Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3/30/2018

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March 30, 2018 | 14 Nisan 5778

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Candlelighting 7:25 p.m. | Havdalah 8:26 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 13 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Matzah-molded Moses and a supporting cast of other foods stand out at Giant Eagles

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Pittsburgh students march for their lives

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At JCC, faith leaders and politicians respond to gun violence

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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Baker, though initially championing a nod to classic Italian Renaissance portraiture with the “Matzah Lisa,” gladly accepted the challenge of creating something with more of a holiday tie-in.

Baker, who is Mormon, knew a bit about the holiday, having had a Jewish best friend when she was a child, and attending seders at her friend’s home. But because Giant Eagle wanted the artists to incorporate not just matzah, but also the foods from the seder plate into the sculpture, Baker had to further educate herself on the symbolic Passover foods.

“Giant Eagle wanted to make it about Moses parting the Red Sea, and to also make the sea friendly,” Baker said, noting that Giant Eagle’s representatives were looking for displays that would be appealing to children.

Look closely at the enchanting sculptures, and turtles carved from apples and horseradish squid become apparent. Eggs, lettuce and cinnamon sticks also help fill out the seascape, standing in for various forms of marine life.

The Food Artist Group creates food

ive weeks after a gunman murdered 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., progressive faith leaders and local politicians called Pittsburghers to action against gun violence in their own community.

“We need to talk to each other,” said Sally Jo Snyder, a United Methodist Church minister, to the crowd of about 150 community members in the Katz Auditorium of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh on March 19. “We need to ask why is it always young white men who are doing this.”

The two-and-a-half-hour forum was called “Faithful Responses to Gun Violence,” and was sponsored by the Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement of the JCC, and the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The interfaith event featured addresses by several speakers, including clergy, Mayor Bill Peduto, state Rep. Dan Frankel, as well as several individuals whose lives had been impacted by gun violence.

While it was the Parkland school shooting that most recently refocused the country’s attention on gun violence, many of the program’s presenters reminded the crowd that some neighborhoods are forced to grapple with deaths caused by guns on a daily basis.

Such is the case for Rev. Tim Smith, director of the Center of Life in Hazelwood, who recounted burying countless “babies — boys between the ages of 14 and 26. Black boys.”

“It’s like a triage of young men coming through our church in caskets,” he said.

There were boys he had buried who had just finished their master’s degrees, boys with

Please see Matzah, page 20

Please see Interfaith, page 20

They joined hundreds of thousands in the nation’s capital to protest gun violence.

Page 2 LOCAL Community gets its third Wexner class Participants will focus on leadership.

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LOCAL Kids say, ‘Put me in coach’ R.B.I. program makes sure that they’re ready to play.

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 Food artist Nancy Baker was one of three commisioned to create matzah scenes in celebration of Passover at six Giant Eagle stores.

Photo provided by Dick Roberts

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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ancy Baker demurred when asked how she managed to sculpt matzah into an intricate scene depicting Moses and the parting of the Red Sea — without her medium turning to crumbs.

“I came up with a sneaky way of cutting the matzah that I will keep as a trade secret,” coyly responded the sculpture teacher from South River High School in Edgewater, Md., who can be credited with creating the impressive artistic display at the Shadyside Giant Eagle Market District on Center Avenue. “But I can tell you that it involves power tools and a hot glue gun.”

Baker was one of three artists commissioned to create matzah scenes in celebration of Passover at six Giant Eagle stores, working under the direction of nationally known Chef James Parker, the reigning champion of fruit sculpture competitions on the Food Network and founder of the Food Artist Group.

After being tapped to design festive Passover displays, the three artists each submitted ideas for the matzah sculptures.

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THEATER ‘Rent’ makes anticipated return

Headlines Reform community makes sizable contingent in D.C. march — LOCAL —

By Lauren Rosenblatt | Digital Content Manager

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s thousands of people geared up to attend the March for Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C., University of Pittsburgh student Kathryn Fleisher was spending her time organizing student leaders at universities across the country.

Fleisher had been working on gun violence prevention through the North American Federation of Temple Youth, the Reform movement’s youth group, for years. When she learned of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and staff, she began to reach out to her friends from NFTY. When they learned that one of the victims, Alyssa Alhadeff, was also a member of the Reform Jewish community, they decided to do something.

“We lost a member of our community and I think a lot of us wanted to be together to properly mourn her loss,” Fleisher, a first year Pitt student from Cleveland, said. “We treated the weekend as both a call to prayer and a call to action and with the idea that we were coming to pray with our feet.”

Fleisher and other NFTY members helped bring representatives from 50 universities around the country to the nation’s capital, including 11 students from Pittsburgh-area schools. Together with the Union for Reform Judaism and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, they brought a cohort of more than 2,000 members of the Reform movement to participate in the march.

In Pittsburgh, eight families and individuals donated enough funds to the Hillel Jewish University Center to rent a bus to transport the students, according to Hillel

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p Pitt student Kathryn Fleisher and Boston University’s Blake Dickler speak to a room of 2,500 Reform Jews in Washington, D.C., moments before participating in the main March for Our Lives.

Photo from NFTY Official Facebook Page

JUC director of development Julia Katz.

A few arrived in D.C. early Friday to lobby members of Congress on Capitol Hill before joining the rest of the Pittsburgh cohort at Shabbat services at local congregations.

One congregation hosted a survivor of the Parkland shooting, while another hosted representatives from Camp Coleman, the camp that Alhadeff had attended.

“Hearing the stories makes it so real,” Samuel Ressin, a sophomore at Pitt, said of his experience at Hebrew Washington Congregation prior to the march and then joining upward of 800,000 others at the National Mall. “When someone’s on stage saying, ‘My twin brother is dead because of gun violence,’ that’s not something you can just close on your phone. You’re forced to confront that.”

Ressin, who chose to come to D.C. rather than attending the Pittsburgh iteration to hear such stories, said the whole experience made

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him proud to be part of the Reform Jewish community because it did not “turn a blind eye” to those suffering from gun violence.

On Saturday morning, the students joined other Reform Jews at a downtown hotel to hold a worship service, hearing from more survivors, reading the Torah and creating their own rally speeches before joining the larger march.

Ressin, like many other march attendees, said one of the most powerful moments of the march was hearing from Parkland student Emma Gonzalez, who has become one of the faces of the movement for gun reform. In her speech, Gonzalez paused for nearly four minutes.

“I remember thinking, what is happening right now? What are we supposed to do?”

Ressin said. “You could hear a pin drop in that silence. It was so thick.”

Gonzalez ended her silence telling the crowd that in that length of time, the shooter

had fired his weapon, demonstrating how it felt for the students at Stoneman Douglas as the shooter roamed their halls. She concluded her speech with the phrase “fight for your life before it’s someone else’s job.”

For Hannah Daniel, a first year student at Carnegie Mellon University, Gonzalez’s speech was just one of the “breathtaking” and “heartbreaking” moments of the march. She was particularly moved by an 11-year-old named Naomi Wadler, who was representing the African American women who had been affected by gun violence.

“I felt so sad that my generation had failed her so much that she had to grow into this adult and develop this eloquence by the time she was 11,” Daniel said. “Most of the speakers were younger than me. I can’t imagine the pain that they’ve been through and the amount of maturity and poise they have.”

Daniel said the march was “not the end or the climax, it was just the beginning” of their efforts to advocate for preventing gun violence. On Carnegie Mellon’s campus, the URJ is sponsoring a call-in-day on April 10 for students to call legislators and urge them to pass legislation on gun reform. Elsewhere in Pittsburgh, students are working on setting up town halls for the fall semester to hold local and state officials accountable for their stance on gun policy.

Nationally, the Parkland student organizers have turned their attention to encouraging people to vote in the midterm elections.

“I really do believe in, ‘justice, justice you shall pursue.’ It’s literally hanging above my bed where I sleep every night,” said Fleisher.

“If I don’t take personal responsibility for what is wrong with the world, then I don’t expect anyone else to also.” PJC Lauren Rosenblatt can be reached at lrosenblatt@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Wexner alumni, new members praise leadership opportunity community” that will be participating.

The Wexner Heritage Program began in 1985 after Leslie H. Wexner, founder and

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer CEO of LBrands, determined that Jewish communities would be strengthened by wenty local emerging Jewish leaders leaders who possessed a greater underare beginning a two-year fellowship standing of “Jewish history and tradiwith the Columbus, Ohio-based tion.” Wexner partnered with Rabbi Herb Wexner Foundation. The goal, explained Friedman to create the program.

Sue Berman Kress, a member of Pittsburgh’s Two years after the program’s inception, 2007 Wexner Heritage Program cohort, is to Pittsburgh’s first cohort participated. Twenty rear the next generation of communal stal- years elapsed before another Steel City group warts by exposing them to top-notch experts was involved. It’s taken 11 years for the third in leadership and Jewish studies. to participate.

As part of the Wexner program, cohort “The opportunity to apply arrived at a members attend local four-hour evening semi- moment in my own evolving Jewish communal nars approximately participation, where twice a month. AddiI had been feeling tionally, throughout increasingly that I the program’s durawas missing some tion, participants of the very elements attend three weeklong Wexner provides — summer retreats in in particular, its focus the United States and on leadership training Israel. Such summer and understanding the institutes allow challenges currently Wexner groups “from facing our commumultiple communities nity,” said Hepps. “In to come together” and part, I hope that the create a synergistic whole experience experience, according will make me more to the program. effective in the work p Pittsburgh’s newest class “The opportunity of Wexner leaders I am already doing, Photo provided by Wexner Foundation is a gift to the particbut I also hope it will ipants. They pay show me pathways nothing to participate; the costs are shared to get involved with confidence in tackling between the Wexner Foundation” and the the larger more challenging issues that preocJewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, cupy me when it comes to the trajectory of said Berman Kress. “It’s an unparalleled our community.” learning experience.”

“I feel that one of the aspects of my Jewish Danny Rosen, who will be replacing self is an obligation to give back and an obligaBerman Kress as Pittsburgh’s Wexner tion to serve my community, and what excites Alumni representative, was also part of the me the most about Wexner is enriching my 2007 cohort, Pittsburgh’s second group to leadership skills and learning the tools that participate in the program. will help inspire other people to help give “The Wexner experience was extremely back to the community,” echoed Bev Block, a valuable to me personally as an opportunity member of Pittsburgh’s newest cohort. to step back and think with others about What this group will discover is that the broader goals of the Jewish community, Wexner is the “gift that keeps on giving,” said and the impact we could have as individuals Rosen. “I was fortunate to participate in the and … coming together to help the commu- Wexner program just as I was becoming the nity,” said Rosen. board chair of the Friendship Circle, and the Rosen’s experiences interested Tammy opportunity to have others around me as a Hepps in the program. sounding board and brainstorming group, “Danny Rosen described Wexner as ‘a gift.’ and the opportunity to learn with them as the That was obviously compelling,” said Hepps. organization moved forward was invaluable.”

“I know he did not use the term lightly.

Added Jeffrey Finkelstein, president and “Another friend who is familiar with the CEO of the Jewish Federation and a member program explained to me that the Wexner of Pittsburgh’s 2007 cohort: “Our Pittsburgh approach is to bring the best teachers in each Wexner Heritage Program alumni over the subject area to the participants for the best last decades are among our most important possible learning experience,” she added. leaders and dedicated volunteers in Jewish “That sounded incredibly exciting. Who organizations today. I know that the new wouldn’t want a chance to learn in a substan- class of Wexner leaders will provide our community with outstanding leaders for tive way from so many thought leaders?”

David (Dovid) Knoll, who will join years to come.” PJC Hepps and 18 others as members of PittsAdam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz burgh’s third-ever Wexner cohort, said he is intrigued by the “cross-section of the @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Local director leads crusade to boost baseball’s presence in the inner city — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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ast week’s snowstorm may have caught some like an unexpected curveball, but despite Pittsburgh’s unpredictable weather, baseball season is already underway. Just ask Brian Jacobson, 48.

Since Feb. 1, the Squirrel Hill resident has overseen Pittsburgh’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (R.B.I.) Program. The local enterprise, which is part of a national endeavor to create opportunities for underserved youth, is largely supported by Major League Baseball and Pirates Charities but run through the Boys & Girls Club of Western PA, explained Jacobson, R.B.I.’s program coordinator.

The community minded project has a whole roster of efforts, including delivering games, training and necessary items for participants.

While those 12 and under are able to play in an in-house R.B.I. league, the program will cover registration expenses for older players to compete in alternative settings. Maintenance equipment and clinics, access to Pirates games and support for coaches are also available; and, said Jacobson, “we make sure that all participating adults are sufficiently cleared with all background checks and required

clearances that satisfy both Major League Baseball requirements and the Boys & Girls Club of Western PA requirements.”

Pittsburgh R.B.I. works with “upward of 800” area individuals, “but I’d like to see us grow that,” said Jacobson. And although the program has established itself in the Homewood, Wilkinsburg, East Hills, Duquesne, Clairton, Braddock and McKeesport communities, there is room to expand. “I’d like to see a 20 percent growth year after year.”

While many may agree with Jacobson’s desire to increase exposure to America’s pastime, such obstacles as money and time have long blocked the base-path.

“Baseball has become a sport where it’s become very expensive,” said Jacobson.

In 2017, Time reported that youth athletics is now a $15 billion dollar business.

A related example appeared in an “ABC News” story last year in which a father of a 14-year-old estimated that in supporting his son’s love of the game, the costs could climb “over $10,000 a year.”

Though citing significantly lower figures, Chuck May, a local little league coach whose son plays on an 8 and under traveling team, estimated expenses at “around $500 for league fees and equipment.”

Akiva Sutofsky, whose son plays on a 12 and under traveling team, echoed those

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numbers, and said that registration alone could be approximately $350.

Seemingly gone are the days of kids aimlessly taking to dusty fields with friends or filling the streets with broom swinging bombers, imagining themselves as big leaguers. Between gaining access to “top training facilities,” a private club or AAU programs, which promise increased attention from professional scouts or college coaches, baseball has become an “almost pay to play structure,” said Jacobson. Couple that with scheduling conflicts from other activities and a waning image of the sport begins to show.

“A lot of these communities have a pretty strong tradition in youth football, so it’s a challenge because a lot of the practices and the strength and conditioning programs are happening earlier and earlier in the season where there happens to be some overlap,” Jacobson explained.

Over the past decade, online recruiting services and club teams have created a niche market for able payers. The promise of high profile exposure generated by showcase workouts, premier tournaments or even online profiles — complete with personalized metrics ranging from pitching and bat speeds to 60-yard dash times — has become a reality of today’s game, he said. R.B.I. helps equalize the economics.

By facilitating “very similar style tournaments” or creating teams that “will actually

p Brian Jacobson, program director for Pittsburgh’s R.B.I. Program.

Photo courtesy of Brian Jacobson

travel to tournaments where a lot of these private clubs play, we’ll be able to receive the same types of exposure that these other teams receive,” said Jacobson.

This July, R.B.I. is hosting its regional tournament in Detroit, drawing teams from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and New York. R.B.I. and Major League Baseball are “100 percent” covering travel, lodging, uniforms and all other expenses, said Jacobson.

Please see Baseball, page 23

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Headlines Years abroad granted Jennifer Murtazashvili a better glimpse of community — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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ennifer Murtazashvili may be one of the more interesting board members you meet at a synagogue function. Although the story of someone who grew up in Squirrel Hill, celebrated her bat mitzvah in Squirrel Hill and is now raising a family in Squirrel Hill is not uncommon, it’s Murtazashvili’s interim years that really make her experiences interesting.

As a student at Taylor Allderdice High School in the early 1990s, Murtazashvili (née Brick) studied Russian.

“It was a really interesting time because there were all of the refuseniks who were coming over,” she said.

Class and interactions with native speakers fostered linguistic comprehension, and after graduating in 1993, Murtazashvili kept up the language at Georgetown University.

“The foreign service program at Georgetown required you to be proficient in a foreign language … so I decided to continue Russian, because I had already studied it for so many years at Allderdice,” she explained. “[I] remember in the early ’90s

the Soviet Union had just collapsed. I had started Allderdice in 1989, there was Perestroika — it was really an exciting time to be studying Russian.”

So with interests abroad and a domestically garnered understanding of the language, Murtazashvili traveled to Moscow in the fall of 1995.

“That’s when the war in Chechnya was really kicking off,” and while prior schooling had introduced such figures as Catherine the Great and Ivan the Terrible, there had been little focus on “these minority groups,” she said.

Upon the semester’s conclusion, Murtazashvili returned to Georgetown intrigued by the conflicts and with a heightened interest in “development issues.” She studied anthropology, Islam and Turkish, the latter because many of the languages in the former Soviet Union’s Muslim lands were linguistically related.

Shortly before graduation, a mentor who had served in the Peace Corps suggested that Murtazashvili would be a “perfect fit” for the two-year volunteer program. She applied, and during a phone call in which a representative boasted about opportunities in Lithuania, Poland and places in the former Soviet Union, Murtazashvili inquired about Central Asia.

They told me that “no one really wants to go there,” she recalled. They then suggested Uzbekistan, which Murtazashvili thought “sounded amazing.”

Considering that “Uzbek is a Turkic language and I understood that many of the minority populations in the Caucasus and Central Asia spoke Turkic languages,” Uzbekistan would be a great place to go, she explained.

So in 1997, Murtazashvili headed out.

“It was a really interesting time because the Soviet Union had fallen just a few years before and people couldn’t understand that I was American. They had never met an American. They had just met Russians.”

She spent three months in Guliston learning Uzbek, pedagogy and relevant histories, and then another 24 months in Samarkand, where she learned Tajik, which she described as “a funny dialect of Farsi.”

She taught English at a physics and mathematics high school.

The students, who were “incredibly brilliant,” possessed a mastery of physics and mathematics that “blows American high school students out of the water,” she said.

As Murtazashvili was finishing her time with the Peace Corps, a job opened up at the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan. The posi-

p Jennifer Murtazashvili

Photo by Libby Hilf

tion required the management of USAID’s democracy and governance portfolio.

Murtazashvili got the job, and spent three years working with human rights activists, learning about U.S. foreign policy, writing diplomatic cables and monitoring and strategizing local projects.

The experience was tremendous, she said.

“Because I had language skills, I could just Please see Murtazashvili, page 23

Chag Aviv Sameach!

Celebrate the holiday of freedom by experiencing the great outdoors with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation!

HAPPY PASSOVER from NA’AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council NA’AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council is pleased to wish the State of Israel a Happy 70th year!

NA’AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council has supported social services in Israel for over ninety years and is strongly committed to continuing its support of the needs of Israeli women, teens, and children. To help us carry on, join us at our exciting local events.

Fit with a Physician March for Moms

April 19, 2018 – NA’AMAT Knitting Circle @ 10 AM Martini and Mahj @ 7:30-9:30 PM Events will take place at Tree of Life RSVP to naamatpgh@gmail.com June 3, 2018 – President’s Day brunch (location TBD) Please consider becoming a member or e-member (A new membership option is here! Connect on-line with an influential network of professional women and nationwide community members interested in promoting the feminist ideals of equality and inclusion in Israel and the US.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

NA’AMAT USA Pittsburgh Council 412-521-5253 5898 Wilkins Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 naamatpgh@gmail.com Jackie Braslawsce, Executive Director Look for our new Pittsburgh website in late Spring 2018 but for now information can be found at naamat.org

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Explore South and Frick Parks during guided outings, while getting tips on managing health conditions from a healthcare professional.

