Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 12/29

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December 29, 2017 | 11 Tevet 5778

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Pittsburgh singers step up in face of budget cut

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Candlelighting 4:44 p.m. | Havdalah 5:49 p.m. | Vol. 60, No. 52 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Mitzvah Day 2017 is a family volunteering affair

$1.50

A look at the Chronicle’s top stories of 2017

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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After Karmiel/Misgav chapter of HaZamir loses funding, local teens offer support.

Page 2 LOCAL Hillel Academy meets Speaker Turzai Children thank legislator for EITC backing.

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LOCAL B’nai Israel building to get new lease on life

Synagogue’s former home could become a new charter school.

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 Raina and Tema Kerman make Mitzvah Day a family affair by volunteering together.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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any organizations promote volunteering, but few do so with the ease and expertise as the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh in the words of Raina Kerman. That’s why the former Pittsburgher returned from Columbus, Ohio, to participate in the 17th annual Mitzvah Day. The two-day venture, which spanned Dec. 24 and 25, is something she and her parents “look forward to each year.”

Like the Kermans, more than 1,000 volunteers signed up for slots at nearly 100 sites throughout the city, said Amy Cohen, the Federation’s volunteer center manager.

At Murray Towers, a high-rise affordable community in Squirrel Hill, Talia Gasbarro and her son, Armani, joined eight other aids to prepare a brunch of eggs, toast, turkey bacon, yogurt and assorted fruit for residents. The Sunday morning activity, which was led by Becca Sufrin, communication and engagement associate for 412 Food Rescue, was an exercise in “working together.” Witnessing the collaboration and dedication of volunteers “is amazing,” said the site leader.

Although many Mitzvah Day participants are returnees from prior years, some, like the Gasbarros, are newcomers to the

project. Cohen offered a special message for first-timers: “Whatever small thing it might be that you’re doing, it makes a huge difference.”

Gasbarro, a Monroeville-based mom, agreed and added that Mitzvah Day has the ability to educate kids, like her son, about volunteering from an early age. “I wanted him to see that it’s about giving back to other people.”

Among the many benefits that Mitzvah Day affords is that it’s a “great opportunity for younger families,” echoed Meryl Ainsman, Federation chair.

During the holiday weekend, a record number of helpers assisted at stations throughout the city as well in locations including Castle Shannon, Bethel Park, McKeesport and Green Tree, said Cohen.

On Monday morning, Josh Valinsky and his mother, Jane, were seated before an array of markers, sparkly adhesives and sheets of construction paper. The mother-son duo were among those who stickered, colored and inscribed get-well cards during a lively session at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

Volunteering, and being able to do so beside his mom, was a great experience, said Please see Mitzvah, page 20

s go the people, so goes the news.

In a year filled with political strife, domestic terror attacks and a renewed reminder that victims continue to experience inequalities and hostilities in professional and personal settings, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle followed the unsettling days of 2017. In a year marked with tales of sorrow, courage and ultimately hope, this award-winning newspaper brought readers fair and balanced coverage on assorted issues affecting those in Pittsburgh and abroad.

While we join many in wishing that 2018 brings happier spells, before closing the door on 2017, PJC would like to review its top stories from the past year.

January: Jewish women take to streets after inauguration

Steel City women united in step both in Pittsburgh and in the nation’s capital to voice a collaborative cry and demonstrate solidarity in the wake of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The mass gatherings on Jan. 21 were intended to “send a bold message to our new government on its first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights,” said organizers.

“Women’s issues are everyone’s issues, and protecting the rights, freedoms and justice of all communities is important. If we can take this stand by participation in the marches, then that’s what we should do,” added Laurie Gottlieb, president of National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section.

Please see Top Stories, page 17

keep your eye on PittsburghJewishChronicle

WORLD Bitcoin next Israeli scam?

NATIONAL USCJ cleans house after scandal

THEATER SpongeBob hits Broadway

Headlines Local teens raise money for Israeli choir after funding cut — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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or the last three years, Naomi FrimAbrams has cherished her relationships with the Israeli teens from Karmiel/Misgav whom she has gotten to know through HaZamir, the International Jewish Teen Choir.

Each year, while Frim-Abrams, a teen leader of the group, was practicing the HaZamir musical repertoire along with her chorale peers in Pittsburgh, she took a certain amount of joy in knowing that her friends in Israel were learning the exact same pieces and that they would be singing them together in the spring in New York City at a major venue.

She also looked forward each year to her Israeli friends coming to Pittsburgh for a week following the performance in the Big Apple.

So, Frim-Abrams was understandably upset when she learned, through a June 19 Facebook post by one of her Israeli friends, that the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh had decided to cease its funding to the Karmiel/ Misgav chapter of HaZamir. That would mean that unless the Israeli chapter found other funding, its members would be unable to travel to New York for the spring concert, and to Pittsburgh.

But Frim-Abrams, a senior at Pittsburgh Allderdice, as well as the rest of the members of HaZamir Pittsburgh, decided to take matters into their own hands.

“We are going to do everything we can to keep the partnership for next year!” FrimAbrams replied on Facebook.

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2 DECEMBER 29, 2017

p HaZamir Pittsburgh teens pose for a photo during one of their weekly rehearsals. Back row, from left: Zev Haworth, Max Rosen, Joey Breslau, Eitan Weinkle, Yael Perlman and Naomi Frim-Abrams; front row, from left: Sarah Krastman, Ada Perlman, Dana Engel and Dori Catz Photo courtesy of Molly D. May

HaZamir Pittsburgh is one of 38 chapters of HaZamir throughout the United States and Israel. The Karmiel/Misgav chapter of HaZamir has been supported by the Partnership2Gether program, a sister-city collaboration linking Jewish Pittsburgh to Karmiel and the Misgav region in Israel’s central Galilee. Partnership2Gether aims to strengthen relationships between people in Israel and the diaspora. HaZamir was doing just that, according to the Pittsburgh teens participating in the choir and their parents.

For Frim-Abrams, getting to know the Israeli teens has been “an incredible experience,” she said. Their times together singing

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and socializing have been meaningful.

“We have a very special connection,” FrimAbrams said. “I think we would all feel a loss” if the Karmiel/Misgav teens could no longer come to the U.S. to sing with HaZamir.

Shortly after reading about the funding cuts on Facebook, the Pittsburgh teens got busy putting together an open-mic fundraiser to help their Israeli cohort.

The fundraiser was held at Rodef Shalom Congregation on Dec. 10, and the money raised that night, coupled with an on-line fundraising campaign, totals about $3,000, according to Ed Frim, Frim-Abrams’ father.

The teens in Israel also have raised about

$1,000. Frim estimates that it will take about $15,000 to bring the Israeli teens to the U.S. “It was a big deal for us as parents to see the kids come out and try to raise money on their own,” said Judi Rosen, the mother of Pittsburgh HaZamir singer, Max, who is a junior at Pittsburgh Allderdice. “And they were really good.”

While the Pittsburgh teens and their parents were surprised to learn about the funding cut from a Facebook post, they are moving on and just trying to find different funding sources.

“The bottom line for us is that the decision was made, and we’re trying to continue to find ways to bring the kids here with a positive outlook,” Rosen said.

Federation staff explained the funding cut in an email to HaZamir parents on June 21.

“Partnership2Gether of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh made the difficult decision to discontinue funding the Karmiel/ Misgav chapter of HaZamir,” wrote Debbie Swartz, Israel and overseas planning associate of the Federation, and Vicki Holthaus, youth kesher chair of Partnership2Gether.

“It was the culmination of a long discussion between Partnership2Gether in Pittsburgh, the JCC and our Israeli leadership in Karmiel/ Misgav. We recently became aware that this decision was communicated by the Israeli teens to the Pittsburgh teens via Facebook, and we truly regret that you may have become aware of this decision in this manner.”

Swartz referred a request for comment to Adam Hertzman, the Federation’s director of marketing.

Please see HaZamir, page 20

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Headlines Funding, Rep. Turzai take center stage at Hillel Academy — LOCAL —

By Lauren Rosenblatt | Staff Writer

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n one morning, the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives recited the Pledge of Allegiance with a third-grade class, learned to say “thank you” in Hebrew (todah rabbah) and aimed to inspire children that they could be among the next voices representing the people of the commonwealth.

State Rep. Mike Turzai (R-District 28) was visiting students from Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, who, with prompting from teachers and religious leaders, wanted to thank the state representative for his support of laws that have provided additional funding to their school, other Pittsburgh Jewish day schools and private and parochial schools throughout the state.

Turzai has been a big proponent of maintaining and increasing funding for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, a state program that allows businesses to receive tax credits for donations made to scholarship opportunity organizations or innovations for public education.

“Ten years ago, Hillel Academy had 180 students and was struggling to survive.

Not only have we increased the number of students, but we’re providing an opportunity

p Students at Hillel Academy welcome State Rep. Mike Turzai with signs.

for students to come,” Rabbi Sam Weinberg told the group of about 25 parents, faculty and community members who came to speak with Turzai on Dec. 20. “Without this program, there’s no way that could have happened.”

The Pennsylvania state legislature passed the EITC program in 2001, and an additional program, called the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program, which functions in a similar way to EITC by giving businesses

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tax credit for donations, in 2012.

Since then, state funding for the program has fluctuated. In recent years, it has increased, with an additional $25 million allocated to the EITC in the 2016-17 Pennsylvania state budget and another $10 million in the 2017-18 budget, for a total of $185 million.

Yet, Turzai said, the program is a point of discussion every year.

“We’re at $185 million, which seems signif-

icant but in the scope of things is a very small percentage,” Turzai said. “There are folks who would be more than happy to curtail the program. It’s important for you to be involved with respect to our state budget because every year the discussion will come up.”

For the three Pittsburgh Jewish day schools — Hillel Academy, Yeshiva Schools and Community Day School — this funding helps provide scholarships for students who would not be able to attend the school otherwise.

The schools saw a decrease in their available funds, from $4.9 million in the 2014-15 school year to $3.5 million in the 2015-16 school year. There was a slight increase to $3.9 million for the 2016-17 school year.

The amount of available funds from the 2017-18 year will not be available until around May 2018, according to Adam Hertzman, director of marketing communications at the Jewish Federation.

After businesses apply for the tax credit, it takes the Pennsylvania legislature some time to accept their application. The Federation works with businesses to explain the program and secure donations.

Thirty-eight businesses donated to the programs last year.

The $10 million increase for the EITC program, Hertzman said, will likely benefit

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DECEMBER 29, 2017 3

Headlines Choosing Judaism is a thoughtful journey of connection — LOCAL —

By Hilary Daninhirsch | Special to the Chronicle

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n the third night of Chanukah, a crowd of about 20 gathered at Beth Shalom for a panel discussion called Choosing Judaism.

The event was co-sponsored by the local Moishe House, a national organization with a branch in Squirrel Hill that aims to connect and develop programming for Jewish 20-something leaders, and Derekh, the new programming arm of Beth Shalom also geared toward the same demographic.

Following a group candle lighting and recitation of the Chanukah blessings, opening remarks were given by Rabbi Jeremy Markiz, director of Derekh, who talked about the controversies, challenges and overall requirements of becoming Jewish.

Rose Eilenberg, a resident of Moishe House in Squirrel Hill, had the idea for the panel when she learned that a friend was in the process of converting. “I attended a similar panel at a synagogue several years ago, and I found it really thought-provoking, particularly because it is a topic that is not often discussed,” she said.

“Conversion is a deeply personal decision, but it does tend to prompt a lot of questions.

“I wanted to do something similar here: create a program that would allow people to ask questions and hear personal answers from a variety of people with different experiences in a way that is respectful of their journey,” she continued.

“ To me, it was significant that education, challenge and commitment to long-term growth were central to each of the panelists’ experiences. This too is a part of a Derekh’s

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mission, and it resonated deeply.

— RABBI JEREMY MARKIZ, DIRECTOR OF DEREKH Eilenberg moderated the discussion, asking the panelists to weigh in on what prompted their decisions to convert, their journeys to Judaism, how their decision impacted their relationships with friends and families and the joys and the challenges of converting.

The four panelists, two men and two women, were between 23 and approximately 40.

No two stories were alike, as the panelists all came to Judaism in unique ways.

Take C.B., a 23-year old graduate student who converted as a teenager. With humor rivaling that of a stand-up comedian, C.B. recalled how her atheist father might have Jewish lineage but was still labeled a Jew when he lived in the former Soviet Union.

C.B. connected to Judaism at a young age, attending Jewish summer camp and becoming active in Jewish youth groups.

Another panelist, Anne Claire, had a Jewish father and a Quaker mother; she was raised in the Quaker church. However, she

said that her father’s Jewish family “hovered in the wings,” and she felt her Jewish ancestors on her shoulders. A spiritual quest led to her belief that she needed a religious environment that included music, a far cry from the silence of the Quaker worship services.

She said it was a 15-year voyage of learning and immersion in community until she was ready to call herself Jewish.

Max, 23, is a second-year fellow with Repair the World and is in the process of conversion now. He hails from a Catholic family and attended a college with a significant Jewish population. It was while teaching farming at a Jewish girls’ summer camp that he had an epiphany about Judaism.

The final panelist, Chris, 40, said that he was always a skeptic about his religion of birth.

“Santa Claus seemed sketchy,” he joked. His wife is Jewish, and he had worked with several rabbis over five years on his journey toward Judaism. He said he began to wear a kippah

after his daughter was born to show her that conversion does not stop at the mikvah.

