Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3/16/2018

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March 16, 2018 | 29 Adar 5778

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Candlelighting 7:10 p.m. | Havdalah 8:09 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 11 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Establishment candidate, an independent, wins council seat

Israeli Jews, Arabs finding common ground at Pittsburgh-inspired center

$1.50

Local trips to Poland will continue despite new Holocaust law

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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ACAT is based on the model established

by Strickland at Manchester Bidwell, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that has proven that at-risk populations can thrive when allowed to learn in an environment of respect and beauty. For the last four decades, it has reversed the negative trajectory of scores of Pittsburghers through such avenues as photography, horticulture, ceramics and the culinary arts, boosting individual confidence and providing people with skills they can use to find jobs.

The Manchester Bidwell model was replicated in Akko, and since November 2016, has provided photography and threedimensional printing training to underserved youth, while at the same time supporting coexistence among Jews and Arabs.

The model had already been successfully replicated in eight locations across the

wo upcoming trips to Poland organized by local Jewish organizations will go on as planned despite a new and controversial Polish law that makes it a crime to accuse the Polish state of responsibility or co-responsibility for Nazi atrocities. It also criminalizes the use of phrases like “Polish death camps” when referring to camps in Nazi-occupied Poland. Jewish groups, the Israeli government and the U.S. State Department have all condemned the new law, with some comparing it to Holocaust denial.

Neither Classrooms Without Borders’ July 1-9 trip to Poland for public and private educators, nor a mission to Poland on June 24 sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will be canceled.

The Federation mission, chaired by Randy Whitlatch, coincides with the Ride for the Living, a 55-mile bicycle ride from Auschwitz to the Jewish Community Center in Krakow.

“My personal view is, now is a more important time than ever to go over and participate on that ride and show support for Polish Jewry, and to show them they are not alone,” said Whitlatch, who stressed that he was speaking on his own behalf and not on behalf of the Federation. “The Polish government needs to understand that we are going to support Jews in Poland.”

Likewise, CWB will “absolutely not” cancel its summer trip, said Zipora Gur, executive director and founder of the organization.

Taking visitors to Poland, she said, is “one of the best ways to show what happened” during the Holocaust.

Nonetheless, Melissa Haviv, assistant director of CWB, stressed that the organization “does not support this law in any way.”

“It is a bad law in that it limits freedom

Please see ACAT, page 24

Please see Poland, page 24

Erika Strassburger had backing of Mayor Peduto in District 8 race.

Page 3 LOCAL All hands on deck

Pittsburghers train to be at the ready should Israel require it.

Page 4 LOCAL Professional development National JPRO Network’s local lay leader has grand vision.

Page 6

 Arab and Jewish students at the Akko Center for Arts and Technology benefit from a program with roots in the Manchester Bidwell Corporation.

Photo courtesy of Mark Frank

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

B

ill Strickland got “chills” as he read the letter from an Arab teacher in a small village near Akko, Israel.

That’s because Strickland, the founder and CEO of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation on Pittsburgh’s North Side, saw in that letter evidence of a “miracle,” he said.

The letter, penned by teacher Ahlam Doawd, describes in detail how the Akko Center for Arts and Technology (ACAT), which opened in 2016, already has changed the lives of her most “challenging” students, offering them a path toward self-esteem as well as a bridge to forge meaningful connections with their Jewish peers.

“This was so encouraging, because what she represents is what we are trying to do over there, getting Jews and Arabs to go to school together,” Strickland said. “This teared me up. That’s why I built this center.”

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Headlines Erika Strassburger wins District 8 special election the heels of an endorsement by Peduto, whose website the day before the election lauded the candidate’s experience, values and understanding.

tion. “Erika put her money where her mouth is when it comes to protecting our environment and health — now, and for our kids and future generations.”

All told, Strassburger raised close to $143,000, more than three times as the funds collected by Finn, her closest rival, according

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Despite the fundraising disparity, ndependent Erika Strassburger Royston was encouraged by voter claimed victory in the March 6 support for Finn, the Democrat. special election for the District “This is just the beginning and 8 seat in Pittsburgh’s City Council.

Sonja is excited to work to make In winning the District 8 seat, Pittsburgh the best city it can which represents Pittsburgh’s East be,” said Royston.

End neighborhoods, including For her part, Finn dismissed the Oakland, Point Breeze, Shadyside loss as almost preordained. and Squirrel Hill, Strassburger The campaign “went as it was bested a field of three other candiexpected to go before I got into the dates: Democrat Sonja Finn, arena, with the council seat being Republican Rennick Remley and handed down,” she said, according Marty Healey, an independent. to the Post-Gazette. “But a lot “I’m honored to have this opporof things wouldn’t have come to tunity. I will work hard to serve light if I hadn’t brought up some my constituents to the best of my of these issues. Even just in terms ability,” said Strassburger, who in of what we can do in the city — winning became the first female gun control, making the Amazon to hold the District 8 seat, a post bid more transparent, universal formerly occupied by Councilman pre-K education.”

Dan Gilman. Gilman’s departure to At her victory party at Soba become Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief restaurant in Shadyside, Strasof staff prompted the election. sburger thanked her staff and More than 4,600 voters turned out volunteers. She also pledged to for the contest. According to unoffi“pay it forward.” cial results, Strassburger won nearly p “There’s a lot to do, from Erika Strassburger, center, poses for a photo with campaign supporters Itha Cao, left, and Photo by Adam Reinherz managing growth, cleaning up our 64 percent of the vote, while Finn Alicia Carberry outside of the Northumberland Street polling station. took almost 28 percent. Remley water and air and ensuring that the won 7 percent and Healy 1 percent of the vote.

Strassburger, who was formerly Gilman’s Apart from receiving high-profile endorse- most vulnerable members of our district are “We fought a good fight, we’re disap- chief of staff, spent nearly a decade as an envi- ments, Strassburger’s campaign collected a taken care of and continuing to offer constitpointed in the loss but we are glad that ronmental advocate at PennEnvironment. considerable amount of cash along the way. uent services,” said Strassburger. “I’m ready we got a lot of people to come out and “When it comes to protecting our envi- According to the city’s campaign finance to get to work.” PJC vote for Sonja,” said Tracy Royston, Finn’s ronment, there’s no one better than Erika,” reports, People for Peduto, Friends of Rich Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz campaign manager.

David Masur, the organization’s executive Fitzgerald and Friends of Dan Gilman each @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Strassburger’s historic win came on director, said several weeks before the elec- contributed $5,000 to her independent bid.

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MARCH 16, 2018 3

Headlines Pittsburghers gear up to help first responders in Israel CHATHAM UNIVERSITY at Tree of Life Congregation Created with the enrichment of the community in mind, Chatham University and Tree of Life have created a lifelong learning event series featuring lectures, discussions, musical performances, workshops, and film screenings that deepen knowledge, broaden connections, and expand horizons.

7:00 P.M. at TREE OF LIFE and free to the public unless otherwise noted.

MARCH

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Workshop: Sourdough Bread-Making, 3:00-6:00 p.m., Shauna Kearns, Chatham University, $75

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Jewish Horror Film: Rosemary’s Baby, University of Pittsburgh Professor Adam Lowenstein, at Chatham University’s Eddy Theater

APRIL

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Globalization: What It Is and What to Do About It or Not Do, Former Ambassador Dennis Jett

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Workshop: Creating a Vessel of Felted Wool, 3:00-6:00 p.m., Juliane Gorman, Chatham University, $50

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The Significance of Souvenirs, Dr. Bill Lenz, Chatham University Professor Emeritus

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Public Debate: America’s Best Days are Yet to Come, led by Dr. Tom Benson, Green Mountain College Professor Emeritus and Senior Debate For more information, events, and to register, visit chatham.edu/treeoflife

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to an emergency situation were a big part of the training, organizers and participants alike said another component was learning how Israelis handle such situations and how the Israeli government prepares them.

For example, a group of medical volunteers said the emergency room in Israel is set up to move faster, getting people to their place of treatment quicker and preventing them from returning to the emergency room. It is designed for a mass casualty, they said.

On a broader scale, the training focused on the resiliency and self-sufficiency of Israeli residents who feel they must be constantly

group of Pittsburghers gathered at the Allegheny County Emergency Services Fire Academy to learn basic first aid, trauma and search and rescue skills.

While the volunteers were encouraged to put those skills into use in their own communities, the goal of the training was to put them in action in Israel.

Spending the day learning how to properly tie a tourniquet, handle the pressure of a fire hose and carry out a search and rescue mission using only tools they’d find at a neighbor’s house, about 35 locals participated in the training session Sunday to learn to assist first responders in Israel in the case of an emergency, such as a natural disaster or rocket attack.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Parternship2Gether collaborated with the Israeli city of Karmiel and the Misgav region to bring the program to the city for the first time Sunday. The Emergency Volunteers Project, a nonprofit organization that led the training, p Charlene Tissenbaum, left, and Ronna partners with cities around the Harris Askin, co-chairs of Adult Kesher and United States to train volunteers to members of the Partnership2Gether steering assist Israeli first responders, who committee, helped bring the Emergency can then increase their efforts on Volunteers Project to Pittsburgh.

Photo by Lauren Rosenblatt the front lines of disaster.

“Israel is a very small country and we are prepared for an emergency situation, whether suffering from a lack of manpower in terms because of the danger neighboring countries of emergency services,” said Yoni Blitz, the could pose or the possibility of natural disasdirector of training for EVP. “We can put ters, from earthquakes to tsunamis. [the volunteers] in time of emergency wherInbar Levy, a search and rescue officer with ever they are needed. … It’s not about faith. the Home Front Command Force in Israel, It’s about brotherhood.” said part of her duty in the Israel Defense The organization was founded in 2009 Forces was to train and teach civilians to be to create a “bridge” between professionals volunteers in an emergency situation, similar from the United States and professionals to the training she helped lead in Pittsburgh. from Israel, including firefighters, doctors, “We help them to help themselves,” she said. nurses and paramedics. The group also trains Kim Salzman, the director of Israel and community members, who do not need any Overseas Operations at the Federation, prior experience as a first responder, to deliver agreed. When she lived in Israel, she said, water, help people in shelters maintain posi- she would often go online to research how tivity or assist in gathering information about she could protect herself and her loved ones, the emergency situation, among other tasks. and what the Israeli government suggested The weekend volunteers were split into they do if a situation were to arise. three groups to focus on specific skills, but “At the end of the day, the citizens know they were all trained in the basics of first aid, they have to take care of themselves,” she trauma, fire drills and search and rescue. The said. “The founding of the State of Israel came training culminated in a mass casualty drill, out of necessity and not being able to rely on with community members scattered around anyone but ourselves. It’s part of who we are.” a construction site acting out scenarios Each participant left the training with given to them on a card. Medical volunteers a certificate from the Emergency Volunrescued, triaged and treated the patients teers Project and the sentiment they were using tools that they would likely find lying prepared to be deployed but hoped never to around a community. use their newfound skills.

At the end of the drill, Scott Goldstein, “You’ll always have to be at the ready,” said the U.S. director of training for Emergency Sandi Lando Welch, a volunteer. “It’s frightVolunteers Project, told participants it was ening to realize what we’re living in one day, his intention to stress them out. people live in every minute.” PJC “If I put you guys in the community, there Lauren Rosenblatt can be reached at is no organization,” he said.

Although the practical skills of responding lrosenblatt@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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MARCH 16, 2018 5

Headlines Local leader uses national role to advance opportunities for Jewish professionals — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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ith little less than a year under his belt as president of the national JPRO Network, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s own Jeffrey Finkelstein wants to expand the work of the 160 affiliates across the United States, Canada and England to collaborate with as many Jewish communal professionals as possible.

Originally founded in 1899 as the National Conference of Jewish Charities, today the 4,000-member group aims to “inspire, educate, connect and empower Jewish communal professionals,” said Finkelstein, the local Federation’s president and CEO. “All of our organizations are only as good as the people who work in them.”

Whether it is connecting employees with coaches to provide advice on salary negotiations and creating a work-life balance, or pairing JPRO members with a management center that provides supervision training, Finkelstein is serious about bettering the Jewish professional corps. “I’m passionate about the field of Jewish professional work,” he said.

It is a shared sentiment. Here in Pittsburgh, Joshua Donner chairs the local

p Jeffrey Finkelstein Photo courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

chapter. He said that the group is made up of like-minded individuals from among the various agencies and organizations who “care about more Jews doing Jewish.”

“People are the lifeblood of our organizations, and if we want more people doing Jewish then we need great people to want to work at these organizations,” he said.

Donner credited Ateret Cope, a Federation employee and JPRO Pittsburgh’s administrator, with providing a slew of opportunities for Jewish professionals to connect and further each other’s abilities.

Through monthly events, which have included a leadership, teamwork and community building workshop with Federation COO Deborah Baron and a happy hour at Cafe 18 in Squirrel Hill, more than 180 people have connected and strategized on best practices and organizational improvements, said Cope.

“The idea is that as Jewish professionals get together [and] do professional development we can further the Jewish professional community and further the services that we provide to the Pittsburgh Jewish community.”

To better achieve excellence, said Finkelstein, individual agencies need to “break down our organizational silos. … If we get to know each other by learning together it could be the beginning of building collaboration between and among institutions.”

Cope pointed to the recent session analyzing the 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study in which local professionals met with the Brandeis University researchers responsible for the report and collectively parsed out particular trends and information relevant to the various participants.

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“The employees of our organizations were excited to have a one on one with the researchers,” said Cope. It was helpful in showing “what can we as professionals in the community glean from the information to better help our professions.”

While JPRO provides the seeds for Jewish professionals to network, partner and grow, the events are not intended as local career fairs, explained Cope. “It could be utilized that way, but the goal is to strengthen our abilities as professionals and strengthen and enrich the communities that we serve.”

Although historically JPRO may have been a mechanism for Jewish professionals to acquire retirement plans or life insurance, the group’s function has evolved, said Finkelstein. Ensuring the best training and opportunities for Jewish professionals “is something that is critical,” as the investments in staffs will pay dividends for years to come.

It is a similar message that Finkelstein and Ilana Aisen, executive director of the JPRO Network, shared in a January 2018 letter to ejewishphilanthropy.com: “We believe that what an organization does on the inside shapes its impact in the world,” they wrote. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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6 MARCH 16, 2018

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Ancient Jewish past, modern New York collide in Israeli’s prize-winning novel them some elements that he had intuitively — LOCAL — included in his novel, such as the Talmudic obsession with bodily fluids and purity, and

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer concepts of masculinity in decline.

“The more and more I looked into the sraeli author Ruby Namdar’s award-win- Talmud, I was amazed,” he said. “It was as if ning novel “The Ruined House” elegantly I knew those texts, and I didn’t.” juxtaposes past and present, secularism In “The Ruined House,” Namdar’s New and spirituality, and madness and intel- York protagonist, Andrew, finds himself lectualism, while taking slipping into madness its readers on an intense throughout an intiand ambitious journey mate and raw crescendo through Judaism’s collective toward the end of the consciousness. novel as the collective It is not an easy book ancient Jewish memory to read, and not surpriserupts in his mind, seemingly, it was not an ingly out of nowhere. easy book to write.

Though Andrew is a Namdar, who will be secular New York intelspeaking on March 21 lectual, Namdar said, he as part of Rodef Shalom “represents all of us.”

Congregation’s “A Conver“It is not just his particsation with the Author” ular brand of Jewish series, said that the 10 years experience that I am it took him to complete dealing with,” explained “The Ruined House” were Namdar. “I feel most “at times wonderful, but at p Ruby Namdar modern humans have a Photo by Beowulf Sheehan disconnect from the past times excruciating.”

Speaking by phone from his home in New and it is an interesting thing to me to try to York City, the Israeli expatriate described juxtapose the very contemporary mind with his writing process in penning a novel set a past that is not so relatable” — symbolized, partially in New York — focused on the in this book, by the ancient Temple. inner life of the secular Jewish professor, “This was the real challenge, and what was Andrew Cohen — and partially in the exciting,” the author continued. “To go to a ancient Temple, described through Talmudic place where Andrew, and me and you, are all and Midrashic texts. foreigners in our own culture.”

