Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 2/2/18 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

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February 2, 2018 | 17 Shevat 5778

Candlelighting 5:22 p.m. | Havdalah 6:23 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 5 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL JNF updates its message: Go North!

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Jewish organizations participate Local lawyers at helm of as active shooter drill gerrymandering ‘plays out’ at JCC case in national spotlight

CEO will address new development projects in talk. Page 5 WORLD Ivory Coast’s newest Jews

West African nation sees group conversion. Page 9 WORLD Eagles’ Jewish mascot At 99, Phil Baser has been waiting a long time for a Super Bowl title. Page 17

 First responders carry a “victim” through the JCC during the active shooter drill Jan. 25. Photo courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh By Lauren Rosenblatt | Staff Writer

tanding in a classroom at the Jewish Community Center, Melissa Hiller said she could hear the screams in the hallway and sounds of a barricade being built in the room next door. “It was really scary to feel an assailant coming for me,” said Hiller, director of the American Jewish Museum at the JCC. “I had no idea what to do with myself.” The first shots rang out before 10 p.m. The scene was cleared and deemed safe in 45 minutes. The shooter was only active for six minutes. “Most active shooter situations are over in a matter of minutes,” said Bradley Orsini, director of security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and one of the organizers of the active shooter drill that took place at the JCC on Jan. 25. The drill was designed to allow 150 first responders — police officers, firefighters and paramedics — to practice the process for an active shooter situation. Police officers entered first, locating and

stopping the assailant. Then, firefighters and paramedics entered, assessing the injuries among the 70 volunteers who were playing victims. This was the first training drill where first responders worked with volunteers from a community organization. It was also the first practice of the newly formed Rescue Task Force, a collaborative effort to more efficiently and effectively respond to active shooter situations among the three public safety departments. “Until you put it into practice, a lot of times you don’t know what works and what doesn’t work,” said Sgt. Eric Kroll, the emergency management liaison for the police department, after the simulation. “It’s never going to come off textbook. That’s one of the things we teach.” Police officers enter the scene first, in small contingents of three or four people as they work to “neutralize” the scene and stop the assailant. Traditionally, Kroll said, firefighters and paramedics don’t enter the

 Cliff Levine

Courtesy of Cliff Levine

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

he Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision on Jan. 22, holding that the commonwealth’s congressional map violated Pennsylvania’s constitution by giving a partisan advantage to Republicans, is likely to have an impact on national politics, according to attorney Cliff Levine, who represented Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, a Democrat, in the case. Levine, a member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community who is active in the Democratic Party, argued the case before Pennsylvania’s highest court. Although Stack is listed as a defendant in the case, he and three other Democratic executive defendants have supported the plaintiffs’ position. The other Democratic defendants are Gov. Tom Wolf, Acting Secretary of State Robert Torres and Jonathan Marks, commissioner

Please see Training, page 19

Please see Gerrymander, page 18

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LOCAL Anti-vax book causes stir

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RELIGION No longer ‘reconstructionist’

Headlines Anonymous anti-vaxxers push propaganda on local Orthodox community — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

n unwelcome package arrived in the mailboxes of many members of Pittsburgh’s Orthodox community last month — a 40-page anti-vaccination booklet titled “The Vaccine Safety Handbook,” published by a purported Jewish organization called PEACH (Parents Teaching and Advocating for Children’s Health). The pamphlet, whose authors and editors hide behind pseudonyms, is filled with spurious “facts” that refute hard scientific studies, including long-refuted claims that vaccines are linked to autism. Pittsburghers took to social media to complain, with posts on Jewish Pittsburgh’s Facebook page calling out the anti-vaccine propaganda as dangerous and querying how PEACH obtained a mailing list that included a comprehensive directory of Pittsburgh families affiliated with various branches of Orthodoxy. The final page of the handbook bears an inscription of dedication to a child who “passed away from SIDS three days after her DTaP vaccine.” Attempts by the Chronicle to reach PEACH for comment were unsuccessful. In a curt email response, a representative from the organization referred only to the handbook, calling it “comprehensive” and did not respond to an inquiry as to how it obtained its Pittsburgh mailing list. The extensive booklet not only cites various rabbis questioning the obligation to

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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES Evan Indianer, Chairman Andrew Schaer, Vice Chairman Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary Jonathan Bernstein, Treasurer David Ainsman, Immediate Past Chairman

Gail Childs, Elizabeth F. Collura, Milton Eisner, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Tracy Gross, Richard J. Kitay, Catia Kossovsky, Andi Perelman, Amy Platt, David Rush, Charles Saul GENERAL COUNSEL Stuart R. Kaplan, Esq.

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vaccinate children, but also advances anecdotes and statistics in an attempt to connect vaccinations to physical harm and death. Pittsburgher Nina Butler, an independent consultant at the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, was disturbed by the distribution of the handbook and its promotion of the anti-vaccine movement. “Many of us received this in yesterday’s mail,” Butler posted on Facebook. “As the mother of a child who died and two sons with autism, I would never be so perversely evil as to endanger other people’s children with baseless scare tactics, factual distortions and outright lies. What’s worse — these nameless cowards produced this under the pretense of Jewish authority. Nauseating.” In an email to the Chronicle, Butler called the motivation behind the movement “pathetic.” “Parents of a child who dies or a child with autism may take their grief and channel it to looking for explanations — someone or something to scapegoat for their pain,” Butler said. “Thankfully, most people soon learn that that path is as futile as it is unfulfilling.” The booklet distributed last month, she said, appeared to be the work of “grieving parents [who] latched onto a crazy idea that will actually hurt children and families. Although I empathize with their grief, this pamphlet was not only filled with twisted distortions, but it also reflected a Please see Vaccine, page 3

u Pictured is the cover of “The Vaccine Safety Handbook,” published by a purportedly Jewish organization called PEACH.

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Headlines Vaccine: Continued from page 2

breathtaking level of selfishness — and even cruelty by intentionally misleading others in order to explain away their situation.” The Pittsburgh Jewish community, as a whole, has embraced vaccination, and all three local day schools — Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, Hillel Academy, and Community Day School — require their students to be vaccinated in accordance with regulations set forth by the Allegheny County Health Department. “In Halachah (Jewish law), there is an imperative to follow the best medical expertise that exists,” said Rabbi Daniel Yolkut, spiritual leader of the Orthodox Poale Zedeck Congregation. “I’m not a medical expert, but as a layperson, I understand that there is no scientific support for the anti-vaccination position.” The safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the overwhelming majority of medical professionals based on dozens of studies involving millions of children. Both the Orthodox Union and Rabbinical Council of America have called on all Jewish parents to vaccinate their children, according to the timetable recommended by their pediatricians, as has the haredi Agudas Harabonim-Union of Orthodox Rabbis of

the United States and Canada. There is, however, a noticeable decline in vaccination rates in some religious Jewish communities in North America and a rise in religious exemptions at some Jewish day schools. A measles outbreak in Los Angeles in 2017 centered on the Orthodox Jewish community, and a 2015 wave of pertussis, or whooping cough, appeared in the Brooklyn haredi Orthodox communities of Williamsburg and Borough Park. “About 90 percent of the cases are among people who are unvaccinated,” said Dr. Akiva Turner, director of the doctoral program

in health science at Nova Southeastern University and former communicable disease director for the Broward County Health Department, and an ordained Orthodox rabbi. The Jewish Healthcare Foundation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, has funded curricula and materials designed to educate local middle, high school and college-aged children and young adults about preventing disease through vaccination. “We’ve been involved in the issue of vaccination for the Foundation almost since we opened our doors in the early 1990s,” said

Nancy Zionts, COO and chief program officer at the JHF. “What was so frustrating about this piece that was put out is that it was not based in science and — from what I heard from people in the Orthodox community — was an absolute misinterpretation and hijacking of text-based [halachic] information to make their case.” In 2014, she said, the JHF hired physician Jonathan Weinkle and Butler to work with Pittsburgh’s Jewish day schools, camps and Jewish youth organizations to incorporate “scientific discovery into health and lifestyle decision-making for young people.” As part of that campaign, Butler interviewed several area rabbis, who were recorded on video speaking on “the halachic responsibility of taking advantage of the good science for vaccination so we would be contributing to the overall health of the community,” as well as the health of one’s own children, said Zionts. “We have good science,” she continued. “There are some people who can’t get vaccines. If you are immunocompromised because you have cancer, etc., your family counts on the rest of the community to be your safety net, for them to be vaccinated, so that you are also protected even if you are not fortunate enough to get a vaccination yourself. Where good science and halachah come together, it’s a no-brainer.” PJC JTA contributed to this story. Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

VA L U E S If you could be a better version of yourself, how would you like to be? This question drives our pursuit of character development at JCC South Hills Day Camps. The question ends with ‘…how would you like to be?’ and not ‘…what would you like to be?’ The answer to what might involve educational accolades and material possessions. The answer to how includes living a good and meaningful life. The way we talk to and engage with people and support community are also a part of the “how we would like to be.” While our kids might think that camp is all about the fun, staff and parents know that camp is really about helping our kids discover “how they would like to be.” All campers at the JCC South Hills Day Camps are active participants in our middot (Hebrew for “values”) program. Each week, we highlight a value at camp around which staff and campers rally to explore new ways to incorporate it into daily activities. Each time a camper explicitly demonstrates the weekly value, they are rewarded with a middah bracelet. Our campers take these values into everyday life as they grow into young adults and begin to shape our collective future. “If you could be a better version of yourself, how would you like to be?” While it is not entirely an intuitive question, our campers are better prepared to answer it because of their experience at JCC South Hills Day Camps. Shalom, Jason Haber, Director, JCC South Hills Day Camps

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Headlines A bank closing — in bronze and on paper — LOCAL — By Eric Lidji

gation pay the contractor of its synagogue on Webster Street in the Hill District. The bank also supported Jewish communal activities. It donated $200 (almost $3,000 today) to the Jewish Relief Fund in 1922. In early 1931, it contributed to a campaign to pay for more Jewish educational articles published in the Jewish Criterion. The run on Merchants Savings & Trust was part of a panic among smaller Pittsburgh banks in September 1931. That month, 84 percent of deposits from suspended banks in the Cleveland District of the Federal Reserve came from Pittsburgh, according to historian Elmus Wicker. Similar panics hit Chicago and Philadelphia in September and October 1931 and followed a series of regional banking crises during the previous year. Experts disagree on the role regional banking panics played in exacerbating the Great Depression. But bank runs became an

