Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 9-20-19

September 20, 2019 | 20 Elul 5779

Candlelighting 7:03 p.m. | Havdalah 8:00 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 38 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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Bari Weiss on ‘How to Fight Anti-Semitism’

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

T

he massacre at the Tree of Life building last fall left Bari Weiss shocked.

It also woke her up, the 35-year-old staff writer and editor at The New York Times says in her newly released book “How to Fight Anti-Semitism” (Crown).

Weiss, who grew Squirrel Hill, hter of stalnd s

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September 20, 2019 | 20 Elul 5779

Candlelighting 7:03 p.m. | Havdalah 8:00 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 38 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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Student artwork from Parkland, Bari Weiss on Newtown, elsewhere enlivens ‘How to Fight Tree of Life exterior Anti-Semitism’

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL The art of ‘Friends’

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

T Burton Morris’ New York show features his iconic TV artwork.

Page 5 LOCAL Returning to Rodef

 Artwork submitted to the @HeartsTogether: The Art of Rebuilding campaign replaces the industrial tarps that hung on the fence in front of the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha building since the Oct. 27 shooting.

Photo by David Forstate Scultptor Kent Bloomer talks about one of his first and most important commissions.

Page 7 LOCAL Gov. Wolf at Auschwitz He traveled to Poland and Lithuania to pay his respects.

Page 8

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

H

ope. Peace. Love. Repair. These are just some of the themes incorporated into artwork now lining the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha building on Wilkins Avenue.

The artwork replaces the drab and industrial blue tarps that had hung on the chain-link fence in front of the synagogue since the Oct. 27 mass shooting at the building.

Students aged 18 and younger submitted artwork to the @HeartsTogether: The Art of Rebuilding campaign in response to the terrorist attack. The public art project is sponsored jointly by Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha congregation, Congregation Dor Hadash and New Light Congregation.

The synagogues received more than 200 images and chose 101 of those to be printed on fabric windscreens that now hang and create a sidewalk gallery.

Tree of Life board member Laurie Zittrain Eisenberg explained that the genesis of the project came from the outpouring of support

 Laurie Zittrain Eisenberg, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, Stephen Cohen, Ellen Surloff Photo by Dave Rullo

the congregations received.

“In the aftermath of the attack, our neighbors, our city, people were so loving and so kind, they rushed to our side and supported us. We received so much art – sculptures

he massacre at the Tree of Life building last fall left Bari Weiss shocked.

It also woke her up, the 35-year-old staff writer and editor at The New York Times says in her newly released book “How to Fight Anti-Semitism” (Crown).

Weiss, who grew up in Squirrel Hill, the daughter of community stalwarts Amy and Lou Weiss, has been writing on Jewish issues for the last decade, but she did not really believe that such a savage anti-Semitic attack could hit so close to home — in the very synagogue in which she celebrated her bat mitzvah.

In “How to Fight Anti-Semitism,” Weiss takes a deep dive into historic and modern-day anti-Semitism and its roots, and suggests ways of countering it.

She spoke with the Chronicle about her need to write this book now, and why she devotes more pages to left-wing and Islamic strains of anti-Semitism than she does to that motivated by far-right ideology.

You had announced a deal for a different book, ‘The New Seven Dirty Words,’ before the massacre happened. Did you pivot because of the massacre?

I had a deal for that other book that I signed before the shooting happened, and I’m still going to do that book. But once the massacre happened, I obviously went home that week afterward, and my passion was just completely fixated on this subject. So, I went to my editor and said, ‘Listen, I know the book that you want is probably not a very fast turnaround book on anti-Semitism, but that’s the book I want to write first.

Please see TOL, page 16

Please see Weiss, page 16

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Baron Cohen’s new project

Headlines Rauh Archives’ podcast takes listeners on a trek through Pittsburgh’s Jewish history — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

L

ocal Jewish history buffs, or anyone seeking a compelling listen for their daily commute, might want to download the new podcast produced by the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives, “The Cornerstone.”

The podcast, which will be launching imminently, connects Jewish historical sites in Western Pennsylvania to historic materials in the Rauh Archives. Each episode investigates one spot in the region, which could be a synagogue, a schoolhouse, a work of public art, or even a gravestone.

The story of each locale is told through documents, photographs and oral histories, and is narrated by Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Archives. Each story can then be studied in greater depth with interactive StoryMaps, found on “The Cornerstone” website: heinzhistorycenter.org/collections/ rauh-jewish-history-program-and-archives/ the-cornerstone-podcast.

Lidji was inspired to create the podcast while he was working on putting together the Rauh’s Generation to Generation website, which tells the stories of families who have donated papers to the Rauh Archives.

“When we were doing the families website, I was having this experience every week where I would spend a week at the Archives learning all about these families, and that included not only the names of everybody in the families and all their accomplishments, but where they had lived and where they had offices and things like that,” said Lidji. “Then during the week I would have this experience of walking

Each episode will focus on one address, although sometimes the initial address will lead to other locales.

“Part of the idea was that if you had enough of these episodes, you could create tours for people, where you could say, listen to episode 3, 8, 12 and 34, and you are getting a walk down Fifth Avenue or something like that,” Lidji said.

“This first season is thematically about the Hill District,” he noted. “And it sort of looks at the Hill District in a way that people really haven’t before, which is the way that different stories intersect. So, the five stories are loosely: politics, work or economics, education, religion p Screenshot of the interface for Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives new podcast.

Screenshot courtesy of Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives and social life.

“What you start to see as you listen to all five episodes is that around my normal routine around the city “There is a younger group of people who these stories connect to each other,” Lidji and all these stories would be attached to these may not have the time or the interest in continued. “So, it is just like opening the locations. So, houses in Squirrel Hill that I had coming down here to come to a program door to have people understand that this passed 100 times before, I suddenly knew or to come do research unless they are world of the Hill District was a real interthat’s where the Aarons lived, or that’s where doing it for a class project, and we have esting web of stories that intersect with each the Franks lived.” this technology now that allows you to other and that the Archives really can help Lidji wanted to share this experience with have things be on demand,” he said. “And you tell that story.” others, he said. there is not really much that is on demand The high professional quality of “The In Pittsburgh, “a lot of the city has not in the Jewish community. There are a lot of Cornerstone” can be attributed not only to been demolished and there are neighbor- wonderful programs that are tied to a place Lidji, but also to Avigail Oren, who helps hoods where these buildings still exist,” he or a time, but not something you can enjoy create the StoryMaps, and musician Ross said. “The potential is really great, especially wherever or whenever.”

Reilly, who created and performs original in Jewish neighborhoods where every single “The Cornerstone” is made possible compositions for the series. house on a block might have a story like that through a grant from the SteelTree Fund of More information on “The Cornerstone” about Jewish history.” the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. can be found on its website. PJC A podcast, Lidji noted, adds to the The Rauh Archives is committed to Archives’ efforts to broaden its accessibility producing 15 episodes, arranged into three Toby Tabachnick can be reached at to a wider audience. five-episode seasons. ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Burton Morris and the art of ‘Friends’

p Newly created works by artist Burton Morris.

— LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

P

ittsburgh-born artist Burton Morris will never forget that day in late 1994 when he received a phone call from his sister in California, sharing a strange and surprising tidbit that ultimately would change the course of his career.

Photos provided by Burton Morris

Morris’ sister had been watching a new television show called “Friends” and one of the characters was wearing a T-shirt with a design Morris had created.

“I said, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’” Morris recalled. But he did phone Warner Brothers the next day, and was improbably connected immediately to Kevin Bright, one of the creators of the iconic series, which would go on to be ranked as the 26th greatest show of all time by Rolling Stone.

That exchange set off a relationship that led to the worldwide recognition of Morris’ work, which will be celebrated at his art show “The Art of Friends,” opening on Sept.

19 at the Taglialatella Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, and running through Oct. 18. The art opening coincides with the 25th anniversary of the premiere of “Friends.”

Morris was living in Pittsburgh in 1994, creating pop art pieces, including a line of T-shirts. While in production for the third

episode of “Friends,” one of the production workers happened to be wearing a Morris shirt depicting a pop art rendition of a baseball player. The shirt caught the eye of actor David Schwimmer, who played Ross on the show.

“There was a scene where they had just come back from a baseball game they had been playing, and he (Schwimmer) Please see Friends, page 17

Register for EKC by October 2: Take advantage of our Early Bird rates!

Session Dates 2020 For campers entering grades 2-10 4 weeks (Session I) June 21-July 17 3 weeks (Session II) July 19-August 11 For campers entering grades 2-6 2 weeks (Sabra/Kineret Aleph) June 21-July 3 2 weeks (Sabra/Kineret Bet) July 19-August 2 For campers entering grades 2-5 1 week (First Experience) August 5-11 For more information and to register, contact Sarah Nutter, snutter@jccpgh.org 412-697-3550

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 5

High Holidays of Hope at the JCC FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE

Rosh Hashanah UPstanders

Yom Kippur Forgiveness and Repentance

Monday, September 30 3-4:30 PM JCC LEVINSON HALL The sound of the shofar will inspire us to move from being bystanders to UPstanders

Wednesday, October 9 2-3 PM JCC ROBINSON BUILDING Gather on the holiest day of the year to explore the role that forgiveness and repentance have in our daily lives and in light of traumatic circumstances

These community leaders will share their passions:

Our conversation features:

Leah Lizarondo 412 Food Rescue

Food Justice

Dan Leger

Member of Congregation Dor Hadash Retired Hospice Nurse and Certified Clinical Chaplain Survivor, October 27 Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

Tammy Thompson Circles Greater Pittsburgh

The Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty

Ivy Schamis

Kristy Trautmann FISA Foundation SWPA Says No More

Social Studies Teacher Survivor, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting, Parkland, FL

Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Casual Attire RSVPs requested For Rosh Hashanah: tinyurl.com/9302019 For Yom Kippur: tinyurl.com/yk1092019

Moderated by Rev. Tim Smith

Community Advocate CEO, Center of Life Pastor, The Keystone Church of Hazelwood Chair, Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative

For more information: Rabbi Ron Symons, rsymons@jccpgh.org 412-697-3235

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Headlines Sculptor Kent Bloomer returns to Rodef Shalom — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

F

ifty-five years after Kent Bloomer and James Romualdi won a competition to grace Rodef Shalom Congregation’s new building addition with sculpture, Bloomer, a former Carnegie Institute of Technology professor, returned to the Shadyside congregation to discuss his work.

The 1956 addition of Freehof Hall to Rodef Shalom Congregation initially presented an architectural challenge. Freehof Hall, with its clean horizontal lines, did not match Rodef Shalom’s original ornate building.

So the congregation held a competition for a design to unite the buildings’ aesthetics, resulting in Bloomer and Romualdi’s 32-by-22-foot architectural ornament over the Freehof entrance.

“Coming back here, looking at this project, I have been able to rebuild my memory of my last 50 years of design,” said Bloomer.

In the half-century since completing the Rodef facade, Bloomer founded an eponymous studio, which has completed high-profile, large-scale projects like the roof ornament for the new Federal Court building in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; a foliated trellis p Kent Bloomer stands in front of Rodef Shalom Congregation, where his work has had a major impact.

JC ReSoundPlease Rechargeable FIN_Eartique 11/12/18 see Bloomer, page 17 9:42 AM Page 1

Photo by Adam Reinherz

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Headlines Gov. Wolf visits Auschwitz-Birkenau, Lithuania Post-Gazette reporter. Seeing the preserved horrors of the Holocaust was a reminder of humankind’s capacity for evil, continued Wolf.

“I think you have to see this to begin to understand that this kind of incredible evil happened in our world,” he said. “How could one group of people do this to another group of people?”

As he toured the camp and saw a gas chamber, crematorium, execution wall and confiscated suitcases, Wolf carried a mezuzah cover given to him by Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha. The item, which formerly hung on Myers’ door, broke when SWAT members entered the building during last October’s attack, according to the Post-Gazette.

Wolf ’s trip abroad also included a stop at the Paneriai Memorial Museum in

Lithuania, which honors the nearly 100,000 people, including 70,000 Jews, who were murdered during World War II. At the memorial, Wolf laid a wreath sent by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and inscribed the names of the 11 victims of the Oct. 27 attack in the guestbook.

“The memorial sits within a quiet, peaceful forest but the large stone pits where people were killed and bodies were burned are haunting reminders of the horrors that took place,” Wolf said in a statement. “While traveling in Lithuania, we saw neighborhoods that had been designated Jewish ghettos during World War II. While these neighborhoods are rebuilt and modern, the history of the Holocaust is not lost. It reminds you

Since the incarceration of and commutation proceedings Goldblum in 1977, several high-prothroughout the last three decades, file figures have come out in support claiming that the evidence and of his release, most notably the extenuating circumstances require prosecuting attorney that tried the that Goldblum be released. case, Peter Dixon, and retired U.S. Goldblum is currently confined at District Judge Donald Ziegler, who Zeke the Frackville State Prison. He is 70 presided over the trial. Dixon and Goldblum years old, walks with a cane, and has File photo Ziegler, as well as renowned forensic other health issues. pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, all submitted On the same day that the Board of letters or affidavits at various clemency Pardons voted for clemency for Goldblum,

it considered 22 additional clemency applications from others serving life in prison without parole. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, former mayor of Braddock, chairs the board.

The five-member board voted unanimously to send nine of those applications to Wolf, according to the Pennsylvania CapitalStar. Ten applications were denied, and four held under advisement. PJC

— LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

G

ov. Tom Wolf visited AuschwitzBirkenau last week, and while there he honored the 11 Jews who were killed in the mass shooting at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha building on Oct. 27, 2018. During his several hour tour of the Nazi camp in Poland, Wolf placed a wreath at the Death Wall and inscribed a message in the museum’s guestbook.

“Pennsylvania mourns for the people who were murdered on October 27, 2018, in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We mourn for these victims, and we mourn for their families,” wrote Wolf.

p Gov. Wolf in Poland

Photo courtesy of The Office of Gov. Tom Wolf

The governor also wrote each of the 11 victims’ names along with, “We will remember them” and “100% tolerance; 0% hate.”

“It was a chance to see Auschwitz and a chance to remember the 11 who were murdered in Pittsburgh,” Wolf told a Pittsburgh

Please see Wolf, page 26

Board of Pardons votes to release Zeke Goldblum After serving 43 years in jail for a murder that many say he did not commit, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons voted unanimously last week to recommend clemency for Zeke Goldblum, son of the late Rabbi Moshe Goldblum, who served for 24 years as the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill.

Goldblum’s sentence had been to serve for life without parole.

The recommendation now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature.

—Toby Tabachnick

Clearing Our Vaults.

Join us for a stunning in-store-only sale with

50% to 60% OFF $3.5 MILLION IN FINE JEWELRY and something for everyone.

