Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 8/10/2018

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August 10, 2018 | 30 Av 5778

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Candlelighting 8:06 p.m. | Havdalah 9:07 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 32 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Surprising history of a summer camp with local ties

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Shaler teacher leads efforts Lots of changes to increase, improve Holocaust in store for education Jewish students heading back to school

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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said. “At first you think that someday you might understand it, but the more you study it, the more you realize you will never understand it.”

Haberman, 35, has devoted his career to researching and teaching about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights, leading an elective on the subject for a decade and introducing a new elective and a Holocaust center at the school to encourage even more focus and collaborative work around these issues.

The goal, he said, is to normalize Holocaust and human rights education in public schools and offer a model for other schools to follow. And although he admits that he won’t ever be able to fully understand the Holocaust, he goes to great lengths to make sure his students can hear from people who do through visits from survivors, the use of personal records and trips to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Holocaust

s we head into the final weeks of summer — with children savoring those last few days of freedom before the school bells ring — Pittsburgh’s Jewish educators are busily preparing for the launch of a new academic year promising to bring new programs, new faces and some new spaces as well.

Teachers and administrators at the Steel City’s three Jewish day schools, as well as J Line — a supplemental educational program for teens, with classes in both Squirrel Hill and the South Hills — are enthusiastic about what the new school year has to offer.

Some students at Hillel Academy can look forward to learning in an entirely new space, as the school opens its Herman Lipsitz Building for boys in grades 5-12 at 5706 Bartlett St. — the former site of Kether Torah Congregation — which abuts Hillel’s main building on Beacon Street.

“The boys’ high school and boys’ middle school were housed at the JCC for the past eight years,” explained Rabbi Sam Weinberg, principal and education director of Hillel Academy. “Now, they are coming back to our main campus, which will provide a great learning environment and also improve the experience for students in our current building, which will house early childhood, grades 5-12 girls, and the entire elementary school.

“We are extremely excited for our schools and excited for our community to have this physical thing that demonstrates our growth over the last five to 10 years,” Weinberg continued, noting that Hillel Academy is boasting a “record enrollment” this year of more than 375 students.

In addition to the new space, Hillel has hired a new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics)

Please see Holocaust, page 16

Please see Changes, page 16

Camp Machigon reflected the structure of Jewish life in Squirrel Hill after WWII. Page 5 WORLD Dutch Jews evicted The end of Jewish life in a Netherlands city.

Page 8 WORLD Pakistan’s new prime minister

Will the election of Imran Khan change relations with Israel?

Page 9

 Nicholas Haberman, a teacher at Shaler Area High School, lights a candle at a Yom HaShoah commemoration.

Photo courtesy of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Lauren Rosenblatt | Digital Content Manager

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hen Nicholas Haberman started teaching about the Holocaust as a history teacher at Shaler Area High School, he felt at first that he wasn’t the one who should be leading this lesson.

Haberman, raised Presbyterian, did not have much Jewish influence growing up — he said he didn’t meet a Jewish person until he was in college — and had never had the experience of hearing family stories of persecution and war in their homeland.

Now, after 13 years as a teacher and 10 years of leading an elective about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights at Shaler as well as countless trips to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., with students, he still doesn’t feel like he can fully grasp the concept himself, let alone teach it to future generations.

“I think it’s taken me 10 years to be able to understand how much it is that I will never know about the Holocaust,” Haberman

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Headlines Companies with local ties foster entrepreneurism — LOCAL —

By Jonah Berger | Chronicle Intern

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2016 study by the Kauffman Foundation threw into sharp relief the dynamic nature of the modern economy.

“New and young businesses create nearly all net new jobs in the U.S. economy,” the study declared, noting that “older, established companies” tend to be “net destroyers of jobs.”

Which is why entrepreneurship, experts say, serves a vital role in growing the economy.

“You can’t anticipate going to work out of high school and college and being in a job for 30 or 40 years,” said Coleman Wolfson, the project manager at AlphaLab Gear, a local business incubator. “It seems like much more often, you have to create your own opportunities. Regardless of what your work is, you have to be entrepreneurial in the way that you approach it.”

This is partly why summer programs training aspiring entrepreneurs have become increasingly popular.

Both Coleman and David Levine, a Pittsburgh native who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, oversee entrepreneurship programs that seek to inspire the next generation to start their own businesses or at least become productive members of the so-called new economy, in which technological ingenuity is in high demand.

‘Important Skills’

In 2015, Wolfson developed a summer program called 412Build — now known as Startable — that teaches high school students the skills required to launch and grow a business. During the eight-week program, participants — many of whom come from underserved communities in Pittsburgh — gain exposure to 3-D printing, laser cutting

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and woodworking equipment, in addition to learning basic business skills.

Participants try to find a gap in the market before crafting a proposal in the form of a pitch deck, a brief presentation for potential investors.

If program leaders give an idea the green light, the students receive an investment to purchase raw materials and launch the business.

“Students have the opportunity to really learn the hard and soft skills they know that they’re going to need to be successful in a career, whether it’s a business that they start themselves or if they go to work for someone else,” Coleman said.

Camp Inc. was established in Boulder in 2014 as an overnight camp teaching skills such as graphic design, coding and public speaking.

The model was popular. An 11-year-old from Pacifica, California, garnered national media attention when he crowdfunded more than $2,500 in order to pay his way through the camp.

Levine, who previously served as the counselor-in-training director and programming coordinator at Emma Kaufmann Camp, joined Camp Inc. in 2016 as assistant director, before taking over as director a year later. He attributes the interest in entrepreneurship camps to an insufficient focus in many school curricula on promoting creativity and innovation.

“School systems have stopped teaching these important skills,” Levine wrote via email. “They have focused so much on preparing for standardization that they have forgotten how to teach kids to be adaptive.”

He also attributed high demand for Camp Inc. and similar programs to popular television shows such as “Shark Tank” and “Dragons’ Den,” which feature entrepreneurs attempting to convince a group of venture capitalists to invest in their startups.

Building a Foundation

Innovation Works, the parent company

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of AlphaLab Gear, looks for local companies in which to invest, especially those led by individuals from low-income and minority backgrounds.

“With the growing tech scene here in Pittsburgh, we wanted to create opportunities to kind of expand our pipeline of potential entrepreneurs who could get involved in our space and with our programs,” Wolfson said.

For upper middle-class high schoolers, unpaid internships provide an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the business world. But many lower-income students can’t afford to do unpaid work during the summer, and they often lack the connections to secure such positions in the first place.

That is why Startable participants are given a stipend, in addition to keeping any profits accrued from their startups.

“We feel the students shouldn’t have to decide between a paying job and careerbuilding skills,” Terri Glueck, director of communications for Innovation Works, wrote in an email. “The reality is that many teens need to earn money in the summer to save for school, help their family and/or cover their living expenses.”

Although some participants continue to grow their businesses after the program ends, Wolfson said the durability of the students’ companies is secondary to the foundation they establish for future endeavors.

“The idea is to give them exposure to the opportunities and resources that are available to them through places like AlphaLab Gear and Innovation Works with the hopes that in the future, some of them will start their own businesses and come back to us for assistance in doing so,” Wolfson said. “And we hope that others pursue education or employment that would make them good early employees of some of these tech startups.

“So really it’s about kind of introducing

young people to the ... entrepreneurship and tech scene here in Pittsburgh, specifically students who might otherwise not be exposed to this stuff.”

Expanding the Options

Camp Inc. comprised one of four overnight camps established under the second iteration of the Specialty Camps Incubator, an initiative of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, a national umbrella organization for Jewish summer camps. The Incubator, funded by grants from the Jim Joseph Foundation and the AVI CHAI Foundation, provides training and other resources to specialty camps, or those with niche focuses, as well as money to offset any losses incurred over the first three years of operation.

Given the high initial expenses of purchasing materials, specialty camps — particularly technology-style camps — face hurdles in getting off the ground and making ends meet, without continual infusions of money from a large foundation such as FJC. “For a brand new camp that’s never existed before, you don’t have alumni, you don’t have a base of funding aside from the grant,” said Michele Friedman, who runs the Incubator Program.

Ultimately, the overnight model was unsustainable for Camp Inc. In 2017, the Boulder JCC began offering Camp Inc. as a day camp, while also adding after-school sessions.

Still, the demand for entrepreneurship camps remains high.

Recently, Levine and other camp leaders have turned their focus towards bringing Camp Inc.’s model to other cities. So far, the camp has licensed its curriculum to camps in Atlanta and Denver. PJC Jonah Berger can be reached at jberger@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines World ORT leaders visit Pittsburgh — LOCAL — Jonah Berger | Chronicle Intern

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eaders from World ORT, a nonprofit devoted to promoting education and skill-building in underserved Jewish communities around the world, visited Pittsburgh in late July to raise awareness of the continuing challenges the organization attempts to address.

World ORT funds and oversees a network of schools across multiple continents, reaching over 300,000 individuals each year.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh allocates money each year to the organization, contributing specifically to the ORT Herzl Jewish School in Kishinev, Moldova, which serves 670 students and their families.

World ORT owns only one facility itself, but works with local and national governments — especially those in the former Soviet Union — to bring high-quality education to students who otherwise would languish in faulty and oftentimes underfunded public schools. The organization focuses on instruction in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as Jewish education, according to Conrad Giles, president of World ORT. “We function within educational frameworks and within educational facilities that

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are owned and operated by the countries in which we are functioning,� Giles said. “World ORT does not own the facilities but provides them with curriculum designed to enhance educational opportunities.�

In addition to its extensive work in countries with only small Jewish populations, the organization operates in Israel, working to “level the playing field� for those in the more resource-scarce periphery of the country, or the area outside of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv region, according to Giles. He noted that since many students are out of school by early afternoon in Israel, after-school programming can supplement school curriculum, as well as provide enriching “social activity.� “The long-term answer to poverty in a high-tech society is education,� said Jim Lodge, senior development officer at World ORT, who accompanied Giles in Pittsburgh.

Schools funded by World ORT serve Jewish and non-Jewish students, as some non-Jews are lured by the high quality of science education the schools provide.

But in addition to primary education, the schools serve in many cases as a last-chance attempt to give non-practicing Jews a foray into religious life and spirituality. These individuals are “barely� connected to their Jewish roots, noted Lodge, and without exposure to some semblance of Jewish culture and practices, they will most likely be unreachable as they grow older.

Without continued financial support for Jewish instruction in certain countries, especially in the former Soviet Union, high rates of intermarriage could spell “the end� of the religion, he warned.

Lodge noted that graduates of World ORT programs have gone on to become leaders in Hillel, Limud and other Jewish organizations, demonstrating the fruitful effects of these programs.

World ORT has not been p Students explore technology at ORT, the smallest immune from the effects of of Rio’s four Jewish day schools. Photo courtesy of ORT an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States and around the success of programs it supports. the world. A terrorist attack against a kosher “We recognize the importance of what food market in Paris in 2015 occurred we’re doing, the excellence of our product, across the street from a World ORT-funded and further recognize that our position school, prompting the organization to in the minds of donors is secondary to devote funding toward increased security a number of other organizations in the measures, including bulletproof windows.

Federation landscape of funding,� Giles “You have to see the resilience of the said. “Most individuals who give don’t really youngsters in those schools to become ener- recognize World ORT. gized to do the work that we do,� Giles said. “We have not taken the pains to market He added that World ORT leaders decided ourselves, in my view, adequately over the to come to Pittsburgh to promote the work past 50 years,� he added.  PJC that World ORT engages in around the world, acknowledging that the organization has not Jonah Berger can be reached at jberger@ JC TurnUpLife2016_Eartique 6/21/16 9:50 AM Page 1 adequately informed potential donors about pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Feminism in Israel still faces challenges despite big strides — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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eminism has made great strides in Israel in the last several years, but much progress is still necessary to create a more equitable society there, according to a recent study conducted by Pittsburgh-born Nancy Strichman, now a lecturer at Hebrew University.

Strichman, the daughter of Pittsburgh historian Barbara Burstin, was in Pittsburgh to lead a discussion on the “Feminist Agenda and Women’s Groups in Israel” for a Ladies Who Lunch program at the Center for Women on Aug. 2, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Women’s Foundation and the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section.

“It’s clear that this important topic has resonated with our community,” said Debbie Green, president of NCJW Pittsburgh, adding that Ladies Who Lunch was begun two years ago as a “gender-focused educational, and sometimes fun, series.”

NCJW, along with the Dafna Fund, sponsored Strichman’s study, entitled “Past Achievements and Future Directions of Women’s and Feminist Organizations in

p Nancy Strichman

Israel,” a yearlong research project based on interviews with about 300 individuals in Israel.

The women interviewed included activists, nonprofit staff, academics, funders and journalists, Strichman said, and involved people of diverse backgrounds. The topics covered

Photo by Toby Tabachnick

encompassed such issues as economic independence, political representation, artistic expression in art, film and literature, and healthy sexuality and reproductive rights.

Strichman explained that in the 1990s, pressing issues for feminists included the

wage gap, advancement and equality in the army, and domestic violence. Those issues were subsequently addressed through such means as legislation, and the opening of rape crisis centers and shelters.

Significant achievements in the Israeli feminist landscape include reproductive rights, which Strichman said, are now “a non-issue,” and growing formalized support to ensure women’s representation at all levels of government. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of artistic outlets for women to “get their stories told,” she said, and there is an increasing number of educational and employment opportunities for women across many sectors of Israeli society.