he next time you go to a Penguins game, take a stroll up Fifth Avenue until you find the old Merchants Savings & Trust Company. Beside its two big, bronze signs, you’ll find a smaller plaque quoting the Sept. 24, 1931 edition of the Pittsburgh Press. The plaque reads: “The Merchants Savings & Trust Company failed to open for business today. I. C. Swigert, state bank examiner, took over the bank at 1410 Fifth Avenue to protect depositors, he announced. While a few days ago the bank was believed able to continue business, continual withdrawals since closing of three other Pittsburgh banks Monday caused today’s action. The bank has 2,000 accounts.” The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives recently acquired a letter bearing the same date as the plaque and concerning the same subject. “I didn’t expect to be writing again quite so soon or to have to give you more bad news,” Elsie Goldberg wrote to her little sister, Sylvia, in New York. “The Merchants bank closed down today. You can imagine what a blow it was to Papa. He came home sick and cried like a baby. Momma has been carrying on also. You can’t blame either. Papa has been working for that bank for 30 years and had $50,000 invested in stock, all of which is completely lost.” “Papa” was Abram Goldberg, who had immigrated to Western Pennsylvania from present-day Belarus in 1891 as a teenager. He peddled around the region before opening Washington Hosiery on lower Fifth Avenue about 1907. He sold the business in 1926 to  Elsie Goldberg wrote to her sister, become a full-time financial investor Sylvia, on the day Merchants Saving & Trust closed, warning her not to and invested heavily in Merchants write any checks. Courtesy of the Rauh Jewish History Program Savings & Trust. and Archives Goldberg was one of hundreds of Jewish wholesalers and businessmen who iconic feature of the time, a symbol of the occupied that stretch of “the Avenue” in economic uncertainty that spread all over the Uptown throughout the first half of the 20th world. A letter like the one Elsie Goldberg century. Cash flow could be challenging for sent to her little sister helps bring the global wholesalers. Factories released new lines crisis down to an immediate human scale. each spring and fall. Wholesalers placed It is unclear what impact the Pittsburgh their initial orders before making any sales. banking panic of 1931 had on the health Merchants Savings & Trust was founded of Fifth Avenue. The number of businesses in 1902 and quickly vied for this business. in the district fell by one third between The bank appointed three Jewish merchants 1934 and 1940, but slow-paying customers to its initial 15-member board: dry goods could have been as much to blame as ailing dealer Jacob Bernstein; shoe wholesaler financial institutions. Merchants Savings & James Cohen; and liquor retailer Herman Trust spent years repaying its depositors and Obernauer. (Our archive has materials on never reopened. Competitors such as the both Cohen and Obernauer.) The bank also Washington Trust Co. served Fifth Avenue employed Jewish professionals, including its going forward and also found success by first real estate broker, H.M. Berman. understanding the communal aspects Merchants Savings & Trust regularly of banking. PJC advertised in the Jewish Criterion and explicEric Lidji is director of the Rauh Jewish itly sought Jewish patronage from both individuals and organizations. Its appeals History Program & Archives at the Heinz worked. The bank was the trustee for a bond History Center. He can be reached at 412-454issued in 1922 to help Kether Torah Congre- 6406 or eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org.

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Headlines JNF CEO to speak in Pittsburgh on organization’s efforts — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

ussell Robinson, the Jewish National Fund’s CEO, is coming to Pittsburgh on Thursday, Feb. 8 to discuss the future of the Zionist organization. “The event [will be] a great opportunity for Pittsburghers to learn more about Jewish National Fund and to actively participate in our work,” said Robinson in an email. “JNF is not just about trees, and at our event, ‘Beyond the Trees,’ I will discuss our One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Future, a groundbreaking campaign with the explicit purpose of enhancing the lives of all Israelis and ensuring a prosperous future for the land of Israel.” While JNF has long been committed to the growth of Israel, recently, the organization has dedicated itself to developing the country’s perimeters. Robinson plans on expounding on these foci during the meeting at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside. “[It will be] an excellent public opportunity for local Israel supporters to come and learn firsthand about Jewish National Fund’s plans to further develop Israel’s north and south through our Go North and Blueprint Negev initiatives, bolster Israel’s water economy and create more inclusive and accessible parks for people of all ability levels,” he said. Given Pittsburgh’s relationship with

p A JNF-funded housing development

Karmiel-Misgav, the Go North initiative should be of particular interest. “Go North and Pittsburgh’s partnership with the Galilean city share common goals, to see the area’s advancement and economic development, including increasing tourism to the region,” said the CEO. “Ninety percent of Israel’s population lives in the Tel Aviv-Haifa-Jerusalem corridor, while the rest of the country, such as the Galilee, is sparsely inhabited. This is why population growth and regional economic development in Israel’s

Photo courtesy of JNF

northern region forms the backbone of our Go North initiative with the goal to realize the full potential of the Galilee as a rich center of agriculture and tourism, and with the aim of attracting 300,000 new residents.” For many Jewish people throughout the past several generations, JNF was largely perceived as an organization whose little blue tzedakah boxes helped purchase the land of Israel. Recent controversies, however, have brought new attention to the more than century-old organization.

Last month, Haaretz reported that JNF is attempting to evict an East Jerusalem family from its home. “The legal basis for the attempted eviction of the Sumreen family from their Silwan home is the state’s determination that Musa Sumreen, one of the family patriarchs, is an ‘absentee,’ because he lives in Jordan. Therefore, his home in Silwan was declared absentee property and transferred to the state, which later sold it to the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund,” said the paper. “There is a complete separation between the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, which they call the JNF in translation in Israel, and the JNF USA, so that story in Haaretz has nothing to do with JNF USA. It only has to do with Keren Kayemeth,” said Robinson before further clarifying the relationship between both Zionist entities. “The Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael is the organization that functions in Israel; the JNF USA is a separately owned corporation established in 1926. We have no board members on the Keren Kayemeth. The Keren Kayemeth has no board members on our board. We function independently and we utilize them for services such as forestation and other services that make efficient effective use of the money. We have our own offices in Israel and do about 90 percent of our own projects.” So although there is a “working relationship with the Keren Kayemeth board,” it is an Please see JNF, page 21

Streaming funerals allows loved ones, friends to mourn virtually — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

hen Marlene Behrmann Cohen’s uncle died in Melbourne, Australia, she was distressed that she would not be able travel from Pittsburgh to join her family to mourn at his funeral. But, as it turns out, thanks to 21st century technology, Behrmann Cohen was able to feel connected to her family and be present at the funeral, albeit by watching from her computer as it streamed live. “It was great,” she said, noting that her extended family, originally from South Africa, is scattered throughout the world, and yet they were able to come together to mourn through the streaming service. “I don’t have many opportunities to see my cousins, and I loved my uncle, my father’s younger brother,” said Behrmann Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. “It was great to see my cousins and my aunt and to hear the eulogies. I really felt a part of it. I could see where everyone was sitting and that they were all hugging, and they knew I was watching. My sisters, who are in South Africa, Israel and Toronto, all watched too. And we could all talk about it afterward and feel a sense of belonging and presence.” Streaming funerals has become fairly common in the last several years, according

to Stephen Kemp, a spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association and owner of Kemp Funeral and Cremation Services in Southfield, Mich. “The trend started about five or six years ago,” Kemp said, but had its genesis before streaming technology became ubiquitous. About 10 years ago, he said, many families began videotaping funerals to share with absent loved ones afterward “Families have become less nuclear,” Kemp explained. “Children may be working out of the country, or living on the West Coast, and they still want to see the funeral. So, it started with taping and then went to live streaming, where people can log on and watch the live funeral. They can share the experience without incurring the cost of traveling and still share in the grieving.” The only downside of streaming funerals has to do with issues of privacy, according to Kemp. “You have to tell people who are there that you are live streaming,” he said. “Some people are paranoid about being seen, so you have to make disclosures.” Ruthann Sheffler-Adelsberg, a Pittsburgh native, has watched a few streaming funerals of people who “impacted her life” but whom she did not know personally. The list includes a rabbi and a rebbetzin who inspired her. She watched the funerals in their entirety. “This is an incredible time we live in,” she said, adding that watching a funeral live streamed can be just as “cathartic and

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emotional” as being physically present at the service. At Pittsburgh’s Ralph Schugar Funeral Chapel, which serves many local Jewish families, most sharing of live funerals is through Skype and Facetime, according to Sharon Ryave Brody, owner and president of Schugar. Those apps are generally intended to reach a single viewer at a time, rather than a streaming service to which any number of people can log in at once. Only about 20 percent of the families Schugar serves request sharing the funeral live via technology, Brody said, but added that Schugar would work to accommodate a family’s wishes and has the technology and capability to do so. Rabbi Daniel Wasserman, spiritual leader of the Orthodox Shaare Torah Congregation in Squirrel Hill, has been conducting funerals for years, and said he streams funerals “all the time.” “I almost always offer to throw it up on livestream,” Wasserman said. “Many times, people take me up on it.” Having the ability to view a funeral from a computer is a way “for people out of town to feel connected,” he said. Wasserman knows firsthand the value of an opportunity to participate in a funeral through a livestream. Just last August, he was able to watch his own brother’s funeral, which was taking place in Israel. “It’s using technology to connect people,” he said.

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The only “downside” Wasserman sees to a streaming funeral is the commercials that some providers play during the service, which sometimes come at inopportune moments, like in the middle of a eulogy. While Rabbi Danny Schiff, the Foundation Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, sees the value in using technology to connect people, he also can see a potential hazard. “Every new technology brings with it both upsides and downsides,” Schiff said in an email. “There can be no doubt that the ability of loved ones and friends to watch a funeral they cannot attend is a plus. And yet watching a funeral as a distant spectator is clearly a ‘diminished substitute’ for being there in person, for hugging the mourners, participating together with a grieving community and fulfilling the mitzvah of accompanying the dead to their place of burial.” Schiff pointed to the “essential problem” as noted by author Jonathan Safran Foer in The New York Times. “Whenever we are offered an easier technological ‘diminished substitute,’ pretty soon we begin to prefer the diminished substitute over the real thing. So, don’t be surprised if streaming funerals means fewer and fewer people deciding to travel to funerals, an outcome that will be both Jewishly undesirable and plain sad.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. FEBRUARY 2, 2018 5

Calendar q SATURDAY, FEB. 3 In recognition of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month, Temple Sinai presents a screening of “My Hero Brother” after Havdalah at 5 p.m. Following the movie, Enosh Cassel, producer and founder, will join via Skype for a Q&A session. Enjoy refreshments afterward while viewing a special exhibit featuring artwork by artists with disabilities. “My Hero Brother” tells the story of a group of young people with Down Syndrome that embark on a demanding trek through the Indian Himalayas, accompanied by their brothers and sisters. The movie is in Hebrew with English subtitles. The cost is $8 in advance/$10 at the door. Contact Judy Lynn Aiello at judylynn@ templesinaipgh.org or 412-421-9715, ext. 124 to purchase tickets. Babysitting will be available for up to age 12. Children will watch a movie of their own and can bring a pillow and blanket to make them more comfortable. Advanced registration is recommended. Visit templesinaipgh.org/my-hero-brother for more information. The screening is sponsored by the Women of Temple Sinai. >> Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q FRIDAY, FEB. 2 Tropical Tu B’Shevat Shabbat from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Moishe House. Welcome Shabbat and celebrate Jewish Arbor Day with a traditional Tu B’Shevat seder. Come in your best Hawaiian shirts and baseball caps and get ready for a night full of dried fruit and wine. Visit tinyurl. com/yda3oxjz for more information. Temple David hosts a Young Family Shabbat Service and Picnic Dinner. The Shabbat service begins on the bimah at 6 p.m. and a picnic in the social hall will follow at 6:30 p.m. There is no cost. Chicken fingers, sides and drinks will be provided. Bring your picnic blankets. The event is for children under age 10 with their families and children of all ages in the family are welcome. q SUNDAY, FEB. 4 AgeWell at the Jewish Community Center presents Lifestyle, Brain Health and Aging, with Michael J. Zigmond, Ph.D. at 11 a.m. in Room 202 at the JCC in Squirrel Hill. There is no fee; refreshments will be served. Several lifestyle aspects have a strong influence on the impact of aging on cognitive and motor function. These lifestyle variables include exercise, stress, social interactions and sleep. Zigmond will examine each of these variables, explaining how they affect aging through their impact on the brain and will suggest how individuals might work toward reducing age-dependent functional decline. Zigmond is professor emeritus of neurology, psychiatry and neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he has done work on the influence of exercise and environmental enrichment on neurodegenerative disease and aging. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health. Register with Marsha Mullen at mmullen@ jccpgh.org or 412-339-5415. Conversation with Uri Keidar, executive director of Israel Hofsheet (Be Free Israel), starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Room 202 in