Orr’s Jewelers – Squirrel Hill Location September 16-28 5857 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA

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Calendar

Murray Avenue Kosher 1916 MURRAY AVENUE 412-421-1015 • 412-421-4450 • FAX 412-421-4451

>>Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Submissions will also be included in print.

Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.

PRICES EFFECTIVE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15-FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 Candle Lighting Time Friday, September 20, 2019 • 7:03 p.m.

MEAT SPECIALS

Top of Rib Roast

q SATURDAY, SEPT. 21 Rabbi Danielle Leshaw will lead a Derekh Study Series on several rebellion narratives within the Book of Numbers beginning at 12:45 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom (5915 Beacon St.). Attendees will study prominent themes that surface in these texts: religious authority, entering the land of Israel, God’s (im)perfect Torah and communal obligation. Rabbi Danielle Leshaw is a senior educator and campus support director at Hillel International. Visit bethshalompgh.org/ events-upcoming for more information.

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for their Community Selihot 5780 celebration beginning with minhah immediately following Havdalah at 7 p.m. Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon St., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 bethshalompgh.org/events-upcoming It’s a musical Selichot! Join Beth El Congregation and Temple Emanuel of South Hills for a South Hills Community Musical Selichot and Havdalah Service at Beth El. The evening starts with dessert at 7 p.m. followed by services.

Young Peoples Synagogue’s Selichot program (6404 Forbes Ave.) begins at 10 p.m. with a social followed with remarks by Rabbi Moishe Vogel of the Aleph Institute at 10:30 p.m. and Selichot services at 11 p.m. q SUNDAY, SEPT. 22 Conquer the unknown at the Steel City Showdown: Beast of the Burgh, 3-5 mile obstacle challenge through the JCC of Pittsburgh’s 100+ acre Henry Kaufmann Family Park woods. $55 for 9-9:45 a.m. heats; $50 for all other heats; $25 for kids’ race. Visit active.com/monroeville-pa/running/distancerunning-races/steel-city-showdown-2019 for more information and to register.

The Jewish Community Foundation presents the 2019 Fall Forum featuring Dr. Erica Brown in conversation with Rabbi Danny Schiff on Leading Issues in Contemporary Jewish Life at Rodef Shalom Congregation featuring the presentation of the 2019 Gift of Consequence Award to Sandy and Larry Rosen. Brunch begins at 10:30 a.m. followed by the program at 11:45 a.m. Visit jewishpgh.org/fall-forum to learn more and register.

Award-winning Washington Post and Daily Telegraph correspondent and war reporter Jack Fairweather will speak about his new book, “The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz.” The story follows the story of Polish underground operative Witold Pilecki who volunteers for a secret mission to infiltrate Auschwitz. Fairweather speaks at Rodef Shalom beginning at 7 p.m. Free.

Visit classroomswithoutborders.org/events/ show.php?234 q MONDAY, SEPT. 23 Plan to attend the Women’s Lunch Break to Educate: It’s Not Your Mother’s Federation…Jewish Young Adult Life in Pittsburgh from noon-1:30 p.m. at The Center

TAKE-OUT SPECIALS

9

$

89

Kids will get a fresh start by visiting Chabad of the South Hills’ Rosh Hashanah Farmers Market at the South Hills JCC at 2:30 p.m. They’ll go from booth to booth exploring the holiday’s culinary themes with unique recipes: round artisan challah, apple mocktails and more. Designed for children ages 3-11. To register call 412-344-2424. own bag lunch; drinks and dessert provided.

The discussion features Alex Heit, Honeymoon Israel participant, Mark Pizov, co-chair of The SteelTree Fund and Danielle West, Pittsburgh PJ Library coordinator. Register by Sept. 18 at jewishpgh.org/knowledge-nosh-womenslunch-break-to-educate-2. q TUESDAY, SEPT. 24 Chabad of the South Hills presents a PreHoliday Seniors Lunch at 12 p.m. Enjoy a delicious lunch with honey cake and a presentation by the Jewish Association on Aging. Raffle prizes. $5 suggested donation, wheelchair accessible. For more information and to preregister, please call 412-278-2658.

LB

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Learn about AgeWell and other community and government services available to seniors at a free presentation at Temple Emanuel (1250 Bower Hill Road) beginning at 7:30 p.m. Seniors will learn about services available to help them stay in their home and adult children will learn where to find help when they become caregivers. RSVP to templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org 412-279-7600.

for Women (1620 Murray Ave.). Bring your

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To our valued customers we wish you a happy and healthy New Year.

q WEDNESDAYS, SEPT. 25; OCT. 2, 9, 16 Jewish Family and Community Services presents Trauma Resiliency Group: An Integrative Approach to Healing, a free weekly gathering for anyone suffering the aftermath of the trauma of Oct. 27.

Offered by Amy Lohr, LCSW, integrative psychotherapist, at JFCS, Room A/B, second fl., 5743 Bartlett St., Squirrel Hill at 4 p.m.

$29.99

ALL ORDERS FOR COOKED FOODS MUST BE PLACED BY SUNDAY SEPT 22ND

q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25 Hear the sound of the shofar, and take home an apple and a jar of honey at a drop-by event in preparation for Rosh Hashana.

Tablet Magazine is sponsoring this event, along with others in Poway, CA and in Brooklyn, NY, in solidarity with communities that have experienced anti-Semitism in the past year, and with the hope that the coming year will be a sweet one for all of us. Free and open to all. Squirrel Hill Parklet at the corner of Murray and Darlington (next to the Squirrel Hill Post Office) from 6 p.m.

Sun. 9/22 • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Mon. 9/23 • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Tues. 9/24 • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Wed. 9/25 • 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Thurs. 9/26 • 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Fri. 9/27• 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Sun. 9/29 • 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Mon. 9/30 • CLOSED Tues. 10/1 • CLOSED Wed. 10/2 • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

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Calendar Calendar:

q SUNDAY, NOV. 3 q

Continued from page 9

MONDAY, SEPT. 23

Join the Jewish Federation Young Adult Division, PJ Library and Community Day School for some of Noah’s Ark themed fun beginning at 1 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Spend the afternoon at 2x2 at the Zoo with PJ Library learning about and getting up close and personal with some animals and participate in fun activities and crafts. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/2-x-2-at-the-zoo for more information.

Rodef Shalom Congregation

“Heal, Grow and Live with Hope” Nar-Anon and NA meetings every Wednesday evening at Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road, 15220 at 7:30 p.m. Come to the office/school entrance at the end of the building to be buzzed in. Call Karen at 412-563-3395 and leave a message for more information.

presents CONNECTING: a photographic exhibit featuring work from the Akko Center for the Arts and Technology in Akko, Israel.

Opening reception begins at 6 p.m., 4905 Fifth Ave.

q SUNDAYS, OCT. 5; NOV. 2; DEC. 7 Join Lauri Lang, RDN LDN, Concierge Wellness LLC for a four-part (once a month Sept.-Dec.) Holistic Nutrition and Wellness Series, which will contain the following elements under four umbrella themes: Interactive Lecture with Q&A; A Featured Item for Sampling and Discussion; Guided Meditation and/or Breathwork (Pranayama).

The three Umbrella Themes are: Oct. 5, 2019, Chronic Disease and Cancer Prevention; Nov. 2, 2019, Women’s Health Across the Lifespan; Dec. 7, 2019, Enhancing Immune Function, Vitality and Graceful Aging. Each workshop is 75 minutes in length. $59 for one workshop/$99 for all four. Visit sthielpilates. com for more information and to register. q MONDAY, OCT. 7 Dr. Barbara Burstin discusses her new book, “Sophie: The Incomparable Mayor Masloff” at First Mondays with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum.

All First Monday events begin with lunch at 11:30 a.m. $6 To RSVP, call 412-561-1168.

q MONDAY, NOV. 4 q THURSDAY, OCT. 17

q FRIDAY, OCT. 25

Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh at 4:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Learning Lawn (4200 Fifth Ave.) for the opening of Luigi Toscano’s latest iteration of Lest We Forget.

This internationally renowned exhibit that has traveled from Berlin to New York City is coming to the University of Pittsburgh campus this October. To learn more visit hcofpgh.org/lest-we-forget.

Come together with other young adults beginning at 6 p.m. at Together at the Table: A Community Building Shabbat Dinner. Reflect on the past year and look forward to the future of Jewish Pittsburgh.

Visit shalompittsburgh.org/event/youngadult-commemorative-shabbat-dinner to learn more.

q SATURDAY, OCT. 19 Join other Pittsburgh Jewish young adults and enjoy an evening in the Beth Shalom Sukkah from 8-9:30 p.m. at Young Adult Wine & Wisdom in the Sukkah. Sip wine and share some words. Non-alcoholic beverages and nosh will be available. Visit jewishpgh. org/event/young-adult-wine-wisdom to register for this free event.

Jack Mostow presents “RoboTutor: $1 Million Finalist in the Global Learning XPRIZE competition” at First Mondays with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum. All First Monday events begin with lunch at 11:30 a.m. $6 To RSVP, call 412-561-1168. q TUESDAY, NOV. 12

q MONDAY, OCT. 28 Music at Rodef Shalom presents: Theater Songs…The Music of Douglas Levine. Pianist, composer and music director Douglas Levine presents an evening of original musical theater compositions from the last 20 years.

Performers include six outstanding local singers backed by an instrumental combo with Levine at the piano. The event is free, 7:30-9:30 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave.

The Jewish Pro-Life Foundation invites you to attend Judaism: The Original Pro-Life Religion, an uplifting educational program exploring Judaism’s traditional principles regarding unborn life. A short slideshow will be presented followed by Q & A. Bring your curiosity and conversation, but please leave any politics and polemics at the door. The program is free of charge. Light refreshments will be served. Carnegie Library Squirrel Hill Branch, Meeting Room B, 1 p.m. PJC

Congregation Bet Tikvah www.bettikvah.org (412) 256-8317 Bet Tikvah is a queer-centric independent minyan, including family and friends. We hold services at Rodef Shalom Temple, Fifth & Morewood Aves.

Services are free and open to all. Get tickets at Rodef Shalom.

Be our guest and joiin us for new and innovative experiencess this New Year!

Rosh Hashanah Torah Yoga - 9/30, 9:00 am Rosh Hashanah Musical Service - 9/30, 11:45 am Rosh Hashanah Tashlich Hike - 9/30, 5:00 pm Outdoor Yom m Kippur Service -10/9, 10:15 am m For more information visit bethelcong g.o org or call 412-561-1168. Free and open to the community.

Rosh Hashanah

Monday, September 30

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Tuesday, October 8

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Yom Kippur

Wednesday, October 9

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Wednesday, October 9

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Headlines — WORLD — Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland out at Women’s March Three of the organizers of the Women’s March have stepped down from its board.

Co-chairs Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory and Bob Bland left in July, The Washington Post reported. In a news release, the Women’s March said they “will transition off of the Women’s March Board and onto other projects focused on advocacy within their respective organizations.”

The three women, along with co-chair Carmen Perez, had been at the center of a controversy over allegations that they failed to condemn and in some cases fostered anti-Semitism in the movement. Perez is remaining in her position.

The Women’s March told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the women were leaving because their terms had expired.

“The organization has not cut ties with the three departing board members; their terms have ended. As with any organization that has a governing board, there are set term limits imposed upon its members,” the organization said in a statement.

The group has chosen 17 women, including three who are Jewish, to serve as board members, and they will elect new leaders, according to the Post. Among them are Rabbi Tamara Cohen, the chief of program strategy at Moving Traditions, Ginna Green,

the chief strategy officer at Bend the Arc, and Ginny Goldman, the former executive director at Texas Organizing Project.

Some of the anti-Semitism accusations date back to Mallory’s ties to and refusal to disavow Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a long history of making anti-Semitic comments. An article in Tablet last year also alleged that Mallory and Perez made anti-Jewish comments at planning meetings. Sarsour, who is Palestinian American, has made statements that feminism and Zionism are incompatible.

Prominent activists and Jewish leaders have criticized the co-chairs for their actions, while others have defended them.

Some local chapters, many of which are not affiliated with the national group, have also distanced themselves from Sarsour, Mallory and Bland.

The march was founded as a protest against President Donald Trump’s election in 2016. Millions of women, and men, marched at the inaugural event in 2017, making it the largest one-day protest in U.S. history.

New Women’s March board member has called Israel a ‘racist’ state

One of the new board members of the Women’s March, Zahra Billoo, a lawyer who serves as executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has repeatedly made comments sharply critical of Israel.

On Twitter, Billoo has said several times that

Israel engages in war crimes and terrorism, and that it is an “apartheid, racist state.”

In one tweet from 2015, Billoo wrote that she was “more afraid of racist Zionists who support Apartheid Israel than of the mentally ill young people the #FBI recruits to join ISIS.” In another, she said she believed “God is ever present, Zionism is racism, and Israel is a settler colonial nation engaged in ongoing apartheid.”

Last year she tweeted that her comments on Israel led to an interfaith group withdrawing an award it was set to give her. In a series of tweets, Billoo wrote the unnamed organization told her “that pressure opposing my award was mounting. The organization’s institutional funding was being threatened and their Jewish members were threatening to leave.”

In the same thread, she wrote, “To be clear, I understand that this was not representative of all Jewish individuals, but there was indeed vocal opposition from certain Jewish leaders and organizations ... We discussed that this was par for the course for Muslim leaders, that when we become visible, we are subject to selective silencing, because when we speak about Palestine it makes some people uncomfortable. ... I explained that I could not remain silent when my tax dollars fund the ongoing theft of land and Israeli killings of Palestinians, and that I do indeed oppose Zionism. I see it as racist, just like I do any other ethnic nationalism.”

But Billoo also has ties to the Jewish community. In 2015, she wrote an article

NEW LIGHT CONGREGATION

in the Huffington Post about her decision to speak at a conference organized by the American Jewish Committee that said while her views on Israel differed from those of some in attendance, she also shared many of their goals on other issues.

“Some of us may disagree on politics in the Middle East, but there is no disagreement that the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the U.S. is, in its simplest form, the growth of hate against faith, and both our communities are impacted,” Billoo wrote.

Belgian university uses hooked nose gesture for ‘Jew’ in dictionary

A gesture signaling a hooked nose is how one Belgian university described “Jew” in its online sign-language dictionary.

The University of Ghent compiled the dictionary and features the gesture in videos on the website.

The European Jewish Association protested in a statement Monday. Its director, Menachem Margolin, said the first two videos depicting a Jew “seem standard.” Both show a presenter stroking an imaginary beard.

