals, concerts, exhibits of Israeli artists and community outreach events benefiting the wider Jewish community—became highly anticipated events on a summer weekend. New York Jewish Life spoke to a few of the Jews making Jewish Life in the Hamptons rich, inviting and diverse. As the summer Shabbats of 2017 begin to descend at ever-earlier hours, these Jews are planning new centers, preparing new exhibitions and enriching Jewish Life. Rabbi Leibel Baumgarten came to Long Island at the direction of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Menachem Schneerson. “I was sent to reach out, to help all kinds of people, Jews and non-Jews,” he said. About 35 years ago, Baumgarten began leading Shabbat minyanim in private homes. “It was difficult—hard to put together a minyan,” the rabbi told NYJL. “People needed to say kaddish (the memorial prayer) and have a warm feeling of Shabbat. Five years ago, the Chabad House was expanded to create a synagogue. It is important to have the setting of a synagogue. “What’s so beautiful about our services is the diversity of the crowd. In the city, everybody belongs to a different synagogue; here everybody prays together….In my eyes, a Jew is a Jew,” said Baumgarten. He described the nusach (prayer style) as a combination of traditions, leaning toward the Sephardic. “Chabad is welcoming, not judgmental. But,” he emphasized, “we do not bend on Judaism.”
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Rabbi Joshua Franklin, East Hampton Jewish Center PHOTO BY MAXINE DOVERE
One of the synagogue’s most beloved programs is the “Challah Bake.” “Kids come to have fun,” he said. “We give them a little spiritually, a Jewish story, and make challah! They learn the blessings in a fun way. My home is known for an open Friday night. My wife is a great cook; she bakes the best challah!” NYJL asked Rabbi Baumgarten how the Chabad philosophy would be conveyed to future generations. “I believe my children heed the Rebbe’s message. We don’t have him physically, but he is with us every moment.” NYJL then asked the rabbi how his congregation was reacting to the crisis in Charlottesville.
“It was a terrible thing,” he responded. “We don’t feel it in East Hampton, but the world is in chaos with anti-Semitism on the rise. We have to be on the alert and be vigilant, be proud, know who we are and stick together...not only Jews but also the Gentiles. We’re all in this together.” Rabbi Joshua Franklin is the new rabbi In town—he became rabbi of the 400-family East Hampton Jewish Center (EHJC) in the summer of 2017. Asked about Hamptons Jewish life, Franklin said, “Judaism lives on the weekend. Every Friday, we celebrate Shabbat on Main Beach with about 300 people— a multigenerational experience with special focus on the children....We create great Jewish memories....There is a sense of great spirituality.” EHJC programs enhance its religious services. Franklin described the “Summer Institute at the Jewish Center” as being “modeled after the Aspen Institute: high-caliber speakers and high-level discussions about what Judaism looks like today; panel discussions addressing the questions surrounding the Middle East situation; and discussions of Jewish life and the Jewish future.” NYJL asked him about his congregation’s response to Charlottesville. “It’s very challenging,” he said. He is planning a concert as a time to reflect, and asking local clergy to join him in celebrating the central value of unity. While the East Hampton Jewish Center is officially part of the Reform movement, Franklin calls it Post-Denominational. “We have Reform, Conservative, Orthodox congregants using the Reform prayer book of London, which is more in line with Conservative Judaism. More and more,” he told NYJL, “Jews are defining themselves without labels. Just ‘Jews.’ The Millennials are more inclined to label themselves as they practice.” Like Chabad’s challah baking, the East Hampton Jewish Center offers hands-on experiences to enhance the Jewish connection. Its full-time Sunday program integrates Jewish learning into Hamptons life using practical activities like gardening to learn Hebrew. “It’s a biblical garden,” noted the rabbi. “We want to create immersive experiences.” Jewish Life in the Hamptons is not limited to religious activity. Jewish culture is alive and very active. Tina Silverman started the Hamptons Jewish Film Festival in 2014. She brought her idea to the Southampton Cultural Center and Rabbi Raphael Konikov of the Chabad Center of Southampton. “My mission is to show Jewish history,” said Silverman. “The Jewish community in South Hampton had nothing in the way of Jewish film. The festival reflects history in film. It’s important for young people to know what happened. The comparatively secure environment of today does not reflect what happened in the Holocaust and Jewish life in prewar Europe.” She noted that the response to the films is very positive. All the films shown are documentaries with historical significance. She added that “it’s not just Jews who should watch
these films. Jewish history is everybody’s history.” Asked about growing anti-Semitism, Silverman said, “I don’t think there is a rise. It’s been there all along. Now it’s just more out in the open. This is nothing new—it’s been getting more bold.” At the Janet Lehr Gallery, the exhibits of Jewish and Israel 1 artists are noteworthy. Within the East Hampton gallery, Artists 4 Israel recreated a Sderot bomb shelter, designed to help relieve some of the fright of the children. At the wail of a tzeva adom (a red siren signal)—the 15-second warning Israelis get before an incoming rocket explodes—Craig Dershowitz, Artists 4 Israel’s founder, instructed gallery visitors to run quickly to the “shelter.” Even his colorful paintings did little to relieve the frightening, confining atmosphere. “When I came to East Hampton, I put mezuzot [several] on the gallery door,” Lehr said. “Eggs were thrown at the window the next night. The police guarded our door for two weeks. The police chief has my gratitude.” The Lehr Gallery exhibited “A Stitch in Jewish Time,” a display using construction materials and creative reach from Laura Kruger’s exhibition at Hebrew Union College near Washington Square. The exhibit enhanced an understanding of Jewish ritual and links between the past and the present. The show explored responses to the Holocaust, war, patriotism, celebration, prayer and feminism in Biblical and traditional forms. In upcoming months, the Janet Lehr Gallery will exhibit prize-winning Israeli nature photographs in cooperation with the Israel National Parks Authority. The show, which has previously been on display at the United Nations, comprises the work of 13 of Israel’s top nature photographers. It is anticipated to be at the gallery during Hanukkah 2017. “Art is an important mean of creating awareness,” said Lehr. “Though few in number, we, and our art, have always been and will continue to be a light unto the world.” While Saturday morning is the focus of the religious life of the Jewish community, Sunday morning in the Hamptons does not necessarily mean surf and sand. Organizational and educational programs are a summer Sunday highlight. On the last Sunday in August, The Jewish Center of the Hamptons welcomed the chairmen—past and present—of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations to a panel discussion on Israel and the Middle East. Past chairmen Kenneth Bialkin and Richard Stone joined the 29th and current chairman, Stephen M. Greenberg, in analyzing the prospects for peace; the position and provocations of Iran vis-à-vis Israel and its Arab neighbors; and the growing engagement of Israel and the moderate Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia. The three chairmen noted the difference between the more moderate attitudes of the leaders and the “Arab Street,” which remains deeply hostile to Israel. “There is an opportunity to progress towards a peace solution,” said Greenberg, “but I don’t know whether this administration is capable or will have the time.”