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the Kaufmann building. The conversation will provide an opportunity to learn about the struggle for religious pluralism in Israel, why more than 700,000 Israeli citizens cannot get married in Israel and why Israel accepts only Orthodox conversions and what can be done. Founded in 2009, Israel Hofsheet is a nonpartisan Israeli grassroots movement that has a mission to promote freedom of religion and Jewish pluralism in Israel. Seats are limited. RSVP at tinyurl.com/yaknklzn. q MONDAY, FEB. 5 Beth El Congregation’s Adult Education Speaker Series presents Ria David Ph.D. and Dr. Mark Perlin on “DNA Justice and the Jewish Question” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 1900 Cochran Road. The talk follows a wine and cheese reception. RSVP in advance at bethelcong.org or call 412-561-1168. The program is free and open to the community. Beth El Congregation of the South Hills, at 1900 Cochran Road, invites the community to its First Mondays program with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and producer Bob Cahalan from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch and an audio-visual program on Pittsburgh that will illustrate Pittsburgh as a metropolitan city through photography and music. Segments include area economy, natural beauty, sports, special attractions, events, houses of worship, downtown, bridges and more. There is a $6 charge. RSVP at bethelcong.org or 412-561-1168.

talk, entitled “Creating Light from Darkness” at its new location, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. at 7:30 p.m. The presentation will be given by guest lecturer Dina Horowitz, a mother of seven from California whose life was turned upside down when her husband, Rabbi Yitzi, was diagnosed with ALS in 2015. The cost of the event is $10 per person. A soup bar will be available for guests to enjoy as well. For more information or to make a reservation, visit chabadpgh.com/light or call 412-421-3561. q THURSDAY, FEB. 8 Western Pennsylvania Beyond the Trees: An Evening With Jewish National Fund USA’s CEO Russell F. Robinson at 7 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Robinson discusses how JNF’s vital work is shaping Israel’s future. Dessert will be served at this complimentary event; dietary laws observed. Pre-registration is requested at jnf.org/wpa. Contact Jason Rose, associate executive director, Midwest at jrose@jnf.org or 412-521-3200 for more information. The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s Generations Speaker Series with Judah Samet and Miriam Cohen. The free series is hosted in-person and livestreamed and consists of dialogues between Holocaust survivors and their family members. Samet will present his story, which includes surviving the horrors of Bergen-Belsen as a 7-year-old child alongside his brave mother. His sister, Miriam Cohen, will speak about being born in Israel after the war’s conclusion, and the experience of being raised by Holocaust survivors beside siblings who also survived the Holocaust. The program is at 6:30 p.m. at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha at Wilkins and Shady avenues. q FRIDAY, FEB. 9 Downtown lunch and learn with Rabbi Keren Gorban of Temple Sinai: a discussion at an office downtown at noon the second Friday of every month. For more information and to be put on the mailing list or to RSVP, contact Nancy Conaway at nancy@templesinaipgh. org or (412) 421-9715, ext. 115. Temple David and AgeWell Pittsburgh are partnering to offer a Caregivers Forum to learn what supports you need as a caregiver, be it a safe, nurturing place to talk, resources for your loved one or supports for yourself, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville. Coffee and light snacks will be provided. RSVP by Feb. 2 to Sybil Lieberman,

AgeWell at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, at slieberman@jccpgh.org or 412-697-3514. q SUNDAY, FEB. 11 Family Service Corps, a program of Repair the World: Pittsburgh, participates in G2G: Generation to Generation, Music Through the Ages, an afternoon of sharing stories and music across generations from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. Families, teens and seniors will share their favorite songs from the past and from today. Participants will help seniors access cherished songs through online platforms and document oral histories and memories by creating scrapbooks and podcasts. The address for teens is Weinberg Terrace, 5757 Bartlett St.; for families, Weinberg Village, 300 JHF Drive. Register at tinyurl. com/ya5qs7nk. The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh invites the community to the latest art exhibit for the opening of CHUTZ-POW! The Art of Resistance from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 826 Hazelwood Ave. The Art of Resistance immerses viewers in the stories of real-life heroes that used various forms of resistance to defy the Nazis and shows how their stories were brought to life in the comic series. The opening will also include the unveiling of “CHUTZ-POW! Volume III: The Young Survivors.” Tickets to the opening are $5, and free for students (with valid ID) and Holocaust survivors. Visit hcofpgh.org/chutzpow3/ for more information. q MONDAY, FEB. 12 Crafts Night: Egalentine’s Day from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Moishe House. You’ve heard of Valentine’s Day, you’ve heard of Galentine’s Day, now get ready for ... Egalentine’s Day. Celebrate platonic love (and gender inclusivity) by making cards for friends while indulging in chocolate and wine. Visit tinyurl. com/yc6u2loo for more information. Beth El Congregation’s Adult Education Speaker Series presents Rabbi Danny Schiff, Foundation Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, on “Our Flawed Ancestors” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 1900 Cochran Road. The talk follows a wine and cheese reception. RSVP in advance at bethelcong.org or call 412-561-1168. The program is free and open to the community. Please see Calendar, page 7

q TUESDAY, FEB. 6 Israel Your Way at the GA Parlor Meeting: The Israel Action Network. Learn about the Jewish Federation’s Israel Advocacy organization, the Israel Action Network (IAN). Max Chamovitz, deputy director of IAN, discusses the latest national and global efforts to strengthen and expand support for Israel. To RSVP, contact Becca Hurowitz at bhurowitz@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5226. q WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7 Join Moishe Gets Moving: Sword Fighting from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Rodef Shalom Congregation multipurpose room for Part 2 of the Stage Combat Workshop with Josè Pérez IV, MFA, and certified teacher Paul Engler Ray. Attendance is limited; register at tinyurl.com/y7tzrka8. Chabad of Squirrel Hill hosts an inspirational

q SUNDAY, FEB. 11 Murder Mystery Dinner, “Midnight at the Masquerade” at Poale Zedeck Congregation with interactive entertainment, professional actors and food. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. Admission is $75 per person ; all proceeds go toward the PZ Youth Department. Reservations are required. Contact info@pzonline.org for more information.

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 6

q THURSDAY, FEB. 15 Men’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh presents its first social event of the year, Men’s Scotch & Cigars at Three Rivers Cigars, Inc. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Join your fellow men for a cigar, a variety of scotch tastings and hors d’oeuvres. Limited to the first 30 registrants. Visit tinyurl.com/ yaglf48t to register and for more information. Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David holds a book discussion on “Forest Dark” by Nicole Krauss at the Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd. at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. q FRIDAY, FEB. 16 Young Adult Shabbat After Hours at Temple Sinai, a wine-and-cheese mix and mingle with young adults ages 21 to 45 from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., following services. Visit templesinaipgh.org/shabbat-after-hours-6 for more information. q SUNDAY, FEB. 18 Family Service Corps, a program of Repair the World and Kids 4 Kindness, a program of Camp Gan Israel, makes scarves for those in need in Pittsburgh and Israel, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Repair the World Workshop, 6022 Broad St. Register at kforkpgh@gmail.com or 412-568-3244. Moishe Goes to the Fermentation Festival from noon to 5 p.m. Learn about the fermentation process, try your hand at pickling, and play fermentation-themed games with your favorite Moishies. Come to the house at 11:30 a.m. for rides, or meet us at Spirit, 242 51st St. at noon. Visit tinyurl.com/ y9wc6sma for more information. q TUESDAY, FEB. 20 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh unveils the findings of the 2017 Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study at 5:30 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald will make the opening remarks. Register at tinyurl.com/ yd25xfqa or contact Chrissy Janisko at cjanisko@jfedpgh.org or 412-697-6652. q WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21 Chabad of the South Hills at 1701 McFarland Road holds Love & Knaidels: Cooking for a Cause, baking hamantashen for seniors at 7:30 p.m. Contact Batya at 412-512-2330 or batya@chabadsh.com for more information. Documentary Night: “T-Rex,” from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Moishe House for viewing and discussing “T-Rex,” a film about Claressa Shields, an African-American woman from Flint, Mich., and her journey to Olympic gold in boxing in 2012. Meet at the house at 6:15 p.m. to walk over to Chatham University together. RSVP at tinyurl.com/ydbfuuf5. Join South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Brandeis University’s Cohen Center of Modern Jewish Studies for a South Hills Town Hall Meeting from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

at the South Hills JCC, 345 Kane Blvd. for a demographic snapshot of Jewish Pittsburgh, from a suburban perspective, as well as a review of current patterns of Jewish engagement. Snacks and light refreshments provided. The meeting is free and open to the entire South Hills Jewish community. RSVP at southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/townhall. Jeffrey Cohan, executive director of Jewish Veg, demonstrates the connection between animal-free diets and Judaism when he speaks on Plant-Based Diets: A Jewish Imperative for Our Time at 7 p.m. at Rodef Shalom, in the Lippman Library. The program is free and open to the community. q THURSDAY, FEB. 22 A Candidates Forum featuring candidates running for City of Pittsburgh District 8 City Council Special Election for parts of Oakland, Shadyside, Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Levinson Hall. The forum is sponsored by Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, JCC Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, League of Women Voters and Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Contact jccpittsburgh@gmail.com for more information. q SATURDAY, FEB. 24 Party Bus to Purim Party at 7:30 p.m. at Moishe House for Shalom Pittsburgh and J’Burgh’s annual Purim Party. Come to MoHo at 7 p.m. to get ready or meet at 8 p.m. for the party bus to the Children’s Museum. Entrance fee and transportation home are not covered. Visit tinyurl.com/y8joxxoc to RSVP. Adult Purim Carnival at Temple Sinai from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Get a preview of the games in store for the kids, with some special “adult” twists. Prizes, food and drinks for 21 and over at 5505 Forbes Ave. Visit templesinaipgh.org/adult-purim-carnival for more information and to purchase tickets. q MONDAY, FEB. 26 Beth El Congregation’s Adult Education Speaker Series presents Rabbi Danny Schiff, Foundation Scholar at Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, on “The Critical Lessons of Purim” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 1900 Cochran Road. The talk follows a wine and cheese reception. RSVP in advance at bethelcong.org or call 412-561-1168. The program is free and open to the community.

Temple Sinai will present Grease: A Purim Shpiel from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 5505 Forbes Ave. Visit templesinaipgh.org/greasepurim-shpiel for more information. From 7:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., stay for the Great LatkeHamantashen Debate with panelists Nancy Polinsky Johnson, David Shribman and Lynn Cullen, who will debate the merits of the latke or hamantashen to determine which is the best. Come at 7:15 p.m. to sample the contenders. Visit templesinaipgh.org/greatlatke-hamantash-debate for more information. q DEADLINE WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28 The Zionist Organization of AmericaPittsburgh District announces the 56th year of its Israel Scholarship Program to assist local students traveling to and studying in Israel. The program is designed to encourage and assist student participation on approved educational trips to Israel. Up to three $1,000 scholarships are available to students who will be entering the junior or senior year of high school in the fall of 2018. In addition, the Anouchi Research Scholarship of $750 is available to full-time college students who have completed at least one year and graduate students. Contact ZOA Executive Director Stuart Pavilack at 412-665-4630 or pittsburgh@zoa.org for more information or to establish a scholarship. q THURSDAY, MARCH 1 Chabad of the South Hills presents Purim in the Jungle with exotic birds, African drum circle, themed cuisine, child-friendly dinner, Megillah reading, hamantashen at 5 p.m. Come dressed up.

q WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28

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The Department of Jewish Life & Learning of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh seeks to fund new initiatives that help advance the department’s goal of maximizing the number of Jewish Pittsburghers engaged in meaningful Jewish learning and experiences. Visit jfedpgh.org/grants for details. Address questions about the application process to Rabbi Amy Bardack, director of Jewish Life & Learning at abardack@ jfedpgh.org; or Shelly Parver, planning manager, Jewish Education & Continuity, at 412-992-5207 or sparver@jfedpgh.org. The Jewish Life & Learning Department has made available $15,000 for New Initiative Seed Money grants. Applicants can apply for up to $3,000 per project per fiscal year. Applications for repeat funding will be entertained. Funds are awarded on a rolling basis. The Papernick Family Foundation, in partnership with the Jewish Federation’s Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future and the Foundation for Jewish Camp, is offering grants to children attending Jewish overnight camp for the first time. Visit OneHappyCamper.org to apply or for more information. PJC