“The second involving side-locks are borderline acceptable if misleading,” he said, “and the last two are simply racist and demeaning to Jews, using a gesticulation of a large and hooked nose to define Jew.” Margolin has asked campus authorities to remove the two gestures from the dictionary. PJC

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Sunday, September 29th ......................................................7:00 PM Monday, September 30th ................................................... 8:45 AM Tuesday, October 1st .......................................................... 8:45 AM

YOM KIPPUR SERVICES

Tuesday, October 8th - Kol Nidre .......................................6:30 PM Wednesday, October 9th (includes Yizkor) ...................... 8:45 AM Wednesday, October 9th - Minchah /Neilah .....................5:30 PM NEW LIGHT CEMETERY VISITATION Sundays, September 22 & 29 ...................... 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM Special Rates for New Members Ticket Information: Janet Cohen - 412-512-0949 Membership: Debi Salvin -724-444-6324

Tuesday, September 24, 2019 • 6:30 p.m.

Samuel and Minnie Hyman Ballroom Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon Street RSVP to Jackie Braslawsce, 412-303-5769 or email naamatpgh@gmail.com Reception: 6:30 p.m.

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 11

Headlines Trump says he’s willing to consider a mutual defense treaty with Israel lead efforts in the Senate if necessary.”

The Jewish Institute for National Security of America, a Washington think tank that works with top security officials in the United States, has been working on a proposal for a mutual defense pact for over a year.

“JINSA welcomes the news that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are exploring a U.S.-Israel mutual defense pact,” JINSA said in a statement. “This past July, a JINSA task force led by notable retired U.S. military leaders, chaired by Adm. James Stavridis, formerly NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, issued a paper advocating such a pact and drafted a proposed text for such a treaty.”

The idea is not a new one and has come up periodically almost since Israel’s inception. President Bill Clinton dangled its prospect to Netanyahu and then to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak as an incentive to advance peace with the Palestinians. But the U.S.-Israel mutual defense pact idea has fallen apart each time it has been proposed.

Moshe Ya’alon, a former defense minister and military chief of staff who is number three on Benny Gantz’s Blue and White List — the party aiming to unseat Netanyahu — ran through the traditional objections in a tweet posted soon after Trump posted his.

“Netanyahu is using the American

— WORLD —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

O

n the eve of Israel’s elections, President Donald Trump resurrected an idea that Americans and Israelis have for decades considered and always ultimately rejected — a mutual defense treaty.

“I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of moving forward with a Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Israel, that would further anchor the tremendous alliance between our two countries,” Trump said Sept. 14 on Twitter.

“I look forward to continuing those discussions after the Israeli elections when we meet at the United Nations later this month!”

A mutual defense treaty commits the parties to treating an attack on one signatory as an attack on all.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been talking about advancing such a pact for many years.

“This would be a game-changer for Israel’s security and would be sending the right message to Iran and other bad actors,” Graham said on Sept. 15. “I stand ready to

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government for a new spin: ‘The U.S.-Israel Defense Treaty,’” Ya’alon said in his tweet.

“Up to now, Israeli prime ministers have rejected the idea because of its flaws: 1) loss of freedom of action (must every Israeli operation be approved by Washington?) 2) Do we want our troops fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, or U.S. troops fighting in Gaza?”

Americans also have raised concerns about attaching U.S. policy to the dictates of what Israel chooses to do to secure itself.

Such concerns would likely be even more preeminent for President Donald Trump, whose foreign policy doctrine has been one of retreating from U.S. commitments.

“Every previous time sides examined this, both sides backed away because of fears it would constrain Israeli freedom of action because of the need for prior approvals,” Dan Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “And by the United States not wanting to be obligated for every action Israel takes in its defense.”

With those objections in mind, the plan proposed by JINSA narrows the scope of the proposed treaty.

“We arrived at a set of principles and provisions for a narrow formal treaty alliance which, unlike existing U.S. defense

Sept. 23, 2003 — Simcha Dinitz dies

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12 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Simcha Dinitz, whose long career as an Israeli diplomat included serving as ambassador to the United States from 1973 to 1978, dies at age 74. He played a key role in securing U.S. weapons during the October 1973 war.

Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

Sept. 20, 1890 — Rahel Bluwstein born

Call Dan Askin

Please see Treaty, page 13

This week in Israeli history — WORLD —

Turning 65? You Have Limited Time to Make a Decision that Will Affect the Rest of Your Life.

treaties stating unequivocally that an attack on one is an attack on all, would cover only a defined set of exceptional circumstances that would place either country in extreme peril,” says the JINSA paper. “Namely: the threat or use of weapons of mass destruction; major armed attack by a powerful regional or global power, or coalition of powers; an assault threatening vital lines of air and sea communication; an attack undermining Israel’s qualitative military edge; or an urgent request from either government.”

Trump’s hedged language — “discuss the possibility of moving forward” is very short of a commitment — might reflect his ambivalence about endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump, who likes winners, handed Netanyahu a more substantive pre-election gift just before the April elections when he invited Netanyahu to the White House to see the president formally recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

But Netanyahu did not outright win that election — he failed to form a governing coalition, which led to Tuesday’s upcoming do-over — and Trump is said to have rejected offering a substantive gift this time around.

Netanyahu reportedly was seeking a

Rahel Bluwstein, one of the first poets to write in modern Hebrew in a conversational style, is born in Russia. She begins writing poetry at age 15 and makes aliyah in 1909.

Sept. 21, 2008 — Olmert resigns

Charged with corruption and financial improprieties, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigns. After his successor as Kadima leader, Tzipi Livni, fails to form a government, elections are held in February 2009, and Benjamin Netanyahu becomes prime minister.

Sept. 22, 2000 — Yehuda Amichai dies

Yehuda Amichai, the poet laureate of Jerusalem, dies of lymphoma at age 76. Born in Germany, Amichai made aliyah with his family in 1935. His poems have been translated into more than 40 languages.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Sept. 24, 1950 — Operation Magic Carpet concludes

Two planes carrying 177 Jews to Israel from Aden mark the end of Operation Magic Carpet, the airlift of Jews from their ancient community in Yemen. Nearly 50,000 Yemeni Jews were flown to Israel over 15 months.

Sept. 25, 1917 — Amir Gilboa born

Poet Amir Gilboa is born as Berl Feldmann in Ukraine. He makes aliyah in 1937.

Gilboa wins the Bialik Prize in 1971 and the Israel Prize in 1982.

Sept. 26, 2002 — Rabbi Warhaftig dies

Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, a founder of the National Religious Party and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies at age 96 in Jerusalem.

A native of Belorussia, he aliyah in 1947. PJC

made

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Headlines Treaty: Continued from page 12

formal U.S. endorsement of his plans to annex parts of the West Bank, but all he got was an anonymous U.S. official saying that the Trump administration was not concerned about the idea either way. He also hoped for a full pardon for Jonathan Pollard, the spy for Israel on parole in New York, but that was not in the cards either.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu celebrated in a tweet: “On Friday, I got the support of President Trump, and Benny Gantz got the support of Ofira and Berko,” Netanyahu gloated, referring to an interview Gantz, who leads the opposition Blue and White Party, gave to a pair of anchors on Channel 12.

Netanyahu’s tweet made it clear that Trump’s offer had more to do with protecting his political fortunes than it did with protecting Israel, but the offer did not emerge in a vacuum.

JINSA’s president, Michael Makovsky, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that a treaty would add a “layer of deterrence” for Israel to its existing armor, which includes longstanding U.S. support for the country from both sides. A treaty would require 67 votes in the Senate, which would reinforce the bipartisan tenor of support for Israel, he said.

Makovsky noted that his organization’s proposed treaty explicitly does not pull either side into minor conflicts.

“Each party affirms it does not seek the intervention of the other Party in all possible

p President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk after signing a presidential proclamation on the Golan Heights in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in March.

Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images via JTA

conflicts, but only when Exceptional Circumstances arise threatening its strategic or economic viability or its very existence,” the draft says.

Additionally, he said, existing broader U.S. mutual defense pacts do not restrain allies from acting on their own. Britain freely won the 1982 Falklands War with Argentina without involving NATO, he noted, and France continues to act in Africa without

consulting the same alliance.

“I would be surprised if a U.S. president would ask an Israeli soldier to fight in a predominantly Muslim country,” such as Iraq or Afghanistan, Makovsky added.

Shapiro said mutual defense proposals deserve serious consideration, but not as election bait.

“This is a transparent and half-assed attempt to influence the Israeli election at the last moment,” he said of the Trump tweet.

Makovsky said he would have preferred that the hard work JINSA put into its proposal were not attached to politicking.

“Would I have preferred that it didn’t come out right before an election, yes, we care about the substance, we don’t want this to be a polarizing issue — a treaty requires 67 votes,” he said. “But that wasn’t our decision. We’re happy that President Trump has indicated his support.” PJC

BE OUR GUEST AT TEMPLE SINAI FOR THE HIGH HOLY DAYS!** ROSH HASHANAH*

Sunday, September 29 7:45 PM Erev Rosh HaShanah Service Tuesday, October 1 10 AM Rosh HaShanah 2nd Day Morning Service

YOM KIPPUR*

Tuesday, October 8 6 PM Kol Nidre Intergenerational Family Service

Wednesday, October 9 (cont.)

4 PM Community Unity Sing-In of “Lu Yehi” (“May It Be”) 5:15 PM Yizkor and N’ilah 7:15 PM Break Fast: light snack

Wednesday, October 9 1:30 PM Minchah Afternoon Service *Donation requested. For security reasons, registration is required for 2:45 PM Beit Midrash all services.

5505 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (412) 421-9715 www.TempleSinaiPGH.org

Visit www.TempleSinaiPGH.org to order your Card of Admission for High Holy Days Community & Tot Services or contact Rebekah Malkin at (412) 421-9715 ext. 121 or Rebekah@TempleSinaiPGH.org.

TOT SERVICES

A SPECIAL EREV ROSH HASHANAH DINNER

Looking for an informal, inviting way to teach your little ones about High Holy Days? Join Rabbi Keren Gorban for a fun, active service of stories, singing, and dancing for families with children ages 0–5.

We invite you to join us for a special catered Erev Rosh HaShanah Dinner on Sunday, September 29 at 6 PM. Come have a relaxing, friendly meal with us before our Erev Rosh HaShanah Service.

Erev Rosh HaShanah: Sunday, Sept. 29, 5 PM Rosh HaShanah: Monday, Sept. 30, 8 AM Kol Nidre: Tuesday, Oct. 8, 5:30 PM Yom Kippur: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 8:15 AM **For security reasons, registration is required for Community & Tot Services.

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Our dinner menu includes: Homemade Chicken & Vegetarian Soups; Roasted Chicken with Figs, Oregano, & Lemon; Gemelli with Late Tomato, Basil, & Bread Crumbs; Roasted Fall Vegetables; Mixed Greens Salad; Challah; Plum Crisp; and Wine Cost: $25 per person $10 per child (ages 4–12) FREE for kids 3 and under REGISTER ONLINE AT www.TempleSinaiPGH.org.

Reservations will close at 5 PM on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 13

Opinion Local journalists heading into Oct. 27 with compassion and forethought — EDITORIAL —

P

ittsburgh can be proud of its local media.

Last week, representatives from most local media outlets joined with representatives from the Jewish community, including those most closely impacted by the attack at the Tree of Life building last fall, to discuss how to report on the one-year commemoration of the massacre with sensitivity and integrity.

The off-the-record discussion was held at WQED, and was organized by WQED’s Vice President of Content Darryl Ford Williams, and Andrew Conte, director of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University.

More than 50 people were in attendance, including faith leaders, representatives of the

three congregations targeted in the attack, and representatives from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and Jewish Family and Community Services.

Convened to help those in local media understand the community’s concerns, plans and preferences in regard to the commemoration, the discussion was a lesson in honest and open communication, and gave us cause to be optimistic that, at the very least, local coverage of the events will take into account the psychological well-being of those impacted directly by the massacre, as well as the interests of the wider Jewish community of Pittsburgh.

Members of the media heard from Jewish stakeholders regarding their concerns when it comes to news coverage, including appropriate and accurate verbiage and ways to

respect Jewish traditions while sharing their stories. Members of the Jewish community, in turn, learned about the aims and needs of Pittsburgh’s media outlets.

In just a few weeks, our city will mark one year since the mass shootings of members of Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation fundamentally — and perhaps permanently — altered Jewish Pittsburgh.

We expect the city to be swarmed again by national and international journalists, as it was on and after Oct. 27, 2018. Some of them will get the stories right, and, as happened last year, some will fail in doing so.

But we applaud our local media for the proactive steps it is taking in ensuring fair and thoughtful coverage, and its openness in hearing what will best preserve the dignity

and wellness of the victims, the families, and the survivors of the attack.

Emotions, understandably, have been and will continue to run high as Oct. 27, 2019 approaches. While there is little we can do to control how and what is reported by those journalists who descend upon Pittsburgh from elsewhere, we are optimistic that our local coverage will be fair, and will attempt to avoid, as much as possible, the re-traumatization of families and emotional triggers.

The charge of media — to report the truth — is one that is crucial to the preservation of a just and democratic society. We are proud of the fact that representatives of Pittsburgh’s print, digital, radio and television outlets are heading into the one-year commemoration of the massacre with intention, compassion and forethought. PJC

My family synagogue burned down in Minnesota Guest Columnist Sarah Rose

E

ditor’s Note: On Friday, Sept. 13, police arrested a suspect in connection with this case. Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said that there is no evidence that the fire was the result of a bias or hate crime, but added “This may change as this investigation progresses.”

American Jews woke Monday morning to the ancestrally terrifying image of a synagogue on fire. It was my family’s shul: Adas Israel in Duluth, Minnesota.

There is a dollhouse model of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Israel’s Museum of the Jewish People.

“That is the Third Street shul,” my greataunt said on the eve of her 90th birthday nearly 40 years ago. It was, she said, Adas Israel in Duluth.

Together we studied the miniature, the white walls and curved windows, the pitch of the roof. The family resemblance was striking: Her grandfather had carried the memory of a synagogue to America. If Vilnius was the Jerusalem of Europe, he reproduced it on the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street in Duluth.

As Jews, we exist in so many places at once: We live in the past, where we came from, the worlds we left behind. We live in the now, in a space of hopefulness and watchfulness. We also live in a future promised land. For my great-great-grandfather, the Adas Israel congregation was the physical embodiment of all three — his past, his present and our future.

Duluth’s Jewish story felt all-American.

My great-great-grandfather didn’t flee the Holocaust or pogroms. He came when Minnesota was a brand new state. He got 14 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

land for free (though it was not the government’s to give). The Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior are in the heart of the center of the country, about as far from an ocean in any direction as it is possible to get. It was a good place to raise the generations. Ours was a Judaism of confidence and safety.