“You may have noticed how many connecWhile Andrew emerges from his breaktions and symmetries and symbols are down almost intact, Namdar notes that a echoing each other, and it’s so detailed, the change may still occur, if it hasn’t already. work and the elements and the connections,” “The real reason that he returns to himself is Namdar said. “This was a lot of work, and I did not want this to be a drama about somesometimes I felt my mind would burst. There body who does teshuvah, and then becomes was so much big structure that only I could what? He would become like a nice Consersee, and I knew that I needed to build it on vative Jew, such as myself and go to shul and paper, and I was alone. Writing each scene have kiddush? That’s not for me the goal of all and making sure they all correspond was a this. The thought that this happened to him, very, very hard, lonely endeavor.” then let go and vanished, is almost a promise His attention to detail and narrative paid that this will return. Maybe not to Andrew. off. In 2015, Namdar, who was born and Maybe to someone else, maybe to a collective, raised in Jerusalem to a family of Irani- maybe to Andrew in the next incarnation. an-Jewish heritage, won Israel’s Sapir Prize, “There is an image somewhere in middle the country’s most prestigious literary award. of the book about the whale of memory,” He was the first expat to do so.

Namdar added. “This is an image I think The novel was translated from Hebrew about when I think about this novel. Yes, into English by Hillel Halkin and released in it seems like Andrew’s life has gone back to the United States in November 2017. what it used to be — almost — but we, the Namdar, who is a student and teacher of readers, I hope will never be the same. We classic Jewish texts, said he did “extensive have witnessed the eruption. And Andrew, research” in developing those portions of his like a normal person, will try to protect novel that reflect the Talmud. himself and his life from this earthquake that “This was also the very fun part of the almost destroyed him. In order to survive, he work, to sit and read these wonderful texts,” must use denial and forgetfulness. But we, he said. “I love classic Jewish texts. I love the readers, are transformed.”

Talmudic and Midrashic and Biblical texts, The program at Rodef Shalom, which is and I’m very interested in aggadah, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. the narrative part of the Talmud. I wouldn’t and will include a presentation by Namdar, a say it was recreational, but for me, it was one Q&A, and a book-signing. PJC of the most rewarding parts of the work.”

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at While researching the ancient texts, Namdar was often surprised to find within ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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q SATURDAY, MARCH 31 From Broken to Whole: A Communal Pesah Seder will be held at Congregation Beth Shalom from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The charge is $50 for each adult; children 7 to 17 are $25.00 each; and under 7 are free. Visit tinyurl.com/bspesah2018 to register.

>> 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 THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MARCH 15-16 “Nightmares, Dreams & Moral Imagination,” an interfaith and interracial dialogue program with Cornell William Brooks, will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Temple Sinai; a welcome reception will be held at 6:15 p.m.

Brooks, the former president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will challenge people of faith to commit to creating a more tolerant and just society.

Visit tinyurl.com/ycz4q6mv for more information about the program and Brooks.

Brooks also will be the keynote speaker at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary as part of “Getting Woke: From Imagination to Collective Action,” a workshop for religious leaders of all faiths on Friday, March 16 from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. The workshop is free, but a $20 suggested donation to Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) can be made at the door. Register at templesinaipgh.org/Brooks. q FRIDAY, MARCH 16 Temple Emanuel will hold a Dairy Deli Food & Film program on at 7:30 p.m. (immediately following the Shabbat service). The film is “The Sturgeon Queens,” a documentary that tells the history of one food store on the Lower East Side of New York City, Russ and Daughters. The cost is $36 per person.

RSVP at templeemaneulpgh.org/event/ deli by Thursday, March 8 and mail in check payable to Temple Emanuel. Walk-ins cannot be accommodated for this event. q SUNDAY, MARCH 18 Parents of special needs children considering summer camps are invited to an information session about Quest Therapeutic Summer Camp, to be held at JFCS, 5743 Bartlett St., Squirrel Hill, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Quest Summer Camp is for children 6-18 who struggle with social relationships, impulsive behavior or emotional wellbeing. The session is free, but registration is requested. Contact khorn@jfcspgh.org and include your name and the number of people attending (parents only please).

Magevet, one of the nation’s premier a cappella singing groups, will perform a free concert at noon at 5898 Wilkins Ave. (corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues) in Squirrel Hill.

“A cappella” means singing without instruments. Magevet’s repertoire spans modern Israeli pop and Renaissance choral pieces to Yiddish folk tunes and Zionist classics. Magevet, the Hebrew word for towel, is devoted to spreading Jewish music to the far corners of the globe.

8 MARCH 16, 2018

While admission is free, RSVPs are requested at newlightcongregation.org/ magevet or leave a message at 412-422-5158.

The concert is sponsored by four East End congregations: Beth Shalom:Derekh, Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Light*Or L’Simcha. The concert location is the home of three of the four congregations: New Light, Dor Hadash and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha.

Chabad of Squirrel Hill, in partnership with Community Day School, Hillel Academy, Yeshiva Schools, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Camp Gan Izzy Fox Chapel, G2G, and PJ Library, will hold Pittsburgh’s first-ever Kids’ Mega Matzah event at Beth Shalom from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Admission is $10 per child, and registration is required by March 12 at kidsmegamatzah. com. Contact Chabad at info@chabadpgh. com or 412-421-3561 for more information.

Chabad of the South Hills will hold a prePassover family outing with interactive Passover activities including making a seder plate out of wood from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Home Depot, Village Square Mall, 4000 Oxford Blvd. Passover food items for the kosher food bank will be collected.

Visit chabadsh.com or call 412-344-2424 to register. Prepaid reservations by March 14 are $5 a child or $10 family maximum.

After March 14 the cost is $7 a child or $12 family maximum.

L’Simcha, located at Shady and Wilkins avenues. There will be a performance by New Horizons Band of Greater Pittsburgh.

Membership is not required to attend.

Refreshments are served after the meeting.

Contact Ilene Portnoy at 412-683-7985 for more information.

q TUESDAY, MARCH 20 Chabad of the South Hills will hold a prePassover lunch for seniors, including a model seder and holiday program at noon. There is a $5 charge. Call Barb at 412-278-2658 to preregister or visit chabadsh.com for more information.

Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh holds Mix and Mingle with E3: Empowered, Educated & Engaged Jewish Women for an evening of cocktail-making and mingling. Steven Kowalczuk, the cocktail chef from Steel City Mixology, will hold a mixology class from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Studio AM, 225 E. Eighth Ave. in Homestead. Appetizers will be provided.

There is a $35 charge. RSVP at jfedpgh.org/ E3 by Wednesday, March 14. Contact Rachel Lipkin at rlipkin@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5227 for more information.

Tuesday Night Social Club will hold its inaugural event, a wine and cheese party, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Room 204 of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill. There is a $5 charge.

Unattached men and women ages 55-70 looking to participate in a variety of social events and meet new people are welcome.

To RSVP and for more information, contact Debbie Marcus at 412-339-5405. q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 AARP Squirrel Hill Chapter 3354 will hold its monthly meeting at 1 p.m. at Tree of Life*Or

Documentary Night with Moishe House from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Chatham University.

This month the documentary is “The Revival: Women and Word” as part of Chatham University’s Just Films series. “The Revival” chronicles the U.S. tour of a group of black, lesbian poets and musicians and their inspirational community leadership.

Meet at the house at 6:15 p.m. to walk over to Chatham for viewing and discussion.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for the address.

The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center at 1212 Smallman St. invites the community for a reading, discussion and book signing with Judith Summerfield, author of “A Man Comes from Someplace: Stories, History, Memory from a Lost Time” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The book is a cultural study of a Jewish family from a shtetl in Ukraine before World War I to its lives on several continents in the 21st century. Summerfield builds on the oral storytelling of her father, who escaped from Ukraine during the Russian Revolution and settled in Fredericktown, Pa. There is no charge. Visit heinzhistorycenter. org/events/books-in-the-burgh-judithsummerfield for more information.

Please see Calendar, page 9

March Madness and Making Cards, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Moishe House. It’s that time of year when college basketball teams duke it out for top dawg. Come to the house and watch some March Madness with snacks. Guests will also be making cards for Children’s Hospital.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for the address. q MONDAY, MARCH 19 Faithful Responses to Gun Violence: A Pittsburgh Conversation will be held at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh from 7 to 9:30 p.m. This interfaith meeting is hosted by Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement.

RSVP by March 16 at casp.org/gunviolence.

Contact Josh Sayles, CRC, jsayles@jfedpgh. org for more information.

The Exodus Lectures, with Rabbi Danny Schiff, Foundation Scholar, on the subject “How It Changed the World,” will be held from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom.

The program is co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom Congregation and Congregation Beth Shalom and is free and open to the community.

Registration required; RSVP at tinyurl.com/ y9mdpfle. Contact Jan Barkley at jbarkley@

q SUNDAY, MARCH 18 Empty Bowls serves up a meal of soup and bread as a reminder that too many people throughout the region are facing hunger. This year’s event at Rodef Shalom Congregation will benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest and will feature artisan pottery for guests to take home, soups from local restaurants, children’s activities and an auction featuring artwork and celebrityautographed bowls. Adult tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets for children under 12 are $10.

The hours are 1 to 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets are available at pittsburghfoodbank.org.

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Calendar Calendar:

q SATURDAY, MARCH 31 Continued from page 8

q THURSDAY, MARCH 22 Join author Judith Summerfield at the Heinz History Center for a special writing workshop from 4 to 6 p.m., “The Places We Come From, The Stories We Tell,” exploring the ways that we define ourselves through the stories we tell. Writers will explore how to draw from memory, oral stories, history, genealogy, research, family artifacts, and from their own imaginations, to write their stories.

Admission is free, but preregistration is required. Visit heinzhistorycenter.org/events/ special-writing-workshop-judith-summerfield for more information and to register.

Hillel Jewish University Center’s Campus Superstar, a professionally produced singing competition featuring Pittsburgh’s most talented college students, will be held at 6 p.m. at Stage AE. Campus Superstar 2018 will honor Gail and Norman Childs. Ten finalists will compete for the “Elly Award” and the Ellen Weiss Kander Grand Prize of $5,000.

The proceeds of this event will benefit the activities of the Hillel JUC. Visit hilleljuc.org/ campus-superstar for more information. q FRIDAY, MARCH 23 Speakeasy Shabbat from 7 to 10 p.m. at Moishe House. Come by for a roaring good time complete with services and dinner.

1920s-themed costumes encouraged.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for the address and to RSVP. q SUNDAY, MARCH 25 Rodef Shalom Sisterhood Movie Night will screen “Bagels Over Berlin,” directed by filmmaker Alan Feinberg, who will attend and introduce the film at 7:30 p.m.

“Bagels Over Berlin” is a documentary that tells the story of the Jewish young men who joined the U.S. Army Air Corp just as the United States was entering the war against Hitler and Germany. Through interviews with 30 Jewish war veterans the film reveals the anti-Semitism and discrimination these young airmen encountered as well as being in the military branch with the highest mortality rate in the first part of the war. The film is entirely in English and open to the community at no charge. Light refreshments will be served afterward along with an informal discussion with the director. Contact Rodef Shalom at 412-621-6566 for more information and to RSVP. q MONDAY, MARCH 26 Moishe House Trivia Night from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Social, 6425 Penn Ave. Is your head filled with useless fluff you thought would never be useful? Come to bar trivia to put that knowledge to good use. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for the address and to RSVP. q THURSDAY, MARCH 29 Carbfest Potluck from 7 to 9 p.m. at Moishe House. Looking for something to do with your chametz before Pesach? Come for a carbfest potluck with pizza and bread; you’ll bring whatever chametz you need to get rid of. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for the address and to RSVP.

Temple David in Monroeville will host a second Passover seder, led by Rabbi Barbara Symons, at 6 p.m.

Food for Thought will be catering the event. The cost is $36 for Temple David members, $54 for nonmembers, $18 for children 12 to 18 and free for children under 12. For additional information or to make a reservation contact 412-372-1200 or stanb@ templedavid.org, or visit templedavid.org.

The deadline is Monday, March 26.

Temple Emanuel’s second night of Passover family seder will be at 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Mark Mahler and cantorial soloist Dr. Charles Cohen who will tell the story from the Haggadah.

Temple Emanuel’s in-house catering department will prepare the seder. Special dietary needs can be accommodated if stated on the reservation form.

RSVP at templeemanuelpgh.org/event/ seder2018 by March 21 or contact the Temple office at 412-279-7600 for more information.

Walk-ins cannot be accommodated. The cost ranges from $20 to $42. Attendees are encouraged to bring a canned good to donate to SHIM’s food pantry or make a donation to Mazon, a Jewish Response to Hunger. q WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David will be discussing “My Name is Asher Lev”

by Chaim Potok” at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Monroeville Public Library. This is an interactive discussion intertwining growing up, Judaism and the world of art. q FRIDAY, APRIL 6 TO APRIL 14 The Seton Hill University Theatre Department, in partnership with the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, will hold performances of “Letters to Sala” at its Performing Arts Center on Harrison Avenue in Greensburg.

Visit setonhill.edu/tickets or call 724-5522929 for more information.

q MONDAY, APRIL 9 Women of Reform Judaism Atlantic District Pittsburgh Area Sisterhood Day will hold a lunch and panel discussion about human trafficking from noon to 2 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Speakers include Alison Hall, executive director of PAAR; Liz Miller, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and professor of pediatrics at UPMC School of Medicine; and Brad Orsini, community security director for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Attendees are invited to bring travel sizes of shampoo, conditioner, soaps, toothpaste, toothbrushes, K-cups, instant creamers, paper coffee cups with lids, and nonperishable food snacks to be used at PAAR’s drop in center for victims of trafficking. This is a women only event. There is an $18 charge and lunch is included. RSVP to Shirley Tucker at 412-420-3411.

or visit jfedpgh.org/spring-event for more information and to register. q WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 The Waldman International Award Ceremony will be held at the East End Cooperative Ministry, 6140 Station St. at 6:30 p.m. The Waldman International Arts and Writing Competition allows students in grades six to 12 to submit original art and compete for academic scholarships. There are categories in creative writing, visual arts and short film. The theme for 2017-2018 was Children in the Holocaust, 1933-1945.

Participants come from across Allegheny County and from students in Israel. Israeli winners are brought to Pittsburgh to meet American winners and tour the city.

Visit hcofpgh.org/waldman2 for a full list of winners and to register for the event.

The 30th annual Westmoreland County Yom HaShoah Interfaith Service will be at 7 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Latrobe. q THURSDAY, APRIL 12 The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will present its Yom HaShoah Commemoration, 20 Years of “Flares of Memory,” at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Katz Auditorium on Darlington Road. The program will honor local survivors and their families and will include selections from the Center’s publication, “Flares of Memory.”

The event is free and open to the community; registration is encouraged.

Visit hcofpgh.org/yom-hashoah or call 412-939-7289 for more information and to register. PJC

JCC Specialty Camps

q SUNDAY, APRIL 8 Temple Sinai’s Rummage Sale will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale will have housewares, kids’ items, sporting goods, crystal, jewelry, art, small furnishings and more. Proceeds benefit the Nathan & Hilda Katzen Center for Jewish Learning. Visit templesinaipgh.org/rummagesale for more information. q MONDAY, APRIL 9 The Women of Temple Sinai invite the community to learn about Tapas & Easy Appetizers with Barbara Gibson at 6:30 p.m.

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

Visit templesinaipgh.org/wots-cookingclass-6 to RSVP and for more information. q TUESDAY, APRIL 10 The Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2018 Spring Event will feature Elad Shippony and “The Wandering Israeli” at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, preceded by a pre-reception for Lion of Judah Society, Lion of Judah Endowment members or Pomegranate Society. The presentation of the Natalie Novick Woman of Philanthropy Award will be given to Elaine Krasik.

There is a charge. Contact Mia Alcorn at malcorn@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5222

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THEY SEE FUN. WE SEE GROWTH. Not a member? Not a problem! One-week Specialty camps begin June 25. Questions: Lewis Sohinki, 412-697-3537 or lsohinki@jccpgh.org.