On May 6, cheer for Marathon runners and raise awareness about the importance of quality maternity care.

Visit ventureoutdoors.org or contact Mara Leff (Leff@jhf.org)

Contact: Karen Hochberg (Hochberg@jhf.org)

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@JHFORG MARCH 30, 2018 5

Calendar q SUNDAY, APRIL 8 Beth Shalom’s Adult Education Committee invites the community for a free presentation by Sarah Kreimer as she discusses her book, “Vision and Division in Israel: Forty Years of Activism Along the Seam” at 3 p.m.

Pittsburgh born and bred, Kreimer founded the innovative Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development in Israel in 1988, which she co-directed with an Israeli Arab colleague for 14 years. The Center overcame numerous obstacles, both legal and cultural, to advance business development in the country’s Arab sector and to catalyze economic cooperation between Jews and Arabs throughout the Middle East. Awarded the Speaker of the Knesset’s Award for Quality of Life in the Field of Tolerance in 2002, she remains a bridgebuilder between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Contact Chris Hall at adulteducationcbs@ gmail.com to RSVP. >> 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. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.

a.m. to 2 p.m. The sale will have housewares, kids’ items, sporting goods, crystal, jewelry, art, small furnishings and more. Proceeds benefit the Nathan & Hilda Katzen Center for Jewish Learning. Visit templesinaipgh.org/ rummage-sale for more information.

q SATURDAY, MARCH 31

The community is invited to attend “Lost Worlds Found” at 10:30 a.m. at the Senator John Heinz History Center. Pittsburgh-based photographer David Aschkenas will tell stories behind a selection of his work focusing on photographs of the grand synagogues and Jewish cemeteries of Europe and his ongoing documentation of Pittsburgh.

Students from the University of Pittsburgh will complement Aschkenas’ work as they present new research about Western Pennsylvania Jewish history. Their work stems from professor Rachel Kranson’s “Jews and the City” course, which follows the migration of Eastern European Jews to urban centers around the world, including Pittsburgh.

This program is free and open to the public but does not include museum admission.

An open house with student researchers will begin at 11:30 a.m. Contact Eric Lidji at eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-4546406 for more information. Visit tinyurl.com/ y9fs2vu4 to register.

Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and Beth El Congregation are hosting their annual seder on the second night of Passover at 5:30 p.m. Friends in the community are invited to attend. The charge for adults is $50; children ages 4-12 are $25. Visit bethelcong.org for more information. q TUESDAY, APRIL 3 The Jewish Women’s Center of Pittsburgh will hold its 25th annual women’s Pesach seder at 6 p.m. The JWC introduced the concept of a women’s seder to the Pittsburgh Jewish community in 1993. The first Haggadah was written by members of the JWC and continues to be enhanced each year with relevant readings and timely commentaries. In addition to placing Miriam’s Cup together with Elijah’s Cup, the seder includes songs, music, and text from the Torah about the women who played a vital role in the history of the Jewish people. q WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David will be discussing “My Name is Asher Lev”

by Chaim Potok at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Monroeville Public Library. This is an interactive discussion intertwining growing up, Judaism and the world of art. q FRIDAY, APRIL 6 Beth El Congregation will host a free rededication event at 6 p.m. with dinner to celebrate its newly renovated Sufrin Family Chapel. Friends in the community are welcome to attend. Visit bethelcong.org for more information and to RSVP. q FRIDAY, APRIL 6 TO APRIL 14 The Seton Hill University Theatre Department, in partnership with the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, will hold performances of “Letters to Sala” at its Performing Arts Center on Harrison Avenue in Greensburg. Visit setonhill.edu/tickets or call 724-552-2929 for more information. q SUNDAY, APRIL 8 Temple Sinai’s Rummage Sale will run from 10

6 MARCH 30, 2018

Women of Reform Judaism Atlantic District Pittsburgh Area Sisterhood Day will hold a lunch and panel discussion about human trafficking from noon to 2 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Speakers include Alison Hall, executive director of PAAR; Liz Miller, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and professor of pediatrics at UPMC School of Medicine; and Brad Orsini, community security director for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Attendees are invited to bring travel sizes of shampoo, conditioner, soaps, toothpaste, toothbrushes, K-cups, instant creamers, paper coffee cups with lids, and nonperishable food snacks to be used at PAAR’s drop in center for victims of trafficking. This is a women only event.

There is an $18 charge and lunch is included.

RSVP to Shirley Tucker at 412-420-3411.

The Women of Temple Sinai invite the community to learn about Tapas & Easy Appetizers with Barbara Gibson at 6:30 p.m.

Anyone age 16 and older is welcome. The cost for this class is $10. RSVP by Friday, April 6.

Visit templesinaipgh.org/wots-cookingclass-6 to RSVP and for more information.

service coordinator for Jewish Family and Community Services in Pittsburgh, as well as Leslie Aizenman, director of JFCS Refugee and Immigrant Services.

Contact 412-521-1100, ext. 3207 or Jenny Jones at jjones@comday.org to reserve seating.

q TUESDAY, APRIL 10

The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will present its Yom HaShoah Commemoration, 20 Years of “Flares of Memory,” at 6:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Katz Auditorium on Darlington Road. The program will honor local survivors and their families and will include selections from the Center’s publication, “Flares of Memory.”

The event is free and open to the community; registration is encouraged. Visit hcofpgh.org/yom-hashoah or call 412-9397289 for more information and to register.

The Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2018 Spring Event will feature Elad Shippony and “The Wandering Israeli” at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, preceded by a pre-reception for Lion of Judah Society, Lion of Judah Endowment members or Pomegranate Society. The presentation of the Natalie Novick Woman of Philanthropy Award will be given to Elaine Krasik.

There is a charge. Contact Mia Alcorn at malcorn@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5222 or visit jfedpgh.org/spring-event for more information and to register.

q SUNDAY, APRIL 15

q WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 The 30th annual Westmoreland County Interfaith Holocaust Memorial Service will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Latrobe. Yolanda Avram Willis, who survived the Holocaust as a hidden child in Greece, will speak. A reception will follow the service. This event is sponsored by Congregation Emanu-El Israel in Greensburg, Seton Hill University’s National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, the Greensburg Ministerium, the Greater Latrobe Ministerial Association, the Greensburg - Jeannette NAACP, YWCA of Westmoreland County, Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and the Westmoreland Jewish Community Council. The program is free and open to the community. q THURSDAY, APRIL 12 Community Day School Middle School invites the community for a Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) commemoration from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. at the Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Keeping Tabs: A Holocaust Sculpture on the CDS campus. The event will include lighting of remembrance candles by local Holocaust survivors and their families, as well as a flag-lowering ceremony.

The theme will be “The Power of Words,” focusing on the impact that words had in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides and how the words that we choose shape both our views and history.

Keynote speakers will be Rup Pokharel, who came to the United States as a refugee from Bhutan and is now the

q MONDAY, APRIL 9 Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and Beth El Congregation will host a lunch and presentation with Michael Walter, Nationality Rooms tour coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hear how the Nationality Rooms came to be, the principles that guided their design and interpretation, and how they are used today.

There is a $6 charge. Visit bethelcong.org for more information.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

q

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Volunteer Center will hold Good Deeds Day, an international celebration of doing good.

This year the Volunteer Center is partnering with almost 50 different neighborhood associations, religious institutions, and nonprofit organizations to have more than 900 volunteer spots all across Pittsburgh.

Visit jfedvolunteer.org/good-deeds-day-2018 for more information and to register.

Beth El Congregation will host South Hills Genealogy Day, a free day of genealogy programming from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1900 Cochran Road, with demonstrations and discussions of online resources for researchers at the beginner and intermediate levels. Attendees can also enjoy the AllYou-Can-Eat Pancake Festival in the next room until 1 p.m. Reservations are required by registering online at bethelcong.org/ events/south-hills-genealogy-day or email SouthHillsGenealogyDay@gmail.com.

Beth El Congregation will host an annual All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Festival from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Brunch includes special toppings and eggs with pancakes for $8/adults, $5/ children ages 4-12. Visit bethelcong.org for more information.

The Friendship Circle will hold Friends All Around Looking Forward from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom. The evening will include strolling dinner, silent auction and senior student recognition. Visit fcpgh.org to RSVP. Please see Calendar, page 7

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11

The Waldman International Award Ceremony will be held at the East End Cooperative Ministry, 6140 Station St. at 6:30 p.m. The Waldman International Arts and Writing Competition allows students in grades six to 12 to submit original art and compete for academic scholarships. There are categories in creative writing, visual arts and short film.

The theme for 2017-2018 was Children in the Holocaust, 1933-1945. Participants come from across Allegheny County and from Israel.

Israeli winners are brought to Pittsburgh to meet American winners and tour the city. Visit hcofpgh.org/waldman2 for a full list of winners and to register for the event.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 6 q TUESDAY, APRIL 17 Chabad of the South Hills will hold a lunch for seniors with a presentation on senior health at noon. There is a $5 suggested donation. Call 412-278-2658 for more information and to register.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Israel & Overseas will hold a ceremony to honor the soldiers who gave their lives in defense of the State of Israel and to honor victims of terrorist attacks from 8 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Katz Theater. q WEDNESDAY APRIL 18 AARP Squirrel Hill Chapter 3354 will hold its monthly meeting on at 1 p.m. at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, located at Shady and Wilkins avenues. There will be bingo sponsored

by Juniper Village. Everyone is invited; membership is not required. Refreshments are served after the meeting. Contact Ilene Portnoy at 412-683-7985 for more information. q THURSDAY, APRIL 19 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Israel & Overseas presents Yom Ha’atzmaut from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. Celebrate Israel’s 70th independence day. Play, dance, sing, eat and celebrate with the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

Shalom Pittsburgh Young Adult Division will celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut with barstyle trivia from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Levinson Hall A. Test your Israel knowledge and enjoy free drinks. For more information about trivia, contact Sara Spanjer at sspanjer@jfedpgh. org or 412-992-5237. Visit tinyurl.com/ shalompittsburgh to RSVP. q THURSDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 19-22 National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section will hold its Spring Thrift and Designer Sale at its store, Thriftique, 125 51st St. Proceeds benefit NCJW Pittsburgh projects that support women, children, and families, including the Back 2 School Store and Project Prom. There is no charge. Visit ncjwthriftique.com for hours and more information. q FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 20-22 Temple David will hold an Art in Residence Weekend with “The Seventh Day: Revisiting Shabbat,” a fine arts exhibition that addresses the ever changing and life enhancing merit of the celebration of Shabbat. The exhibition explores, through a 21st-century perspective, the meaning of Shabbat. Temple David will host a wine and cheese reception from 7 to 10 p.m. on April 21 for this exhibit from the Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion Museum, New York.

Curator Laura Kruger will explain the exhibit.

Contact carolg@templedavid.org or visit templedavid.org for more information.

Donations will be accepted at the door. q SUNDAY, APRIL 22 Congregation Beth Shalom Sisterhood Torah Fund Brunch will be at 10 a.m. This year’s

honoree is Judy Adelson, the rebbitzin. Judy and Rabbi Seth Adelson came to Pittsburgh nearly three years ago. Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Judy has continued her career in the arts, is a parent volunteer at Community Day School where their two children attend, and is a volunteer at Beth Shalom.

Torah Fund raises money for the Conservative and Masorti Movement’s educational institutions, supporting the education of future rabbis, cantors, educators and scholars who serve as gifted leaders and innovators of the Conservative Movement.

There is a $20 charge. Visit bethshalompgh. org/events-upcoming for more information and to RSVP. Spouses, guests and the community are invited to attend.

Temple Emanuel invites the community to a free brunch from 10:30 a.m. to noon sponsored by the Larry Miller Caring Community with guest speaker Barney Horowitz, former head of the National Labor Relations Board’s Albany office, who will present “Bagel Bakers Union, Local 338: A Remembrance.”

For more than half a century, the craftsmen of Bagel Bakers Union, Local 338, made virtually every bagel in New York City.

RSVP at templeemanuel@ templeemanuelpgh.org or 412-279-7600.

Visit templeemanuelpgh.org/event/422brunch for more information.

Mitzvah Day at the Howard Levin Clubhouse Garden, located at Community Day School, 2742 Beechwood Blvd. (next to the baseball field), will include cleaning up the garden, mulching, weeding and planting.

The morning shift is 10 a.m. to noon and the afternoon shift is from 1 to 4 p.m. At noon there will be a free pizza lunch. The Howard Levin Clubhouse is part of Jewish Residential Services. RSVP at 412-422-1850 or JPawlowski@jrspgh.org.

Tim Crain of Seton Hill University will give a lecture from 2 to 4 p.m. on the current rise of anti-Semitism and racism as part of the Festival of the Jewish Arts. The program, at Seton Hill University, is co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and is free and open to the public.

Contact 724-834-0560 or office@ cei-greensburg.org for more information and to register. q SUNDAY APRIL 22-29 Members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community will travel on a Volunteer Mission to Israel in northern Israel’s Galilee region. The City of Karmiel and the Misgav Region are looking for volunteers seeking an adventure. Contact Amy Cohen at 412992-5245 or acohen@jfedpgh.org for more information and to register. q TUESDAY, APRIL 24 Chabad of the South Hills will hold its annual Women’s Event at 6 p.m. with guest speaker Lieutenant Commander Laurie Lans, U.S. Navy.

Lans has served tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and throughout the world. Lans will talk about her time in war and the people she met along the way, all while keeping kosher and lighting Shabbat candles in remote parts of the world. She and her husband, Moshe, were deployed together. The evening will include salad and dessert bars, auction and raffle prizes and tips on neurobiology/ relaxation, aromatherapy and nutrition.

The cost is $18 for prepaid reservation by April 20, which includes three raffle entries, and $25 after April 20. Visit chabadsh.com

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

or contact 412-512-2330 or batya@chabadsh. com to RSVP and for more information.

Contact Jamy Rankin at jpcjamy@aol.com or 313-600-2822 for more information.

q THURSDAY, APRIL 26

q SATURDAY, APRIL 28 ​ Pittsburgh Allderdice will hold its annual Dragon Spirit Party, which is Allderdice’s largest fundraiser. The evening includes light fare and drinks, silent auction, raffle baskets and a live auction. Mingle with other Allderdice parents, teachers and administrators. The money raised at this event will go toward enriching the academic programs by providing essentials and extras to students. V ​ isit tinyurl.com/ PittsburghAllderdice to purchase tickets.

The Howard Levin Clubhouse/Jewish Residential Services will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Clubhouse from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 2621 Murray Ave. Tickets are $10 per adult and $7 per child in advance or $12 at the door (limited availability). Takeout meals are available. All proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Howard Levin Clubhouse, a program of Jewish Residential Services that supports adults with mental illness. The deadline to RSVP is April 20th.

Contact Zara Sayles at the Howard Levin Clubhouse at zsayles@jrspgh.org or 412-4221850 for more information or to RSVP. The Alumni and Friends of Pittsburgh Allderdice High School’s annual Hall of Fame will be at 7 p.m. in the Allderdice auditorium. This year’s distinguished alumni being inducted are Devra Davis, founder and president of the Environmental Health Trust; Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science at the Union of Concerned Scientists; Michael Himelstein, composer, lyricist, and producer; Tereneh Mosley, fashion designer who specializes in collaborations with Maasai artisans from Kenya; and Jackson Wright, emeritus professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University.

The unveiling of permanent wall plaques representing each of the inductees and a reception will follow the induction ceremony.

The public is welcome to attend.

q SUNDAY, APRIL 29 The Holocaust Center and Community Day School will co-sponsor the annual Walk to Remember at 11:30 a.m. This event brings together Holocaust survivors and their families, honors the survivors and educates the public about the legacies of local survivors. Participants walk the perimeter around CDS six times to memorialize the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. All proceeds will be split equally between the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and CDS to fund Holocaust education at both organizations. This is a family friendly event, and light refreshments will be served. The event is free for Holocaust survivors and college/university students (with valid student ID), $18 for individuals, $36 for a group of two to four, and $50 for a group of five or more. PJC

Murray Avenue Kosher 1916 MURRAY AVENUE 412-421-1015 • 412-421-4450 • FAX 412-421-4451 Candle Lighting Time Friday, March 30, 2018 • 7:25 p.m.

Candle Lighting Time Saturday, March 31, 2018 • 8:25 p.m.

Wishing a happy and kosher Passover to our many customers and friends.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ON FRIDAY, MARCH 30TH THE STORE WILL BE CLOSING AT NOON.

STORE HOURS: SUNDAY, APRIL 1 • CLOSED MONDAY, APRIL 2 • 8 A.M.-6 P.M. TUESDAY, APRIL 3 • 8 A.M.-6 P.M. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 • 8 A.M.-6 P.M. THURSDAY ARPIL 5 • 8 A.M.-3 P.M. FRIDAY, APRIL 6 • CLOSED HOMEMADE SALADS & SOUPS DELI PARTY TRAYS

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We Prepare Trays for All Occasions UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF VAAD OF PITTSBURGH

CATERING SPECIALISTS DELICIOUS FRIED CHICKEN WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

MARCH 30, 2018 7

Headlines D.C. lawmaker blames weather on ‘the Rothschilds’ — NATIONAL —

By Hannah Monicken | Special to the Chronicle

W

ASHINGTON — As light flurries dusted the Washington earlier this month, District of Columbia Councilmember Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) posted a video blaming a Jewish banking family for the inclement weather.

The Rothschilds, object of many antiSemitic conspiracy theories, were controlling the weather for their own financial benefit, said White, 33.

“Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man. Y’all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation,” he said in the video, which has since been removed.

“And D.C. keep talking about, ‘We a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful.”

And this wasn’t the first time White, who took office in 2017 in the seat long held by former Mayor Marion Barry, has voiced a conspiracy theory about the Rothschilds.

He had earlier questioned their relationship with the Rockefeller Foundation, whose 100 Resilient Cities initiative helps cities prepare for disasters.

p Trayon White Sr. sparked the ire of Jewish community. Photo courtesy of Facebook

A video of a Feb. 27 meeting of D.C. Council members and Mayor Muriel Bowser shows White claiming the Rothschilds control the World Bank and the U.S. government.

“There’s this whole concept with the Rothschilds — who control the World Bank, as we all know — infusing dollars into major cities,” White said. “They really pretty much control the federal government, and now they have this concept called resilient cities in which they are using their money and

influence into local cities.”

White went on to ask about what influence the Rothschilds have at the University of the District of Columbia, whose president, Ronald Mason Jr., had just spoken.

“How does this influence this? Because it’s really about infrastructure and climate control,” he said. “What does this have to do with UDC? Have they put money into UDC? What’s the relationship between the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers?”

No one in the video pointed out that

White had just voiced an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

When The Washington Post contacted White to verify the video, White texted back that he was surprised his comments on the video were seen as anti-Semitic.

He told the paper, “The video says what it says.”

After The Post published the story online, White apologized, both on social media and in a letter to his fellow councilmembers.

“These past 48 hours have been filled with much self-inflicted pain, as I now fully comprehend the impact of my hurtful and insensitive comments,” he wrote. “I sincerely apologize to the Members, staff and all whom I have hurt and offended.”

He went on to say he is committing himself to “an immediate and rigorous personal education on this issue” and that it is “a teachable moment that will last me a lifetime.”

White did not respond to several requests for an interview.

In his apology on social media, he said that colleagues on the council and members of Jews United for Justice, a progressive advocacy organization that endorsed White in his election bid, are “helping me to understand the history of comments made against Jews.”