This great-great-grandfather had nine children. He brought his offspring to America and paid for the immigration of nine cousins to marry them and reproduce.

We are related, it is said, to “every Litvak in the Northwoods.” (I am on my own family tree many, many times.) We came as dry

one stayed and increasingly few came to visit. When the shul burned down Monday, it had some 50 congregants, mostly elderly.

If sunset in the summer is at 10:30 p.m., our Shabbat began at 6 p.m. — “early bird Shabbos.”

Duluth is a university town. Jews move there, but they are likely to attend “The Temple,” the Reform shul. Like the old joke, that’s the one my family would never set foot in.

As I write, we don’t know if the fire was a hate crime or an accident. Both are possibilities and both are monstrous.

We live in the now, in a space of hopefulness and watchfulness. We also live in a future promised land. For my great-great-grandfather, the Adas Israel congregation was the physical embodiment of all three — his past, his present and our future. goods merchants, we became doctors and lawyers and businesspeople. One of us would become a Nobel Prize-winning American songwriter. Me? I write books about the Holocaust and resistance.

Adas Israel was the oldest continuously used synagogue in Minnesota, but it was a Jewish population in what seemed like permanent decline. As a little girl, my many spinster aunts mourned the loss of the Superior shul across the lake. Like competing sports teams, they were missed once they left town. In my lifetime, Third Street was all we had.

I visited on holidays and didn’t grow up in the Twin Ports. It is cold there. It is small.

Like so many in the fourth generation, no

The building was beautiful, but in sorry shape. If it is deemed an electrical fire, I will not be surprised. If capital improvements were missed, it is because the congregation was minuscule and many were on a fixed income. Forty years ago I was told the balcony wasn’t structurally sound. I don’t know if it was ever repaired. On Monday, a firefighter was hospitalized from injuries sustained there. For our purposes, women and men just sat together downstairs.

We mostly didn’t have a rabbi. A black hat-wearing Jewish man once tried to take on the job. He put up plastic ferns for a mechitza and campaigned to sell a scroll to fund a mikvah. It felt comic: Aside from me, every woman in the room was on the

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far side of menopause, and conversions were never our thing. But also, why did we need a mikvah when we were four blocks away from the largest body of freshwater on earth? That rabbi didn’t last.

Still, it felt easy to be Jewish there, among the Frozen Chosen. The worst thing that might happen is you run into a bear while walking to shul. As a kid, my mother attended catechism with her Catholic best friend and Job’s Daughters with her Lutheran best friend, and somehow had a bat mitzvah in the middle. She flirted with Unitarianism in old age. Our prairie Jewish homeland was so companionable.

The image of a synagogue on fire suggests the worst Jewish nightmare, a fresh Kristallnacht. I am disoriented and in mourning. But Jews have felt this way as long as we have been Jews. It is almost definitional.

Since the founding of the State of Israel, we have been told that we now have somewhere to go. If they come for us in this host country, we have a permanent Jewish homeland. Duluth was my Jerusalem; Jerusalem is now my Duluth.

Adas Israel is gone and what is left is its symbolic self: Vilnius was the Jerusalem of Europe. The Litvaks created a Jewish home on Third Street. A replica of both survives behind glass in a museum in Israel.

But I am hopeful because there is hope in this story. It feels almost miraculous: The scrolls were saved. They were secure in the basement, carved into the bedrock of the mountain that is the city of Duluth, the great moraine left by the receding of the last Ice Age. It is the only hope Jews ever really have: We’ve been through 6,000 years of this, and we are still Adas Israel. PJC Sarah Rose is a journalist and author of “D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis and Helped Win World War II.” This article originally appeared at JTA.org.

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Opinion Leftward lurch: Democratic Party shift unleashes anti-Semitism Guest Columnists Abby W. Schachter Anat Talmy

T

he Democratic Party has been moving to the left for more than a decade.

And along with that leftward shift, certain ideas and attitudes that used to be considered unacceptable, and even shameful — specifically in terms of the Jewish people — have become more widely asserted.

It goes without saying that anti-Jewish sentiment has had fertile soil at colleges and universities around the country, for decades.

Then came President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran in 2015, which was a watershed moment, but not exclusively because it marked a shift in policy toward Tehran.

The political fight on Capitol Hill to get Congress to approve the deal between the

Obama White House and its progressive allies who wanted it, versus the more mainstream, bipartisan opposition to the deal as exemplified by American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was the first time the progressive left of the Democratic Party went up against the mainstream left on a formerly bipartisan foreign policy issue, and won.

In 2016, with the election of President Donald Trump this leftward shift has accelerated, bringing with it a shift in attitude toward Jews.

Take the Women’s March, for example.

Initially, it looked like a Trump protest movement and an effort to raise awareness of the #MeToo movement and gender inequality.

In reality, blaming the Jews for societal ills was an integral part of the founding mothers who got together to organize the first march, as detailed in Tablet Magazine. At subsequent events around the country, Jewish feminists were excluded and even banned from marching with their progressive sisters.

In 2017 and again in March of this year, Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum (D.-Minn.) proposed the Promoting Human Rights for

Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act (H.R. 2047). The bill’s stated purpose is to make sure “United States funds do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.” As Liel Leibovitz pointed out recently, the similarity to the old trope about Jewish blood libel is now coming from the Democratic Party. This legislation, which this year was co-sponsored among others by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, he explained “tracks, in an eerily perfect way, with a long and murderous tradition: Fantasizing that Jews have a special fondness for killing, abducting, maiming or otherwise abusing non-Jewish children, and leading mobs to attack them based on these accusations.”

Beyond the disgusting similarity to this ancient slur, Rep. McCollum’s legislation singles out Israel as opposed to any other country that both receives U.S. foreign aid and has a complicated human rights record.

And that exclusivity is exactly the problem.

As Alan Dershowitz explained years ago, “by treating Israel as the Jew among nations

— singling it out for condemnation when others are far worse by any relevant standard,” one is engaging in anti-Semitism against the whole of the Jewish people.

The 2018 midterm elections resulted not only in a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives and a strong leftward tilt especially among new members, but a more openly anti-Semitic attitude with it. For example, first-time congresswomen such as Reps. Omar and Tlaib have used social media to propagate anti-Semitic tropes to advance their policy goals. They, along with McCollum, are also openly supportive of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, especially in the form of H.R. 496. But aside from the necessary consequence of the stated goals of the BDS movement — that is, the elimination of the state of Israel — it functions as a wedge issue between American Jews and the rest of the political left. Indeed, BDS in America, as Caroline Glick explained recently, is actually “directed primarily against American Jews. Its goal is to silence

The second rule is to make cause with white nationalists. This keeps the Jews on the defensive because white nationalists actually threaten their lives, as the Jews of Pittsburgh know well. The president, for example, could go to a street clash where the nationalists club nonviolent demonstrators and declare that there are good people on both sides.

The third rule would be to make a tight alliance with the political right in Israel, particularly its prime minister. The alliance would be mutually beneficial. The president could support territorial aims of the prime minister before an election, giving him an electoral edge. In return, the prime minister would be expected to mute his criticism of anti-Semitism in America, leaving the president free to court the white nationalists. The effect would be to leave the American Jew feeling abandoned and vulnerable, a goal of the anti-Semite. This political alliance would not be difficult because there are certainly more evangelical Christians in the U.S. who

support Israel, right or wrong, than there are American Jews of any persuasion.

The fourth rule is to attack the Democratic party as soft on anti-Semites. This has the effect of denying the party’s role in defending human rights and setting up the president as the arbiter and definer of what is anti-Semitism. To do this, the president would pick two of the newly elected Democratic members of Congress who have defended Palestinian rights and focus on them as representatives of the Democratic party as a whole. It will be an easier fight if these two could be cast as the political face of the 235 Democrats in the House.

This is, of course, a fantasy. None of this could actually happen. Any resemblance to what has happened is purely coincidental.

Just to be safe, however, I strongly recommend going to the polls on Nov. 3, 2020. PJC

Please see Leftward, page 24

Fantasy politics Guest Columnist

Dan Resnick

O

ne of the fantasies of anti-Semites is that Jews somehow gather each day to plot how best to take over power. I once met a reputable social scientist who actually believed this. Jews, only 2% of the population in the U.S., should be powerless, they think. Instead, they are visible in every phase of public life, from entertainment to politics, and particularly in the Democratic party. In the American House of Representatives, 32 of the 34 Jewish members belong to that party.

In their paranoid fantasy, anti-Semites cannot see any other explanation than plotting and conspiracy for this presence and influence. For the anti-Semite, the Jew is a

threat, usurping a place in American society that should be theirs.

Jews are entitled to their own fantasies. Let us pretend, for example, that anti-Semites have gained influence in the highest sectors of American political life, having the ear of an elected president. Let’s pretend that the anti-Semites want to reassure his reelection, and see Jewish influence in political life as an obstacle along that path. In this fantasy, Jews can imagine that there is actually a playbook that guides the anti-Semites in planning a 2020 victory at the polls, and that the president will play a key role in executing the plays. In this fantasy playbook, the game will be played with four rules.

The first rule for the anti-Semites will be to keep Jews on the defensive. Make them feel vulnerable and alien. Stress that they are loyal to a foreign power and cannot have the same loyalty to their country as other Americans.

The president, for example, could refer to the prime minister of Israel as their prime minister.

More Woodstock memories

— LETTERS — No peace partner

Jonathan Tobin’s opinion piece about Trump’s statement that American Jews are disloyal to Israel if they don’t vote for him talks about “mainstream Democrats who remain stalwart supporters of the U.S.-Israel alliance” but believe in a two-state solution “that has dominated the conversation in this country” for four decades (“What’s missing from Israel’s election campaigns?,” Aug. 30).

His most important sentence: “There is no partner who wants to talk peace.” The Gaza Strip has shot rockets over Israel for years. The other areas have done the same.

If there had been Israel, there would have been no Holocaust.

Shirley Shratter Pittsburgh

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Dan Resnick is professor emeritus of history at Carnegie Mellon University.

I was a classmate of David Ainsman from kindergarten through seventh grade at Sunnyside and Morningside schools (“‘Everywhere was a song and a celebration’: Woodstock memories, 50 years later,” July 12). Like David, whom I missed at Woodstock, I experienced a mindbending three days of peace and love in August 1969.

I was a student at Clark University at the time, and a bunch of us drove in a Checker station wagon from Worcester, Massachusetts, to the Woodstock venue loaded with Coleman coolers, sleeping bags, tarps for rain protection, LSD, etc. I agree with David: The importance of Woodstock was more about the congregation of 500,000 people rather than the music, although we heard world-class rock and blues and folk there.

My takeaway from Woodstock consisted of the belief that mankind’s evolution had been boosted toward the point of universal understanding in a way previously unsuspected by our generation.

P.S. I didn’t know that David was playing acoustic guitar in 1969; nice to know.

Stan Heinricher Melbourne Beach, Florida

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 15

Headlines TOL: Continued from page 3

and paintings and sketches, quilts and knittings — it was impressive how many people turned to art to express their feelings to us.”

Eisenberg said that once neighbors began commenting on the look of the tarps surrounding the building, members realized “that wasn’t who we are. The scene didn’t reflect who we were.”

The project’s goal was to project a positive message to the community and city. It was important to the congregations that themes in the art didn’t just reject anti-Semitism but other forms of prejudice and discrimination as well, including racism, homophobia and what Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers labels “the ‘h’ word.”

In April the congregations began receiving submissions from local, national and international high schools and young artists.

Nearly half of the submissions came from students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which was also marred by gun violence last year.

Eisenberg said that the “youth of Parkland have shown us the way.”

Additional artwork was received from students at Columbine High School in Colorado, Newtown High School in Connecticut, Appel Farm Arts and Music Campus in Elmer, New Jersey, New Zealand and schools throughout Pittsburgh.

Cara Drook, a student at Mt. Lebanon High School, had her work selected to be used as part of the windscreens. According to her mother, Ellen, the 16-year-old was happy her painting was chosen but conflicted because of the sadness attached

Weiss: Continued from page 3

You obviously felt this massacre at the Tree of Life building really personally. Can you tell me about that?

I am someone who has always followed — it seems strange to say “Jewish issues” because they are just personal issues — for my whole life. So, it’s not as if I was unaware of what was happening in Europe, or what was happening in Israel. I was very much aware of all these things. But I really felt that America was very much a place apart.

I believed the idea that we were the Goldene Medina, that we were the luckiest Jews in Diaspora history. I do still believe that. But I think that is why I was so shaken. I really thought that anti-Semitism — you know, there are stray comments about being a kike or picking up a penny that I just kind of brushed off — that anti-Semitism, especially violent anti-Semitism was something that happened to Jews in other places. And when it came home to Pittsburgh, and in the place where I became a bat mitzvah, I felt a shattering of the story that I had been taught and the story that I had told myself. And it just forced me to reassess that narrative.

Had you ever considered writing a book about anti-Semitism prior to the shooting ?

I had always thought that I was going to 16 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

to the shooting.

Drook’s piece reflects both the grief of the day and hope for tomorrow. “It’s a tree, representing the Tree of Life, with a combination of 11 hearts, chai symbols and Stars of David hanging from it.”

The young artist was inspired by a painting she saw titled “The Tree of Life Is Weeping”

by Rabbi Me’irah Illinsky. “I want people to find some joy in tragedy and transform negativity into something positive,” Drook said about her work.

Stephen Cohen, president at New Light Congregation, sees the selected artwork as a metaphor. “What you have here is an exterior. If you build something beautiful around the exterior, what is inside the heart lives and allows the congregation to heal and look for a day when this building will reopen as a site for prayer, for family, for community and love.”

The windscreens will remain until the fencing is removed from the front of the building, according to Eisenberg. Once the fence has come down and the artwork removed, Ellen Surloff, immediate past president of Dor Hadash said, “we will then begin the process of trying to figure out how to memorialize, and the artwork will become a part of that.” The start of that process, though, is still several years away.

Myers pointed out that the message of the campaign is one of hope and love. “There is more good in the world than there is evil. In the end, good will always triumph.”

All 238 submissions received for the project can be viewed online at tolos.org/ heartstogether. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

write one book, maybe several books, on Jewish topics. But frankly, like many writers, it was like, “Do I want to be pigeon-holed, do I want that to be the first thing?” I think what was clarifying for me after what happened in Pittsburgh is, a) I didn’t give a crap anymore if I was going to be pigeon-holed or not, and b) a real sense that an attack on Jews was an attack on everything that this country stands for. And — I write this in the book and I really, really believe it — that the obvious victims of anti-Semitism are Jews, but the other victim, the one that is often forgotten or overlooked, is the surrounding society, because a society where anti-Semitism is thriving is a society that is dead or dying. With all of its flaws, I really love this country and what it stands for, and I believe it is worth fighting for. So in a way this book is not just about fighting anti-Semitism, it’s fighting for liberalism. It’s fighting for American democracy.