There also has been much progress made, she said, in getting the government to view certain issues — such as health care — through a “gender lens,” along with an increase in the public discourse on women’s rights.

“Women’s issues are now seen more like community issues,” Strichman said. “There has been a phenomenal shift.”

Israeli women have long been sharing their stories of abuse and discrimination, Strichman noted. Even prior to the Please see Feminism, page 20

Federation steps in to support Israeli victims of terror — LOCAL — Jonah Berger | Chronicle Intern

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he Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh stepped in to fund the tuition for 10 Israeli children to attend a summer camp for victims of terrorism. The camp, run by the Jewish Agency for Israel, seeks to help children who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder — mainly as a result of missile and burning kite attacks emanating from Gaza — by providing a structured schedule replete with field trips and emotional support.

The camp takes place in mid-August, when many Israeli children have not yet resumed school and have few opportunities to engage with other children in constructive and fruitful activities. This period without structured programming can be especially difficult for those suffering from PTSD. Kimberly Salzman, director of Israel and Overseas Operations at the Federation, said in an interview that the flare-up at the Gaza border this spring increased demand for the camp dramatically. Even though the Federation provides a significant portion of its allocations each year to the Jewish Agency, helping to fund the summer camp and other Agency initiatives, she said the Federation decided that this year, more money was needed to buttress those allocations.

“The waiting list was much longer this year and the Jewish Agency this year put more of a priority on getting every single kid who was eligible to go to the camp ...

4 AUGUST 10, 2018

off of the waiting list,” Salzman said. “They felt like the need was more acute, the need was more critical this year, and we agreed with them.”

Saltzman, who lived in Israel for 12 years, said the ever-present wail of sirens can terrify the entire population, especially children.

“Their entire summers have been ruined by missile attacks on almost a daily basis, sometimes several times a day,” Saltzman said. “I can’t imagine the trauma, the toll that it takes on young children.”

The camp provides a range of activities to help the children gain resilience and improve mental and emotional well-being.

Campers travel to attractions around Israel, including the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem and the Superland amusement park in Rishon LeZion. They also have the opportunity to converse with other children who have experienced similar trauma.

To be eligible for the camp, children must be between 6 and 16, be recognized by the Israeli government as a victim of terror or have an immediate family member who has been recognized, and experience “continuous and prolonged” PTSD as a result of an attack, according to a summary of the camp released by the Jewish Agency.

The Agency provides financial support for victims of terrorism, both through immediate grants in the aftermath of attacks to help replace basic necessities, as well as long-term funding to help victims overcome trauma and gain employment. Both Arab and Jewish Israelis can receive grants.

Saltzman said the Federation’s longstanding commitment to Israel prompted

them to lend support to the campers.

“Our Federation is highly committed to Israel, to our relationship with Israel,” Salzman said. “This is something that really pulled on our heartstrings and we felt that

if we can come up with the money, then we need to.” PJC Jonah Berger can be reached at jberger@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Amy Cohen to lead campaign for JNF here

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— LOCAL —

ewish National Fund has announced that Amy Cohen has been hired as its new senior campaign executive in Pittsburgh.

She is replacing Jason Rose, who had been managing the Pittsburgh campaign from his office in Minneapolis. Cohen, who began her tenure on July 30, will be headquartered in Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square.

Originally from the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton area of Pennsylvania, Cohen holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clarion University and a master’s degree in political science from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Her ties to Israel are strong and have been reinforced by travel there.

“I am grateful to have traveled to Israel four times,” she said in a prepared statement.

“I am a Birthright alumna and I have had the opportunity to lead three volunteer missions to Israel. Every experience and chance to get to Israel is a unique opportunity.

“I am looking forward to being able to

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introduce and expand the knowledge of what Jewish National Fund does in Israel,” she added. “I am excited to engage with the Jewish community and meet with people who are passionate about p Amy Cohen Courtesy photo having a voice for Israel here in Pittsburgh.”

Prior to joining Jewish National Fund, Cohen worked for six years at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh where she served as that organization’s Volunteer Center manager and its Shalom Pittsburgh associate.

“I am really excited for Amy to join our Jewish National Fund family,” said Cohen’s supervisor, Eric Goldstein, the executive director of JNF, Ohio Valley, in a prepared statement. “I am looking forward to Amy sharing her energy and passion for Israel and Jewish National Fund in the Pittsburgh community.” PJC — Toby Tabachnick

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Headlines A summer camp that was Jewish by nature, not by design — LOCAL —

By Eric Lidji | Special to the Chronicle

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ou’re looking at the members of the Woodbine Boys Club. They’re sitting on the steps of Colfax Elementary School, where they met for swimming, horseplay and other good times. The club was informal — no charter or constitution or officers. The official-sounding name was simply a way to foster a spirit of belonging among the boys.

The photograph was taken on March 27, 1948, but these boys all seem ready for summer. They’re stripped to their undershirts and squinting against the slanted sunlight.

A lot of them already knew what they would be doing for the summer. Their plans can be found on the tattered T-shirt of Jimmy Cooper. He’s the middle of the three counselors taking a knee in the back. His T-shirt reads “Camp Machigon.” His left arm is covering up the camp logo: the profile of a Native American man in a full headdress.

Camp Machigon was not a Pittsburgh camp, nor really a Jewish camp, and yet it plays a part in local Jewish history. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, a fair number of Woodbine boys spent their summers together at Camp Machigon. Readers of a certain age might even recognize their friends (or themselves) among these faces.

The earliest reference I’ve found to Camp Machigon is the 1924 edition of Porter Sargent’s “Handbook of Summer Camps,” which lists it as a Boy Scouts camp in Bonny Eagle Lake, Maine — nothing about Jewishness, nothing about Pittsburgh. The next 20 years produced little documentation, aside from evidence that the legendary University of Pittsburgh back fielder Marshall Goldberg was a counselor there in the late 1930s.

Camp Machigon appeared in Pittsburgh publications in the February 9, 1945, edition of the Jewish Criterion, which ran an advertisement and a brief news item announcing that a local Jewish communal fundraiser and youth worker named Alex Levin was “reopening” the camp at Crescent Lake in Raymond, Maine. The revived Camp Machigon would take 100 boys between the ages of seven and 16 and would offer an array of athletic and cultural activities. “For the first time in history, Pittsburgh will be [the] official headquarters for an exclusive Maine Camp for boys,” the notice claimed.

Nothing in the newspaper mentioned anything Jewish about Camp Machigon, aside from its new director. Blair Jacobson — seen here in the second row, second from the left, head in his hands — attended Camp Machigon and recently donated a collection of photographs and letters from his summers there. He recalled very little in the way of explicitly Jewish activities at the camp, aside from the occasional Friday night service.

The Maine Jewish Museum keeps a database of known Jewish summer camps in the state. It includes places like Camp Modin and Camp Naomi, where Jewishness underpinned the entire camping experience. Camp Machigon isn’t in the database.

Camp Machigon was different. It was a

p Members of the Woodbine Boys Club pose on the steps of Colfax Elementary School in March 1948, where they met for swimming, horseplay and other good times.

Photo by Mervin S. Stewart, courtesy of Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives

secular camp that became a de facto Jewish camp through the personal affiliations of its director. Levin advertised in the Jewish Criterion, and therefore many of his campers ended up being Jewish kids who lived in Pittsburgh. A photograph published in the Criterion in August 1949 showed all the local Jewish boys attending Camp Machigon that summer. All told, it came to 15 kids and 11 counselors, which accounted for about a sixth of all the campers and about a third of the staff. Even the camp photographer, Mervin S. Stewart, who also took this photograph of the Woodbine Boys Club, was a young Jewish guy from Pittsburgh.

A string of directors managed Camp Machigon between 1945 and 1953, when the last notice appeared in the Criterion.

Some of these directors were from Pittsburgh and some weren’t, but they all maintained the habit of advertising in the Criterion. They even occasionally held camp reunions in Pittsburgh during the colder months of the year.

There have been many Jewish youth programs in Pittsburgh, and often they have been used to express the aspirations of Jewish organizations in the city. Camp Machigon instead reflected the actual structure of Jewish life in Squirrel Hill after World War II, when many Jewish families read the same community newspaper and sent their kids to the same schools. A camp in Maine was a byproduct of a community in Pittsburgh. PJC Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Sen. John Heinz History Center. He can be reached at eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406.

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

Submissions will also be included in print.

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

The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q EVERY WEDNESDAY EVENING Heal Grow and Live with Hope, NarAnon meeting from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road; use office entrance. Newcomers are welcome. Call and leave a message for Karen at 412-563-3395.

q SUNDAY AUG. 12 Temple Emanuel’s Bereavement Support Group meetings will be at 10 a.m. The group, which is open to anyone who is experiencing grief following loss, is led by Jamie Del, LCSW and Naomi Pittle, LCSW, who both have experience in grief counseling. RSVP to Leon at leonsteineresa@verizon.net if you plan to attend. The Bereavement Support Group welcomes previous and newly bereaved adults to attend. Meetings are held at Temple Emanuel, 1250 Bower Hill Road.

Moishe House will hold a pool party at Bloomfield Beach, 410 Ella St. from 2 to

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4 p.m. for some sun bathing, splashing, giggling, book reading and general merriment. Moishe House will cover the cost of pool passes. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. q WEDNESDAY, AUG. 15 Moishe House will hold Middle School Science Night (the only good part of middle school) from 7 to 9 p.m. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. q THURSDAY, AUG. 16 The annual Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park begins at 7:05 p.m. as the Pirates take on the Chicago Cubs. This year, there will be an optional pre-game kosher BBQ in the Picnic Park. The food will be provided

by Smokey Nat’s (a project of Shaare Torah Congregation), which is under the supervision of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh. For more information, and for ticket prices, see Pirates.com/JewishHeritage.

The Squirrel Hill Historical Society will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition (SHUC), the neighborhood’s community planning organization. Refreshments will be served and a panel of SHUC members will talk about the past, present and future of the organization at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Redeemer, 5700 Forbes Ave. There is no charge. q FRIDAY-SUNDAY, AUG. 17-26 Front Porch Theatricals presents “Grey Gardens” at the New Hazlett Theater.

Based on Albert and David Maysles’ 1975 documentary, the musical is set at Grey Gardens, the Bouviers’ impressive East Hampton mansion at the engagement party of Edith Beale to Navy man Joe Kennedy Jr. Musical direction is by Doug Levine, with Danny Mayhak as Joe Kennedy. Visit frontporchpgh.com for more information and tickets.

Camp NCJW at Green Oaks Country Club in Verona will be held to benefit the Center for Women beginning at 11 a.m. and will include a co-ed day of golf, tennis, swimming, dinner and more. The Center for Women was launched in 2013 in partnership with the Jewish Women’s Foundation with the mission of helping women in transition to achieve financial stability and independence.

The CFW offers internship and mentoring programs, career coaching, financial coaching and a variety of workshops that have served more than 1,500 women. Visit ncjwpgh.org/ events/camp-ncjw for more information.

Moishe House will play dodge ball from 7 to 9 p.m. Ace Hotel at the Ace Hotel, 120 S. Whitfield St. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. q THURSDAY, AUG. 23 Moishe House will hold self-defense with Ben Case from 7 to 9 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. q FRIDAY, AUG. 24 Chabad of Squirrel Hill will host a Loaves of Love event from 9 to 11 a.m. at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Women will bake two loaves of challah and will have the opportunity to learn from Sue Berman Kress on how to make special, round beehive challahs in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Refreshments will be served, and High Holiday inspiration will be shared as the dough is rising. The cost is $10 per woman, and reservations are required by Aug. 22 at chabadpgh.com/lol. q THURSDAY, AUG. 30

q SATURDAY, AUG. 18 Move Forward Through the Power of MuSic, the annual MuSic for MS Music Festival to help end multiple sclerosis forever will be from 3 to 10:30 p.m. at Hartwood Acres.

There is a charge, but free tickets are available to anyone living with MS. Visit MuSicForMS.org/tickets for more information. q SUNDAY, AUG. 19 A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Milt Eisner at an Israel Bonds and Congregation Beth Shalom program at 10 a.m.

David Eisner, former chairman and president of JTA/70 Faces Media and the Jewish Education Project, will be the guest speaker. A $100 minimum Israel bond purchase per person in 2018 purchased for Congregation Beth Shalom is required to attend. The event will be held at Beth Shalom; reservations are required. RSVP

by Wednesday, Aug. 15 to Adrienne Indianer at 412-362-5154 or Pittsburgh@israelbonds.com.

Visit bethshalompgh.org/events-upcoming for more information.

Shalom Pittsburgh will hold its eighth annual Apples and Honey Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Waterfront Town Center.

The community is invited. Contact Meryl Franzos at mfranzos@jfedpgh.org or visit shalompittsburgh.org/apples-and-honey-fallfestival for more information.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

q MONDAY, AUG. 20

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2018 annual meeting, FED Talks: Ideas to Power an Inspired Community, will include insights from three guest speakers who will offer creative ideas for Jewish communities.