JUFJ and Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) and Elissa Silverman Please see Lawmaker, page 24

Happy Passover from your friends at Ten Thousand Villages

5820 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15217 | 412-421-2160

8 MARCH 30, 2018

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Law on Holocaust rhetoric unconstitutional, Polish attorney general says The Polish attorney general’s office described as partly unconstitutional a law passed last month that criminalizes blaming Poland for Nazi crimes.

Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro published a statement on the March 22.

The nonbinding opinion has no immediate legal consequences, but may be taken into account by the Constitutional Court in reviewing the law.

The legislation, which was enacted earlier this month, imposes fines or up to three years in jail on anyone who ascribes “responsibility or co-responsibility to the Polish nation or state for crimes committed by the German Third Reich.�

The attorney generel’s office published its statement on the website of the Constitutional Court, which was tasked by the president with checking into the constitutionality of the law, the French news agency AFP reported. President Andrzej Duda signed the legislation last month after it was overwhelmingly passed by both houses of the legislature.

The office said that penalizing acts committed abroad independently of the laws in place there was against the Constitution, which opposes “excessive interference.� It added that

the law was “dysfunctional,� could have “opposite results than those intended� and could “undermine the Polish state’s authority.�

The law’s passing prompted a crisis in Poland’s relations with Israel, the United States and Ukraine. Critics of the law include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it “baseless.� Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, warned it was detrimental to debate accurate research of the genocide. And Israeli politicians, including the opposition lawmaker Yair Lapid, said it whitewashes what they called Polish complicity in the Holocaust — an allegation many Poles find offensive and that the Polish government rejects.

Performer known for Bozo the Clown act dies at 89 Frank Avruch, a Jewish entertainer known for his portrayal of Bozo the Clown on television, has died.

Avruch, a longtime Boston television personality, died March 20 at his home there from heart disease, his family said in a statement to WCVB-TV. He was 89.

He played Bozo from 1959 to 1970, when local TV stations franchised a character originally created by another Jewish American, record producer Alan W. Livingston. Avruch became the first nationally syndicated Bozo the Clown. “He had a heart of gold,� manager Stuart Hersh told The Associated Press. “He brought the Bozo the Clown character to life better than anyone else’s portrayal of Bozo the Clown.�

This week in Israeli history — WORLD — Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

April 4, 1920 — Riots break out in Jerusalem’s Old City during the Muslim Nebi Musa Festival

Avruch was an active philanthropist and a board member of UNICEF’S New England chapter. He toured the world performing as Bozo for UNICEF, the United Nations organization dedicated to helping children in need.

In an interview for “TV Party,� Avruch, who was born in Boston to Russian-Jewish parents, revealed that he did not use his real last name when he first started out in television. “You had to go on television, you had to change your name. Frank Stevens was my name. And when I came out of the Army, I decided to use my real name,� he said.

The decision to use his real name was after seeing “a very famous announcer from the network television called Andre Baruch,� he recalled in the interview. “And I said, well, if he can do it, I can do it, too.�

Israel opens investigation into Facebook over Cambridge Analytica breach Israel’s Justice Ministry has opened an investigation into Facebook amid reports of the transfer of users’ data from the social media platform to the British data-mining company Cambridge Analytica.

The ministry’s Privacy Protection Authority said in a statement that it will “investigate whether personal data of Israeli citizens was illegally used in a way that infringes upon their right to privacy and the provisions of the Israeli Privacy Law.�

Under the Israeli privacy law, personal data may only be used to the purpose for which it

was given and with the consent of the individual.

Cambridge Analytica, a company launched by former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon and bankrolled by the Republican donor Robert Mercer, is alleged to have improperly received data on potential voters from a researcher and app developer who had violated Facebook policy.

Over the weekend, news outlets reported that the user data collected were used to influence the vote in the 2016 presidential election. The Trump campaign reportedly paid Cambridge Analytica more than $6 million, according to federal election records. As many as 200,000 U.S. citizens live in Israel and have the right to vote in the U.S. election, Haaretz reported, citing iVoteIsrael.

Following the reports, Facebook’s stock took a hit, and American and British lawmakers called on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify in front of various government committees.

Last week, Zuckerberg said in a statement that in addition to investigating other applications created before 2014, when it tightened its data-sharing policy, the company would also take steps to limit the data other apps could access and launch a tool to show users what apps have access to their data.

The CEO of Cambridge Analytica claimed to an undercover reporter posing as a potential client to have used Israeli companies and former Israeli spies in its intelligence gathering. The report by a British TV station did not connect the Israeli companies with the reported Trump operation.  PJC

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April 1, 1997 — Knesset passes environmental enforcement law

In a move designed to “make the polluter pay,� according to Environment Minister Raphael Eitan, the Knesset passes the Environmental Enforcement Law.

April 2, 1979 — Menachem Begin becomes first Israeli P.M. to visit Egypt

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As a follow-up to the 1978 Camp David Accords, Begin becomes the first Israeli prime minister to visit an Arab capital.

A Muslim pilgrimage festival erupts into violence against Jews in Jerusalem, leaving nine dead and hundreds wounded.

April 3, 1949 — Israel and Jordan sign armistice agreement

April 5, 1974 — Richard Crossman dies

Israel’s War of Independence ends with the signing of individual armistice agreements between the newly established Jewish state and Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon in 1949.

Richard Crossman, who supported Zionist efforts while serving on the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry, passes away at his home in England from liver cancer.  PJC

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MARCH 30, 2018  9

Headlines How matzah became a household item for non-Jews in the Netherlands — NATIONAL —

By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

E

NSCHEDE, Netherlands — For most matzah bakeries, Passover is their lifeline and only claim to financial viability.

After the weeklong holiday, during which Jews are commanded to consume matzah to commemorate their ancestors’ hurried flight out of Egypt, demand for the famously tasteless cracker drops sharply.

Except, that is, in the Netherlands.

A centuries-old and proud Jewish community here has made matzah a household product that is sold in supermarkets and consumed year-round by millions of non-Jews who swear by it as their breakfast bread of choice.

That’s one reason why Pieter Heijs, a co-owner of Hollandia Matzes in this eastern city, is probably the only matzah maker in the world who braces for losses, not earnings, during Passover.

Almost all the profits of his matzah bakery — the only one in Holland — comes from sales to non-Jews of a product that lacks the “kosher for Passover” certification. However, for four weeks ahead of Passover, Hollandia

p Pieter Heijs displays a box of his product at his Hollandia Matzes factory in the Netherlands.

Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz

also produces kosher-for-Passover matzah, which “costs more to make than what we get for it,” Heijs said.

The factory, which produces about 40 million matzah crackers annually, also makes small amounts of shmurah matzah — a specialty variant that is even costlier because of its stringent adherence to the kosher rules.

To prevent even the hint of leavening, the

wheat and flour never come into contact with moisture from the time of the harvesting until the dough is kneaded and the sheets are baked.

Still, Heijs remains committed to making matzah that is kosher for Passover.

“It’s a matter of tradition, and it means a great deal to me,” said Heijs, who is not Jewish. “Even if it comes at the expense of our profit margins, we will continue to

produce Passover kosher matzah for as long as we can.”

The losses, however, are dwarfed by the boom in Hollandia’s sales during Easter, which often coincides with Passover. On the Christian holiday, millions of Dutch buy and eat matzah as part of a nationwide tradition that testifies to centuries of Jewish influence on the general population.

A liberal nation that was home to one of Europe’s most illustrious Jewish communities before its near annihilation by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust, the Netherlands has other examples of interfaith borrowings (take the oliebol, a deep-fried winter snack in Holland that many trace back to the Chanukah doughnut called sufganiyah).

Such carryovers were perhaps possible in the Netherlands partly because many Protestant Christians here emphasize the Hebrew Bible over the New Testament. But Heijs said “it’s because Dutch Jews were so integrated into the fabric of society.”

The matzah became a year-round household food in recent decades as supermarkets replaced smaller grocery stores, according to Jonah Freud. He published a book in 2012 about the Dutch Jewish cuisine based Please see Netherlands, page 25

y r a s r e iv n n A 0 3 Rabbi Gibson’s th

URE.

ACE OUR FUT R PAST. EMBR

HONOR OU

N O I T A R B E L CE G N I T T I F E N E B I A N I S E L P M TE

As Rabbi Gibson encourages us to wish Yasher Koach to each other for milestones and accomplishments.

It’s now our turn to return the cheer!

Join in the celebration of Rabbi Jamie Gibson’s 30th Anniversary with Temple Sinai: Sunday, April 29, 2018 5:30 PM • 6:00 PM dinner, followed by program Temple Sinai 5505 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA An evening of much fun and entertaining festivities!

Delicious dinner catered by Big Burrito.

Dress is party casual.

Together, let’s fête Rabbi Gibson for his feat of stellar leadership, support through all our life cycles and inspirational spiritual guidance.

LEARN MORE & RSVP AT:

www.TempleSinaiPGH.org/Celebrate30th

10 MARCH 30, 2018

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Organization Directory ADATH JESHURUN CEMETERY Office: 217 East Patty Lane Monroeville, PA 15146 Phone: 412-508-0817 Website: adathjeshuruncemeterypgh.org Email: office@adathjeshuruncemeterypgh.org

President, Renee Abrams; Vice President, Ted Heyman; Secretary, Gail Schmitt; Treasurer, Marty Elikan; William Berkowitz, Allan Dalfen, Paul Herman, Beverly Kalson, Earl Kaiserman, Sandy Goppman, Lou Kushner, Alan Sable, Barbara Scheinberg, Stuart Neft; Susan Cohen, Office Administrator.

••• ADAT SHALOM B’NAI ISRAEL/BETH JACOB A welcoming and inclusive synagogue serving the Fox Chapel & North Hills community.

368 Guys Run Road (Fox Chapel Area) Cheswick, PA 15024-9463 Phone: 412-820-7000; Fax: 412-820-9725 Website: adatshalompgh.org

Amy Himmel, Pres.; Laurie Singer, 1st V.P.; Marshall Dayan, 2nd V.P.; Jim Grenen, Treasurer; Michele Fryncko, Rec. Secy.; David Lazear, Asst. Rec. Secy.; DeDe Fink, Jodi Lindner, Amy Perilstein Sisterhood Co-Presidents; Yaier Lehrer, Rabbi; Jill S. Rook, Exec. Dir.; Gail Schmitt, Preschool and Religious School Director.

••• AHAVATH ACHIM CONGREGATION The Carnegie Shul

Website: thecarnegieshul.org Email: mrmike7777@yahoo.com

Lawrence Block, Pres; Richard D’Loss, 1st; V.P.; Paul Spivak, 2nd V.P.; Elaine Rosenfield, Secy.; Joel Roteman, Treas.; Rosalyn Hoffman, Michael Roteman, Marcia Steinberger, Irwin Norvitch, and Wendy Panizzi, Board of Directors.

••• AIPAC — THE AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Phone: 410-223-4190 Website: aipac.org Email: myaffe@aipac.org

Michael Yaffe, AIPAC Pittsburgh Director.

••• ALEPH INSTITUTE — NORTH EAST REGION Hyman & Martha Rogal Center

5804 Beacon St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-0111; Fax: 412-521-5948 Website: alephne.org Email: rabbivogel@alephne.org, info@alephne.org

Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel, Exec. Dir.; Marty Davis, Chairman of the Board; Eytan Rosenthal CPA, Treasurer, Ahmie Baum, Estelle Comay Esq., Charles Saul Esq., Jon Pushinsky Esq., Charles Perlow Esq., Neil Notkin, & Jim Leiber Esq. Board members.

••• AMERICAN TECHNION SOCIETY Advancing Innovation for Israel and the World

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 304 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301 Phone: 248-593-6760; Fax: 248-593-6440 Website: ats.org Email: joey@ats.org

Joey Selesny, Regional Director East Central Region.

••• BBYO KEYSTONE MOUNTAIN REGION (KMR) c/o JCC South Hills 345 Kane Boulevard Pittsburgh, PA 15243 Phone: 412-446-4781; Fax: 412-446-0146 Website: bbyo.org/region/keystone

BETH EL CONGREGATION OF THE SOUTH HILLS 1900 Cochran Road Pittsburgh, PA 15220 Phone: 412-561-1168; Fax: 412-561-0499 Website: bethelcong.org Email: steve@bethelcong.org

Alex Greenbaum, Rabbi; Amy Greenbaum, Assoc. Rabbi; Steve Hecht, Exec. Dir.; Rabbi Amy Greenbaum, Edu. Dir.; Cliff Spungen, Pres.; Warren Sufrin, Exec. V.P.; Eric Perelman, Admin. V.P.; Francine Rosenthal, Ed. V.P.; David Sirota, Fin. V.P.; Tracy Gross, Fund Raising V.P.; Bonnie Gordon, Membership V.P.; Susie Seletz, Volunteerism V.P.; Beth Pomerantz, Fin. Secy.; Geri Recht, Asst. Fin. Secy.; Bryan Neft, Treas.; Cindy Platto, Asst. Treas.; Bill Spatz, Rec. Secy.; Lynda Abraham Braff, with Dara Lazar Sisterhood co-pres.; Jeremy Broverman, Men’s Club Pres.; Jacqueline Radin, Kadima Dir. •••

David Horvitz, Immed. Past Pres.; Rob Menes, Executive Director; Liron Lipinsky, Dir. of JJEP; Jennifer Perer Slattery, Dir. ELC; Marissa Tait, Youth Program Dir.; Rabbi Jeremy Markiz, Dir. Of Derekh & Youth Tefillah; Dale Caprara, Controller; Judy Kayam, Bookkeeper; Lonnie Wolf, Cemetery Dir.; Audrey Glickman, Rabbi’s Assistant; Rabbi Mark N. Staitman, Rabbinic Scholar; Alex Kiderman, Men’s Club Pres.; Judy Kornblith Kobell, Sisterhood Pres.; Michelle Vines, Events Coordinator; Anthony Colaizzi, Communications & Design Mgr.; Katie Baynum, Receptionist.

•••

CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF MONROEVILLE 2715 Mosside Blvd.

Monroeville, PA 15146 Website: JewishMonroeville.com Email: Chabad@JewishMonroeville.com

P.O. Box 10140 Pittsburgh, PA 15232 Hotline: 412-256-8317 Website: bettikvah.org Email: info@bettikvah.org

CHABAD OF SQUIRREL HILL 1700 Beechwood Blvd.

Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-3561 Website: chabadpgh.com

CONGREGATION BET TIKVAH A welcoming, queer-centric, independent minyan.

BETH HAMEDRASH HAGODOL/ BETH JACOB SYNAGOGUE Visit us Downtown. All are welcome.

•••

810 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Phone: 412-471-4443

519 N. Main St. Butler, PA 16001 Phone: 724-287-5806 Website: congbnaiabraham.org Email: congbnaiabraham@zoominternet.net

Stanley J. Savage, Rabbi; Ira Michael Frank, Pres.; Sherman Weinstein, 1st V.P.; Lee Oleinick, 2nd V.P.; Joe Goldston, Secy; Brian Cynamon, Treas.; Stephen A. Neustein, Esq.; Assist. Treas.; Arlene Neustein, Sisterhood Pres.

••• BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION 265 North Ave. Washington, PA 15301 Phone: 724-225-7080 Website: mybethisrael.org Email: office@bethisraelsynagogue.com Facebook: facebook.com/bethisraelsynagogue

President, Richard S. Pataki, M.D.; Vice President, Marc Simon; Treasurer, David S. Posner, Esq.; Secretary, Marilyn Posner; Immediate Past President, The Hon. Gary Gilman; Rabbi, David C. Novitsky, Esq. Board of Directors: Richard Littman; Judith Pataki; Michael Pollock; Stephen Richman, Esq.; Debbie Sekel; Beth Tully Past Presidents: Carol Adler; Jon S. Adler, M.D.; Richard Belkin, Esq.; Richard Lasday, D.V.M.; Richard Littman; Stephen McCloskey, Esq.; Richard Pataki, M.D.; David S. Posner, Esq.; Marilyn A. Posner.

••• BETH SAMUEL JEWISH CENTER A warm and diverse Jewish community serving the needs of Western Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties.

810 Kennedy Drive Ambridge, PA 15003 Phone: 724-266-5238 Website: bethsamuel.org Email: bethsamueloffice@comcast.net

Cantor Rena Shapiro, Spiritual Leader; Barbara Wilson, Director; Karen Beaudway, Pres.; Lauren McLeod, V.P.; Lynn Klein, Past Pres.; Nicole Homich, Secy.; William Snider, Fin. V.P.; Sharon Camhi, Trustee 1; Len Ganz, Trustee 2.

••• CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM Enriching lives through community, lifelong Jewish learning and spiritual growth!

5915 Beacon St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-2288; Fax: 412-421-5923 Website: bethshalompgh.org Email: office@bethshalompgh.org

CONGREGATION B’NAI ABRAHAM A warm, caring, inclusive community.

Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer, Spiritual Leader; Eric Levin, President; Christine Hood, V. P.; Shirley Grossman, Sec.; and Roberta Gallagher, Religious School Director; Emily Csonka, Youth Group Leader.

••• B’NAI EMUNOH CHABAD 4315 Murray Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-1477 Website: bechabad.org Email: bechabad@gmail.com

Elchonon Friedman, Rabbi; Yehuda Cowen, Pres.; Shalom Leeds, VP & Gabbi; Chanani Saks, Treas.; Ivan Engel, Rec. Secy.; Joel Pirchesky, Past Pres.

••• CHABAD OF CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY 5120 Beeler St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-772-8505; Fax: 877-286-1434 Website: chabadofcmu.com Email: Rabbi@chabadofcmu.com

Rabbi Shlomo and Chani Silverman, Co-Directors.

••• CHABAD FOX CHAPEL — THE JEWISH CENTER Phone: 412-781-1800 Website: chabadfc.com Email: rabbi@chabadfc.com Phone: 412-860-5650

Rabbi Ely Rosenfeld, Director, Chabad Fox Chapel and Jewish Relief Agency of Pittsburgh.

••• CHABAD HOUSE ON CAMPUS Serving the needs of the Jewish college community.

Phone: 412-683-7770; Fax: 412-681-7770 Website: chabadpgh.org Email: home@chabadpgh.org

Rabbi Shmuel, Sara Weinstein, Co-Directors. Rabbi Shua, Shoshana Hoexter, Co-Program Directors.

Seth Adelson, Rabbi; Debby Firestone, Pres.; Ria David, Joe Jolson, Arlene Shapiro, V.P.’s; Mitch Dernis, Treas.; Steven P. Albert, Secy;

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Rabbi Mendy Co-Directors.

•••

and

Esther

Schapiro,

ROHR CHABAD JEWISH CENTER West Virginia University

424 Brockway Ave. Morgantown, WV 26501 Phone: 304-599-1515 Website: JewishWV.org

Rabbi Zalman and Hindy Gurevitz, Co-Directors.

•••

Rabbi Yisroel and Chani Altein.

•••

CHABAD OF THE SOUTH HILLS Bringing the Joy and Relevance of Judaism to the South Hills.

1701 McFarland Road Pittsburgh, PA 15216 Website: chabadsh.com Email: rabbi@chabadsh.com Phone: 412-344-2424; 412-512-3046

Rabbi Mendel & Batya Rosenblum, Co-Directors; Mrs. Mussie Rosenblum, Event Coordinator; Mrs. Barb Segel, Development Coordinator.

••• CLASSROOMS WITHOUT BORDERS Open Minds. Open Hearts.

Providing Holocaust and Israel Education for teachers from all frameworks.