The shooter from Pittsburgh came from a far-right ideology, which you cover in your book. But I noticed that you devote even more pages in your book to examining anti-Semitism on the left and in radical Islam. Why is that?

First of all, I just want to be absolutely clear that every study shows, and as everyone knows who is paying attention in the world, that if a person is going to walk into a synagogue with an automatic weapon, it is extremely likely that person is going

p Select artwork hanging outside of the Tree of LIfe building.

Photo by Dave Rullo

It’s very different when it comes to anti-Semitism on the far left, which is why I felt an obligation to sort of explain it to people, because frankly I think a lot of people, for various reasons, want to ignore it or not touch it. So, because there is just much more understanding of the far-right threat, I wanted to make sure that anyone who bought this book got their money’s worth and understood something that maybe they had not understood before.

p Bari Weiss

Photo provided by Bari Weiss

to be a white supremacist. And I have no illusions about the fact that white supremacism and neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism from the far right — whatever you want to call that vile collection of ideologies — is the most threatening to Jewish lives. I also feel that that is the most understood threat, because it is one on which there is incredible agreement about. There is not a lot of gray when someone walks into a synagogue and says, “All Jews must die.” They are making themselves completely clear, and their intentions well-known.

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Why do you think that a lot of Jews seem to underplay the anti-Semitism that’s coming out on the progressive left?

I think for a few reasons. The first reason is that 75 percent of Jews vote for Democrats.

The Democratic party and progressive movements have long been the sort of natural assumed home for American Jews for lots of historical reasons. And it is much more emotional and psychologically easy — I’m not diminishing the threat at all — but I’m saying if a neo-Nazi comes and attacks us, we already knew that person hated us. It is very different when someone who you regard as being in the tent that you yourself fit in as a threat to you. I think that is just much harder emotionally and psychologically to take on.

That’s the first thing.

The second thing is that unlike the “kill all the Jews” anti-Semitism on the far right, Please see Weiss, page 26

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Headlines Friends: Continued from page 5

apparently asked the guy, ‘Hey, can I wear that shirt? I think it is a great shirt for this scene.’ So I guess the guy gave him the shirt to wear, and he wore it on the show, and then it went public,” Morris said.

After speaking to Bright on the phone, Morris was invited to the set of “Friends” should he ever be in L.A. As it happened, Morris had been planning a trip to Southern California just two weeks later, and stopped by the set.

“I got to meet all the actors and hang out with everyone,” said Morris, whose family members are longtime members of Congregation Beth Shalom. “We were all the same age, and they were all brand new, so I didn’t know who any of them were.”

There was a Pittsburgh connection, though, as actress Courtney Cox, who played Monica in the show, was dating Pittsburgh-born actor Michael Keaton at the time, according to Morris.

Bright asked Morris if he wanted to hang some of his work on the set in future episodes, which led to more than 50 of his pieces, over the course of 10 years, being featured on a television series that remains popular in syndication to this day.

“The first piece of mine was a big toaster painting that was in Central Perk (the fictional coffee shop where the friends on the show congregated) and currently it resides in the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh,” Morris said. “In every season, one by one they started using more of my work. It wasn’t on every episode, but every season they would change it up, so they might have

Bloomer: Continued from page 7

for the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.; and large roof sculptures on the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, Illinois. He’s also taught at Yale since 1966.

The Rodef Shalom commission “changed my life,” said the sculptor and educator during a Sept. 16 event at the Shadyside congregation. “It really established my future.”

Bloomer was just a few years out of graduate school when he and Romualdi entered the competition. For the winning commission, they created sculptural waves that catch the sunlight, noted Martha Berg, Rodef Shalom’s archivist.

The project needed to “enforce a sense of harmony but also had to be a thing unto itself,” said Bloomer. Apart from matching “with the ethos of the 1960s,” there were also structural considerations.

Creating a sculpture out of concrete, and affixing it to the facade, would have required traditional reinforcing bars. So Bloomer, who studied physics and architecture as an undergrad at MIT, worked with Romualdi, a professor of civil engineering at Carnegie Tech, to come up with an innovative solution.

They carved the sculpture out of Styrofoam, Berg explained, and cut it into 35 blocks. Each block was reinforced with Wirand, a steel fiber reinforcement for

p Burton Morris and his iconic coffee cups.

Photo provided by Burton Morris

a piece on for three to four episodes, then change to something else.”

Memorable paintings hung in Central Perk included those depicting the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam. But “the biggest one people remember was my coffee cup because it was such a staple, it fit perfect,” Morris said.

Neckties that Morris developed with Pittsburgh’s clothier Charles Spiegel also became a popular accessory worn by Chandler, played by Matthew

Perry, on the show.

Morris refers to the longevity of the show’s reach as “mix of luck and good fortune, and I call it perseverance, over the years that the show took off,” said Morris. “No one would have known this show would still be lasting and reaching new generations.”

As a result, people “who weren’t even born when the show was starting,” are relating to “Friends,” and are seeing Morris’ work prominently displayed, he noted.

One of the aims of a pop artist is to get

concrete, and covered with a quartz-silicone aggregate material to create a translucent surface. The use of Wirand eliminated the need for conventional reinforcing bars.

The process took two years, but in August 1965, the off-white pre-cast blocks were installed.

Bloomer’s sculpture has a “wonderful play of shadow,” said Doug Cooper, Andrew Mellon Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. “In a sense, it’s a 2-D image that when we get underneath it, pulls our view up to the sky.”

Cooper, who studied under Bloomer at Carnegie Tech, told the nearly 70 attendees at Bloomer’s recent Rodef talk to “think of it as a vertical ocean.”

David Lewis, founder of Urban Design Associates, also spoke at the event, calling Bloomer’s sculpture “incredibly moving, marvelous.” But he said people would be remiss to consider it merely a work of art.

“We have to learn to look at works with our bodies and with our minds.”

Bloomer’s sculpture is “part of our urban experience,” he continued. Putting aside the technological, cultural and historical aspects of the work, “what matters is your relationship to that sculpture.”

“The progression of the curves brings your focus upwards,” said Lane Liston of Penn Hills, as he admired the piece outside Freehof Hall. “I have been coming here for decades and never really looked at it before.”

Looking at the sculpture after hearing

about the way it was made changes one’s understanding of it, said Marilyn Durschi of Fox Chapel. “It’s always good to go into depth about something you take for granted,” she said.

“I think that the opportunity to reflect on the architectural elements and the aesthetic elements that made our congregational building so distinctive is a privilege for us,” echoed Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Rodef Shalom Congregation.

Carolyn Terner of Wilkinsburg, agreed and called Bloomer, Cooper and Lewis “three wonderful geniuses who graced our synagogue with a lovely appreciation of thought and wisdom about design, sculpture and public art.”

As attendees gathered inside for a reception with Bloomer, Raymond Kaskey, a celebrated American sculptor and former student of Bloomer’s, remarked on his involvement in the project from nearly 60 years ago.

“We put the Styrofoam blocks together and that was just sort of donkey work, gluing these things together,” he said. When it came time to “carve the Styrofoam in the configuration that you see here, that was the interesting work. And I was kind of scared that I would make a mistake or carve into the surface too far and he was going to get mad, but I was extremely careful.”

Seeing the early sketches and hearing his former teacher’s ideas on “light coming from a source way up” was interesting, Kaskey added. “I mean, he never explained that

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their work integrated into mainstream culture, Morris explained. “‘Friends,’” he said, “helped get my work in front of people I could never have reached.

Literally, when I’ve had shows in Asia, Europe, they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re the artist of ‘Friends,’ we’ve seen your work.’ Because my work is pop art and has mass appeal, it is universal. It’s all about the objects and the ideas that are very positive and very simple and graphic, but it hit home with that show, and people feel comfortable with it.”

All the cast members and creators of the show own pieces of Morris’ art, as does Warner Brothers, he said.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” the artist acknowledged. “Because of this, it opened up doors for me to do the Academy Awards, the Olympics, I worked with President Obama for eight years. This is all because my art got out to the public through television, which I could never have dreamed of.”

Although his art has appeared on the sets of about a dozen other television shows, including “Entourage” and “Just Shoot Me,” he attributes his mass appeal to the exposure he received from “Friends.”

For his new gallery show, Warner Brothers is providing one of the original couches from the Central Perk set for the opening, “so people can come in and take pictures,” he said.

New works that are Friends-oriented, will be displayed at the gallery, including a series of coffee cup paintings, Statue of Liberty paintings, and Uncle Sams. Morris will also be debuting his first sculpture — not surprisingly, a coffee cup. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

to me. I was just there to provide the hand labor, so 60 years later I understand it better.”

Kaskey said he appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with Bloomer and others, but was saddened by the sculpture’s condition.

“The dark indentations are mold,” said Bloomer. “It’s the same problem as at the Jefferson Memorial. It’s kind of a plague throughout the industry.”

Apart from the mold, there is water infiltration and issues of structural integrity to consider, explained Teresa Duff, architectural conservator at Lineage Historic Preservation Services, who is working on the architectural sculpture’s conservation. “There’s a few different layers to the project, but they’re all interesting and fun.” The congregation is accepting donations from those interested in supporting the restoration efforts.

The sculpture is unnamed, and subject to personal ways of seeing. “I think everybody is going to have their own kind of interpretation of what this really means to them,” said Rabbi Walter Jacob, Rodef Shalom’s rabbi emeritus and senior scholar. “I think if one needs to explain it, especially to a bunch of kids, it’s the Exodus from Egypt after the Jews have left and the Egyptians are either behind or have died.”

In that way, the sculpture becomes “graphic and interesting and is not just a technical-based explanation.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 17

Rosh Hashanah ‘Reverse Tashlich’ program encourages Jews to keep the oceans clean

p Scubi Jew: EC Environmental Divers and University of Tampa Hillel students combine forces in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Photo from Facebook via JNS

p Members of Congregation B’nai Israel and Temple Beth-El, St. Petersburg, Florida, participate in a clean-up.

Photo from Facebook via JNS

— RITUAL —

By Shiryn Ghermezian | JNS

A

Florida-based program aimed at reconnecting Jewish people to the ocean and empowering them to help keep the sea clean is attracting attention from communities around the United States and even in Israel.

On Rosh Hashanah, Jews throw bread in the water to symbolically cleanse themselves of their sins. The “Reverse Tashlich” project calls on Jewish communities to switch the process and remove these human “sins” from the water in waterfront cleanups.

The project is part of the Tikkun HaYam (“repairing the sea”) initiative launched last year. It was founded by Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, also the founder of Scubi Jew, a Hillel club that teaches marine conservation through a Jewish lens as part of its mission of Tikkun HaYam. As Rosenthal, who serves as the Hillel rabbi at Eckerd College in Florida, explained to JNS: “It applies a modern context to an ancient practice. In addition, it is intended to raise awareness about one of the greatest existential threats to our planet, the ongoing destruction of the ocean.”

Every year, approximately 6 million tons of human-made trash pollute the water.

“Reverse Tashlich” started as a small program at the Suncoast Hillel at Eckerd College in Tampa Bay, Florida, which has a large marine science program and a beach on campus. Three years ago, about a dozen students went to their local waterfront and cleaned nearly 100 pounds of trash.  The program then expanded under the leadership of Shayna Cohen, director of Tikkun HaYam, and last year’s first annual event included nine locations and 307 participants. Some 650 pounds of trash were collected in Miami, Tampa Bay and Washington, D.C. The next event is scheduled for Oct. 6; groups in Boston, Minnesota, California, New York and Israel have expressed interest in participating. Cohen and her team are also hosting a grant competition for people who collect the most trash, as a way to incentivize locals to do “some really hearty cleanups,” she told JNS.

18 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

p Rabbi Ed Rosenthal of Hillels of the Florida Suncoast Photo courtesy of JNS

“Our dream goal is having this one day a year where the Jewish community gets involved in their ecosystem and helps make an impact in their environment,” said Cohen. “As Jews, we are required to care for the environment, but there is a stark lack of environmentalism when it comes to the ocean and the Jewish community … a lack of awareness in the Jewish community for marine conversation. Tikkun HaYam is just a way to bring the topic of the ocean into the conversation.”

Ahead of October’s event, individuals or team leaders can register on the “Reverse Tashlich” website their location, which is added to the public page so people can join.

Participants then get in touch with each other to schedule a meetup, and Cohen provides coaching, guide books and online seminars to help organize things ahead of the event. Sign-up is open to everyone.

“We want anybody to feel empowered to make a difference in the ocean,” said Cohen.

According to Rosenthal, many mitzvot apply to the environment, such as Bal Tashchit, the prohibition against needless and unnecessary waste and destruction. He discusses “Water Torah” in great length on the Tikkun HaYam website, citing texts that describe “the deep Jewish connection to the sea and the profound spiritual nature of water” and how the Torah calls upon Jews to care for the ocean. He also hosts an underwater meditation — or surface meditation for snorkelers — on the Shema prayer that connects the oneness and unity of God, with the oneness of the ocean and the unity of water.

Tikkun HaYam’s goal is to show there is a

p Shayna Cohen helps spruce up the mangroves in Tampa, Florida.

Photo from Facebook via JNS

Jewish connection to the sea, and its name is connected to the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, the repair of the world.

Rosenthal said, “We call it ‘Tikkun HaYam’ because people, especially Jews, have a tendency to forget that even though they may speak of going ‘green’ to save the environment, we actually live on a blue planet.

The ocean makes up 71 percent of the planet.

It produces more oxygen than all of the rainforests and trees in the world combined.”

“Water is the most unifying force in the world,” he continued. “Every living organism from a worm to a whale, from a weed to a towering oak tree, from an amoeba to man — everything is made up mostly of water.

The human body is 70 percent water. Our blood and our tears are about the same salinity as the sea. Water is the source of life.

If the ocean dies, we die. I can’t think of a more tikkun olam effort than that.”

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Cohen believes that because humans live on land, many times the issues of the ocean are “out of sight, out of mind.”

But with “Reverse Tashlich,” she said, “people can go somewhere in their local area and see that the fork that they used the day before might be the fork that they are picking up out of the mangroves, or they see the plastic bag that they probably got from their groceries a week ago is entangled in a tree, and they can connect themselves to the issue and the solution.”

She added, “Having a hand in making the world a more beautiful place is an incredibly transformative experience. I’m hoping that this is a way to jumpstart people’s empathy and inspire them to care for this ecosystem that they don’t normally think about, and get them curious and interested in exploring what else they can do to make the ocean and the world in general a better place.” PJC

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Rosh Hashanah More than just dinner: Rosh Hashanah brunch be Abigail Adams’ favorite.