Register: Katie Whitlatch, kwhitlatch@jccpgh.org or 412-697-3540.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MARCH 16, 2018 9

Headlines Women’s March renounces Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism, but supports a leader who embraced him — NATIONAL —

By Debra Nussbaum Cohen | JTA

N

EW YORK — Organizers of the Women’s March renounced the anti-Semitic views of Louis Farrakhan, but they stood behind one of its co-presidents who attended a speech last month by the Nation of Islam leader and seemed unperturbed by his attacks on Jews.

Tamika Mallory, co-president of the Women’s March, sparked an outcry when she posted a photo of herself and Farrakhan on Instagram following his Saviours’ Day speech in Chicago on Feb. 25.

In that speech, Farrakhan declared that “powerful Jews are my enemy” and that he had “pulled the cover off the eyes of the Satanic Jew.” Farrakhan, as he has done repeatedly in the past, also accused Jews of controlling the FBI and Hollywood, and plotting to synthesize marijuana in order to “feminize” black men.

Mallory subsequently deleted her post, but not before critics demanded to know why the leader of a broad-based civil rights movement would boast of her connections to Farrakhan.

In its statement, Women’s March leaders attempted to strike a balance between

p The organizers of the Women’s March pose for a photo in Atlanta at BET’s Social Awards: Bob Bland, Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez and Tamika Mallory.

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

distancing themselves from Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism and supporting Mallory.

“Minister Farrakhan’s statements about Jewish, queer, and trans people are not aligned with the Women’s March Unity Principles, which were created by women of color leaders and are grounded in Kingian Nonviolence,” read the statement issued Monday, more than

a week after Mallory first posted about being “super-excited” to hear Farrakhan’s message.

“Women’s March is holding conversations with queer, trans, Jewish and Black members of both our team and larger movement to create space for understanding and healing.”

The statement goes on to say, “We love and value our sister and co-President Tamika

Mallory, who has played a key role in shaping these conversations. Neither we nor she shy away from the fact that intersectional movement building is difficult and often painful.”

They went on to explain their delay while social media exploded in protests against Mallory’s support for Farrakhan.

“Our external silence has been because we are holding these conversations and are trying to intentionally break the cycles that pit our communities against each other,” the organizers wrote.

For her part, Mallory tweeted a statement that addressed the criticism without mentioning Farrakhan.

“It seems I am not being clear,” she wrote. “I am and always have been against all forms of racism. I am committed to ending anti-black racism, antisemitism, homophobia & transphobia. This is why I helped create an intersectional movement to bring groups together.”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper was among the first to point out Mallory’s support of Farrakhan’s speech. She was then vociferously criticized by Women’s March participants and others for not condemning Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic, anti-gay and transphobic statements, which he has repeated for decades. Some critics called for Please see Farrakhan, page 27

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Headlines Supporters of a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem think Adelson shouldn’t pay for it — WORLD —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

W

ASHINGTON — Sheldon Adelson’s offer to help pay for the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is getting a thumb’s down from a range of observers who support the embassy’s relocation.

After The Associated Press had the exclusive, JTA confirmed it with sources who have been apprised of the State Department’s deliberations. State Department lawyers are poring over the law books to determine how to pull off America’s first privately funded embassy.

Why the Trump administration would want this? Well, no one’s saying, but cost-cutting seems likely. The move to temporary digs, due in May, is eventually going to cost taxpayers about $60 million. An embassy built from scratch will be much pricier. The newly opened U.S. Embassy in London cost $1 billion.

Presumably, a Jerusalem embassy will come under $1 billion. Adelson, worth an estimated $40 billion, can afford it.

Adelson’s spokesman declined to comment.

Various people who have been intimately involved in advocating for the embassy move — in some cases for decades — offered

p Sheldon Adelson

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

their thoughts of the plan to privatize the embassy. The five who talked thought it was a terrible idea.

The triumph of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem, they tended to agree, is that it came about honestly because recognizing an ally’s capital is the right thing to do. Trump himself said in a speech to conservative activists that he came under intense pressure from the international community not to make the move.

The optics of a rich donor paying the U.S. government for the embassy, critics said, makes the move look less like a principled policy than a personal favor.

“Citizens volunteering their resources and energies to ease the government’s burdens is laudable,” said Jason Isaacson, the American Jewish Committee’s director of government and international affairs. “But an American

embassy represents — and must be seen indisputably as representing — the United States of America, rather than any generous individual or segment of American society. The American embassy in Jerusalem — as with all American embassies around the world — should serve, and belong to, every American equally.”

Morton Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America, who is close to Adelson, referred to AP’s reporting that Adelson might seek other funders, including among pro-Israel Christians.

“This is a United States government project and policy, I don’t think it should be ‘the evangelicals, the Jews made this happen.’

It should be crystal clear the U.S. government made this happen,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for any private citizen to pay for the U.S. Embassy to be moved.”

Daniel Shapiro, the Obama administration’s ambassador to Israel who since leaving the position has advocated for a move, said he did not believe that State Department lawyers would sign off on the arrangement. Once Adelson started funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into the U.S. government’s coffers, there would be immediate conflict of interest questions, including, what is the casino magnate and pro-Israel philanthropist getting in return?

“When individuals or corporations are

giving something, there’s an expectation they may be getting something in return,” Shapiro said. “That concern about quid pro quo is naturally pregnant in such a proposal.”

Also against the idea was William Brown, the ambassador to Israel under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He wrote memos to both presidents recommending moving the embassy to Jerusalem.

“I’ve worked in embassies that could use some money,” said Brown. “But not this way.”

If Adelson really wants to feel useful, there are some limited options, said Shapiro. “Embassy Fourth of July parties can receive both cash (usually a few thousand dollars) and in-kind contributions from U.S. companies operating overseas. They are then listed as sponsors, which is a form of promoting U.S. businesses.”

Abraham Foxman, the emeritus national director of the Anti-Defamation League — who also thought private funding for embassies was a terrible idea — had a different proposal.

“It would be nice if the Adelsons could pay for the art in the embassy,” he said. “There’s never a budget for art.”

The State Department runs an “Art in Embassies” program that solicits private money to help create “vital cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding through the visual arts and dynamic artist exchanges. PJC

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MARCH 16, 2018 11

Headlines At Tel Aviv symposium, women come together to plan Israel’s feminist future — WORLD —

By Tracy Frydberg | Special to the Chronicle

O

nly 20 years ago in Israel, the “f-word” was not a four-letter expletive, rather it was “feminism.”

But according to a new survey, “Past Achievements and Future Directions of Women’s and Feminist Organizations in Israel” conducted by Hebrew University professor and Pittsburgh native Dr. Nancy Strichman, Israel has made impressive strides in elevating the voices of women and normalizing feminist discourse across society.

In the report, sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and the Dafna Fund, Strichman, a Taylor Allderdice graduate who earned her doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh, emphasized the need for significant progress and growth remains.

On International Women’s Day, these were the themes encompassing the heavily-female crowd gathered at a symposium in Tel Aviv’s scenic Council for a Beautiful Israel on March 8.

The event was sponsored by NCJW and the Dafna Fund, the first and only Israeli feminist fund, established in 2003 by professor Dafna Izraeli. The fund, which according to executive director Hamutal Gouri was known to be finite, is closing its doors at the end of the month.

The report, presented at the event, combined research based on interviews with more than 300 Israeli women along with concise action items.

Nancy Kaufman, CEO of NCJW, the oldest Jewish women’s organization in the United States, said the report illustrates how much has changed since the last study of its kind came out.

“In 15 years … there has been an explosion of activism, and we want to celebrate that,” she said.

Women at the event, she said, were there to network among Israel’s feminist leaders in order to collaborate on future efforts.

Starting with the day’s symposium, Kaufman said NCJW can further mobilize a coalition of women’s organizations and activists under a united agenda, grounded in an understanding of Israel’s key challenges

p Dr. Nancy Strichman

Photo by Joan Roth

which the report illuminates.

On engaging a younger generation of activists, Kaufman said she sees a lot of new rising voices in the movement.

“We brought younger people on our trip with us. You see a lot of millennials in the room today. There is an incredible generation of activists coming up,” she said.

But the Jewish Diaspora attendees brought to Israel with NCJW for the event, weren’t just in town to kibitz about feminism.

Michal Regunberg, who serves on NCJW’s board of directors, said that despite being a Jewish American organization, NCJW impacts feminist discourse and progress in Israel through funding of specific women’s organizations and initiating events such as the symposium. It was also NCJW that established Tel Aviv University’s women and gender studies program.

The sense of purpose shared by NCJW’s leadership was felt throughout the event as people gathered for the opening ceremony, eager to applaud the major feminist leaders in the Diaspora and Israel that took the stage.

Dr. Alice Shalvi, a founding voice in Israel’s feminist movement, brought a blessing of goodwill to the group.

“May we collaborate rather than compete, joining minds and hands, marching side by side,” Shalvi said, working toward “a society of freedom, justice, and peace for all humankind.”

Infusing some star power into the event, Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman, this year’s Genesis Prize recipient, shared her good wishes over a video message at the opening session.

“I’m thrilled that so many powerful, talented, diverse women are gathered in Israel to celebrate achievements for women,” Portman said.

Giving a “shout out” to the sponsors and Strichman, Portman said, “It is a conference like this where conversations can lead to real progress.”

The focal point of the event surrounded the release of the report and its findings. Still visibly moved from Portman’s video, Strichman took the stage to break down the goals and takeaways of her study for the audience.

“There was a dramatic change that we’ve seen in the public Israeli discourse regarding the importance of the feminist agenda,” Strichman said. “Feminism has become a mainstream agenda. People now understand that to advance women, you’re advancing society.”

The study found that NGOs and new actors have had a direct impact on the field — activists on social media, in the private sector and community have effectively worked to progress the movement, she said.

At the same time, Strichman said, “There are barriers that stay firmly in place — religion and state, ongoing conflict and traditional gender roles.”

Ultimately, she said investment in women across sectors is creating a noticeable change and must continue to further advance the movement.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference on the report’s findings, NCJW’s Kaufman said, “I think what the report brought out were fault lines — growing religionization of Israeli society and the impact of religion on women through marriage and conversation, and the fact that the conflict still isn’t resolved and its impacts on women,” she said.

Ultimately, Kaufman said, the goal ought to be getting more women to the table within every sector, including when it comes to brokering a resolution to the Middle East conflict.

“If there were more women involved in peacemaking, we’d be able to solve the conflict quicker,” Kaufman said.

Gouri reiterated this message, saying that the report grounded certain core beliefs in fact.

“You have this perspective and you realize that the gut feeling that you had was right all along — that we are talking about an arena that is impactful, effective, that the feminist

arena has left a mark in Israeli society in a very substantial way,” said Gouri.

Gouri said the key is to empower women-focused organizations and initiatives with proper funding and opportunities for females to take the lead in government.

“Give [women’s organizations] the freedom to go political — not partisan, but political,” Gouri said on a panel discussion, speaking alongside Shahira Shalabi, a founder of the Palestinian feminist movement.

Shalabi shared her thoughts on the role of Palestinian and Arab-Israeli women in society and the questions that still remain for her after reading the report.

While the study, she said, shows greater investment in funding for women’s issues, she believes that it is not felt on the ground.

This, Shalabi said, is due to women’s groups in Israel neglecting the political sphere.

“This report turned on a warning light that there is no organized feminist movement beyond organizations,” said Shalabi.

“A movement is a political body. There were attempts to create this 20 years ago. What is happening with that?”

“The political reality marginalizes us and creates friction between women,” Shalabi said, answering her own question.

“We shouldn’t be afraid of differences in political views, but we can still insist on one feminist agenda that can change the face of democracy. We need to have a say on every issue,” she said.

“We need to have a position, not just an opinion. We have the power to do this,” Shalabi concluded.

After the panel session, attendee Devon Spitzer said she was inspired by the women she heard at the event.

The 23-year-old recently moved to Israel from the San Francisco area and works for Open Door, an Israeli organization under Planned Parenthood’s international branch to advance women’s health.

“It’s important for our generation of millennials to understand how feminism has gone forward. The movement has become so divided. But getting the perspective of feminist pioneers in Israel is so gratifying,” Spitzer said. “It shows a path forward.” PJC Tracy Frydberg writes for the Times of Israel.

Parkland students begin to heal at Jewish conference in New York — NATIONAL —

By Ben Sales | JTA

S

even survivors of the Parkland school shooting were among thousands of Jewish high school students who attended the annual conference of the Chabad movement’s youth group.

Responding to the Feb. 14 shooting became an impromptu theme of the conference, which was hosted in New York City by CTeen, the teen arm of the Chasidic outreach movement. CTeen, which has 100,000 12 MARCH 16, 2018

members worldwide, has eight chapters in the South Florida area surrounding Parkland.

The shooting, which killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has galvanized a youth-led movement for gun reform. But the students at the conference, each of whom had taken part in previous local Chabad activities, said they appreciated the opportunity to grieve and be comforted.

“We all have been feeling better because we’ve been with other teens who have been supporting us,” Marc Susskind, 14, said. “They’ve been checking in on us, keeping us company.”

On Saturday night, Feb. 24, the conference held a moment of silence in Times Square

for the murdered teens, and the next day began a campaign for members of the youth group to fulfill one Jewish commandment, or mitzvah, in the teens’ memory. The group also called for schools to institute a moment of silence at the beginning of the day.

Both the mitzvah campaign and the idea of a moment of silence in public schools — in place of prayer, which is prohibited — are longtime Chabad causes. The movement often encourages doing Jewish rituals, such as lighting Shabbat candles or laying tefillin, as a response to tragedy.

Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, CTeen’s president, said the group tries to avoid political

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issues like the gun control campaign, but acknowledged the power of the Parkland students’ activism.

“Teens are the leaders of today, not the leaders of tomorrow,” he said. “Many of them are embracing that. The Parkland event is something that brought this onto the national stage. Teens might be getting a bump in being able to mobilize because a lot of people are looking toward them and seeing what they’re going to do.”

Other Jewish youth groups are explicitly supporting the gun control campaign.

Please see Teens, page 13

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Headlines For women in Jewish fundraising, harassment is an occupational hazard — NATIONAL —

By Deborah Nussbaum Cohen | JTA

N

EW YORK — She was young, Jewish and the founder of a nonprofit organization that aids deprived children in Southeast Asia. He was a potential funder more than twice her age, promising donations and introductions to influential people.

“He dangled a lot of carrots,” she said in retrospect.

But the fundraiser, who spoke on condition she not be named for fear of jeopardizing future professional prospects, received no donations from the man who promised so much. Instead he stroked her thigh, propositioned her, belittled her and at their first and only meeting gave her gifts, like a bracelet, more appropriate for a mistress. More than two years later he continues to leave suitor-like messages from ever-changing phone numbers.

They had initially connected through a Jewish group that matches donors and causes.

When the founder reported the incident to a leader there, it was brushed off, she said.

Today she has had many more experiences like that working in the Jewish nonprofit world and frequently declines private meetings with male potential funders — “leaving money on the table,” she said. She said it has significantly diminished the number of children her organization can help.

Similar experiences at a prominent Israel-related nonprofit left her disillusioned with the way sexual harassment is handled, and recently she decided to step back from working in the Jewish nonprofit world altogether.

From in-person town hall-style gatherings to online testimonials, female fundraisers working in the Jewish world are sharing similar stories of harassment. A closed Facebook group urging women to share their experiences is called #GamAni, the Hebrew translation of #MeToo. It currently has 590 members.

To be sure, the issue is not limited to the Jewish or nonprofit spheres — the #MeToo

Teens: Continued from page 12

According to the New York Jewish Week, the teen arms of the Reform, Conservative and modern Orthodox movements have all signed onto the effort.

“Never before have students across the country mobilized like this, and never before have the eyes of the nation been so closely trained on us as we fight for change,” Zoe Turner, a member of the Reform movement’s National Federation of Temple Youth in Florida, wrote in an essay. “A countrywide call to action roars loudly in all of our ears, and NFTY is heeding the call.”

The students at the CTeen conference,

p Philanthropist Barbara Dobkin, left, Deborah Meyer, Rabbi Joanna Samuels and Rabbi Mira Beth Wasserman speak at a town hall meeting in New York on sexual harassment in the Jewish community.