Weekly Torah and Tea classes at Chabad of the Hamptons PHOTOS BY MAXINE DOVERE
“I believe my children heed the Rebbe’s message. We don’t have him physically, but he is with us every moment.” – Rabbi Leibel Baumgarten Throughout the summer season, gracious Hamptons homes become settings for gatherings to benefit Jewish community organizations. In Amagansett, a hundred people gathered for brunch and an update on the work of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in reaching out to the young generation of Jews in Europe and the former Soviet Union to educate them about Jewish life. The gala dinners of the Chabad centers of Southampton and East Hampton bring together hundreds of Jewish Hamptonians to “raise a glass” and salute Chabad’s Jewish outreach. Jewish Life in the Hamptons is vibrant. Whether it’s a home-cooked Shabbat dinner enhanced by the sounds of the ocean waves breaking on the beach, a one-on-one study session with one of the several denominations’ resident rabbis, or the aroma of challah prepared at a Thursday afternoon baking class, Jewish life on Long Island’s East End is alive and well. “Come for Shabbat!” Rabbi Baumgarten’s wife invited with warmth. “There’s always a place at the table.”
Rabbi Raphael “Rafi” Konikov and benefactor Janet Lehr at the South Hampton Chabad annual gala
AUG. 30 – SEPT. 5, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 13
This Iconic San Francisco Synagogue Is No Longer “Just” for LGBT Jews BY ROB GLOSTER
SAN FRANCISCO (J. THE JEWISH NEWS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VIA JTA) — At Congregation Sha’ar Zahav in San Francisco, Rabbi Mychal Copeland leads Shabbat services with a rainbow tallit around her shoulders. The synagogue newsletter is called “The Jewish Gaily Forward.” But the shul, which since its 1977 founding has been known as San Francisco’s gay synagogue, is now reaching out to a broader community and de-emphasizing its identity as an LGBT-specific congregation. A similar transformation is occurring at other LGBT synagogues. Notably, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City now identifies itself as an LGBTQS shul—the S standing for “straight”—that serves Jews of all genders and sexual identifications, according to Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. The synagogue was founded in 1973 as a “home and haven for LGBTQ Jews,” according to its website. At the same time, there has been an evolution in attitudes toward LGBT people in the greater Jewish community. Many synagogues today have become increasingly welcoming to homosexual, bisexual and transgender congregants and clergy. “This year we’re marking 40 years, and that’s a significant number in Judaism,” said Michael Chertok, the president of Sha’ar Zahav and a member since 1993. “It’s hard to say we’ve come into the Promised Land, but we’re really in a new place as far as LGBT rights in this country.” Arthur Slepian, who joined Sha’ar Zahav in 1989 and has served as its president, said he is proud of the Reform synagogue’s leading role in the move to greater inclusiveness in the Jewish community, and happy it can now broaden its appeal. “I think that there are always going to be people that feel a bit marginalized or not completely at home at other places, and I think Sha’ar Zahav is striving to always be the home for that part of the community,” said Slepian, founder of A Wider Bridge, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that supports Israel’s LGBT community. “And I think it’s a great thing for the Jewish world that people who are not LGBT will walk through the doors of Sha’ar Zahav and celebrate its history.” Still, the congregation intends to keep its “queer values” core. The changes, which include three new board members who don’t identify as LGBT, do not mean Sha’ar Zahav is ready to toss out its rainbow flags or stop participating in Pride Week events. Occasions such as the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance
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will continue to be a congregational focus. The stained glass on one side of Sha’ar Rabbi Mychal Copeland took over as spiritual leader of Zahav’s ark has the Hebrew inscription “Hinei Congregation Sha’ar Zahav in July. mah tov umanayim, shevet achim gam yachad” PHOTO BY NORM LEVIN/J. THE JEWISH NEWS OF NORTHERN (How good and pleasant it is to sit together as CALIFORNIA brothers). On the other side, the inscription is the same—except the word “achot” (sisters) replaces while also recognizing that what unifies us runs so much deeper than sexual orientation and gender “achim” (brothers). “So much has changed in 40 years, especially in the identity.” Both Chertok and Copeland say “queer values” Bay Area, with regard to inclusion of LGBT people,” said Copeland, whose tenure as Sha’ar Zahav spiritual emphasize a refusal to conform and a questioning leader began July 1. “At the same time, I see this as not of authority, even while honoring tradition. Those necessarily a break in any way in what this community values include support for refugees and reaching out to interfaith families. has been doing for so many years. “Queer values overlap with some deep-seated “I want to be sitting with and praying with and learning with anyone who wishes to be in a Jewish Jewish values such as otherness, always looking out for who’s not being treated well, who’s being oppressed,” space, exploring life together.” Founded four decades ago as a home for gay and Copeland said. “Those values were embedded in the lesbian Jews, the synagogue was a leader in the 1980s founding of Sha’ar Zahav as a place where gay and in caring for those with AIDS. In recent years, it has lesbian Jews could come and pray at a time when that was very difficult.” openly welcomed people who are transgender. Still, Kleinbaum, who has served at New York’s Beit Leaders of the 250-family congregation decided in 2012 to begin a strategic planning process to Simchat Torah since 1992, noted that focusing on selfguide it forward in a Bay Area that had become identification misses the point: Sha’ar Zahav doesn’t younger, less religious and more diverse. In 2015, the have to worry about gay Jews flocking to other San Walter and Elise Haas Fund awarded Sha’ar Zahav Francisco shuls. She said the larger problem is that a grant to further explore its evolving identity, and most LGBT Jews avoid synagogue altogether. “Our ‘competition’ is not other synagogues that are the synagogue hired interim rabbi Ted Riter, who specializes in transforming synagogues, to lead it opening to LGBT folks,” Kleinbaum said. “Our real ‘competition’ is the fact that most LGBT folks don’t through the process. “When we look back at our history, we recognize that care about synagogues. So the issue is how we’re going our synagogue has committed to a multigenerational to make ourselves relevant for the 90 to 95 percent of exploration of what it means to be queer,” reads a LGBT Jews who don’t go to a synagogue.” Nonetheless, that doesn’t diminish the role the case study of the changes. “The Sha’ar Zahav that is emerging is nourished by our LGBT-specific roots, synagogue played in helping lead an evolution within the Jewish community. “Sha’ar Zahav was born out of a sense of necessity that there wasn’t any other place LGBT people could go and feel included,” Slepian said. “But out of that necessity, something holy was created. Sha’ar Zahav and many other gay shuls really elevated the Jewish world by setting an example of what it meant to be inclusive. “I think [de-emphasizing its identity as an LGBTspecific congregation] is just what’s needed today, and I think it is a sign of progress that there are many places that LGBT people can go in the Jewish world and feel welcomed and celebrated. I don’t know many LGBT people in their 20s and 30s who feel compelled Members of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav march in the to be part of an all-LGBT community. We live in a very San Francisco Pride parade. COURTESY OF CONGREGATION SHA’AR ZAHAV different world.”