I recall my grandmother making apple pandowdy with bread that was past its prime — the dish was a generational mainstay of thrift and wholesomeness. Back then, it was served as a dessert, and often still is, but it also works well for brunch. To sweeten it, top it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Invariably, I over shop at the holidays, so this is also a delicious way to use the surplus challah. And because it features apples and honey, this apple pandowdy keeps with the Rosh Hashanah theme.

Covering the dish with foil for the first half of cooking prevents the bread squares from burning.

— FOOD —

By Keri White | Special to the Chronicle

D

Photo by PeteerS/iStockphoto.com

inner is generally the meal most associated with the High Holidays — a festive and bountiful board laden with the autumn harvest, a roast chicken, salmon, lamb or braised brisket, and a rich and decadent dessert, all liberally laced with honey.

But I, perhaps atypically, associate brunch with the new year. For the last two decades, we have been lucky enough to be included in a brunch hosted by dear friends and neighbors who invite a gathering of congregants and others in the community to break bread with them immediately following services.

It is a casual, buffet-style affair and one that guests look forward to every year.

Inspired by this lovely tradition, I offer the following two recipes, which are ideal for a brunch on Rosh Hashanah — or any other day of the year. Both of these dishes can be made ahead and either heated right before guests arrive or served at room temperature.

You can round out your menu with any or all of the following: • Bagel spread — lox, whitefish salad and all the fixings.

• Fruit salad or tray • Green salad • Veggie/dip tray • Mediterranean platter with pickled vegetables, olives, hummus, stuffed grape leaves and baba ganoush.

Happy New Year!

Quiche “Lorraine” Serves 8

Traditional quiche Lorraine contains bacon, Gruyere cheese and milk — obviously a problem for kosher diners on several fronts. But this version, using smoked cheese, mimics the flavor without breaking any rules.

I use a frozen pie shell here, but feel free to make your own if you so desire. For a richer

quiche, you can replace the milk with halfand-half or substitute heavy cream for ½ cup of the whole milk.

1 frozen pie shell, defrosted ½ cup chopped onion 1½ cups grated smoked Gruyere cheese (or other smoked cheese) 3 eggs 1½ cups whole milk ½ teaspoon salt Generous sprinkle of fresh ground pepper

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and prebake the crust. Wrap the outside rims of the crust with thin strips of foil so the edges don’t overcook; you will remove the foil from the quiche for the last few minutes in the oven to ensure a nicely crisped and browned crust. Leave the interior exposed and bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust prebakes, sauté the onions in a skillet coated with cooking spray until they are soft and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the eggs,

salt, pepper and milk. Set aside.

Spread the onions and all but ¼ cup of the cheese in the bottom of the pie shell. Pour the egg mixture into the pie shell and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake the quiche in the oven for about 40 minutes total; for the last 10 minutes of baking, carefully remove the foil strips to allow the edges to brown.

Remove the quiche from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes so the filling can set, and serve.

Apple Pandowdy Serves 8

The name of this dish cracks me up.

Research took me down an etymological rabbit hole that offered a hypothesis suggesting that the term is derived from the Middle English “doude,” which refers to an inelegant person or thing (perhaps the source of the contemporary colloquialism “dude”).

The theory was that the dish is thrown together in a haphazard and inartful way, hence the description. It was also reputed to

6 apples, cored, peeled and coarsely chopped ½ cup apple juice, apple cider or water Juice of ½ lemon ¼ cup honey 2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided 6 cups cubed challah — about the size of large croutons 1½ sticks butter, melted ¼ cup sugar

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a square baking dish and add chopped apples.

In a small bowl, mix the apple juice, honey, lemon juice and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Pour the mixture over the apples.

In a medium bowl, toss the challah cubes with melted butter, sugar and the remaining teaspoon of cinnamon. Pour it over the challah cubes onto the apples and spread evenly.

Cover the mixture with foil and bake it for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking it for about 15 minutes more until the challah is brown and crispy and the apples are cooked through and soft. Serve warm or at room temperature. PJC Keri White is the food columnist for the Jewish Exponent, where this article first appeared.

Fall into the flavors of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — FOOD —

By Ethel G. Hofman | JNS

R

osh Hashanah falls late on the calendar this year, at the end of the back-to-school month and at the beginning of the first signs of fall. No matter; somehow, there are always those last-minute guests and added recipes that cause a flurry of activity in Jewish households right down to the wire. This year, the holiday starts after sundown on Sept. 29, a Sunday — a gift for those cooks and hosts who have just a few more preparations to make before they welcome the new Jewish year, 5780.

Since summer seems long-gone and families are knee-deep in activities already, make it a little easier on yourself. Make the freezer your friend. With the time ahead of the holiday, whip up a few dishes, slip

them into the freezer and forget about them until that Sunday morning. Besides the ubiquitous brisket and chicken, soups and casseroles galore may be cooked, cooled, sealed and frozen. Just don’t forget to label each one, adding key codes such as pareve, meat or dairy.

It’s no big deal to cut up salads the night before (remember, the clocks start to go back, and there will be time after Shabbat for thawing and finalizing the menu).

Chunks of tomato, cucumber and shredded basil stay just fine overnight. Toss with a little olive oil, some lemon or lime, and salt and fresh pepper just before serving.

Cream soups, however, do not freeze well.

The soup will separate, and the texture will become grainy; those are best prepared fresh or make the night before and refrigerate. For thawed soups, the seasonings may need to be adjusted as flavors are reduced by the cold.

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And what’s a Jewish holiday without a kugel? Another must-have on the table is the ubiquitous honey cake. Try a seasonal variation: Pumpkin Honey Cake, which is moist, dark and delicious.

All of the dishes here may be served at Rosh Hashanah or to break the fast after Yom Kippur.

Ophra’s Mushroom Soup

Dairy, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free

Serves 6; recipe may be doubled.

Longtime home cook Ophra Kimberg generously shared this recipe with me.

Cook’s Tips: • Cauliflower is the soup thickener.

• Chopped onions are available fresh or frozen.

• Buy canned mushrooms, pieces and stems.

• Cauliflower should be soft before adding to onions and mushrooms.

• When doubling the recipe, freeze in

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two batches.

• For a pareve dish, substitute olive oil for butter.

• For a dairy dish, top with a spoonful of sour cream or plain yogurt.

Ingredients: 1 cup cauliflower florets 3 tablespoons butter ½ cup diced onions 1 can (14 oz.), plus 1 (7 oz.) can mushrooms, stems and pieces, drained 2 teaspoons bottled chopped garlic ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme 2 teaspoons pareve bouillon powder 3 cups vegetarian broth White pepper and salt to taste Directions:

Place cauliflower in a microwave-safe dish with 1 to 2 tablespoons water.

Please see Flavors, page 20

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 19

Rosh Hashanah Persian upside-down cake with dates and cardamom

By Tannaz Sassooni | Special to the Chronicle

A

s a kid in Hebrew school, I learned that my classmates would have apples and honey and round challah at Rosh Hashanah to bring in for the Jewish New Year, and that was pretty much it when it came to food traditions.

But at home it was a different story.

As an Iranian Jew, Rosh Hashanah was an elaborate affair. We’d gather the extended family for the first two nights of the holiday, the first at my parents’ house, the second at my aunt’s.

Dining tables, coffee tables and folding tables would be lined up to make one long dinner table covered with tablecloths to accommodate a good 20 or so family members. The table would be spread with platter after platter: mountains of saffron-laced basmati rice, crispy tahdig and flavorful stews — maybe a deep green stew of celery and lots of herbs, or a tomato-based eggplant stew, tangy with unripe grapes.

But before dinner, we’d (mostly) pause the loud chatter — a lively mix of Persian and English — for a full Sephardic Rosh

Flavors: Continued from page 19

Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Microwave 4 minutes or until very soft.

Drain. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, garlic, thyme and bouillon powder.

Cook over medium heat until onion is transparent. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Cool slightly before transferring to food processor.

Add the broth and process until slightly grainy (longer if a smoother mixture is preferred).

Season to taste with white pepper and salt.

Cool before pouring into a container.

Cover tightly, label and freeze.

Easy Vegetable Lasagna for a Crowd

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Dairy

Serves 24

Cook’s Tips: • Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredient list or directions. Ingredients are all ready to use.

• May divide ingredients into two containers each that serves 10 to 12.

• Full-fat ricotta, sour cream and milk may be used, if desired.

20 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Hashanah seder. Yes, there were apples and honey. But we’d also have dates, beets, pomegranate seeds, slow-cooked blackeyed peas and beef tongue, Persian leeks and fried zucchini, each with a symbolic meaning and a blessing for the coming year.

This date upside-down cake takes the dates from my family’s Rosh Hashanah seder and pairs them with the two fragrant ingredients found in so many Persian sweets: cardamom and rosewater.

The cake’s batter uses buttermilk for a bit of tang and goes easy on the sugar to provide some balance for the topping: a super-sweet combination of velvety dates in a rich butter caramel. It’s a moist and aromatic dessert that pairs perfectly with a glass of amber-colored Persian tea.

Persian upside-down cake with dates and cardamom Serves 8 For the date topping: 27 Medjool dates 6 tablespoons butter, softened ½ cup brown sugar Pinch of salt Pinch of ground cardamom

For the cake: 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground cardamom ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened, plus more to grease the pan ⅔ cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons rosewater ½ cup buttermilk Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cover the dates with hot water and soak them for at least 20 minutes. Remove the skin from the dates, halve them lengthwise and remove the pits.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

3. Butter and flour the sides of a 9-inch round nonstick cake pan.

4. For the date topping, cream together butter, brown sugar, salt and cardamom until well combined. Spread the butter mixture evenly across the bottom of prepared pan. Arrange the date halves over the butter mixture in a pattern of concentric circles with their cut sides facing up.

5. To make the cake batter, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom

together in a medium bowl.

6. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale in color. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating one fully before adding the next. Beat in the rosewater to fully incorporate.

7. With the mixer on a low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (do not over-beat). Follow with half of the buttermilk, then the second third of flour, the other half of buttermilk, then the remaining flour, mixing completely between each addition.

8. Spoon the batter over arranged dates, spreading it evenly and taking care not to jostle the dates. Bake the cake in the middle rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake, then invert it onto a serving plate, replacing any dates that stick to the pan.

9. Garnish the cake with edible flowers, ground pistachios or dried rose petals.

Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. PJC This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher.

• Dry thawed chopped spinach by rolling tightly in clean tea towel.

• Reheat, thawed, at 325 degrees, for 40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Ingredients: 1 (16 oz.) package skim-milk ricotta cheese 1 (16 oz.) package low-fat sour cream ½ cup skim milk 1¼ teaspoons freshly ground pepper 1 (16 oz.) jar meatless spaghetti sauce 1 (10.5 oz.) “no cook” lasagna noodles 1 (12 oz.) jar roasted sliced red peppers, drained 1 (12 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered 1½ cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 2 teaspoons garlic powder ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese ¾ cup water Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a 13×9 inch lasagna pan with nonstick vegetable spray.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, sour cream, skim milk and pepper. Set aside.

Spread half the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of prepared pan. Cover with 3 lasagna noodles and top with about ⅓ cheese mixture. Cover with roasted pepper and half the artichokes.

Repeat with 3 lasagna noodles and half the remaining cheese mixture.

Cover with remaining artichokes and the spinach. Top with remaining cheese mixture. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.

Pour ¾ cup water into one corner of pan, tilting to distribute water to other corners.

Cover tightly to seal with heavy-duty foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

Photo by Ethel G. Hofman

— FOOD —

Cool completely before sealing with foil.

Label and freeze.

Pumpkin Honey Cake

Pareve Makes 1 loaf (9x5x3-inch dish) and 1 extra mini-loaf (not individual, but mini-size), or 4 mini-loaves.

Cook’s Tips: • Substitute 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 teaspoon nutmeg for pumpkin-pie spice.

• Substitute ¾ cup candied citron peel instead of raisins.

• For full-proof nonstick effect, line bottom of loaf pan with waxed paper and spray with nonstick vegetable spray.

Ingredients: 4 eggs 1 cup dark-brown sugar ½ cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin-pie) mix ¾ cup molasses ½ cup honey, warmed 2 cups whole-wheat flour

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1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice 1¼ cups dark or golden raisins Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray loaf pan and extra mini-loaf pan (or 4 mini-loaf pans) with nonstick vegetable spray with flour.

Beat eggs and sugar until blended. Add the water, vegetable oil, pumpkin, molasses and honey. Mix well.

Stir in the flours, about ½ cup at a time, mixing to blend between each addition.

Stir in the baking soda, spice and 1 cup raisins. Spoon into prepared pan(s). Scatter remaining raisins on top.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Bake mini-loaves 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center.

Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen edges by running a round bladed knife around. Turn out onto a wire tray. Cool completely. Wrap and freeze. PJC

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Life & Culture The real story behind ‘The Spy,’ Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Netflix series — TELEVISION —

By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

F

or “Borat,” his 2006 film, Sacha Baron Cohen went undercover as a made-up Kazakh journalist who travels America and gets unwitting targets to share his boorish and sometimes bigoted opinions. In “Who Is America,” the Jewish actor creates a variety of characters who manage to get prominent Americans to say shockingly offensive things.

In “The Spy,” he once again goes undercover, but in a very different way. The Jewish actor and filmmaker portrays the real-life Eli Cohen, a daring Israeli agent who embedded himself in the upper echelons of Syrian society in the 1960s and provided crucial intelligence to the Jewish state.

Released earlier this month, the espionage thriller is getting plenty of buzz. Here’s a look at the wild and true story that it is based on.

According to My Jewish Learning, Eli Cohen was born in 1924 in a Jewish family in Alexandria, Egypt. Like many Jews in Arab countries, his family left Egypt after the establishment of the State of Israel, as they faced increased anti-Semitism. But Cohen stayed behind to finish his degree in electronics.

He also participated in Zionist activities in Egypt, for which he was at one point arrested, and took part in Israeli spy missions there.

In 1956, he was expelled from his native country along with many other Jews. He then immigrated to Israel, where he joined military intelligence the following year.

He attempted to join the Mossad but was initially rejected. He married Nadia Majald, an immigrant from Iraq, and settled in the coast city of Bat Yam. In 1960, he was recruited to join the Mossad for a special mission in which he was to pretend to be a Syrian businessman returning to the country after having lived in Argentina. The goal was to gather intelligence from high-ranking Syrian politicians and military officials.

Cohen wasn’t allowed to tell anyone of the plans and told his wife that he was working abroad for Israel’s Defense Ministry.