1916 MURRAY AVENUE 412-421-1015 • 412-421-4450 • FAX 412-421-4451 PRICES EFFECTIVE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5-FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2018

Candle Lighting Time Friday, FEBRUARY 2, 2018 • 5:22 p.m. MEAT SPECIALS

TAKE-OUT SPECIALS

SHABBOS SPECIAL

MONDAY DINNER SPECIAL

Pepper Steak

2 Roasted Chickens 1 Qt. Chicken Soup 4 Matzo Balls

BBQ Bologna

Potato Latkes • Salad and Buns

1 Kugel • 2 Pints Salad • 2 Mini Challahs

Serves 4

$26.99

Ground Turkey

43.99

TUESDAY DINNER SPECIAL

STORE HOURS

Salisbury Steak

Chicken Legs

Sun. - Wed. • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thurs. • 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Fri. • 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Mushroom Gravy • Farfel • Salad

269 LB

Serves 4

$29.99 WEEKLY SPECIALS

BENZ’S CHOLENT MIX ¢ . 16 OZ

BEAN SOUP $ 99

Moishe Hears Megillah from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom. Booze, scandal, and ... triangular hats? Welcome the most spectacular holiday of the year with the story of Purim with Moishe House at 5915 Beacon St. Visit tinyurl.com/ ybkkxvzj for more information.

q ONGOING

Murray Avenue Kosher

q TUESDAY, FEB. 27 Chabad of the South Hills holds a pre-Purim lunch for seniors at noon at 1701 McFarland Road in Mt. Lebanon. Lunch will include hamantashen, musical entertainment and raffle prizes. There is a $5 suggested donation; the building is wheelchair accessible. Call 412-278-2658 to register.

RSVP by Feb. 19 at chabadsh.com/purim or contact 412-344-2424 or mussie@ chabadsh.com. Event cost: $18/family, $10 individual. The Jewish Community Center and South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh are co-sponsors.

EMPIRE SMK TURKEY BREAST $ 59

HOMEMADE SALADS & SOUPS DELI PARTY TRAYS

LIEBER’S LO-FAT GRAHAM CRACKERS $ 49 . BOX

MOUSSAKA

899 LB

SHOR HABOR X-L PASTRAMI $ 99

LANDAU BUCKWHEAT CAKES $ 05 . 3 . 5 OZ

CHICKEN KNISH $ 99

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

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18 OZ

GOLDEN TASTE MARINATED EGGPLANT $ 99

SPANISH RICE $ 29 . LB

HAOLAM STRING CHEESE (FAMILY SIZE) $ 89

SEASONED OIL CURED OLIVES $ 79

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

FEBRUARY 2, 2018 7

Headlines Store that sells ‘P is for Palestine’ children’s book faces more heat — from the left — NATIONAL — By Ben Sales | JTA

EW YORK — Book Culture, a chain of independent New York City bookstores, just can’t win. First it promoted a children’s book about Palestine that praised intifada. That angered members of the Jewish community, so Book

ature,” reads the petition, which was first reported on by the conservative website Campus Reform. “We support the efforts of Dr. Golbarg Bashi to bring attention to the Palestinian struggle for freedom, and for this reason we call on Book Culture to retract their statement and issue an apology.” The book in question is “P for Palestine,” which dedicates pages to each letter of the alphabet, along with a corresponding word. The book’s most controversial two-page

she asked the store to buy copies of the book, it agreed, kicked in $650 to its publishing costs and held a reading. That irked the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a large Reform congregation whose rabbi, Ammiel Hirsch, is a leading pro-Israel voice in the movement. The synagogue threatened to cancel a book fair held with Book Culture unless the store apologized, which it did on Nov. 29. “We regret that we did not fully appreciate

the political or communal ramifications of the children’s book “P is for Palestine” by Dr. Golbarg Bashi, nor did we anticipate the pain and distress it has caused in our community,” read the store’s apology, which was published on the synagogue’s website. “We oppose terrorism or other forms of violence perpetrated against Israeli civilians during the intifada or thereafter.” The statement put a local bookstore in the strange position of taking a public stance on an international conflict. But Chris Doeblin, Book Culture’s co-owner, doesn’t sound concerned about the boycott. He said he’s “not very worried,” and even though they are trying to hurt his business, praised the student organizers for finding their voice. “I think it’s great to have passionate students who are interested in justice and standing up for their point of view and their equal rights,” Doeblin said. “I hope that we grow more and more sensitive to everybody’s point of view. I hope we find ways to be as inclusive and supportive of the forces of justice and a better future as we can be.” But Doeblin seems to have figured out just how impossible satisfying all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian debate can be. No, he is not going to issue another statement. And yes, he’s still going to sell Bashi’s book, which just completed its second printing. “I’m not sure that I could compose one that would be useful to everybody involved, or even useful to some people, without being kind of unuseful in another way,” he said. “There are two communities out there and both of them feel threatened. It’s reasonable, and what we have to do is continue to work toward a world where people aren’t threatened anymore. It’s not easy.” PJC

p The Book Culture store on New York City’s Upper West Side

Photo courtesy of Book Culture

u The cover of “P is For Palestine,” a book that has stirred controversy since it was published in mid-November. Photo courtesy of Golbarg Bashi

Culture apologized, condemned violence against Israelis and declared its support for Israel’s right to exist. Now the apology has angered pro-Palestinian activists, who are pledging to boycott Book Culture unless it rescinds its statement and — wait for it — apologizes for the apology. A petition calls for a boycott of both purchasing and selling coursebooks at Book Culture, whose flagship location serves nearby Columbia University. As of Friday morning, the petition has garnered the signatures of 18 Columbia faculty members and about 200 students, alumni and outside supporters. The faculty signatures include Joseph Massad, a leading scholar on Palestinian history, and Hamid Dabashi, the husband of the book’s author. “We pledge to boycott the store until they comply with this demand and reaffirm their commitment, as a progressive independent bookstore, to representing and publicly supporting all marginalized voices in liter8 FEBRUARY 2, 2018

spread features the letter I, stating “I is for Intifada, Intifada is Arabic for rising up for what is right, if you are a kid or a grownup!” The accompanying illustration shows a father and child waving peace signs next to barbed wire. The two Palestinian intifadas were violent uprisings against Israel in the late 1980s and early 2000s. Terror attacks, particularly during the second intifada, killed more than 1,000 Israelis, many of them civilians. The Israel Defense Forces killed thousands of Palestinians in clashes during that period. Many Palestinians view the intifadas as legitimate protest movements with violent and nonviolent elements. Ensnaring themselves in controversy is — unsurprisingly — not what the Book Culture’s owners had in mind when they gave a donation to the book’s crowdfunding campaign. The book’s author, Bashi, is a friend of the owners, and had held Persian-language children’s book readings at Book Culture’s store near Columbia. When PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Headlines In this West African country, a Jewish community is forming — WORLD — By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

vraham Yago, a married father of five who works as a linguistics professor at the University of Abidjan in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire, has visited Israel four times to learn about Judaism and practice his Hebrew. Yago, 64, grew up without any religious affiliation. As a teenager, however, he embarked on a religious journey that led him, by way of Christianity as well as studies at the Kabbalah Center in Abidjan, to Judaism. “For me, the Torah is the truth,” he said from Abidjan, the country’s largest city. Last month, after over 20 years of studying Judaism, Yago converted to Judaism along with 47 others, most of whom are members of the community he leads. Gathering in Jacqueville, a coastal town in the country known in English as the Ivory Coast, the community members answered questions in front of a rabbinical court, or beit din, whose members flew in from Israel and the United States. For the immersion required of converts, they used a lagoon that served as a mikvah, or ritual bath. Male converts underwent a ritual drawing of blood since they were already circumcised. The conversions were facilitated by Kulanu, a New York-based group that supports communities around the world seeking to learn about Judaism. Kulanu, which has been in touch with the community since 2012, had brought a Torah scroll, prayer books and other ritual items there on an earlier visit in 2014. After the conversions, rabbis performed Jewish weddings for six couples in what Kulanu believes is a first in the country. “This is the establishment of the first Jewish community in Cote d’Ivoire, and it was the first Jewish wedding,” said the group’s vice president, Bonita Nathan Sussman. The converts belong to two communities in Abidjan, Sussman said. The larger one, led by Yago, has 42 members, consisting of five families as well as singles. Another six people identify as a separate group. Like most members of his community, Yago believes he has Jewish roots. That’s not unique in the communities that Kulanu works with. Last year, the group brought rabbis to Nicaragua to convert 114 people, and in 2016 it helped 121 people become Jewish in Madagascar. Both communities also believe they have Jewish heritage, with the Madagascar community believing they are members of a lost tribe. The Cote d’Ivoire community is relatively affluent, allowing them to buy Jewish ritual objects and books, said Nathan Devir, an assistant professor at the University of Utah who researches emerging Jewish communities. “They are a very privileged kind of community, I think much more so than any other African communities could ever dream of being,” said Devir, who visited the Cote d’Ivoire community in 2015. The community counts doctors, dentists, university professors and diplomats among its members.

p This mother and her young son in Jacqueville are part of a group of people in Cote d’Ivoire who recently converted to Judaism.

p Top: Couples who married in Abidjan after having undergone conversions to Judaism. Center: Avraham Yago and his wife with their new Jewish marriage certificates. Bottom: A couple in Abidjan marry according to Jewish tradition.

Photos by Bonita Sussman

Members follow Sephardic Orthodox customs and eat a pescatarian diet since they do not have access to kosher meat, according to Sussman. “They dress very modestly. They’re very into laws of niddah and mikvah,” she said, referring to ritual laws surrounding menstruation and sex. “On Shabbat they have a full day of prayers.” Shabbat services are held in Yago’s home, but he said the community hopes to construct a synagogue and mikvah. The community’s beliefs are centered around the idea of a personal relationship with God, said Marla Brettschneider, a professor of political science and women’s studies at the University of New Hampshire who joined Kulanu on the trip last month. “They imagine their activities, it’s a work they need and want to do to bring themselves closer to God, and [they believe] that the Jewish framework is the best or primary

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framework for them to be pursuing that relationship with God,” said Brettschneider, who has done research on Jewish groups in Africa. Conversions to Judaism in the developing world aren’t without controversy. Devir said that while the Cote d’Ivoire community is likely to be accepted as Jews by Jews in the United States, including the non-Orthodox denominations and the Modern Orthodox, they would face more difficulties among haredi Orthodox Jews and in Israel. Community members do not want to move to Israel, Yago said. Still, recognition in Israel is necessary if members want to receive visas to study at yeshivas there. Members of Uganda’s Jewish community, who converted under the auspices of the Conservative movement, have found it hard to obtain certain visas and stipends that Jews can apply for in order to study and live in the Jewish state, Haaretz reported in October.