Ayala Hodak showing ghormeh sabzi, a Persian dish she cooked with the Jewish Food Society, at her home in Tenafly, N.J., Aug. 15, 2017
The Jewish Food Society Wants to Preserve Your Grandma’s Recipes— Before They’re Lost Forever BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN PHOTO BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN
TENAFLY, N.J. (JTA) — Ayala Hodak usually cooks the way her mother taught her: adding a pinch of spice here or relying on her eyes—never a measuring cup!—to judge how much liquid to add. But on a recent Tuesday, she was being much more meticulous. At her spacious home in this suburban town less than 15 miles from New York City, Hodak, 52, who grew up in an Iranian family in Israel, measured the amount of salt and pepper she added to a stew. She also paused to demonstrate how thickly to cut a piece of beef. Her reason for the precision: Hodak’s recipe was being recorded by a new nonprofit, the Jewish Food Society, which aims to be an archive of Jewish recipes from around the world. Its kibbutz-born founder, who once promoted Israeli culture as an employee of the Israeli Consulate in New York, was inspired by the diversity of food traditions in Israel and her desire to preserve them in the Diaspora. “I realized there is an urgency in cap-
Hodak’s ghormeh sabzi, a beef stew with herbs that is served with rice PHOTO BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN
turing these stories because the older generation is about to leave the world, and many of these recipes are laborand time-consuming in a way that we should really protect them,” the society’s founder, Naama Shefi, told the JTA. “These are skills that would just disappear if no one could capture them in a methodic way.” The project, which launched officially in March and receives financial
support from several Jewish foundations, has added over a dozen recipes to its online archive, and more are on the way. Along with the recipes are photographs and stories of the cook’s family history, as well as how he or she learned to make the dish. Each week, Shefi, 36, who lives on New York’s Lower East Side, interviews a chef and takes down his or her story. If distance permits, Shefi or an Israelbased employee will meet with the cook in person; if not, they communicate long distance. All ingredients are measured, and dishes are then re-created in a test kitchen and adjusted accordingly. Though some participants work in the food industry—Hodak is the manager and co-owner of Taboon, a Hell’s Kitchen restaurant serving Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired food—others are home cooks. “The flavors really represented all of their previous immigration stories and journeys, and some worlds that do not even exist anymore,” she said. “It was such a vivid expression of disappearing worlds, and of bitter and sweet memories. It was just moving, so I told him, let’s just spend a day with her to try to capture a few recipes. It was just really inspiring.” Shefi has always had an interest in food, though she did not get it at home. “Good food wasn’t part of my childhood,” said Shefi, who grew up on Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha in central Israel. “Between the [kibbutz’s] communal dining room and the fact that my mom is not the best cook in the world, good food was out of reach.” But as a young girl, she would urge her parents to take her to Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market or a nearby Yemenite neighborhood to try different types of cuisines. “It became my life’s passion,” Shefi said. “At the beginning just because it tasted really good, but later because I realized it tells a fantastic story about families and people and cultures.”
In 2008, when she took the consulate job, she could use that passion in a professional way. Having just graduated from the New School with a master’s degree in film, Shefi was tasked with promoting Israeli culture. She decided to do so through food, hosting Israelthemed dinners, wine tastings and panels in New York. She also organized trips to the Jewish state for American food writers. In 2013, Shefi launched the Kubbeh Project, a three-week pop-up in the East Village serving kubbeh soup, an Iraqi Jewish dish featuring meat-filled semolina dumplings in vegetable broth. The project received wide media coverage and had people lining up for hours for a taste of the delicacy. “The first day I came to the venue at 2 p.m., I saw this line around the block, almost like a ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ line,” she said, referring to the popular free performances in Central Park. “And I was just amazed that these people are waiting for us. This line never stopped for these three weeks and people stood hours and hours in the snow.” Now the Jewish Food Society, for which Shefi works full time, provides a way to combine her two passions: food and storytelling. “For a while I was really interested in storytelling through filmmaking,” she said. “Still my main interest is storytelling, but the medium changed to food.” In addition to the weekly cooking session, the nonprofit puts on largerscale events, such as a Passover seder that showcased three Mexico-born Jewish chefs, and Schmaltzy, a yearly storytelling event where people share the stories behind family recipes. A Moroccan-style Mimouna, a breadfilled celebration held the day after Passover, is in the works, Shefi said. Her family are Polish Jews, not Sephardi, but Shefi said such distinctions blur in Israeli kitchens. “Israel is not just a melting pot; it’s a pressure cooker, so a Polish girl like
me considered kubbeh as my own,” she told The New York Times. Shefi’s long-term goal for the Jewish Food Society extends beyond the archive of recipes. She wants to establish a center for Jewish food in New York, where visitors would be able to take cooking classes and learn about their family’s culinary histories. Shefi describes her vision as “the James Beard Foundation for Jewish food.” For now, the Jewish Food Society provides a way for Jews to engage with their culture, Shefi said. “These [recipes and stories] are just huge parts of our lives, of our history as a people, and I feel that for many people that are less connected to Jewish culture and Jewish life, it’s a very inviting window to engage and to explore their identity,” she said. Food also provides a lens through which to understand Jewish history, she added. For her part, Hodak is excited to have her mother’s dishes—including ghormeh sabzi, an herb beef stew that her family would eat for Shabbat dinner, and a yogurt soup with cucumber and mint eaten on Shavuot—recorded for future generations. “I thought it’s a great opportunity to spread my tradition,” she said, “to talk about my mother’s food and to keep it alive.”