Despite their divergent paths toward choosing Judaism, the panelists all shared the notion that they arrived at Judaism thoughtfully and at a timetable that suited their own needs. Most reported that they enjoy the Jewish prayers, another saying that he appreciates the peace on Shabbat. Although one person said that he has not yet told his extended family, most reported that their families were accepting.

For C.B.: “The hardest part was that I had to convert at all because in my heart, I felt so Jewish,” adding that there was a disconnect between how she saw herself and how others saw her, which led to an audience discussion on “imposter syndrome.”

Both Eilenberg and Markiz felt that the discussion achieved its purpose.

“One powerful message from the panel was recognizing how important it is to be welcomed and how central it needs to be to how we construct our communities. To me, it was significant that education, challenge and commitment to long-term growth were central to each of the panelists’ experiences.

This too is a part of a Derekh’s mission, and it resonated deeply,” said Markiz.

Perhaps the sentiment that summed up the feelings of the panel regarding their collective journeys toward Judaism was when one said, “Any time you enter something out of free will, you have a stronger connection to it.” PJC Hilary Daninhirsch can be reached at hdaninhirsch@gmail.com.

B’nai Israel building could be used for new charter school or low-income housing — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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he fate of the building that once housed Congregation B’nai Israel in East Liberty remains uncertain.

Most recently the home of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School, the building at 327 N. Negley Ave. has been vacant since 2016. While it is still owned by the Urban League, site control has been handed over to real estate developer Walnut Capital, which is seeking financing from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to build 48 low income housing units, according to public records.

Meanwhile, a new proposed charter school, the Catalyst Academy, is trying to get approval from the board of the Pittsburgh Public Schools to open its kindergarten through eighth-grade school there in 2019.

A public hearing on Dec. 18 was inconclusive on Catalyst’s application.

Catalyst submitted its 3,000-page proposal on Nov. 15 for the school board to peruse. Last

4 DECEMBER 29, 2017

p The Congregation B’nai Israel building in East Liberty

week, at the public hearing, about 20 Catalyst supporters addressed the school board, as well as “a few critics,” according to Brian Smith, who is slated to be Catalyst’s CEO if and when the school can get its charter.

A second hearing is scheduled for early February.

It is not easy to get approval to open a

File photo

charter school, Smith said, noting it has been about 15 years since a new charter has been granted in Pittsburgh.

“Historically, this is a tough road to go down,” Smith admitted.

One of the prerequisites to obtaining a charter is that an applicant school must have a facility secured in which to operate.

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Smith said that Catalyst has an agreement to pursue the B’nai Israel property for use as a school if it receives approval for its charter.

But, if Walnut Capital “pursues another development, we’ll have to find another building,” Smith said.

A representative of Walnut Capital did not return calls from the Chronicle.

The real estate on which the former synagogue is situated consists of more than three acres of land, and the 24,000-square-foot building has 14 classrooms, a gymnasium, a library, large social halls and a sanctuary that seats 1,100 people.

In 1979, the B’nai Israel building received a plaque from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, designating it as a historic landmark. It does not have a City of Pittsburgh historic designation, however, which would mandate a regulatory process for the review of all changes and alterations by the Historic Review Commission to the exterior and appearance of the building. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Point Breeze Israeli-born plumber sentenced for Ponzi scheme — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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local plumber and landlord, Israeliborn Golan Barak, was sentenced on Dec. 7 to 33 months in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to running a Ponzi scheme that swindled more than $2 million from foreign investors between 2013 and 2016, according to reports in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Barak, who resides in Point Breeze, is also required to pay restitution to his victims, pursuant to the decision handed down by U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose.

Barak, 50, owned seven businesses and controlled scores of properties in the Pittsburgh area. He was indicted by a grand jury in October 2016 on nine counts of wire fraud concerning his real estate dealings.

“The FBI and the IRS said he persuaded sophisticated investors from Israel and other countries to fly to Pittsburgh to become partners with him in buying and flipping houses in the city and suburbs,” the PostGazette reported. “He told them they would

be able to enter into 50-50 partnerships with him in buying houses and then either selling them or managing them for rental income through companies he created.”

The investors alleged that Barak used their money to buy properties “other than the ones specified in agreements or used it to pay off earlier investors.”

Barak has lived in the United States since 2001, and is a naturalized citizen. He moved to Pittsburgh from Boston in 2012. He is married to Linda Gordon, the daughter of the late Nicky Gordon of Mt. Lebanon whose murder in 2000 by her neighbor, Richard Baumhammers, made national headlines. Nicky Gordon was Baumhammers’ first victim in a racially motivated spree of violence during which he killed five people and left one paralyzed.

While living in Boston, Barak had filed for bankruptcy, according to court records.

Neither Barak’s attorney, Komron Maknoon, nor the assistant U.S. district attorney assigned to the case, Greg Melucci, responded to requests for comment. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Calendar q THURSDAY AND SATURDAY,

q MONDAY, JAN. 8 Understanding Jewish Teens: The Selfie Generation Who Will Save the World, a presentation by David Bryfman Ph.D., a national expert on Jewish adolescent identity development, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

Teens and adults are welcome.

Bryfman is the chief innovation officer at the Jewish Education Project in New York and researcher on 21st-century Jewish teen engagement. He will share research and ideas on how to help Jewish teens grow into engaged, Jewish young adults. Register at jfedpgh.org/understanding-jewish-teens and contact Cheryl Johnson at cjohnson@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5249 for more information. >>>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. q MONDAY, JAN. 1 TO

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28

The Zionist Organization of AmericaPittsburgh District announces the 56th year of its Israel Scholarship Program to assist local students traveling to and studying in Israel. The program is designed to encourage and assist student participation on approved educational trips to Israel.

Up to three $1,000 scholarships are available to students who will be entering the junior or senior year of high school in the fall of 2018. Applicants must be Jewish and permanent residents of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington or Westmoreland counties.

All applicants must be participating in an approved program and submit an application to ZOA. Priority may be given to those who have never visited Israel or have not received a ZOA scholarship in the past. Applications will be accepted beginning Jan. 1.

In addition, the Anouchi Research Scholarship of $750 is available to full-time college students who have completed at least one year and graduate students. Applicants may submit a proposal based on a topic of individual interest. Research proposals for the Anouchi scholarship will be reviewed.

The awardee will be required to complete a paper on his/her topic upon return from Israel.

Contact ZOA Executive Director Stuart Pavilack at 412-665-4630 or pittsburgh@zoa.org for more information or to establish a scholarship. q FRIDAY, JAN. 5 Mostly Musical Shabbat: A Sensory Friendly Experience at 7 p.m. at Temple Sinai with Rabbi Jamie Gibson, Rabbi Keren Gorban, Cantor Laura Berman and the Temple Sinai Band the first Friday of every month.

Contact Judy Mahan at 412-421-9715, ext.

110 or Judy@templesinaipgh.org for more information or to request an accommodation or visit tinyurl.com/ydx9rh32. q SUNDAY, JAN. 7 AgeWell at the Jewish Community Center will hold a Senior Singles Group from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in room 202 at 5738 Forbes Ave. Socialize in a friendly and welcoming environment. Light refreshments will be served. There is no fee to participate. Contact

Debbie Marcus at 412-339-5405 or dmarcus@ jccpgh.org for more information.

Beth El Congregation of the South Hills will hold a viewing of the film “The Voyage of the Saint Louis,” a dramatic documentary based on the true events of 1939. The evening will begin with a wine and cheese reception at 7 p.m. and will conclude with a short Q&A discussion led by Rabbi Alex Greenbaum. This program is presented by the adult education committee and is open to the community. There is a $5 charge. Visit bethelcong. org for more information and call 412-561-1168 to RSVP in advance. q MONDAY, JAN. 8 The Women of Temple Sinai will hold a cooking class at 6:30 p.m. for a super dinner for friends to warm up a winter night: easy, delicious and inexpensive, taught by Annie Weidman. Anyone age 16 and older is welcome. The cost is $10 per person. RSVP by Friday, Jan. 5. Visit templesinaipgh.org/wotscooking-class-3 for details and to sign up.

Beth El Congregation of the South Hills will hold its First Mondays lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A lecture on Frauds, Cons and Scams and How to Protect Oneself From Being a Victim, will be presented by Magisterial District Judge Blaise La Rotonda and Corporal Michael Smakosz, Mt. Lebanon Police Dept./Crime Prevention Unit Supervisor. Call 412-561-1168 to RSVP in advance. There is a $6 charge. q TUESDAY, JAN. 9 Behind Enemy Lines. Spend an evening with Marthe Cohn as she tells her story of being a spy in Nazi Germany. The Chabad of the South Hills program will be held at 7 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South, 164 Fort Couch Road. Cohn was born in France in 1920.

As the Nazi occupation escalated, her sister was sent to Auschwitz while her family fled to the south of France. At 24, she joined the Intelligence Service of the French 1st Army.

Utilizing her perfect German accent and Aryan looks, Cohn posed as a German nurse desperately trying to attain word of a fictional fiance. She traveled the countryside and approached troops sympathetic to her plight thereby obtaining vital information about troop movements for the Allied commanders.

For her service, at the age of 80, she was awarded the Croix de Guerre, France’s highest military honor. Cohn is now 96 years old and travels internationally sharing her story and has no plans of slowing down. There is a $5 charge. Register at chabadsh.com, 412-3442424 or rabbi@chabadsh.com.

JAN. 11 AND 13

The Beyond: Microtonal Music Festival, sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh’s Music on the Edge series and the Andy Warhol Museum, will include two concerts that feature klezmer clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer. The first, an orchestra concert at Carnegie Music Hall at 8 p.m. will include the premiere of Mathew Rosenblum’s work, “Lament/Witches’ Sabbath,” a clarinet concerto that chronicles the Rosenblum family’s escape from Ukraine in 1919. The second concert, at 8 p.m. at the Andy Warhol Museum, features Krakauer’s powerhouse klezmer group, Ancestral Groove. This will be the closing event of the three-day festival that celebrates cultural roots. Visit music. pitt.edu/mote/beyond for more information about the concerts and festival. q WEDNESDAY, JAN. 17 Generations Speaker Series: Moshe Baran and Avi Baran Munro, hosted by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will begin at 7 p.m. at Community Day School, 6424 Forward Ave. This series, which will be hosted in-person and live-streamed online, will consist of dialogues between Holocaust survivors and their family members. There will be three events, taking place in the first three months of the year in various locations.

All talks will be free and open to the public.

Baran will share his harrowing story of survival as a member of a Partisan unit, speaking along with his daughter, Munro, the head of school at Community Day School, who will share her experience as a child of two survivors. The Greater Pittsburgh Church of Christ that meets at Community Day School will host this program. Visit jfedpgh. org/generations-moshe-baran for more information and to register. q THURSDAY, JAN. 18

dessert (enough for 8-10 people). Shabbat service follows at 7 p.m. There is a $5 charge.

Contact Judy Lynn Aiello at 412-421-9715, ext.

124 or judylynn@templesinaipgh.org or visit tinyurl.com/ydh2wuva to register.

Young Adult Shabbat after hours at 8:30 p.m. at Temple Sinai, a wine and cheese mix and mingle with young adults (ages 21-45). There is no charge. Visit tinyurl.com/ycno9zd4 for more information and to RSVP. q SATURDAY, JAN. 20 Beat the winter blues and party like you’re on an island vacation at Community Day School’s Sun & Schmooze: A Tropical Gala at 7 p.m. with dancing with DJ Sosa, and gourmet dinner stations with tropical flavors at the August Wilson Center at 980 Liberty Ave. All money raised will go directly to support educational programs at CDS and to provide tuition assistance for families in need. During the evening, CDS will honor members of the community. CDS alumni parents State Rep. Dan and Debbie Frankel will receive the Community Leadership Award and alumni parent Dana Himmel will receive the CDS Volunteer of the Year Award. Visit comday.org/gala for tickets, and for more information on how to become an event sponsor while supporting Community Day School, contact Jenny Jones at 412-5211000, ext. 3207 or jjones@comday.org.

Shabbat Searchers: Exploring Sacred Spaces at 5 p.m. in the Rodef Shalom sanctuary. This is a pilot program exploring offsite Shabbat experiences for those who prefer life off the beaten path. Every other month the group will gather for an alternative Shabbat experience focusing on how one can view, use and be in sacred spaces. The program launches from Rodef Shalom’s home sanctuary before setting off to explore around the city. Contact frischer@ rodefshalom.org for more information. q TUESDAY, JAN. 23

Chabad of the South Hills will hold a new monthly course for women, Pause and Effect: A Shabbat Outlook, by the Rosh Chodesh Society. Classes will be held on the third Thursday each month at 10 a.m. There is a $5 charge. Visit chabadsh.com or contact barb@ chabadsh.com for more information. q FRIDAY, JAN. 19 Community potluck dinner at 5:45 p.m. at Temple Sinai with an entrée of baked blueberry chutney chicken prepared by Chef Drew. Bring a nondairy side dish, salad or

AND THURSDAY, JAN. 25

The Pittsburgh OASIS Intergenerational Tutor Program is seeking volunteers (50-plus) to tutor in Pittsburgh and Woodland Hills School Districts in grade K-4. An hour a week can change a child’s life. A two-day training class will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 411 Seventh Ave., Suite 525 (Duquesne Light Building). Contact John D. Spehar, Pittsburgh OASIS Tutoring program director at 412-3937648 or jdspehar@oasisnet.org for more information or to register. OASIS is an affiliate of Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. PJC

q THURSDAY, JAN. 18 Rescuing Jews in Need through Clandestine Aliyah Efforts, featuring Arielle Di-Porto, director, Aliyah Division at the Jewish Agency for Israel, will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. This is a free event that includes a dessert and wine reception; dietary laws observed.