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Suspicions about the validity of conversions such as the ones done in Cote d’Ivoire stem from various concerns, Devir said. Among the concerns: the rabbis are flown in to perform the conversions and have not met with the community beforehand, and that following the conversions the communities may not have adequate funds or infrastructure to sustain Jewish life. Some skeptics also worry that converts still subscribe to Christian beliefs, Devir said. Sussman said that the American Jewish community is used to seeing people who are born Jewish lose interest in the faith, not the other way around. “In South America and in Africa, we find groups yearning to run and break through the doors to come in, and no one’s letting them in,” she said. “This is a huge problem. It’s an unfamiliar challenge to the worldwide Jewish community.” Sussman said the three rabbis on the beit din — Leonard Book, Shmuel Mayteles and Andy Eichenholz — had Orthodox credentials. Book received his ordination from Jews’ College in London (now known as the London School of Jewish Studies), while Mayteles was ordained privately by a rabbi ordained by the Lander College for Men in Queens, New York. Eichenholtz, who lives in Israel but serves as a rabbi at a synagogue on Staten Island, New York, declined to say where he was ordained. “I did not and will not involve yeshivot or other people in the special mitzvoth I do such as helping lost and neglected communities come to Judaism in the 21st century,” he wrote in an email. The website for Congregation Ohel Abraham, his synagogue on Staten Island, says Eichenholz has studied at Yeshiva Mercaz Harav, an Orthodox yeshiva in Jerusalem. Sussman sees the conversions as having a larger significance. She has said she sees her work as a way to “rebuild the Jewish people” following the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews in Arab countries. Meanwhile, becoming Jewish has allowed Yago to fulfill a longstanding wish. “For me personally, it was a gradual realization that [Judaism presented] a God that I had been pursuing for a long time,” he said. “And today, now that I am Jewish, I am satisfied.” PJC FEBRUARY 2, 2018 9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Western Wall rabbi apologizes to female reporter for discriminatory treatment The rabbi of the Western Wall sent a letter of apology to the editor of the Israeli business daily Globes for the discriminatory treatment of one of its reporters during Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the site last week. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, writing to Globes editor-in-chief Naama Sikuler, said “I want to express my regret for the anguish suffered by your newspaper’s diplomatic correspondent,” Tal Schneider. He also said he would “be very happy to set a meeting and visit to the Western Wall soon. The invitation is for you and whoever else you want to bring with you.” Sikuler received the letter on Monday. Schneider had threatened to file a lawsuit against Rabinovitch over the segregation of female reporters and photographers from their male counterparts during Pence’s visit. On a podium erected for the journalists in the Western Wall plaza, the women were required to stand behind the men. The women finally removed a tarp and stood on chairs so they could see over their male colleagues. The site had been closed to worshippers during the visit. Following the incident, which was widely covered in the media, Globes sent a letter of

protest to Rabinovitch, requesting different arrangements for future events. Rabinovitch sent copies of the letter to the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman; the director general of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Solly Eliav; and the Western Wall media director, Yohanna Bisraor. Globes also sent a letter to Friedman on the issue but has yet to receive a response. During President Donald Trump’s visit in May, male and female journalists stood separately but had equal access. Naomi Cohen, scholar of American Jewish history, dies at 91 Naomi Cohen, a pioneering scholar of American Jewish history who was one of the first women professors of Jewish studies, has died at 91. Cohen studied at Hunter College, the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University, where she wrote her doctoral thesis with the Jewish historian Salo Baron and the American historian William Leuchtenburg. Cohen was one of the first female scholars in the newly recognized field of Jewish studies. She was appointed assistant professor of history at Hunter College of the City University of New York in 1962 and by 1973 was named a full professor. Cohen also was on the faculty of the Graduate Center of the

City University of New York and of the Jewish Theological Seminary. She retired in 1996 and moved to Israel. Cohen’s research focused on two main areas: 20th-century American history and American Jewish history. Her extensive publications include “Not Free to Desist: The American Jewish Committee, 1906–1966,” published in 1972; “American Jews and the Zionist Idea,” published in 1975; “The Year After the Riots: American Responses to the Palestine Crisis of 1929-1930,” published in 1988; and “The Americanization of Zionism, 1897-1948,” published in 2003. Her books “Encounter with Emancipation,” published in 1984; and “Jews in Christian America: The Pursuit of Religious Equality,” published in 1992 and considered a seminal work on church-state separation in the United States, received the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish History. Cohen was married to Rabbi Gerson Cohen, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary from 1972 to 1986, who died in 1991. She is survived by a son and a daughter, and grandchildren. Israel backs Rwanda despite US objections in debate over 1994 genocide Israel supported a U.N. resolution, opposed by the United States and the European Union, that changes the name of the international remembrance day for the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

The April 7 remembrance day, previously known as the Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, will focus solely on the murder of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis by members of the Hutu-majority government. The amendment was approved last week in the General Assembly by consensus. It will be known now as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Rwanda’s ambassador to the United Nations, Valentine Rugwabiza, told the General Assembly that the new name clarifies that the genocide was carried out “against the Tutsi.” But the United States and the EU objected that, in the words of Kelley Currie, the U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, the new name “does not fully capture the magnitude of the genocide and of the violence committed against other groups.” In addition to the Tutsis slaughtered, another 50,000 or more Hutu who tried to help the Tutsi also were killed during the massacres that year in a 100-day period from April to July. Israel’s support of the resolution, which downplays the number of Hutu deaths in the Rwandan massacre, comes as Israel has raised objections to legislation in Poland making it illegal to refer to “Polish death camps.” Israeli government officials, while agreeing that the death camps in Poland were created and run by the Nazis, have warned that the law could lead to “whitewashing” the history of the Holocaust and the complicity of some Poles in the genocide against Jews. PJC

This week in Israeli history

Feb. 5, 1890 First Tu B’Shevat tree planting takes place in the Land of Israel

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

Feb. 2, 1915 Abba Eban is born

Israeli politician, diplomat, historian and writer Abba Eban is born in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Feb. 3, 1919 Zionist case is presented at Paris Peace Conference

A delegation of the Zionist Organization, led by Chaim Weizmann, presents the case for a Jewish homeland in Palestine to the Paris Peace Conference following World War I.

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Feb. 4, 1921 Resolution calls for new school syllabus in Greece

In Salonica, the Conference of Greek Zionists adopts a resolution declaring that Jewish education in the Alliance Israelite Universelle Schools does not meet with Jewish national views and aspirations. They call for a new syllabus.

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The custom of planting trees in Israel on Tu B’Shevat begins when Ze’ev Yavetz, an educator in Zichron Ya’akov, takes his students to plant trees on the holiday.

Feb. 6, 2001 Direct election held for prime minister

In the only such instance in Israel’s history, a direct election is held for Prime Minister without a simultaneous election for the Knesset.

Feb. 7, 1999 Jordan’s King Hussein dies

Jordan’s King Hussein, who in 1994 became the second leader of an Arab state to make peace with Israel, dies of complications related to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Feb. 8, 1878 Martin Buber is born

Renowned philosopher Martin Buber is born in Vienna. Following his parents’ divorce when he was three years old, Buber spends much of his childhood in Lemberg, Ukraine, raised by his grandparents in their religious home. Buber emigrates to Jerusalem in 1933. PJC

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Opinion The new Pew study — EDITORIAL —

ast week, the Pew Research Center released a new study that reveals growing political division on the subject of the Middle East. Titled “Republicans and Democrats grow even further apart in views of Israel, Palestinians,” the study finds the partisan divide is now wider than at any point since 1978. Researchers found that 79 percent of Republicans sympathize more with Israel than with the Palestinians, while only 27 percent of Democrats feel that way. Twenty-five percent of Democrats sympathized more with the Palestinians, while only 9 percent of Republicans did. “The partisan divide has widened considerably, especially over the past two decades,” the researchers write. “The share of Republicans who sympathize with Israel has never been higher, dating back four decades. … Democrats are divided.” How did we get here? There are a few factors that might explain the shift. First, party coalitions have changed. Before the Reagan Revolution, the Republican coalition was deeply divided, with business interests and so-called foreign policy realists more interested in the populous, oil-rich Arab world than with tiny Israel. Then conservative Christians and neo-Conservatives — both solidly pro-Israel — remade the party. Meanwhile, the Democratic coalition that included labor, liberals and Jews — all comfortably pro-Israel — further broadened

p Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, left, and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell after addressing Congress in 2015. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

its base. Moderate and conservative Democrats tend to be reliably pro-Israel. But the left wing of the party — which includes many social justice-oriented younger Americans — is hostile to Israel over what it sees as unjust treatment of Palestinians. Some of this shift may be inevitable with the passage of time. Younger people don’t remember the first and second intifada, let alone the Six Day War. There are generations today whose entire perception of Israel is of an “occupier” with a firm hand rather than of a small nation beset by existential threats.

This growing criticism of Israel among Democrats has been accelerated in large part by the legacy of President Barack Obama’s and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dysfunctional personal relationship and their insensitive handling of the U.S.-Israel relationship. As the leader of the Democrats, Obama’s rhetoric set the tone for his supporters. By blaming Israel consistently for lack of progress in the peace process while largely giving a free pass to the Palestinians, his administration changed the Democrats’ worldview.

And then there is Netanyahu — whom Pew calls “a deeply polarizing figure in the U.S.” — who has become a Republican darling, and is less attractive to many Democrats. With his end run around President Barack Obama to appeal directly to Congress against the Iran deal in 2015, Netanyahu angered many congressional Democrats and divided the Jewish community. After eight years of the Barack and Bibi show, we can see several cracks in what had historically been a strong bipartisan commitment to Israel’s security. Though the new Pew report has attracted a lot of attention, there is reason to question some of its conclusions. That is because other research suggests that a vast majority of Americans still support Israel. Thus, for example, according to a 2017 Gallup poll, 71 percent of Americans view Israel favorably — which is a number that has stayed relatively constant for the past 15 years. The different support levels reported in the Gallup poll among Republicans (81 percent), independents (70) and Democrats (61) aren’t as dramatic as the numbers in the Pew report. Finally, the “sympathy statistics” in the Pew study imply that Israelis and Palestinians (and their supporters) are playing a zero-sum game — where support for one means a lack of support for the other. It shouldn’t be so. Pro-Israel shouldn’t mean anti-Palestinian, and pro-Palestinian shouldn’t mean anti-Israel. And maybe that’s where we need to start, in order to rebuild the push toward a negotiated resolution that produces a win-win for both sides. PJC

How Israel’s BDS blacklist falls short of its own goals Guest Columnist Yehuda Kurtzer

he recent decision by the Israeli government both to produce a “blacklist” of organizations that support BDS in order to prevent their leaders’ entry to Israel, as well as to share this blacklist with the media, is difficult to understand — both as a strategy meant to combat these groups and their methods, as well as in the context of the broad ideological and political agenda of Zionism. On one level, the instinct to see at least some of these organizations as absolute enemies of Israel — and accordingly to bar entry by their leaders — is real and justifiable. The European organizations that support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, for instance, display no sympathy for Israel nor the challenges it confronts, and operate combatively in cultural climates already inhospitable to the State of Israel and in many cases to Jews. In America, Jewish Voice for Peace badly jeopardized its standing even among individuals broadly sympathetic to their anti-occupation agenda when it honored Rasmea Odeh, who was convicted by Israel