Jewish Food Society founder Naama Shefi, right, and program director Ellie Backer in Tenafly, N.J., Aug. 15, 2017; they conduct weekly cooking sessions in order to preserve Jewish recipes. PHOTO BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN
AUG. 30 – SEPT. 5, 2017 | NYJLIFE.COM | 15
Chef Wants to Make Vegan Cooking the “New Kosher”
CHEF MARK REINFELD’S WATERMELON GAZPACHO (ERIK RUDOLPH)
BY ELISA SPUNGEN BILDNER
(JTA) — With the temperature in the mid-80s, it was not the night to kick off Shabbat dinner with chicken soup, or rather, given our family’s eating mishegas, vegan chicken soup (yes, there is such a dish). So where or to whom do I turn for a seasonal alternative? Answer: Chef Mark Reinfeld, who as the “30-Minute Vegan” has a series of books filled with recipes that I’ve found are sure to come out right and always taste great. (Reinfeld most recently authored Healing the Vegan Way: Plant-Based Eating for Optimal Health and Wellness.) When vegetarian and vegan newbie friends ask me to recommend fail-safe cookbooks, Reinfeld’s are at the top of the list. So for this sultry Shabbat, I chose Raw Peaches and Cream Soup (don’t get fatootsed about the word “raw”), which turned out to be a hit with a Friday-night dinner crowd that included rabbis, an Episcopal priest and their spouses. I was lucky to meet up with Reinfeld on a very unsummer night in February near Boulder, Colorado, where he lives. There he told me about growing up in a traditional Jewish family in Stony Brook, Long Island, who kept kosher and ate chicken every Friday night. After Reinfeld spent his junior year at the London School of Economics, which he followed with a backpacking trip across Europe, he found he just couldn’t embark immediately on his plan A: attending law school right after college. After his acceptance into New York University Law School, Reinfeld deferred his admission and decamped one more time to Europe. In Paris, he worked as an
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au pair. In the mornings, he helped his charges with their homework. But he spent his afternoons walking the streets of the French capital “holding a baguette and bottle of wine,” as he likes to put it. From there he traveled to Amsterdam and Berlin. Forrest Gump-ishly, he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, then managed to hit Prague in time for the Velvet Revolution that brought down the ruling Czech Communist Party. His next stop: Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in Israel, where he worked with (and then ate) chicken five and sometimes seven days a week. Reinfeld remembers the kibbutzniks’ chasing and catching the chickens in vast shed-like coops, and then handing them over to the volunteers. “We’d have to take them out to a truck,” he recalls. “The chickens were screaming and their legs were breaking in your hands. That is precisely when I realized that I couldn’t do this, and I couldn’t eat them. So I gave up chicken cold turkey.” Reinfeld laughs before describing another I-can’teat-animals-anymore epiphany: It happened when he bonded with cows in the field next to the kibbutz. Back in America, Reinfeld started law school, dropping out after the first semester when he realized this wasn’t the direction he wanted his career to take. “I didn’t have a plan B,” he notes. Somehow the spirit of his maternal grandfather, Ben Bimstein, a caterer whom Reinfeld describes as a “culinary genius” and a renowned ice carver, guided his next move. “Until his dying day,” Reinfeld says of Bimstein, “he was still carving ice in his wheelchair with his oxygen tank and something like a chainsaw.” Reinfeld loaded his possessions into his car, drove west until he hit San Diego, and landed a kitchen job at the natural-foods grocer Jimbo’s. From there he quickly became a meatless entrepreneur, starting Blossoming Lotus Personal Chef Service in Malibu, California, and ending up, with the help of angel investor Bo Rinaldi, as the co-owner and chef of the award-winning Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii. With Rinaldi, Reinfeld wrote Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, garnering honors including a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for best vegetarian cookbook in the United States. By this time, Reinfeld also was a practitioner of Vipassana, a type of Buddhist meditation, and actually
Mark Reinfeld spent time on a kibbutz.
COURTESY OF REINFELD
started his restaurant while observing an 18-month period of silence. (“I could type very fast in those days,” he says, laughing.) That didn’t take him away from Judaism, and in a 2013 article for ReformJudaism. org titled “Vegan is the New Kosher,” he outlined the Jewish basis for a plant-based diet. Reinfeld couples the Talmudic principle of “tza’ar ba’alei chayim” (Bava Metzia 32), which prohibits cruelty to animals, with Genesis 1:29: “God said, ‘Behold, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food,’” and urges Jews to make the compassionate choice. “The reality is that factory farm-produced meat, eggs and dairy (whether kosher or nonkosher) are raised and treated in a way that is a blatant violation of the principle of Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim,” Reinfeld writes. A philosophy major as an undergraduate, Reinfeld says he understands that animals kill and eat animals, and that some people eat animals out of necessity. “If you saw a lion pouncing on a gazelle, you may wince, but you know it’s part of nature and you’re not going to sit the lion down and say, ‘I think you have anger issues. Why don’t you try tofu?’” he says. Inhabitants of remote fishing villages in Alaska or isolated tribes with limited access to adequate protein must fish or hunt. “Where there’s necessity,” Reinfeld says, “there is a different moral issue, but when we have a choice of how much violence we bring into the world through our food selection, and we know we can meet our body’s nutritional needs, eat tasty food and minimize our environmental impact,” then one can draw a different line. Back on the mainland, Reinfeld continues his vegan entrepreneurship. Called “the male equivalent to a vegan Rachael Ray” in a Publishers Weekly review of Soup’s On, a cookbook in his “30-Minute Vegan” series, Reinfeld is dedicated to popularizing vegan eating and living as well as compassion toward animals. Through his Vegan Fusion company, he offers consulting,
chef services, culinary Reinfeld’s cauliflower-and-mushroom tacos workshops, and chef and cooking teacher training internationally and online. In July, Reinfeld was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. Time for another latesummer Shabbat dinner— and the soup, I promise you, is a snap to make and takes minutes. And I also guarantee that you won’t be able to tell the difference COURTESY OF REINFELD between cashew cream—a staple of vegan cooking— and the “real” thing, heavy cream. and weighed in after his last spoonful: My Episcopal priest friend, a regular “Honest and fulfilling. Not a sweet, at our Shabbat table, loved the soup, cutesy, fruity thing.”