Di-Porto brings her expertise and well-honed skills to effectively manage critical, often clandestine aliyah missions from Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. With the increase in aliyah from France, Di-Porto is at the forefront of JAFI’s aliyah and absorption in Israel.

Contact Mia Alcorn at malcorn@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5222 for more information.

Visit us on the web at www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 6 DECEMBER 29, 2017

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Headlines Bitcoin fraud could be the next big thing for swindlers in Israel “very troubled” by the possibility that binary options cheats would turn cryptocurrencies into the next big scam.

“We don’t want this to become the next mutation of binary options or a haven for fraudsters,” he said.

Echoing Biton, Hausner expressed confi-

breeding ground for fraudsters: its small size, innovation and technology, seize-the-day mentality and diverse immigrant population that can market in myriad languages.

Based on his company’s investigations, which have included sending moles into the offices of scammers, Smith has concluded

or all of the investment. Conveniently for criminals, who were among the first adopters of the technology, cryptocurrency is nearly

By Andrew Tobin | JTA impossible to track.

Arthur VanDesande, a consultant for EL AVIV — Israelis lined up last week the Wolf Global consultancy who recently at the newly opened bitcoin exchange retired as a U.S. Internal Revenue Service in this city to purchase the special agent focused on international coveted cryptocurrency. fraud, also predicted that Israeli binary Amid the store’s yellow signage, the options swindlers would spearhead a customers one by one inserted bank massive new cryptocurrency fraud akin cards into a towering ATM-like machine. to the binary options scam.

Sharply dressed young employees helped “These guys would have to be stupid them make the necessary online maneunot to make the switch,” he said. “And vers to claim their new funds. they’re not stupid.”

Guy Maimon, a goateed 22-year-old, VanDesande explained that small sat at a desk in the corner of the Bitcoin states like Israel generally lack the Change store buying cryptocurrencies resources of big powers like the United from foreign markets in a desperate States to do effective financial oversight effort to keep the kiosk stocked. He said and “understandably” tend not to priorevery day was like this, with hundreds itize cases that do not involve their own of customers coming in a week. citizens. He said there are also incenThe company has had to limit inditives not to look too hard. Fraudulent vidual purchases to 5,000 shekels, or industries are often major economic about $1,400 a day. drivers, he noted, and that can translate “The demand is crazy,” Maimon said into political clout. as he toggled between tabs on his laptop “From my perspective as a former and worked his leg muscles with an exersenior investigator, when there’s so cise band. “A lot of people return every much money flowing into country, you day and buy the maximum. When we would probably take a wild guess that run out and turn off the machine, people it’s going into campaign contributions,” sit here and wait for us to turn it back on.” he said. “Maybe that’s why it took so Interest in cryptocurrencies, which long for binary options to be shut down are encrypted digital assets controlled p in your country.”

Guy Maimon with his father pose for a photo outside the Tel Aviv bitcoin exchange Photo by Andrew Tobin by decentralized networks, has surged where he purchased his first cryptocurrency.

Corruption in high places has been at not just in Israel but around the world. the center of the national conversation As of Dec. 20, a single bitcoin, the most in recent months. With Prime Minister popular such currency, was worth Benjamin Netanyahu the subject of two $16,000 compared to just $1,000 at the police probes, thousands of Israelis have beginning of the year and $10 in 2013. taken to the streets of Tel Aviv the past But as with any bubble, fraudsters three Saturdays to protest government have begun to take advantage of a crypcorruption and the so-called recomtocurrency bonanza with a variety of mendations bill, which would prevent nefarious schemes. According to fraud police from publicizing recommendaexperts, Israel is shaping up to be a hub tions on indictments. for cryptocurrency swindling.

Speaking at the most recent rally, It has happened before. Over the past Eliad Shraga, the founder and chairman decade, more than 100 “binary options” of the Movement for Quality Governcompanies set up shop in Israel, ment in Israel, warned that Israel is forming the core of a global industry becoming a “mafia” state. He adapted offering dubious all-or-nothing bets on his speech in an English language various assets. The companies bilked blog post published Tuesday by The people worldwide out of billions of Times of Israel. dollars. In August, Israel Police Super“These past few weeks have taught intendent Gabi Biton told a Knesset us that we are not speaking of a specific panel that the industry was run by — event, but about a foul tsunami rising up and provided “massive enrichment” to in an ocean of corruption that threatens — Israeli crime bosses. to drown the state of Israel,” he wrote.

A visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency bitcoin As the result of dogged reporting p “This is organized crime; crime famiPhoto by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

by The Times of Israel, the Knesset in lies and Israeli mafia who are gaining October banned binary options companies dence that the law could be extended to that Israel is seeing an industrywide shift control of local government and from there from operating in the country. And in the binary options scammers who sell other into cryptocurrency. gradually taking over the central government first half of the year, deposits fell 78 percent, products. But he said schemes not covered “More or less every binary options company and the nerve centers of Israeli society.” according to an industry benchmark. However, by securities laws could fall outside his juris- we know of now has a cryptocurrency platBitcoin Exchange says its operation is the Knesset bill that covered various types of diction and under that of the police. form as well,” he said. “I’m already getting entirely aboveboard and only makes money financial fraud was narrowed to apply only Austin Smith, the founder of Wealth calls from victims, but most people have yet on commissions. Maimon, the cryptocurto binary options, raising concerns that fake Recovery International, a Tel Aviv startup to even realize they’ve been defrauded.” rency buyer, affirmed this was true. But he binary options companies will simply switch that helps victims of binary options fraud Smith said the cryptocurrency scams said he was already making plans for the to another product and continue to operate. reclaim their money, warned that the worst involve not only securities, but also initial day after the cryptocurrency bubble bursts, Shortly after the passage of the law, Israel fears of the authorities are coming to pass. coin offerings and futures. In each case, the including starting college in the fall.

Securities Authority Chairman Shmuel He said the same factors that earn Israel fraudsters offer a bogus product in exchange “I’m not investing in bitcoin,” he said. “I’m Hausner told The Times of Israel that he was the “startup nation” moniker also make it a for cryptocurrency and simply pocket much pretty sure it’s going to blow up.” PJC

— WORLD —

T

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DECEMBER 29, 2017 7

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Guatemala to move embassy to Jerusalem The president of Guatemala announced that he would move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem.

President Jimmy Morales in a Facebook post on Dec. 24 said that he has instructed his country’s chancellor “to initiate the respective coordination so that it may be.�

He said he made the decision following a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The leaders, he said, spoke about “the excellent relations that we have had as nations since Guatemala supported the creation of the state of Israel. One of the most important topics was the return of the embassy of Guatemala to Jerusalem.�

The announcement was flanked by a photo of the Guatemalan and Israeli flags fluttering side-by-side in the wind.

The announcement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month announced that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and begin taking steps to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Guatemala’s embassy also currently is located in Tel Aviv.

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution rejecting any recog-

nition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Guatemala was one of nine countries that voted with the United States against the resolution. Some 128 countries voted in favor of the resolution and 35 abstained.

Morales, who enjoys a large base of conservative Christian support, visited Israel in November 2016, to mark the 69th anniversary of the Partition Plan for Palestine vote in the United Nations. He was feted for the actions of Guatemala’s then-ambassador to the U.N., Dr. Jorge Garcia Granados, who enlisted Latin American states to vote in favor of the partition plan.

Shortly after his election in October 2015, Morales visited the synagogue in Guatemala City, met with members of the Jewish community and declared his desire to visit Israel. His tenure has seen a significant improvement in relations with Israel, including Guatemala’s positions at international meetings.

Guatemala is home to about 1,000 Jews out of a population of 15 million.

Japan invites Netanyahu to peace summit in Tokyo Japan has invited Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a four-way meeting in Tokyo with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jared Kushner in an effort to restart peace efforts.

The invitation was extended on Monday by visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, the Hebrew-language news website

Walla reported Tuesday afternoon, citing diplomatic sources involved in the matter.

Netanyahu reportedly has conditioned his participation on approval from the Trump administration.

The initiative by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comes as Tokyo completes a decade of involvement in the “Peace Corridor� project, an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian-Japanese venture in the Jordan Valley launched in Tokyo in 2007, Walla reported.

According to the news website, Japan is one of the largest contributors to the Palestinian Authority, and in the past decade it has increased its economic involvement in Israel and has called for a peace agreement on the basis of economic interests.

Kono arrived in Israel on Monday and will continue on to Jordan, Turkey and Oman.

He met in Jerusalem with Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, and Minister of Regional Development Tzachi Hanegbi, and in Ramallah with Abbas.

The Palestinians have said they will not work with the United States on peace efforts since President Donald Trump earlier this month recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying the U.S. is not an honest broker.

Canadian JDL member indicted for assault outside AIPAC confab A Canadian member of the Jewish Defense League was indicted by a grand jury in Wash-

This week in Israeli history

We’re by your side so your loved one can stay at home.

tate Jewish and Arab communities in Safed (Tz’fat). The mountain town, which had been the longtime home to a thriving Jewish population, suffers thousands of deaths.

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

Dec. 29, 1901 Jewish National Fund is founded

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Dec. 30, 1990 Shamir fires Weizman over PLO contact

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir dismisses Science Minister Ezer Weizman as a consequence of his contact with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Eighth Knesset Elections are held after a delay due to the October War.

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8 DECEMBER 29, 2017

At the Fifth Zionist Congress, after the delegates again vote to table the idea of a national fund, Theodor Herzl delivers an impassioned address to the delegates, urging them to act immediately. The motion passes by a vote of 105 to 82.

Dec. 31, 1973 Eighth Knesset elections are held

• Meals & Nutrition

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ington, D.C., for charges that include an assault in March on an Arab teacher outside the AIPAC conference in Washington, D.C. Yosef Steynovitz, 32, of Thornhill, Ontario, faces one count of assaulting a man with a dangerous weapon and one count of assaulting another man. The third count, assault with significant bodily injury, refers to the beating of Kamal Nayfeh, a 55-year-old Palestinian-American community college teacher who was reportedly walking to the conference when the attack happened, according to the Canadian Jewish News.

The third count includes a hate crime enhancement for “anti-Arab bias� that could lead to an increased penalty if Steynovitz is convicted.

The dangerous weapon referred to in the indictment is a pole, as well as a shoe, both used in the attack on Nayfeh.

According to the police report, Nayfeh said he got into a “verbal altercation� with Steynovitz, who then punched Nayfeh “about the face area.� Nayfeh fell to the ground, according to the report, and Rami Lubranicki, 59, of Howell, N.J., who also was charged in the incident, kicked him in his side and hit him in the right eye with a wooden pole.

Steynovitz will be arraigned in court in the District of Columbia on Jan. 3.

The JDL is a far-right fringe group perhaps best known for its self-defense and pro-Soviet Jewry efforts, often violent, in the 1970s.  PJC

Jan. 1, 1837 Earthquake destroys Safed

Jan. 2, 2002 Israel launches operation to capture weapons ship intended for Palestinian Authority

Israeli commandos overtake a weapons ship, the Karine-A, and seize 50 tons of Iranian weapons, including a number of long-range rockets.

Jan. 3, 1919 Faisal-Weizmann Agreement is signed

Emir Faisal, son of Sharif Husayn of Mecca, and Chaim Weizmann, Zionist diplomat and leader, sign the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement. It is an agreement of mutual respect and cooperation between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

Jan. 4, 1935 Mosul-Haifa pipeline opens

The Mosul-Haifa pipeline, which spans 590 miles, connects the Mosul oil fields and the Mediterranean Sea. It begins in Kirkuk, Iraq and ends in Haifa.  PJC

A massive earthquake and subsequent landslide devas-

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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; Ahmie Baum, Estelle Comay, Charles Saul, Jon Pushinsky, Jim Rogal, Charles Perlow, Neil Notkin, Eytan Rosenthal & Jim Leiber 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 Email: aexler@bbyo.org

Andrew Exler-Regional Director.

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

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

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

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

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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.; Nicolette Canterna, Receptionist.

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

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

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

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

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: rabbiely@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.

••• CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF MONROEVILLE 2715 Mosside Blvd.

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

Rabbi Mendy and Esther Schapiro, Co-Directors.

••• ROHR CHABAD JEWISH CENTER West Virginia University

424 Brockway Ave. Morgantown, WV 26501

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Phone: 304-599-1515 Website: JewishWV.org

Rabbi Zalman and Hindy Gurevitz, Co-Directors.

••• CHABAD OF SQUIRREL HILL 6401 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-421-3561 Website: chabadpgh.com

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.

••• 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, Allen Baum; 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.