The community is invited to the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. The presentation will be 7 to 8 p.m.; a dessert reception (dietary laws observed) will follow from 8 to 9 p.m. Visit jfedpgh.org/annual-meeting for information about the program and speakers. The charge is $10 per person when registering online at jfedpgh.org/annual-meeting. Online registration will be available until noon, Monday, Aug. 27. At the door, admission will be $20 per person. Contact 412-992-5251 for more information and to discuss disabilityrelated accommodations. Sign language interpretation of the proceedings and largeprint agendas will be available. q SUNDAY, AUG. 26 Moishe Gets Moving: Kayaking, from 2 to 4 p.m. The cost is $5. Meet at Kayak Pittsburgh, 1 Federal St. at 2 p.m. or at Moishe House at 1:15 p.m. for rides. There is limited space.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. q TUESDAY, SEPT. 4 Chabad of the South Hills will hold a pre- High Holiday lunch for seniors at noon, including honey cake and a presentation by Asti’s Pharmacy. There is a $5 suggested donation; the building is wheelchair accessible. Call 412-278-2658 to preregister and visit chabadsh.com for more information. PJC

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Headlines Sen. Cory Booker says he had no idea sign he held is linked to pro-Palestinian movement — NATIONAL — JTA

S

en. Cory Booker, viewed as a likely contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, is seen in a photo appearing to endorse a slogan of the proPalestinian movement.

A Booker spokesman told JTA the senator had no idea the sign had anything to do with Israel.

Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who is known for his closeness to the Jewish community, is seen posing while holding a sign reading “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go” and depicting a crumbling brick wall. The slogan was coined by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which posted the photo Friday on Twitter.

The sign appears to liken President Trump’s Mexican wall proposal to Israel’s security barrier. A spokesman for Booker, Jeff Giertz, said Booker believed the sign referred only to Mexico.

“Just before delivering a speech in New Orleans, Senator Booker was approached by dozens of people for photos,” Giertz told JTA in an email.

“In one instance, amid the rush, he was posing for a photo and was passed a sign to hold — he didn’t have time to read the sign, and from his cursory glance he thought it was talking about Mexico and didn’t realize it had anything to do with Israel,” Giertz said. “He hopes for a day when there will be no need for security barriers in the State of Israel, but while active terrorist organizations threaten the safety of the people living in Israel, security barriers are unfortunate but necessary to protect human lives.”

The Twitter post said the photo, in which Booker poses with three other people, was taken at the Netroots Nation conference taking place this week in New Orleans.

Booker is shown posing with Leah MuskinPierret, the government affairs associate of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, a group that endorses the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

She is shown wearing a shirt with a proPalestinian slogan.

“Excited to be here at Netroots Nation talking with progressives like Sen. Cory Booker about our shared commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for all people,” the Twitter post said. Netroots Nation is an annual conference for progressives.

Supporters of Israel reject comparisons

p Sen. Cory Booker poses with attendees at the Netroots Nation 2018 conference in New Orleans.

Photo by @US_Campaign/Twitter

between the Israeli security barrier — which they credit with virtually ending terrorist attacks within Israel — and a wall on the Mexican border largely seen as a bid to stop immigration overall.

Palestinians oppose Israel’s security

barrier, which in many instances takes the form of a wall, because it cuts through the West Bank instead of running along the 1967 Please see Booker, page 17

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Contributions to an ABLE account from all sources have been increased to $15,000 per person per year, but are not tax deductible. In addition, a working disabled person can make contributions to their own ABLE account over that amount, as long as they are not participating in a company retirement plan. Finally, they may also get an additional tax break under the “Saver’s Tax Credit.”

When the ABLE account designated beneficiary dies, under Federal law a state is allowed to claim repayment for Medicaid expenses. However, Pennsylvania law says that the Commonwealth cannot claim against the remainder (unless it is included in the disabled person’s estate), the designated beneficiary can often leave the balance to be inherited by others.

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AUGUST 10, 2018 7

Headlines Eviction of Dutch Jews from Nazi-ravaged synagogue brings back bitter memories — WORLD —

By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

D

EVENTER, Netherlands — Four years ago, Tom Furstenberg proudly carried into his synagogue its first Torah scroll since the Holocaust, when local Nazis destroyed the building’s interior.

The scroll’s introduction in 2014 was an important moment for the Beth Shoshana Masorti community that Furstenberg helped establish in 2010 in this city of nearly 100,000 residents located 60 miles east of the capital Amsterdam.

After all, it was proof that Jewish life had finally returned to a place where it had been uprooted and destroyed.

“I felt that this was it, nothing could reverse our presence as part of this city,” Furstenberg, a 49-year-old teacher and chairman of Deventer’s Jewish community, said last week.

Furstenberg had been overly optimistic.

On July 30, he and a dozen other members of their congregation of 35 had to take away the scroll and all the other ritual possessions and load them into a white van.

The building housing the Great Synagogue of Deventer was sold in January by the

p Tom Furstenberg, right, and a fellow congregant carry the Torah ark out of the Great Synagogue of Deventer last month.

Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz

church that had owned it for decades. The developers, a Dutch-Turkish restaurant owner and his associate, then evicted the congregants amid a legal fight over the owners’ plan to turn the place into an eatery.

For Deventer, the eviction meant “the end of a Jewish presence in this city,” Sanne

Terlouw, a founding member of Beth Shoshana and a renowned author, said with tears in her eyes on the day of the move.

But for many other Dutch Jews, the demise of the Great Synagogue of Deventer signals a broader demographic shift: Jewish life and heritage are becoming increasingly difficult

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh will hold its 123rd Annual Meeting to install the Board of Directors for the Term 2018-2019

All changes can be submitted in writing or emailed to

on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 6:30 pm in the JCC’s Alex and Leona

subscriptions @ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Robinson Building at 5738 Darlington Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15217.

or call 410-902-2308 P I T TS B U R G H

The following Officers and Directors will be nominated: • James S. Ruttenberg – Chair of the Board • Samuel W. Braver – Treasurer • William S. Goodman – Vice Chair • Audrey Russo – Assistant Treasurer • Carole S. Katz – Vice Chair • Lori B. Shure – Secretary • Scott E. Seewald – Vice Chair • Joshua M. Farber – Assistant Secretary • Hilary S. Tyson – Vice Chair

h

Board members eligible for a first three-year term: • Elyse Eichner • Samantha Klein • Ty Morse • Merris Groff • Douglas W. Kress • Todd E. Reidbord Board members eligible for a second three-year term: • Eric R. Smiga Board members whose terms continue: • Jeffrey Galak • Jake Goodman • Louis B. Plung • Sherree R. Goldstein • Deborah F. Graver • Rita Rabin • William H. Isler The meeting will consider such business items as are properly brought before it. Election of Officers and Directors of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh will be proposed for passage.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

• Brian Schreiber, President & CEO

Board members eligible for a one-year term: • Neil DiBiase • Uriel Marcovitz • Diane Ryan Katz • Ina K. Gumberg • Stefani Pashman

8 AUGUST 10, 2018

Please see Dutch, page 17

Take us along

LEGAL NOTICE

• Marc L. Brown, Immediate Past Chair

to maintain outside Amsterdam, where most Dutch Jews live, because of secularization and the echoing losses of the Holocaust.

“Of course it’s sad, we’re losing a piece of our history,” said Esther Voet, editor-in-chief of the NIW Jewish weekly in Amsterdam.

“But the reality is that this small Jewish community cannot afford to stay in that huge synagogue. That’s just the way it is.”

With no synagogue of its own, Beth Shoshana will move to the nearby municipality of Raalte, where it will share space with an existing congregation. Voet says she finds this “a reasonable solution” born out of a “regrettable reality.”

But in Deventer and beyond, the evicted congregants appeared less resigned to the change than Voet.

On Monday, the congregation gathered one last time for a snack in the building they had just emptied of its possessions. Sipping black coffee and eating prune cake, they sang in passionate Hebrew “Am Yisrael Chai” and “Kol Ha’Olam Kulo” — “The People of Israel Live” and “The World is a Narrow Bridge.” Some of the congregants cried; others tried to console them.

“This was our home for a long period,” Ehud Posthumos, 79, a retired Royal

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Headlines Will Pakistan’s hotshot new prime minister change his country’s relationship with Israel?

— LOCAL —

By Charles Dunst | JTA

T

he election of former cricket star Imran Khan as Pakistan’s new prime minister has raised eyebrows across the globe. He has promised a “new Pakistan,” running on a light-on-policy nationalistic anti-corruption platform.

Khan “is known for running a team of one, making impulsive decisions, contradicting himself and then using his enormous reserves of self-confidence and charisma to dig himself out,” Jeffrey Gettleman wrote in The New York Times.

Critics have questioned the legitimacy of his victory, as “the election was widely considered tainted” due to allegations of rigging and military interference. Some observers believe he could forge more functional relations with the United States and India — despite the U.S.-India-Israel nexus being reviled domestically — while others are concerned he could further isolate the country from relations with the West.

Khan has also faced long faced antiSemitic conspiracy theories — his first wife had Jewish roots — and since becoming a more devout Muslim in recent years has talked of making Pakistan a welfare state according to Islamic tradition.

Pakistan, the world’s sixth-most populous country, has nuclear weapons and is located strategically next to India, China, Iran and Afghanistan. So what is there to make of the country’s new leader?

He was first a sports celebrity.

Khan is a former cricket star who made his debut for the Pakistani national team in 1971 at age 18. Upon graduating from Oxford University in England, he rejoined the national squad team, playing from 1976 to 1992 and captaining Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He spent much of his time in London in the 1980s and 1990s, developing a reputation as a playboy — a past he has aimed to distance himself from. Khan frequently visited London nightclubs, describing the club Tramp as his “living room.”

He has been the victim of antiSemitic taunts.

Khan married the British socialite Jemima Goldsmith in 1995 when she was 20 and he was 42. Goldsmith is not Jewish, but has ethnic Jewish roots and recounts being “made familiar with Jewish traditions.” Khan’s Pakistani critics have long exploited her heritage to undermine his domestic political credibility. In 2013, political rivals wrote of his “Jewish connections” and spread “innuendos” about “Jewish financing.” Khan even filed a libel suit against a politician who accused him of working as an “agent of the Jewish lobby.”

The railways minister, Khwaja Muhammad Asif, wrote in 2017 that “Khan’s relations with [the] Jewish lobby are no secret.”

“Imran Khan always responded to barbs about his alleged Jewish connection by saying that his ex-wife, Jemima, was brought

p Imran Khan at the “Rule of Law: The Case of Pakistan” conference in Berlin, Germany in 2009.

Photo by Stephan Röhl/Flickr

up Anglican Christian,” Husain Haqqani, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011 and current director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute, said. “I wish he had stood up to anti-Semitism, but he never did.”

Although Goldsmith converted to Islam before the pair’s marriage (she also learned Urdu and moved to Pakistan before the couple divorced), Khan’s “past marriage to a woman of Jewish descent is considered by many Pakistanis as an unforgivable stain on the energetically Islam-infused platform,” Paul Gasnier wrote in Haaretz.

He has distanced himself from his Western past.

Khan’s recent electoral victory demonstrates that Pakistanis have either looked past or accepted the blemish of his Western past — including his marriage — or that the former cricket star was able to effectively scrub it away (or that the army was always going to pick a winner).

Khan, despite his time in England, has recently dog-whistled to hardline Islamists and has been “distancing himself from his days as a star athlete and ladies’ man.” Khan has pandered to both Islamists and secularists. He has promised to create both the “type of state that was established in Medina,” referring to the Muslim city-state from the Prophet Muhammad’s time and “the country that Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah had dreamed of,” which would have been a secular democracy.

He is critical of Israel but less so than many other leaders in the Muslim world.

Khan winks abroad to both the Muslim world and the West. On Twitter, he repeatedly calls out Israeli policy toward Gaza, although in a manner more subdued than other leaders in the Muslim world, referencing “Israel’s continued oppression against Palestinians” and condemning President Donald Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Yet in a 2012 tweet Khan, in an apparent repudiation of anti-Semitism present in

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

some parts of Pakistani society and perhaps with a nod to the West, showed empathy for Jewish suffering.

“Just as questioning the holocaust is painful to the Jews, & we respect this,” he wrote, “so abuse of the Prophet is even more painful to Muslims.”

Experts doubt he will change Pakistan’s official stance toward Israel.

In the glow of victory, Khan has made overtures toward the U.S. and India — two countries that, along with Israel, form the nexus that Pakistan’s Senate chairman once called a “major threat” to the Muslim world.

While he has not directly commented on Israel, Pakistan has a history of semi-secret relations with the country despite an official boycott of the Jewish state and local derision of a supposed Zionist-Hindu conspiracy.

In 2005, then-Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom met his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf attended an American Jewish Congress dinner in New York as the guest of honor.

In 2009, the head of Pakistan’s spy agency contacted Israeli officials to warn of potential attacks on Israeli targets in India. And in 2011, Israel was rumored to have exported military technology to Pakistan.

Pakistani journalist Kamran Yousaf, writing in 2018 in The Express Tribune, the country’s New York Times-affiliated newspaper, said that “Diplomacy is the art of making new friends and avoiding confrontation with countries with which you don’t have the best of relations.” Pakistan’s policy toward Israel has historically followed the Muslim world’s boycott of the Jewish state — an icy diplomatic reality that seems to be thawing.

“Proponents of that policy have now themselves embraced the change,” Yousaf wrote. “Saudi Arabia is the prime example.”

Ambassador Haqqani, however, believes that Khan will neither build upon these previous relations nor follow Saudi Arabia’s lead in thawing frozen relations with Israel.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

“His political stance has been anti-Israel,” Haqqani said. “He also has to take into account the fact that Islamist groups got 5 million votes in the election that got him 16 million votes. Given his own Islamicnationalist rhetoric, I do not see Imran Khan as the man who would reach out to Israel on behalf of Pakistan. But miracles can always happen.”

Christine Fair, provost’s distinguished associate professor in Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, said that any opening to Israel will be the decision of the army, not Khan’s, referencing the Pakistani military’s vast power.