Raw Peaches and Cream Soup Serves 4
Ingredients Sweet Cashew Cream: 3/4 cup chopped raw cashews 3/4 cup water 1 1/2 tablespoons raw coconut or agave nectar or sweetener of choice, or to taste (I used agave) Raw Peach Soup: 7 ripe peaches, pitted and chopped (5 cups) 1 1/2 cups fruit juice (try apple) 2 tablespoons raw coconut nectar, agave nectar or pure maple syrup (which I used), or to taste 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch of sea salt 2 teaspoons mirin (Reinfeld says this is optional, but I’d recommend it as well. (Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine that is easy to find.) 2 tablespoons chiffonad fresh mint, for garnish Preparation Place the cashews in a small bowl with ample water to cover. Allow them to sit for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse well. (This is why Reinfeld is such a practical vegan chef: Most vegan recipes instruct you to soak cashews overnight.) Meanwhile, place all of the peach soup ingredients, except the mint, in a strong blender and blend until creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Place the cashews in the blender with the water and the coconut nectar (or whichever sweetener you’re using) and blend until very creamy. Transfer to a small bowl. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of cashew cream and top with fresh mint before serving. Variations * It would be a raw foodist’s call to 911—yes, this is how Reinfeld writes—but you can grill the peaches until char marks appear, about five minutes, lightly basting with melted coconut oil before blending. * Replace the peaches with nectarines, mangoes, blueberries or papayas. (I tried several batches with blueberries, which also worked well, although less sweet than the peach. You might try to prepare two versions, and delicately place them side by side in each soup bowl, in a yin/yang design.) * Replace the apple juice with orange, pineapple or mango juice, or a combination of your favorites. * Create differently flavored Sweet Cashew Creams by adding 1/2 cup of fruit, such as blueberries, strawberries or mango. Elisa Spungen Bildner is 99 percent vegan. (She cheats on ice cream.) She is a member of the board of 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company.
This Vegetarian Brisket Recipe Actually Tastes Like Meat A satisfying vegetarian entrée for holidays, picnics and Shabbat dinner BY SHANNON SARNA
Have you heard of jackfruit yet? If it hasn’t come across your Facebook feed or email inbox yet, keep your eyes open because it is the newest trend in vegetarian meat replacements.
A jackfruit
Jackfruit was originally cultivated in India, but is grown throughout tropical regions including Southeast Asia, South Ingredients 2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 Tbsp honey (can also use maple syrup or agave if making dish vegan) 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup red wine (can also use grape juice or sweet kosher wine like Manischewitz) 1 chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced, grated or pressed 2 20-oz cans jackfruit, drained Directions Combine crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, water, wine, onion and garlic in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Then add jackfruit. Reduce heat to low-medium and cover pot. Cook for 30 minutes over lowmedium heat.
America, Australia and the Caribbean. But you don’t have to travel to the topics to find it—you can buy it in cans from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. You can even find it fresh at many specialty fruit shops. And when it is cooked, it has an incredibly meaty, hearty taste and texture. It’s also low in calories and high in fiber, and is considered an environmentally friendly food, since it is drought resistant. After reading about and researching this wonder fruit, I thought jackfruit would make a great vegetarian brisket option.You can serve this entree for summer picnics and barbecues alongside buns and coleslaw, or save it for Shabbat dinners and holidays. It’s easy, satisfying meat-free deliciousness.
The flesh of the jackfruit when it is removed from its thick, green dragonegg-like shell
Remove cover and test whether you can break up the jackfruit using the back of a wooden spoon. If the jackfruit isn’t tender enough to pull yet, cook it for another 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Serve warm. Note: This can be prepared two-three days ahead of time and heated through when ready to serve.
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those claims about the program’s impact misleading, experts said. “There’s often this tacit assumption that we’ve learned about the true effect of the program from comparisons like this, and any researcher worth their salt will tell you that’s not the case,” Dee said. Amy Virshup, a Times metro editor, defended the story’s analysis. “The piece never presumes to judge the success or failure of the Renewal program based on the ELA and math test results,” Virshup wrote in an email. “Judging whether Renewal is working or not would require many more data points and much more analysis.” The New York Times building COURTESY CREATIVE COMMONS / DMC WILCOX
The NY Times Tried to Fact-Check the Mayor’s Claims about Test Scores BY ALEX ZIMMERMAN
(CHALKBEAT) — Reading the coverage of New York City’s Renewal program, it would be easy to conclude that the program isn’t working for most schools. And on Thursday night, The New York Times continued in that vein, with a story about the turnaround program headlined, “For $582 Million Spent on Troubled Schools, Some Gains, More Disappointments.” The story is framed as a fact-check on Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said at a press conference that Renewal schools are showing signs of progress since they had outpaced the city’s average growth in English and math scores. In evaluating that claim, The Times points out that despite gains at some schools, most Renewal schools have actually not made progress closing the gap between their original scores three years ago and the city average. Some of the program’s fiercest critics seized on the analysis. But according to three academics who study school performance, two of whom have studied the Renewal program’s impact, The Times’ characterization of the program as producing spotty results is problematic
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for the same reason de Blasio’s original claim of success doesn’t hold water. That’s because comparing Renewal test-score data to city averages is poor evidence of whether the program is working.