Photo by Aimee Rubensteen/JWFNY

moment started in October with Harvey Weinstein’s outing as an alleged serial sexual harasser and abuser in Hollywood, which quickly led to a cascade of allegations against men in the media, politics and other for-profit and nonprofit organizations. In many cases they resulted in the resignation or firing of the men. The issue affects women at every level in every industry, experts say, but especially those who are vulnerable because they are seeking career help, as in Hollywood; access, as in political lobbying; and donations, as in the nonprofit community.

Several people interviewed noted that unlike the Hollywood and media scandals, the accusers in the nonprofit world have neither the fame nor the professional security to put their names forward.

Firm numbers about the prevalence of sexual harassment in nonprofit organizations do not yet exist, said Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which has commissioned a poll on the issue.

Results are expected next month. So there is no way to know how the Jewish community compares to other faith-based or ethnic philanthropies.

But in the nonprofit field, “there are a lot of women in fundraising compared with men,” Palmer said. Studies “suggest as many of 75 percent of fundraisers are women, though at

the top levels many men hold the top jobs.

Among rank-and-file fundraisers it’s a very female job,” she said.

There is also a key difference between nonprofit and other fields: At the end of the day, in the nonprofit world, donors hold nearly all the power. Most big-money donors are male. So are most CEOs. Women constitute less than 17 percent of chief executives in the Jewish nonprofit world, according to The Forward.

Those are reasons cited by women who say they will discuss their allegations privately but are not willing to go public with the name of the perpetrator or even their own names. The risks both personal and professional are too great, they say, even if they currently hold a senior position.

Earlier this month, The Jewish Week of New York reported on a list in circulation naming men involved in Jewish communal life accused over the years of sexual harassment or abuse. Similar to the “Shitty Media Men” list that also gathered anonymous allegations, the Jewish list, which was seen by dozen men and women who agreed to be interviewed, was briefly public but quickly disappeared from public view. None of those interviewed say they know who created it.

Elana Sztokman, author of three books relating to gender dynamics and a student

at the Reform movement’s rabbinical school in Jerusalem, wrote on her blog of a male colleague who demanded that she protect a man on the secret list who had been accused by multiple women of being abusive.

Sztokman wrote that the colleague, a rabbi who holds a “position of power in the Jewish world,” asked if she could use her connections to quash the list and protect the other highly visible man, one who is frequently invited to keynote conferences and colloquia. Sztokman, who said she did not create the list but shared it at one point, declined.

“Does he understand how women who make accusations are cast as mentally unstable, as problematic, as not-team players, as angry, as having a chip on their shoulder, as having an agenda, as unemployable?” she wrote of the man who pressured her. “He was so willing and eager to take all this time to help his friend keep his reputation. But when did he or anyone like him ever do that for women who experienced sexual abuse? Never.”

Rather than “out” accused sexual abusers, a growing number of female professional leaders and funders are taking a different tack: directing time and money to changing organizational culture. A preliminary group of 30 funders, organization heads and abuse experts met in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29. Lisa Eisen, vice president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, organized the group. More people are now being invited into the effort, Eisen said, and working groups are being formed.

“There’s a great deal of interest in the funding community and Jewish community to make change,” Eisen said. “We want to develop a communal pledge together with standards, a clearinghouse of resources, a focus on policies, procedures and training, awareness efforts, and reporting and investigation mechanisms.”

There will also be money for organizations to tap for work on sexual harassment and abuse.

“Short-, medium- and long-term change needs to happen,” Eisen said. “Our aim is to Please see #metoo, page 27

which drew 2,500 attendees, said they would also be engaging in activism, including a march in Washington, D.C., scheduled for March 24. But for the weekend in New York, Parkland survivors said, they were just grateful to be among friends who comforted them.

“Everyone knows about the incident and everyone is going to help reconnect,” said Maverick Reynolds, 15, who heard gunshots while hiding in a nearby classroom. “We knew it was real and it was very scary.” PJC

u Chayale Denburg, standing second from right, and survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting pose for a photo with Rabbi Shaya Denburg, seated left, and Rabbi Moshe Klein at Chabad’s CTeen conference.

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Photo by Itzik Roytman/CTeen

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MARCH 16, 2018 13

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Trump ready to make peace plan public, reportedly without two-state solution The Trump administration is finishing up its Middle East peace plan and intends to make it public soon, The New York Times reported.

According to the report published Sunday, the plan does not call for a two-state solution.

The White House must now figure out how to present the plan so that it is not immediately rejected by the Palestinians, the newspaper reported, citing three unnamed senior administration officials.

An unnamed senior aide to President Donald Trump compared the plan to Waze, the Israeli-developed traffic navigation software.

According to the report, the officials said the plan does not have a set of guiding principles. It gives the outlines of a peace plan and leaves the Israelis and the Palestinians to fill in the details. Also, they said, the plan does not specifically call for a two-state solution as a goal nor for a “fair and just solution” for Palestinian refugees, though it will offer suggestions on both points.

The aides told The Times that the document proposes solutions to all the key disputes: borders, security, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

The Palestinians have said they will not consider a U.S.-proposed peace plan due to their anger over Trump’s announcement

recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his intent to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. Netanyahu is less likely to be willing to make compromises, as he faces early elections due to coalition disputes and fears fallout from possible corruption charges.

The plan also comes as Trump has begun the process of dealing with North Korea.

The report points out that no one outside of the Trump administration has seen the plan document, and that the people who wrote it — Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and David Friedman — had no previous experience in diplomacy. But the three men reportedly met last week with Netanyahu for several hours while he was in Washington, D.C., to address the annual AIPAC policy conference and meet with Trump.

Honduras and Paraguay ‘ready in principle’ to move embassies Honduras and Paraguay reportedly may join Guatemala in relocating their embassies soon to Jerusalem.

The two Latin American nations said they are both ready “in principle” to proceed with the move on the condition that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes an official visit to each of their countries, Israel’s Army Radio reported, citing a “senior Israeli diplomatic source.”

Last week, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced during the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., that

Insuring Our Community

his country’s embassy would move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on May 16, two days after the United States moves its own.

In December, about two weeks after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said he instructed the State Department to begin planning the embassy move, Morales said he would follow suit.

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn the U.S. recognition, but Honduras and Guatemala were among the eight countries to side with the United States. Although Paraguay has expressed pro-Israeli sentiment on a number of occasions, it abstained from the U.N. vote.

In September, Netanyahu made the first visit to Latin America by a sitting Israeli prime minister, but he did not stop in Paraguay or Honduras. In Argentina, he met Paraguay’s former president, Horacio Cartes, who in 2016 had been the first Paraguayan head of state to visit Israel.

Paraguay has distinguished itself among South American countries by supporting Israel in the United Nations and other international forums.

Polish senator calls for Israeli ambassador’s expulsion A Polish senator for the ruling party said he would not shake hands with Israel’s ambassador and that he favors her expulsion from Poland for saying anti-Semitism was on the rise there.

The senator, Jan Zaryn, criticized the Israeli

This week in Israeli history

unhealthily underweight in ads, negatively effecting body image issues amongst Israelis.

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

March 20, 1899 Jewish Colonial Trust is incorporated in London

March 16, 1722 Aeltesten Reglement: Constitution of the Jewish Community of Berlin is issued

Berlin’s Jewish community reorganizes with a new constitution, the Aeltesten Reglement.

March 17, 1992 Knesset passes ninth basic law: Human Dignity

The Knesset reaches a compromise to draft a series of Basic Laws that would eventually form a final constitution.

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envoy, Anna Azari, amid a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Poland over a Polish law that makes it a crime to blame Poland for Nazi crimes.

Azari, in a speech last week, said that since the law’s passage she could see how “easy it is to wake up in Poland anti-Semitic demons, even when there are hardly any Jews in the country.”

Zaryn responded during an interview published Friday by the wPolsce news site.

“If anyone today thinks to equate in any way the rule of the Law and Justice party to the persecution of Jews led by the communist party apparatus in 1968, or by the marshals, then I certainly will not shake hands with such a person. If this is done by the ambassador of a foreign state, then maybe we have to ask this lady to leave this country,” he is quoted as saying.

Several Jewish groups said the Holocaust rhetoric law impedes open debate and risks censoring research. Some critics of the law said it whitewashes what they called Polish complicity.

These allegations unleashed a wave of anti-Semitic hate speech online and several real-life anti-Semitic incidents, which Azari last month condemned.

The United States has also publicly condemned Poland’s legislation on discourse about the Holocaust and, according to one report, is resolved not to host Poland’s senior leadership until the crisis is resolved.

Azari revisited the issue during her speech last week at an event in Warsaw commemorating the events of March 1968, when tens of thousands of Jews left the country during a government-condoned wave of anti-Semitism. PJC

March 18, 1975 Reassessment of WashingtonIsrael relationship begins

The U.S. undertakes a “reassessment” of the Washington-Israel relationship, creating enormous tension between the U.S. executive branch and the Israeli government.

At the First Zionist Congress in 1897, the idea of a central fund to support the development of a Jewish home in Palestine had been raised by Max Bodenheimer.

March 21, 2013 President Barack Obama addresses the Israeli people

President Obama’s address is delivered in Jerusalem and broadcast on radio and television across the world.

March 22, 1945 Arab League is formed

The Arab League Constitution is signed in a ceremony marked by speeches from representatives of each of the six signatory states. PJC

March 19, 2012 Knesset passes “Photoshop Law” 5020 Centre Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213

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The Knesset adopts the “Photoshop Law” to prevent adult fashion and commercial models from losing weight to the detriment of their health, or appearing

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Thursday, April 19 • 4 – 8pm Squirrel Hill JCC 5738 Forbes Ave Learn more at jfedpgh.org/yom-haatzmaut

For questions or to make requests for special accommodations, contact ebernstein@jfedpgh.org or 412.992.5247

Copyright Daniel Cascardo www.danielcascardo.com

Yom HaZikaron

Israel’s Memorial Day service hosted by The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Honoring soldiers who gave their lives in defense of the State of Israel and victims of terrorist attacks.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 8pm Jewish Community Center 5738 Forbes Ave. Squirrel Hill Katz Theater

FREE

For more information or to make a request for special accommodations, contact Emily Bernstein at 412.992.5247 or ebernstein@jfedpgh.org

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MARCH 16, 2018 15

SPONSORED CONTENT

The Federation Jewish Pittsburgh gets geared up for the future Ways You Can Support the Future of Jewish Pittsburgh Will or Trust

You can create a charitable bequest in your will that designates to charity a specific dollar amount or a portion of your estate. You may use a charitable bequest to establish a fund within the Jewish Community Foundation to enable you to help ensure the future well-being of the Jewish community.

Retirement Plan Assets (IRA, 401k, pension, etc.)

You can use retirement plan assets to create or to add to an endowment fund in the Jewish Community Foundation. Contributing your retirement plan assets—including corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, Keogh plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs)—is often tax efficient, as it may save both income and estate taxes.

Life Insurance Policy Photo: Josh Franzos

Giving is about to change. Jewish communities all over the world are growing, and the days of simply putting coins in the pushke are long gone. To keep up with growth for the future, Jewish organizations are working hard to think about their financial security. That is why the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is helping local Jewish organizations build endowments through legacy giving, ensuring long-term security that benefits the entire community.

For the last five years, in almost 50 Jewish communities across the country, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) has been working to help Jewish institutions prepare for the future. Now, here in Pittsburgh, the Jewish Community Foundation has partnered with HGF to launch LIFE & LEGACY™. This multi-year, community-wide legacy giving program is creating a shared goal for the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

As a part of the collaboration, the Jewish Community Foundation will, in turn, partner with 15 local organizations as a part of the program which provides coaching, training and incentive grants to ensure that legacy giving becomes integrated in the philanthropic culture of the community.

“The benefit of [us participating] is that it allows Beth El Congregation of the South Hills the professional education needed to help ensure our future success,” said Steve Hecht, the congregation’s executive director.

“Through the training offered, long overdue conversations with our congregants bring us closer as a congregational family with our shared values so they may feel good about their legacy becoming part of our longterm sustainability, with us and the broader community.”

As a participant in LIFE & LEGACY’s cohort, the Jewish Community Foundation will receive a grant from HGF with matching funds of approximately $100,000 each year to provide participating local organizations with the opportunity to receive unrestricted incentive grants based on meeting legacy commitment benchmarks.

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Cathy Samuels, Senior Director of Development and Communications at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh (JCC), noted how exciting this opportunity will be for Jewish Pittsburgh.

She said, “The JCC of Greater Pittsburgh is very energized about the LIFE & LEGACY program that the community has undertaken. The training from the Grinspoon Foundation is top notch and this training and donor development work will ensure the future of the JCC and the community at large.”

Participating organizations include:

You can purchase life insurance with the Jewish Community Foundation as the beneficiary. Life insurance can be used to fund a charitable gift to the Foundation, permitting you to make a substantial legacy gift for a relatively modest outlay.

Cash

You can give cash or stock to create an endowment in the Jewish Community Foundation. Endowments provide a permanent source of income for the Jewish cause you care about most. Creating an endowment during your lifetime may provide an immediate tax benefit in the year the endowment is funded.

• Beth El Congregation of the South Hills • Community Day School • The Edward & Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh • Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh • Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh • Jewish Association on Aging • Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh • Jewish Family and Community Services • Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh • Jewish Residential Services • National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section • Rodef Shalom Congregation • Temple Emanuel of South Hills • Temple Sinai Community members are encouraged to create an endowment at one or more Jewish organizations around Pittsburgh. This can be in the form of a will or trust, assets from a retirement plan such as an IRA or 401k, a life insurance policy or a cash gift. The first step to help secure the future of Jewish institutions in Pittsburgh is to sit down with a representative and complete a letter of intent.

Contact Jan Barkley to start building your legacy today or for more information.

Please remember these Jewish organizations with a gift in your will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy.

For more information about the Grinspoon LIFE & LEGACY program

Contact Jan Barkley, Life & Legacy Coordinator 412.697.6656 | jbarkley@jfedpgh.org

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LifeLegacyPGH.org

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MARCH 16, 2018 17

SPONSORED CONTENT

The Federation Jewish Early Childhood Education Works to Improve Local Education As part of the Federation’s continuing commitment to excellence in Jewish early childhood education, nine Jewish early childhood education centers are continuing to find inspiration from the Reggio Emilia philosophy of early childhood education through our Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECE). This year has been filled with on-site consultative visits by our Pittsburgh JECEI and Bonim Beyachad ~ Building Together consultants at the various centers, the formation of educator study groups, professional development seminars and peer-to-peer professional networks.

Last October, a cohort of 12 Jewish early childhood professionals from Pittsburgh, led by Carolyn Linder, Federation’s director of early childhood education, embarked on a 10-day intensive study seminar in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Exploring the Reggio Emilia Approach Through a Jewish Perspective.

This unique experience focused on the professional growth of the participants as

18 MARCH 16, 2018

they looked at multiple ways of deepening their understanding of the pedagogy of the Reggio Approach and connecting it to the values and content of their own local Jewish Early Childhood programs. We partnered with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington on this study seminar which included a total of 63 Jewish early childhood educators representing Boston, Chicago, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pittsburgh and Israel. Local participation in the Study Seminar was made possible thanks to the generous support of The Dr. Solomon and Sarah Goldberg Memorial Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Foundation.

Early this winter a targeted professional development course was launched to help the Jewish early childhood education centers and their host institutions strengthen their knowledge and skills in recruitment and customer service practices. This four-part seminar with visiting marketing consultant,

Early childhood professionals attend a seminar in Italy, Exploring the Reggio Emilia Approach Through a Jewish Perspective.

Julie Wassom, was attended by ECE directors, professional staff and lay leaders from each of our community’s nine Pittsburgh JECEI/ Bonim Beyachad ECE centers.

A new peer-to-peer professional network of six studio educators from our Pittsburgh JECEI/Bonim Beyachad early childhood education centers has been formed. Studio educators from Beth Shalom, Community Day School, Squirrel Hill JCC, Temple Emanuel, Temple Ohav Shalom and Yeshiva were selected by their school directors to participate in this unique professional

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development opportunity being facilitated

by Pittsburgh JECEI/Bonim Beyachad consultant Barbara Moser. This ongoing shared learning opportunity has been created to further support the studio educators and their centers as they continue to find inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach through a Jewish lens.