Ahead of the mission, Cohen had to learn to speak Arabic in a Syrian accent rather than his native Egyptian. He took on the name Kamel Amin Thaabet and went to live in Argentina for a period of time to build a name for himself in the Syrian expat community. There he gained the trust of Amin al-Hafez, who would later become Syria’s president.

In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. He was quickly able to infiltrate the highest levels of Syrian society. He would entertain high-ranking politicians and military officials at extravagant parties where there would be many women and lots of booze. The drunk guests would often end up blabbering about their work to Cohen, who was sober

Please see Spy, page 22

but would pretend to be intoxicated. He made friends with many of the guests and ended up receiving classified military briefings and coming along to visit Syrian military sites.

Cohen would then send intelligence back to Israel using a hidden radio transmitter.

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In solidarity with Jews across America, crowds in Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, and Poway will gather on September 25 to show solidarity with communities that have been attacked, blow the shofar, and grab some (free!) apples and honey for the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday.

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Life & Culture Spy: Continued from page 21

He returned home to his family only a few times during his mission. On his last visit, in 1964, he told intelligence officers he wanted to come in from the cold because he was concerned a new Syrian intelligence commander did not like him. But the intelligence officers convinced him to go back one last time.

The following year, Syria was able to find out about Cohen by tracing his intelligence transmissions to Israel.

He was convicted in a trial without a defense and sentenced to death. Israel desperately tried to commute his sentence, and despite requests from world leaders and Pope Paul VI for clemency, Cohen was hanged publicly in May of that year.

His remains have yet to be returned, despite pleas from his family. Reports earlier this year said a Russian delegation had removed his remains from Syria in an

attempt to bring them to Israel. Last year, Israel was able to retrieve Cohen’s wristwatch from Syria and return it to his family.

Information provided by Cohen is thought to have been crucial to Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. For example, on a trip to the Golan Heights, Cohen suggested to an army officer that he should plant trees to provide shade for troops stationed there.

Those trees helped Israel identify where Syrian troops were located. Levi Eshkol, the late Israeli prime minister, credited Cohen’s intelligence with saving countless Israeli lives and “having a great deal to do” with Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War. Cohen wasn’t the only Israeli who went on such a mission, though he’s perhaps the most well-known one.

Israel “took a lot of ideas from the Sovietstyle of playing the spy game,” in sending out citizens on long-term spy missions where they had to adopt false identities, said Dan Raviv, a correspondent for i24News and the author of “Spies Against Armageddon,” a history of Israeli intelligence.

p Israeli spy Eli Cohen, left, and two other unidentified co-defendants, during their trial in Damascus, 10 days before his execution, May 9, 1965.

Photo by AFP/Getty Images via JTA

p Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak receives a picture of a new postage stamp commemorating Eli Cohen, from his widow Nadia Cohen, in 2000.

Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images via JTA

“The Israelis were softer about this than the Soviets were because the Israelis generally allowed their long duration agents to come home on family visits,” Raviv told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Though these types of missions were a part of Soviet intelligence work — as dramatized in the FX series “The Americans” — it different from strategies used by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Raviv.

“American spies go to foreign countries using false identities for very short missions, but it’s just not in America’s nature to expect employees to give up their normal life to that extent,” he said. “In Israel from the very beginning that’s what Israeli intelligence looked for.”

One thing that helped Israel with such missions was that its citizens came

from many countries and spoke those languages fluently.

“In the case of Eli Cohen, the mission was even more ambitious,” Raviv said. “To set him up as a really rich man who flamboyantly and visibly would climb up the ladder of influence in Syria, it was a very bold mission but the Israeli intelligence chiefs thought Eli Cohen was up to it.”

Though it is impossible to say how many missions like Cohen’s took place, Raviv said that they were at their height in the 1960s. As immigration and border technology became more sophisticated with each coming decade, it got harder and harder for spies to adopt new identities without being detected.

“Israel in the 1960s was just a master at taking advantage of these loose systems in so many countries,” he said. PJC

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 23

Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

Making an effort Rabbi Levi Langer Parshat Ki Tavo Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8

I

n this week’s Torah reading, Ki Tavo, the Jews are told that when they would enter the Land of Israel they would have to set up giant stones and plaster them with lime and inscribe upon them the words of the Torah.

In its reading of the verses, the Talmud adds two points. One, the Torah was written on the stones in 70 languages so all the nations of the world would have the opportunity to read it. Two, Rabbi Yehudah taught that first the letters were inscribed into the stones and then the lime was plastered over them. Anyone who wanted to read it would have to scrape off the plaster in order to see the words.

What is the significance of this? Why not just inscribe the words so they’d immediately be visible to all?

The commentaries offer an explanation that parallels a well-known phenomenon in today’s times: People value things more highly when they’re more expensive, when they have to invest more money or effort into them.

Robert Cialdini is his book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” records a true story about a Native American jewelry

Baron/Mahan: Deborah and David Baron of Squirrel Hill are excited to announce the engagement of their daughter Marissa Baron to Sidney Mahan, son of Christina and Michael Mahan of Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Marissa’s grandparents are Drs. Iris and the late Martin Nahemow, Ph.D., of Sarasota, Florida, Dr. Michael and Joyce Altman of Evanston, Illinois and the late Dr. Jacobo and Saundra Baron, formerly of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Sidney’s grandparents are the late Phyllis and Nick Matesic and the late Sarah DuGene.

Marissa is a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Sidney is a lab manager at the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh and is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The couple will be married in the spring of 2021. PJC

Leftward: Continued from page 15

them as a political force in America.”

At the state level, there have been successful efforts to counter the BDS movement through legislation. To have a pro-BDS resolution proposed from Capitol Hill goes counter to bipartisan efforts to blunt the movement’s efforts. Indeed, before the 2018 midterms, open support for BDS was seen as a fringe rather than centrist or moderate position among Democrats. Apparently, that’s changed.

Reps. Omar and Tlaib, meanwhile, have been busy beyond supporting BDS. Earlier this summer, they refused to join Rep. Steny Hoyer’s Democratic delegation to Israel and instead demanded they go on their own trip to Israel sponsored by an anti-Semitic organization called Miftah. When denied that possibility by the government of Israel, there was a back and forth effort to come to a compromise for Rep. Tlaib to visit her grandmother, which she eventually rejected. In response, Reps. Tlaib and Omar opted to share a disgusting cartoon by an artist with a track record for inflammatory

store. The owner saw that her turquoise jewelry was not selling, so she displayed the jewelry in another, more prominent location. The change in location did not help and the jewelry continued to be ignored.

Then, before leaving for a business trip, she left a note next to the display, instructing her employee to lower the price on the jewelry “X ½.” The employee misread the note and doubled the price. When the owner returned, all the jewelry had been sold.

The Torah’s teachings were made available to all, but if people would put no effort into acquiring them, they’d never value these teachings enough to make them a part of their lives. So a condition was added. You can read the Torah, but you have to put in some effort. First you have to peel off the lime from on top.

Today, the Torah’s timeless teachings are available to us all as well. But if we want to actually be impacted by these teachings, we must realize that it’s going to take real effort to instill Torah values into our lives.

When we’re ready to put in that effort, we’ll be able to begin transforming ourselves by inculcating the word of the Almighty into our lives. PJC Rabbi Levi Langer is the dean of the Kollel Jewish Learning Center. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

anti-Jewish images, as well as sharing their side of events at a press conference, which included known anti-Semites to bolster their position as victims.

Some Democrats have responded to these various outrages with weak tea denunciations of either the president, the Israeli ambassador, the Israeli prime minister along with their “concerns” for the antiJewish rhetoric of their fellow Democrats.

Does anyone consider this a successful strategy for convincing progressives that anti-Semitism is going to hurt their policy objectives? Not likely.

What seems to have changed for some Democratic politicians is that rather than hide their true feelings about Jews, as Rep. Omar opted to do in order to get elected, these folks feel emboldened to reveal themselves because almost anything is OK as long as your goal is confronting President Trump. If those who espouse anti-Semitism pay no price for their views, there is little likelihood that such views will recede, and the movement from fringe to mainstream will continue apace. PJC Abby W. Schachter is a writer and editor and Anat Talmy is a software engineer.

Cneseth Israel Cemetery HOLIDAY VISITATION Sunday, September 22 • 9 am–12 pm There will also be someone there to assist with the prayers.

Contact: Helene Burke 412-521-1050 | Anchel Siegman 412-362-0928 24 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

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Obituaries BLOCK: Gilbert Morton Block: On Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Redwood City, CA of Naples, FL, born in Pittsburgh.

Beloved husband of Diane Berkowitz Block.

Cherished father of Susan and Dr. Robert Fishman, Dr. Howard and Loren Block and the late Steven (surviving spouse Kristie) Block. Son of the late Sigmund and Lena Block. Brother of the late Sidney, Bernard and Gerald Block. Adoring grandfather of Logan and Kelsey (Andrew Zenger) Block, Arielle, Alec and Chloe Fishman, Gregory, Melissa, Erica and Emily Block. Gilbert was a merchant in McKees Rocks and Homestead and then became a financial advisor for Paine Webber for 20 years. He was active in the Jewish Federation of Naples where he was a Vice President. He was a Commander of the Jewish War Veterans Post 202 for 10 years and a docent at the Holocaust Museum for many years when he and his wife of 63 years retired and moved to Naples, FL in 2000.

Graveside Services and Interment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Chabad of Naples, 1789 Mandarin Road, Naples, FL 34102 or Holocaust Museum and Education Center, 4760 Tamiami Trail, N. Naples, FL 34103 or Jewish Federation of Collier County, 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, #2201, Naples, FL 34109 or Jewish War Veterans, Post 202, 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, #2201, Naples, FL 34109. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com GIFFEN: Barbara Giffen, age 79 of Squirrel Hill, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, with her family by her side.

Barb loved her family fiercely. No goodbye went without tears in her eyes, even for a quick family dinner. She lived a beautiful life full of adventures with her loving husband of 60 years, Chuck. They passed this love of life on to their children and grandchildren.

Attired in black leather, Barb motorcycled on the back of Chuck’s Harley with friends all over the United States. With Chuck’s passion, Barb learned to ski, bowl, ride bicycles (even though she was never thrilled about it) and swim in the ocean. Many days of joy were spent at Seven Springs with her family and friends. Their ski trips to Vail were a highlight of their year and she loved spending time with their friends. Barb is survived by her loving husband Chuck, three daughters who loved her dearly, Becky Havyer (Brian), Caryn Miller (Alvin IV) and Joni Ferrara (Joe), six amazing grandchildren that “Grandma” loved to spoil Carly, Jenna, Rena, Casey, Alexander and Ryan, as well as countless family and friends.

Everyone who knew Barb loved her spirit and smile, including all of the dedicated nurses and doctors at Mercy Hospital who cared for her. She will be missed deeply by all who knew her. Services were held at Temple Ohav Shalom, Allison Park. Interment Private. Contributions are suggested to the Jewish Association on Aging, (jaapgh.org), an agency that provided Barb and her family with quality, compassionate care and support this past year. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Heritage Valley Beaver. Born Aug. 23, 1929, in Pittsburgh, he was the son of the late Lawrence and Mollie Gordon Middleman. He was a graduate of Beaver Falls High School, Class of 1946 and the University of Pittsburgh, Class of 1950, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He was a Korean War veteran having served in the U.S. Air Force. He had been a member of the former Agudath Achim Congregation of the United Jewish Community of Beaver Valley.

He was a business owner for over 60 years of Enelow Shoes and also Wolfe’s Shoes and Clothing in Beaver Falls, and Pappagallo stores in several major cities. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 52½ years, Marcia A. Perlman Middleman on Feb. 5, 2004. He is survived by his four children and their spouses, Robert and Sue Middleman, Chippewa Township, Paul Middleman, Bloomington, IL, Betsy and Gary Peisach, Dr. Leslie and Matthew Toll, all of Owings Mills, MD, nine grandchildren and their spouses, Johnny Middleman (Cynthia), Jennifer Neely (Randy), Cara Maret (Nick), Stephanie Smith (Jacob), Diana Solomon (Ryan), Emily Stern (Steven), Brian Peisach (Jennifer), Jacob Toll, Merrick Toll, five great-grandchildren, and soon to be six, Taylor, Nate, Jack, Brant, and Ryleigh. Rabbi Howard Stein officiated the funeral at Hill & Kunselman Funeral Home, 3801 Fourth Ave., College Hill, Beaver Falls, hillandkunselman.com. Interment followed in Agudath Achim Cemetery, Patterson Township. The Veterans Honor Guard met at the funeral to conduct military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made, if desired, to Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls, 1301-7th Avenue, Beaver Falls, PA, 15010 HARRIS: Sheila May Bennett Harris, on Sept. 1st, 2019, in Brooklyn, New York.

Survived by Joel Harris, Jamie (David) Harris, Robin Harris, as well as grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews. She loved singing, music, literature, friends and family and she loved to laugh. Service and interment took place at Sharon Gardens in New York. Contributions may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society nationalmssociety.org NATHAN: Robert L. Nathan, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019.

Beloved husband of Susan (Wimmer) Nathan. Loving father of Hope Anne Nathan. Son of the late Irving and Edna (Goodman) Nathan.

Brother of Warren (Joan) Nathan. Brother-in-law of Lynne (late Dan Hudson) Wimmer and the late Gayle Wimmer. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. schugar.com

MIDDLEMAN: Colman J. “Buddy” Middleman, 90, of Patterson Township, died PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: A gift from ...