P.O. Box 60144 Pittsburgh, PA 15211 Phone: 412-915-9182 Website: classroomswithoutborders.org Email: tgur@classroomswithoutborders.org

Dr. Zipora (Tsipy) Gur, Executive Director; Board of Directors: Robert Glimcher, Chair; Lisa Allen; Michael Bernstein; Estelle Comay; Laura Penrod Kronk; Robert Mallet; Victor Mizrahi; Alex Paul; Charles S. Perlow; Louis B. Plung; Debbie Resnick; James Rudolph; Hilary S. Tyson.

••• COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL 6424 Forward Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-1100; 412-521-4511 Website: comday.org

Avi Baran Munro, Head of School; Tzippy Mazer, Head of Lower School and Hebrew/Jewish Studies; Mark Minkus, Head of Intermediate School and Middle School; Sarah DeWitt, Admission Dir.; Bari Weinberger, CFO; Jordan Hoover, Technology and Strategic Initiatives Dir.; Jennifer Bails, Marketing and Communications Dir., Sarah Glascom Morris and Lindsey Shope, Co-Directors of Early Childhood Education; Institutional Advancement Dir., Jenny Jones; Debbie Resnick, Pres.; Stuart Kaplan, Immed. Past Pres.; Jean Reznick, Treas.; Derek Smith, Assistant Treasurer; Evan Indianer, Secy.; Ken Levin and Lisa Tannenbaum, Vice Presidents.

Please see Organizations, page 12

MARCH 30, 2018 11

Organization Directory Organizations Continued from page 11 CONGREGATION DOR HADASH Pittsburgh’s Reconstructionist Congregation

5898 Wilkins Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-422-5158 Website: dorhadash.net

President, Ellen Surloff; VP of Ritual, Lisa Levinson; VP of Administration, Paul Needle; Secretary, Beth Silver; Treasurer, Jim Silver; Adult Education, Deborah Prise; VP of Youth Education, Wendy Kobee; Life Events, Dan Leger; Social Action, Kerry Ban; Social Events, Craig Churilla; Membership, Lisa Budd; Programming, Janice Gordon; Member-at-Large, Dana Kellerman; KOL Editor, Lou Fineberg; Principal, Dor Hadash Religious School, Hal Grinberg; Lay Cantor, Cheryl Klein.

••• CONGREGATION EMANU-EL ISRAEL To support Judaism and the welfare of our community.

222 North Main St., Greensburg, PA 15601 Phone: 724-834-0560; Fax: 724-834-7650 Website: ceigreensburg.org Email: ceimain50@aol.com

Stacy L. Petersohn, Rabbi; Sara Rae Perman, Rabbi Emeritus; Richard Virshup, Pres. & Admin.; Gary Moidel, 1st V.P.; Dan Reiter, 2nd V.P.; Julie Goldstein, Treas.; Virginia Lieberman, Secy.; Marion Slone, Sisterhood Pres. & Fundraising; Bob Gelman, Men’s Club Pres.; Robert Halden, Archives; Irene Rothschild, Caring; Shoshana Halden, Edu.; Esther Glasser, Endowment; Shirley Shpargel, Library; Robert Slone, Long-Range Planning; Irene Rothschild Membership; Richard Virshup, Physical Properties; Ronda Goetz, Ritual Practices; Terri Katzman & Mary Ellen Kane, Social Action; Dan Reiter, Mitch Goldstein & Zach Virshup, I.T. ••• FORWARD SHADY APARTMENTS Owned by Forward Housing Corporation and managed by the award-winning SeniorCare Network, this 117-unit supportive senior housing community offers efficiency, one and two bedroom apartments in a convenient location along Forward Avenue in Squirrel Hill.

5841 Forward Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-3065 Fax: 412-521-6413 Email: forwardshady@srcare.org

John Spear, Pres.; Donna Kruman, V.P.; Terry Lerman, Treas.

••• THE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE OF PITTSBURGH Building inclusive community for those with special needs, one friendship at a time.

1922 Murray Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-224-4440 Website: fcpgh.org Email: info@fcpgh.org

Rabbi Mordy Rudolph, Exec. Dir.; Rivkee Rudolph, Dir.; Dr. Laura Marshak, Prof.

Advisor; Ann Grandinetti, Development Assoc.; Caitlin Miller, Development Assoc.; Hayli Firtell, Volunteer Coord.; Julia Averbach, Member Coord.; Adina Waren, Dir. of Programs; Gila Zimbovsky, Office Manager; Casey Briglia, Friends on the Town Program Coordinator; Riki Rudolph, Friends on the Town Program Associate; Emily Vogt, PULSE Intern; Board of Dir.’s: Dr. Tracy Levy, Chair of the Board; Amy Spear, V. Chair; Dorothy Pollon, Secretary; Alan Gordon, Treas.; Michael Bernstein, David Goldberg, Ina Gumberg, Lee 12 MARCH 30, 2018

Hurwitz, Kathy Klein, Mollie Hanna Lang, Aaron Morgenstern, Natalie Moritz, Joshua Schachter, Steve Silverman, Cindy Vayonis.

••• GEMILAS CHESED CONGREGATION 1400 Summit St. White Oak, PA 15131 Phone: 412-678-8859; Fax: 412-678-8850 Website: gemilaschesed.org Email: gemilaschesed@gmail.com

Rabbi Moshe Russell, Interim Rabbi; Gershon Guttman, Pres.; vice president Larry Perl; Bruce Gelman, secretary; Richard Bollinger, Treas.; Gabbaim are Gershon Guttman and Alan Balsam.

••• HADASSAH GREATER PITTSBURGH 1824 Murray Ave., Suite 202 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-8919; Website: hadassah.org/pittsburgh Email: pittsburgh@hadassah.org

Rochelle Parker, Nancy Shuman, Freda Spiegel, presidium; Barbara Scheinberg, past president; Sharyn Stein, VP Membership; Kathleen Belskey, VP Programming; Christina Zern, VP Fundraising; Emily Levine, VP Education; Marcia Weiss, VP Advocacy; Judith Kadosh, Recording Secretary; Esther Schwartz, Corresponding Secretary; Nancy Glynn, Treasurer; Francine Surloff, Exec. Dir. ••• HEBREW FREE LOAN ASSOCIATION 4307 Murray Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-422-8868 Website: hflapgh.org

Jim Sheinberg, Pres.; Alison Karabin, 1st V.P.; John Spear, 2nd V.P.; Shelley Daniels, Treas./Secy.; Ellen Clancy, Dir. of Operations; Aviva Lubowsky, Dir. of Marketing & Development.

••• HILLEL ACADEMY 5685 Beacon St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-8131; Fax: 412-521-5150

Daniel Kraut, Esq., CEO; Rabbi Sam Weinberg, Principal & Ed. Dir.; Ella Ziff, Dir. of Student Services; Elky Langer, Assistant Principal K-4; Rabbi Oren Levy, Assistant Principal K-4; Yikara Levari, Assistant Principal 5th- 12th-grade girls; Rabbi Yisroel Smith, Assistant Principal Boys High School; Kira Sunshine, Dir. of Admissions; Ruth Pohuly, Early Childhood Dir.; Sarah Hartman, Fin. Mgr.; Selma Aronson, Exec. Admin. to the CEO. ••• THE EDWARD AND ROSE BERMAN HILLEL JEWISH UNIVERSITY CENTER The Mildred and Joseph Stern Building

4607 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-621-8875; Fax: 412-621-8861 Website: hilleljuc.org Email: info@hilleljuc.org

Daniel Marcus, Exec. Dir. & CEO; Robyn Markowitz Lawler, Assist. Dir.; Julia Katz, Dir. of Development; Lori Ferguson, Development Coordinator; Danielle Kranjec, Senior Jewish Educator; Jennifer Poller, Director of Operations; Jodi Tandet, Janet L. Swanson Dir. of Jewish Student Life at the University of Pittsburgh; Alex Zissman, Jewish Student Life Coordinator at Carnegie Mellon University; Matthew Callman, Israel Engagement Coordinator; Elina Lipov, Israel Fellow; Ariel Walovitch, Springboard Innovation Fellow; Katie Whitlatch, Board Chair; Michael Warshafsky, V. Chair Fin.; Matthew

Weinstein, V. Chair Development; Gina Levine, V. Chair Jewish Life; Sue Berman Kress, V. Chair Board Governance/HR; Zachary Block, Immed. Past Chair.

•••

HOLOCAUST CENTER OF PITTSBURGH 826 Hazelwood Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-1500; Email: info@hcpgh.org Website: hcofpgh.org

Dr. Roy “Jake” Jacobson, Board Chair; Lauren Apter Bairnsfather, Director; Board Members: Dr. Barbara Burstin, Dr. Tim Crain, Marc Friedberg, Paul Guggenheimer, Lori Guttman, Dr. Rachel Kranson, Debra Levenson, Dr. Melissa Marks, Dr. Manuel Reich, Harry Schneider, Barbara Shapira, Benjamin Simon, Paula Spiro, David Sufrin, Hal Waldman, Roberta Weissburg, Dr. Yolanda Avram Willis.

••• ISRAEL BONDS 6507 Wilkins Ave., Suite 101 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-362-5154; 1-800-362-2669 Email: Pittsburgh@israelbonds.com

Julian Elbling, Campaign Chair; Marian Ungar Davis, Advisory Council Chair, Ellen Teri Kaplan Goldstein, Women’s Division Chair; Adrienne Indianer, Registered Representative; Patty Minto, Office Manager; Harold F. Marcus, Executive Director.

••• ISRAEL HERITAGE ROOM University of Pittsburgh Susie Rosenberg Phone: 412-298-6698 Website: pitt.edu/~natrooms Email: Susan.b.rosenberg@gmail.com

Susan Binstock Rosenberg, Chair; Ruth Gelman, Eileen Lane, Dr. Alex Orbach, Judith Robinson, Dr. Adam Shear, Marcia Weiss, Vice Chairs; Ruth Gelman, Treas.; Dr. Nancy Glynn, Corr. & Fin. Secy.; Sylvia Busis, Nancy L. Shuman, Hon. Chairs.

••• JEWISH ASSISTANCE FUND P.O. Box 8197 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-3237 Website: jewishassistancefund.org Email: Info@JewishAssistanceFund.org

Skip Grinberg, President; Joyce Berman, VP; Sylvia Elias, VP; Gean Goldfarb, VP; Charles Porter, VP; Roberta Letwin, Secretary; Ellen Primis, Secretary; Harvey Wolsh, Treasurer; Sharon Weisberg, Assistant Treasurer; David Maretsky, Past President; Cindy Goodman-Leib, Executive Director.

••• JEWISH ASSOCIATION ON AGING 200 JHF Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-420-4000; Fax: 412-521-0932 Website: jaapgh.org

Jonathan

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER PITTSBURGH JCC Values: Building Community Every Day

Website: JCCPGH.org Squirrel Hill: 5738 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-8010; Fax: 412-521-7044 South Hills: 345 Kane Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15243 Phone: 412-278-1975; Fax: 412-446-0146

James S. Ruttenberg, Chair of the Board; William S. Goodman, Scott E. Seewald, Kenneth T. Segel, Hilary S. Tyson, V. Chairs; Samuel W. Braver, Treas.; Audrey Russo, Asst. Treas.; Stefani Pashman, Secy.; Carole S. Katz, Asst. Secy.; Marc Brown, Immed.

Past Chair; Brian Schreiber, Pres. & CEO. ••• JEWISH FAMILY and COMMUNITY SERVICES (JFCS) Supporting people through life’s changes and challenges.

5743 Bartlett St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-422-7200; Fax: 412-422-1162 Website: jfcspgh.org

Matthew A. Keller, MD, Board Chair; Howard S. Berger, David R. Lassman, Jillian F. Sacks, Esq., Vice Chairs; Eric J. Perelman, Treasurer; Scott I. Americus, Secretary; Carol Robinson, At-Large; Jordan Golin, Psy.D., President & CEO. ••• JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH 234 McKee Place Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-681-8000 Website: jfedpgh.org

Meryl K. Ainsman, Board Chair; Charles Porter, David D. Sufrin, Scott E. Tobe, Vice Chairs; Jan Levinson, Treasurer; Dr. Susan G. Berman Kress, Assistant Treasurer; Chuck Perlow, Secretary; Linda Joshowitz, Assistant Secretary; Jeffrey H. Finkelstein, President & CEO. ••• JEWISH NATIONAL FUND Jewish National Fund Administrative Center/Mailing Address 60 Revere Drive Suite 725 Northbrook, IL 60062 Website: jnf.org Email: jrose@jnf.org Phone: 412-521-3200

Jason A. Rose, Associate Executive Director, Midwest. Steven H. Schwartz, President.

••• JEWISH RESIDENTIAL SERVICES From disabilities to possibilities

Mitchell Pakler, Board Chair; Andrew Stewart, V. Chair; Mike Levin, Treas.; Lynette Lederman, Secy.; Steve Halpern, Immed. Past Chair; Deborah Winn-Horvitz, Pres. & CEO. ••• JEWISH CEMETERY & BURIAL ASSOCIATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH P.O. Box 81863 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-553-6469 Website: jcbapgh.org Email: jcbapgh@gmail.com

Jonathan Schachter, President; Rochelle Sufrin, 1st Vice President; Eileen Lane, 2nd Vice President; Stanley Kirshenbaum, Treasurer; Natalie Rosenbloom Secretary;

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Harvey Wolsh, Historian; Schachter Acting Exec. Dir. •••

4905 Fifth Ave., Suite #3 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-325-0039 (administrative office) Fax: 412-621-4260 Website: jrspgh.org Email: info@jrspgh.org

William S. Stein, Interim, Executive Dir.; Paula Pagnotta, Off. Mgr.; Audra Thomas, Dir. of Residential Support Servs.; Marty Brown, Prgrm. Coord. of Residential Support Serv.; Jill Pawlowski, Dir. Howard Levin Clubhouse; Sarah Hughes, Prgrm.

Supervisor; Alison Karabin, Project Mgr., Young Adults in Transition; Judy Greenwald Cohen, President. Gary Dubin, Vice President; Gerri Lynn Sperling, Vice President; Lorrie Rabin, Secretary; Paul K. Rudoy, Treasurer.

Please see Organizations, page 21

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Headlines A Palestinian-born legislator dreams of rebuilding a synagogue in Berlin — WORLD —

By Toby Axelrod | JTA

B

ERLIN — Raed Saleh, a Palestinian born in the West Bank, wants to rebuild a synagogue in the German capital. Now the dream of this Berlin politician is a bit closer to reality.

Standing in front of the Fraenkelufer Synagogue on a chilly March morning, the senator and leader of the Social Democratic Party here announced plans for the reconstruction of a building that was largely destroyed in the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938.

Saleh’s goal, endorsed by Berlin Jewish Community President Gideon Joffe, is to make a statement against growing anti-Semitism in the capital city — and against discrimination targeting Muslims, too.

“If you say you want to support Jewish life in Germany and Berlin and Europe, and you don’t just want to pay lip service, then you have to carry it out concretely,” said Saleh, 40, who immigrated to Germany with his family when he was 5.

He first proposed the project in November in a column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. His thinking: “He who builds castles can also rebuild synagogues.”

So Saleh campaigned for and won support from the Berlin Senate. The project is still a vision, but no longer a pipe dream.

It’s an idea that would have stunned Joffe 12 years ago, when he was first elected president of the Jewish community.

“I would never have thought that a Berliner of Palestinian background would help the Jewish community,” Joffe said, standing beside Saleh, who was born in a village near Nablus. “I find it to be a fantastic story that allows us to look with hope into the future.”

Also announced Thursday was a plan to renovate a former Jewish orphanage on

Auguststrasse, converting it into what would be Germany’s first Jewish trade school. There already is a Jewish high school in Berlin, but the new school would cater to students who are not necessarily moving on to college.

Noting that many Jewish kids have transferred to Jewish schools because of anti-Semitism, Joffe said he hoped the new facility would open in the next two years.

While it will take longer to realize the Fraenkelufer project, Joffe said he would be “very happy to see it become a place for exchange between people, a place where they can get to know Judaism.”

Fraenkelufer, which sits on the banks of one of Berlin’s many canals, is located in a multi-ethnic neighborhood with many Arab residents, a colorful market and shops with Arabic signs.

For Saleh, that makes it the perfect location for such a project, “especially in a time of increased anti-Semitism, also coming from migrants; especially given that there increasingly are schools where teachers complain that they are overwhelmed with a situation that they can’t control,” he said.

His idea, still in the early stages, is to build a structure resembling the classical 1916 synagogue by architect Alexander Beer. But rather than erase the recent past, the reconstruction would emphasize the violent rupture of the Holocaust and represent hope for the future.

Saleh said the project is likely to take several years to realize and would cost nearly $30 million. The senator pledged to secure state and federal funding, as well as raise funds from German industry and private donors — including his own young sons. He said they each pledged 20 euro, about $25, from their own savings.

Rebuilding destroyed synagogues is not a new phenomenon in Germany. Since the 1990s, particularly with the influx of some

THIS PASSOVER, CELEBRATE 70 YEARS OF EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT

Please see Berlin, page 24

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p Raed Saleh, left, a Berlin senator, and the Berlin Jewish Community’s president, Gideon Joffe, hold an architect’s rendering of a planned reconstruction of the Fraenkelufer Synagogue.

Photo by Toby Axelrod

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MARCH 30, 2018 13

Opinion Everyone is talking about the weather — EDITORIAL —

T

he baffling case of Trayon White, the Washington, D.C., city councilman who reacted to a light snowfall by blaming it on climate change caused by “the Rothschilds,” provides an opportunity for those involved to take thoughtful next steps.

That goes for White — an African American who apparently had no idea he was voicing a hoary anti-Semitic canard and, just as worrying, actually believed that individuals or small groups could control the weather.

But it’s also a test for individual Jews and Jewish organizations to show some nuance in responding to an incident that pushed a lot of buttons at the same time.

White, who was elected to the council in 2016 after the death of Marion Barry,

seemed surprised at the negative reaction to his words in a video he posted on Facebook.

“The video says what it says,” he texted The Washington Post, which broke the story. He later told one of the city’s alternative weeklies that his comment was meant as a joke.

Soon thereafter, after meeting with Jewish groups, White issued a written apology: “I now fully comprehend the impact of my hurtful and insensitive comments,” he wrote. “I sincerely apologize to the [Council] Members, staff and all whom I have hurt and offended.” It was a straightforward, serviceable mea culpa, strengthened by his commitment to “an immediate and rigorous personal education on this issue.”

This is a teachable moment, he wrote. And we hope so. To begin with, White needs a crash course in basic meteorology. And as for “the Rothschilds” and other Jewish

issues, we hope Jewish communal organizations provide the right lessons, for White and for the Jewish community. As the brouhaha over Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory’s initial refusal to condemn anti-Semitism after associating herself with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has demonstrated, things can fester and quickly escalate in the absence of meaningful dialogue.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington responded quickly and ably when White’s comments were published. It also announced that White had agreed to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and to talk to survivors.

While those efforts will likely produce another statement of contrition, White didn’t question the Holocaust in his video.

And it appears that he didn’t even know “the Rothschilds” were Jewish. In that sense,

it’s unclear whether his words can even be considered anti-Semitic. As such, rather than taking White on a tour to learn about the Holocaust, it might be far more constructive for him to meet Jews at their most joyful, uplifted and generous activities, such as at the Passover seder he’s reportedly attending at the invitation of a Jewish councilwoman.