Please see Organizations, page 10

DECEMBER 29, 2017 9

Organization Directory Organizations: Continued from page 9 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 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 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; Fax: 412-421-0535 Website: hadassah.org/pittsburgh Email: pittsburgh@hadassah.org

10 DECEMBER 29, 2017

Rochelle Parker, president; Barbara Scheinberg, past president; Rhonda Epstein, VP Membership; Sharyn Stein VP Membership; Kathleen Belskey, VP Programming; Christina Zern, VP Fundraising; Emily Levine, VP Education; Marcia Weiss, VP Advocacy; Betty Ann Secorie, Recording Secretary; Esther Schwartz, Corresponding Secretary; Nancy Glynn, Treasurer. Diane Bloomfield, Amy Dicker, Sara Guttman, Debbie Moidel, Shelly Seigel, Members at Large. 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. Ofc. 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.

Carole S. Katz, Asst. Secy.; Marc Brown, Immed. Past Chair; Brian Schreiber, Pres. & CEO. •••

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

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; Harvey Wolsh, Historian; Jonathan Schachter Acting Exec. Dir. ••• JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER PITTSBURGH JCC Values: Building Community Every Day

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 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

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

Harold Love, 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.

••• 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.

•••

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

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

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.;

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JEWISH FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES (JFCS) Supporting people through life’s changes and challenges.

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

Please see Organizations, page 15

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Duquesne scholar is new president of Gratz College — NATIONAL — Selah Maya Zighelboim | Special to the Chronicle

P

HILADELPHIA — Paul Finkelman’s parents transmitted a love of learning and history.

That passion took him into academia, where he became an expert in American history, and to his new position as president of Gratz College, the Philadelphia institution that is one of the last remaining independent historically Jewish colleges.

Last month, the Gratz College Board of Governors appointed Finkelman to the post.

He comes to Gratz with decades of experience in academia, where he has specialized in history and law, with particular focuses on slavery and race, religious freedom and the separation of church and state. His most recent position is as a legal scholar at Duquesne University’s School of Law. Finkelman’s interest in history began when he was young. His parents moved to Watertown, N.Y., during the economic dislocation that followed World War II. His father worked as a mechanic during the war but started selling commercial refrigeration and kitchen equipment.

His parents lacked a formal education, but Finkelman recalls getting books for Chanukah, such as “The Making of the Pres-

p Paul Finkelman

Photo provided

ident 1960” by Theodore H. White, while other children received toys.

“Had circumstances been different my father would have either been an engineer, an architect, an archaeologist or a historian,” Finkelman said.

“He read history always. He was from a generation of many first-generation Jewish-Americans who were very much self-taught and were consumers of books and readers of books. So was my mother. They never went to college. …

They were life-long learners.”

He grew up in a small Jewish community, which formed his Jewish identity. During the 1967 Six Day War, he wrote letters to the editor at the Watertown Daily Times about

Israel’s right to defend itself. He even considered volunteering for the war effort.

“You don’t have to do anything to be Jewish in Brooklyn — you just have to be there,” Finkelman said. “Growing up where I did, it’s a choice.”

He majored in American studies at Syracuse University, then went on to obtain his master’s and Ph.D. in American history from the University of Chicago. He entered the world of academia and has held positions in universities around the world, including the University of Ottawa, University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Law School.

Rabbi Lance Sussman, the Board of Gover-

nors vice chair who led the search for president, said Gratz went through an exhaustive search process to find the right candidate.

Sussman said that Finkelman’s reputation and connections in the scholarly world will bring more talent to Gratz and raise its visibility.

“He is an accomplished scholar,” Sussman said. “He’s one of the top legal scholars in the U.S. He’s internationally known for his work in American legal history. He has a strong specialization in several areas including the separation of church and state and other issues that touch directly on the American Jewish experience.”

One of Finkelman’s proudest moments is when he served as expert witness in the Glassroth v. Moore case. He spent more than five hours arguing against then-Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore that a Ten Commandments monument at the Alabama Judicial Building violated Constitutional principles.

The crux of Finkelman’s argument was that U.S. law is not based on the Ten Commandments and that, because Jews, Catholics and Protestants number and translate the Ten Commandments differently, there is no way to write them in a religiously neutral way.

The Supreme Court has cited his argument in following cases.

“I did something that was important to all Please see Gratz, page 18

Conservative movement severs ties with former youth director over alleged sexual abuse — NATIONAL —

By Elizabeth Kratz | JNS.org

T

he congregational arm of Conservative Judaism has severed ties with the longtime director of the denomination’s youth movement after receiving “multiple testimonies” that corroborated an allegation of sexual abuse.

Allegations about Jules Gutin, 67, who in 2011 completed his 20-year tenure as international director of United Synagogue Youth and since 2012 had conducted tours of Poland for USY, first came to light Nov. 9 through a Facebook post by a man who claimed that someone who worked with thousands of teens had abused him in the 1980s. After confirming with the man that he was referring to Gutin in his post, JNS.org communicated with several other men who alleged that they were underage victims of unwanted sexual touching by Gutin during that decade.

“Two of my USYers have said very similar things to me over the years, and named the same name,” said Arnie Draiman, a former USY youth advisor.

According to an email dated Nov. 21, Gutin asked the man who made the initial accusation on Facebook not to name him or USY in communication with the media in order to “spare my family from pain” and avoid “any harm to an organization we both love.”

“Whatever points you want to make would be just as powerful without people knowing the specific individual,” Gutin wrote to his accuser. He also wrote that the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism was “totally justified” in suspending him from staffing any of its programs, and concluded the email, “Once again I am sorry.”

Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of USCJ, and his staff have been in touch with the alleged victim and have had multiple conversations. The abuse allegedly occurred 33 years ago, when the victim was 17 years old and Gutin was 34.

When USCJ first learned of the allegation last month and had two conversations with Gutin, he was suspended from his duties. At that point, USCJ established a confidential hotline to report incidents of sexual abuse.

One alleged victim told JNS.org that Gutin invited him to stay in his home while his family was away, and they slept in the same bed.

The victim claimed that Gutin touched him, prompting him to leave the room abruptly. He said that he reported the alleged incident to people in his region, “but I was one small voice and it would have been his word against mine.”

“Our investigation led us to sever the relationship with [Gutin] permanently. We found the allegations to be substantive,” Wernick said.

Gutin said that under his guidance, USY instituted strict guidelines for staff and student contact during and around 1996-1997 following an incident that took place during USY on Wheels, a summer bus touring program. He

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

expressed concern about people who felt that they had been wronged in some way and claimed he was not aware of any allegations other than the Facebook post that did p Jules Gutin not name him.

Photo courtesy of USY, like the Orthodox Facebook Union’s NCSY and the Union for Reform Judaism’s NFTY, provides social programming and educational events for students primarily ages 14-18.

In the Orthodox Union’s youth arm, NCSY, strict protocols on this issue have been in place since 2001, following the guilty verdict and seven-year-imprisonment of former national NCSY director Baruch Lanner for child sexual abuse. The Reform movement’s NFTY also has such protocols in place, as do all accredited camps and schools. Gutin said NCSY contacted USY when it was establishing its guidelines on abuse, and it utilized some of USY’s information in forming its own protocols in the wake of the Lanner case.

According to Wernick, USCJ’s hotline received “heavy traffic” and allegations against Gutin as well as Bob Fisher, former director of the Far West USY region.

The allegations against Gutin and Fisher, Wernick stated, centered around the 1980s and early 1990s, before USY or any national Jewish youth organization had protocols and handbooks in place to appropriately prevent

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

abuse or report it.

Wernick said the steps USCJ has taken in response to the allegations have gone “beyond any mandated reporting in terms of criminal liability. We are beyond anything we can do from an additional perspective other than severing our relationship with [Gutin].” Any awards given in the name of Gutin or Fisher have been discontinued, said Wernick.

In 2011, two years after Wernick started his post at USCJ, the organization instituted new protocols for preventing and dealing with accusations of abuse. Staffers have a handbook providing guidelines for appropriate behavior with USY youths, and are required to sign a statement that they have read the handbook and have agreed to its policies. They are required to sign again if the handbook is updated.

Wernick said he is confident that USY now does everything in its power to keep students safe.

“All staff have to have a background check before being hired, and USY now has a youth protection officer assigned at every USY event,” he said. “Every USYer has that person’s phone number so they have an advocate if they feel threatened in any way, by anyone. USY is a safe place.” PJC Elizabeth Kratz is the associate publisher and editor of The Jewish Link of New Jersey and The Jewish Link of Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut.

DECEMBER 29, 2017 11

Headlines Duquesne scholar is new president of Gratz College — NATIONAL — Selah Maya Zighelboim | Special to the Chronicle

P

HILADELPHIA — Paul Finkelman’s parents transmitted a love of learning and history.

That passion took him into academia, where he became an expert in American history, and to his new position as president of Gratz College, the Philadelphia institution that is one of the last remaining independent historically Jewish colleges.

Last month, the Gratz College Board of Governors appointed Finkelman to the post.

He comes to Gratz with decades of experience in academia, where he has specialized in history and law, with particular focuses on slavery and race, religious freedom and the separation of church and state. His most recent position is as a legal scholar at Duquesne University’s School of Law. Finkelman’s interest in history began when he was young. His parents moved to Watertown, N.Y., during the economic dislocation that followed World War II. His father worked as a mechanic during the war but started selling commercial refrigeration and kitchen equipment.

His parents lacked a formal education, but Finkelman recalls getting books for Chanukah, such as “The Making of the Pres-

p Paul Finkelman

Photo provided

ident 1960” by Theodore H. White, while other children received toys.

“Had circumstances been different my father would have either been an engineer, an architect, an archaeologist or a historian,” Finkelman said.

“He read history always. He was from a generation of many first-generation Jewish-Americans who were very much self-taught and were consumers of books and readers of books. So was my mother. They never went to college. …

They were life-long learners.”

He grew up in a small Jewish community, which formed his Jewish identity. During the 1967 Six Day War, he wrote letters to the editor at the Watertown Daily Times about

Israel’s right to defend itself. He even considered volunteering for the war effort.

“You don’t have to do anything to be Jewish in Brooklyn — you just have to be there,” Finkelman said. “Growing up where I did, it’s a choice.”

He majored in American studies at Syracuse University, then went on to obtain his master’s and Ph.D. in American history from the University of Chicago. He entered the world of academia and has held positions in universities around the world, including the University of Ottawa, University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Law School.

Rabbi Lance Sussman, the Board of Gover-

nors vice chair who led the search for president, said Gratz went through an exhaustive search process to find the right candidate.

Sussman said that Finkelman’s reputation and connections in the scholarly world will bring more talent to Gratz and raise its visibility.

“He is an accomplished scholar,” Sussman said. “He’s one of the top legal scholars in the U.S. He’s internationally known for his work in American legal history. He has a strong specialization in several areas including the separation of church and state and other issues that touch directly on the American Jewish experience.”

One of Finkelman’s proudest moments is when he served as expert witness in the Glassroth v. Moore case. He spent more than five hours arguing against then-Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore that a Ten Commandments monument at the Alabama Judicial Building violated Constitutional principles.

The crux of Finkelman’s argument was that U.S. law is not based on the Ten Commandments and that, because Jews, Catholics and Protestants number and translate the Ten Commandments differently, there is no way to write them in a religiously neutral way.

The Supreme Court has cited his argument in following cases.

“I did something that was important to all Please see Gratz, page 18

Conservative movement severs ties with former youth director over alleged sexual abuse — NATIONAL —

By Elizabeth Kratz | JNS.org

T

he congregational arm of Conservative Judaism has severed ties with the longtime director of the denomination’s youth movement after receiving “multiple testimonies” that corroborated an allegation of sexual abuse.

Allegations about Jules Gutin, 67, who in 2011 completed his 20-year tenure as international director of United Synagogue Youth and since 2012 had conducted tours of Poland for USY, first came to light Nov. 9 through a Facebook post by a man who claimed that someone who worked with thousands of teens had abused him in the 1980s. After confirming with the man that he was referring to Gutin in his post, JNS.org communicated with several other men who alleged that they were underage victims of unwanted sexual touching by Gutin during that decade.

“Two of my USYers have said very similar things to me over the years, and named the same name,” said Arnie Draiman, a former USY youth advisor.

According to an email dated Nov. 21, Gutin asked the man who made the initial accusation on Facebook not to name him or USY in communication with the media in order to “spare my family from pain” and avoid “any harm to an organization we both love.”

“Whatever points you want to make would be just as powerful without people knowing the specific individual,” Gutin wrote to his accuser. He also wrote that the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism was “totally justified” in suspending him from staffing any of its programs, and concluded the email, “Once again I am sorry.”

Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of USCJ, and his staff have been in touch with the alleged victim and have had multiple conversations. The abuse allegedly occurred 33 years ago, when the victim was 17 years old and Gutin was 34.

When USCJ first learned of the allegation last month and had two conversations with Gutin, he was suspended from his duties. At that point, USCJ established a confidential hotline to report incidents of sexual abuse.

One alleged victim told JNS.org that Gutin invited him to stay in his home while his family was away, and they slept in the same bed.

The victim claimed that Gutin touched him, prompting him to leave the room abruptly. He said that he reported the alleged incident to people in his region, “but I was one small voice and it would have been his word against mine.”

“Our investigation led us to sever the relationship with [Gutin] permanently. We found the allegations to be substantive,” Wernick said.

Gutin said that under his guidance, USY instituted strict guidelines for staff and student contact during and around 1996-1997 following an incident that took place during USY on Wheels, a summer bus touring program. He

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

expressed concern about people who felt that they had been wronged in some way and claimed he was not aware of any allegations other than the Facebook post that did p Jules Gutin not name him.