“To my knowledge,” she said, “there is no such interest in the army.”

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center, expressed similar pessimism.

“Khan may consider himself a maverick and a bold reformer willing to go where others haven’t gone before him — such as in his pledge to eliminate corruption — but I don’t think he’ll go out of his way to reach out to Israel,” he said. “Not that he’d rule out exchanges and relations, but the idea of trying to push for official relations — that’s a tall order, and I just don’t see it happening.”

Kugelman said, however, that for all the obvious political and religious differences between the two countries, they share something fundamental in common in that they are religious states.

“Pakistan’s military and civilian elites — including Khan — all have ties to the West, and when you have ties to the West, the chances are that you’ll have some type of exposure to Israel or to Jews, or both,” he said. “So none of these [previous] relations are surprising.”

“The big question is if there will ever be a Pakistani leader who tries to push for a normalized relationship with Israel. If it happens, I doubt Khan will be the one to make that push.”

Israel remains open to establishing relations with Pakistan.

The Israelis, however, appear open to establishing firmer relations. Speaking in Karachi, India, in 2017, Netanyahu rebuked claims that Israel’s relationship with India is in any way a threat to Pakistan.

“We are not enemies of Pakistan and Pakistan should not be our enemy either,” Netanyahu told reporters.

Daniel Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said that he expects Israel to continue to seek avenues to open relations with many nations with which it has not had formal ties in the past, including Pakistan.

“Negative perceptions of Israel by some in Pakistan, and Israel’s close partnership with India, may impose some limits on what is possible,” he cautioned, however. “But that doesn’t mean quiet ties based on security cooperation or access to Israeli technology are out of the question.

“They can provide important mutual benefits even before establishing official relations is possible.” PJC AUGUST 10, 2018 9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Major funders of Israel join criticism of its nation-state law The Jewish Federations of North America and The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, two organizations that provide major funding to projects in Israel, joined the criticism of Israel’s new nation-state law.

JFNA, which annually donates many millions of dollars to Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel, focused its criticism on dissatisfaction with the law among some members of the Druze minority, an Arabicspeaking community where most men serve in the Israeli army.

In a statement Aug. 2 that a spokesperson posted on Facebook, the umbrella group for federations across North America said it stands “shoulder to shoulder with the Druze community” and urges Israeli legislators “to work with the community as soon as possible to address their very real concerns.”

“As strong supporters of Israel, we were disappointed that the government passed legislation which was effectively a step back for all minorities.”

The law, which enshrines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and has quasi-constitutional status, identifies Arabic as a language with “special status.”

It says that “the realization of the right to

national self-determination is unique to the Jewish People” and “the state will work to ensure the wellbeing of the members of the Jewish People and of its citizens who are in trouble and captivity for their Judaism or citizenship.”

Amal Asad, a Druze leader, and several other prominent members of the community have objected to the new law along with Israel’s Arab lawmakers and many Jewish opposition lawmakers. Asad said it reduces Druze Israelis to “second-class citizens.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly ended a meeting Thursday with Asad and other Druze leaders, reportedly over Asad’s allegation on Facebook that Netanyahu was turning Israel into an “apartheid” state.

Advocates of the law say it merely states de facto realities in Israel — including its purpose, flag and national anthem — without replacing or undermining other laws with the same status that guarantee equality for all Israelis.

Jeremy Corbyn no longer scheduled to address Jewish audience in London Talks between Jeremy Corbyn and the Jewish Museum in London on a speech by the leader of the British Labour Party have broken down.

The party, beset by allegations of anti-Semitism, approached the Jewish Museum with a plan to host a speech on the

• Personal Care • Meals & Nutrition

August 10, 1920 – Treaty of Sevres dissolves the Ottoman Empire

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Following the San Remo conference in April 1920, a treaty is signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire in the town of Sevres, France, officially breaking up the Ottoman Empire.

August 11, 1929 – Palestine Jewish Agency expands to include Jewish representatives

The Jewish Agency holds its first meeting on Aug. 12, the day after the conclusion of the Congress. With so many Jews having immigrated to the U.S. over the previous four decades, American presence in the Jewish Agency had become financially and politically significant for Zionism’s key growth in the United States.

August 12, 1944 – Berl Katznelson dies

Berl Katznelson, a leader in the Labor Zionist movement, dies suddenly at the age of 57 in Jerusalem. His advocacy for the creation of a labor-based society in Israel would eventually form the basis of the Mapai party, which was created in 1930 and would dominate Israeli politics until the late 1970s.

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August 13, 1995 – Aharon Barak is appointed president of Israel’s supreme court

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A record crowd estimated at 30,000 or more marched last week in support of the LGBTQ community at the Pride Parade in Jerusalem. The march comes a week after more than 60,000 demonstrators in Tel Aviv

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Record crowd at Jerusalem Pride

protested the Knesset’s passage of a new surrogacy law that excludes gay couples as well as single men.

Police said the crowd for the 17th annual parade could be as high as 35,000 after organizers initially estimated it would be over 20,000. At least 14,000 attended the event last year, up from a few thousand in previous years.

Participants were questioned and searched before being allowed to enter the parade wearing a special bracelet at specified points along the 1.25-mile route from Liberty Bell Park to Independence Park. Several major roads were closed in Jerusalem from about two hours before the march began.

In 2015, a haredi Orthodox man stabbed to death a marcher, Shira Banki, 16, who was attending the parade in support of her LGBTQ friends. The marchers on Thursday placed flowers on a memorial to Banki set up at the corner where she was murdered.

The march, organized by the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, was held under the banner of “Community Heritage: Honoring the Seniors of the Community,” in order to “celebrate the senior individuals and pioneers who have persistently fought for equality, freedom, and human rights of the LGBTQ people in Jerusalem and throughout the country,” the Jerusalem Open House said in a statement.

The march also honored Banki’s memory.

At least four counterdemonstrators — members of the extremist Lehava organization — were arrested during the parade. PJC

This week in Israeli history

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issue, the London-based Jewish Chronicle first reported on Aug. 2. Corbyn has been fighting accusations of harboring antiSemitic sentiments.

But a day later, the Chronicle reported that the speech was off following a disagreement over who would be invited to attend.

Last month, the party’s ruling body and leadership endorsed a code of conduct that is based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, but excluded several of the definition’s examples concerning Israel.

The party has come under fire from Jewish members of Labour and the British Jewish community at large for not adopting the full definition.

Labour under Corbyn, a hard-left politician who has called Hezbollah and Hamas his “friends,” has come under intense scrutiny in the media over anti-Semitic rhetoric by party members as well as its leader’s own anti-Israel rhetoric. In 2016, an interparliamentary committee accused Labour of creating a “safe space for those with vile attitudes towards Jewish people.”

Corbyn has maintained that Labour will not tolerate racist rhetoric by its members.

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During his term as president, Barak is instrumental in expanding the court’s power, especially in the area of protecting civil liberties and personal freedoms, often from government rulings or military actions.

August 14, 1944 – US reveals it will not bomb Nazi death camps

In a letter written to Leon Kubowitzki, head of the Rescue Department of the World Jewish Congress, U.S. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy states that the War Department would not order the bombing of Nazi death camps because they did not see it as a priority for U.S. military resources.

August 15, 2005 – Evacuation from Gaza Begins

Soldiers and policemen begin enforcing the Disengagement Implementation Law, entering Gaza settlements and handing out evacuation orders to settlers.

August 16, 1966 – Operation Diamond obtains Iraqi MIG-21

Known as Operation Diamond, the plan to recover a functional, Russian-made MIG-21 fighter jet succeeds after the Mossad cuts a deal with disillusioned Iraqi-Christian fighter pilot Munir Redfa. As part of the deal, Redfa receives $1 million, Israeli citizenship for himself and his family, and guaranteed fulltime employment. PJC

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Ideas to POWER an Inspired Community 2018 Jewish Federation Annual Meeting Connect With the Ideas of Three Innovative Guest Speakers

ERIC FINGERHUT

President & CEO, Hillel International, Washington, D.C.

RABBI NINA BETH CARDIN Community Rabbi, Educator, Author & Environmental Activist, Baltimore, Md.

RABBI JEREMY WEISBLATT Temple Ohav Shalom, Allison Park, Pa.

Celebrate Community Leaders

CYNTHIA D. SHAPIRA

2018 recipient Emmanuel Spector Memorial Award

NANCY D. ZIONTS

2018 recipient Doris & Leonard H. Rudolph Jewish Communal Professional Award

THURSDAY, AUG. 30 • KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER 5941 PENN AVE., PITTSBURGH, PA 15206

7–8 p.m., Program • 8–9 p.m., Dessert Reception Dietary laws observed, valet parking available Registration & details: Visit jfedpgh.org/annual-meeting Cost when registering online: $10 • Cost at the door: $20

The full inclusion of people of all abilities is a core value of the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

To discuss disability-related accommodations or event details, call 412.992.5251.

The annual meeting is underwritten by a grant from the Lillian and Dr. Henry J. Goldstein Annual Meeting Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation.

Zionts photo: David Bachman

Today. Tomorrow. Together.

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AUGUST 10, 2018 11

Opinion Organized prayer in America — EDITORIAL —

T

he new Pew Research Center survey, “Why Americans Go (and Don’t Go) to Religious Services,” examines the reality of increasingly empty houses of worship. “In recent years, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they regularly attend religious services has been declining,” the Aug. 1 study begins, “while the share of Americans who attend only a few times a year, seldom or never has been growing.”

Although that’s nothing new, the survey’s focus on the “why” is instructive. And while the percentage of Jewish respondents was too small to register in the findings, there are still some lessons to learn.

The Jewish community has recognized for some time that one’s religious identity has to encompass more than just attending services. And what we have learned in the process of reaching that conclusion may be helpful to other communities as they respond to empty pews.

By far, most respondents who say they attend services once or twice a month (61 percent) say the most important reason they go is to be closer to God. Much smaller percentages attend “to be a better person” (8 percent), “to

p Shabbat dinner at a Moishe House

Photo courtesy of Moishehouse via commons.wikimedia.org

be part of a community of faith” (6 percent), for “comfort in tough times” (5 percent) or “to raise my children morally” (4 percent).

And why don’t people go? Some (28 percent) just aren’t religious. But a larger number (37 percent) say they worship in

other ways. Almost a quarter (23 percent) say they haven’t found a house of worship that they like, and then there are the familiar responses about houses of worship generally, such as “I don’t like the sermons” (18 percent) and “I don’t feel welcome” (14 percent).

If congregations are asking, “What can we do to get people back into the pews?” they are asking the wrong question. Rather, they should ask, “What can we do to get people to express their religious identities more?” and “How do we do that in the context of a community?”

The current mantra, “meet people where they are,” suggests where to start looking for those who worship in other ways or haven’t found a house of worship they like. To that end, some rabbis have gone so far as to set up shop in bars and coffee shops. Others have started serving better coffee in the synagogue. For two generations, independent chavurot have been established by likeminded people who wanted to do Jewish their own way. Moishe Houses and Conservative “non-Chabad Chabad” initiative — and even Chabad itself — are all ways to reach people outside the traditional model.

Our community’s effort to build Jewish life outside the four walls of established synagogues has seen some success. Perhaps other faith communities can benefit from that experience. Because while Americans have long been known as a religious people, if identity is defined by once-weekly in-house religious ritual, America will continue to experience an identity crisis. PJC

We went to the border to support our friends, in spite of our disagreements Guest Columnist

David Hoffman

R

onald Reagan is reported to have said, “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20-percent traitor.”

There is much wisdom in this sentiment, but the realities of alliance building in the current political environment raise complicated questions for many people: What happens when the balance shifts and the percentage representing agreement goes south of 80 percent?

And what happens when one of the issues that constitute the 20 percent of disagreement is foundational to one’s identity?

How much disagreement can be overlooked before working together becomes impossible?

I found myself thinking about these questions on a flight to San Diego earlier this month. I was traveling with a group of Jewish religious leaders mobilized by T’ruah to participate in a series of actions initiated by the national “Latinx” group Mijente.

We went to demonstrate our opposition to the president’s border policies, to protest the xenophobic rhetoric too often used in national conversations about immigration — and make a statement of our moral and religious beliefs.

Different from many of the protests I’ve been to in New York City, this action was

12 AUGUST 10, 2018

How much disagreement can be overlooked before working together becomes impossible? organized and led by the Latinx and Chicanx communities most impacted by the immigration policies. I, along with other Jewish leaders, was there as a guest, stepping up in solidarity and as a witness to a moral crisis, but not occupying a central leadership role.

The question of what it means to be an ally arose for me at several moments during the action, when Mijente’s leaders spoke words that I simply disagreed with or even offended me. The platform for the march included a call to abolish ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — a policy stance that I believe is misguided.

Part of the power of Mijente is that its leadership is broad and less hierarchical, so we heard from many speakers. One leader praised us for showing up and “supporting the young kids throwing rocks at all borders” — conjuring up images of Palestinian youth throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers. Those words hurt my heart. Gaza, Ferguson and Texas were invoked in the same sentence, establishing facile moral equivalencies among clashes in Israel, a police shooting

in Missouri and the separation of families at the U.S. border. Others described borders, fences and police departments as inherently immoral and imperialistic — again, not a position I accept.

As I listened to the speakers, I found it more helpful not to conceive of the words as policy statements. I was hearing how people who live very different lives than I do experience the world. And sometimes even policy statements express emotions and experiences that deserve to be heard.

I like to think that our group of rabbis and cantors transcended any particular policy.