The Times’ analysis can’t actually establish a causal effect.
The Times frames its analysis this way: “To track the effects of the program, which gives schools a longer day and access to special services like vision care for students or mental health supports, The New York Times analyzed Renewal school performance on the 2016 and 2017 tests, as compared with the 2015 scores.” The phrasing suggests that it’s reasonable to infer “the effects of the program” from test score changes, which is simply not possible, according to Thomas Dee, director of Stanford’s Center for Education Policy Analysis. That’s because establishing a program’s effect depends on a model that can sort out what would happen to test scores without the program at all. One way to isolate that effect could be to compare low-performing schools that didn’t make it into the Renewal program with those that did, and study the difference in scores between the two groups of schools. But neither the education department nor the Times analysis attempted to do that, making
Renewal schools may be serving different students from when the program started.
Another reason the test scores could be misleading is that it has been well reported that Renewal schools have lost a significant share of their students, continuing an enrollment drop-off that has persisted for years. And since higher-performing students may be more likely to find a new school, it’s plausible that Renewal schools are serving a more challenging student body than when the program started. “In general, the students that are most [likely to leave] are those who are higher performing,” said Marcus Winters, who wrote a report about the Renewal program for the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute. If that’s true, year-over-year test-score comparisons wouldn’t be completely fair, since they would simply pick up changes in which students are served by Renewal schools—instead of the program’s real effect. “The Times really didn’t do anything to ensure that their comparison to other schools was really comparable,” said Teachers College professor Aaron Pallas.
There’s no mention of rigorous research that has attempted to show causal effects.
Two researchers have tried to suss out whether the Renewal program is creating positive academic changes, and have reached different conclusions. In an analysis that compares Renewal schools to similar ones that didn’t enter the program, Pallas found the program had essentially no effect on graduation rates or test scores. Meanwhile, using a different statistical model, the Manhattan Institute’s Winters found that the program is actually creating meaningful academic benefits. The Times doesn’t cite either of those analyses, which would complicate the picture. The results of those research efforts suggest The Times’ description of mixed results is certainly plausible, but it isn’t directly supported by the data analyzed in the story. Still, Winters said, the Times analysis is worth doing, as long as there are caveats, missing in this case, about what it can and can’t explain. “I don’t think it’s the definitive analysis of what’s going on,” Winters said. “But it’s not nothing.”
Top-10 Lists from New York City’s 2017 State Test Scores BY CHALKBEAT STAFF
For a more complete look at how all schools performed on the tests, check out our new database at www.chalkbeat. org/ny.
Top city schools in English proficiency
• The Academy for Excellence through the Arts (100 percent proficient) • Special Music School (100) • Success Academy Charter School Bergen Beach (100) • Baccalaureate School for Global Education (99.5) • P.S. 77 Lower Lab School (99.4) • New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School (97.2) • P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence (96.6) • P.S. 334 The Anderson School (96.2) • Professional Performing Arts High School (95.7) • Success Academy Charter School Crown Heights 1 (95)
Bottom city schools in English proficiency
• Academy for New Americans (1.1 percent proficient) • New Directions Secondary School (2.4) • P.S. 150 Christopher (4.8) • Essence School (5) • Harbor Heights (5) • J.H.S 145 Arturo Toscanini (5.1) • P.S. 112 Bronxwood (5.5) • Urban Science Academy (5.8) • M.S. 584 (7 percent) • Fairmont Neighborhood School (7.3) All of these schools serve high-need populations. The Academy for New Americans and Harbor Heights are both geared toward newly arrived immigrants, who may have had limited formal schooling in their home countries. Urban Science Academy and P.S. 112 Bronxwood are part of the city’s Renewal turnaround program. So were M.S. 584, Essence School and J.H.S. 145 Arturo Toscanini, all of which closed this year.
Top city schools in math proficiency
• The Academy for Excellence through the Arts
• M.S. 584 (0) • Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts (0) • Lyons Community School (0.7) • New Directions Secondary School (1.2) • Opportunity Charter School (1.7) • The Hunts Point School (1.8) • East Fordham Academy for the Arts (2) • KAPPA IV (2.1) • Brownsville Collaborative Middle School (2.4) Many of these schools serve high-need students and have a history of low scores. Six schools on this list also appeared on last year’s, including Lyons Community School, which Chalkbeat wrote about as part of a series on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s track record on education. New Directions Secondary School is for students who have fallen behind in middle school. Opportunity Charter School serves a large percentage of students with disabilities; the city has pushed to close its middle school for poor performance. The Hunts Point School is one of the city’s Renewal schools, as was M.S. 584 before it closed.
Biggest positive percentage change in English scale scores
PHOTO BY SHANNAN MUSKOPF VIA FLICKR
(100 percent proficient) • Special Music School (100) • Success Academy Charter School Rosedale (100) • Success Academy Charter School Washington Heights (100) • Success Academy Charter School Crown Heights (99.3) • Success Academy Charter School Hell’s Kitchen (99.3) • Baccalaureate School for Global Education (99.1) • Success Academy Bed Stuy 1 (99) • P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence (98.8) • Success Academy Charter School Bed Stuy 2 (98.7) Success Academy took six of the top-10 spots in math proficiency, just one fewer than last year. The charter network is known for its high test scores, and CEO Eva Moskowitz recently held a press conference to contrast them with the city’s at large. While Success Academy admits students through a lottery, the Special Music School in Manhattan requires an audition and the Baccalaureate School for Global Education is screened.