For further information, please contact Carolyn Linder, director of early childhood education at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh at clinder@jfedpgh.org.

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Headlines Most Jews oppose Trump, but at AIPAC his policies were cheered — NATIONAL —

By Ben Sales | JTA

W

ASHINGTON — A poll last year by the American Jewish Committee showed that 77 percent of American Jews disapproved of President Donald Trump’s job performance.

American Jews had voted 70 percent to 25 percent in favor of Hillary Clinton over Trump. With the exception of the Orthodox, majorities of all the major Jewish denominations voted for Clinton.

So how did it feel for anti-Trump Jews to hear the president cheered again and again at this year’s annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee?

“Difficult,” multiple conference participants said.

“I think there’s a lot of tension,” said Sherie Silverman of Maryland. “People like myself who are ardent Zionists are confused because we love what Nikki Haley is doing, and moving the embassy we love ... but we were disappointed with [Trump’s] character and with many of his policies in general.”

The president himself did not appear at the AIPAC event here last week, but his administration was well represented and his name was cheered often. Vice President Mike Pence called him the most pro-Israel presi-

dent ever, to applause. Monday’s star, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, got 12 standing ovations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a well-received speech the next day, lauded Trump.

Speakers from both parties repeatedly praised Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and his plans to move the U.S. Embassy there in May. They thanked him for standing up to Iran and vowing to amend — or withdraw from — the Iran nuclear deal. They applauded the administration’s standing up for Israel at the United Nations.

“Thanks to the president’s leadership, the alliance between America and Israel has never been stronger,” Pence said to cheers. “America stands with Israel today, tomorrow and always.”

Several conference participants suggested that it was possible to compartmentalize — appreciating the president’s actions on Israel while not endorsing him in general. AIPAC is, after all, a single-issue lobby that does not purport to speak for the Jews or their broader agenda items, including civil rights, immigration, women’s rights, religious freedom and fighting anti-Semitism. Many who attend the conference say the mere act of showing up is a statement of support for Israel and partisan politics are for other settings.

“If I can make myself not look at anything else about him, then I think what he’s done for Israel is amazing,” said Risa Kipnis, a conference delegate from Maryland. “I’m not

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quite there yet. He’s just, he’s crazy. I just think the way he behaves and some of the things he tweets and his past with women — I just don’t have anything nice to say about him.”

Republican conference participants, meanwhile, were pleased with the reception for the president’s name. For some it was a confirmation that their party was the best home for pro-Israel Americans. And even though a few had reservations about some of Trump’s conduct, they saw that as a small price to pay for a pro-Israel administration.

“To me, he’s a neighbor and New Yorker like I am,” said Stan Monsowitz, who lives in New York City and winters in Boca Raton, Fla. “He’s crazy like a lot of New Yorkers are, but he’s so pro-Israel and pro-U.S., I love what he’s doing. If he kept his mouth shut and kept off Twitter, it would be a lot better.”

The participants also said they believed the applause was for policy, not the person.

Jeremy Burton, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, also thought that those who were perceived as closer to Trump, like Pence, were given less applause.

“Some of it was for specific policies,” Burton said. “There are specific things this administration will do that are things we will appreciate.

“Look at the differing levels of applause.

Nikki Haley got resounding and overwhelming applause, and maybe other people

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who are perceived as closer to him on a personal level got a little less.”

Throughout the conference, AIPAC emphasized the importance of both bipartisanship and attracting progressives to the pro-Israel movement. Left-wing speakers talked about Israel’s unions and diverse civil society.

Two years ago, the lobby’s policy conference spurred controversy when then-candidate Trump received heavy applause for cheering the end of Obama’s term; AIPAC officials apologized the next day. This year, Democratic officials nearly abstained from criticizing Trump from the podium. And as usual, both Republican and Democratic officials talked about how partisanship should end when it comes to supporting Israel.

In that vein, some liberal participants said they had no problem with an event applauding high-ranking officials who take time to address the conference, regardless of party. Cole Bloomfield, a college student from Oakland, California, said he had perceived AIPAC as right wing. But he felt the conference did a good job respecting Trump while still appealing to people across the political spectrum.

“I wouldn’t have voted for Trump, but I still respect that he’s the president,” Bloomfield said.

“I respect that Mike Pence is the vice president.

It’s important to be respectful and cordial if you want any sort of bipartisanship to work.” PJC

MARCH 16, 2018 19

Opinion Blame the military for Rohingya persecution — EDITORIAL —

S

uppose that Elie Wiesel had run for office, and been elected. Instead of providing a revered moral voice for human rights and Jewish rights, the Nobel Peace Prize winner would have wielded actual power and would have been considered directly answerable for any problems that developed under his watch — even if he might not have been singularly responsible for those results. Indeed, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum might even have taken away the Elie Wiesel Award it bestowed on him.

That’s what actually happened last week to Burmese civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, another Nobel Peace Prize winner and the second recipient of the museum’s celebrated Elie Wiesel Award. The museum gave the award to Suu Kyi in 2012, in recognition of her activities in opposition to hate and genocide and her work to advance the cause of human dignity.

But the museum seems to have soured on Suu Kyi and her apparent lack of continuing human rights advocacy. In a letter to her dated March 7, in which the 2012 award was

p Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, sit beside a road in Ukniya, Bangladesh.

Photo by Suvra Kanti Das/iStockphoto

“rescinded,” the museum wrote: “We had hoped that you — as someone we and many others have celebrated for your commitment to human dignity and universal human rights — would have done something to condemn and stop the military’s brutal campaign and to express solidarity with the targeted Rohingya population.”

The museum is not alone in its criticism.

Suu Kyi has come under increasing fire for failing to speak out and to oppose the country’s military campaign against the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar. According to news reports, the Myanmar military has killed thousands of Rohingya, burned their villages, buried the

dead in mass graves and forced an approximate 700,000 to flee. The U.N. human rights chief has called the atrocities in Myanmar a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

Before she ran for office, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for 15 years for opposing the country’s military dictatorship.

She was internationally celebrated during that time as a pro-democracy icon. And then, in 2015, as part of Myanmar’s transition to democracy, she was elected state counselor, a position akin to prime minister.

Suu Kyi holds what appears to be a position of power in Myanmar, but the reality is different than outward appearances. That’s because the military’s generals actually control the country. And they could easily turn back the clock to a time not so long ago when the military junta imposed martial law, killed protestors and jailed democracy activists like Suu Kyi. Because of their actual power, the generals appear to be the proper address for registering protest of Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya and other minority groups.

Suu Kyi may not be living up to expectations as a human rights advocate, but, as people also often say about the Middle East, she’s living in a tough neighborhood. PJC

Collaboration, already going strong, is Pittsburgh’s future Guest Columnist Seth Adelson

S

tandard rabbinic joke No. 17: A Jewish man stranded on a desert island is rescued. The rescuers see that he has two synagogues, yada yada yada. In today’s world, it seems that there is only a 1 in 5 chance that he’d belong to either of them.

The March 2 issue of the Chronicle contained an encouraging juxtaposition of ideas, precipitated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2017 Jewish Community Study. The editorial board suggested that the results of the study should lead us to “experiment with new programs and new modes of reaching and engaging what has become the single largest segment of our Jewish community,” i.e. the unaffiliated.

Meanwhile, my colleague and friend Rabbi Aaron Bisno opined in a letter on the next page that “bricks-and-mortar” institutions such as Rodef Shalom Congregation and Congregation Beth Shalom should “join one another as partners to discuss in a serious, rational and non-emotional way the future of our shared enterprise.”

Putting these two ideas together, we should be able to achieve what my Beth Shalom colleague Rabbi Jeremy Markiz likes to call a “both-and.” Collaboration, if embraced without fears regarding “turf ” or ideological differences, should yield new ideas, fresh perspectives and engaging programs that serve an even wider swath 20 MARCH 16, 2018

of the community, rather than merely our respective congregations.

And the good news is that we already have a successful precedent for such collaboration: the Joint Jewish Education Program. Also known as J-JEP, it was originally conceived as a shared religious school between Beth Shalom and Rodef Shalom, but now also attracts so-called “unaffiliated” families, as well as those from other congregations.

Like Rabbi Bisno, I am inclined to collaborate, and have long said that the future of Judaism depends upon collaboration. The synagogue model to which we are currently committed is clearly not as viable as it once was, and now is the time for change.

Consider an analogy to the music industry, which is struggling to adapt to the new realities of the digital age. People want and need music as much as ever, but the ways in which people get their music are changing. Likewise, it is not that Judaism needs to prove its relevance. We simply need to seek new ways to reach our audience. Once we figure that out, then the challenge of financial viability will follow.

It is for that reason that Beth Shalom created Derekh, headed by Rabbi Markiz, to reach within and without the Beth Shalom membership, creating targeted programming that engages the unaffiliated population along with dues-paying members by inviting them to enter one of five portals to Jewish life: Limmud (Jewish text-based learning), Hesed (acts of lovingkindness), Culture, Israel and Mindfulness. Some of the Derekh initiatives, such as the Yonina concert last November and the coming performance

of Magevet, are proudly and deliberately collaborations with other institutions.

Meanwhile, the “metropolitan model” pioneered by Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light Congregation, through which those congregations are sharing a building (and, presumably, other resources), is a step in the right direction. And TOL*OLS’ new partnership with Chatham University to bring a range of programming to the community is an inspired innovation.

The primary goal of a synagogue is to be a focal point in the community for the practice of Jewish tradition and the fulfillment of Jewish values. But no synagogue should be an island. The new thinking and collaborations described above will ultimately transform our legacy institutions so that all the members of our community benefit from the framework of meaning that Jewish life offers.

And we can do more.

Here are just a few ideas: Let’s create partnerships with OneTable, Honeymoon Israel and Repair the World. Let’s have more shared holiday celebrations, like a communal hakafah on Simchat Torah. Let’s create an adult-education consortium so that all programming is widely available and widely publicized. And here’s a really crazy idea: Let’s eliminate memberships to individual synagogues and create a unified system for all synagogues and Jewish institutions.

This would eliminate the competition for members and the unnecessary reduplication of programs and structures, and potentially cast a wider net for all institutions. Those who join the system could take advantage of

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the offerings of any synagogue as they please.

Collaboration might mean that we have to make difficult decisions, that we may have to give up some of our autonomy as individual institutions. We may be challenged by ideological differences. But we might ask ourselves, what’s more important in today’s climate? Preserving “our” shul’s individual identity? Or reaching beyond the synagogue walls so that everybody in the region can appreciate the ways in which Judaism enhances our lives?

I want also to encourage our Orthodox friends, neighbors and colleagues to be a part of the conversation as well. We have the potential to create a truly unique and vibrant type of collaboration in Pittsburgh that will benefit us all. Why limit the discussion to Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist congregations? Why not engage all of us as Jews? What unites us is far greater than what divides us.

The study reveals some encouraging notes, including levels of participation among younger Jews that are in every case higher than those of their parents and grandparents, even as they are less likely to be synagogue members. That bodes well for the future of Judaism in Western Pennsylvania.

Now is not the time to protect turf, or to rally one movement over another. Now is the time for both collaboration and outsidethe-box thinking. It’s a both-and, and there is no time to lose.

I am ready. Are you? PJC Rabbi Seth Adelson is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom.

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Opinion Houston still needs us Guest Columnist Scott Tobe

A

t just 13 years old, Mirka Lewis is never going back to her childhood home. She watched it and her belongings drown in the filthy, toxic waters of Hurricane Harvey. She and her family are now living in a small apartment as they try to figure out their next move.

Scott and Yael Ross also saw that raging hurricane destroy their house, which just months before had been remodeled following damage from a storm a year earlier.

They were out of town during Harvey, but watched on security cameras as their possessions began to float through their house.

They faced nearly impossible decisions.

Should they leave the community where their families live, their synagogue is within

walking distance and the Jewish community center is a few minutes down the road? Or should they try to rebuild, which first would require spending more than $200,000 just to raise their house’s foundation six feet?

I met Mirka, Scott and Yael on a recent 24-hour Jewish Federations of North America fly-in to Houston to see firsthand areas that six months after the storm remain devastated; to meet with members of the Jewish community; to learn how they’re recovering and to understand how monies raised by Jewish federations are being used.

Scott and Yael, now with an adorable 3-month-old son, ultimately decided that rebuilding was not financially feasible. They are selling the lot because they can’t sell their flooded home, although they still have to pay the mortgage. They are moving to an area that doesn’t flood, but is a significant drive from their destroyed home — and the Jewish community’s institutional center. As more people like the Rosses move away from that two-mile radius center, institutional life will begin to suffer.

During our visit, we met with numerous people who relayed to us how Houston residents came together for each other. The best of humanity shined brightly each time someone shared their story. Bonnie Kasner, director of the local JCC’s Bertha Alyce School, which suffered heavy damage in the storm, said that two other day schools welcomed Bertha Alyce’s displaced students.

“Schools who we considered or considered us competitors became our supporters and partners,” she said.

Again and again, we heard the same thing from individuals as well as synagogues and other institutions. Those who weren’t affected, or whose homes received only minor damage, stepped up to help the most distressed.

Every person we met genuinely appreciated that we were there, that we care and that we pledged to help in any way we could — whether it be the $1,000 checks the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston gave institutions to help families immediately after the storm hit, the

emergency supplies sent by the JFNA’s National Young Leadership Cabinet or the funding to help the many damaged institutions begin their recovery. Our visit proved they are not forgotten, even as the news cycle moved on.

But visits are not enough.

We simply have to keep opening our wallets. Houston’s needs are immense and officials believe it will take another $10 million just to stabilize the Jewish community. Money is needed for expenses not covered by insurance, such as temporary rentals that were required to maintain services while Jewish organizations were flooded out of their buildings. And this $10 million estimate does not cover long-term effects, such as compensating for the 10 percent decline in Houston JCC membership due to people moving out of the area or no longer being able to afford memberships.

Houston still needs our help. PJC Scott Tobe is chair of community building for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

— LETTERS — A model that works I write in response to Rabbi Aaron B. Bisno’s letter, “Study Points to need for congregational unity” (March 2). I absolutely agree that the findings of the Pittsburgh 2017 Jewish Community Study indicate that Reform and Conservative congregations must work together if our “shared enterprise” is to persevere in light of severe reductions in individuals joining and paying dues to brick-and-mortar synagogues. I am happy to reassure Rabbi Bisno that lay leadership in the East End is not “tarrying,” and that exciting collaboration among institutions is well underway.

As President of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha for the past five years, I can speak to our experience interacting with neighboring shuls in light of the demographic, sociological and economic challenges Rabbi Bisno cites. TOL*OLS undertook a painstaking introspection and examination of community demographics, which persuaded us that if synagogues keep operating within their individual silos, we will all face a collective demise in slow, separate deaths. We concluded that we could not save ourselves, by ourselves.

I reached out to the non-Orthodox East End synagogues, including Rabbi Bisno’s own Rodef Shalom, and was pleased that all were open to considering new ways of doing things.

My personal take-away from our three meetings was that we were all experiencing the same issues of declining revenue and growth to varying degrees, but that some leaders were more complacent than others.

Those meetings bore fruit when New Light’s leadership approached us with a plan to sell their building and enter into a space-sharing relationship with TOL*OLS. We were impressed with their clear-eyed appraisal of today’s challenges and their bold proposal for meeting them. We then worked to solidify our relationship with Congregation Dor Hadash, which was already sharing space with us. We now have a tremendously successful “metropolitan” model of synagogues sharing a facility, expenses and programming under one roof, while retaining our individual identities and assets. All three congregations are already reaping benefits in a building now full of life and activity.

The collaboration that Rabbi Bisno calls for is going strong at the corner of Wilkins and Shady.

Michael S. Eisenberg, DDS President, Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation

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MARCH 16, 2018 21

Life & Culture Indian spice is nice … in desserts — FOOD —

By Keri White | Special to the Chronicle

Makes 16 brownies 6 1

1

1

3/4 1/2 1 1/2

1 1/2 3 1 1/8

ounces (1 1/2 sticks sweet butter) 11 ounce bag dark or semisweet chocolate chips generous teaspoon, ground chipotle chile powder scant teaspoon, ground ancho chile powder teaspoon cinnamon teaspoon cardamom tablespoon finely ground French roast coffee beans (or any dark roast) cups sugar eggs cup all-purpose flour teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan.