I decided neither to agree nor disagree.

For this moment, in the context of this protest, these were unhelpful binaries. I was standing there as an ally with a group of people who were suffering, not signing on to the particular policies they promoted. I hoped my presence communicated that they were not alone.

This does not mean that all speech would have been acceptable. And this does not mean that in other venues and at other times

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we should not debate ideas and policies. It does mean that there are moments in life when focusing on our shared humanity, and the suffering of another human being, must come first. When we see the world exclusively in categories of “friend” or “traitor,” we risk making ourselves blind to real suffering and missing an opportunity to build foundations for a real transformative exchange of ideas.

On the flight back to New York I thought about my experience. Despite those uncomfortable moments it was an honor to be a participant in the action. It was beyond moving to see undocumented immigrants protesting on the streets of San Diego, taking an enormous risk to publicly affirm their right to live without fear and threat. It was critical to show Latinx communities — who do not have a history of deep relationships with Jewish communities — that we stood with them. It was an honor to walk with other faith communities for these causes. But at moments it was complicated.

The U.S.-Mexico border was only one of the fault lines I encountered. Where do I draw my boundaries? Where does the Jewish community draw its lines? Sometimes it’s constructive to remember that “friend” and “traitor” are not the only ways to frame a conversation. Sometimes it is preferable to make the definition of one’s friend or foe just a little bit more porous to allow the humanity to come through. PJC Rabbi David Hoffman is vice chancellor and chief advancement officer at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

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Opinion My consistent support for Israel Guest Columnist

Mike Doyle

O

ver the past few weeks, I have received some questions from constituents about my support for H.R. 4391, the Promoting Human Rights

by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act, and concerns that my co-sponsorship of this bill represents a shift in my position toward Israel and Middle East policy.

I want to assure you — in the strongest terms possible — that the safety and security of Israel is my highest priority when it comes to the Middle East, as it has been throughout my 24 years of service in Congress. That has not changed, and it will not change.

I have always believed that the best way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and achieve lasting safety and security for Israel, is through a two-state solution.

Over my 12 terms in Congress, I have voted in favor of and cosponsored more bills than I can count that have been supportive of Israel — from House resolutions recognizing the special relationship between the United States and Israel to the latest defense agreement pledging $38 billion in military aid to Israel.

Just this Congress, I voted for — and the House passed — H.R. 3542, the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act. This bill condemns Hamas’ use of human shields as an act of terrorism and a violation of human rights and international humanitarian law. It imposes sanctions upon members of Hamas and any person or entity that supports Hamas and facilitates their use of human shields. I look forward to its passage in the Senate and the president signing this bill into law.

Similarly, I supported and voted for the Taylor Force Act as included in the final

budget agreement, which did become law.

The Taylor Force Act, S. 3414, will withhold funding to the Palestinian Authority until it ends its martyr payments — payments made to the families of individuals who attack Israel.

I have approached each piece of legislation in the same way: Will this help promote the security of Israel and is it consistent with our values?

I approached H.R. 4391 in the same way.

This bill does not seek to impose any sanctions upon Israel, and in fact, funding is not reduced at all. The bill states that U.S. funds cannot be used to support the mistreatment of children and minors “in violation of international humanitarian law.” Under international humanitarian law, you can detain minors who are legitimately suspected or accused of criminal or terrorist activity.

This bill is not a sanction bill, and it is not a BDS bill. My co-sponsorship of H.Res. 23 clearly states my opposition to the BDS movement, and any one-sided or anti-Israel resolutions from the U.N. Security Council.

My strong support of Israel has not changed. I am committed to upholding our shared values of international law and human rights. Israel is one of our closest friends and allies, in a part of the world where friends are few and far between. We rely on Israel to represent the same democratic ideals in the Middle East that we do here in America. Neither of our countries are perfect, but that does not mean that we should not continue to try.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you who have reached out with comments, questions or concerns about this bill. Over the years I have developed many constructive relationships with leaders and advocates in the Jewish community in Pittsburgh. I look forward to continuing our conversation and working to promote our shared goals. PJC U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat, represents Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District, which is based in Pittsburgh and comprises most of Allegheny County.

— LETTERS —

There are consequences to being inhospitable Some are reluctant to welcome interfaith couples, but the 2017 Pittsburgh Jewish Community Survey notes that such couples represent 44 percent of all the married Jewish households here and that they are raising 33 percent of the children in our Jewish community (“Consensus lacking at South Hills forum on Jewish future,” June 8).

Consider the Torah in Parshat Vayera, in which God promises Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens, but Sarah bore no child. Three strangers passed by and Abraham begged them to enjoy his hospitality. He prepared a feast for them. Only then did Sarah become pregnant and bear Isaac.

If Abraham had not welcomed the strangers back then, there would not be any Jewish community today. So too, if we do not welcome the interfaith families of today, there will not be any Jewish community tomorrow.

Lee Feldman Dormont

Dialogue is not the solution

Guest columnist Angus Johnston makes an excellent point when he uses the example of well-meaning liberals recommending that Jews “educate Nazis about Judaism’s ‘ideals’ and ‘appeal to … justice’” (“In 1934, an American professor urged that Jews be civil — to the Nazis,” July 27). This is indeed a similar situation to what we have today, when well-meaning Jewish leaders think that engaging in dialogue with the Arab terrorists and attempting to understand them and explain our rationale to them is going to accomplish something.

Similar to Chamberlain’s infamous “peace in our time” speech, naively thinking that we can sign a piece of paper and expect that terrorists will abide by it (the Oslo Accords), make peace unilaterally (the disengagement from Gaza), capitulate to their demands (control of Jerusalem), dialogue with those who are sworn to hate us, believe any promises, agreement, accords or cease-fires, is completely misunderstanding the mindset of the enemy.

Civility is not the answer. Strongly standing up for our right to the land of Israel and standing up for the American Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the American way of life is what will defeat the enemies of Israel and America.

Simone Shapiro Squirrel Hill

Poor taste in choice of guest column

The column by Angus Johnston is a thinly veiled attack on President Donald Trump (“In 1934, an American professor urged that Jews be civil — to the Nazis,” July 27). It equated him with the Nazis — if not personally, then to the equal danger posed to Jews from his administration as to that posed by the Nazis.

The thrust of the article was disgusting, and that the Chronicle chose this article as its guest column is just plain disappointing.

Jack Mennis Allison Park We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned.

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AUGUST 10, 2018 13

Life & Culture

Photo by Geshas/iStockphoto.com

Addictive Chicken

— FOOD —

By Keri White | Special to the Chronicle

R

emember the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode where Larry David is obsessed with chicken from a Palestinian restaurant, but is racked with guilt for supporting the establishment? “I know, I know, but this chicken, you can’t believe how good it is!”

We had a similar experience with chicken last week, but without the controversy. I had planned to grill some boneless chicken breasts, and was making a double batch to save time on a future meal. I tossed together a marinade using primarily a jarred horseradish sauce leftover from our Memorial Day picnic on the beach.

Really, it was an attempt to use an ingredient that had been sitting around for weeks and to prep dinner quickly in the morning as I dashed off to a meeting.

I caught lightning in a bottle.

Suffice it to say there was barely enough left to justify using the Tupperware to store it, so my dinner doing double duty plan was dashed. But I was thrilled because the dish was delish and oh-so-simple — and best of all my family loved it. After her third helping, my daughter said, “This is like crack!”

14 AUGUST 10, 2018

We served the chicken with steamed couscous and grilled zucchini. We skipped dessert as it was a busy weeknight, but the meal goes with just about anything. Sorbet, fruit, pie, cake, cookies, chocolates, etc., would be a worthy chaser to this summer repast.

Addictive Chicken Serves two to four

A word on the chicken: I bought skinless, boneless breasts and then cut them thinly into almost a scallopine. This ensures even, quick cooking and allows the marinade to permeate the entire piece. I cut the breasts horizontally across and each yields three thin pieces.

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut thinly Spray oil for grill Marinade: ¼ cup horseradish sauce (This is available in the deli section; it is a sandwich condiment like mayonnaise or mustard.)

2 cloves garlic, crushed ¼ cup oil Juice of a lemon plus the rinds Generous sprinkles of salt and cayenne pepper

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag, bowl or Tupperware. Throw in the lemon rinds with the marinade.

Place the chicken pieces, one by one, in the marinade, turning each one to coat thoroughly. This step is key; I made this dish a second time without doing this and the chicken was not addictive. Marinade for 4-24 hours.

Bring the chicken to room temperature, and heat a grill to high.

Spray the grill with oil — stand back when you do this as the flame may rise up — but this step is key to keeping the chicken from sticking.

Place the chicken pieces on the grill and allow them to sear. When you lift the chicken with tongs and can see grill marks, flip the chicken and allow the second side to sear.

Lower the heat on the grill to low, and continue cooking the chicken for another 10 minutes or so (4-5 minutes per side). Check the thickest piece for doneness and serve.

Note: If you are using a charcoal or woodfired grill, push the chicken to the outer edge of the grill for the second cooking phase where the heat is lower and less direct.

Grilled Zucchini

yucky. This is the simplest marinade. Feel free to jazz it up with garlic, onion, your favorite spice blend, soy sauce, Tabasco, etc.

2 zucchini, sliced vertically into ¼-inch planks.

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons vinegar (I used balsamic, but you can use any type depending on preference.) ¼ teaspoon salt Generous sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper

Prepare the zucchini. Cut the stem end off so you have a flat surface to rest on when slicing. Cut each zucchini vertically into slices about ¼-inch thick.

Place the slices in a shallow dish and toss with the remaining ingredients.

Marinate for anywhere from 10 minutes to overnight.

On a hot grill, place the zucchini slices and allow them to sear. Flip after about 3 minutes and repeat.

Zucchini are done when both sides are slightly charred and the slices are soft and bendable.

Serve hot or at room temperature. PJC

Serves two to four

Keri White is a food columnist for the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

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This preparation may change some people’s perception of zucchini as being bland and

Life & Culture How an Orthodox cantor snagged a role on ‘Orange Is the New Black’ — TELEVISION —

By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

N

EW YORK — Cantor Philip Sherman gives me a call after having finished two circumcisions before noon on a Tuesday. That’s a light day, he explains. On Thursday, he will be performing circumcisions for four baby boys; on Friday, he’ll do five.

Sherman, 62, is a mohel (in fact he was featured as one of “America’s Top Mohels” in a 2014 JTA article) and has performed more than 20,000 circumcisions, both for Jewish and non-Jewish families. But in between performing multiple circumcisions a day and serving as associate cantor at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York — also known as the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue — he has another gig: actor.

Most recently, the Orthodox cantor, who lives in White Plains, N.Y., appeared in the Netflix hit series “Orange Is the New Black,” about a women’s prison. Though the role was small — he played a judge presiding over a trial involving one of the prisoners — Sherman says it was his favorite to date.

“The really amazing thing about that is that it’s a real part in a real show, where I’m not playing a rabbi or cantor or some Jewish guy,” he said in a phone interview last week.

Sherman has appeared in about 15 other roles in commercials, TV series and movies, playing a religious Jew in most of them.

He played a rabbi in a 1999 commercial with Whoopi Goldberg for Flooz.com, a now defunct digital currency, and a mohel in the 2011 comedy “Our Idiot Brother,” where his appearance was cut from the final movie but made it into the extra materials on DVD. Sherman has also been featured as an expert on “Storage Wars,” a reality show where the contents of unpaid storage lockers are auctioned off.

Sherman’s “Orange” scene lasts about a minute and a half, but was shot approximately a dozen times, and Sherman had to come in another time to re-record some of his lines.

Sherman said he later received a call asking him to come back to the series in a recurring role, but he was not able to make the filming date because he was traveling in Israel at the time.

Sherman thinks the outfit he wore to his audition may have helped him snag the part.

He came in his black robe from Congregation Shearith Israel, which resembles those worn

by justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“When you have an audition, if you have the stuff to help make you look the part, you bring it and you wear it, so that’s the idea,” he said.

Though the cantor belonged to theater groups in high school and college, he never studied acting. His acting career launched by chance in 1987, when the Philip Morris tobacco company decided to feature a shot of Shearith Israel in a commercial celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. Sherman mentioned to the producers that the music they had planned to feature in the background during that shot featured an Ashkenazi, not Sephardi, melody and therefore was not representative of the p Cantor Philip Sherman has appeared synagogue’s culture. They ended up in more than a dozen roles in commercials, asking him to record a more appro- TV series and movies, mostly playing a religious Jew. Photo courtesy of Philip Sherman priate song to play during the shot.

“A few months later, checks started to come in,” he said. “Apparently they put in SAG-AFTRA, and from there he hired an my little voice, the thing that I did, and it was agent who helped him land further roles.

“Over the years it’s been a lot of fun,” a 26-week nationwide commercial, which Sherman said. “It’s just one thing that I get back then was like hitting the lottery.”

The voice appearance earned him a spot to do, and you get to meet all sorts of interin the Screen Actors Guild, now known as esting people.” PJC

‘Fiddler’ in Yiddish — what about tradition?

— THEATER —

By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

N

EW YORK — The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s new production of “Fiddler on the Roof ” enacts a familiar story in an unfamiliar language.

The actors sing about joy and hardship, and argue about the importance of tradition, in the language their characters would have spoken in the Old Country.

But before rehearsals started in June, the majority of them had no experience with the language. Of the 26 cast members, only three spoke Yiddish fluently. Another nine had some experience with the mama loshen, but everyone had just a month to memorize the entire script.