Photo courtesy of USY, like the Orthodox Facebook Union’s NCSY and the Union for Reform Judaism’s NFTY, provides social programming and educational events for students primarily ages 14-18.

In the Orthodox Union’s youth arm, NCSY, strict protocols on this issue have been in place since 2001, following the guilty verdict and seven-year-imprisonment of former national NCSY director Baruch Lanner for child sexual abuse. The Reform movement’s NFTY also has such protocols in place, as do all accredited camps and schools. Gutin said NCSY contacted USY when it was establishing its guidelines on abuse, and it utilized some of USY’s information in forming its own protocols in the wake of the Lanner case.

According to Wernick, USCJ’s hotline received “heavy traffic” and allegations against Gutin as well as Bob Fisher, former director of the Far West USY region.

The allegations against Gutin and Fisher, Wernick stated, centered around the 1980s and early 1990s, before USY or any national Jewish youth organization had protocols and handbooks in place to appropriately prevent

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

abuse or report it.

Wernick said the steps USCJ has taken in response to the allegations have gone “beyond any mandated reporting in terms of criminal liability. We are beyond anything we can do from an additional perspective other than severing our relationship with [Gutin].” Any awards given in the name of Gutin or Fisher have been discontinued, said Wernick.

In 2011, two years after Wernick started his post at USCJ, the organization instituted new protocols for preventing and dealing with accusations of abuse. Staffers have a handbook providing guidelines for appropriate behavior with USY youths, and are required to sign a statement that they have read the handbook and have agreed to its policies. They are required to sign again if the handbook is updated.

Wernick said he is confident that USY now does everything in its power to keep students safe.

“All staff have to have a background check before being hired, and USY now has a youth protection officer assigned at every USY event,” he said. “Every USYer has that person’s phone number so they have an advocate if they feel threatened in any way, by anyone. USY is a safe place.” PJC Elizabeth Kratz is the associate publisher and editor of The Jewish Link of New Jersey and The Jewish Link of Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut.

DECEMBER 29, 2017 11

Opinion Don’t gloat over Rubashkin’s release

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— EDITORIAL —

resident Donald Trump’s commutation last week of the prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, who was convicted in 2009 of bank fraud and money laundering, was a commendable act of kindness. That’s primarily because the former chief executive of what had been the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the country had served eight years of a disproportionately heavy 27-year sentence.

Just about one year ago, in this space, we called for outgoing President Barack Obama to commute Rubashkin’s sentence. “There is no question that Rubashkin broke the law and deserved to be punished,” we wrote. “But 107 former Justice Department officials have joined with legislators from Capitol Hill and Orthodox Jewish leaders to argue that justice was far from served by dispatching an aging father of 10 — at 57 years old, Rubashkin still has 20 years left of his sentence — behind bars for close to three decades.”

Obama ignored the Rubashkin pleas.

Trump acted, and cited bipartisan support to free Rubashkin. It is to the president’s credit that he had the courage to act after hearing so many respected voices of support.

After his release from prison, Rubashkin

p Sholom Rubashkin, pictured in Postville, Iowa, in December 2004, served eight years of a 27-year prison term for bank fraud.

Photo by Zbigniew Bzdak/

Chicago Tribune/ TNS via Getty Images

was welcomed by a jubilant crowd at the Brooklyn headquarters of the Chabad movement, to which Rubashkin belongs. But we hope the joy surrounding his release is tempered by the recognition that Rubashkin was not innocent — nor was Trump’s move

a pardon. Rubashkin bears responsibility for the crimes for which he was convicted. He is no one’s model of an ethical businessman.

A massive federal immigration raid in 2008 at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, led to the arrest of

nearly 400 undocumented Guatemalans and Mexican workers. Rubashkin was charged a year later on the bank fraud and money laundering charges as he tried to sell the company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. He was found guilty of the crimes and deserved to be punished. He didn’t deserve a 27-year sentence.

Not to be forgotten are the 400 undocumented workers. They were caught between alleged inhuman treatment by Rubashkin and his staff and a broken U.S. immigration system that rendered them invisible. The year before the Agriprocessors raid, the Senate killed an immigration reform bill. That was the last time the legislature attempted an immigration overhaul. More recently, immigration policy has been dominated by travel bans and talks of walls and Mexican rapists.

Rubashkin will be on supervised release.

He also has a “substantial restitution obligation,” according to the White House. We’re happy Rubashkin has rejoined his family and community. The president did the right thing. But there is still work to be done, both in terms of fixing a broken immigration system and in ensuring that the powerful among us do not bend the levers of power, whether judicial or financial, to serve their own ends. PJC

Equality and inclusion for people with disabilities in Israel Guest Columnist Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi

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here are many amazing organizations directly serving people with disabilities in Israel. But there is one tiny but mighty nonprofit that is key to winning the battle to enable people with disabilities to participate as fully and independently as possible in regular community life. That nonprofit organization is Bizchut, an independent educational, advocacy and watchdog organization that does not take any money from the government. Extremely effective, Bizchut combines legal tools and community advocacy to fight for everyone with a disability, regardless of type or scope of disability, age, gender, ethnic or religious background.

As the leading Israeli disability advocate watchdog, Bizchut has been responsible for groundbreaking change, such as passing the Israeli ADA law and promoting the law stipulating that 200,000 children with disabilities must be mainstreamed and study in the least restrictive environment. When our organization, RespectAbility, looks for a model of success around the world, Bizchut is at the top of the list.

To learn about Bizchut’s core priorities is an opportunity to understand some of the critical challenges for people with disabilities living in Israel today. It is also a roadmap for a better future. Their core projects address the most vulnerable and discriminated 12 DECEMBER 29, 2017

against populations: • Human Rights Hotline: a telephone hotline that enables realization of rights to 1,400 people a year. They provide assistance in 15 different areas relating to rights of persons with disabilities. The service includes providing information, writing and sending correspondence on behalf of the client and legal action.

• Breaking the Restraints — Rights in Psychiatric Hospitals: a project concentrating on the rights of 20,000 people who are hospitalized every year in psychiatric wards in Israel. In its first stage, the project focused on the use of mechanical restraints, revealing that 1 in 4 patients are restrained, and resulting in the publication of a report with personal testimonies, a public education campaign, and the creation of a public committee that recommended forbidding the use of mechanical restraints. The project is currently focusing on additional issues such as the inappropriate use of isolation rooms, procedures for involuntary hospitalization and physical conditions in psychiatric hospitals.

• Inclusion in Education: a project promoting the inclusion of children with disabilities in regular schools through support and accommodations. The project includes promoting legislation, leading a coalition and assistance to and representation of individual clients. This is my favorite piece of their work, as new evidence in neuroscience proves that early intervention and a strong education for a child with disabilities can enable their brains to literally rewire. I have seen firsthand how children with very significant disabilities

can gain amazing skills and abilities that will enable them to be both be independent and great contributors to society in the future.

• Make Room for Me — the Right to Live in the Community: This project is promoting legislation of a new law that will, for the first time, establish within Israeli law the right of persons with disabilities to live in the community. This is a significant issue for persons with disabilities not yet covered by legislation. The project includes raising awareness (their short movie, “Taasu Makom,” was seen by more than 1 million Israelis this year), promoting legislation, leading a coalition of 21 organizations and strategic litigation.

• It’s My Life — from Guardianship to Support: a project promoting the right of persons with disabilities to make decisions about their own lives and takes action to limit the use of guardianship (currently 60,000 people in Israel have guardians). The project has included legal representation of individual clients, involvement in a pilot for supported decision-making, leading a coalition of 19 organizations, publication of professional reports, promoting changes in the current law, training decision-making supporters, producing informational movies, training for organizations and stakeholders around the world and more.

While all staff and key lay leaders are trained in how to welcome and respect people with disabilities, inclusion and accessibility are much more than just the technical aspects and must include the larger community.

Bizchut aims to challenge accepted notions

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

of inclusion and accessibility by raising awareness of the importance of “non-obvious” inclusion and accessibility as often as possible. For example, Bizchut workshops that train Egged bus drivers to make their services accessible to people with all disabilities include presentations by a deaf woman and a woman with an intellectual disability.

For many participants this is the first time they have ever heard a person with an intellectual disability speak for themselves.

Inclusion and accessibility are cornerstones of Bizchut’s organizational vision and policy and guide their day to day work at all levels. As their mission is to enable persons with all disabilities to participate as fully and independently as possible in regular community life, all programs and projects include people with disabilities, and all activities, like their offices, are open and accessible to people with disabilities while some are directed at specific disability audiences.

Bizchut’s board includes individuals with disabilities, parents of persons with disabilities, men, women, Jews and Arabs, bringing a heterogeneity that reflects a truly inclusive space. While they have big work to do and are looking for partners at every level, they are already a role model for other leaders and organizations around the world who are fighting for social justice, opportunity and equality for all. PJC Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is president of RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities.

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Opinion My Reform colleagues were wrong on Jerusalem Guest Columnist Ammiel Hirsch

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e were wrong.

As Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky pointed out, “The Reform response to the recognition of Jerusalem was terrible. When … a superpower recognizes Jerusalem, first you … welcome it, then offer disagreement. Here it was the opposite.”

Sharansky was referring to the Dec. 5 statement issued by all 16 North American Reform organizations and affiliates in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The operative clause reads: “While we share the President’s belief that the U.S. Embassy should, at the right time, be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we cannot support his decision to begin preparing that move now, absent a comprehensive plan for a peace process.”

There have been several attempts to clarify this position, but not by all of the original signatories. It is still the official position of the entire North American apparatus of the Reform movement. If our movement’s affiliates have had a change of heart, all of them should say it through another statement: “We made a mistake.”

If not, and if we still stand by our orig-

inal statement, I want the Jewish world to know that this position is not my position, nor does it reflect the views of multitudes of, perhaps most, Reform Jews.

We were wrong on the politics. With the exception of one small hard-left party, there is wall-to-wall agreement among the Zionist parties in the Knesset supporting the embassy move. We have alienated the very people who support and defend us in our campaign for religious pluralism and equitable funding. Sharansky himself is the most dogged and prominent supporter of the Western Wall compromise.

More important, we were wrong on the merits. We have yearned for Jerusalem for two millennia. It is the source of our strength, the place where our people was formed, where the Bible was written. Jews lived free and made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for a thousand years. Our national existence changed the world and led to the creation of two other great faiths.

The world’s superpower finally did the right thing, and we opposed it — not on the principle, but on the “timing.” The timing? Now is the not the right time? Two thousand years later and it is still not the right time? As if there is a peace process that the Palestinians are committed to and pursuing with conviction.

There were critics who accused the civil rights movement of moving too quickly. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s response: “The time is always ripe to do what is right.”

In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, King

wrote: “For years now I have heard the word ‘wait’ … that [our] action … is untimely.

This ‘wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’

We must come to see that justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

King often reminded us that time is neutral, that it can be used constructively or destructively. Israel’s opponents have used time more effectively than we have.

They have so distorted history that so many around the world question the very legitimacy of Jewish ties to Zion and Jerusalem.

We have neglected teaching and conveying, even to our own children, our millennia-old love affair with the Land of Israel and Jerusalem as its beating heart.

Judaism without Eretz Yisrael is not Judaism.

Judaism without Jerusalem is not Judaism.

This is not to deny that others consider Jerusalem holy. It is not to deny that the Palestinians seek Jerusalem as their capital.

I am in favor of two states for two peoples.

For that to happen, some kind of accommodation on Jerusalem will be necessary. If and when it occurs, I will support it.

But let no one be fooled. Peace will never rise on foundations of sand. Any agreement will collapse under the weight of its own inconsistencies if constructed on a scaffolding of lies.

President Trump simply acknowledged reality. It is about time. It should have been done decades ago, in 1949, when Israel declared Jerusalem its capital. Many presidents — Democrats and Republicans —

promised to move the U.S. Embassy.

The embassy will be in West Jerusalem.

Who contests West Jerusalem? President Trump did not pre-empt the eventual borders of Jerusalem. He did not preclude a permanent status agreement. He simply acknowledged a fact. Where do people meet Israeli prime ministers, presidents, parliamentarians and Supreme Court justices — in Tel Aviv? Where did Anwar Sadat speak when he wanted to convey on behalf of the Egyptian people a message of peace to Israelis: Tel Aviv?

It is for each country to declare its own capital. What other nation declares a capital unrecognized by the nations of the world?

What kind of special abuse is reserved for the Jewish nation?

At the same time, it is proper and necessary for us to remind ourselves and others that we are committed to a two-state solution that will require territorial compromises from both sides, including in Jerusalem.

We should continue to urge the American government to help bring about a negotiated peace.

We should also urge the international community to disabuse the Palestinian national movement of its exaggerated expectations and its insidious efforts to undermine and erase our connection to Zion. Until that happens, peace is an illusion. PJC Ammiel Hirsch is senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York.

— LETTERS — A different reaction?

I can’t help but wonder what the comments would have been if the Jewish Chronicle’s Dec. 15 article had been titled, “Local residents react to President Obama’s comments on Jerusalem”?

I have a suspicion there would have been praise and accolades from all.

Dotty Weisberg Monroeville

It’s OK to enjoy Christmas

I was surprised and delighted to read “It’s a holly, jolly time of year for Jewish Pittsburgh,” which notes the enjoyment of the Christmas holiday that is derived by many in our community of faith. I am not alone!