Bottom city schools in math proficiency
• Digital Arts and Cinema Technology High School (0 percent proficient)
• P.S. 15 Roberto Clemente (5.1 percent) • P.S. 110-Queens (5.1) • Lucero Elementary School (5) • The Boerum Hill School for International Studies (4.9) • Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists (4.9) • School for Democracy and Leadership (4.5) • P.S. 92 Mary McLeod Bethune (4.5) • P.S. 213 New Lots (4.3) • Brooklyn Environmental Exploration School (4.2) • The 47 American Sign Language and English Lower School (4.2) Many of the most-improved schools have recently taken on curriculum changes or new approaches to discipline, according to educational plans filed with the city’s Department of Education. For example, District 1 was the recipient of a state grant to integrate schools, and that grant has been used to change instruction at Roberto Clemente to a more progressive model. Clemente, which serves largely Hispanic and poor students, is also a Renewal school. Meanwhile, School for Democracy and Leadership in Brooklyn, which has been known for suspending an outsize number of students, has turned to restorative discipline practices. This analysis was conducted by Chalkbeat’s Chris Hickerson, with research assistance from Chalkbeat New York.
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OPINION
Giving Criticism BY JENNY MAENPAA
Whether we are giving feedback to a professional colleague or to a friend or family member, it is almost always an uncomfortable experience for both the giver and the receiver. Women in particular can be concerned about how they are perceived when doing so, and may shy away from it in order to be “nice.” To minimize distress, here are some ways to ensure that all constructive criticism you give employees will be as well received as possible and lead to worthwhile performance improvements. 1. Ground yourself in why you are giving this feedback. More often than not, how someone receives our feedback (both positive and negative) is not about what we’re saying but how we’re saying it and why. Assess what you want to achieve by giving this feedback. If you warned your direct reports twice to proofread their slides before submitting them yet there was a glaring error in the presentation, do they already know that? Is your motive for providing this feedback rooted in “I told you so”? If your reasons for providing critical feedback aren’t 100 percent rooted in improving their performance and the company’s performance, ask yourself if it needs to be given, and if it needs to be given right now. 2. Pick your moment. If you have reviewed your internal motivation for providing feedback and you feel confident that it needs to be given, ask yourself if it needs to be given right now. If your employee’s error just occurred, do you need to grab him as he comes off the stage? Whenever possible, wait to have this conversation for enough time to ensure that neither you nor your employee will be emotional or defensive. 3. Focus on actionable items, not personal characteristics. There is a world of difference between, “Next time maybe your pride won’t prevent you from listening to me when I ask you to proofread” and “For next time, I’d like you to confirm with me that you have proofread the slides by this date so that I can review them for anything you may have missed.” Focus on only one thing if you can, not every possible change. Be as specific as possible with any suggestions, including objective measures of meeting expectations and a clear timeline for
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action. 4. Start from a place of respect—even if (especially if!) you don’t really feel that way. Imagine that rather than a subordinate, you are providing this feedback to a superior. Imagine you have to be as delicate as possible when you deliver your assessment. Be careful with your words and conscious of their impact, not just your intent. Make positive statements that assume future success, such as, “Once it becomes second nature for you to proofread while looking for specific things, you won’t even think twice about it.” 5. Model receiving constructive criticism yourself. Establish a practice of regular checkins with your direct reports and when appropriate, take the lead in self-identifying areas for growth. If you are honest with yourself, there are always things you can be working on, and by openly acknowledging specific development in yourself, you will remove some of the fear and anxiety from future feedback-delivery conversations. 6. Practice using open body language. Plant your feet on the ground or cross your ankles. Square your shoulders and sit up straight. Be conscious of how you use your hands and keep them palms up when possible. You don’t have to smile, but try not to clench your jaw or purse your lips while listening. Be cognizant of your eyebrows and facial expressions. Nod and reflect that you are actively listening to your employee; this should be a conversation, not a onesided speech. 7. Don’t use 15 words when five will do. When we’re uncomfortable, sometimes we tend to repeat ourselves to make sure we’re getting our point across. This tactic backfires though, as it makes the people we’re speaking to feel lectured to. They tune out because they already got the message and everything else is just white noise. Your employee is most likely anxious during this feedback conversation and already knows criticism is coming. Be brief and make your point. If you ramble on, your key feedback will be lost. You want this person to walk away from the conversation with a clear idea of how to improve. If you keep all of this in mind, you will emerge as a manager who is seen as fair and competent, and your feedback will not fall on deaf ears. Your team’s performance will improve and you will get all the credit!
Albany Is LEADing BY MAYOR KATHY SHEEHAN, CITY OF ALBANY
When Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise made Albany home in 1846 and later founded what would become the fourth-oldest Reform Judaism congregation in the United States—Beth Emeth—he did so while standing in the face of oppression and divisiveness, culminating with the Rosh Hashanah fight of 1850. As the mayor of a city that embraces the same diversity Rabbi Wise sought, I value how important our Jewish community is to Albany’s neighborhoods. New York’s capital city is home to almost a dozen temples and Hebrew schools located throughout our unique walkable neighborhoods, as well as the Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center and SUNY University at Albany—a fouryear college educating more than 5,300 Jewish students, making it one of the largest Jewish student populations in the country. These important institutions and the residents and visitors who utilize them are one reason why I have embraced a Complete Streets initiative—ensuring that we are making our streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike, especially as our neighbors walk to and from synagogue on Shabbos and during the upcoming High Holidays. The Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center has been a longstanding part of our city, a good neighbor and a place that is accepting of people from all races, religions and walks of life. When Jewish community centers across the nation were threatened with violence earlier this year, I stood with our Jewish brothers and sisters because the JCC is us and we are the JCC. Albany has been and will continue to be a city that rejects the rhetoric and practice of hate. My administration centers around common-sense Democratic (and democratic!)
values. At a time when the Trump White House is stoking the flames of fascism and white supremacy, we must also stand together in the face of the vitriol. That is why I am a proud signatory of the United States Conference of Mayors “Mayors’ Compact to Combat Hate, Extremism and Bigotry.” We have also made important reforms to the way we police our city. Under my direction, the Albany Police Department was the third city in the United States to implement Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD). This program allows police officers to exercise discretion when dealing with lowlevel offenders and divert them to services they need such as mental health and away from the criminal justice system. Our commitment to community policing and 21stcentury policing strategies has brought crime in the city of Albany down. In a city where more than one in 10 residents was born in a country other than the United States, my administration has also ensured that equity and social justice guide all decisions. That is why I recently signed an executive order reaffirming our commitment to community policing and protecting immigrants, because individuals who are the victim of or witness to a crime should not be afraid to contact the police due to their concern that the police will inquire about their immigration status. From bringing equity to our neighborhoods and making Albany a national model for community policing, to securing new state aid and holding the line on property taxes, the plan we put into place when I became mayor of Albany is working. I love our city, and I work hard every day because I believe that honest public service can change lives and communities for the better. I hope you will visit Albany and see all that it has to offer—and maybe even choose to make New York’s capital city your home.