The result is extraordinary, giving audience members a new experience and new understanding of one of Broadway’s best-loved musicals. (For those who don’t speak Yiddish, there are supertitles in English and Russian.)

This production of “Fiddler on the Roof ” — or “Fidler Afn Dakh” — marks the first time the musical is being performed in Yiddish in the United States, and only the second time in its history (a Yiddish version ran for about four weeks in Israel in 1965), according to the New York-based theater company.

“Fiddler on the Roof,” which premiered in 1964, is based on “Tevye and His Daughters,” a series of stories by the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem. Created by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein, the musical tells the story of a poor dairy farmer living in the Russian town of Anatevka at the start of the 20th century as he grapples with tradition and the ways his daughters choose to defy it.

As part of the auditions for Folksbiene’s

p It isn’t the squishy “tradition” that Tevye, played by Steven Skybell, center, is upholding, it’s the Torah.

Photo by Victor Nechay/ProperPix

production, actors had to prove that they would be able to learn Yiddish quickly.

Those called in for auditions were given 24 hours to memorize a recording of a song in the language. From the 2,500 applications, 26 actors were chosen for the production.

Once the cast was chosen, each member received a recording of his or her lines and songs in Yiddish in addition to private language coaching.

“It was very tedious, and it continues every day,” said Zalmen Mlotek, Folksbiene’s artistic director. “We give little notes here and there because while they know what they’re saying, of course sometimes the accent isn’t quite right.”

Members of the cast include Emmy Award nominee Jackie Hoffman playing the matchmaker Yente and Broadway actors Steven Skybell as the long-suffering Tevye and Mary Illes as his wife, Golde. Awardwinning director and actor Joel Grey directs the production, which runs through Sept.

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2 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in downtown Manhattan.

The team used a translation by Shraga Friedman, the actor and director who translated the script for and co-directed the Israeli production. Performing the show in Yiddish hearkens back to Sholem Aleichem’s original stories, said Folksbiene CEO Christopher Massimine. But it does much more.

Perhaps the biggest difference, according to Massimine, is that the word “tradition” has been replaced by “Torah.” Though a Yiddish word for tradition is used in the iconic song “Tradition,” Torah is used elsewhere. That raises the stakes for characters like Tevye, for whom Torah is not mere custom but represents the ultimate authority: God’s law.

“A tradition can start one way and end up another way,” Massimine said. “You can argue with the tradition because it’s not something that is set in stone — but law is.”

Folksbiene, the world’s oldest continuously operating Yiddish theater, was able to acquire

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Friedman’s director’s notes, which helped shed light on his translation and how the changes sometimes shift the play’s meaning.

One such instance is at the end of the play, when the Russian government orders Jews to leave Anatevka. While Tevye, his wife and two of his daughters head to America, another daughter, Tsaytl, and her husband say they are leaving not for Poland, as in the original production, but specifically the city of Warsaw.

To a modern audience the mention of the city, which was home to the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe during World War II, is likely to bring memories of the Holocaust.

“That being said in Yiddish, it brings it all full circle,” Massimine said.

Friedman made other choices to preserve the rhyme scheme: “If I Were a Rich Man” becomes “Ven Ikh Bin a Rothschild” (If I were a Rothschild), which is also the name of another story by Sholem Aleichem.

With a $750,000 budget, the show is Folksbiene’s largest and most expensive production. Massimine says the show has already earned back its production costs in ticket sales.

Regarding the supertitles, Mlotek said, “We have a significant amount of Russianspeaking Jews whose English isn’t the best, so there’s a population that we wanted to serve.” He said he wanted to add additional languages but the technology did not allow for it.

In addition to showing Tevye and his family speaking in what would have been their historic language, the production makes a point about Yiddish and its state today.

“It’s also a portrait of the initial decline of Yiddish and why that happened,” Massimine said, “and why it’s important that we treasure this language and this culture.” PJC AUGUST 10, 2018 15

Headlines Holocaust: Continued from page 1

Memorial Museum.

“As a teacher, seeing how Holocaust, genocide and human rights education is taught at a public high school in Western Pennsylvania, to me, it felt there was so much more that could and should be done,” Haberman said. “Meeting survivors and hearing their stories, you always feel like there’s more that you should be doing.”

In his first year of teaching, Haberman invited Jack Sittsamer, a local Holocaust survivor, to speak to the ninth grade. After his presentation, Sittsamer asked Haberman to go with him to the Holocaust Center. While there, Sittsamer told Haberman, quite bluntly, that as a teacher it was his responsibility to tell his story, and that of other survivors, after they passed away.

He died within two years, leaving Haberman with “a great sense of obligation to carry on his story and do as much as possible.”

Because of his relationship with Sittsamer, Haberman was asked by a colleague to take

over a Holocaust, genocide and human rights elective. The class starts with a history of Judaism, a necessary foundation in a school where most students are not Jewish, Haberman said. Through the semester, they also learn about more recent genocides and human rights violations, and use these tragedies to think about current issues.

In the 10 years that he has been teaching it, Haberman said the class has come to be defined by the stories the students hear.

“These stories of local survivors really drive the lessons,” Haberman said. “It makes them realize that these people are like them, that the perpetrators are people like them, that the victims are people like them, that the survivors are people like them and the bystanders are people like them.

“It’s not a story of 6 million Jews, it’s a story of a handful of people whose lives were affected in a way that we can never imagine but we’re going to try anyway.”

This year, Haberman is teaching four sections of the elective, each with about 30 students, and introducing a new elective focusing on the multicultural aspect of human rights and genocide. He credits the increased interest among the students to survivor stories.

“Survivors encourage students to take action ... to lead a life that is useful to their community,” Haberman said.

Haberman is also in the midst of creating a center for Holocaust, genocide and human rights education attached to the school’s library. The center, set to open at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, will act as a multipurpose space for almost any endeavor related to Holocaust, genocide and human rights education, from classes (a space to teach Elie Wiesel’s “Night” ) to professional development (a place to pass on training from the Holocaust Center) to an art gallery (an exhibit for a high school level of the Holocaust Center’s Butterfly Project).

The idea, Haberman said, is to put all the resources in the same place and make them accessible to everyone, even students who are not taking any courses on the subject.

“It was student-driven,” Haberman said.

“The students pushed me to give them more stories, more time, more focus, more projects. For that reason, I was able to make it happen.”

In April, Haberman won the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s Holocaust Educator of the Year award. Lauren Bairnsfather, director

Changes: Continued from page 1

coordinator, Rebecca Huff, to work with all grades in integrating robotics and coding programs throughout the school, thanks to funding from an anonymous donor.

“This will enhance the learning experience for all our students, so they will be ready to compete in the 21st-century job market,” Weinberg said. Huff also will help to integrate coding and robotics into the school’s Judaics and humanities classes, working with other faculty to integrate STEAM into their curricula.

An increased focus on STEAM education will be emphasized at Community Day School as well.

“Our library and computer labs are being transformed into a learning innovation hub in a renovation project made possible through a Legacy Learning Labs match challenge grant and the generosity of the Rabin family and many community donors,” said Jennifer Bails, director of marketing and communications at Community Day School, in an email.

The remodeled space, dedicated to STEAM learning, “is being designed to activate skills needed for children to become fully engaged citizens in the 21st century, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and collaboration,” Bails said.

Children enrolled in grades K-2 at CDS also will be introduced to a new language arts curriculum “called Fountas & Pinnell Classroom that uses authentic texts to teach literacy instruction,” she added. “The use of a digital blended learning approach to teach Hebrew called iTaLAM — piloted last year in our Intermediate School — will be expanded to grades 1 and 2.”

The challenges children face living in a digital age will continue to be confronted head on this year at Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, with the further development of a program begun last year on “digital citi16 AUGUST 10, 2018

p CDS students explore circuits and electricity.

zenship,” said Chezky Rosenfeld, director of development at Yeshiva Schools.

The program — born of a collaboration between parents, students and faculty — features a curriculum aiming to empower students by “recognizing children are dealing with different challenges than they had in the past, especially with social media,” Rosenfeld said, adding that emphasis will be placed on the “safe use” of social media.

In addition, a new curriculum at Yeshiva Girls School, developed in conjunction with the Jewish Women’s Foundation, will focus on girls’ physical, mental and emotional health, according to Rosenfeld.

Teens enrolled in the supplemental educational program, J Line, both in Squirrel Hill and the South Hills, will see new course offerings as well as new formats.

“We are really excited to be introducing these new structures and models,” said Hannah Kalson, director of teen engagement

Photo courtesy of Community Day School

and experiences at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, who heads J Line in Squirrel Hill.

The program, for those not enrolled in J Line’s Hebrew classes, is “track-based,” she said, “with themed tracks with a different focus each semester. Students will take one experience at a time, one for the whole year or they can mix it up.”

Teens can choose their tracks from among four themes: Israel, Social Justice, Jewish Culture and Peoplehood, or Adulting 101.

J Line operates on a trimester schedule, and teens will “focus on one experience per trimester to create a depth of learning experience,” Kalson said, adding that the aim is to “make learning more in-depth and more experiential.”

Topics of study within the tracks include issues of social concern such as “March for Our Lives: Gun Violence,” “#MeToo,” and “Gender and Sexuality.”

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of the Center, said she was thrilled Haberman received this year’s award because of his focus on fostering personal connections.

“He doesn’t shy away from the emotional aspect of what he’s doing. ... He begins the class by letting students know how emotional this is and encourages them to connect on a personal level,” Bairnsfather said. “There’s so much heart that goes into what he teaches.

Through the award, Haberman was an Alfred Lerner fellow at the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous this summer and hopes that opportunity will open more doors for him to continue his Holocaust education. His next stop is Yad Vashem and then Europe to see the concentration camps.

For now, he plans to continue refining the resources that Shaler offers, hoping to make it a model for other schools in the region.

For Haberman, teachers have a responsibility to educate young people not to be “ignorant, not to make the mistakes of the past that we seem to keep making again and again,” he said. “You use the lessons of the Holocaust to teach so much more.”

Lauren Rosenblatt can be reached at lrosenblatt@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Students can elect to take Modern Hebrew in lieu of the track-based study.

Of the approximately 80 students enrolled, about 25 or 30 choose to learn Hebrew, according to Kalson.

Also new this year at J Line in Squirrel Hill is a free brunch — open to all community teens regardless of whether they are J Line students — after classes each Sunday morning at the JCC. “This will be a fun, casual opportunity to spend time together,” said Kalson.

Likewise, J Line in the South Hills has “reimagined” itself based on feedback from parents and participants, according to Chris Herman, teen division director at the JCC, who coordinates J Line in the South Hills.

This will be the second year that J Line in the South Hills has been sponsored through a collaboration of the South Hills JCC, South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh, Temple Emanuel and Beth El Congregation.

The classes will be moving from Monday nights to Wednesday nights, Herman said, in order to better accommodate the students’ schedules, and the sessions will be shorter in length.

In addition, the structure of the program has been altered so that each grade will explore one “core question” each year. Those questions are “who am I?” for eighth grade; “to whom am I connected?” for ninth grade; and “to whom am I responsible?” for 10th grade. A leadership workshop will be offered once a month for 11th- and 12th-graders, to “dive deeper into using leadership skills to address real life issues,” Herman said.

Modern Hebrew will still be offered in the South Hills on Monday nights. Electives will include “March for Our Lives and Gun Violence in School,” an improv workshop focusing on better communication and teamwork, and “Off to the Races,” exploring topics of concern in the midterm elections. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Booker: Continued from page 7

border and inhibits travel for Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stirred outrage from Democrats in 2017 when he favorably likened another Israeli wall — on the border with Egypt

— to Trump’s proposal.

Booker, the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has for years been a favorite speaker at Jewish and pro-Israel groups. He has studied Jewish texts since joining the L’Chaim Society while attending Oxford University.

In 2015, the founder of the L’Chaim Society, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, broke with Booker over his support for

the Iran nuclear deal.

In July, Booker urged colleagues to continue funding security assistance to Israel.

“Ending security assistance to our closest ally in the Middle East at a time when Israel faces new threats emanating from Syria and continued aggression from Iran and its proxies would undermine stability in the region and harm our own national security,”

Dutch: Continued from page 8

Netherlands Air Force officer, said. “On winter nights, we’d gather here in the cold — we never heated the place properly to save on utilities — and although outside it turned very dark early in the afternoon, here inside we had a great source of light. And now it feels like losing a home.”

Maurice Swirc, the former editor-inchief of NIW, called the synagogue’s sale “a scandal” and found it “very painful.” Dutch authorities, he said, “were partially responsible for the fact that Deventer does not have enough Jews to maintain she synagogue. The least they could do is help preserve it.”

The affair prompted intense interest internationally.

Ronny Naftaniel, a founder of The Hague Jewish Heritage group, said the synagogue’s sale is unusual “for a city such as Deventer, where authorities have a high awareness for heritage.” Deventer, where wealthy Jewish cattle dealers left an indelible mark and where a part of Naftaniel’s family lived before the Holocaust, “could have set aside this space,” he said.

Until recently, Furstenberg’s community was able to hold on to its synagogue thanks to the Christian Reformed Churches group. It bought the building in 1951 from the severely depleted Jewish community of Deventer and turned the structure into a

p A congregant of the Great Synagogue of Deventer helps pack up its belongings.

church, complete with a massive pipe organ that the group installed.

In 2010, Furstenberg and other Jews from the area began convening at a nearby Jewish club and asked the church’s permission to re-establish a synagogue in the hall, which they began renting from the church at a subsidized rate. But the church had to sell the building this year. The highest bidder was Ayhan Sahin, the Dutch-Turkish developer, and his associate, Carlus Lenferink.