There is a school of thought within Judaism that I have always eschewed, one that decrees that we should have nothing to do with Christmas, that we should avoid exposing our children to it lest they become so smitten that they renounce their Jewish roots.

I see nothing wrong in embracing the beautiful traditions of other faiths, and Christmas offers so many: the Christmas tree, beautiful lighting displays and, most of all, good will toward men, peace, harmony and cherished time away from daily pursuits to enjoy with family. We can enjoy the symbols of Christmas while simultaneously honoring the meaning and traditions of Chanukah.

Oren Spiegler Upper Saint Clair

Correction In the Dec. 22 article, “For Jewish medical professionals, working on Christmas is tradition,” Dr. Robert Davis’ profession was incorrectly identified. He is a psychiatrist. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle regrets the error. PJC We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or email letters to letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org; Address & Fax: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr., Pittsburgh, PA 15217

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DECEMBER 29, 2017 13

Life & Culture This 25-year-old Jewish guy plays SpongeBob on Broadway opens in March.

For his part, Slater started acting and singing as a kid, and never really had a Plan B. “I know that my father was a little nervous about me pursuing a career in the arts,” he said. “It was actually at his suggestion that I go to a liberal arts college as opposed to an [acting] conservatory.”

had already been working on a SpongeBob project for five years — during that time, the cost of opening a show on Broadway had skyrocketed. And while Nickelodeon execs had visions of “Lion King” dancing in their heads, they were mindful that not all animated shows-turned-musicals become hits. (Does the name

Fortunately, thanks to grandma, Slater’s peripheral knowledge of Bikini Bottom and its denizens helped convince Landau that he

By Curt Schleier | JTA was her ideal SpongeBob. “At the time there was no script, no music,” EW YORK — There’s a new star on he said. “We were just messing with these Broadway and his name is — wait characters to see if we could make them fun.” for it — SpongeBob SquarePants.

There were a series of workshops, held “SpongeBob SquarePants: The over summer and winter breaks, so as Musical” opened earlier this month not to interfere with Slater’s studies. to rapturous reviews. And no one Slater was about two years into the collected higher praise than the title project when he was was told “if the character, played by Ethan Slater, a show moved forward, I was the guy graduate of Ramah summer camps.

— which was a relief,” he said.

For those unfamiliar with Nickel“Of course, there was no guarantee odeon’s long-running animated kids’ we were going to move forward. The show, SpongeBob is — spoiler alert! only reason to bring it to Broadway — a sea sponge who lives in a pinewas if it was something new and apple in the undersea community of innovative theatrically, not to do it Bikini Bottom. An eternal optimist, just to do it.” he’s a cook at the Krusty Krab (Eugene It was sentiment Nickelodeon Krabs, proprietor), has a host of heartily endorsed: If the network was friends including a starfish (Patrick going to invest a reported $20 million Star), a squirrel (Sandy Cheeks) and or so, the show needed to be perfect. a squid (Squidward Q. Tentacles).

The team made a number of Also in town: the less-than-virtuous fortuitous choices, such as having Plankton (real name Sheldon). the actors project their characters’ “SpongeBob SquarePants: The essences and not simply copy their Musical” is a genuinely fascinating cartoon counterparts. confection that will warm and win “I didn’t want to be doing an the hearts of, well, anyone with a impression,” Slater said. “It was heart. At its center is Slater, 25, who important to me and Tina that we has been involved in the production weren’t just copying.” for five years. His story is instructive p So instead of wearing a boxy Danny Skinner, left, as Patrick Star and Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants perform in the way Broadway musicals work in “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.” They are joined by the cast in yellow costume, Slater dresses in today — as well as the roles that both the photo below.

Photos by Joan Marcus colorful plaid slacks and a bright fate and family can play in shaping checkered yellow shirt. He retains one’s career path.

SpongeBob’s walk — more a sashay, Slater grew up in a Conservative really — which is greeted by cheers Jewish household in suburban Washfrom the audience as he crosses the ington, D.C. His father, Jay, is a doctor stage the first time. who works for the Federal Drug The show’s plot crosses age lines.

Administration and his stepmom, Ellen At its simplest, a volcano threatens Goldmuntz, works for the National to engulf Bikini Bottom. Sandy the Institutes of Health. The family squirrel comes up with an innobelonged to Ohr Kodesh, the Conservative (and scientific) way to vent vative synagogue in Silver Springs, the volcano, but it is rejected by the Md., where Slater had his bar mitzvah. community in favor of a simpler but He attended the Charles E. Smith fake solution offered by Plankton, Jewish Day School through middle which involves hypnotizing school, and while he attended a everyone in town. secular high school, Slater continued The community rallies against to take classes at Shoresh Hebrew Sandy, soon sporting “Mammals Go High, affiliated with Ohr Kodesh and Home” signs. And while the play co-founded by his dad. wasn’t intended as a political stateAsked how his Jewish upbringing ment, as it has developed over the impacted his career, Slater said it has years and the political situation in informed “every aspect” of his life — the U.S. has changed, the anti-sciincluding his childhood summers. ence, anti-almost-everyone aspect Slater attended Camp Ramah in obviously took on new (and adultNew England because his dad was like) resonance. the camp doctor.

Potentially dark undertones aside, “I went there originally as a staff rat, but And, yes, he took a number of polit- “Spider-Man” ring a bell?)

Slater considers himself an optimist — and stayed on until I was 16,” he said. ical science courses, just in case there was The show’s casting director saw some- said he’s become one even more since since Like many Jewish camps, arts and music law school in his future. But that never thing he liked in Slater and called him two his involvement with the production began. are major parts of the Ramah experience. happened. Instead, as a sophomore at Vassar weeks later about an opportunity — without “I’ve grown to be more like the character But perhaps there is something unique to College, Slater auditioned for a show — one disclosing what it was. in the sense that every day when I wake up, Ramah’s programs — two other Broadway that was decidedly not about a sea creature.

“From the sides [pages] and scenes I feel I’m happy and it’s going to be the best stars are alumni of the Conservative camping However, “it just so happened the audi- he sent me, it became clear that it was day of my life,” he said. network. Ben Platt recently completed his tion was being run by the same casting SpongeBob,” Slater said.

“I think I’m a little less naive than Tony Award-winning run in “Dear Evan director who was working on what was then “I didn’t watch the show much,” Slater SpongeBob can sometimes seem to be,” Hansen,” which also won the Tony for best called ‘The Untitled Tina Landau Project,’” admitted. “I grew up without cable, so I he added, “but I would also say I appremusical, and Cassie Levy will play Elsa in Slater explained. didn’t have a lot of memories. I first watched ciate the similarities more than I do the the Broadway adaptation of “Frozen” that Landau, an accomplished theater director, it at my bubbe’s house.” differences.” PJC

— THEATER —

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14 DECEMBER 29, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Organization Directory Organizations: Continued from page 10 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 (JJEP) 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 Judd, Recording Secretary; Barbara Caplan & Elinor Young, Correspondence Secretary; Gloria Elbling Gottlieb & 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.; Dorothy Grinberg, Cor. Secy.; Paula Garret, Imm. Past. Pres.; Cristina Ruggiero, Exec. Dir.; Becky Abrams, Dir of the Center for Women (a joint project of NCJW and the JWF); Misi Bielich, Director of the Children’s Rooms in the Court; Samantha Dye, Director of Programs and Community Outreach, Lynn Tomasists; Director of Retail-Thriftique.

••• NEW COMMUNITY CHEVRA KADISHA OF GREATER PITTSBURGH Email: NewCommunityCK@verizon.net Phone: 412-422-8044

••• 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.

••• 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

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

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

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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, Susan Nitzberg, 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 16

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 29, 2017 15

Organization Directory Organizations: Continued from page 15 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, Janice Greenwald; Vice President, Dick Leffel; Secretary, Lindi Kendal; Treasurer, Steve Klein; Office Manager, Lisa Schonberger.

••• TEMPLE DAVID CONGREGATION Making our house of prayer, learning and gathering into your second home.

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.

••• 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: @EmanuelPgh

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, Rabbi; Jessica Locketz, Assoc. 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-Treasurers.

••• 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

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

Jeremy R. Weisblatt, Rabbi; Bonnie Valinsky,

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 Hershman; Fargotstien.

•••

Seidman; Treas., Marian Activity Director, Ruth

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.; Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld, Asst.

Principal Boys High School; 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, Email: halochoscope@hotmail.com Rocky Wice, President 412-260-9694, Email: rocky770@gmail.com

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

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.

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. PJC >>>Send new listings and corrections to orgsdirectory@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Top Stories: Continued from page 1

February: Yeshiva schools teacher suspected of sexual abuse After a lengthy investigation, Rabbi Nisson Friedman, a former teacher at Yeshiva Boys School of Pittsburgh, became a suspect in several alleged incidents of child sexual abuse. The suspected assaults occurred both privately and publicly, including at least once in the Yeshiva building on Wightman Street.

The administration promptly reported the disclosure of the suspected assault to the police and to the state’s mandated ChildLine and Abuse Registry as well as to other authorities, said Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, dean of Yeshiva Schools. Friedman was

immediately suspended from his teaching duties and has left his position with Yeshiva Schools permanently.

April: AgeWell Pittsburgh receives national recognition

AgeWell Pittsburgh, a 14-year-old merger of three Pittsburgh organizations that serve seniors, received the 2017 Collaboration Prize from the Lodestar Foundation. The national award came with an award of $150,000. According to representatives, “the Collaboration Prize helps raise awareness of collaboration as a powerful and strategic way for nonprofits to increase their impact. A selection panel comprising major funders of nonprofit collaboration reviewed more than 350 applications from qualified nonprofits for the Prize.”

May: Magistrates make case for election

Of the four candidates who competed in the Democratic primary in District 05-2-35 (the 7th and 14th wards) for magisterial district judge, three are men and three are lawyers and three are Jewish.

The Chronicle followed Dan Butler, Abbie Campsie, Mark Sindler and Matt Wholey as they campaigned for a seat previously held by Hugh McGough. After McGough’s election to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Butler was appointed to complete the term. Butler ultimately won the May 16 contest.

June: Anti-Semitism across Pittsburgh spurs reaction

An anti-Semitic message reading “Kill the Jews!” was found spelled out in pine cones with a swastika at a residential intersection in Mt. Lebanon on May 30, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The police do not believe this incident consti-

tutes a hate crime but is rather the work of juveniles who may not fully understand the effect of their actions, Mt. Lebanon Police Lt. Duane Fisher told the Post-Gazette.”

The subject of hate and hate crimes arose again in subsequent months. In August, the Chronicle covered a panel discussion on “Incidents of Hate in School,” sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League in cooperation with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council and the Chartiers Valley School District.

Although the event was planned well in advance of the Charlottesville, Va., riots, said CRC director Josh Sayles, the incident in Charlottesville contributed to the relevance of the program.

“Suffice it to say, Jews know all too well what happens when white supremacists and Nazis congregate, whether it’s Charlottesville or elsewhere,” Sayles said. “We fully support the First Amendment. We don’t counter hate speech by shutting it down. We counter hate speech with more speech.”

Such was the advice of Brad Orsini, Federation’s director of Jewish community security, in a September story in the Chronicle that chronicled the dissemination of white supremacist propaganda in Squirrel Hill.

Orsini urged readers to report any sighting of hateful material to both him and the police. “For us, it’s really important that when people see this, they identify it as soon as possible.”

July: The Chronicle relaunch

In response to changes generated by the internet as well as alterations to the American Jewish landscape, the Chronicle under went a relaunch.

Several years in the making, the paper rebranded its name, was redesigned for easier reading, relaunched its website in partnership with The Times of Israel and through the generosity of donors was made free to every member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community, explained Jim Busis, the paper’s CEO and publisher.

“We really want to be the central platform for communication in Jewish Pittsburgh, the one place where everybody can go to get reliable news and information, to share opinions, to share joys and sorrows.”

Added Busis: “We know that people won’t necessarily agree with every viewpoint in the Chronicle, but we always hope they learn something, that they will be challenged and that they will be open to being exposed to viewpoints other than their own.”

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

August: Rabbis and congregations on the move

November: Local stories of #MeToo

Both spiritual leaders and sites were on the move in 2017. Temple Ohav Shalom, Congregation Emanu-El Israel and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation welcomed new rabbis this past year. Rabbi Chuck Diamond, formerly of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, joined his supporters in creating Kehilla La La, which he described as a “joyful, spiritual, engaging, inclusive Jewish experience.” Additionally, while New Light Congregation relocated from its own building on Beechwood Boulevard to rented space at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, Temple Hadar Israel, the last remaining synagogue in New Castle, closed its doors after 70 years.

As Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assaults captured national attention with more than 80 women reporting sexual abuse by the film producer, many women in Pittsburgh’s Jewish community were reminded of similarly traumatic episodes, often occurring within Jewish institutions or perpetrated by Jewish men they had been taught to trust. Spurred by the #MeToo initiative, launched by actor Alyssa Milano, victims of sexual assault or harassment spoke with the Chronicle. Following the story’s publication, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh hosted a program called “#MeToo, a Jewish Perspective” as part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning. “Any sexually abusive behavior is patently unacceptable,” said Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff.

“Nevertheless, it has become absolutely clear that abusive behavior toward women is rife in our society.”