There he can learn about the enslavement and birth of the Jewish people into freedom.

Washington’s JCRC also announced that White “expressed his commitment to partnering … to deepen mutual understanding between our communities and to combat anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry of all kinds.” To the extent that happens, it would be a welcome way to tackle ignorance through the forging of common ties. The question is, now that the ball is in White’s court, will he make good on his promise? PJC

Hawking’s life — as well as theory — have profound implications Guest Columnist Ira Rothstein

“I

t’s bloody awful.” That’s how a friend of mine recently referred to Stephen Hawking’s best-selling book, “A Brief History of Time.” Having perused it myself, I have to say that in some ways he’s right. Picking up that book with the hopes of actually understanding the physics at play is like being asked to solve a crossword puzzle in a foreign language.

Then why did Hawking, the famed theoretical physicist who passed away two weeks ago at the age of 76, sell 10 million copies?

The cynical answer might be coffee table pretense. But I would submit that the public success of the book had more to do with the unique nature of Professor Hawking and his discoveries.

At the age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with ALS — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — a debilitating neuro-degenerative disorder that usually leads to fatality within a few years of its diagnosis. He survived another 56 years, a total mystery to ALS experts, passing away on the same date as Einstein’s birthday. (Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo’s death.)

Readers familiar with his appearance are aware of how the disease ravaged his body, which for many years served mainly as an incubator for his expansive intellect.

His communication skills were so limited that conversing would have been terribly frustrating, especially for someone with such an active, creative mind. The inability to write would be devastating for most theoretical physicists, as the subject is steeped in mathematics the logical arguments of which are scratched into a cascade of steps coded in mathematical notation. For Hawking it meant adapting his methods to think in new

14 MARCH 30, 2018

What makes Professor Hawking such a compelling human is the confluence of a remarkable story of hope and perseverance, combined with a profound discovery that has ramifications regarding the nature of our existence. ways, perhaps more geometrically, which allowed him to shortcut mathematical proofs.

Beethoven lost his hearing, Monet his sight, Hawking lost much more, and yet still his spirit was indomitable. He was famously quoted as saying, “My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.”

But it was more than just his singular story that captured the imagination of the public.

I think it had just as much to do with the nature of his discoveries as it did with his personal story. While his proofs of singularity theorems with Sir Roger Penrose were of monumental importance, it was his work on black hole evaporation that catapulted him into the pantheon of science. Shortly after Einstein’s proposal of the theory of general relativity, Karl Schwarchild showed there existed very strange exact solutions to Einstein’s equations that we now call black holes. A few decades later, in 1956, David Finklestein showed that these solutions represented objects from which nothing can escape. There exists a sphere around the black hole that acts as a one way barrier; everything goes in, but nothing, not even light, comes out. The radius of that sphere is called the “Schwarzchild radius” and that invisible sphere is called the “horizon.”

Remarkably, if an astronaut falls thru the

horizon, nothing odd happens; they would never know that past that point their fate is sealed. In fact, if they try to forcibly get out, say by firing rockets, it will only serve to hasten their demise, accelerating them in the opposite direction toward the center where the gravitational forces are so strong that atoms get torn apart, as does the fabric of space-time itself.

Enter Hawking, who in 1975 showed that black holes are not truly black. In his landmark paper he showed that black holes actually slowly evaporate. At first glance, this seems more than odd, as we usually attribute evaporation to an object with which we can associate a temperature. But Hawking’s proposal implies that when a black hole forms — the inevitable final state of stars with sufficiently large masses — an observer outside the horizon sees particles bubbling out. We now call this “Hawking radiation.”

While this is a remarkable result, it seems like an arcane piece of theoretical physics with little to no implications. It’s not clear that we will ever be able to verify black hole evaporation. (This explains why Hawking was not considered for a Nobel Prize, which requires empirical verification of a proposed theory.)

While the evidence for black holes is now overwhelming, including the measurement of the gravity waves produced in the collision of two black holes in 2016, the Hawking radiation is imperceptible. So why is Hawking’s result so important? The answer

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lies in what Hawking radiation implies about information.

A fundamental tenet of physics is that information is conserved. If you throw an encyclopedia into the sun, it will burn up, seemingly leading to information loss. But the laws of physics imply the information is indeed there — it’s just encoded in the light emitted by the sun. In principle, with a very careful measurement of the light, we could reconstruct the entire encyclopedia. This conservation of information has profound implications. In particular, information conservation leads to a deterministic universe whereby, given the state of a system at some fixed time, we can predict its state at a later time.

This result is at the heart of the freewill debate. If your future can be determined by your present state, what happens to the notion of choice? Now suppose we throw the encyclopedia into a black hole. If we wait long enough it will completely evaporate. A corollary to Hawking’s result is that the radiation cannot encode the information. In this case, we are forced to conclude that black holes can erase information! The problem is that no one knows how to take the well-known laws of physics, most notably quantum mechanics, and make it consistent with information loss. These issues touch upon the very nature of the human condition and elevate Hawking’s result beyond those of other scientific discoveries.

Thus what makes Professor Hawking such a compelling human is the confluence of a remarkable story of hope and perseverance, combined with a profound discovery that has ramifications regarding the nature of our existence. We may learn as much from the way he lived his life, with appreciation and gratitude despite remarkable disabilities, than we can from the light he shed on the nature of our existence. As such, maybe his book should be, and is, read as much as poetry as science. PJC Ira Rothstein is a professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University.

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Opinion Stephen Hawking was admired by Israeli physicists for his insights and his humanity Guest Columnist Barak Kol

S

tephen Hawking was a rare and inspirational man whose deep insights into the mysteries of the physical universe were matched only by his courage in the face of a cruel, debilitating illness, which he met with good spirit and a unique sense of humor.

In the wake of his passing, those who have commented on his legacy have focused not only on his work as a scientist and a communicator of science, but also on his display of human spirit.

At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Racah Institute of Physics, our interactions with Dr. Hawking were marked by our shared love of the discovery of the physical universe and our aspiration for creating a better world.

Hawking’s most famous theoretical argument, that matter can escape black holes, was intimately related to the ideas of the late Professor Jacob Bekenstein from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A black hole is the

of black holes had emerged. This radiation is called Hawking radiation and it remains his single most important contribution to the field of theoretical physics.

So it was Hawking, building off of and confirming Bekenstein’s work, who established the theoretical foundation for black hole thermodynamics, a deep connection between gravity and quantum physics that is a cornerstone of our contemporary understanding of these phenomena.

Since his passing, some have commented on Hawking’s relationship with the State of Israel. Over his long career he visited Israel multiple times, accepting the prestigious Wolf Prize in physics in 1988 and, most recently, as an honored guest of the Israel Academy of Sciences in 2006.

Unfortunately, in 2013 he was represented to have made a decision with which we obviously disagree — to contribute to an academic boycott campaign against Israel. After initially agreeing to attend a conference led by then-President Shimon Peres, he later canceled his participation. While misguided, I believe this decision was made not out of animosity, but rather with the intention of trying to foster a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Unfortunately, in 2013 he was represented to have made a decision with which we obviously disagree — to contribute to an academic boycott campaign against Israel. most compact form of matter, as implied by Einstein’s theory of gravity. Surrounded by a seemingly one-way horizon, it is one of the most mysterious objects in nature. In 1972, Bekenstein (1947-2015), then a doctoral student at Princeton University, suggested that black holes might have properties of heat (more precisely entropy, known today as Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy).

Hawking was among the scientists who were skeptical. He believed that black holes absorb everything, yet nothing can escape them and therefore their temperatures would have to be absolute zero. But in 1974, he was led to the theoretical argument that once the effects of quantum physics are taken into account, black holes are not truly black.

Hawking theorized that some radiation does escape from a black hole, and that this radiation represents (non-zero) temperature, just like a heated metal bar would glow in the dark.

At first he resisted this conclusion because it conformed to Bekenstein’s idea. However, he ultimately realized that both are correct and that a new and consistent understanding

I was part of a group of Israeli theoretical physicists who sent a message to Hawking to formally protest his decision. We wrote, in part, “We believe in the goal of a peaceful and prosperous coexistence of Israelis, Palestinians and other peoples. We moreover believe that the freedom of thought, expression and a free sharing of information are some of the core values of science as well as of democracy. A boycott, on the other hand by its very nature, suppresses dialogue and the free exchange of ideas for all parties involved, and we do not consider it helpful for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”

Putting aside this disagreement, it was both an honor and a pleasure to have met Dr. Hawking on several occasions, and I will always remember his wit and how he faced his challenges with a smile, his typical defying grin. His science will be studied by generations to come and his spirit will continue to inspire millions around the world. PJC Barak Kol is a professor of physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Life & Culture Mimouna punctuates Passover with sweets and hopeful blessings — PASSOVER —

By Dan Schere | Special to the Chronicle

T

here’s joy at the end of Passover when Jews are finally able to eat chametz again. But to celebrate, Moroccan Jews do more than eat bread. They make jam-filled crepes, dress in traditional Arab garb and wish each other good luck at parties in their homes.

“Everyone that comes to your house is coming to wish you luck and a good year,” said Albert Amar, suburban Maryland resident who grew up in Morocco.

The day following Passover is celebrated

by Moroccan Jews as Mimouna, named after the great Moroccan-born sage Maimonides, or Rambam. In Morocco, Mimouna was a recognition of friendly relations between Jews and Muslims. During the final days of Passover, Muslims give ingredients to Jews to make leavened foods once the holiday was over. Jews reciprocate by welcoming Muslims into their homes for Mimouna. Mimouna is on April 8.

Amar grew up in the capital, Rabat. He remembers long nights of celebrating at multiple Jewish homes in his neighborhood.

“From 9 p.m. to 3 in the morning, my family were going house to house, talking, eating, having drinks,” he said.

Since immigrating to the United States in 2002, Amar and his family continue to celebrate Mimouna. His wife, Doryss, makes seven sweet jams to stuff into mofletas, or sweet crepes native to Morocco. Jewish

p Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, second from left, joins a Mimouna celebration in Ashdod in 2014.

Wikimedia Commons

“ In Israel, if you’re Ashkenazi, you usually call someone and try to get

”

invited to a Mimouna celebration.

— NAOMI ELIMELECH

p Magen David Sephardic Congregation Rabbi Haim Ovadia, center, celebrates Mimouna in 2016 at Albert Amar’s home in suburban Maryland.

Photo courtesy of Albert Amar

18 MARCH 30, 2018

neighbors show up without an invitation needed.

Naomi Elimelech said she typically draws a sizable crowd of Jews to her house. Last year, she made more than 300 mofletas for the 100 people that came.

“You do not invite people to the Mimouna,” she said. “You leave the door open and friends and neighbors come. [And then] you at some point leave the house and go to others’ houses.”

Elimelech said that at her Mimouna celebrations, she puts gold coins on the table to represent wealth and a tray with a large raw fish that symbolizes fertility and success.

Fava beans are also common, she said, to mark the change in seasons.

“Fava beans for the Moroccans symbolize something fresh and green,” she said. “The entire celebration of Mimouna is to celebrate the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring.”

Elimelech said Moroccan Jews also wear multicolored Arabic robes — a kaftan for women and a jalabiya for men. And a designated person recites the blessing, “May you merit success.”

Jason Guberman, executive director of the American Sephardi Foundation in New York, said Mimouna has become so prominent in the Moroccan Jewish community that it has practically become a national holiday there and in Israel.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other politicians attend Mimouna celebrations, said Elimelech, who grew up there.

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p Moroccan Jews celebrate Mimouna with a feast of sweets, nuts, fruits and other delicacies to mark the end of Passover.

Photo courtesy of Albert Amar

“In Israel, if you’re Ashkenazi, you usually call someone and try to get invited to a Mimouna celebration,” Elimelech said. “It’s the one place you want to be at if you want people to vote for you.” PJC Dan Schere writes for the Washington Jewish Week, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

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Life & Culture Jewish actor takes lead in ‘Rent’ 20th anniversary tour — THEATER —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

S

ammy Ferber grew up listening to the soundtrack of “Rent,” his mother constantly playing it in the car as she maneuvered through the streets of suburban Chicago.

Flash forward a few years, and the Jewish actor finds himself literally living a lifelong dream, playing the Jewish character, Mark Cohen, in the hit musical’s 20th anniversary tour, currently in Pittsburgh.

The show continues at Heinz Hall through Sunday, April 1.

“I always felt a connection to Mark,” said Ferber, speaking by phone prior to the Pittsburgh opening. “I identify with Mark’s Jewishness, and his awkwardness, the way he surrounds himself with the cool kids, so people will think he’s cool by association.”

The young actor also most definitely can relate to Mark’s relationship with his stereotypical Jewish mother.

“She is exactly what my mother is like,” laughed Ferber, adding that it was not a stretch for him to react on stage to Mark’s mother’s overbearing voicemails at the beginning of the show. When Ferber’s own mother saw the production, she told him, “You’re not even acting that part.”

home. He began longing for the stage at a young age, setting his sights on becoming an actor “right after wanting to be a firefighter and an astronaut.”

He began performing at the age of 7 at Lake Forest Children’s Theater in Lake Forest, Ill., and then at the Deerfield Family Theatre. As a teenager, he joined the Actors Training Center Repertory Company, which specialized in producing professional standard musicals using young actors.

After graduating high school, Ferber enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Experimental Theatre Wing in 2014. It was there, while performing the role of Mark Cohen in a school production of “Rent,” that he caught the eye of the production team for the “Rent” tour.

It took many, many months, several call-backs — and an initial rejection, albeit a very polite one — before Ferber landed a spot in the touring company. In p Sammy Ferber Photo by Bob Lasky Photography 2016, he got the phone call offering him In addition to being an actor, Ferber is a the role of Gordon, and to understudy Mark.

“I fell to my knees,” he said. writer — one who has “genre-hopped” from Ferber didn’t hesitate in sharing the good poetry to songs to novels. He sees that type of artistic vacillation in the character of news, immediately calling his mother, Mark, who as a filmmaker has tried his hand “because I’m a good Jewish boy.”

So, following sophomore year, Ferber at various styles of cinema, but finally settles on documentary-making, which becomes found himself taking a leave of absence the basis for “Rent” itself. from Tisch and hitting the road with Ferber grew up in a Conservative Jewish his first professional gig. A year later, he

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took over the role of Mark full time, and hasn’t looked back.

“Rent” opened on Broadway in 1996. The original rock musical — a modern retelling of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” which tracks a year in the lives of a group of struggling, artistic friends in Manhattan’s East Village — was created by a then little-known Jewish composer, Jonathan Larson, who died unexpectedly just hours before the show’s first preview performance.

“Rent” went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical for 1996.

Although the touring life is “not glamorous,” according to Ferber, he has gotten the chance to perform in some “great cities,” as well as some more remote small towns.

He is happy to play in both types of locales, helping to spread the lessons inherent in the musical’s book and songs.

“With a show as important as this, with such an important message, I want as many people to see it as possible,” he said.

That message, he continued, is eloquently and simply expressed in the lyrics of one of the show’s breakaway hit songs, “Seasons of Love.” The song asks: “How do you measure a year?” and suggests the answer is to “measure in love.” PJC

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MARCH 30, 2018 19

Headlines Matzah: Continued from page 1

sculptures for various events throughout the country, according to Parker, but this is the group’s first Passover display. Nonetheless, the celebrity chef is no stranger to Jewish catering.

“I worked for six-and-a-half years at hotels doing kosher banquets,” he said. He taught fruit and vegetable carving at the Kosher Center for Culinary Arts in Brooklyn and has done fruit carving workshops for Tu B’Shevat at various Chabad centers.

After being commissioned by Giant Eagle for this year’s Passover displays — three of which are in Ohio, with the other Pittsburgh sculptures located in the stores in Bethel Park and Wexford — Parker assembled his team. Along with Baker, food artists Titus Arensberg and Greg Butauski collaborated on the Passover design.

The artists worked on sculptures at two Giant Eagle locations each, while providing in-store entertainment to customers.

“We were there during store hours between 10 and 3,” said Baker. “We go in with the project 80 percent done, and then put the finishing details on.”

Each sculpture requires a total of between 15 and 20 hours of work.

p Above and right, details of the matzah sculpture

“People came over to ask us questions,” said Baker. “The fun part for me is when people come by and their brains explode; they’ve never seen a matzah sculpture before.”

The Food Artist Group has had “nothing but great feedback” on the sculptures, according to Parker.

“It’s so specific to the Jewish community,” said the chef. “People were really grateful it was done in recognition of the Passover

Photos provided by Dick Roberts

holiday. There was someone who had come from Israel who said that this was better than anything they had seen in the homeland.”

While this was Baker’s first foray into matzah sculpting, she has had plenty of experience bringing to life representations of various scenes, animals and people through food. She got her start in food art by sculpting pumpkins and does a lot of cheese sculpting.

She has also created a four-and-a-half foot

Interfaith: Continued from page 1

their potential and future senselessly snuffed out by gunfire.

“The stereotype that the person who is shot is involved with something crazy is not the case,” Smith said.

He recalled walking out onto Sylvan Street one day and seeing a beige jeep filled with U.S. Army artillery.

“How does this get into our community?” he asked. “I called the police and the media, and it was never reported on.”

In 2016, Smith decided to do something to underscore the volume of violence saturating his community. Inspired by the Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Keeping Tabs Holocaust Sculpture on the grounds of Community Day School, Smith created an exhibit memorializing the lives lost in his neighborhood.

The exhibit features photos of the victims, along with objects reflecting their hobbies, and a quote from either the victim or a member of his family.

“You have to understand how important one life is,” Smith said.

Karen Hacker of the Allegheny County Health Department’s office of violence prevention, noted that the vast majority of people dying from gunfire are African American young men, citing data from 1999-2015.

“Unfortunately, we’ve become immune,” she said. “We should be looking at violence as if it were an infectious disease.”

Much gun violence is connected to drugs and drug sales, she said, and “there needs to be a community outpouring of resources to make a difference.”

“It’s high time we are focused on this issue,” Hacker continued, adding that is “very sad” that it takes a shooting like the one in Park20 MARCH 30, 2018

p Mayor Bill Peduto, Rabbi Ron Symons and Rev. Liddy Barlow

Photo by Toby Tabachnick

land “to refocus on this issue when we see this every day.”

It is not an option for people of faith to refrain from taking action in the face of endemic violence, Rabbi Jamie Gibson, senior rabbi of Temple Sinai, told the crowd.

Quoting first from Leviticus, Gibson recited the mandate to “not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.”

“You do not get to not care,” he instructed.

Next, Gibson quoted from Deuteronomy: “Do not put a stumbling block in front of the blind.” Applying the precept to contemporary times, that prohibition means, the rabbi said, that “you may not sell a weapon to someone with a proclivity to a violent act.”

He urged the crowd to take action to improve mental health services and secure laws requiring effective background checks.

“We have to get off our tush and choose life,” Gibson said.

Mayor Bill Peduto cautioned against accepting routine gun violence as “normal.”

“We are getting to the point where places of worship and schools are homes to violence,” he said. “People are going to a concert and never coming home. We can’t accept it and we can’t allow society to accept it. We need to find a way to say this is not normal.”

Frankel implored the community to become advocates of change. He pointed to a gun control law passed in Florida following the Parkland shooting that had been opposed by the National Rifle Association as an example of producing change through legislation.

“Your job is to make it uncomfortable for us to live with the status quo,” Frankel said.

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gorilla out of licorice, and a likeness of the country singer Chris Stapleton out of bacon.