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Parke Americus ........................................ Leo Morris Americus

Harold & Cindy Lebenson ................................ Allen A. Broudy

Phyllis Pearl Astrov ................................................. Harry Pearl

Leona Levine .................................................... Leonard Levine

Reggie Bardin ............................................ Bernard Hoddeson

Mrs. Barbara C. Linder .................................... William V. Conn

Cheryl Bloch.........................................................Faye Glosser

Janet & Don Moritz ......................................... Anna Papernick

Hyla & Sandor Caplan.................................... Louis Sadowsky

Janet & Don Moritz ......................................Samuel Papernick

Anna Cody .......................................................... Rebecca Zeff

Linda Rattner Nunn .....Rose Cohen Rattner Reisel bat Moshe

Patricia Cohen..................................................... Herbert Elling

Morris E. Ogun ........................................................Reah Ogun

Patricia Cohen..................................................... Esther Hirsch

Sylvia Pearl Plevin ................................................... Harry Pearl

Arthur & Maxine Cook...................... Freda K. Unikel Bregman

Sylvia Reznick ................................................... Meyer Reznick

Alan Z. Goldberg .............................................. Louis Goldberg

Burton Rice ..............................................Aaron Joel Schwartz

Susan Goldstein............................................... Pauline Marcus

Marc Rice .................................................Aaron Joel Schwartz

Mrs. Phyllis Katz................................................. Abraham Katz

Jerry & Ina Silver ................................................ Joseph Mirow

Mrs. Phyllis Katz............................................... William M. Katz

Richard S. Stuart ........................................... Ruth E. Supowitz

Mrs. Phyllis Katz.......................................Milton David Daniels

Linda & Joel Walker ...............................................Anna Mazer

Jay & Ilene Klein ...................................................... Louis Klein

Phyllis Wanetick ..........................................Gertrude Wanetick

Jan & Ed Korenman .................................... Jacob Kuperstock

Joyce Weinstein Levinson .......................Dr. Larry A. Levinson

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday September 22: William Beck, Joseph Cohen, Helen Rosen Cowen, Rebecca Eger, Peter Glick, Rose Goldenson, Lucile F. Hanauer, Fannie Zweig Lando, Lillian Goldman Mason, Sam Perilman, Maurice Perr, Bessie Geber Rosenfield, Anna Rubin, Allan Schwartz, Morris Sigman, Jacob Silberman, Bennie Turk, Max Turk Monday September 23: Julius Altshuler, William V. Conn, MD, Adelyne Crumb, Julius Davis, June Y. Enelow, Fay Ruth Frank, Rebecca Green, Stanley Hohenstein, Charles M. Horovitz, Sarah Basia Horwitz, Max I. Levinson, Mary Ethel Miller, Mark J. Mundel, Charles S. Perlman, Adolf Siegel, Norman Sife, Sarah B. Simon, Herman Wolfe Tuesday September 24: Bess Abrams, Hanna Balkman, Abraham Bennett, Sara Cukerbaum, Israel Feldman, Eva S. Friedman, Max Garfinkel, Selma Halle, Sadie Jacobs, Helen Markowitz, Theodore Miller, Albert LT Rosenfeld, Albert Sleisenger Wednesday September 25: Leo Morris Americus, Rose Berger, Nathan Drucker, Emma Faigen, Isaac Horn, Paul Kaufman, Emil Joseph Klein, Joseph Mirow, Benjamin Newberg, Abraham Ohringer, Samuel Patkin, Leonard Rosen, Leonard B. Rosen, David B. Saltsburg, Maurice Stern, Lawrence Norman Tunkle, Gertrude Wanetick, Edmund Wechsler, Ben Weiner Thursday September 26: Bertram B. Biggard, Beckie C. Cadison, Harry Doltis, Louis Gordon, Jr., Murray F. Hoffman, David Samuel Katz, Louise Mendelson, Emma Mersky, Lena Myer, Clara Rosenfeld, Harry Silberman, Belle Simon, Sylvia F. Stern Friday September 27: Robert Amper, Ida Bardin, Anna Bernstein, Joseph Morris Fisher, Dr. Larry A. Levinson, Rose E. Litman, Morris Merwitzer, Manuel Howard Neft, Reah Ogun, Rose Orr, Frances Pasekoff, Tybie Poser, Saul Seegman, Abe Sieff, Himie Simon, Abe Siniakin, Freda Weiss Saturday September 28: Allan H. Barnett, Annie Lazier Barovsky, Samuel Caplan, Alexander Cohen, Paula Cohen, Fannie Dubin, Mathilda Horn, Lillian Koss, Lena Levine, Evelyn Pearlstein, Sam Ruben, Sally Schaffler, Dr. Stanley M. Taxay, Annie Walters, Edward Weinberger, Abraham Zwibel

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www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Please see Obituaries, page 26

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 25

Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 25

PICKHOLTZ: Robert Harry “Bob” Pickholtz, 86 of Milton, formerly of Marriottsville, MD and Pittsburgh, PA. Bob is preceded in death by his parents, Morris and Margaret Pickholtz Markovitz. He is also preceded in death by his wife Rowene Savon Pickholtz; a brother, Lawrence Pickhotz. Bob is survived by his children; Linda (Mitch) Klein of Milton, WV, Karen (Steven) Mahoy of Wasilla, AK, Gerald (Marcia) Pickholtz of Westminster, MD; grandchildren; Merissa Mahoy, Kyle (Mariah) Mahoy, Charlotte (Tim) Edwards; stepchildren; Stuart (Cindy) Simon, Paul (Jennifer) Simon, Deanna Savon, Matthew Savon and Marlene (Tom) Votta; step-grandchildren; Matt, Bonnie, Mikaela and Andrei Simon, Matt and Mark Savon; Great-grandchildren; Tobey, Tucker and Russel Mahoy, Eleanor Edwards and a sister Betty Goldman. Bob was “CB” and “UB” to countless nieces, nephews and cousins. Bob graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School and earned a B.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He served in the US Air Force as a captain. Bob was a lifelong sales professional, a licensed pilot, owner and auctioneer at Relish Lane Auction and a hospice volunteer for over 25 years in the Baltimore area. Bob was an avid bridge and piano player, loved music, travel, family

Weiss: Continued from page 16

which announces itself, the anti-Semitism of the far left comes close in language that is a siren song to Jewish ears because they are the things that American Jews long prided themselves on. Pursuit of social justice, pursuit of tikkun olam, fighting racism, standing up for the underdog, standing up for the immigrant.

And what happens when the very people who claim to espouse that also believe, for example, that the Jewish state is the one state in the world that doesn’t have a right to exist, there is a lot of cognitive dissonance in the way that there isn’t with the neo-Nazis.

In your book, you talk about the “Pittsburgh

and friends. A graveside service was held on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, in the B’nai Israel Section of Spring Hill Cemetery. A reception will follow at B’nai Sholom Congregation at 949 10th Ave, Huntington, WV. Shivah followed at the home of Linda and Mitch Klein. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the organization of one’s choice.

Family guestbook at klingelcarpenter.com ROBINSON: Mark L. Robinson, 78, a resident of Milton, VT, passed away peacefully on August 29, 2019, at McClure-Miller Respite House in Colchester, VT. Mark was a prolific inventor with multiple patents and never saw a problem he could not fix.

He was loved by family and friends alike.

He will be remembered for his soft-spoken approach and dry, witty sense of humor. He graduated from Brookline, MA High School and attended MIT in Cambridge, MA. He was an accomplished motorcycle enthusiast, marksman, and a strong believer in our Second Amendment rights. Mark was born in Boston, MA, on Nov. 30, 1940, to the late Milton and Charlotte Robinson of Brookline, MA. Mark had three siblings who preceded him in death: Bessie Ezekiel, Elsa Wasserman, and Ellen Robinson. Mark is survived by his wife of almost 57 years, Linda Robinson, and their children, Adam (Laura and children, Edward and Sara of Washington, DC), Eli (Lisa and children, Caroline and Charles,

principle.” You cite Rabbi Danny Schiff about the response to the massacre here, and how that makes this sort of attack unique in some ways, because it wasn’t like neighbors and citizens on the street were cheering it on. Instead, they came and embraced the Jews. Do you think that response was unique to Pittsburgh, or do you think we could expect this same type of response when Jews are attacked elsewhere in America?

I think we should expect that. As I write in the book, we should expect solidarity. We should expect the reaction to be the reaction of that wonderful German tabloid that, after the spate of attacks on people wearing kippot in public in Germany, printed a cut-out of a paper kippah on the front page and said, “Cut this out and wear it in solidarity with

of Atlanta, GA), and Jessica Parker (children Jacob, Eben, and Joshua of Pittsburgh, PA). He is also survived by his sister-in-law Marcia Lenick and her husband Lee and brothers-in-law Louis Kaplan and Fred Ezekiel. He was a beloved uncle to his many nieces and nephews. Mark is survived by his dear friends: Warren Steadman, Bill Wasserman, Tim Therrien, Dave MacFadyen, his Breakfast Buddies and his good friends at the Ethan Allen Firing Range. He was a licensed amateur radio operator extra class, call sign N1MR, a member of ARRL the national association for amateur radio and BARC Burlington (VT) Amateur Radio Club. He loved his family, offering advice and counsel to children and grandchildren during visits. The graveside service was held on Friday, Aug 30 at the New Tifereth Israel of Everett Cemetery in Everett, MA. Donations can be made in Mark’s memory to Chabad of Vermont — chabadvt.org, Tobin Bridge Chabad — tobinbridgechabad.com or Angel Flight NE — angelflightne.org.

SEIAVITCH: Ruth Z. Seiavitch: On Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. Beloved daughter of the late Harry and Libbie Seiavitch. Sister of the late Ida Thompson, Freeda Solomon, Jessie Ruben, Meyer Seiavitch, Charles Seiavitch, Marion Lee Simon, Sarah Seiavitch and Sylvia Seiavitch. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Services were held at Ralph Schugar

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SNYDER: Herman Snyder, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, at age 98. Beloved father of Jean Snyder and Thalia, aka Thelma Snyder of Pittsburgh and Charles Snyder of Cabot, Arkansas. Adoring grandfather of Julia Howard (Tim) and Michael Liang (Yu-San Cheng), and Oliver Snyder, all of Pittsburgh. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Anna. Born January 1, 1921 in a small town in Poland, near what is now Vilnius, Lithuania, Herman survived the Holocaust and immigrated to America in 1949. He became a home builder in Pittsburgh where he made a safe loving home for his family as well as many other families. He enjoyed meeting up with his friends at the JCC regularly. He promoted social justice, speaking at an anti-genocide rally in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. He sang songs, recited Russian poetry and told his remarkable story of survival to anyone who cared to listen. He spoke 7 languages.

Music and poetry lifted his heart and spirit.

Services were held on Friday, September 13 at John A. Freyvogel Sons, Inc. Internment followed at B’Nai Israel Cemetery, Greensburg. Remembrances may be made to a charity of your choice. PJC

Jews.” It is the same solidarity we saw when people in France said, “Je suis Juif,” after the Charlie Hebdo attack and the attack on the Hypercache kosher market. And that is the kind of spirit we saw in Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately, in a lot of places, that is not the natural response. And the extent to which it was in Pittsburgh was just incredibly moving to me. The fact that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette printed the Kaddish on the front page of the paper, that is just an unbelievable anomaly in Jewish history. And for all the sort of heartache we are feeling about our current moment, that to me is an incredible bright spot and one we should be talking about and elevating so other people can emulate it. PJC

Wolf:

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Chapel, Inc. Interment Homestead Hebrew Cemetery, West Mifflin. Contributions may be made to Jewish Association on Aging, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com

Continued from page 8

that hate can exist anywhere, and we must remain vigilant in eradicating it, always.”

Wolf also spent his time in Europe speaking with business and political leaders and meeting with Pennsylvania National Guard troops.

“Last week I made a long overdue trip to visit our nearly 600 @PANationalGuard troops overseas in Lithuania and Poland,” Wolf wrote on Twitter. “Birthday parties, holiday meals, a first child being born — these troops are missing home to protect us. We owe them an enormous amount of gratitude.” PJC

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Community It’s time for Apples & Honey again

p The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh helped the community get ready for the holidays at the ninth annual Apples & Honey Fall Festival on Sept. 8 at The Waterfront in Homestead. The festival was presented by the Federation’s Young Adult Division, which provides family-friendly programs, professional networking and social events for adults ages 22–45.

p As a shofar maker showed how shofars are crafted, the sound of the shofar combined with a DJ’s music.

p Mascots, music, a bounce house and fire-truck tours entertained attendees. Photos by Joshua Franzos

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 27

Meet the Chronicle’s newest reporters Budding journalists took their turn at becoming the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle’s newest reporter. The fun-filled photo event was one of several activities at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Apples & Honey Fall Festival on Sept. 8.

Top row from left: Victoria Woltshock; Kenzie Moyer; and the Pitt Dance team Middle row from left: JNF Tzedakah box; Lily Karoll and Chana Cohen; Frankie; and Moshe Goldberg Bottom row from left: Zachary Bernardi; Abby; Sunny and Kai Dhupar; and Lisa, Seth and Nachy Cook Photos by Kelly Schwimer

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Community DHS secretary visits Food Pantry

Digging in at Yeshiva The Yeshiva Schools garden committee took the first steps to prepare the new garden space on Sept. 15 on its Girls School campus.

p Pennsylvania Secretary of the Department of Human Services Teresa D. Miller, left, paid a visit to JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry on Sept. 9 as part of Governor Wolf’s Hunger Action Month tour. It is estimated that 1.53 million Pennsylvanians struggle with hunger. During the visit, Miller met with JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry director Matthew Bolton.

Photo courtesy of JFCS

JCC of Greater Pittsburgh holds 124th annual meeting

p Yeshiva parent Yoel Clark and son Yitzi help with the digging.

p The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh held its 124th annual meeting on Sept. 9. During the event, Jim Ruttenberg, who completed his term as JCC board chair, was presented with his official portrait by Brian Schreiber, JCC president and CEO.

p Dr. Liz Miller, director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, UPMC Children’s Hospital and active JCC member, left, moderated a conversation on community with Grant Oliphant, president, Heinz Endowments, and Doron Krakow, president and CEO, JCC Association of North America.

Photos courtesy of JCC of Greater Pittsburgh

28 SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

p Yeshiva parents Leibel Babich, Shimon Zimbovsky and Yoel Clark and students Chanchi and Moussia Zimbovsky Photos courtesy of Yeshiva Schools

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Community Much happening in Monroeville

Ride of Reflection

p The Ride of Reflection, held the weekend of Aug. 23-25, was a memorial motorcycle event hosted by the Mazel Tuff Motorcycle Club, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance, to remember the victims of the Tree of Life shooting. More than 90 riders came to pay their respects to the congregations of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light.

Families of the victims were invited to participate. p Temple David in Monroeville recently held Journey Into Judaism, a monthly program for interfaith, non-Jewish and Jewish families to learn more about Judaism.

p Weekend events included a BBQ dinner, police escorted motorcycle ride across 11 bridges of Pittsburgh and a ceremonial banquet at the Jewish Community Center where a blood donor clinic was held. Proceeds generated from the weekend events were donated to the three congregations and to the first responders.

Photos courtesy of Sally Levenson

Federation presents Sonia and Aaron Levinson Community Relations Award p Temple David hosted a bagel tasting oneg that included bagels from seven companies plus a homemade option accompanied by many schmears.

Photos courtesy of Temple David

The dough rises again

p On Sept. 10, David Sufrin received the Sonia and Aaron Levinson Community Relations Award, which the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh presents annually to recognize leadership in advancing intergroup relations in harmony with Jewish ideals of social justice. Joining Sufrin were, from left, his daughters Rebecca and Lianne Sufrin, and his partner, Diane Samuels.

Photo by David Bachman

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p Pitt’s chapter of Challah for Hunger is baking again at Hillel JUC. The group bakes challah each week to sell on campus, with proceeds benefiting hunger relief programs. Participating students baked 2,444 challot last school year.

Photo courtesy of Hillel JUC

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 29

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