12 FEBRUARY 2, 2018

of murdering civilians in a terror act even as she — and JVP — contests the legitimacy of the conviction. Countries are not obligated to permit entry to outsiders; countries engaged in hostilities are certainly not obligated to permit entry to outsiders who deny their fundamental legitimacy and implicitly or explicitly support violent resistance against it. I believe in a big tent for Zionism, but that doesn’t mean the tent should have no boundaries; and for me, the JVP’s gas lighting of terror against civilians is a clear indicator of having left the consensus. But the question of the legitimacy of the blacklist is different from the question of its prudency, and here I believe the State of Israel has gone off course. There is likely no better boon to a marginal movement than the kind of publicity that Israel is now offering the BDS movement. There is ample data on the movement’s failures and weakness, especially in America: Their campaigns on college campuses make a lot of noise but have yet to score any meaningful victories; no major corporations have shown signs or interest in divestment; and Israel still enjoys a broad bipartisan consensus among elected officials and the electorate. Nonetheless, the Jewish community and the Jewish state amplify the movement’s significance with the disproportionate allocation of resources to combat it, and especially

with public action that turns BDS activists into martyrs for free speech and democracy even though they themselves endorse policies that run afoul of those values. The decision to make the blacklist public is especially problematic: Israel could, more easily, publicly ignore the BDS movement and quietly turn away activists at the border. The blacklist approach, in contrast, galvanizes support for a polarizing movement from people who don’t even support its goals. It turns BDS into a symbol for a set of ideas — free speech and democracy — that its leaders don’t endorse themselves. Beyond the simple issue of strategy is a question of the larger impact of this policy on the Zionist and pro-Israel camp in America. This policy — meant to protect Israel and ensure its future — closes even more figurative doors to Israel than the literal ones it is policing, and runs the risk of alienating many ambivalent sympathizers. The condition that precipitates this policy — Israel’s growing isolation — requires an approach that doesn’t reinforce the impression that a politically recalcitrant Israel is perpetuating the conflict. Such an approach would counter the image that Israel fears dissent, and instead promotes an image of Israel’s democratic vibrancy. Most American Jews are predisposed to support Israel and give its democracy the benefit of the doubt. But when they see a a strong state seeking to

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suppress a weak protest movement — rather than trying to defeat it in the marketplace of ideas — loyalty to Israel becomes a more tenuous proposition. In this climate, narrowing the kinds of ideas permissible in a democracy make enemies out of those who would be friends. Israel is better served by giving off an impression that it can tolerate a wide spectrum of ways in which people can be in relationship to it rather than by insisting in dividing neatly between absolute friends and absolute enemies. The worst thing that Israel can do to combat its growing isolation is to entrench itself further — whether in policies that invite opprobrium or reinforce its critics. Issues of dissent, protest and loyalty are weighty for any democracy, but it seems they are being handled precipitously — with less damage being done to the BDS movement than to the image of Israel and the stories it seeks to tell about itself. The government of Israel can win the battle for the legitimacy of its democracy and for its identity in the marketplace of nations, ideas and identities. But it cannot do so when it undermines the fabric of its own claims in the short-term pursuit of domestic political gain. PJC Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer is president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.

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Opinion Searching for American Jewish denominational life — in Israel Guest Columnist Pnina Agenyahu

he relationship between Israel and the United States, between both their governments and populations, is unbreakable and is cemented by shared values. But at the same time, the Israeli and American Jewish communities have key differences, particularly when it comes to denominational lines. This reality hit home on a profound level for me upon my recent return to Israel following four years of service as the Jewish Agency for Israel’s senior shlichah (emissary) for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. In Israel, my husband Avi and I were viewed as essentially being in a “mixed marriage” because he is secular and I am considered Orthodox. This falls in line with the broader trend in the Jewish state of a clear, black-and-white divide between the religious and secular Jewish communities. Yet in America, Avi and I for the first time witnessed the rich mosaic of the Jewish denominations — Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. We became members at B’nai Israel, a Conservative synagogue in the Washington area. We were quickly embraced by the congregation’s dynamic and progressive community, which is made up of Jews with various viewpoints on God, practice and culture. We could sit

next to each other at services along with our son Eitan, who visibly began taking pride in being Jewish. I had my first opportunity to be called up for an aliyah to the Torah, which I could not do as a woman in my Orthodox synagogue in Israel. Shortly after returning this past summer, I wrote for My Jewish Learning that I had hoped to “bring my family’s flourishing Jewish life and identity with us” from the United States to our renewed life in Israel. But we have discovered that American Jewish life truly is unique, and that it cannot seamlessly be replicated in Israel. Now living in Modi’in, we find ourselves in the same situation that we experienced before our four years in America: lacking a plethora of diverse options in Jewish practice. We yearn for the environment of pluralism, diversity and acceptance that we enjoyed in Washington. Make no mistake: My family is thrilled to be back in the Jewish homeland. There is no greater satisfaction than attaining the dream of aliyah — the Jewish people’s triumphant return to the land our ancestors lived in for thousands of years. I’ve had the privilege of not just a first aliyah, from Ethiopia in 1984, but a second aliyah this year following my time in the states. But after getting a taste of American Judaism, I have a new dream: a State of Israel whose Jews can practice their faith in an egalitarian, open environment. For my husband and me, American Conservative Judaism was the perfect middle ground between secular and Orthodox — a strong connection to tradition, but a nonjudgmental community and mindset.

Before we lived in the United States, Avi had not attended synagogue services for 30 years, other than when his brother convinced him to go for the High Holidays. Something about Jewish ritual simply was not for him. In America, however, Avi saw that practicing Judaism could be more open and accepting. Congregants are not looked down upon for driving to synagogue. There is a comforting sense that you can practice Judaism however, whenever and wherever you’d like to do so. The experience was transformative for us. We now pray in the melodies we learned in our Conservative synagogue and enthusiastically celebrate Chanukah, which isn’t as significant a holiday in Israel as it is for American Jews. Yet we feel relatively alone in our new practices and have struggled to find the Jewish community in Israel that meets our diverse needs and interests. In Modi’in, the Conservative synagogue that we would like to be part of is not within walking distance of our home. Therefore, we attend a local egalitarian minyan that attracts diverse participants and allows women to lead prayers, though men and women sit separately. There is a sense that beyond prayer and ritual, the people are what matter; the community offers programming that we need and enjoy, such as a youth minyan and basketball games for children. It is not the Conservative community that we had in America, but it is our best option for now. For us, returning to Israel has also accentuated the issues that divide Israeli and American Jews. Marriage, conversion and, most recently, prayer rights at the Western

Wall have all been points of tension that disrupt the harmony of an otherwise stalwart Israel-Diaspora bond. Moving forward, how can we bridge these differences and help Israelis experience the unique benefits of American Jewish denominational diversity? How can the Jews of Israel, many of whom are struggling to find their religious and communal niches, have access to the same smorgasbord of Jewish options that I had in America? One key step is a willingness to put affiliations aside and understand what we all have in common: Judaism. Many Israelis might call me “Reform” — even though I attended a Conservative synagogue during my time abroad — or “secular.” I reject these labels. I am comfortable in my own skin and take pride in the various components that make up my Jewish identity. Further, Jews of all streams must be willing to engage in dialogue that is honest, but free of judgment. This applies to Jews within Israel, but also between Israel and U.S. organizations like the Jewish Agency, which has a long track record of enhancing Israel-Diaspora solidarity and understanding, that are uniquely positioned to foster these conversations. Specifically, the Jewish Agency’s new Ami-Unity Initiative — launched in response to the Western Wall crisis — strives to bring about a systematic and long-term shift in Israeli public opinion on issues of Jewish peoplehood and pluralism, a shift that will Please see Agenyahu, page 23

— LETTERS — What’s in a name? While it is not City Council candidate Sonja Finn’s fault that she believes the genealogical bubbie-meise that her family’s name — Fivenzinsky — was “changed by Irish immigration officers at Ellis Island” (“Five candidates now vying for Gilman’s seat on City Council,” Jan. 26), I would have hoped the Chronicle would not have passed along that mistaken information to the larger Jewish community, who continue to operate under the collective delusion that name changes were forced upon us. In reality, Ellis Island inspectors merely checked the names of immigrants against those in passenger lists created by steamship employees in the cities of origin. Immigrants either changed their names before they traveled, following the lead of relatives who preceded them or after they had already been in America for some time. One such petition I found from 1899 claimed that the name Davidovitz, “difficult of orthography” and “unpronounceable to Americans” would impede this man’s ability to go into business for himself. Our ancestors had agency in the way they became Americans. While a quick search does not turn up the immigration records for Finn’s immigrant ancestors, her great-grandfather, Hyman Samuel, and great-great-grandfather, Abraham, together came from Vilna around 1903. I doubt that the original name was Fivenzinsky, as nothing like it appears in any Vilna-area records. There were Fins in Vilna, though. I wish Sonja Finn the best of luck in her race, and I wish all of us good fortune in uncovering the amazing stories of our immigrant ancestors. Tammy Hepps Pittsburgh

Who’s left, who’s right?

It was interesting to read and compare the two columns on a two-state solution, one by Jeff Ballabon and Bruce Abramson (“The two-state delusion is the greatest obstacle to peace,” Jan. 26) and the other by Jonathan Greenblatt (“Don’t destroy the two-state solution”). I think it is fair to say that, politically, one came from the “right” and one from the “left.” I think it also is fair to say that one can credit the brain for one of the columns while credit should be given to the heart (a bleeding one at that) for the other. Hmm, which is which? Shouldn’t be too hard to determine. Jack Mennis Allison Park PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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FEBRUARY 2, 2018 13

Life & Culture Veganism, a notion to chew on at Rodef Shalom — FOOD — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

hen Jeff Cohan approached Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Rodef Shalom Congregation about hosting a program on veganism at the synagogue, Bisno not only agreed, but took the suggestion one step further. Instead of a single session exploring the benefits of a vegan diet and its basis in Jewish law, Bisno encouraged Cohan, executive director of Jewish Veg, to arrange a whole series on plant-based eating. “I think of the congregation as a center of human flourishing, and bringing a thoughtful approach to what we eat and how we eat and how we maintain our bodies and move in the world is an important part of it,” Bisno said. “It may not be the right diet for everyone, but everyone could benefit from what our tradition has to say and what science has to teach about vegetarianism and veganism.” It is “remarkable — probably unprecedented nationally — for a synagogue to be hosting and promoting a series like this,” said Cohan, who in his position at Jewish Veg is well-acquainted with efforts to promote veganism at Jewish institutions.

Jewish Veg is a national nonprofit that encourages Jews to embrace plant-based diets as an expression of Jewish values, to improve health outcomes and to care for the environment. Rodef Shalom’s four-part series launched with its first session on Jan. 21, a presentation by Dr. Keith Somers, a local pediatrician and co-founder of One World Eating, who explained the benefits of plant-based diets for children as well as adults. The pediatrician, who has been eating primarily vegan for the past few years, launched One World Eating, an online community promoting plant-based eating, along with friends from Singapore and Israel, he told the 30 people in attendance. The website encourages a 3-6-5 eating plan: three meals a day, eaten with friends or family; meals constructed from the “six whole foods” group, which includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts and beans; and intensifying the food experience by enhancing the experiences of the five senses. “The most important part of plant-based eating is lifestyle,” Somers explained. “We’re not talking about a diet as a weight lost plan.” There is some evidence, Somers said, that plant-based eating contributes to fewer incidents of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. And, he added, a plant-based diet can provide most of the nutrients necessary for

p Dr. Keith Somers Photo by Toby Tabachnick

good health, including carbohydrates, fats, protein, fiber, minerals and antioxidants. The only supplements Somers would recommend, he said, would be vitamin B12 and vitamin D. The physician suggested strategies for encouraging children to eat healthy food, including preparing such crowd-pleasers as ants-on-a-log (celery spread with peanut butter and dotted with raisins) and having bowls of pre-cut fruits and vegetables readily available. He also suggested getting kids involved with meal preparation and planning and planting a spice or vegetable garden.