“As a teacher, I have to design 3-D projects all the time, so figuring out different mediums comes naturally to me,” she said. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Other speakers included Lavonnie Bickerstaff of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, who spoke of grassroots efforts in working with at-risk communities to stop violence, and Rev. Doug Patterson of the Smithfield United Church of Christ.

Mara Hellman, a retired special education teacher from Shadyside, said she came to the program because she is “pretty disgusted with the number of guns causing violence in our cities and schools and communities and I would like to be a part of the change.”

Several anti-violence organizations, including CeaseFire PA, had set up information tables at the event, offering opportunities for people to get involved.

“I’m going to see about community meetings and look into one of these organizations,” Hellman said. “I think this was an effective meeting and I’m motivated to do something about it.”

Because of the proliferation of gun violence in the United States, including Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Federation’s CRC saw a duty in helping to organize the program and inform the community, said CRC director Josh Sayles.

“Gun violence has been an issue in the United States and Southwestern Pennsylvania for a long time,” he said. “In the last few years, unfortunately, it’s become a more pressing issue. It’s our responsibility as the CRC to bring together the Jewish community and the Greater Pittsburgh community to educate ourselves on controversial issues.

“I am really grateful the JCC and the Christian Associates worked with us to put together a really successful event,” he added.

“We hope this is the start of a conversation and not the end of it.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Organization Directory Organizations Continued from page 12 J STREET PITTSBURGH The home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans

Facebook: facebook.com/jstreetpittsburgh Email: pittsburgh@jstreet.org

Nancy Bernstein, Malke Frank, Co-Chairs.

••• JEWISH WOMEN’S CENTER OF PITTSBURGH P.O. Box 81924 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-422-8044 Website: jwcpgh.org

Malke Frank, Pres., Mimi Reznik, Treas., Pat Cluss, Barbara Baumann, Laura Horowitz, Members-at-Large.

••• JEWISH WOMEN’S FOUNDATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH The Jewish Women’s Foundation supports organizations that improve the lives of women and girls, with a focus on social change.

1620 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-727-1108 ; Fax: 412-681-8804 Website: jwfpgh.org Facebook.com/jwfpgh Email: jcohen@jwfpgh.org

Marsha D. Marcus, Fern G. Schwartz, Co-Chairs; Lauren Goldblum and Joan Gurrentz, Small Grants Committee Co-Chairs; Paula Garret, Signature Grant Committee, Chair; Judy Greenwald Cohen, Exec. Dir. ••• JOINT JEWISH EDUCATION PROGRAM (J-JEP) Providing innovative learning experiences that inspire and prepare students to engage meaningfully in Jewish life.

4905 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-621-6566, ext. 116 Website: jjep.org Email: liron@jjep.org

Liron Lipinsky, Director; Aaron Bisno, Rabbi; Sharyn Henry, Rabbi; Seth Adelson, Rabbi; Laura Swiss and Todd Roscoe, Co-Chairs.

••• KEHILLAH LA LA ‘An inclusive community engaging members in creative Jewish experiences’

Webpage: ravchuck.com Facebook: Kehillah La La Email: ravchuck@gmail.com, ravchuck@yahoo.com Phone: 412-335-0298

Chuck Diamond, Rabbi and Executive Director; Fred Davis, President; Bobbi Gerson, Treasurer; Mickie Diamond, Secretary.

••• KOLLEL JEWISH LEARNING CENTER Mailing Address: P.O. Box 81036 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 5808 Beacon St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-420-0220; Fax: 412-420-0224 Website: kollelpgh.org Email: info@kollelpgh.org

Rabbi Levi Langer, Rosh Kollel; Philip Milch, Esq., President; Dr. Frank Lieberman, Vice President; Michael Kaminsky, Treasurer, Mark Sindler, Esq., Secretary; Rabbi Avrohom Rodkin, Director of Education; Stacie Stufflebeam, Director of Development.

••• LADIES HOSPITAL AID SOCIETY 3459 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-648-6106; Fax: 412-692-2682 Website: lhas.net

President, Carole L. Kamin; Vice Presidents: Jackie Dixon, Peggy Smyrnes-Williams, Heather Ziccarelli; Secretaries: Denise Shipe, Judy Woffington; Treasurer, Cindy Kacerik; Directors: Brittany Holzer, Linda Melada, Jill Nolan, Denise Pochan, Ruth Rubenstein, Marcia Weiss, Gayle Zacharia.

••• LUBAVITCH CENTER SYNAGOGUE Chabad of Western Pennsylvania

2100 Wightman St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (Corner of Hobart & Wightman in Sq. Hill) Phone: 412-422-7300

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, Mr. Charles Saul, Esq., Pres.; Rabbi Yisroel Altein, Chabad of Pittsburgh; Mrs. Chanie Rosenblum, Women’s Organization; Mr. Shmuel Creeger, Men’s Mikvah; Mr. & Mrs. Hirsh Dlinn, Hospitality; Shul Committee: Shmuel Huebner, Hirsch Dlinn, Lior Shkedi, Yosef Goldberg.

••• NA’AMAT USA Pittsburgh Council (formerly Pioneer Women) A voice for Women and Children in Israel.

Committed to gender equality, religious pluralism, the status of women in and out of the home, the prevention of domestic violence and education

5898 Wilkins Ave #1 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-5253; Fax: 412-521-5285 Website: naamatpgh.com • naamat.org Email: naamatpgh@gmail.com

Lisa Steindel, President; Dorothy Greenfield, Membership Vice President; Sibyl Treblow, Am Affairs & Allied Act. V.P.; Judy Kobell, Treasurer; Natalie Rosenbloom & Rhoda Dorfzuan, Recording Secretary; Barbara Caplan & Elinor Young, Correspondence Secretary; Debbi Berger, Gloria Elbling Gottlieb, Julian Elbling & Carole Wolsh, Spiritual Adop/Schlshp.Chrmn.; Marcia J. Weiss, Past President; Jackie Braslawsce, Executive Director.

••• NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN Pittsburgh Section

1620 Murray Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-6118; Fax: 412-421-1121 Website: ncjwpgh.org

Laurie Gottlieb, Pres.; Debra Levy Green V.P.; Lisa Silberman, Treas., Sarah Blask Rec. Secy.; Paula Garret, Imm. Past. Pres.; Cristina Ruggiero, Exec. Dir.; Becky Abrams, Director of the Center for Women (a joint project of NCJW and the JWF); Misi Bielich, Director of the Children’s Rooms in the Courts; Samantha Dye, Director of Development and Community Outreach; Meredith Brown, Manager of Programs and Operations; Lynn Tomasits; Director of Retail-Thriftique.

••• NEW LIGHT CONGREGATION/ OHR CHADASH Conservative, Egalitarian • Come Join Us

5898 Wilkins Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-1017 Website: newlightcongregation.org

Jonathan Perlman, Rabbi; Barbara L. Caplan, Stephen Cohen, co-presidents; Marilyn Honigsberg, Administrative Assistant.; Janet Cohen, Corresponding Secretary; Debbie Salvin, Membership V.P.; Barbara Caplan, Social V.P.; Harold Caplan, Treasurer; Carl Solomon, Fin. Secy.; Ileen Portnoy, Secy.; Sharyn Stein, Sisterhood Pres.; Dan Stein, Men’s Club Pres.

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PARKWAY JEWISH CENTER Egalitarian Conservative Synagogue in the East Suburbs

300 Princeton Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15235 Phone: 412-823-4338; Fax: 412-823-4338 Website: parkwayjewishcenter.org Email: parkwayjc@verizon.net

Cantor Henry Shapiro, Spiritual Leader; Robert Korfin, Pres.; Laurie Barnett Levine, Sisterhood Pres.

••• PASTE Pittsburgh Association of Synagogue and Temple Executives

Leslie Hoffman (Temple Emanuel), President; Drew Barkley (Temple Sinai); Joel Don Goldstein, FSA (Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha); Steve Hecht, FSA, Treasurer (Beth El); Rob Menes (Beth Shalom), Jill Rook, (Adat Shalom); Bill Stein (Rodef Shalom).

••• PENN STATE HILLEL 114-117 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center University Park, PA 16802 Phone: 814-863-3816 Email: Hillel@psu.edu Website: www.pennstatehillel.org

Executive Director: Aaron Kaufman; Chairman: Jill Epstein, Vice President, Wealth Management, Wealth Advisor, UBS; Vice Chairman: Dr. Rick Jacobs, Professor of Psychology, Penn State; Secretary: Cindy Ruben; Treasurer/Finance Chair: James Ultman, Professor Emeritus of Engineering, Penn State.

••• PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE Connecting Jewish Pittsburgh

5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217-2005 Phone: 412-687-1000; Fax: 412-521-0154 Website: pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Evan Indianer, Chairman; Andrew Schaer, Vice Chairman; Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary; Jonathan Bernstein, Treasurer; David Ainsman, Immediate Past Chairman; Gail Childs, Elizabeth F. Collura, Milton Eisner, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Tracy Gross, Richard J. Kitay, Catia Kossovsky, Andi Perelman, Amy Platt, David Rush, Charles Saul, Board Members; Jim Busis, CEO and Publisher; Joshua Runyan, Editor-in-Chief.

••• PLISKOVER ASSOCIATION, INC. Pliskov Landsleit org, manages Pliskover Cemetery

P.O. Box 8237 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Website: pliskover.com Email: pliskover@pliskover.com

Kimball Rubin, President; Bruce Ibe, Jared Kaufman, Pam Ludin, Frank H Rubin and Jared Rubin, Vice Presidents; Cheryl Kaufman, Treasurer; Honey Forman, Recording Secretary; Andrew Pearl, Financial Secretary; Marilyn Brody, Cookie Danovitz, Joel Dresbold, Bud Roth, Carole Barr Rubenstein, Fallon Rubin, Paula Rubin, Gloria Shapiro and Steven Speck, Board Members.

••• CONGREGATION POALE ZEDECK 6318 Phillips Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-9786 Website: pzonline.org Email: info@pzonline.org

Rabbi Daniel Yolkut, Spiritual Leader; Dr. Louis Felder, Pres.; Joe Ungar, 1st V.P.; Richard Levine, 2nd V.P.; Ben Pollack, 3rd V.P.; Rabbi Ari Goldberg, Fin. Officer; Shifra Poznanski, Rec. Secy.; Todd Stufflebeam, Exec. Dir.; Shifra Poznanski, Stacie Stufflebeam & Naama Lazar,

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Sisterhood Presidents; Shmuel Isenberg, Men’s Club Pres.

••• RAUH JEWISH HISTORY PROGRAM & ARCHIVES SENATOR JOHN HEINZ HISTORY CENTER Preserving the History of Western Pennsylvania’s Jews

1212 Smallman St. Phone: 412-454-6406 Websites: heinzhistorycenter.org/collections/ rauh-jewish-history-program-and-archives; jewishfamilieshistory.org; jewishhistoryhhc.org

Email: RJArchives@heinzhistorycenter.org, Eric Lidji, Director, eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org, H. Arnold Gefsky, Chair ••• RIVERVIEW TOWERS APARTMENTS Live Life Your Way

52 Garetta St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-521-7876; Fax: 412-325-7041 Website: riverviewtowers.com

Bob Bernstein, President; Charles Broff, Carol Cozen, Alan Dunn, Max Dizard, Maureen Kelly Busis, Robin Elson, Ray Engel, Dave Lassman, Mitchell Letwin, Sarita Mallinger, Earl Parker, Barry Roth, Alec Stone, Amy Weiss, Macy Kisilinsky, Corey O’Connor, Hanna Steiner, Executive Director.

••• RODEF SHALOM CONGREGATION An Inclusive Reform Jewish Community

4905 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-621-6566; Fax: 412-687-1977 Website: rodefshalom.org Email: info@rodefshalom.org

Aaron B. Bisno, Rabbi; Sharyn H. Henry Rabbi; Dr. Walter Jacob, Rabbi Emeritus & Senior Scholar; Barry D .Weisband, Exec. Dir.; Harlan Stone, Pres.; Karen Brean, Sr. V.P.; Margot Cavalier, Laura Swiss, V.P.s; Bob Rosenthal, Secy.; Joel Katz, Treas.; Peter Rosenfeld, Asst.

Treas.; Dir.; Mimsie Leyton, Family Center Dir.; Liron Lipinsky, Dir. of J-JEP. ••• RODEF SHALOM BROTHERHOOD

Stephen Fisher, Pres.; Peter Rosenfeld, Edward Mandell, David Serbin,, V.P.s; Richard Meritzer, Brotherhood Treas.; Al Rosenfeld, Brotherhood Rec. Secy.

••• RODEF SHALOM SISTERHOOD

Jan Shaw, Pres.; Amy Leaman, Sandie Brand, Mary Ellen Elias, Elaine Rybski, V.P.s; Marjorie Goldfarb, Rec. Secy.; Terry Starrett, Assist. Rec. Secy.; Phyllis Feinert, Corr. Secy.; Helen Orringer, Assist. Corr. Secy.; Gail Lefkowitz, Treas.; Nancy Rosenthal, Assist.

Treas.; Marla Perlman, Ruth Rubenstein, Karen Hochberg, Marilyn Caplan, Directors; Marion Damick, Parliamentarian.

••• SHAARE TORAH CONGREGATION At the gateway to the community — come visit or join our family.

2319 Murray Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-8855; Fax: 412-521-9938 Rabbi: 412-377-1769 Website: ShaareTorah.net Email: Office@ShaareTorah.net Email Sisterhood: dorseyhannahb@aol.com

Daniel E. Wasserman, Rabbi; Eliezer M. Shusterman, Assoc. Rabbi; Jonathan Young, Pres.; V.P. Adam Rothschild; Secy. Linda Tashbook; Brian Cynamon, Gabbai; Treasurer, Avram Avishai; Sisterhood Pres., Hannah B. Dorsey.

Please see Organizations, page 22

MARCH 30, 2018 21

Organization Directory Organizations Continued from page 21

•••

TEMPLE B’NAI ISRAEL A Friendly Progressive Congregation with Traditional Values

2025 Cypress Drive White Oak, PA 15131 Phone: 412-678-6181; Fax: 412-896-6513 Website: tbiwhiteoak.org Email: tbioffice@gmail.com

Rabbi, Paul Tuchman; President, Lou Anstandig; Vice President, Janice Greenwald; Treasurer, Steve Klein; Secretary, Lindi Kendal; Office Manager, Lisa Schonberger ••• TEMPLE DAVID CONGREGATION Making our house of prayer, learning and gathering into your second home.

TEMPLE SINAI 5505 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-9715; Fax: 412-421-8430 Website: templesinaipgh.org Email: office@templesinaipgh.org

4415 Northern Pike Monroeville, PA 15146 Phone: 412-372-1200; Fax: 412-372-0485 Weiger Religious School 412-372-1206 Website: templedavid.org Email: tdoffice@templedavid.org

Barbara AB Symons, Rabbi; Jason Z. Edelstein, Rabbi Emeritus; Beverly Reinhardt, Office Mgr.; Rabbi Barbara Symons, Dir. of Education; Barbara Fisher, School Admin.

Assist.; Kay Liss, Pres.; Reena Goldberg, Exec. V.P.; Harvey Wolfe, Fin. V.P.; Rachael Farber, Religious School V.P.; Ann Cohen, Worship & Ritual VP.; Robert Bell, Past Pres.; Brett Pechersky, Comptroller; Richard Myerowitz, Rec. Secy.; Alisa Chotiner, Treas.; Mary Bendorf, Fin. Liaison.

••• TEMPLE EMANUEL OF SOUTH HILLS Emanu-El- “God is with Us” … in our community … in our families ... in our words and deed, hearts and souls.

1250 Bower Hill Road Pittsburgh, PA 15243-1380 Phone: 412-279-7600 Website: templeemanuelpgh.org Facebook: facebook.com/ templeemanuelpittsburgh Twitter: @TEPGH

James A. Gibson, Sr. Rabbi; Rabbi Keren Gorban, Associate Rabbi; Cantor Laura Berman, Cantor; Drew Barkley, Executive Dir.; Marilee Glick, Ed. Dir.; Philip Lehman, President; Saul Straussman, 1st Vice President; Alison Yazer, 2nd Vice President; Jerry Katz, 3rd Vice President; Arthur Goldberg, Treasurer; Marc Darling, Assistant Treasurer; Katie Whitlatch, Secretary; George Arnold, Financial Secretary; Immediate Past President: Nancy Gale.

••• TIPHERETH ISRAEL CEMETERY Oakwood Street Shaler Township, PA 15209 Send correspondence to: 2233 Ramsey Road Monroeville, PA 15146 Phone: 412-824-7460 Email: adamwgusky@yahoo.com

President, Harvey Wolsh; Vice President, Adam Gusky; Secretary & Treasurer, Judy Gusky.

•••

Mark Joel Mahler, Senior Rabbi; Jessica Locketz, Rabbi and Director of Education; Leslie Hoffman, Executive Director; Iris Harlan, Early Childhood Development Center Director; David Weisberg, President; Michelle Markowitz, David Rullo, Renee Tatro, Jeff Young, Vice Presidents; Keith Abrams, Financial Secretary; Mary Cothran, Secretary; Lee Golomb and Jason A. Green, Co-Treasurer ••• TEMPLE OHAV SHALOM A vibrant, inclusive Reform community in the North Hills

8400 Thompson Run Road Allison Park, PA 15101 Phone: 412-369-0900; Fax: 412-369-0699 Website: templeohavshalom.org Email: jleicht@templeohavshalom.org

Jeremy R. Weisblatt, Rabbi; Bonnie Valinsky, Preschool Dir.; Jackie Leicht, Temple Admin.; Andrea Schwalberg, Music Director & Youth Coordinator and Religious School Director; Ellen Sapinkopf, Pres.; Mike Daninhirsch, EVP Administration; Andi Turkheimer, EVP Member Services; Andy Bashe, Treas; Bob Gibbs, Immediate Past President; Arnie Begler, VP Membership, Danielle West, V.P. Preschool; Jennifer Rothenberg, VP Social Action, Rebecca Mason, Corresponding Sec’y; Michelle Leavitt, VP Spiritual Enrichment; Lenette Sostmann, VP Youth; Ian Halper, Rec. Secy.; Jeffrey Hollinger, Member at Large; Brian Kline, Member at Large; Andrea Conlon, Women of Ohav Shalom; Martin Greenberg, Men’s Club Pres.

•••

TREE OF LIFE*OR L’SIMCHA CONGREGATION 5898 Wilkins Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217-1299 Phone: 412-521-6788; Fax: 412-521-7846 Website: tolols.org Email: tololspgh@gmail.com

Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey S. Myers, Alvin K. Berkun, Rabbi Emeritus; Joel Don Goldstein, FSA, Exec. Dir.; Karen Morris, Principal; Alex Speck, Dir. of Youth and Adult Services; Michael Eisenberg, Pres.; Ben Simon, Daniel Weiner, Sam Schachner, V.P.’s; David Lilien, Treas.; Irwin Harris, Secy.; Robin Friedman, Carol Sikov Gross, Members at Large; Paula Garret, Immed. Past President.

TREE OF LIFE*OR L’SIMCHA MEN’S CLUB

Bob Fierstein, Co-President; David Lilien, Co-President/Treasurer; Michael Eisenberg, Harold Lessure, V.P.’s; David Dinkin, Ritual Committee Chair; Irwin Harris, Immediate Past President.

••• TREE OF LIFE*OR L’SIMCHA SISTERHOOD

Kara Spodek, Co-President, Stacey Hausman, Co-President; Treasurer, Mary Dawn Edwards; Marlene Haus, Audrey Glickman, Rose Gerson, Committee.