22 MARCH 16, 2018

Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave on 50 percent power, stirring frequently. (Total melting time takes about three minutes.)

Add the chili powders, cardamom, cinnamon and coffee. Set aside the mixture to cool to room temperature. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until blended.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes on the lower shelf of oven until done. Cool completely before cutting.

Ginger Blondies Using three different forms of ginger (fresh, dried and crystallized) as well as the option of adding ginger liqueur, gives these bars a zesty zing. And if you detest ginger, you can omit these and enjoy straightforward butterscotch blondies.

Makes 16 bars

1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 stick butter, melted and cooled 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 2 eggs 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger 2 tablespoons ginger-flavored spirit such as Snap (if not available substitute 1 teaspoon of vanilla)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a square 8-by-8-inch pan.

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 25 minutes, until just set in the center.

Cool and cut into squares.

Chai Pound Cake This recipe offers a spiced tweak on the

traditional butter pound cake. For more spiced chai flavor, do not strain the chai as directed; just pour the spiced liquid directly into the batter.

1/2 cup milk 1 tea bag 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cardamom 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced A light sprinkle of black pepper 1 1/4 sticks butter, softened 1 1/3 cups sugar 11/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs plus 1 yolk

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk to near boiling and add the tea bag, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and pepper. Remove from the heat, cover and allow it to steep for about 10 minutes (or longer if a stronger chai flavor is desired.)

While the chai steeps, dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix, starting on low speed and increasing to high as the mixture blends. It will be very thick.

Strain the chai if desired and pour it into the batter, blending thoroughly.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes (or more) until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake, remove it from the pan and serve as desired. PJC Keri White is the food columnist for the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

E

ven if you are not a baker, dessert can be creatively gussied up to complement just about any meal. The key is to consider the flavors and ingredients associated with a particular cuisine and work from there.

Start with vanilla ice cream or a plain purchased cake. Fresh fruit, flavored whipped cream and some purchased extras help you shortcut to gourmet sweets with little or no effort.

For an Indian meal, whip some cream and flavor it with a dash of ginger and/or cardamom. Serve it with fresh sliced mango and your store-bought cake and ice cream.

For Greek, consider a lemon-flavored addition: infuse the whipped cream with limoncello. Top the cake and/or the ice cream with lemon curd.

Mexican? Use Kahlua. Or lime.

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MarianVejcik/iStockphoto.com

Shaiith/iStopckphoto.com

Indian-Spiced Brownies I’ve riffed on these before for the Mexican palate — using the chilis and cinnamon only. The addition of cardamom takes these heavenly squares east and gives them a bit more exotic flavor.

vaaseenaa/iStopckphoto.com

M

y book group prioritizes literature, food and wine more or less equally when we plan our monthly meetings. This month, we read the new Arundhati Roy book, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness,” which is set in India.

The hostess, who happens to be of Indian descent, organized a menu featuring a variety of dishes that thematically reflected the book — a full Indian buffet. She asked me to bring dessert.

Normally, this is a short order for me. I love sweets and happily whip up something that fits the menu and the crowd. But this assignment was a bit more challenging. I adore Indian food; the spice, the complexity, the variety of flavors and textures intrigue me, but the desserts from the subcontinent are something else entirely.

I have never managed to acquire a taste for traditional Indian desserts. But I was determined to create some sweets that both honored the Indian menu and my hostess but also pleased my taste buds.

With that in mind, I planned to create Western-style desserts with Indian flavors.

Using spices like ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and chili, I added an exotic zing to brownies, blondies and pound cake. The results were quite tasty. The good news: Everyone loved them. The bad news: I am on dessert duty in perpetuity.

Italian? Frangelica (hazelnut liquor) and some Nutella.

Adding cocoa powder to regular whipped cream delivers quite a wow factor.

Chocolate whipped cream is rather unique, special and delicious.

Specialty jams, dulce de leche and other jarred sauces are all wonderful ways to dress up plain desserts with practically no effort.

So don’t stress. Dessert should be fun. PJC

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Life & Culture Pre-Passover challenge — tasting 10 types of horseradish uncapping, I discovered that its potent smell was akin to its vibrant color — imagine a hybrid Cheshire Cat and Barney the Dinosaur. As soon as I tasted this purple peculiarity, my mouth started twinging while the shreds stuck between my teeth.

Next was BL Pure Horseradish. This whit-

Passover pastime is painting, be prudent, as this one seems like it will certainly stain.

Despite its likelihood of recoloring everything in my possession, this one wasn’t too bad. Although slimy and unable to safely stay on my spoon, the taste was tolerable.

Such could also be said of number six,

Count who forgets the number of the day — and an evolving taste that I would categorize as “not super-bad,� I may return to

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer this one in the event of a crisis in which I am forced to once again eat horseradish am not a horseradish person, so when without accompaniment. this assignment came my way it is safe to Number nine — Ba-Tampte Prepared say that my complexion was Horseradish and Beets — drew not beet red with delight. Last my desire because of its inforweek, it was determined that, mative packaging. Underneath given the onset of the festival of the title are the words “Keep freedom, I should go to Murray Refrigerated.� Little room for Avenue Kosher in Squirrel Hill, misunderstanding there. Simipurchase a selection of kosherlarly, below “Ba-Tampte� is the for-Passover horseradish quoted phrase, “Means Tasty.� spreads, taste them and offer There seems to be a certain audisome comments on the tradience for this one, as in lovers of tional seder plate ingredient and all things literal. popular gefilte fish condiment.

The last sample was Noam This was no culinary trek Gourmet Prepared Beets with through the subtleties of Horseradish Triple Strong. In armoracia rusticana. Rather a morbidly depressing alternait was akin to showing up at a tive history of the Flintstones seder and being seated across in which Fred realizes that the table from the Brassicathe Bronze Age has arrived ceae family. Oh, and who are and the family is forced to do they? Just a flaky and odiferous the unthinkable with Dino in group whose pungency had me order to keep their tools glued, counting down the moments one wonders what purple paste until my meal was complete. would have looked like. This Now, while my kitchen, with horseradish is not that. In fact, its paucity of natural light, has given its stable consistency and p A selection of kosher for Passover horseradish spreads at Murray Avenue Kosher. a certain sort of ambience, it Photos by Adam Reinherz slightly sweet taste, this one is is no Michelin-worthy setting. a bit of a welcome conundrum, To offset such realities I spruced up the ish-toned treat, though a tad sour, lacked the Noam Gourmet Prepared Beets with Horse- sort of like using a dinosaur tail as a slide. space with a bit of song. In deference to the punch of its purple predecessor. Third was radish Extra Sharp. Like its mouthful of a At this point, although several indecipherseasonal spirit I used my tablet to project Benz’s Sweet Recipe Horseradish and Beets. name, the substance was similar, as I noticed able hours of “Moses und Aron� remained, I Arnold Schoenberg’s “Moses und Aron.� As I started dreading another plum-colored pieces aimlessly swimming among my took an exodus from the digital opera and As opposed to reading The Guardian’s 2014 pummeling, I turned to observe the opera. molars searching for a morsel of gefilte fish. peered down at my plastic plate that now review in which it said that the “bracingly Given my linguistic lack of German, all I For number seven, I tried Noam Gourmet resembled a purple palette. My 10 tastings austere� work is “one of the most difficult of could follow was that the haunting music Prepared Beets with Horseradish. With were complete, and though I felt like my operas for audiences — at least for those not escalated as a shirtless man clung to a large virtually no smell and less flakes than others, cuspids were cloaked in grated cabbage, my steeped in Kantian transcendental idealism, pole and cried. Though clothed, I commis- this slightly chewy choice may have taken duty was done and I was beaming with pride.

Schopenhauer’s metaphysics, 12-tone seri- erated and wondered, when too will my the cake, but because of its quasi-burgundy My verdict when it comes to the different alism or the more abstruse questions of suffering end? hue and the likelihood of it becoming my varieties out there: Given that the point of Jewish conceptions of the divine,� I simply For number four I pulled Gold’s Prepared next carpet color, I was cautious to give it my horseradish at the seder is to bring tears to clicked on the Bochumer Symphoniker’s Horseradish. Its shade was similar to convincingly tenable endorsement. your eyes, you can’t go wrong by choosing YouTube link and let the party start. number two (BL Pure Horseradish) and its Horseradish number eight — Unger’s the more pungent of options available I put all 10 of the purchases in an opaque effect nearly trumped number one (BL Beet Prepared Horseradish with Beets — featured at the store. I’ve certainly tried enough plastic bag. I then removed a single jar, Horseradish) as my sinuses cleared and my a seal beneath the top that was challenging to already tear up when thinking of the untwisted its top and sampled the product. mien contorted. to peel. For those traveling with horse- impending holiday.  PJG After each course I cleansed the spoons as Number five, Gold’s Sweet Horseradish radish and not wishing to cushion a breakAdam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz well as my palate. and Beets, featured the darkest color yet. Note able jar, this may be the choice. Given its Up first was BL Beet Horseradish. Upon to those with white tablecloths: Unless your fair color — picture a flushed Count von @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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MARCH 16, 2018 23

Headlines ACAT: Continued from page 1

United States. Akko was chosen as its first overseas site because of the town’s diversity — about a third of its 56,000 residents are Arab, and the rest are Jewish. In some neighborhoods in Akko, which is located in the northwest Galilee region, Jews and Arabs work together, although their children, for the most part, attend different schools.

The 11,000 square foot ACAT is beautifully appointed, modern in design, with visitors greeted once inside by a striking waterfall measuring 13 feet high. The upscale décor is part of the Manchester Bidwell model, creating a space in which those entering feel valued.

In Doawd’s letter, which was provided in translation from the Arabic to the Chronicle, the teacher from the village of Mazraa describes being hesitant at first to send students with behavioral issues to the combined Jewish and Arab program.

“I was very afraid because I knew that it was very difficult to interest them,” Doawd wrote. “They get bored quickly, they do not always care about knowing and learning new things. And I thought to myself, ‘They will probably drop out,’ and I thought about what they would do with the Jewish students. … I was very worried.”

But once inside the facility, she wrote, the students were “surprised” to find a beautiful environment while being greeted by staff with “charming smiles.”

“The students were ‘ashamed’ to interrupt

p Jewish and Arab students gain self-confidence while learning coexistence at the Akko Center for Arts and Technology.

Photo courtesy of Mark Frank

or not to listen after seeing the great investment invested in them,” wrote Doawd. “They felt that the instructors believed in them and taught them very important things.”

The Arab and Jewish students did not speak to each other at first, and would not work together, the teacher wrote. But after just a few sessions, “they saw that their interests were in common and began to talk to each other.”

Relations continued to improve.

“They began to wait for meetings, among other things, to meet with their friends from the other school,” she wrote. “They had their pictures taken together and also took pictures together, worked on common designs, exchanged telephone numbers and

became friends on social networks.”

Moreover, even the students who had assumed they would drop out of the course “became interested and wanted to learn and know more,” she added. “They began to believe in themselves, their self-image rose, their motivation for learning increased.”

The letter seems to prove that the ACAT model “passed the acid test,” said Pittsburgh attorney Mark Frank, who has been shepherding this project since its conception in 2005.

The language used by Doawd in this letter, noted Frank, is remarkably similar to that used by Strickland when he talks about Manchester Bidwell.

Poland: Continued from page 1

of speech and may influence scholarly research,” Haviv said. “However, the law does not adversely affect our efforts in Poland in any way. If anything, it makes our work even more important and timely.”

The law, Haviv explained, is actually an amendment to an existing Polish law that has been in effect since 1998. The amendment contains a notable exception, excluding from prosecution speech which implicates Poland in the atrocities of the Holocaust that is “committed in the course of one’s artistic or academic activity.”

“Unfortunately, in the media, they gloss over that most pertinent part,” Haviv said.

Although the law is “bad” because it limits freedom of speech, it “doesn’t pose a security challenge or dilemma for people going to Poland to learn about the Holocaust.”

While Haviv acknowledged that there were “horrific crimes against Jews” perpetrated by some Polish individuals — and even entire villages — “never have we blamed the entire Polish nation of crimes against Jews.”

“If people stop going to Poland to teach [the Holocaust], whose purpose are we achieving?” she said. “We need to take a step back and breathe deep and make educated decisions.”

Other groups outside of Pittsburgh are also keeping their trips to Poland on the roster. For example, the International March of the Living expects 12,000 participants at this year’s march, in line with the attendance of previous years.

24 MARCH 16, 2018

p Educators, students and lay leaders joined Classrooms Without Borders on a 2017 trip to Poland. The group poses for a photo in the town of Kielce, Poland.

Photo by Jahee Cho

But last month, Poland canceled a planned visit to the country by Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett after he announced that on that trip he would be telling Polish citizens “the truth” about their homeland’s role in the Holocaust.

“The government of Poland canceled my visit, because I mentioned the crimes of its people. I am honored,” Bennett said in a statement.

Lauren Bairnsfather, director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, said she has “serious concerns” about the Polish law.

“It’s already stifling historical inquiry,” she noted, pointing to news of graduate students within Poland changing their topics for

research “for fear of prosecution.”

She is concerned, she said, that the law could become a “slippery slope” in the suppression of communication about the Holocaust.

“The survivors are so upset,” Bairnsfather said. “I saw almost a physical response from them. They experienced what the Poles did during the Holocaust. Some of [the Poles] turned them in to the Nazis.”

Still, Bairnsfather supports continued travel to Poland for Holocaust education.

“I think we have to go there because this is how we say we’re not afraid,” she said.

“And the government doesn’t speak for all the people.”

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“She had never read Bill’s book, [‘Making the Impossible Possible’], or seen his TED talk, and yet she is using his language of ‘self-esteem,’ and ‘sense of value,’ and ‘feeling their own importance,’” Frank observed. “She found the same things in her students [that Strickland has found], despite her skepticism.”

Israeli society is beginning to take notice, Frank said. Following a recent meeting at the Knesset, MK Isaac Herzog wrote to him to ask for more information about ACAT. After learning additional details, Herzog visited the center and then told Frank he had “never seen anything like this,” Frank recounted. Frank and Herzog are scheduled to meet next week to further discuss ACAT’s possibilities and future.

“ACAT is becoming part of the fabric of the social service network in Israel,” Frank said. “It’s very gratifying. ACAT believes in these students, which is a rare occurrence in these youths’ lives. This letter says to me that this principle transcends international borders and religions. It was quite a moment to see this letter.”

The possibilities that ACAT promise could help transform the region’s political landscape from one of conflict to one of cooperation, said Strickland.

“We can solve the problem of the Middle East right there in Akko,” he said. “There’s the answer right there. The children are bonding. Jews and Arabs are going to school together. You can’t write a book better than that.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

As a country, Poland suffered during the war. It was invaded by Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in 1939 and was annexed by the Nazis in 1941.

Almost 2 million non-Jews and about 3 million Jews were murdered by the Germans in Poland, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. While many Poles helped Jews hide or escape, others betrayed their Jewish neighbors by extorting money from them or turning them in to the Germans. Others collaborated with the Nazis by helping round up Jews to send to the camps. In 1941, the people of the town of Jedwabne executed a pogrom, setting fire to at least 340 Jews in a barn.

Shulamit Bastacky, a local Holocaust survivor whose life was saved by a Polish nun when she was a child, is disturbed by the law and fears it will stifle “open discussions.”

“I was saved by a Polish person, but at the same time, we can’t ignore that there were some elements that collaborated with the Germans,” she said, adding that criminalizing speech about Polish complicity in the Holocaust is “undemocratic and uncivilized.”

“We need to work on repairing the world, tikkun olam,” said Bastacky, who frequently speaks to students about the Holocaust and the importance of tolerance. “This is the opposite.

“I have Polish friends who were wonderful.

Those who helped should be honored. But there were also those who were guilty, and you should not hide those facts.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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MARCH 16, 2018 25

Celebrations

Torah

Bar Mitzvah

Even the inadvertent sin requires atonement

Isaac Weissman-Markovitz will celebrate his bar mitzvah on Saturday, March 17 at Congregation Beth Shalom. Celebrating with Isaac will be his mother, Sarah Weissman, an attorney working at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and Isaac’s father, Lee Markovitz, a practicing attorney for 33 years.