September: JCC tackles gender inclusion and identity

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh explicated its catchphrase by specifically adding the terms “gender expression” and “gender identity” to its membership policy. Keeping consistent with years-long messaging that “the JCC is for everybody,” the center made clear that all are welcome within its walls and at its programs. “As an organization, while our mission implied that we are open to all, we felt that it was very important to be more explicit with ‘gender expression’ and ‘gender identity,’” said Marc Brown, immediate past chair of the JCC’s board.

“Now more than ever we felt it was important to let the community know we are open for everybody, and everybody should feel welcome in our agencies and at our programs and in the services we offer,” added Jim Ruttenberg, JCC chair of the board.

October: Rabbis deliver various responses after Las Vegas massacre

Following the Oct. 1 massacre in Las Vegas, local rabbis reflected on the tragedy.

Either by addressing their congregants from the pulpit or through written communication, Steel City spiritual leaders responded to the deadly shooting of 58 people, which left another 489 injured.

“Seriously, what is there to say that hasn’t already been said after Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, the Pulse Nightclub massacre, the Dallas sniper shootings, San Bernardino? On and on! You follow the news: This is almost a daily event. Tragic beyond words,” said Rabbi Mark Mahler of Temple Emanuel of South Hills.

“Jewish tradition implores us to do everything we can to prevent a loss of life in a potentially dangerous situation,” said Rabbi Stacy Petersohn of Congregation Emanu-El Israel in Greensburg. “In Leviticus 19, which we read on Yom Kippur afternoon, we are commanded to not stand idly by the blood of our neighbor. This is a call of compassion, to not allow ourselves to be desensitized to the violence that humans are capable of. It is also a call for justice, but what justice can the friends and families of the victims of gun violence have? Nothing will bring their loved ones back. We can learn from it and work toward future preventative measures.”

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

November: Centennial celebrations

Two Conservative congregations celebrated centennials in 2017. Beth El Congregation of South Hills and Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill embarked on multiple events in recognizing the history and future of each synagogue. Similarly celebrating in the Steel City was Hadassah, whose 100th anniversary in Pittsburgh was marked by a gala event held at the University Club in September.

December: New Castle congregation closes and sends Torahs worldwide

Despite certain sadness when Temple Hadar Israel, the last remaining synagogue in New Castle, closed, its former members were pleased to know that the congregation’s Torah scrolls were benefiting others.

Over the past year, Temple Hadar Israel sent scrolls to Beit Centrum Ki Tov, a new progressive congregation in Warsaw, Poland, and to a new congregation in South Carolina. More recently, Temple Hadar Israel sent a Torah to a congregation in Houston that was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey and a Torah to an emerging Jewish population in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Our whole mission is to provide help and support to others as we leave our congregation,” said Sam Bernstine, president of Temple Hadar Israel. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

DECEMBER 29, 2017 17

Headlines Gratz: Continued from page 11

Americans, but is also particularly important to Jewish Americans because I think these religious monuments are, in a sense, an attack on Jewish religious liberty,” Finkelman said.

He is also proud of the thousands of students he has taught. He said he regularly receives emails from former students, thanking him for enriching their lives.

Finkelman has written more than 40 books and 200 scholarly articles. About half of his writings are on civil rights and slavery. He said that these issues test American values such as access to voting rights.

His latest book, “Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Court,” covers the personal lives of three Supreme Court justices who upheld the institution of slavery.

“I’m interested in slavery and race because I’m Jewish,” Finkelman said. “In a sense, the American experience of slavery and race is very similar to the Jewish experience of hundreds of years in Europe.”

He has also written about American Jewish history. One example includes an essay about how Jewish settlers gained civic rights during colonial times by getting involved in public life.

Finkelman said he never would have imagined becoming a college president because the position would take away time from his writing. But the opportunity to lead a university as historic as Gratz was too much to pass up.

Besides its role as the oldest independent

Torah and pluralistic college for Jewish studies in North America, Gratz also has a program in Holocaust and genocide studies, which intrigued Finkelman.

“It’s important to see how Holocaust and genocide studies are more than just about Jews.

Genocide has affected many people,” he said.

“This is important because as a small group of people in a very large world, we constantly have to have alliances and allies. We have to have friends. We have to work together.”

Expanding this program, as well as others such as the master’s in Holocaust education, is one task Finkelman wants to pursue as president. In general, he wants to make Gratz a better-known university throughout the United States and even the world. He is having conversations to bring more international students to the Holocaust and genocide studies program at Gratz.

Finkelman is also interested in developing a Holocaust and law program, which could address the legal issues around property that was stolen during the Holocaust, an issue that persists today. In addition, he sees potential in Gratz to hold conferences that connect American-Jewish issues to modern issues, such as a conference on the boycott, divestments and sanctions (BDS) movement.

“I want [Gratz] to be a place that people turn to,” Finkelman said. “I want it be a resource for the world.” PJC Selah Maya Zighelboim writes for the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

Enjoying a life of challenge Rabbi Ely Rosenfeld Parshat Vayechi Genesis 47:28-50:26

H

ave you ever run a marathon? A half?

I ask because I recently completed my seventh full marathon, and I hated the entire experience. In fact, I actually hated all seven races; I was just embarrassed to admit it.

After the first five miles of adrenaline and fun, the miles seemed to take forever, and by mile 13 I was wondering why I even had come up with this crazy idea to begin with. When I finally got to mile 26, I was sure that this was the last time and I am going to retire from this crazy hobby.

You’re probably thinking, “What took him so long to realize this?”

Good question.

I figured if everyone was doing it, there must be something to it. “A method to the madness.”

After taking a few months off from racing, I realized I totally missed the point!

You see, the Torah tells us in this week’s portion of Vayechi that “Jacob lived for 17 years in the land of Egypt.”

Our commentaries tell us that the Torah is pointing this out because these were the best years of his life!

Huh? Considering Egypt was the darkest spiritual place to dwell in that time, how is it possible

that our forefather enjoyed that time so much?

The Chasidic masters explain that it is in the darkest of times when our deepest and our most core strengths are revealed.

Jacob knew before he went down to Egypt that he was going to have to plan ahead, and he sent Judah to create a spiritual oasis in the land of Goshen. By being aware of the challenges of darkness he was able to tap into his powers of light and turned those years into the best of his life.

Now I get it!

The marathon is not about having a fun time. Rather, it’s about having a hard time, a challenging time.

When the pain comes at mile 13, I know now that it is the feeling of weakness leaving my body and that I have become so much stronger.

Even if you don’t run, I bet you can relate my challenge to something in your life — because life is a marathon and the goal is to turn the challenges into happiness, to reveal the light in the darkness.

Thank G-d, I now know that I can overcome whatever challenge may come my way and turn it into light.

May we will all have the strength to overcome such challenges. PJC Rabbi Ely Rosenfeld is the director of Chabad Fox Chapel and the Jewish Relief Agency of Pittsburgh. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Obituaries BINAKONSKY, M.D.: Harry S. Binakonsky on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Jeannie, his son, David, his parents, Minnie and Joseph Binakonsky, and his brother, Lou. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Judy and Rich Weitzman, and grandchildren Linda, Ari and Daniel Weitzman, and Jane, Rachel, Lucy and Emily Binakonsky, and daughter-in-law, Charlotte Binakonsky.

Known to his friends and family as Binny, he attended Princeton University on a senatorial scholarship. Through the military V-12 program, he attended the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. He subsequently served in the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Upon his return to Pittsburgh, he joined Brentwood Medical Group and was dedicated to and loved by his patients. He became the medical director of Penn Group Health Plan, which became HealthAmerica.

He was a founding member of Beth Israel Center in Pittsburgh’s South Hills. Binny loved all things beautiful. He was a gardener with a green thumb who could make anything grow. He appreciated the arts, and his drawings and photography demonstrated his own artistic gift. Patrons of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, he and Jeannie regularly attended concerts, including the first one held at Heinz Hall. Binny put the “gentle” in gentleman. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation.

The family suggests donations be made to the Sara Jean and Harry S. Binakonsky Palliative Care Fund at Magee-Womens Hospital, 300 Halket St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

GOLD: Gary Gold passed away peacefully in his room at Weinberg Village surrounded by his family on December 20, 2017, one month shy of his 98th birthday. He was married to Marlene Gold for 62 years. Gary and Marlene were the sole surviving members of each of their families and were hidden by righteous gentiles, after escaping the ghetto in Grodno, Poland, during World War II. They lived in Italy briefly after the war and made their home in Pittsburgh and raised their family.

Gary is survived by his three children: Louis (Peggy), Barbara Hirsch (Bernie) and Melvin (Cathy), six granddaughters: Amy Wertman (Joel), Michele Hayduke(Devlin), Emily Grunstein (David), Carrie Bitterman (Aaron), Mallory Gold (Jeremy Rudkin) and Ashley Gold (Eli Glazier) and four great-grandchildren: Zachary and Benjamin Wertman and Abigail and Olivia Hayduke.

The family wishes to express their sincere

gratitude to the extraordinary staff of Weinberg Village, who cared for him with love, laughter, dignity and grace Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. The family requests that donations be made to Weinberg Village 300 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.

ROSEN: Martin Hilliard Rosen, December 31, 1930-December 18, 2017, 86, passed away in San Antonio, Texas. He was born in Pittsburgh to Charles C. and Rose Fein Rosen. Martin graduated from Kiske Prep School, in Saltsburg, Pa., and Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. He was preceded in death by, his parents and his second, wife, Nancy Rosen. Martin is survived by his wife, Marjorie Rosen; son, Steven Rosen and wife, Jane; daughter, Jacy Rosen Hanson and husband, Jerry; grandchildren: Lauren Rosen and Garrett Rosen; stepson, James C. (Jay) Wright and wife, Becky; stepdaughters: Lynne Milliron and husband, Richard and Joanna Crane; stepgrandsons: Travis Wright and wife, Katy, Cameron Crane and Tyler Wright and wife, Clara; stepgrandson, Matthew Milliron; stepgranddaughter, Caroline Milliron; stepdaughter, Marlene Blair; stepdaughter, Marcy Bair Garza and husband, Dale; stepgrandson, Aaron Garza and wife, Justine; stepgranddaughter, Andrea Garza; stepgreat granddaughter, Rebekah Wright and Gisele Wright. Services were held at Porter Loring North Chapel in San Antonio. Interment at Sunset Memorial Park.

SMITH: Natalie Haase Smith, 87 years young, formerly of Squirrel Hill. Wife of late optometrist Frederick Herbert Smith, mother of Howard Smith and Karen (Smith) Lebovitz, grandmother of Andrew Lebovitz, Liza Lebovitz and Lena Smith. Graveside services and interment were held at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to Denver Hospice, thedenverhospice.org. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc.

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Sanford Middleman ...............................................Katie Middleman Rona Mustin .................................................................Henry Mustin Evelyn K. Rebb...................................................... Betty Kuperstock Evelyn K. Rebb........................................................Freda Winerman Rhoda Rofey ..............................................................Leonard Rofey Ross Rosen .........................................................Anna Gross Rosen Marcia Rosenberg ............................................. Kenneth Rosenberg Ruth Savitz ................................................................Max Rosenfeld Franklin Siegel ............................................................ Jack C. Siegel Rhoda F. Sikov ................................................................ Ella R. Finn Sharon Snider ................................................................. Dan Snider Pat Spokane........................................................ Dorothy Schneirov Marlene Terkel ....................................................... Melvin Silberblatt Myrna Tureff ......................................................... Gertrude Schugar Myrna Tureff ................................................................ Pearl Alinikoff Harold C. Weiss ........................................................Mollie B. Weiss Roberta Zarin ......................................................... William Solomon Judith Ziff ................................................................. Violet Slesinger

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday December 31: Darlene D. Beck, Anna Brodie, Harold E. Caplan, Abraham Cohen, Molly Crea, Jacob Harry Feingold, David S. Finkel, Samuel Goldblatt, Simon Greengard, Phillip Jacobson, William L. Kann, Louis C. Klein, Sidney Linzer, Hyman Mallinger, Marvin L. Olender, Seymour N. Seltman, Belle Skirboll, Meyer M. Snyder, Dorothy Stein, Lena Steinfeld, Arthur J. Stern, Sam Warmstein, Edith Wolinsky Monday January 1: Dora S. Birnbaum, Hyman Bleckman, Violetmae Caplan, Sarah Gerson, Anna Lebovitz Glick, Jack Green, Benjamin Hushan, Helen Karnold, Henry Mustin, Carrie W. Nevins, Rose Rosenberg, Irvin Skirboll, Yetta Weiss, Jacob Wolk Tuesday January 2: Dorothy Augenblick, Mayer Berenfield, Isadore L. Cohen, Ronald E. Fishman, Ernie M. Friedman, Saul Garber, Sara Barbara Goldberg, Pauline Goldenson, Israel Heyman, Pearl C. Lazar, Samuel Levenson, Jerome Zachery Lieber, Morris K. Manela, Irwin Shapiro, Melvin Silberblatt, Joseph A. Simon, Dan Snider Wednesday January 3: Nathan G. Bagran, Howard Jay Dunhoff, Joseph Elias, George Goldberg, Louis Gordon, Albert Lenchner, George A. Levenson, Beatrice Loeb, Morris Martin, Rose Berkowitz Simensky, Esther Teplitz Thursday January 4: Herman Godfrey Bigg, Jacob Bloom, Esther Broad, Israel Buck, Samuel Davis, Albert Epstein, Sam Faigen, Mortimer M. Frankston, Lillian Granoff, Edward L. Kimball, Elizabeth Kopelman, Samuel E. Latterman, Dr. Fred Laufe, Faye Lester, Sam Liebman, Katherine Greenberg Lincoff, Sam Melnick, Milton Moses, Florence Neft, Bessie Silverstein Perman, Harry Rom, Ethel Sachs, Louis Seder, Anne Deutch Shapiro, Meyer S. Sikov, Seymour Solomon, Herman Spiegelman, Helyn R. Spokane, Ike Tepper, Mollie B. Weiss Friday January 5: Albert Ackerman, Julius Caplan, Jacob Diznoff, Rose Friedberg, Morris Gross, Minnie Gusky, Gertrude P. Katz, Margaret Kopelson, Charles Lipsitz, Sylvia R. Litman, Irwin Luick, Maurice H. Margolis, Rose Steinman Morris, Philip H. Nevins, Dr. William Ratowsky, Kenneth E. Rosenberg, Belle Somach, Jennie Spokane, Rev. Alex Spokane, Samuel Sidney Zelmanovitz Saturday January 6: Charles Bardin, Samuel Brill, Gertrude Cohen, Ithiel A. Cohen, Miriam Gusky Dajczmann, Philip B. Eatman, Anna Kitman Epstein, Dov Baer Friedland, Gerson E. Friedlander, Mary L. Furman, Bessie Goldberg, Isadore L. Horewitz, Ernestine Gold Klein, Samuel Levy, Ben Lipsitz, Ida Makler, Mildred Broida Markowitz, Rose Pitler, Herschel Pretter, Sol Rattner, Nathan Rosenthal, Herman Skirble, Therese Wechsler