Somers acknowledged that a vegan diet “is not right for everyone.” “I’m a realist; the world is not becoming vegan,” he admitted. He does, however, work with families to encourage healthy eating and more plant-based eating. “As a doctor, I want to help families get a jump start to raise kids more healthfully” and to avoid chronic diseases that could be attributed to or exacerbated by bad food choices, he said. The program drew many attendees from outside the Rodef Shalom community. “I came because I am always looking to learn more about healthy eating and how to encourage my family to eat healthfully,” said attendee Ronna Blumenfeld, adding that she was struck by studies cited by Somers showing that those who “live close to the land,” like migrant workers and farmers, are “among the healthiest people in the world.” The next session in the vegan series at Rodef Shalom will be held on Feb. 21 and will feature Cohan speaking on the connection between animal-free diets and Judaism. The remaining two sessions will be held on March 10 and April 15 and will cover eating in local vegan restaurants and how to begin eating vegan, respectively. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Life & Culture The music of Bob Dylan, served up with a classical twist — MUSIC — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

he Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh’s interpretation of Bob Dylan’s music in a world premiere in Millvale, Pa., last weekend was counterintuitive in a host of ways. But much of great art is counterintuitive and disruptive, turning conventionality on its head — like a musical theater/hip-hop mashup about one of America’s founding fathers, for example, or, say, the trajectory of Bob Dylan’s career. So, in a series of performances on Jan. 25-28, the 109-year-old Mendelssohn Choir, known mostly for its renditions of classical music and its work with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, took the stage at Mr. Smalls, a contemporary music venue in a repurposed 18th-century Catholic church known for hosting sold-out crowds for such cutting-edge acts as Snoop Dogg, Smashing Pumpkins and Interpol. “This is the first choir to sing in this church in 20 years,” quipped Matthew Mehaffey, the Robert Page music director of the Mendelssohn Choir. That Dylan’s songs — which spoke to and inspired a generation of the American Please see Dylan, page 16

p Bob Dylan’s music is performed by the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsbugh at Mr. Smalls.

Photo by Alisa Garin Photography

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www.centralscholarship.org • Applications for the 2018‐2019 school year are due by February 12, 2018. • Applicants must show proof of financial need. • First‐time applicants must be interviewed by CSLRS staff.

Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service (CSLRS) is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, administered by Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS).

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Headlines Dylan: Continued from page 15

counterculture — were performed in classical, hymnlike arrangements in a former church, further disrupted convention. “Some say this music is inappropriate for a classical choir to cover,” said Steve Hackman, composer of the piece “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ” and originator of FUSE at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. But Hackman pointed to Dylan’s 2016 award of the Nobel Prize in Literature — Dylan is the first songwriter to win that award — and noted how the “barrier

“ This is a new venture for us. And it is probably a new venture for any choir — doing a Dylan piece

”

in a church.

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Machaneh Hillel promises to be a fun, dynamic and enriching summer camp experience for children entering 1st 3rd grades. Our campers will enjoy a summer of fun, excitement and growth in their Judaism. In addition to weekly trips, swimming four days a week, and daily learning, campers at Macheneh Hillel will be able to choose chugim such as robotics, drama, fine arts, basketball, soccer, wilderness, silly science, baking, and more. These chugim will rotate on a weekly basis and will be taught by our Hillel Academy faculty and other local professionals. Our trips will include Simmons Farm, the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, Bounce U, a Pirate’s game, and more. Machaneh Hillel will run concurrent boys and girls programs both based at our Hillel Academy Campus.

Hillel Torah and Travel Camp is for students entering 4th-8th grade. HTT promises to be a unique experience that is a hybrid between day camp and sleep-away camp. The mission of HTT is to inculcate leadership qualities in our campers. In order to foster this growth, HTT will include daily Shiurim, leadership training activities, sports, swimming, and trips that include camping, canoeing, ropes course, hiking, biking, and weekly chesed opportunities. Hillel Torah and Travel camp will have separate boys and girls programs.

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between high art and low art disintegrated.” About 80 singers, ranging in age from 20 to 80, took the stage to interpret an anthology of Dylan hits, including “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” They were accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble. Dylan has been covered by artists as diverse as the Ramones, Norah Jones, George Harrison, Jerry Garcia and Jimi Hendrix. Covering Dylan is nothing new, but a classical cover is a rare twist. Some pieces worked better than others. The Mendelssohn’s treatment of “Mr. Tambourine Man,” for example, became an enchanting lullaby, while its version of “Tangled Up in Blue” may have left some listeners longing for the raw intimacy of a single voice. The oratorio was commission by a national consortium including the Mendelssohn, Minnesota’s Vocal Essence, New York City’s Baldwin Festival Chorus, Boston’s Chorus Pro Musica, the Susquehanna Valley Chorus and the Nashville Symphony, which will premiere an orchestral version of the piece later in 2018. The Mendelssohn will reprise its choral performance in June 2018 on the main stage at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. The oratorio “crosses the boundary between rock music and classical music,” noted Mehaffey. “This is a new venture for us. And it is probably a new venture for any choir — doing a Dylan piece in a church.” Liz Berlin, Mr. Smalls co-founder and a member of the Pittsburgh-based rock group Rusted Root, said that bringing the Mendelssohn to her music venue was a “full-circle moment” because both her parents sang in the Mendelssohn for many years. Her father, Cantor Richard Berlin, is the former spiritual leader of Parkway Jewish Center in Monroeville. Berlin’s musical roots are also in classical music, as she was a founding member of the Children’s Festival Chorus. Mehaffey, who is in his second year of directing the Mendelssohn, brought the choir to Mr. Smalls as part of his agenda of taking the choir into new venues. “Choral music is interesting because it’s community-oriented,” he said. “And there are a lot of young people in the choir. We are trying to do themed concerts to connect with different communities.” Last year, for example, the Mendelssohn performed a full choral piece about Anne Frank called “Annelies” at Rodef Shalom Congregation, in collaboration with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. “We’re trying to meet the audience where it’s at,” he said. The Mendelssohn Choir is composed of volunteer members and professional “core” singers, according to Mehaffey. While some have had musical training, others have not. “Some are doctors or teachers or steelworkers,” he said. “Some have been in the choir for over 40 years, and some are new each year. We are like a family.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Life & Culture Meet the 99-year-old Jewish man who has become Philadelphia’s Super Bowl mascot — SPORTS — By Ben Sales | JTA

hroughout the NFL playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles have been treated as gritty underdogs. So it’s only fitting that the city’s spotlight is now on a 99-year-old Jewish man who endured hardship before coming out on top. As Philly cheers the Eagles making it to the big game on Feb. 4, it’s also celebrating Phil Basser, a native son who is waiting for his beloved football team to win its first Super Bowl. He will turn 100 in March. “Philadelphia Phil,” as he’s come to be known, entered Philadelphians’ hearts after his 18-year-old grandson, Josh Potter, tweeted about him. Potter was responding to a tweet about 99-year-old Millie Wall, a Minnesota Vikings fan who was looking forward to the Eagles-Vikings matchup in the NFC Championship game. He included a photo of Basser wearing the jersey of the Eagles’ injured starting quarterback, Carson Wentz. “Looks like we got a battle of the centenarians!” Potter tweeted. The Eagles thrashed the Vikings, 38-7, to

p Phil Basser poses for a photo with his grandson, Josh Potter, at the Eagles’ NFC championship game against the Vikings in Philadelphia.

Photo courtesy of Fox 29 News

earn the Super Bowl berth, only the third in franchise history. Philly lost in its appearances following the 1980 and 2004 seasons. Born to a poor Jewish family in 1918, Basser had a rags-to-riches story decades before he started making headlines. His

mother died when he was 4 and his sister died when he was 8. He spent his weekdays in a local Jewish orphanage, the Jewish Foster Home and Orphan Asylum, and saw his father on weekends. His father died just as Basser was about to be deployed in World

War II; he also served in the Korean War. As an adult, Basser founded a successful advertising agency in Philadelphia bearing his name. He had four children and has 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife of 65 years, Pearl, died last year, and he moved to New York to live with his daughter. “The successes of all of my children and their spouses make me feel like I’m living in a dreamland,” he said in an article published by the Eagles. “I can’t explain it. It’s heaven on earth.” Basser isn’t a lifelong Eagles fan only because he’s been alive longer than the Eagles have existed. Their first game was in 1933, when he was 15, and he still follows the team week in and week out. When they play a late game, he told Fox, he takes a nap beforehand so he can stay alert. He has attended about 25 Eagles games, mostly in their early years. But Basser and his family were on hand at Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC title game on the way to a shot at team history. “One could look at my life and see the hurdles and the tragedy,” he told the Philly Voice. “These were all devastating, but I choose to wake up each and every day seeing the best that life has to offer.” PJC

Leonard Cohen and Carrie Fisher win posthumous Grammy Awards — MUSIC — JTA

fter more than a dozen albums and a little more than a year after his death, singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen won his first Grammy. Cohen posthumously won the award for best rock performance at Sunday night’s

Grammy Awards in New York City. The winning tune is the title track from his final album, “You Want It Darker,” which was released 19 days before his death in the fall of 2016. The song also happens to be one of Cohen’s most Jewish performances, including Hebrew phrases (“Hineni, hineni,” or “Here I am”) and chants from the choir of the Shaar Hashomayim synagogue in Montreal, Cohen’s hometown. Cohen was not the only Jewish performer

p Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in a photo from August 1978

Photo courtesy of CBS via Getty Images

p Leonard Cohen at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2009

Photo by Paul Butterfield/Getty Images

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to earn a posthumous Grammy: Actress Carrie Fisher won best spoken word album for “The Princess Diarist,” the audiobook version of her memoir released just weeks before her sudden death at 60 in December 2016. Fisher portrayed Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” series. There were other Jewish moments, too. Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb won best children’s album for “Feel What U Feel,” her fourth record of children’s music, and Jewish composer Justin Hurwitz won best

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

soundtrack for visual media for his work on the Oscar-winning film “La La Land.” During the show, the Jewish actor and singer Ben Platt performed a touching tribute to 21-time Grammy winner Leonard Bernstein. Platt, who originated the role of the title character in the Broadway hit “Dear Evan Hansen,” performed “Somewhere” from Bernstein’s “West Side Story.” The album “Leonard Bernstein — The Composer,” won a Grammy for best historical album. PJC FEBRUARY 2, 2018 17

Headlines Gerrymander: Continued from page 1

for the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation. Attorney Lazar Palnick, also a member of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, served as co-counsel to Levine on the case. The Court, in a two-page order, struck down the Congressional Redistricting Act of 2011 as illegal gerrymandering and enjoined its further use in elections for Pennsylvania seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, beginning with the May 15 primary. The Court will follow with a more thorough opinion. The Court gave the Pennsylvania General Assembly until Feb. 9 to submit a new congressional districting plan to the governor. If Wolf accepts that new plan, it must be submitted to the Court by Feb. 15. The new districting plan, said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, must consist of districts “composed of compact and contiguous territory; as nearly equal in population as practicable; and which do not divide any county, city, incorporated town, borough, township, or ward, except where necessary to ensure equality of population.” If the General Assembly fails to submit a new congressional districting plan by Feb. 9, the Court is to adopt its own plan, according to the order. The March 13 special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th District, to fill the vacancy

p Left: the current congressional map passed in 2011 by a Republican legislature and signed by Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican. Right: a second map, that was developed by a nonpartisan expert to show how a map could look if traditional criteria were used instead of extreme partisan motivation. Lt. Gov. Mike Stack used that map as an illustration of what a map could look like that respected communities of common interest. Stack Illustrative map

resulting from Republican Tim Murphy’s resignation last fall, is not affected by the decision. “This case has a national impact for two reasons,” Levine, who chairs the Public Affairs Group of Cohen and Grigsby, told the Chronicle. “First, it serves as a really important precedent that state constitutions can be a vehicle to address partisan gerrymandering. Second, it could restore a balance to Pennsylvania’s delegation. Pennsylvania has 18 congressmen and has ended up with five Democrats and 13 Republicans in the last six elections. In 2012, [Barack] Obama won, [Bob] Casey won, so more voters voted for Democrats statewide, but Pennsylvania

still ended up with 13 Republicans.” With a more balanced, redrawn map, Levine said, Pennsylvania, a swing state, could end up with four new Democratic congressmen, which is “20 percent of the difference nationally between Republicans and Democrats in the House.” The collective influence of some Pennsylvania communities has been stifled by the existing map, according to Levine, and redistricting could “lead to an additional voice of different communities that have a lot of Jewish residents.” Montgomery County — a suburban county northwest of Philadelphia, some of which is included in the 7th Congressional