••• TRI-STATE REGION FEDERATION OF JEWISH MEN’S CLUBS

Irwin Harris, President; Alex Kiderman, Executive Vice President; Robert Fierstein, David Lilien, Jeremy Broverman, Warren Sufrin, Vice Presidents; Mark Frisch, Secretary; Harold Lessure, Treasurer; Michael Rosenberg, Immediate Past President. Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, Spiritual Advisor.

••• WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AUXILIARY FOR EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE To help make a better life for those less fortunate.

Phone: 412-421-4690

Rabbi, Eli Seidman; Treas., Marian Hershman; Activity Director, Ruth Fargotstien.

••• YESHIVA SCHOOLS 70 Years of Changing the World for Good

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, Dean; Howard Balsam, Chair of the Board; Shlomo Jacobs, President; Charles Saul, V.P.; Chaya Engle, Donna Katz, Chaim Oster, Yonason Sanford, Board Members; Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, Educational Director & Boys School Principal; Mrs. Blumi Rosenfeld, Assist. to the Dean; Rabbi Chezky Rosenfeld, Dir. of Development; Rabbi Moshe Levertov, Business Administrator; Rabbi Ephraim Rosenblum, Principal Emeritus; Mrs. Mindy Small, Boys General Studies Dir.; Mrs. Batsheva Deren, Girls School Principal; Mrs. Nami Friedman, Girls Assist. Principal; Mrs. Leah Shollar, Girls School General Studies Dir.; Mrs. Chaya Sara Barrocas, The Early Learning Center Director.

•••

5831 Bartlett Street Pittsburgh PA 15217 Shimon Silver, Rabbi Phone: 412-421-0508

•••

YOUNG JUDAEA WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA REGION Young Judaea is a Jewish Zionist Youth Movement operating year-round youth activities, volunteering and leadership development, summer camps for children and teens; programs to Israel for teens during the summer, Israel Gap year following high school and college programs.

Contact: Sharon Schoenfeld, Director of Year-Round Programs Phone: 646-292-2388 Website: youngjudaea.org Email: pghyj@youngjudaea.org, info@youngjudaea.org

Youth Advisor: Chaim Steinberg; Committee: Sharon Ackerman, Barbara Baumann, Karen Morris.

••• YOUNG PEOPLES SYNAGOGUE 6404 Forbes Ave. P.O. Box 8141 Pittsburgh, PA 15217-8141 Phone: 412-421-3213 Website: yps-pgh.org Email: Rebecca.spiegel1@verizon.net

Rebecca Spiegel, President; Ted Stern, Treasurer; Vice President (3-month rotation): Marc Pomerantz; Steven Santman; Marshall Hershberg; Rabbi Richard Marcovitz; Secretary, Heather Harr; Gabbaim, Sam Gottesman and Allen Spiegel; Allan Zeman, Chairman of the Board.

••• ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA: PITTSBURGH ZIONISM — The right of the Jewish people to live in their Jewish homeland in peace.

2100 Wightman St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-422-7300; Fax: 412-422-5930 Website: yeshivaschools.com Email: mail@yeshivaschools.com

YOUNG ISRAEL of PITTSBURGH/ CONGREGATION SHAARE ZEDECK Orthodox

Email: halochoscope@hotmail.com Rocky Wice, President 412-260-9694, Email: rocky770@gmail.com

ZOA Pittsburgh 6507 Wilkins Ave., Suite 102 Pittsburgh, PA 15217-1367 Phone: 412-665-4630 Email: stuart.pavilack@zoa.org

Stuart V. Pavilack, Executive Director; Jeffrey L. Pollock, Esq., President; Stephen A. Neustein, Esq., First Vice-President; Lawrence N. Paper, Esq., Vice President; Andrea Chester, Vice President; Jason Small, Treasurer; Julie Paris, Asst. Treasurer; Judy Kobell, Recording Secretary; Lyn Silverman, Corresponding Secretary; Ira M. Frank, Immediate Past President. Board members: Jeanne Bair, Dr. Marshall Balk, Hirsh Dlinn, Julian Elbling, Alexandra Greenberg, Rhonda Horvitz, Linda Hurwitz, Gerald Kobell, Esq., Debra Levy, Chaya Pollack, Linda Safyan, Charles Saul, Esq. Seth Schanwald, Dee Selekman, Joe Titelbaum, Sibyl Treblow, Cheryl Weisberg, Helene Wishnev. >>>Send new listings and corrections to orgsdirectory@pittsburghjewishchronicle. org. PJC

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In your mailbox or all the time online at pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 5915 Beacon Street, 5th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 22 MARCH 30, 2018

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Headlines Baseball: Continued from page 4

While tournaments, leagues and myriad avenues of support are among the benefits of R.B.I., so too is its use of the Pirates Community Baseball Center. Housed at the Shadyside Boys & Girls Club, the space — which was converted from a “dilapidated indoor swimming pool” in 2007 — boasts batting cages, automatic pitching machines, multimedia training rooms and storage facilities.

For Jacobson, promoting the game is a mission that recalls his own childhood.

Murtazashvili: Continued from page 5

hop on a bus and monitor the projects that USAID was implementing in Uzbekistan.

Those were amazing days. Before 9/11 there was a lot of freedom; we could do a lot, so I traveled everywhere in the country.

“The interesting thing for me was getting to speak to people and understand their needs,” she added.

Murtazashvili realized that in continuing on she needed greater comprehension of events and cultures, so in the fall of 2001 she applied for graduate school in the United States. But then 9/11 happened. Still in Uzbekistan, Murtazashvili’s workload dramatically increased.

Between providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan before the military campaign commenced, establishing a base in Uzbekistan and dealing with members of Congress, Murtazashvili was swamped.

She met cabinet official Colin Powell and Sens. Joe Lieberman and John McCain. At one point, she even served as a translator for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Nonetheless, in 2002, Murtazashvili returned to the States to complete a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin. She planned to write a dissertation on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and after traveling to Afghanistan in 2005, believed that a suitable topic might be comparing community governance in the three countries.

Murtazashvili had collected about $40,000 in grants, but a political uprising that year redirected her pursuits. Uzbekistan’s government had become fearful of revolutions and “shut down all U.S. agencies with anything having to do with democracy and governance.” Given her work with USAID, obtaining a visa became virtually “impossible,” and with an inability to perform field work in Uzbekistan, Murtazashvili returned all of her research money.

At the time, a friend had encouraged her to explore Afghanistan. Murtazashvili went and found a similarly intriguing opportunity. With new money collected, she hired six rural Afghans, spent a year alongside them and traveled to 30 villages across six provinces without security accompaniment.

“We would drive around in two minivans and just talk to people,” she said.

Researching how individuals govern themselves when their government is

“We had a very strong inner city league growing up in Stanton Heights,” he explained.

“We played teams in Lawrenceville, 9th Ward, 10th Ward; the Hill District had a great team, Homewood had a strong team, Hazelwood, Carrick.” Restoring a higher quality inner city game is “kind of what I want to bring it back to.

“I’ve built some meaningful relationships,” he added. “I’ve learned what it means to be a good teammate, what it means to be a good sportsman, throughout the game of baseball.

Those are the lessons, not just how to play the sport.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

“unwilling or unable to do so” was not only “a lot of fun,” but became her dissertation and subsequent book. Published in 2016

by Cambridge University Press, “Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan” explored how “during decades of conflict people learned to cope without the state,” she said.

“The most interesting part for me in doing this research was to see how custom evolved.

We talk about this in Judaism too,” she said.

“This customary system of governance [in Afghanistan] was not static; it had really changed during the war and people’s expectations of it had changed. In fact I found women who were leading their villages, and these were not feudal lords — there was a lot of participation in these villages.

“In communities where people emigrated and came back, they resurrected their traditional systems very quickly,” she added, “so it really speaks to people’s ability to solve problems and get things done. People are not as helpless as we imagine them to be.”

Since those days, Murtazashvili, who is now an associate professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, has continued to explore Afghanistan.

“One of the things that I have written about since is that the government of Afghanistan has not done a really good job of working with these individuals. Nor have the donors, the westerners, who have tried to replace them or just ignore them,” she said. “I just thought it was a real lost opportunity when we think about state building in Afghanistan.”

Murtazashvili, who serves on the board of directors at Congregation Beth Shalom, said that her time overseas also introduced her to Bukharian Jews, what she called “a generic term for Persian speaking Jews of Central Asia,” and the “different foods that they had.”

When it came time for Passover, “I knew the bakeries to go to to find matzah. It wasn’t in a box, it was all handmade.” Even so, given the Jewish community’s “very small” size, seders were often spent in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital and largest city, with American friends.

Reflecting on her journey, she said: “I studied community, so it’s really fun for me to be back here and be part of my own community, and see all the changes and see how things evolve.” PJC

Copyright Daniel Cascardo www.danielcascardo.com

Thursday, April 19 • 4 – 8pm Squirrel Hill JCC 5738 Forbes Ave Learn more at jfedpgh.org/yom-haatzmaut For questions or to make requests for special accommodations, contact ebernstein@jfedpgh.org or 412.992.5247

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

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MARCH 30, 2018 23

Headlines Lawmaker: Continued from page 8

(I-At Large), both of whom are Jewish, said that they believe that White was unaware that a Rothschild conspiracy is an anti-Semitic dog whistle, and that he is remorseful and taking steps to rectify his mistake.

By last week, all council members had disavowed his comments.

“Our reaction, on first seeing [White’s remarks], was surprise and disappointment,” said Rebecca Ennen, JUFJ deputy director.

“It didn’t sound like the Trayon we knew.”

Ennen said White contacted the organization to try to understand why what he had said was hurtful. JUFJ has been connecting him to Jewish community leaders since then, she said.

White met with Rabbi Batya Glazer, director of D.C. government and commu-

nity relations for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, according to the agency’s associate director, Guila Franklin Siegel.

Siegel called the meeting “very productive and open” and said the JCRC is hoping to use it as an impetus for more education and more dialogue, especially with the predominantly black community White represents.

The JCRC was facilitating a meeting of Jewish leaders and the D.C. Council on March 27, which Siegel called the start of an ongoing education process.

“I don’t think he understood what a reference to the Rothschilds means and how it was a reference used in Nazi Germany,” Silverman said in an interview.

Silverman said she expressed her concerns to White, not only about the Rothschilds reference, but the idea of people controlling the weather.

The idea of someone controlling the

weather has been around at least since the 1950s, and conspiracy theories about Jews a lot longer, said Joseph Uscinski, associate professor of political science at University of Miami, who studies conspiracy theories.

“Even in our very comfortable world we’ve built for ourselves, the weather still matters,” he said.

While some conspiracy theories get a lot of buy-in — the John F. Kennedy assassination, for example — “in terms of finding people specifically worried about the Rothschilds, [that’s] not that common,” Uscinski said.

Everyone can be susceptible to conspiracy theories, but which one someone believes is largely determined by his or her group attachments, he added.

Catholics, for example, would be far less likely than others to believe in a “DaVinci Code”-like conspiracy that Jesus married and had children with a former prostitute.

“These attachments matter and they form

Berlin: Continued from page 13

200,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union, big cities and small towns have taken on projects to build new Jewish houses of worship or rededicate old ones that had been used as storehouses or even barns over the years.

The projects were often intended as proud symbols of a new Germany. But aside from some in larger cities, like Munich and Dresden, few became hubs for growing, active Jewish communities. More often they were used as museums and interfaith meeting centers.

Before World War II, Berlin had some 175,000 Jews and numerous synagogues.

The original Fraenkelufer Synagogue could house up to 2,000 worshippers. A few years after it was destroyed in the 1938 pogrom, the architect Beer was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he was murdered in 1944.

Today, the traditional congregation is small but growing thanks to an energetic group of younger Jews, including native Germans along with those born in Israel, the United States and elsewhere. One of more than a dozen active congregations in Berlin, its members meet in Beer’s small former youth synagogue, which has a balcony for

p An interior view of the surviving adjunct building of the former Fraenkelufer Synagogue in Berlin.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

holiday overflow. Men and women sit separately, though without a mechitza, or divider.

There are regular Friday night meals and visiting Jewish educators.

The new building would not be used for prayer services but rather for classrooms and other gatherings, including interfaith events.

It is among several projects in Berlin meant to bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians against the backdrop of increased xenophobia and populism. Conservative Rabbi Gesa Ederberg is joining with colleagues to start a

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multi-faith kindergarten. And the “House of One” — a concept stuck in the planning stage — would be a place of shared worship.

Best estimates there are some 30,000 Jews in Berlin, a city with a population of about 3.5 million. Fewer than 10,000 Jews belong to the official community.

Recent statistics show an increase in anti-Semitic crimes in Berlin, with 288 reported incidents last year compared to 197 in 2016.

Though there is no silver bullet for

Hannah Monicken writes for the Washington Jewish Week, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

combating anti-Semitism, interfaith meetings are an important plus, said Jonathan Marcus, a gabbai, or sexton, at the Fraenkelufer congregation and one of several volunteers who explain Jewish traditions to visitors.

He recalled a group of visiting Arab teenagers who — surprised by the similarities between the two faiths — asked, “Why are we always fighting with each other?’”

“I said, ‘Probably because we normally look only at our differences, and not at what we have in common.’”

Marcus, who became a bar mitzvah here, also had the chance to welcome Saleh one Friday night and explain Jewish tradition to him.

On Thursday, Saleh told reporters that he had “fallen a little bit in love with this community.”

When fellow Muslims question his commitment to his own community, he tells them that he “would not be a good Muslim if I did not take a stand; a Christian would not be a good Christian if he would stand by while refugee homes burn; and a Jew would not be a good Jew if he stands by when someone tears the headscarf off a woman.”

“I am convinced,” Saleh added, “that one can only combat hate and prejudice with an open door, and this will be a place of open doors.” PJC

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a large part of our worldview,” Uscinski said.

“It tells you who the bad guy is and what he’ll do to you.”

And belonging to one minority or discriminated against group does not preclude someone from being discriminatory toward another group. Uscinski pointed to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a long history of anti-Semitic comments.

Last month, the ADL reported a more than doubling of anti-Semitic incidents in Washington since 2015. The report also found a 60 percent increase across the country from 2016 to 2017.

ADL Regional Director Doron F. Ezickson in a statement welcomed White’s apology and said he is “glad to hear [White] is learning about the meaning behind his words.” PJC

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Headlines Netherlands: Continued from page 10

on her research for the Jewish Historical Museum of Amsterdam.

“I think it may be connected to how matzah is perceived as healthy,” Freud said.

Heijs concurs.

“Many of our clients want matzah because it’s such a pure product,” he said. “No additives, no preservatives, highly nutritious.

What more can you ask of a health food?”

In an overture to the health-food crowd, one of the first moves by Heijs and his business partner, Udo Karsemeijer, who also is not Jewish, after they bought Hollandia in 2004 was to add an organic matzah product to the lineup. It includes matzahs in two sizes, a whole wheat variety and one with spice herbs.

Hollandia now exports products to Scandinavia, Germany and even France, where several matzah bakeries compete for a market with 500,000 Jews.

Heijs and Karsemeijer bought the Hollandia factory from a Jewish family named Woudstra. The founding family built the factory in Enschede because it had a large Jewish community, and because of the arrival to the eastern Netherlands of thousands of Jews who fled the Nazis in nearby Germany.

When the Nazis invaded in 1940, the Woudstras went into hiding and the Nazis closed down Hollandia.

Before the invasion, the Netherlands had

several matzah bakeries, according to the Dutch Bakers’ Museum. Among the best known and oldest was the De Haan bakery in the picturesque fishing village of Marken, north of Amsterdam. It operated only ahead of Passover, and after the baking of the last matzah each year, De Haan employees would march to music through the village dressed in white sheets and ceremoniously extinguish the ovens.

One of the production line machines inside Hollandia, a state-of-the-art factory with 18 employees who work year-round inside a three-story building, dates back to 1924. Inside the room where it now operates, the local Jewish community briefly ran a Jewish school for the children who were expelled from the general education system under the Nazis.

The factory reopened after World War II, during which the Germans killed 75 percent of the prewar Dutch Jewish population of 100,000. The community never replenished its numbers.

By then, however, matzahs had developed a non-Jewish following.

The eye-catching and instantly recognizable packaging of Hollandia matzah boxes — an orange-colored octagonal cardboard box with a nifty camera-aperture opening — was a marketing coup cooked up by the Woudstras, Heijs said.

The matzah became even better known to the Dutch immediately after the war because the Hollandia factory received generous subsidies under the Marshall Plan

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for financial aid to rebuild war-torn Europe, according to Heijs.

He said the funding was meant also as a gesture acknowledging Jewish suffering during the Holocaust.

“But it was also a practical decision: Matzah requires no eggs, no salt, no sugar — all commodities that were in very short supply immediately after the war,” Heijs said. Whatever the reason, he added, the reality was that Hollandia was “one of the first bakeries that were restored” after the war, thus entrenching its status as a household brand.

Heijs, 55, remembers enjoying Hollandia matzah as a boy ahead of and also directly after Easter.

“I understand that matzah is not considered a delicacy exactly among Jews, who substitute bread for matzah for [eight days] each year,” he said. “But for us, who had it in addition to everything else, it was a treat that went very well with chocolate and butter.”

Karina Ahles-Frijters, who lives in Hilversum, near Amsterdam, wrote in 2016 on her parenting blog Trotsemoeders that her three children like to experiment with matzah toppings (her eldest prefers whole wheat matzah with butter and sugar-coated anise seeds, she wrote). One day a year, the Hollandia factory is open to anyone interested in making their own matzahs.

But not everyone is a fan of the matzah.

“Frankly I couldn’t tell you why so many Dutchmen like matzah — I don’t think it’s tasty at all,” said Roger van Oordt, the

p A shopper browses for matzah at the Amsterdam Noord branch of the Jumbo supermarket chain in March.

Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz

director of the Netherlands-based Christians for Israel group, which organizes matzahbaking activities in solidarity with Israel and the Jews. “If I have to think about eating nothing but matzah for two weeks, it makes being Christian look easy.”

Although he is not Jewish, Heijs regards matzah as much more than a commodity.

“After 14 years of making matzahs, of course I developed friendships and bonds with many Jewish people,” said Heijs, who on Passover eve this year will attend his first seder dinner with his wife at the invitation of a Dutch Jewish community in northern Holland. “But matzah is part of the Dutch story regardless.” PJC

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Torah The holy language Rabbi Daniel Wasserman Parshat Passover Exodus 12:21-12:51 Numbers 28:19-28:25

T

he exceptionalism of the Jewish people is undeniable historical fact.

The unique history and destiny of the Jewish people — that we are the “Chosen People” — is a major theme in the Torah and in Jewish life. That reality is not intended to be a source of hubris; it creates a responsibility. It indicates a special relationship with God and, therefore, is not a matter of privilege, but a special mission we must accomplish and a higher standard to which we must strive. And we will be taken to task if we fall short of that standard.

Pesach — and all the holidays, which are an extension of the Pesach experience — is the model of that responsibility, if not its very epicenter. This concept is reflected in special language of the holiday prayers. We open every holiday prayer with the words: “You have chosen us from all the other nations, You loved us and desired [a relationship with] us, and You have elevated [our language] from all the languages and sanctified us with your commandments.”

The relationship is unique, loving, sanctified and demanding of a responsibility to a holy standard of living.