OPINION
The skyline of Barcelona COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/FRANK MULLER
The Barcelona Jewish Community Is Not Doomed BY VICTOR SORENNSEN
BARCELONA, Spain (JTA) — In the wake of the horrendous recent terrorist attack in my city, our chief rabbi declared that the Jewish community here is “doomed” and encouraged us to buy property in Israel. With all due respect to the rabbi, he is wrong. I am 34 years old and have lived in Barcelona since I was 4. I attended the Jewish day school, the public high school and Barcelona University. During the past three years, I have been privileged to serve as director of the Jewish community of Barcelona. I know this historic community and its people quite well. Next year we will celebrate the centenary of our community’s re-establishment following the expulsion of 1492. In these past hundred years, Jews from all over the world have been attracted to play an active role in the life of our community: Turkish and Greek Jews who arrived in the First World War; activists who participated in the Spanish Civil War; Jews fleeing European anti-Semitism; Moroccan Jews who arrived after the independence of their native country; Latin American Jews; and large numbers of Israelis who have fallen in love with our city. Barcelona is a dynamic Jewish melting pot. We are
Victor Sorennsen PHOTO BY MARTIN RAFFEL
religiously pluralistic, blessed with four synagogues, each embracing a different approach to Judaism. As is true of Jews everywhere, we relish arguing among ourselves. Yet one of the things that unite us is our relationship with and love of the city. And not without reason. Barcelona is synonymous with solidarity, welcome, peace and cultural diversity.
A trendy city for tourists and a place of opportunity for businesspeople, it is a mecca for those interested in history, art, architecture, soccer and postcard landscapes. We proudly show our city to friends from abroad. We love listening to Hebrew in the city center. We revel in and are active participants in its rich culture. Barcelona is truly an international city; it is no coincidence that those killed and injured in the terrorist attack came from 34 different countries. Since 1977, with the arrival of democracy in our country, the Jewish community has played an active role in the social, cultural and religious life of the wider society, and we have developed close relations with government institutions at all levels— Barcelonan, Catalonian and Spanish. Public activities have been organized in the Barcelona synagogue. We have celebrated Hanukkah in the streets. We annually commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Catalan Parliament. Every year, hundreds of schools bring their students to the synagogue, where we educate them about Judaism and the important history of our community. We are longstanding participants in interreligious dialogue. In fact, this year our Talmud Torah teacher is president of the official interreligious group of Catalonia. We are experiencing a revival of Jewish culture. For example, local Jewish authors have published academic books and novels. Last year we organized the first Jewish Literature Festival. This year marks the 19th anniversary of the Jewish Film Festival of Barcelona. The Jewish Museum and Study Center of Girona, not far from Barcelona, is a place to discover Catalan’s Jewish medieval history, which includes the great Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman, the Ramban. Many municipalities participate in the European Day of Jewish Culture. Catalonia hosts brilliant Hebraists, disciples of the Hebrew Department of the University of Barcelona— the oldest chair at the university—as well as renowned writers and historians who have great expertise in Judaism and the history of Catalan Jews. This trend is also reflected in the growing interest of the general Catalan population in Jewish matters, interest that we see translating into spiritual, historical and intellectual curiosity. In short, there is a vibrancy to Jewish life in Barcelona. The scourge of terrorism has brought great shock and sadness to Barcelona, as it has done in other European cities. These are difficult days for us, no doubt, and we cry and pray for the victims. We are fully coordinating our security with the authorities, who have always been responsive, and our non-Jewish neighbors consistently demonstrate solidarity with us. The goal of the terrorists is to make us afraid. Barcelona is not afraid. The Jewish community here is not afraid. This cowardly act of violence will only make us stronger in our resolve to stay and grow the Jewish community of this amazing city. We Jews of Barcelona have been proudly living in our revived community for 100 years. We aren’t leaving. Victor Sorenssen is the director of Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona, the Barcelona Jewish Community.
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Zionism under Assault AMERICAN JEWISH AND ISRAELI LEADERS GATHERED IN NYC TO MARK BIRTH OF THE MOVEMENT
BY STAFF
At a time when Zionism has been criticized by the alt-right and far-left, nearly 100 representatives of Jewish and pro-Israel organizations gathered Monday, under the auspices of the American Zionist Movement (AZM), to mark 120 years since the global Zionist movement was founded. Since Aug. 29-31 is the 120th anniversary of Theodor Herzl’s convening of the First Zionist Congress in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland, this event was held at the site of the official Theodor Herzl Memorial, located in Freedom Square Park in Queens. “In recent weeks, as we have seen Zionism attacked from Richard Spencer to the Chicago March, it is important that Zionists of all backgrounds come together in our united support for the state of Israel,” said Richard D. Heideman, AZM president, and Herbert Block, AZM executive director. “That is what we did today as we marked the occasion when Herzl first brought together a broad coalition of Zionists to build the movement which would lead to the establishment of a Jewish state in our ancestral land. “Today Zionism is very much alive as we connect Jews worldwide with our homeland and as we continue to support the vibrant democracy, culture and contributions of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Jewish women leaders gathered to commemorate Zionist Congress founder Theodor Herzl and the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress. Program speakers included (left to right) Dr. Esther Serof, representative of the World Zionist Organization—WZO—in New York; Ellen Hershkin, national president of Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization; and Galit Peleg, head of Pubic Diplomacy at the Consulate of Israel in New York.
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From right, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president, The New York Board of Rabbis; Ellen Hershkin, national president, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization; Ron Jacobson; Dr. Esther Serok, North American representative of the World Zionist Organization; Herbert Block, executive director, AZM; and Galit Peleg, consul for Public Diplomacy, Consulate General of Israel in New York
Herbert Block, executive director, American Zionist Movement, organized the commemorative event.
Michael Nussbaum, president of the QJCC
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