This summer, the entrepreneurs announced their plan to turn the synagogue into a restaurant. Furstenberg objected and

the city declined to approve the plan.

Amid negotiations with the Jewish community, Sahin was quoted as saying: “If need be, I’ll turn it into a mosque,” according to the De Stentor regional daily. He later said he would allow the Jewish community to stay, “but only if they pay full rent” — an unlikely prospect for the small congregation, which has no sources of income and could barely afford maintenance fees when it rented the shul at a subsidized price from the church.

Maarten-Jan Stuurman, a spokesman for the Deventer municipality, told De Stentor that the city tried to help the Jewish community

p Congregants contemplate the end of the Great Synagogue of Deventer in its current home.

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Photos by Cnaan Liphshiz

he said at the time. “The United States and Israel have a history of unprecedented cooperation on the basis of shared ideals and democratic principles. [Curtailing funding] would dramatically undermine our enduring commitment to Israel’s security and the historic ties between our two nations, jeopardizing a peaceful and stable future.” PJC

stay, but ultimately “it is not the city’s task to buy religious properties it does not use.”

The issue of rent, he said, “is at the discretion of the owner.”

Losing the synagogue is “a failure and a major step back for the city,” Furstenberg said, his voice echoing in the tall and now empty space where his congregation would gather once every three weeks and on Jewish holidays. “Once again, the city is looking on as its synagogue is being destroyed.”

Furstenberg’s j’accuse, spoken in Dutch in the presence of local reporters, was a reference to the unusual and painful wartime history of the building. Unlike most Dutch synagogues, the one in Deventer was not confiscated in the orderly and methodical Nazi manner. Instead it was ransacked by a rabble belonging to the Dutch Nazi party, NSB, on July 25, 1941.

Under the gaze of local police officers, they smashed the furniture, hacked open the Torah ark, tore up the scroll, pulled down the chandeliers and dislodged the bimah of the building, which was built in 1892.

But that violence paled in comparison to the deportations of the congregants the next summer. Of the 590 people registered as Jews in Deventer in 1942, the Nazis murdered 401. It was a typical statistic in a country where the Nazis and local collaborators were responsible for killing at least 75 percent of Jews — the highest death rate in Nazi-occupied Western Europe.

Dutch Jewry, which numbered 140,000 before the Holocaust, never came close to replenishing its numbers. Today, Holland has about 45,000 Jews, according to the European Jewish Congress.

The Deventer synagogue played a role in the survival of at least two Jews.

Simon van Spiegel, his brother, Bubi, and Meier de Leeuw hid in the building’s attic for a while. Bubi was caught by the Germans after they received an anonymous tip. His brother and de Leeuw escaped. Simon’s daughter, Liesje Tesler-Van Spiegel, who lives in Israel, visited her father’s hiding place for the first time last month.

“I remember all of them,” said Roelof de Vries, 86, a carpenter whose family worked as synagogue caretakers before the Holocaust.

“Even if this place becomes a restaurant, I’ll never forget my friend Bubi, whom they gassed along with so many others,” he said, weeping.

Referring to the genocide, Furstenberg said, “This is the reason there are not enough Jews to afford this place.”

In the cool interior of the Great Synagogue — a tall building in the neo-Moorish style — he added: “This is not just a story about a dwindling faith community, like all those churches that get turned into a discotheques.

This is an aftereffect of the Holocaust.” PJC AUGUST 10, 2018 17

Headlines

Torah

In Tennessee, Trump-backed Seeing the worst says more Jewish incumbent beats challenger about yourself running on Christian values Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum Parshat Re’eh | Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

— NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

W

ASHINGTON — David Kustoff, running for re-election in Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District, had three things in his favor: incumbency, a solid Republican district and President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Kustoff was not taking anything for granted, though: In the Republican primary last week, he faced a challenger, George Flinn, who spent more than twice what he has on the campaign and likes to remind voters that he is a “Christian conservative.”

Which is notable because Kustoff is Jewish.

“It’s unfortunate that someone would try and use David’s Jewishness against him as a wedge issue in the election,” said Matthew Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition. “The idea that someone would use race or religion or sexuality as a wedge stands against everything we hold true in the democratic process.”

Kustoff handily won the primary, 56 to 40 percent.

This was not Flinn’s first run at public office. A radiologist who owns a network of clinics, Flinn has been a candidate for Congress three times previously and also for the state Senate. He has lost every time.

His single win appears to be in 2006, as a county commissioner.

In 2016, when Kustoff won his freshman bid for Congress, Flinn described himself as a “Christian conservative” on the eve of the primary, and in response to a negative ad from Kustoff ’s campaign.

This time around it was a recurrent theme.

In a post on his campaign website accompanying a video ad, Flinn deployed the “Christian” theme in a particularly loaded context: abortion rights.

“If you want someone who has voted to fund Planned Parenthood, vote for the same old Washington insider that has sold us out,” Flinn said. “Or, if you want someone who will protect and stand up for our Christian, conservative values and pledge to never vote to fund Planned Parenthood, then I’m your candidate.”

Please see Tennessee, page 20

p Rep. David Kustoff, a Jewish Republican, is running for re-election in Photo by Ron Kampeas Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District.

LEGAL NOTICE Letters of Administration have been granted in the Estate of NEIL EDWARD BLUMENFELD, deceased of Monroeville, Pennsylvania No. 4758 of 2018.

Thelma Blumenfeld, Executrix 210 Glenwood Dr. Monroeville, PA 15146 or Linda Tashbook, Esq. 5613 Darlington Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15217.

T

here is an unexpected yet powerful lesson to be learned from this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, about the power of positivity.

The Torah lists (for the second time) all the mammals, fish and birds suitable for Jewish consumption. One of the 24 species of birds which is not kosher is called ra’ah, the kite or Milvus. (It has two additional Hebrew names too.)

The Talmud explains that the name ra’ah comes from the verb “to see”: “Rabbi Abahu said, the ra’ah bird is the same as the ayah.

Why is this bird called ra’ah?” Because it sees exceedingly well.

The Talmud continues to illustrate the ra’ah’s keen eyesight: We learn that this bird stands in Babylon and sees a carcass in the Land of Israel! If you are wondering how far that is, it is a distance of 500 miles from Babylon (present day Iraq) to Israel.

The obvious question is why the Talmud uses such a strange illustration. It could have used so many more examples of what the bird is capable of seeing and where it is capable of seeing it.

Also, one of the reasons according to Jewish tradition that some animals are not kosher is because of the negative characteristics these animals possess and how they can have a negative impact on the consumer.

Perhaps this is where the saying “you are what you eat” comes from. In light of this, it would not make sense that on account of the ra’ah’s incredible eyesight it should be rendered non-kosher. Surely there can be nothing wrong with keen eyesight and perception.

Why, then, is this bird not kosher?

The answer to this question becomes apparent when you take a close look at what the Talmud is really saying. The Talmud is not only illustrating the keen vision of the ra’ah; it is also explaining to us why it is not kosher: “This bird stands in Babylon, and sees a carcass in the Land of Israel!”

When you gaze at the Land of Israel, you can see many things, including many positive and heartwarming things. Yet what does this bird see? Corpses! Being a carnivorous bird, which kills, devours and eats the meat of other animals, its eyes gaze at Israel but observe only one thing: the carcasses in the land.

This is what makes it a non-kosher animal — we do not want to “eat” and incorporate this type of behavior into our psyche.

The Torah here is cautioning us to distance ourselves from being negative people who

only see the flaws in people, places and events. When we highlight the negativity in others, it actually causes those qualities to come to the fore. While some see the good in everybody, even in the worst situation or person, these characters manage to somehow see the evil in everybody and in everything. They can always show you how everyone has an “agenda,” and everyone is driven by ulterior motives; there are smelly carcasses everywhere.

When one falls into the mode of chronic complainer, he never stops criticizing everyone and everything. This can become a very negative and non-kosher cycle. Are such people right? They may be partially, or even completely correct. Every person has flaws. Even the greatest saint has demons; even a great man usually has some skeleton — a corpse — in his closet.

That is why we need the Torah to guide us, and that is why the Torah asks of us to never stop working on ourselves, to challenge our conventions, to scrutinize our motives, to refine our behavior, to make amends for our mistakes. But why is that the only thing you manage to observe?

If we take this Talmudic passage more literally, this insight of our sages concerning the non-kosher ra’ah bird can be applied to how we view the Land of Israel.

Is Israel a perfect country? We all know the answer. Israel has many challenges and problems. Is the government perfect? Of course not!

But there are those who look at Israel and see nothing but “corpses.” In our own day and age, with modern technology we were all blessed with the eyesight of the kite. We sit in our homes in Babylon (or the United States or Canada, or Europe, Australia, South Africa or anywhere else in the world), and with the help of biased news cameras we can see Israel. But often what is reported are only “the corpses,” the negativity.

And this is how you know how terribly biased and unfair they are. When someone criticizes Israel, that is legitimate. There is much to comment and argue about. But when one has nothing but criticism for Israel, when there is nothing good to say about Israel, when Israel is portrayed as the most racist country — then you know it has nothing to do with Israel; rather, the person spewing the hate is treif.

At the end of the day, it is all a matter of perspective. Each of us has to choose what we are going to see — in ourselves and in the world around us. PJC

Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum directs Chabad of the South Hills. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

LEGAL NOTICE The 2018 annual meeting of the JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH will occur Thursday, Aug. 30, 7 p.m., at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh 15206.

18 AUGUST 10, 2018

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Obituaries ENGELBERG: Evelyn Rosenberg Engelberg, took her last breath at sunrise on July 30, 2018, in her home surrounded by her loving family. Loving, generous and devoted mother, wife, sister, aunt, “Bubbie,” great-grandmother and friend. Beloved by all who came to know her, she radiated love and wit and showed sincere interest in people’s lives. Born in 1920 in the Bronx, she was raised by her loving parents Maurice Aaron and Elise Rosenberg in a warm Yiddishe family with her sister Harriet Rosenberg Mallin. Together with the love of her life and husband of 60 years, “Chaim Dovid,” Evelyn gave generously of her time, energy and philanthropy to many Jewish causes locally, nationally and in Israel, especially Technion.

She was an active member of Young People’s Synagogue since its founding, and sent all her kids to Hillel Academy. She was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. Evelyn was a published author and poet — her pen name was Eva B. Moses. Her favorite expressions included: “As long as the kids are healthy,” “Zei gezunt un shtark,” and “L’Chaim!” Evelyn was an avid bridge player, loved to sing and dance with her husband and enjoyed beach walks with the family in La Jolla, California, where she spent many winters. Known for her open heart and hospitality, she always had room for one more at the table. Evelyn is survived by her children: Mimi Hein and her husband Peter, Roz Becker, Sheri Sable, Marcy Rubin and her husband Bob, and Moshe Engelberg and his wife Dana Parnes; along with her grandchildren, Jon Hein and his wife Debbie, Kevin Hein and his wife Melissa, Abby Benny, Jonas Becker, Shana Sable, Becky Sable and her husband Osamah, Leba Sable and her her husband Juan, Jake Rubin, Emily Rubin, Alyssa Engelberg and her husband Guillermo, Jessa, Ben and Hana Engelberg, Arielle and Eli Parnes-Katz; and great-grandchildren Rachel and Emily Hein, and Danny and Cari Hein. May she rest in peace and may her spirit soar to celestial heights in glorious Gan Eden. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Poale Zedeck Memorial Park. The family suggests donations may be made to Jewish Family and Community Services, 5743 Bartlett Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com HOFFMAN: Rita Jean Hoffman, on Sunday, August 5, 2018. Beloved wife of the late William Hoffman. Devoted mother of Mitchell (Janice) Hoffman, David Hoffman (Deborah Diehl) and Joel Hoffman (Susan Johnston). Sister of Arlene (late Ira) Hirsch, the late Edgar (late Frances) Krause and Gilbert Krause. “Grandma Rita” to Brad (Faya) Hoffman, Marni Hoffman, Jessica Lewinter and Daniel (Julie) Lewinter. Greatgrandmother of Zev Schreiber, Adi Schreiber and Brayden Lewinter. The family would like to offer special recognition to Rita’s caregivers; Gwen Greenleaf, Stephanie Cain, Shifrah Nash and Judeen Jefferson. Rita worked tirelessly for a number of charitable organizations and volunteer work. She will be loved and missed by all who knew her. Graveside services and Interment were held at Torath Chaim Cemetery. Contributions may be made to NA’AMAT, 6328 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or Sivitz Hospice, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com

WAYNE: Eileen Gross Wayne, of Terrell, N.C. passed away on Monday, July 30, 2018. She was born November 19, 1926, in Beaver Falls, Pa., to the late Walter Gross and Belle Belloff Gross. She is survived by her two children, Emily (John White) Huling of Terrell and Charles (Ellen) Wayne of Alexandria, Va.; grandsons Michael (Lucy), Joseph (Hannah) and Daniel (June) Wayne; three great-grandchildren, Hazel, Vivian, and Akiva Wayne; and a sister Judith Gross Arnowitz. She was preceded in death by her dear husband H. Jesse Wayne, brother David E. Gross (Sally), sister Dorothy Gross Grossman (Jerry), and longtime companion Mathew Platt. Services and interment private. Contributions in Eileen’s name may be made to a charity of choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com.