Joining the celebration will be Isaac’s older sister, Bella Markovitz, who celebrated her bat mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom a few years ago. Isaac’s younger sister, Leike Weissman-Howe, who attends Beth Shalom preschool, will be there too, looking up to her older brother as always. Isaac’s grandparents, Marvin and Rhea Markovitz, and Harvey and Merrille Weissman, will be there as well, with big smiles on their faces. Isaac has been studying for his bar mitzvah, but this hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his main interests in military history and participatory sports. He is in the seventh grade at Community Day School. PJC

Rabbi Yaier Lehrer Parshat Vayikra | Leviticus 1:1-5:26 Parshat HaChodesh | Exodus 12:1-20

M

oses is called upon to instruct the people of Israel on the bringing of the various sacrifices that will be at the heart of their religious service. Some of the sacrifices are voluntary. That is, if someone is moved to bring a sacrifice, there is a specific method by which to do so.

But there are other types of sacrifice that are obligatory in nature, such as the chatat, or sin, offering. The chatat is to be brought in the case of inadvertent sin. The nature of the sacrifice is different, based on the different stations in life of the sinner. A leader, for instance, has a different sacrifice than an ordinary person. And so begins the torat hakohanim, the Torah of the Priests, describing the rituals and worship that are to be performed in the Mishkan, or Tabernacle, the construction of which we have been reading about in the last couple of weeks.

The natural question that one might have is, why do we make a sacrifice in the case of inadvertent sin? And further, why is a leader’s inadvertent sin considered greater than that of the ordinary person?

tent error. The number of people potentially affected by that error are greater than that of the ordinary individual. Further, the temptation to cut corners to gain the approval of the people and maintain one’s leadership position makes a leader especially vulnerable to inadvertent sin. Not only that, but a leader has the ability to lead others into inadvertent error.

One of the categories of inadvertent sin includes a communal sin. A community that inadvertently followed the ruling of a mistaken leader would be required to make a sacrifice as well. And if it can be said that a community can sin inadvertently, then clearly a community can sin intentionally. In other words, whether the acts are inadvertent or intentional, it is never a defense to say that this is what everyone else is doing.

This section of the Torah was traditionally the section with which Torah study began.

These were often the first chapters taught to young people even though they describe practices in which we have not been engaged in almost 2,000 years. But they do teach very important lessons. It is not enough to say, “I made a mistake,” and keep walking. One cannot shrug off responsibility simply with the recitation of those words. Our performance of deeds, even with the best of intentions, must always be mindful of the effect

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“I made a mistake,” and keep walking.

Several sources on the subject of inadvertent sin cite the words of the famed Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: “The sinner who sins through error is one who sins through carelessness. In other words, at the moment of omission, that person did not take full care, with whole heart and soul, that the act be in keeping with Torah and commandments, because the person was not, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘concerned about My word.’”

In the days of the Mishkan and Beit Hamikdash, those of us who simply shrugged our shoulders, said, “I made a mistake,” and moved on from there were doing a disservice to ourselves and our souls. By failing to create the sacrificial benchmark, we failed to properly examine the reasons for our error so we would not fail to take care again. Our lack of mindfulness would be more likely repeated and perhaps even become a habit.

The lack of a recognition of the need for mindfulness multiplies the possibilities of repetition of inadvertent sin.

How much more important is it, then, for a leader to acknowledge even an inadver-

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they have on our souls. One must maintain spiritual integrity even as part of a group, and even in the case of peer pressure or a mob mentality.

Judaism teaches us from the beginning of our education the importance of being mindful of our actions, individually and as part of a community. Through the recitation of even the simplest of blessings like the motzi, the blessing over bread, we are constantly guided to be mindful of what we do and when to do it. The blessing is just as important at a Shabbat table as it is when we sit to eat a sandwich at work or even at a restaurant. Each of our blessings reminds us of an ongoing relationship with God. Thus, the food we eat, how and whether we observe our Shabbat and holidays, the acts of righteousness that we do, are all to be done with a consciousness of the importance of those actions and how they connect us to our Creator and to the others in our lives. PC Rabbi Yaier Lehrer is rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Headlines Farrakhan: Continued from page 10

her to step down as Women’s March co-chair.

Rabbi Sharon Brous, who spoke on the dais at the January 2017 Women’s March, was critical of Mallory’s support for Farrakhan.

“There is no room in a multi-faith, multiethnic coalitional movement for antiSemitism, homophobia or transphobia. Full stop,” Brous, rabbi of Ikar in Los Angeles, wrote on Facebook. “You can’t fight racism but excuse anti-Semitism, just as you cannot fight anti-Semitism while excusing and justifying racism or Islamophobia.”

Brous said that she wished that both the Women’s March leadership and Mallory had responded more quickly and pointedly.

“I wish Tamika had walked out [of Farrakhan’s speech] when he started saying those things or immediately posted, ‘I made a mistake, he is deeply flawed in his antiSemitism and homophobia,’” the rabbi said.

Brous also said of the Women’s March statement, “I would have liked if they had said ‘there’s no place in this movement for statements attacking Jews or queers.’ I would have liked stronger language of condemnation.

However I believe they’re trying to make an

#metoo: Continued from page 13

put a fund or funds together.”

Money is already being poured into other somewhat scattershot efforts: Webinars and in-person seminars are being run by groups ranging from the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance to the Reform movement’s Women’s Rabbinic Network. Training about handling and preventing sexual harassment is being held at some local Jewish federations and through Hillel International, among others.

Naomi Eisenberger, founding executive director of The Good People Fund, which funnels grant money to small, grassroots nonprofits, organized a training for the heads of small- and medium-sized Jewish nonprofits in New York. Fran Sepler, an expert on workplace harassment who developed programs used by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, runs the training. She gave a workshop to leaders of a dozen Jewish groups in December. Registration has opened for a second, larger group for a workshop starting in late April.

Though the $1,000 cost per organization is no small expense for small organizations, coordinators say there is still more demand than they can meet.

Eisenberger became aware of the prevalence of sexual harassment even before the Weinstein scandal broke: A young woman whose organization gets money through the Good People Fund had turned to her for advice about how she could respond to the sexual harassment she had faced. When Eisenberger approached larger, more-established Jewish organizations to see how they dealt with it, “I met a brick wall,” she said.

She circulated a survey in late 2016 to see how much of an issue it was. She hoped for 100 responses. When 180 quickly arrived, she realized it was a bigger issue than she had realized.

effort to learn from this. They’re legitimately trying to learn from this and hold together a coalition that doesn’t always naturally fit.”

The Women’s March brought 500,000 protesters to Washington, D.C., the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, with millions more gathering at sister marches around the world.

Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian American and frequent critic of Israel, is another of the Women’s March organizers and co-chairs.

She also defended Mallory in a tweet.

“Don’t hold people to standards you refuse to hold yourself to,” she wrote.

Women’s March organizers did not respond to requests for an interview. Neither did its communications director, Sophie Ellman-Golan, who is the daughter of a rabbi. She did tweet, “to my queer, trans and Jewish siblings: I love you. I see you. I am so sorry. We deserve more than this.”

Many said Mallory’s support for Farrakhan was of a piece with other progressive movements that have downplayed or tolerated anti-Semitism or harsh anti-Israel rhetoric among their allies.

“Despite all the talk about intersectionality, many of these people think it’s perfectly acceptable to leave out Judaism, often for reasons that have nothing to do with faith One group is working to address the issue solely on the donor side of the equation: the Jewish Funders Network. JFN has some 1,800 grant-making members. JFN has been aware of the power disparity between funders and grantees for some time, and the abuses that too often arise from the donors’ sense of entitlement, president and CEO Andres Spokoiny said in an interview. But discussion within JFN’s board of directors ramped up when #MeToo began.

“Funders don’t have a code of ethics. It doesn’t exist,” Spoikony said. “JFN understands situations of abuse, harassment and even assault within the context of power imbalances between funders and grantees.”

In addition to holding several member webinars, JFN recently added a chapter to its ethics guidelines on sexual harassment and abuse. And for the first time, JFN included language specific to the issue in a note to members before its annual conference, which will be held March 11-15 in Tel Aviv.

“We did it because we felt funders were not being sensitive” to the power imbalance between them and those who seek their donations, Spoikony said.

While there is no way to know if these guidelines will bring about change, women are demonstrating a growing demand for space to air grievances and see that change happens.

At a Jan. 25 town hall organized by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York, guest readers shared dozens of experiences submitted by women working in the Jewish community. Some 275 people filled the meeting room and more were on a waiting list, said Jamie Allen Black, the foundation’s executive director.

“My supervisor expressed empathy, helped intervene and supported me through addressing issues with peers, but any instances with donors was shrugged off or defended,” read one testimony.

“As an intern, I told my boss what had occurred and she laughed and said, ‘Well, he

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itself or the reasons why Jews have been brutalized for centuries,” wrote Lily Herman, a Jewish columnist for the young women’s website Refinery29.

“It is absolutely true that the left has an anti-Semitism problem and has to reckon with that,” Brous said. “I feel that this moment is an opportunity, this intersectional coalitional moment and feminist moment is an opportunity to put forward a different type of leadership. We don’t have to hold our breath when elder statespeople [like Farrakhan] say noxious things. Instead we need to really cleanse that language of hate out of the leadership.”

Brous said she will not step away from her relationship with Sarsour and other Women’s March organizers.

“It’s essential that we stay in dialogue,” she said. “When you’re getting screamed at and insulted on social media, it doesn’t open the heart to want to engage more deeply in the Jewish people’s suffering. It’s only the people willing to still be in conversation and say ‘it hurt me’ that this changes. There’s a steep learning curve here.”

Rebecca Einstein Schorr, a Reform rabbi and writer in Pennsylvania, is a Women’s March supporter who says she feels increasingly alienated by anti-Semitism.

She loved participating in the January 2017

p The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York organized a town hall on sexual harassment in the Jewish nonprofit community in January.

Photo by Deborah Nussbaum Cohen

gave $25,000 today, so you must have done something right,’” read another.

According to a third: “One donor flat out told me donations were contingent on dating him.”

How Rhonda Abrams dealt with being sexually harassed has been the exception.

Immediately after a donor made sexual advances, the 27-year-old director of the Hillel in Portland, Ore., reported the incident to the chair of her board and to Hillel International.

Reaction came fast and strong. Her Hillel chapter board sent the donor, a man prominent in Portland’s small Jewish community, a strongly worded letter saying his money was no longer wanted and warning him to stay away from Abrams. The CEO of Hillel International, Eric Fingerhut, immediately called her. Within days the head of Hillel’s human resources department had flown in so they could both meet with leaders of Portland’s Jewish federation. The federation quickly gathered leaders of local Jewish groups to think about ways to address sexual harassment, and assigned three staffers to develop policies and protocols.

A week after she was harassed, Abrams published a powerful essay about her experience.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Women’s March and was proud to hold a sign identifying herself as a rabbi. But now, she wrote under the Brous Facebook post, “How do we support a movement that continues to be led by those who support an anti-Semite?

I feel really marginalized and that there is no place for me at the Women’s March.”

After the march organizers issued their statement, Einstein Schorr said, “I’m really happy they at least addressed it. It’s a great first step. It is necessary for them to acknowledge the pain we’re feeling by a member of their leadership being aligned with such a complicated personality.”

But, said Einstein Schorr, she is hoping for more because even she is beginning to feel sidelined within the progressive feminist community represented by the Women’s March.

“Whenever the Jewish community tries to be a part of these movements, we end up getting shunted aside,” she said.

Einstein Schorr said she hopes that Mallory will sit down with leaders of the Jewish community.

“It’s important for us to hear why is it that Farrakhan and others like him continue to be so appealing, and for her to understand why we feel so vulnerable,” she said. “And why we feel we have no place at the table.” PJC Abrams’ coming forward also accelerated work on sexual harassment policies at Hillel International, said Mimi Kravetz, its chief talent officer. Hillel has a network of 180 chapters serving 550 North American college campuses. The organization updated its employee handbook and distributed it to Hillel’s 1,200 staff members worldwide — many are recent college graduates. It also sent out information on how staffers should protect themselves and others from sexual harassment, and how to report it.

The organization ran an online town hall in which staffers shared their experiences, and by next month will have run three training sessions.

Abrams said she received individual phone calls and emails from “every single senior woman” working at Hillel International “offering support and praise for the way I handled it.”

“Locally and beyond, the community has been so supportive,” she said. “I want people to know how positive the reaction has been, and that you don’t have to keep silent. If I can publicly say what happened to me and not be afraid, my hope is that other women will do the same.”

Not everyone is confident that there will be a notable change in how sexual harassment and abuse are handled by Jewish nonprofits, no matter how many trainings and programs are run for fundraisers and donors.

“At the end of the day organizations want the money from donors, and staff people are obviously less important than the money,” said Rachel Canar, an American-born, Tel Aviv-based development consultant who in the past worked for a wide range of liberal Jewish groups.

In the ecology of the Jewish community, fundraisers “are more expendable” than donors, she said in an interview. No matter how much effort goes into addressing sexual harassment and abuse, “I can’t picture that changing.” PJC MARCH 16, 2018 27

Obituaries BACHMAN: Ruth Zucker Bachman lived a wonderful life and passed from this world on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the age of 91. Ruth graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. She then joined the nursing school faculty at Presbyterian University Hospital before enrolling in the graduate school program at the University of Pittsburgh to become a pediatric nurse practitioner. She worked as a nurse practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh with the Tonsil and Adenoid Research study for 16 years.

During this time, she held a faculty appointment with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Ruth served on various boards and was a member of various organizations all of which held the aim that she personally held dear: social justice and community development. She served on the board of United Mental Health Services and helped to institute and volunteered for six years with, the first day school program for emotionally disturbed children. She also served on the board of Pace School and was a member of the group Physicians for Social Responsibility.

She retired from active medical practice in June of 1988 but continued to teach third-year medical students during their pediatric rotations at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh until 1994 when she retired from teaching.

Along with her husband James, she was a lifelong member of Rodef Shalom Congregation.

In her later years, Ruth came to have several caregivers, many of whom became like family to her. These women cared for and loved Ruth until her passing. It is with their assistance that she could enjoy the last years of her life within the comforts of the home she had lived in for more than 30 years. Ruth was a devoted and loving daughter, sister, cousin and niece to many extended family members. Ruth

was a devoted and loving wife to James Blum Bachman who preceded her in death. She was a devoted and loving mother to her daughter, Anne Bachman Tabor, her son-in-law, Steven Allan Tabor, who preceded her in death, and her son, David Allan Bachman, who also preceded her in death. She was a devoted and loving grandmother to her granddaughter, Emily Lisa Tabor, her grandson, Joshua Abram Tabor and her granddaughter-in-law, Lindsay Joy Tabor. She was a devoted and loving great-grandmother to her great-granddaughter, Kylie Anne Tabor and to her great-grandson, Steven James Tabor, both of whom were the light in her life when darkness closed in. She was a devoted and loving friend to many and more. From her students and general acquaintances to her closest and dearest friends, she loved and was loved. We, her family, friends and caregivers will miss her with every bit of our hearts and know that the peace she feels now will be the solace that holds us tight. The world has lost one of the greatest women of ours, or any other, time.

Rest in peace, Grammy. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom.

COHEN: Eric Krauss Cohen, on Sunday March 4, 2018. Beloved father of Max Devereaux. Loving son of Jay and Rita (Krauss) Cohen. Cherished brother of Lisa (Alan) Carney. Uncle of Jacob and Alan Carney. Also survived by many loving cousins. Eric graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.

He received a M.A. in clinical psychology and an MBA, both from Duquesne University. He then received a dual master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business in MIS and MSW. He was a member of Tyrian Lodge #644, Lodge Adlucem #812, Bushy Run Chapter, Mt. Moriah Council,

York Rite, Chartiers Commandery, Scottish Rite, both Northern and Southern Jurisdiction, Syria Shrine and Tall Cedars. He became a 33rd Degree Mason. Eric was an extremely gifted musician on many levels. Services were held at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center.

Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children, Attn: Office of Development 2900 N. Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607 or Children’s Dyslexia Center, 3579 Masonic Way Pittsburgh, PA. 15237. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. DIAMOND: Edith A. “Edie” Diamond, of Pittsburgh, passed away on Monday, March 5, 2018. Beloved wife of 70 years to Dr. Edward J. Diamond Jr., mother of Dr. Edward J. Diamond III (Patrice) of Itasca, Ill., and Kenneth J. Diamond (Elizabeth) of Mercer Island, Wash. Grandmother of Jennifer, Laura, Steven and Michael. Great-grandmother of Shoshana. Daughter of the late Benjamin and Rae Ash and sister of the late Richard Ash. Edie was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Smith College in 1946. She loved her family and friends and always remembered their birthdays and anniversaries. She was an avid golfer, swimmer, bridge player and antique collector. At her request, remembrances in her memory may be made to The Chest Foundation, Glenview, Illinois. Services and interment were private. Arrangements by John A. Freyvogel Sons, Inc. FREEMAN: Eunice Polonsky Freeman, age 92, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 10, 2018. A proud graduate of Montefiore Hospital School of Nursing class of 1943, Eunice was a dedicated professional caregiver all of her long and fruitful life. She witnessed and assisted in some of the first open heart

surgeries as a young operating room nurse.

After the war Eunice met the love of her life, her dear departed husband, Leonard, and settled into family life in Uniontown raising four children. During this time Eunice built a loving home for her family and became active as a leader and supporter of Temple Israel Congregation in Uniontown and served many other Jewish causes and activities. After a long absence from the profession, and after raising her four children, Eunice decided to go back into nursing. She took a refresher course and at the age of 54 and began an almost two decade career as a nurse at Uniontown Hospital.

Eunice was dedicated most to her dear departed husband Leonard for 57 years. She is survived by her four loving children, Richard Freeman of Philadelphia, Jane Olsen (Robert) of Hidden Valley, Kenneth Freeman (Ellen) of Pittsburgh and Douglas Freeman (Dasha) of New York City. The lights of Eunice’s life were her grandchildren. She is survived by Alexander Olsen, Erik Olsen, Katya Kumthekar (Rohan), Juliana Freeman and Toby Freeman.

She touched all of her grandchildren with her loving ways, and her kind and caring heart.

Eunice grew up in the East End of Pittsburgh in a large and loving extended family that included her dear departed parents, Samuel and Ann Polonsky and dear departed sister Bea Tannenbaum, along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins too numerous to mention.

Eunice is also survived by her sister-in-law Margery Goldstein of Washington, D.C., and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and greatnephews. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Kether Torah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, or to Shadyside School of Nursing, 5900 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

Please see Obituaries, page 29

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 28

GOLDMAN: Stanley F. Goldman, on Saturday March 10, 2018. Beloved husband of Joberta Goldman. Beloved father of Jeremy (Beth Goldstein) Goldman and Bradley Goldman.

Brother of the late Fonda Kramer. Grandfather of Hannah Skye Goldman. Stanley was a graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School and Duquesne University. He was a member of Phi Sigma Delta Fraternity. He was a proud board member and committee member of the Taylor Allderdice High School Alumni Association. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Tree of Life Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Humane Animal Rescue, 6926 Hamilton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.

MARCUS: Linda Goorin Marcus, on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. Dearly beloved wife of 59 years of Dick Marcus of Pittsburgh. Beloved mother of Susan Marcus Jacobson of Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.; and Joel Cassel Marcus of Seattle, Wash. Adored grandmother of Elodie Grace Jacobson, Blaise Yael Jacobson, Sonja Gadis Marcus and step-grandmother of Samson Isaiah Jacobson. Predeceased by her parents, Theodore Goorin and Catharyn Straus Goorin of Pittsburgh. Also survived by sister Martha Peterson of Rotorua, New Zealand. Linda Marcus was a scholar, teacher, and a prolific writer of liturgical lyrics for hymns and songs of praise and worship performed in churches, synagogues and concert halls around the world.

Her compositions and lyrics brought joy and inspiration to all who heard and were touched by them. She taught literature and writing for more than 50 years at every grade level from kindergarten to graduate school. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to Winchester Thurston School, 555 Morewood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. SACHS: Sylvia Sachs, on Monday, March 5, 2018, age 96 after a short illness. Beloved daughter of the late Gus Sachs and Sarah Tobenfliegel Sachs. Sister of the late Leonard Sachs. Loving aunt of Carol S. Weisman of Hershey, Pa., Gail E. Sachs of Palmyra, Pa., and David E. Sachs (Deanna Morris) of Mill Valley, Calif. Loving great-aunt of Sarah Weisman (Aaron Fredrickson). Loving great-great-aunt of Benjamin Fredrickson. Sylvia grew up in Squirrel Hill with no plans to enter the family’s real estate business, but with dreams of becoming a feature writer at the Pittsburgh Press. She sold books at the old Kaufmann’s Department Store, Downtown, until there was an opening at the Press as secretary to the Outdoors Editor, Roger Latham. While working at the Press, Sylvia earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh.

She soon proved her reporting and writing skills with feature stories and book reviews.

When the Pittsburgh Press began sponsoring Book and Author Dinners at Kaufmann’s in 1974, Sylvia became the organizer of the quarterly events. Over the years, Sylvia brought in more than 500 authors to speak at the dinners, which attracted hundreds at each event. She

was involved in all details – including picking up authors at the airport! She was so successful that when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later took over the Book and Author Dinners, she was persuaded to coordinate the programs until they ended in 2002 – even though she had already retired. Sylvia’s retirement from the Pittsburgh Press was more of a transition into continuing to do the things she loved, including traveling, volunteering at the Carnegie Library, tutoring, taking up chess and bridge for weekly games, spending time with friends and family at the family’s summer cottage in Zelienople, and teaching courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. For her Osher Hot Topics class, she drew on her years of reporting to bring in Pittsburgh’s leaders and celebrities to speak to packed rooms of retirees. She also shared leading class discussions on New Yorker articles. At the same time, Sylvia was known to stay up all night – night after night – to finish her latest mystery book.

She regularly scoured the Carnegie Library and Oakmont’s Mystery Lovers Bookshop. She kept books piled high enough to serve as a side table next to her reading chair. Throughout her life, Sylvia developed a number of deep and lasting friendships. She will be greatly missed by her extended family and friends and by dear Pam Devando who provided loving companionship and care. Sylvia will be missed as well by her beloved cat Toby. Services and interment private. Contributions may be made to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc.

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

In memory of...

Anonymous ..........................................................Max Loefsky Anonymous ........................................................ Elva H. Perrin Anonymous .................................................James H. Podolny Ron & Larraine Bates ....................................Dorothy L. Fisher Harvey M. Block, DMD ................................. J. Bernard Block Susan Cohen................................ Birdie Braunstein Schwartz Bernard Dickter .........................................Sara Esther Dickter Bruce, Paula, Marc, & Marissa Epstein ............... Morris Stern Jeffrey Feryus ...................................................... Isabel Glantz Linda Finkle ....................................................... Matilda Brand Norman Glantz .................................................... Isabel Glantz Ruth Haber .......................................................Pearl Friedman Mildred Hodes....................................................Bernard Berry Mary Jatlow.................................................... Joseph Sherwin Charles M. Katz..........................................................Carl Katz Jay & Ilene Klein ........................Ann Klein & Jacob Richmond Alan Korobkin......................................................Eva Korobkin Nellie Mae Litowich ................................Lena Brodie Lebovitz

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In memory of...

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday March 18: Philip Blau, Birdye Brody, Mollie Bucaresky, Louis Engelman, Meyer Goldfarb, Charlotte Gordon, Morris E. Greenberg, Maurice Edward Jacobson, Charles Kaufman, Dr. Jack Leedy, Fannie Lichtenstein, William S. Miller, Gerald E. Moskowitz, Sanford A. Rogers, Trudy Rosenthal, Merle Arnold Sands, Ida Sissman, Morris L. Speizer, Eileen M. Swartz, Louis Weinberger, Celia Weiner, Samuel Weiner, Zelda Hilda Zamsky Monday March 19: William L. Birken, Belle Broder, Elsie Cohen, Dorothy Gross, Leon Hytovitz, Harriett W. Kopp, Pearle N. Lenchner, Samuel Lichtenstul, Israel Marcus, Allan Jay Mellman, Joseph Melnick, Alvin Milligram, Celia J. Rubin, Leo I. Shapiro, Benjamin Thorpe Tuesday March 20: Elliott Alber, Rosa Birnbaum, Joseph Brody, Elizabeth Cousin, Marvin G. Elman, Phillip Fenster, Freda Foreman, Harry Friedlander, William Katz, Ida E. Keller, Samuel Levinson, Sarah Markowitz, Jack Marks, Rachael Bessie Miller, Samuel Miller, Samuel Mines, Albert Schwartz, Harry Schwartz, Kania Sigman, Joseph Viess, Jacob Weiner, Sally Louise Weisman, Joseph M. Zasloff, Gary Zinman Wednesday March 21: Alice Serbin Bogdan, Louis Caplan, Louis Caplin, Harold Erenstein, Aaron Friedland, Jacob Richmond, Rose Shrager, Irwin Silverman, Lazarus Simon, Esther Dena Stein, Jacob Steinberger Thursday March 22: Matilda Beck, Sarah S. Berman, Sadie Farkas, M. Emanuel Heller, David T. Horvitz, Myer Klevan, Sidney H. Lebovitz, Bessie Lundy, Philip Singer, Sarah Sontag, Sam Vixman, Bernard Winer Friday March 23: Allen Stein Amdur, Louis Farkas, B. Joseph Green, Saul Guttman, Max Handelsman, Julia Hepps, Morris J. Klein, Arthur Kramer, Mildred Lebovitz, Helen Mermelstein, Rose Beck Nathanson, Isadore M. Peril, David Pollack, Anna L. Rosenberg, Edward S. Sheinberg, William Shussett, Dr. Sidney A. Silverman, Tillie N. Sirocca, Abe Turk, Harry Weinberger, Louis Zamore Saturday March 24: Sol Bennett, Bernard Berry, Jacob I. Brand, Samuel L. Case, Ralph Herny, Mollie Liff, David A. Myer, Rose Rosenthal, Max Rotter, Louis A. Schwartz, Allan Robert Shine, Sam Stein, Samuel J. Weiss

SCHOENFELD: Lillian E. Schoenfeld, on Friday, March 9, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Ira Schoenfeld. Loving mother of Janice Schoenfeld (Willem Mineur) and David Schoenfeld. Sister of Ida Maretsky and Harry (Irene) Exler. Grandmother of Eric and Leah Schoenfeld-Mineur. Also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews and good friends, Sandy and Lenny Brodie. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel. Interment Homewood Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Sivitz Hospice, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. WOLKIN: Charlotte Wolkin, age 91, on Thursday, March 8, 2018.

Beloved wife of the late Samuel Wolkin. Loving mother of Gary Wolkin and Dr. Sharon Wolkin. Sister of the late Dr. Harold Goldblum and Charles “Chuckie” Goldblum. Aunt of Pamela and Jeffrey as well as the late Lee and Ricky. Charlotte was born and raised in Pittsburgh’s South Side.

She was a graduate of South High School and later resided in Squirrel Hill. She was a bookkeeper for Morris Allon & Company where she met and married her husband of 54 years Sam. Even during her illness, she always greeted everyone with a wave and a big smile. The family would like to extend their thanks to her caregivers, especially Daisy. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, 826 Hazelwood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or Jewish Association on Aging Anathan Club, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. PJC

A gift from ...

Mary B. Marks ........................................................ Alter Baker Mary B. Marks .......................................................Nellie Baker Stan & Nikol Marks ................................................ Karl Zlotnik Elaine McNeill..................................................Rory S. Melnick Mrs. Alvin Mundel ..................................................... Fae Klein Larry Plevin....................................................Lee Calvin Plevin Sylvia Pearl Plevin ............................................... Lee C. Plevin Harvey L. Rice .....................................................William Taper Ronna & Jeff Robinson .........................................Paul Leipzig Rina Sigal Segal .............................................Frances B. Sigal Patricia Green Shapiro .................................. B. Joseph Green Ileen Stein...................................................... Harry Stevenson Stanley & Carol Lee Stein ......................... Isadore Mendelson Elsa Surloff ...................................................... Earl Roy Surloff Claire & Morris Weinbaum .........................Sidney H. Lebovitz Roberta E. Weinberg .................... Melvin & Dorothy Weinberg Elinor Young ...............................................................Ida Shrut Susie Zohlman ................................................. Lena Goldman

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We’re not everyone.

Every day that we’re able to help another family make it through a painful loss is one more day we’re proud to be in our chosen profession. Our compassion toward families and enthusiasm for serving the community is truly what sets us apart.

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E S T A T E

N O T I C E

Shutzberg, Bessie, deceased of Pittsburgh, PA. No. 01201 of 2018.

Irwin Shutzberg, Co-Extr., 1945 Del Prado Ct., Allison Park, PA 15101 or Jean Jacobs, Co-Extrx., 1 Deer Spring Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 15238

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MARCH 16, 2018 29

Community J-JEP activities

Muppet Purim at Adat Shalom Adat Shalom’s third- and fourth-graders enjoyed Purim celebrations and acted in the religious school’s Purim shpiel.

p Sixth- and seventh-grade students from the Joint Jewish Education Program toured the Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary as part of their Biblical Archaeology elective on a recent Sunday.

p Did someone say Haman? Adat Shalom Religious School students perform a Purim shpiel entitled, “The Muppets Take Shushan,” directed by teacher Fran Conway.

p The Muppets cast sings the grand finale.

Photos courtesy of Adat Shalom

p Students at the Joint Jewish Education Program attended a panel with Rabbis Seth Adelson of Congregation Beth Shalom, Sharyn Henry of Rodef Shalom Congregation and Danielle Leshaw of Penn State Hillel, and moderated by Rabbi Danny Schiff, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Foundation Scholar, where they participated in a discussion exploring Jewish denominational views on hot topics. Photos courtesy of Joint Jewish Education Program

Zoo Day for seniors

u Residents Florence Wise and Thelma Russo get up close and personal with an opossum from the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium during Zoo Day at Weinberg Terrace. Sponsored by the Jewish Association on Aging, visiting with furry friends like this provides learning and fun for JAA residents and staff.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Association on Aging

30 MARCH 16, 2018

p Emme Kirkman, Sarah Cohen and Sylvie Casher (behind her Purim mask) take a break while filling many shalach manot bags for Purim at Temple David.

Photo courtesy of Temple David

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Community At AIPAC

Pillows for Passover

p Yosef Cohen Melamed and Rachel Cohen, both 12th-grade students at Hillel Academy, and Julie Paris were the main presenters for the Pittsburgh AIPAC delegation lobbying Rep. Mike Doyle.

p Girls in the Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s Bat Mitzvah Club sew pillows that will be included in GIFT’s Seder-to-Go kits.

Photo courtesy of Chabad of Squirrel Hill

Purim in the jungle

p Congressman Mike Doyle and members of the Pittsburgh AIPAC delegation who met with him to lobby Photos courtesy of Jim Busis

HaZamir The Pittsburgh chapter of HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir will attend the 25th Anniversary Festival and Gala Concert. Teens from 38 chapters all over the United States and Israel rehearse a common repertoire each week and come together for a weekend of rehearsal and a Shabbaton, culminating in a performance at a New York City venue.

More than 150 people attended the Megillah reading at the Purim In The Jungle Celebration hosted by Chabad of the South Hills at the South Hills Jewish Community Center. The evening featured an African-style dinner, a drum circle conducted by Yamoussa Camara and a visit from “That Guy with the Birds.” The event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh.

p From left, back row: Eitan Weinkle, Ada Perlman, Zev Haworth, Joey Breslau, Max Rosen, director Molly May, Dana Engel, Dori Catz; Front: HaZamir Pittsburgh seniors Yael Perlman, Sarah Krastman, Naomi Frim-Abrams Photo courtesy of Molly D. May

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u Rochel Rosen

p Kenny Sprouse, better known as “That Guy With The Birds,” delights the children with his exotic birds.

Photos courtesy of Chabad of the South Hills

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MARCH 16, 2018 31

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32 MARCH 16, 2018

and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

3/12/18 9:34 AM

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