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DECEMBER 29, 2017 19

Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19

STIVERS: Bunny Stivers, writer and co-producer of the “Pe op l e s C h oi c e Awards,” “Circus of the Stars” and other successful television shows, has died peacefully at her home at the age of 93. Bunny was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1945. After the death of her first husband, World War II pilot Bernard Hendel, she moved with her two young sons to New York City in 1957. She landed a job writing fashion copy for the game show “The Big Payoff,” and

Mitzvah: Continued from page 1

the 11-year-old. “I get to spend time with her; it makes me feel good.”

Such sentiment is mutual, said Jane. “I’m really proud of him that he enjoys it and is making it a part of his life.”

Mitzvah Day is “a great way to engage members of the Jewish community in tikkun olam and another opportunity and entree to furthering and developing engagement and involvement,” said Jeff Finkelstein, the Federation’s CEO and president.

Mitzvah Day is also “fun,” said Abby Blank,

HaZamir: Continued from page 2

The decision to cease funding the Karmiel/ Misgav chapter was made due to “changing needs,” Hertzman said. “They decided to shift the money elsewhere. The program was not having the broad impact that the steering committee desired.”

Last year, Hertzman said, there were just nine participants from Pittsburgh and 12 from Karmiel/Misgav.

“HaZamir was successful in building relationships between those families, but the steering committee was looking for new initiatives that are more relevant today,” including programs that bring youth educators from the partnership region to Pittsburgh and various adult programs.

Turzai: Continued from page 3

the Jewish day schools but the specifics of where that money goes is always dependent on the businesses that apply and how much tax credit they have available.

For participating businesses, the donations apply not only toward state taxes but also toward federal tax benefits, the amount of which could decrease with the new federal tax plan that President Donald Trump signed into law on Dec. 23.

Even so, Hertzman said he doesn’t expect the amount of donations to decrease because 20 DECEMBER 29, 2017

later worked for Dick Clark on his Saturday night rock and roll show. During that time she met her soon-to-be husband, Bob Stivers, and they collaborated on several shows including “100 Grand,” the “Baby Game” and “Showcase ‘68.” In 1969, they moved to Los Angeles and produced “The Movie Game,” a game show featuring Daily Variety gossip columnist Army Archerd. With Bob as executive producer and Bunny as writer and partner, they hit the big time in 1975 with the annual “People’s Choice Awards.” They sold the show in 1982 but it remains on the air to this day.

“People’s Choice” was followed by “The Circus of the Stars,” an annual special that featured movie and television stars performing circus and acrobatic acts that ran for 19 seasons. Bob passed away in 1988, and Bunny continued working on “Circus of the Stars” for several

more years. After retiring, she became active in the American Film Institute Association serving as its president from 1997-1999 and was a member of the Beverly Hills Temple of the Arts and a lifelong member of the Writers Guild. Bunny and Bob enjoyed a cosmopolitan lifestyle, becoming personal friends with Hollywood personalities such as Wolfgang Puck and Vincent Price, and travelling frequently to international destinations. But Bunny never lost her small-town charm and straightforwardness. She was consistently generous and inspirational to co-workers, family and friends, and in spite of a decades long career in the rough and tumble world of show business, didn’t have an enemy in the world. She loved Broadway musicals and opera and in her later years built much of her life around music including more than

a dozen trips to Europe, New York and elsewhere for performances of the “Ring” and other operas. Although she kept it under wraps, she had a beautiful and sultry alto voice and hearing her sing along with the radio was a rare treat for her friends and family. All will remember her caring personality, her glamorous beauty, her exquisite taste and the graceful good humor she exuded throughout her life. Bunny is survived by her sister, Rita Lowenthal, her sons, Larry Hendel and Tom Stock-Hendel, their wives, Lucy and Vivian, grandchildren Rachael, Matthew, Jennifer and Kristin, and great-grandchildren, Brian, Bobby, Michael, Catherine, Jason, Brooke and Benjamin. Donations may be sent Guide Dogs of America, Sylmar, Calif. A memorial service was held at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles. PJC

a 12-year-old who spent Monday working on United Way literacy kits alongside her mother, father, brother and sister. The paper creations, which are intended to increase the enjoyment of reading, were great to make “because we got to laugh at each other’s work,” said Blank.

Spending time together as a family also lent some perspective to the Mitzvah Day experience, added the young adult. “It’s important to help people who aren’t as fortunate as us and give them the experience they deserve.” PJC See the Jan. 5 Community pages for more Mitzvah Day photos.

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

p Raina Kerman prepares brunch for residents at Murray Towers.

Acknowledging that local HaZamir concerts have attracted 300 people at Rodef Shalom and more than 100 people in the South Hills, Hertzman recognized “it’s hard for participants any time we end funding for one program and shift it to another.”

Federation funding for HaZamir Pittsburgh remains in place.

The Karmiel/Misgav chapter of HaZamir will continue in Israel with its own local funding, said Frim, but the question remains as to whether the Israeli singers will be able to come to the U.S. in the spring. The 2018 HaZamir Festival — which includes a few days of the singers rehearsing together before their show — is scheduled to begin on Thursday, March 15 and conclude on Sunday March 18, with the concert at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.

“We’re still working on it,” Frim said. “There

are a lot of things up in the air. We may not be able to bring the whole group from Israel, which would be a shame. And if they do come to New York to the festival, we will have to figure out how to get the kids to Pittsburgh.

“It’s nor a Partership2Gether project any more, but there are a number of people in the community that value it for its own sake,” Frim added.

While the program itself is valuable because it provides a vehicle for kids to sing “high-level Jewish choral music,” the Israeli partnership component is also significant, according to Molly May, conductor for HaZamir Pittsburgh.

“It is an outlet for making Jewish connections and making connections with Israel,” she said.

May described Shabbat at the festival retreat — where the HaZamir teens from all the chapters get together to rehearse — when all

the federal tax benefit is “icing on the cake” compared to the state benefit.

“My sense from talking to businesses is that there are very few people who are doing this as a business decision solely,” Hertzman said. “They’re doing it because they are people who care about education and people who care about the Jewish community.”

In addition to the funding increase, Turzai championed legislation from last year’s budget that prohibited the state from withholding funds for the EITC and OSTC programs if there were a budget impasse.

That legislation “proved effective this year,” said Hank Butler, executive director at the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition,

which advocates for Jewish Federations in Pennsylvania.

“Elected officials in Pennsylvania have clearly realized the value of this program,” Butler said. “Every time they increase the money, it’s used immediately.”

For Abby Schachter, who has three children at Hillel Academy and is a beneficiary of the OSTC program, the scholarship money has provided her children with the Jewish education they need to be “24/7 365 Jews.”

Without the program, she said, her taxes would be supporting education for other people’s children rather than her own.

“I’m most grateful our taxes go to pay for

Photo by Adam Reinherz.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

the Israeli seniors who will be headed to the IDF after high school are called to the stage.

“We sing the prayer for peace in Israel,” May said. “While the room is singing together to these kids who will be serving their country, there is a pluralistic connection.”

The connections the teens build with each other is unique, she continued.

“It’s about music, it’s about building a shared repertoire over time. It’s different than going to camp or doing Diller [Teen Fellows] for one year. This builds over the course of a few years and culminates with the moment we are singing to these Israeli teens before they head to the army and the performance at a major venue in New York.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. public education and that our children get to get that money transferred to their school,” she said.

Turzai agreed that state lawmakers advocating for the EITC and OSTC programs must “keep pace” with the constant increase in state funding for public education.

“The whole objective [of the program] is that one size does not fit all,” he said. “If the state is going to be supportive of education, then this should be part of our mission.”

Turzai is running for Pennsylvania governor in the 2018 election. PJC Lauren Rosenblatt can be reached at lrosenblatt@pittsburghjewishchronicle.com.

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DECEMBER 29, 2017 21

Community Super effort

Well done!

Super Sunday for Jewish Pittsburgh brought volunteers together to raise funds for the Community Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Some 300 volunteers convened at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh on Dec. 3 to phone potential donors. The annual phone-a-thon raised $246,000 for the Community Campaign.

As the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh continues building bridges between its Early Childhood Development Centers in Squirrel Hill and the South Hills, families joined in for the first Chanukah Kehilah in the South Hills. Kehilah (community) connections between families and educators are strengthened by parents and children having meaningful experiences in the classrooms. Kol Ha’Kavod (well done) to the dedicated early childhood professionals and families who joined this new program.

p Jewish organizations from around the community came together, including representatives and students from all three Jewish day school.

Photos by David Bachman

p Friends choose beads: green for courage, yellow for spirit.

Machers & Shakers

Matthew Bolton, left, director of the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry and SOS Pittsburgh, received the Ira and Nanette Gordon Professional Achievement Award on Dec. 11. The annual award recognizes an outstanding community professional who is in the early career stage. The Ira and Nanette Gordon Professional Achievement Award is endowed through the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Peter Gordon, son of the award founders, presented the award to Bolton.

p Pre-K parents and children, beading by the flames of homemade candles, choose pink for bravery.

Photo by David Bachman

Droz Marketing dominated the Western Pennsylvania Marketer of the Year awards, sponsored by the American Marketing Association, bringing its total to 28. Droz continues to hold the nation’s record for Marketer of the Year winners, including Grand Marketer of the Year. CEO Dan Droz, left, attributes the accomplishment to “the willingness of our clients to be open to new ideas.” This year’s winning clients were Johnston Lykos, a law firm specializing in employment law, and Mine Vision Systems, a Pittsburgh-based startup that developed technology to map underground mines and construction sites.

Photo provided by Dan Droz

22 DECEMBER 29, 2017

p Dreidel clay exploration is fun for everyone.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photos by Matt Unger for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

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Community Vodka and latkes

Festival fun

Young adults brought the celebratory spirit of Chanukah to the 12th annual Vodka Latke: Party with a Purpose event on Dec. 16 with a pajama-party theme. Vodka Latke is presented

by Shalom Pittsburgh, a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

Chabad of Western Pennsylvania and Bnai Emunoh Chabad of Squirrel Hill partnered with The Waterfront Shopping Center to celebrate the Festival of Chanukah under the Homestead Grays Bridge at The Waterfront on Dec. 12. The annual Menorah Parade featuring nearly 100 vehicles adorned with menorahs preceded the festival.

p Event chairs and host committee members, posing with a giant stuffed elephant, model the suggested attire of the evening. Top row, from left:: Matt Feinman, Aaron Weiss, Emily Weiss, Sam Kline, Dave Scheimer, Leah Cullen and Jordan Katz. Bottom row, from left: Matt Sandler, Sharon Feinman, Jackie Perlow and Stacey Horvitz. Not pictured: Amy Herlich.

p Festival-goers watch the Chasidic rock band 8th Day perform.

Photo provided by Bnai Emunah Chabad

Wine and books t Israel Bonds/Development Corporation for Israel Women’s Division hosted an Evening of Wine and Books at the home of Judy Palkovitz on Dec. 5. Author, blogger and entrepreneur Rachel Blaufeld was the featured speaker. From left: Judy Goldman, Rachel Blaufeld and Judy Palkovitz

Photo provided by Israel Bonds/ Development Corporation

Chanukah fun p Shalom Pittsburgh chair Max Cahn and his fiancée, Sara Westheim, snuggle up with the giant stuffed elephant. Shalom Pittsburgh connects and hosts events for young adults ages 22 to 45, offering professional networking, social opportunities and family-friendly activities.

p Marissa Karp puts her driving skills to the test as she rides one of the Photos by Josh Franzos motorcycle simulators provided by Dave & Buster’s.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Stephanie Stropshire and daughter Sammy enjoy a moment at Kehillah La La’s Chanukah Party.

Photo provided by Rabbi Chuck Diamond

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 29, 2017 23

24 DECEMBER 29, 2017

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