WINER: Ruth N. Winer, age 96, on Wednesday, August 1, 2018. She was a devoted wife for 59 years to the late Bernard Winer; mother to Joan (Robert) Linsenmeier, Mark (Bette Landish) Winer and Kenneth (Emily Hofmann) Winer; grandmother to David, Katherine and Jeremy Linsenmeier and Daniel, Eric, Michael and Jessica Winer; and great-grandmother to five great-grandchildren. She was born on April 12, 1922, to Nathan and Katie Selkovitz Neiman and grew up with her beloved sister, the late Harriet Karp, in Aliquippa. An eager learner, Ruth started school early and graduated from Aliquippa High School at age 16. She was a lover of music who played the violin, saxophone and piano, and often reflected on her weekly trips to the big city for violin lessons. She continued to be a lover of classical music throughout her life. She earned a bachelor’s degree in secretarial studies from Margaret Morrison Carnegie College at Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1943.

After her marriage and permanent move to Pittsburgh, she became an active member of several local organizations, and once her children were in school, she also taught nursery school at Beth Shalom. She wanted to do more to help others and earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Pittsburgh. She then spent over 25 years as a special education teacher, reading clinician and teaching supervisor with the City of Pittsburgh Public Schools. She was a caring and gifted teacher to many students and a mentor to many other teachers. She was also a lifelong learner who studied art, politics and other subjects through the University of Pittsburgh and the A.L.L. program at Carnegie Mellon University, attended Elderhostels throughout the world, and was an active participant in educational activities at Temple Sinai. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Poale Zedeck Memorial Park. Interment Poale Zedeck Memorial Park. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or to Jewish Family and Community Services, 5743 Bartlett Street Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or jfcspgh.org. schugar.com

Unveiling

There will be an unveiling for Shirley Dorsey of Blessed Memory on Sunday, August 19 at 12:00 noon at the Shaare Torah Cemetery.

All are invited to attend the unveiling. PJC

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday August 12: Saul Alber, David Bass, Max Bloom, Gertrude Chotiner, Leopold Diamond, Louis Farber, Sadie Friedlander, Milton S. Gordon, MD, Rose Grace Halpern, Alihu Klein, Raschel (Ray) Levine, Anna Rabinovitz, Hinda Kuhl Rubenstein, Samuel Verbin, Adolph Wirtzman Monday August 13: Joseph Cooper, Max Eger, Louis Eisenfeld, Meyer Fiman, Pearl Greenfield, Abraham Pittler, Charles Shapiro Tuesday August 14: Sarah Americus, Alan Herbert Azen, Annie Berezin, Samuel Berger, Belle Glass, Rebecca L. Guttman, Anne Harris, Albert H. Levenson, Marie G. Mundel, Louis Rosenbloom, Eli Spokane, Harvey Edward Thorpe, Morris Toig, Louis Whiteman Wednesday August 15: William Americus, Tillie Bennett, Samuel W. Berk, Zelda Glantz Chasick, Bernard Edelstein, Howard W. Jacobson, Mollie Kurtz, Sara Melnick, Sharon Lee Morton, Milton Moskovitz, David Pearlstein, Rose Rom, Alex Ruben, Fannie Shapiro, Leo Spiegle, Harry Treelisky, Louise Ziskind Thursday August 16: Florence Bertenthal, Fannie Cohen, Patty Danovitz, Lena Darling, Rose Gold, Dora F. Greene, Bernard J. Harris, Jeanette Miller Horowitz, Leah Katz, Pearl Laufe, Natalie Myra Lewis, Harry Malkin, Rabbi Pincus F. Miller, Stefanie Ann Miller, Sylvia Monsein, Harry L. Richman, Max Roth, Gwen Amy Shakespeare, Howard Snider, Oscar Wilson, Isadore Sidney Wolfson Friday August 17: Anna Friedman Calig, Rose Calig, George H. Danzinger, Ella Friedman, Edith Goldstein, Liuba Horvitz, Marcel Lucja, Frances Rosen, Benjamin David Schwartz, Becky Weiner, Annie Wirtzman, Nathan Zapler Saturday August 18: Rev. Henry Friedman, Helen Handlesman, Samuel E. Jacobson, Mimi Lawrence, Pauline Racusin Leventon, Jennie D. Miller, Rachel Mintz, Jennie Papernick, Ernst Perlstein, Dora Shaffer, Sarah Snyder, Mildred Tannenbaum, Sophie Tauber

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Headlines Feminism: Continued from page 4

#MeToo movement, there were several Israeli websites on which women published their personal accounts. But there has also been a rise of “social media activism,” with “ultra-Orthodox women getting on platforms and discussing sexual abuse,” she said.

Many challenges remain, however, according to Strichman’s study. There are “patriarchal structures that remain intact along with growing religious fundamen-

talism,” she found, along with an “ongoing challenge of integrating diverse voices.”

Orthodox political power is increasing in Israel and becoming “more extremist,” she explained, with some communities mandating segregation of the sexes on buses and sidewalks. Because many haredi Orthodox men are now entering the Israeli army, “men-only” army bases have emerged, so “that ultra-Orthodox men will feel safe going.”

Strichman noted that in the past several years, a number of “ultra-Orthodox religious women’s groups have sprung up.” There are

groups fighting for the rights of agunot (women whose husbands refuse to issue them a Jewish divorce), and also “ultra-Orthodox women who are fighting to get political representation in ultra-Orthodox parties.” Currently, she said, in the two major haredi Orthodox parties, women are prohibited from holding political office.

Other women’s groups in Israel include Women of the Wall, which advocates for equality in prayer for women at the Kotel, although that issue is “not on the agenda for most Israeli women; it is a non-issue for them,” according to Strichman.

Muslim women’s organizations have also

Tennessee: Continued from page 18

(The Memphis Commercial Appeal said the ad made “questionable” claims; the Planned Parenthood funding was in a massive omnibus spending bill that drew more GOP votes than not.)

In an April 22 Facebook post, Flinn drew a blunt contrast between his “Christian, conservative” values and those of Kustoff.

After campaigning in Tipton County that day, Flinn said “I talked with many who said they are fed up with the current congressman. They told me he has compromised our West Tennessee values and does not vote with our best interest in mind. I told them there’s a clear choice in this election. I will NOT compromise our Christian, conservative values.”

One of two commenters on the post said “There’s some shade. Christian values.”

The Kustoff campaign did not return multiple calls, but in an interview earlier this year, Kustoff said he was irked when Flinn invoked “Christian conservative” values on the eve of the 2016 primary — but was heartened by how enthusiastic voters were once they found out he was Jewish.

“When I campaigned for this office, I would literally knock on constituent doors, and I would get asked by some, ‘Where do you go to church?’ and my response would be ‘Temple Israel,’” he said at the time.

“Virtually every time I would give that

“ Congressman David Kustoff has been a champion for the Trump Agenda — I greatly appreciate his support. … He

”

has my full and total Endorsement!

— PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

response, the person would say ‘I love Israel, what can I do to help?’”

Brooks said Flinn’s gambit was obvious.

“He’s obviously, unabashedly raising the Christian vs. Jewish issue,” said the RJC leader, who noted that his organization has strongly backed Kustoff.

Brooks said he heard from Kustoff ’s campaign that people in the district had received “push poll” calls emphasizing Kustoff ’s Jewishness. Push polls advance a political agenda rather than accurately gauge opinion.

Flinn’s campaign did not return multiple requests for comment.

Deploying one’s Christianity on the campaign trail is not unprecedented in U.S. politics, particularly in the South. Barack Obama drew Jewish ire for doing so ahead of

July 27 endorsement on July 29.

“Congressman David Kustoff has been a champion for the Trump Agenda — I greatly appreciate his support,” the president said. “David is strong on crime and borders, loves our Military, Vets and Second Amendment. Get out and vote for David on Thursday, August 2nd. He has my full and total Endorsement!”

It’s an unusual intensity of involvement made weirder by the stakes — Trump endorses to punish enemies, to reward loyalists or if he fears that one of the candidates in a close race would lose in the general election. He tends to boost the primary candidate he believes is the safe bet to beat the Democrat.

None of that applied here: Kustoff and Flinn fell over each other to out-Trump one another on issues like immigration and health care, and the 8th is a lock for Republicans in November. It’s not clear why Trump was so deeply invested in this race; the White House did not return a request for comment.

Kustoff left little to chance. In a recent ad, he got former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a leading evangelist (and also a leader in the right-wing pro-Israel movement) to push back against Flinn’s negative ads on abortion. Huckabee noted that Kustoff has the National Right to Life endorsement.

“Don’t believe what he’s saying,” Huckabee said of Flinn, whom he calls a “failed career politician.” “Why? Because David Kustoff is a principled conservative.” PJC

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the 2008 South Carolina primary, and another candidate in the 2016 Tennessee primary, Brad Greer, described West Tennessee as “Christian, conservative” territory in his campaigning. (Greer has endorsed Flinn.)

Brooks said Kustoff could not afford to take any chances in a volatile election season that has seen the ouster of longtime incumbents. Flinn has spent $2.7 million of his own money on the campaign, while Kustoff has spent $1 million of funds he has raised.

Flinn depicted himself as closer to Trump’s values, but Kustoff has voted with the president 93 percent of the time.

Additionally, Kustoff has precious currency in southern primary politics: Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement.

Trump tweeted his endorsement of Kustoff on July 27 and July 31, and he retweeted the

grown in the last 15 years, she said, and last year, a woman was appointed as a sharia court judge for the first time.

Although there has been an explosion of women’s nonprofit groups in the Jewish state, there is a shortage of funding, Strichman noted, and no national convener.

“So, there is a lack of networking to bring together women activists in Israel,” she said, as well as a disparity in transferring advocacy to political power. PJC

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Community NCJW Pittsburgh’s Back 2 School Store

u Picking out a book to read

The National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section’s Back 2 School Store was held in the Kingsley Center on Sunday, July 29 for elementary school students from prequalified families who shopped for brand new clothing, shoes, outerwear and school supplies at no cost. While the children selected their items with a volunteer personal shopper, parents visited the Resource Room and connected with local organizations and agencies for assistance with health care, parenting, financial literacy, career development and other social services.

p Brothers enjoying a snack and drawing

t Striking a pose in the community room

Photos by Nina Dater

Pittsburgh campers at Camp Young Judea p Shopping with one of the volunteers

t Showing off a new winter hat

22 AUGUST 10, 2018

p Pittsburgh Young Judaeans are having fun with old and new friends at Camp Young Judaea Midwest Camp, located on Lake Stratton in Waupaca, Wisconsin.

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Photos courtesy of Barbara Baumann

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Community Pittsburgh 10 + Friends, an Art for a Cause

Shabbatluck picnic

Pittsburgh 10 + Friends, an Art for a Cause exhibit of New Work by the Pittsburgh 10+ artists and guests held its opening reception on Thursday, Aug. 2. The exhibit includes 14 professional artists with extensive exhibition experience. Participating artists are: Pittsburgh 10+ member artists Zivi Aviraz, Robert Bowden, Lila Hirsch Brody, Eva Lu Damianos, Sylvester Damianos, Kathy DePasse, Joel Kranich, Mark Panza, Phiris (Kathy) Sickels, David Sparks, Susan Sparks, Dirk VandenBerg and Francine VandenBerg, David Watts and special guest artist Kara Snyder. All works presented by the artists in this exhibit are original new works and for sale. A percentage of all sales will go to the JCC to support the Zola Hirsch Special Needs Fund. The exhibit runs through Friday, Sept. 21 at the Berger Gallery in the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Robinson Building.

p OneTable Pittsburgh and J’Burgh, both programs of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, joined forces to host a Shabbat potluck picnic — a Shabbatluck picnic — at Summer Fridays at The Frick Pittsburgh on Aug. 3. Early in the evening, Scott, Maya and Jamie Steckel gathered for a family photo.

p From left: Joan Davin, Florence Schneider, Lila Hirsch Brody

Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

NCSY summer program Teens from Pittsburgh were in Israel this summer, along with their two advisors and director of NCSY Pittsburgh, Chaim Strassman. The summer programs, which ranged from four to six weeks, focused on Chesed, exploring the land of Israel and Torah learning. NCSY seeks to engage Jewish teenagers in year-round learning and activities aimed at developing their Jewish values and personal connection to Judaism. NCSY summer programs offer an opportunity to inspire the Jewish future while in the state of Israel. Over the summer, Strassman is also assistant director of The Jerusalem Journey, the flagship NCSY summer program that brought 450 public school teens to Israel in 2018.

p As newcomers to the Jewish young adult scene in Pittsburgh, Becca Levine (facing the camera) and Laura Tucker got to know each other at the OneTable Pittsburgh–J’Burgh Shabbatluck picnic. In 2017–2018, the Jewish Federation’s OneTable Pittsburgh helped 628 young adults build a Shabbat dinner tradition.

p From left, top row: Aaron Kraut, Benji Marcus, Joshua Mahony, Yaacov Mahony, Yermi VanSickle, Maury Rosenfeld, Chaim Strassman; Middle: Michal Becker, Elana Eydelman, Janet Anderson, Rachel Luzer, Sarah Hertzberg, Aviva Itskowitz; Bottom: Yael Itskowitz, Eliana Halley

p Attendees at the Shabbatluck picnic gathered for a Shabbat ritual around a table that included wine, candles and challah. Of OneTable Pittsburgh participants who attended a OneTable Shabbat dinner in 2017–2018, more than one-third returned for another OneTable Shabbat meal.

Photo courtesy of Chaim Strassman

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Photos courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

AUGUST 10, 2018 23

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