As indicated by the passage above, part of that standard is the way we speak. Certainly it is forbidden to slander anyone, bear tales, lie, verbally cheat and swindle, or to take God’s name in vain. These are all clearly stated in the Torah. But that is the minimum.

The standard of having a language that is elevated from all others is a much broader responsibility and value. It demands that we use our words to elevate ourselves and others. It demands that we use our words to help, to inspire, to encourage and to protect

others. Not to hurt or demean or discourage others. Even though there are times we must use our words to point out the mistakes of others, or even to rebuke them, it must be in a constructive way and a positive way.

The standard of a language “elevated from all others” means that we should not engage in gutter language, obscenities or what some might refer to as simply “locker room” talk. It also means that we don’t simply talk without thinking. We have to measure not only the words we say, but also how and why we say them. Ours is lashon hakodesh, the holy language.

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As we celebrate Pesach, let us embrace and be proud of our unique and noble history and destiny, and the miraculous totality of the Jewish experience. Let us rise to the challenge of the exceptionalism of the Jewish people and our special relationship with God by accepting the responsibility it places upon us with respect to how we think, how we view the world, how we act and how we speak. PJC Rabbi Daniel Wasserman is the spirtiual leader of Shaare Torah Congregation and the president of the Gesher HaChaim Jewish Burial Society. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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27

Obituaries

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ALPERN: Steven Thor Alpern, 61, of Sonora, Calif., died at his home Friday, March 16, 2018 of pancreatic cancer. Son of the late Edwin A. and Florine Alpern of Pittsburgh, Steve was a 1974 graduate of Gateway Senior High School in Monroeville and a 1978 summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After beginning his graduate studies at the University of California Berkeley, Steve found his life’s calling when he sought out acupuncture treatment after an accident. Steve became a noted herbalist and acupuncture practitioner as well as a lecturer around the U.S. At the time of his death he was writing a textbook on the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. Steve is survived by his brother Bruce (Deborah) of Crested Butte, Colo., a nephew Zachary (Pria) of New York, N.Y., two grandnephews and any number of friends, students and patients. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Chaplain’s Fund, Adventist Health Sonora, 1000 Greenley Road, Sonora, CA 95370.

BONINGER: Walter Bernard Boninger died on March 25, 2018. Walter was born in Hamburg, Germany on June 21, 1928. He was raised as an only child of two loving parents in an Orthodox Jewish home. In the blink of an eye, literally, disaster struck as World War II reared its horrific head ‌ and he and his parents were fleeing Europe on a ship hit by a German mine ‌ and instantaneously Walter was an orphan at the age of 11. He was brought to the States and raised in New York by Herta and Julius Feher (relatives without children of their own) and Herta became a remarkable person in Walter’s life! He spent summers on the Pattington’s farm in upstate New York, went off on a western swing going to school at UCLA, then back eastward to Cleveland for a degree in social work, followed by many years working for the Cleveland Society for the Blind, and serving as cantor for Mayfield Hillcrest Synagogue. And it was in Cleveland that he met his first wife, Janine Carter, and together they had three boys: Ron, Mike and David. Walter was divorced in 1977 and then he had a short marriage to Nancy and then married Lonnie, his wife and life partner for

many years. Walter and Lonnie had a good life together, including years in Butler, Pa., with Walter serving as the spiritual leader of Butler’s one and only Jewish congregation.

Later they moved to Pittsburgh and had many years together in Pittsburgh building and enjoying their Temple Sinai community. And their other favorite place to visit in Pittsburgh, you ask? The Zoo! They just loved the Zoo, especially the elephants. Walter is survived by his children, Ron (Patty), Mike (Judy), David (Faith) and his grandchildren, Joe, Eli, Nathan, Jason (Jessica), Alisa and Talia. Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at Temple Sinai at 10 a.m. Interment held privately. Memorial donations may be made to Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or UPMC Senior Communities Benevolent Care Fund, 200 Lothrop St., Forbes Tower, Ste. 10072, Pittsburgh 15213.

GOLDBERG: Alice S. Goldberg, peacefully on Friday, March 23, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Dr. Harry L. Goldberg.

Beloved mother of Richard (Emily Landerman) Goldberg and the late Leslie Ann Goldberg. Sister of Elaine (late William) Bolanis and Ted (Frances) Stevenson. Nana to Harrison Goldberg and Reid Goldberg.

Also survived by nieces and nephews.

Alice was an administrative assistant to Congressman Lloyd Bentsen in the early 1940s. She was stationed in Athens, Greece, working for the CIA in the late 1940s. She became a teacher in her later years. Alice was active and committed to numerous organizations on behalf of the developmentally disabled and received an appointment by Gov. Dick Thornburgh to a special council. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Verland Foundation, 212 Iris Road, Sewickley, PA 15143-2402.

Please see Obituaries, page 29

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 28

GROSS: Sol N. Gross, on Friday March 23, 2018. Beloved husband of Vivien Shapera Gross. Brother-in-law of Wilbert Darling.

Uncle of Lynn Gattlieb, Hope Koncal and Shelly Roth. Services and interment were private. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. HARLOW: Ellen Friedman Harlow, on Monday, March 19, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Murray David Harlow. Cherished mother of Randi Harlow and Glenn Harlow; sister of S. Hicks Friedman. Beloved and adored grandmother of Max Harlow and Kristofer Harlow Padawer; also survived by her treasured companion, Dr. Frank Colaizzi. Daughter of the late Eva Shulgold Friedman and O. Hicks Friedman, Esq. Ellen was a vibrant, energetic, and accomplished nationally honored and published poetess.

Ellen was an animal lover and an enthusiastic supporter of the Animal Rescue League for many years. Although she worked as a schoolteacher in the Pittsburgh Pubic School system for a decade, Ellen’s philanthropic work filled most of her time in addition to raising her beloved children. She worked as a volunteer fundraiser for numerous charitable organizations and particularly enjoyed her tenure as a USO volunteer entertaining and assisting World War II veterans upon their return home from war. She was active in many theatrical productions in Pittsburgh at Rodef Shalom Congregation among other venues. A dynamic and beautiful woman both inside and out, Ellen will be missed and remembered lovingly by her family and friends. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment private. Contributions in Ellen’s memory may be made to the Humane Animal Rescue, 6926 Hamilton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.

KAMIN: Mar vin Kamin, on Tuesday March 20, 2018, dearly beloved and devoted husband of 59 years of Hannah Honig Kamin of Pittsburgh and Palm Beach. Beloved father of Amy Kamin of New York City and Margie Feitler (Richard) of Chicago. Beloved grandfather of Sydney Kamin Sadick, Mitchell Kamin Sozio, Abigail, Nicole, Alexander and Kyle Feitler. Predeceased by his parents Sarah Gold Kamin and Samuel Kamin and adored mother-in-law Helen Honig. Marvin was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering. He spent 49 years of his very successful career in real estate development as vice chairman of National Development Corporation based in Pittsburgh with offices in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Florida. In the Pittsburgh market he spearheaded great properties like Webster Hall, The Fairfax, Midtown Towers, the May Building, Iroquois Building, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn and many others.

Interesting projects like the Buhl Science Center and the underground parking lot at Soldiers and Sailors were just as enjoyable

to him as the commercial office buildings.

Unforgettable was when the University of Pittsburgh purchased the Syria Mosque and National had to tear it down and everyone was looking for the missing Sphinx. In June 2017 the NDC Management company division of National Development Corporation was acquired by Beacon Communities of Boston. Marvin was a dedicated member of the Pittsburgh and Palm Beach communities. He was a past president of the Concordia Club. A former member of Green Oaks and Westmoreland County Clubs and an original member of the MaraLago Club in Palm Beach. He was on the boards and very generous supporter of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged, Riverview Towers, Winchester Thurston School, Chatham University, Rodef Shalom Congregation, Red Cross and United Way. In honor of his beloved Hannah, he has endowed the annual Lion of Judah Luncheon in her honor for starting the Lion Division of the Federation in Pittsburgh. He was a board member for many years of the Palm Beach International Society and The Roundtable. Private services at Rodef Shalom Congregation.

Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions to New York Presbyterian Hospital’s Leukemia Fighters Fund. Att: Dr. Ellen Ritchie 1305 York Avenue 7th Floor New York, NY 10021. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. KLEIN: Alan Harvey Klein, age 67, of O’Hara Township, died peacefully on March 23, 2018, after losing a nearly two year battle with cancer.

Beloved husband of Paula Garrick Klein for 32 years; son of the late Claire H. and Seymour Klein; survived by his brother Evan (Mark Rippy) of Vero Beach, Fla., and sister-in-law of Cynthia Garrick of Yakima, Wash. Alan co-founded Action Transit Enterprises, Inc. in 1976.

He ran the family school bus contracting company as vice president of operations and later president until its sale in 2007. Alan was also president of ATE Industries, Inc. and ATE Motor Sales. Respected as an honest and fair businessman, Alan used his expertise in the school bus industry to provide advice and support for school districts as well as bus contractors. He was generous with both his time and his knowledge. Prior to and after the sale of Action Transit, Alan established himself as a reputable wholesale supplier of school vehicles. Alan was a past board member of the Pennsylvania School Bus Association and an active member of the Pennsylvania Bus Association. In addition, Alan was committed to Jewish causes. He was a past board member of Hebrew Institute and Jewish National Fund in Pittsburgh.

Services were at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment B’nai Israel Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish National Fund, 42 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021.

LANDO: Philip Zola Philip died March 24, 2018 at home in Raleigh, N.C. He was preceded in death by his son Aaron. He is

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

survived by his beloved wife Judy, daughter Melanie (Warren) Breslyn of Rockville, Md., brother Michael (Frances) Lando of Pittsburgh, and grandchildren Maddy and Spencer Breslyn and Eve Lando. Philip was a graduate of Allderdice High School and Duquesne University. He was employed as a human resource officer with the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., for 32 years before moving to Raleigh, where he worked for the State of North Carolina.

Services were held in Rockville, Md. Donations may be made to Transitions Hospice Care, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607.

LICHTENSTEIN: Helen Lichtenstein, 81, of White Oak passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday March 21, 2018. She was born January 27, 1937, in Queens, N.Y., and was the daughter of the late Benjamin and Josephine Kestenbaum. She was a member of Gemilas Chesed Congregation and its Sisterhood and Hadassah. She was vice president and CFO of her family business Lico, Inc., McKeesport. She is survived by her husband, Stanley Lichtenstein; children, Steven Lichtenstein of Orlando, Fla., Sam (Randi) Lichtenstein of Monroeville and Shari (Henry) Rondon of Pembroke Pines, Fla.; grandchildren, Stephanie (Jesse) Naber, Matt (Riley) Lichtenstein, Ashley Cuneo, and Ryan Lichtenstein; great-grandchildren, Jace and Luke; and also her grand fur babies.

Friends are welcome Friday, March 23, 2018, from 10-11 a.m. at the Gilbert Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 1638 Lincoln Way,

White Oak 412-672-6322, Troy J. Gilbert, director, where service will be held at 11 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe Russell officiating. Interment will follow in New Gemilas Chesed Cemetery, White Oak. Memorial Contributions may be made to Gemilas Chesed Congregation, 1400 Summit St. White Oak, Pa 15131. Condolences may be made at Gilbertfuneralhomeandcrematory.com.

MELNICK: Dorothy Frankel Melnick, on March 25, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Louis Frankel and Benjamin Melnick.

Loving mother of Alan (Janie) Frankel, Mark (Valerie) Frankel, Nancy Frankel-Zacchero (late Vince), Scott (Shelly) Frankel, Arlene Glick (Lee Sokolsky), Gary (Mary) Melnick, Gayle (Mark) Perrill and the late Maury Frankel. Mother-in-law of Beth Frankel.

Sister of the late Robert Kart. Also survived by 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Dorothy was a caring mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend.

She and her late husband Lou were founding members of Temple Sinai. She also was the owner for over 80 years of Triangle Candy and Tobacco Company. Graveside services and interment were held at Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Make-a-Wish, 707 Grant Street, #3700, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, greaterpawv.wish.org; or Humane Animal Rescue, 6926 Hamilton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208, humaneanimalrescue.org or a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. PJC

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

In memory of...

Anonymous .......................................................... Jennie Rush Evan Adams ................................................. Marvin G. Adams Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Adams .........................Marvin Adams Cheryl & Garry Bloch ......................... Rosella Lillian Barovsky Cheryl & Garry Bloch ...........................................Gerda Bloch Cheryl & Garry Bloch ........................................... Henry Bloch Lisa Campbell ...............................................Sidney Friedman Susan Cohen........................................Sadie Gelb Braunstein Amy Drezner.................................................. Freda Weissman Amy Drezner...............................................Norman Weissman Rae & Lou Gruenebaum ............................... Freeda Solomon Sarah Kalser ........................................................... Max Kalser Wendy Lamfrom ............................................. Mervin Feldman Nessa G. Mines...................................Samuel C. Mines, M.D. David & Lynetta Neft .....................................Jacob Schulman David & Lynetta Neft .................................Rebecca Schulman

A gift from ...

In memory of...

David & Lynetta Neft ......................................... Manuel Wilner Marian R. Pearson ........................................... Isadore Gerber Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Pollock & Family ..............Samuel Davidson Joan Privman ................................................. Regina Margolis Evelyn K. Rebb.............................................. Saul Kuperstock Flo & Caryn Rosenthal ..................................... Sara E. Dickter Flo & Caryn Rosenthal ...............................Louis S. Rosenthal Sandra Schanfarber .....................................Dr. William Reiner Sandra Schanfarber ..............................................Diann Taxay Mrs. Jeanne Schimmel .................................... Max Fischman Patricia Green Shapiro .................................Samuel B. Cohen Stuart H. Spitz ................................................ Andrew H. Spitz Ruth Tanur ............................................................ Jacob Tanur J. Wechsler.................................................Norman Weissman Claire & Morris Weinbaum ............................... Julius Lebovitz Claire & Morris Weinbaum ............. Isadore (Isaac) Weinbaum

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday April 1: J. Bernard Block, Cernie Caplan, Sol Fox, Herbert E. Hirsh, E. Abe Keizler, Samuel L. Krauss, Edith Tanzer Levendorf, Luella Mattes, Louis N. Miller, Esther Unitan, Harry Weisberger, Aaron Weiss Monday April 2: Betram I. Adler, Pearl Braun, Louis Cohen, Joseph Cooper, Samuel Davidson, Adolph Edlis, Erwin R. Glick, Bernard Gold, Saul Goldberg, Mildred Winer Grossman, Flora Klein, Jennie Peetler Kliman, Julius Lebovitz, Sophie Ida Meyers, Oscar Radin, Sadie Reznik, Ben Rothman, Jacob C. Tanur, Dora C. Weiss, Mollie Weiss, Mary Zoni Tuesday April 3: Harry Ellanovitz, Jennie Friedman, Bertha Kaiser, Philip K. Landau, Dr. Edwin Sheldon Protas, Hannah R. Rubinoff, William Taper, Norman Weinberg, Helen Jaffe Wolk Wednesday April 4: Fannie Ackerman, Harry Birnbaum, Ben Fleischer, Anne M. Flitman, Lillian H. Goldfield, Edward L. Gordon, Rachel Haltman, Sidney Lawrence, Jack Lundy, Louis Nauhaus, Fannie Pollock, Herman Aaron Rosenblum, Jacob Rubenstein, Matilda S. Strauss, Ferd N. Taub, Rose Tick, Bessie Rebecca Traub Thursday April 5: Isaac Abramovitz, Sarah Balkman, Merle N. Berger, David D. Bernstein, Helen Lorinczi Braunstein, Philip Golden, Beatrice Hollander, Harry Kornstein, Harry Melnick, Edna Gertrude Rothman Richman, Tillie Pechersky Serbin, Joseph Sherwin, Andrew H. Spitz, Saul Stein, Harry Stevenson, Pearl Wishnovitz, Albert Abraham Wolk Friday April 6: Nellie Baker, Solomon Balfer, Jennie Bergstein, Richard Brown, Joseph Cook, Sophie Glick, Philip Goldberg, Rev. Solomon Horwitz, Jennie Ruttenberg Joseph, Leona Kaminsky, Fanny Kaufman, Esther Kohn, Frank Leff, Alex G. Levison, Regina Margolis, Max Neiman, Ruth Paris, Diann Taxay, Mollie Wikes, Rachel Young Saturday April 7: Sadie Gelb Braunstein, Max Fischman, A. Morris Ginsburg, Edith Glosser, Celia Greenberg, Abraham Horowitz, Isador Klein, Samuel Klein, Abraham Jacob Kwall, Bernard David Levine, Mattie Goldie Levine, Michael Liff, Rose H. Lowy, David Myers, Max Pretter, Norman Rose, Nettie Rosenthal, Dr. Zanvel Sigal, Myer Solomon, I. Weinbaum

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Community Kids’ Mega Matzah Event with Chabad Children from across the Pittsburgh community participated in the Kids’ Mega Matzah Event, making their own matzah and then enjoying a special Egyptian magic show. The event was sponsored by Chabad of Squirrel Hill, in partnership with Community Day School, Hillel Academy, Yeshiva Schools, Camp Gan Israel Fox Chapel, Generation to Generation (G2G), the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, PJ Library and Shalom Pittsburgh.

p Judah Paris and Mira Schwartz

Making matzah at Congregation B’nai Abraham p Aviv, Noa and Neta Dobzinski

Photos courtesy of Chabad of Squirrel Hill

p Pictured holding the matzah they made are religious school students and teachers at Congregation B’nai Abraham. Rabbi Eli Wilansky, who demonstrated how to make the matzah, is pictured top right.

Photo courtesy of Congregation B’nai Abraham

Machers & Shakers Rabbi Keren Gorban of Temple Sinai was chosen as one of a cohort of 10 leaders from the Pittsburgh region to participate in an invitation-only Harvard Business School Young American Leaders Program. The program brings together representatives from “cities on the move” to share best practices to improve prosperity. For four days in June in Boston, the group will work with Harvard faculty to gain insight into where America and American cities stand today through the eyes of leaders like themselves from across the country. Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc. partnered with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and a panel of civic leaders to recommend participants for this year’s program.

Photo courtesy of Temple Sinai

p Jenny Jones, Ava Jones, Bodhi Cohen and Stephanie Cohen

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Community Hillel Campus Superstar Event Hillel Jewish University Center’s Campus Superstar, a professionally produced singing competition featuring Pittsburgh’s most talented college students, was held on Thursday, March 22, at Stage AE. Campus Superstar honorees were Gail and Norman Childs. Ten finalists competed for the “Elly Award” and the Ellen Weiss Kander Grand Prize of $5,000.

p The 10 finalists conclude their group medley produced by Jill Machen.

p Gail Childs, third from left, Campus Superstar 2018 honoree, poses with many of the friends who supported her and Norman at this year’s event.

p Myha’la Herrold, a senior at Carnegie Mellon University, won the $5,000 Ellen Weiss Kander Grand Prize and the Elly Award.

p Hillel JUC’s Campus Superstar 2018 honorees Norman and Gail Childs

p Dan Marcus, Hillel Jewish University Center executive director and CEO, with Hillel JUC student leaders from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Photos by Christina Montemurro Photography Mellon University

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AIPAC POLICY 2019 CONFERENCE March 24-26 • Washington, d.c.

$200 off

special discount

$300 off FOR AIPAC CLUB MEMBERS special DISCOUNT ENDS april 13, 2018, AT MIDNIGHT

REGISTER TODAY! www.AIPACPolicyConference.org 32 MARCH 30, 2018

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