District — is, he said, a “poster child” for the chaotic effects of gerrymandering. “Montgomery County has a significant Jewish population,” Levine noted. “And it tends to vote Democratic. You could fit an entire congressional district in Montgomery County, but it is split into five districts, with no representatives that reside in Montgomery County.” Montgomery County’s “sizable Jewish population has a meaningful voice to offer Pennsylvania and the country,” Levine said. Pittsburgh, he said, has also been “subject to overt partisan gerrymandering.” Please see Gerrymander, page 19

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Headlines Training: Continued from page 1

scene until police are sure there is no longer a threat, what they call a “cold zone.” But the newly formed Rescue Task Force has equipped them with the proper gear and training to enter when the scene is still a “warm zone,” when police have neutralized the immediate threat but are ensuring there isn’t an additional threat. The goal is to be able to help more victims immediately. “In the old days, you used to wait for the SWAT team. You can’t do that anymore. It’s up to the first responders and the public,” Pittsburgh’s public safety director, Wendell Hissrich, said. “Part of what public safety is going to be is there are no borders.” On Jan. 25, volunteers fanned out throughout the JCC — some moving to classrooms, some staking out on the stairs and some passing the time on an elliptical in the gym downstairs. The shooter moved quickly through the building, using blanks to claim “victims” in the downstairs lobby, in the hallways and in a lounge room on the second floor. Police found him in the classroom with Hiller and told him to drop his weapon. He threatened to kill her. They began firing. He collapsed. Paramedics and firefighters entered shortly after, assessing each victim’s “injuries” — addressing some on the spot and transporting others to a holding room of sorts. They left the “deceased” victims until the end. Although this was the first active shooter drill that utilized community volunteers, the Federation has held 54 different security trainings and trained more than 2,000 people in the Jewish community in 2017. They focused on skills such as run, hide, fight — where people are encouraged to first run, then hide and then fight if necessary — and stop the bleed, where civilians learn basic medical knowledge to be able to temporarily treat injuries. Jason Kunzman, chief program officer for the JCC, said the volunteers, many of them members of the JCC staff, would use their

Gerrymander: Continued from page 18

As an example, Levine pointed to the 12th Congressional District, currently served by Republican Keith Rothfus, which extends from the Ohio border for 120 miles past Johnstown. “It’s hard to represent that district,” Levine said, “because there are so many different communities with different interests.” In a concurring and dissenting statement, Justice Max Baer said that although he agreed that the current districting map is unconstitutional, the imminent time frame imposed to create a new map could be problematic. “The change of the districts’ boundary lines at this time could result in candidates, incumbents and challengers alike no longer living in districts where they have been carrying out [campaign] activities for a year or more,” Baer wrote. “This says nothing of the average voter, who thought he knew his Congressperson and district and now finds that all has changed within days of the circu-

p A police officer evacuates volunteers stationed throughout the JCC during the drill.

Photo courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

experience to help prepare the rest of the staff in the event of an emergency. “Unfortunately, these are times that we live in. When you have the word Jewish in front of your agency’s name, that brings a certain amount of risk,” he said. Dan Gilman, chief of staff for Mayor Bill Peduto, agreed, adding that the increased threats at Jewish Community Centers around the country last year illustrated even more how critical it is to be prepared. “Every level of government is here, every department of public safety is here because we all recognize the need to be prepared,” he said. “We’ve learned, unfortunately, for several decades now that there is no safe space.” Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation filmed the entire scenario to create a video that will be used in future trainings for first responders and community

lation of nomination petitions.” Following the decision, Republican leaders petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the order, calling into question the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s authority to rule on the legislation. “In short, the question in this case is whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the Pennsylvania ‘Legislature’ under the federal Constitution, and the answer to that question is a resounding no,” wrote lawyers for Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai in their petition to the Court. It is unclear how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in this case, Levine said. He does, however, distinguish the Pennsylvania case from other gerrymandering cases the Court is considering in that it is based “solely on the Pennsylvania Constitution and not the U.S. Constitution. This is a state supreme court interpreting its own state constitution.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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organizations. Now, Orsini said, the public safety department will review the events of Jan. 25 and feedback from participants in a series of action meetings and determine what went right, what went wrong and what could be done differently. The

training will be a “framework” for other Jewish community organizations to use in the future, he said. PJC Lauren Rosenblatt can be reached at lrosenblatt@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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FEBRUARY 2, 2018 19

Life & Culture Reconstructionist Judaism gets a rebrand summer camps as well as face-to-face and digital networks. Reconstructing Judaism serves nearly By Rachel Kurland | Special to the Chronicle 100 congregations across North America, 13 of which are in Pennsylvania, including HILADELPHIA — Out with the old, Congregation Dor Hadash in Pittsburgh. in with the new: The Reconstructionist The new name will advance the ReconRabbinical College & Jewish Reconstructionist vision in the public square more structionist Communities, Reconstructionist effectively, Waxman noted. Judaism’s central organization, announced “We deeply believe that every generation is Jan. 29 that it’s getting a new identity. obligated to reconstruct the Jewish commuAt the end of this academic year, the nity, the Jewish inheritance they received rabbinical seminary outside Philadelto build the Jewish future and the Jewish phia known as the Reconstructionist community they want to live in,” she said. Rabbinical College will be referred to as Seth Rosen, chair of the board of goverthe College for Reconstructing nors, added the vision is to bring Judaism, and it will fall under the the Reconstructing Judaism model organizational umbrella now called to a national level and draw on the Reconstructing Judaism. (The new rhythm of affiliated Reconstructionwebsite, ReconstructingJudaism.org, ists across North America. went live Jan. 30.) “It was a great opportunity to “We are, always have been, meet Reconstructionists across continue to be about actively the country and to hear what they engaging and creating Jewish life,” value in our movement and why said Rabbi Deborah Waxman, presthey choose to be Jews and why they ident of Reconstructing Judaism. choose to be Reconstructionists,” he She believes the new identity said of the past year’s surveys. “That clearly communicates who they are will be reflected not just in our name — and she’s excited the name is a and our tagline, but in our approach verb that fully reflects its mission. over the next months and years.” “The projects we are undertaking is Since the 2012 merger, Rosen said an active process.” they’ve all had a chance to grasp the The idea for the name change came meaning of the organization, which about after the 2012 merger between moved beyond denominational the seminary and the Jewish Reconstructures in the realm of Amerstructionist Federation, the congreican Jewish life. “It’s as if you had a gational arm of the movement. child and then waited four years to The new name was offiname it. You’d have a better sense cially approved by the board of who the person was before you in October 2017. picked the name.” Waxman explained the origThe name change comes at the inal full name, Reconstructionist 50th anniversary of the seminary’s Rabbinical College & Jewish Reconfounding. Reconstructing Judaism structionist Communities, was actuis also opening Havaya Arts, a ally a placeholder — and a tad too Reconstructionist summer camp, long. The shorter title articulates the in June; hosting a Reconstructionist vision more concisely. convention, the first since 2010, “Too often, people [would] leave in November in Philadelphia; and out the second part — the Jewish launching Evolve, a two-year project Reconstructionist Communities — to engage Reconstructionists in in a way that was very, very painful analyzing 21st-century Jewish life. to us,” she added. Although the name change is for The organization reached out the organization, not the moveto Reconstructionist communities ment, Rosen said many have taken across North America — more than to the name to identify them1,000 people over the past year — selves. But time will tell. “It will for conversations, surveys and town emerge over time how this will be hall meetings about how “to revisit reflected more broadly.” the essence of what we are doing He believes the name evokes hope. and to capture and communicate “By changing from the -ism to the the energy and the commitment more active word, people kind of that’s inherent in the Reconstrucget immediately what you’re telling tionist movement.” them,” he said. “The world in which The new name comes with a I lived my Judaism is very different new logo, too: Leaves sprout out from the world in which my grandfrom the ground, representing “the p Top: The Reconstructionist movement’s new logo; above, Rabbi Deborah Waxman is the parents lived their Judaism and my Reconstructionist balance between president of Reconstructing Judaism; the Reconstructionist movement will now be named parents lived their Judaism. The Reconstructing Judaism. Photos courtesy of Reconstructing Judaism groundedness in Jewish tradiReconstructionist notion is that we tion and a focus on Jewish growth continually redefine who we are and and reinvention,” a press release read. descriptor. We think it is imperative that we The liberal organization trains the next what we do to reflect and respond and to Below, a new tagline says, “Deeply rooted. both draw deeply on our rich storehouse of generation of rabbis and moral leaders, improve the world that we live in.” PJC Boldly relevant.” Jewish tradition and make certain that the working with its more than 400 graduates, Rachel Kurland writes for the Jewish “We live at the intersection of the past and Judaism we are creating for today and for fostering expressions of emerging Jewish the future,” Waxman continued. “We see the tomorrow is relevant for the people who are life, and providing resources to Reconstruc- Exponent, an affiliated publication of the ‘relevant’ there as a promise as much as a living in Jewish community.” tionist communities in the form of two Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

— RELIGION —

20 FEBRUARY 2, 2018

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Headlines JNF: Continued from page 5

Torah engagement — offering programs spanning birth to boardroom.” Because of the organization’s work, “we have increased Israel water availability by 13 percent, which supplies irrigation to 85 percent of Israel’s agricultural industry. In the last decade alone, the landscape in the Negev — Be’er Sheva in particular — and the Galilee has drastically transformed,” he said.

“independent organization,” he explained. In 2017, The Forward reported that two years prior, JNF made loans to Robinson and Mitchel Rosenzweig, its CFO. The loans, which reportedly violated New York state law and were said to have been repaid, generated associated stories in Haaretz, JTA and New York Jewish Life. To the latter, Adam Brill, JNF’s director of communications, described The Forward’s efforts as a “witch hunt.” Donna Breitbart, JNF’s senior communications coordinator, shared the following statement in response to The Forward stories. “In late July 2017, an inaccurate news story appeared in The Forward, which claimed that Jewish National Fund issued improper loans to our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. The loans had been authorized by the president and the chairman of our board as Photo courtesy of JNF part of JNF’s segregated invest- p The JNF blue box ment funds and were reported as required on both federal and state financial filings. We know nothing Additionally, “JNF is the only Zionist orgaimproper took place. nization with an actual high school in Israel, Both Russell F. Robinson and Mitchell Alexander Muss High School, where U.S. Rosenzweig have worked hard for 20 years high school students come and learn 4,000 to make this organization what it is and years of Jewish and Israeli history while have performed with the utmost of integrity, earning college credit,” Robinson added. honor, and tireless dedication. Russell and “Jewish National Fund remains focused Mitchell voluntarily offered to liquidate the on its mission. Its work is unparalleled, and balance of their loans within 30 days (and I look forward to telling the people of Pittsdid so prior to August 2017).” burgh more about how their investments JNF’s mission remains “on Israel and have made a difference yesterday, today Zionism,” said Robinson. “I am proud to and tomorrow.” PJC say that JNF is one of the leading organizaAdam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz tions in the Jewish world today and that our mission also includes Zionist education and @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Above and beyond relief Rabbi Mark Joel Mahler Parshat Yitro | Exodus 18:1-20:23

ard to believe, this is the 67th D’var Torah I’ve written for the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Hard to believe, with my retirement come July 1, this will be my last D’var Torah. My previous 66 Divrei Torah were randomly scattered among the Torah’s 54 weekly portions. Over the years, I was assigned Noach four times. This is the first time I’ve been assigned Parashat Yitro. If all rabbis were polled which portion of the 54 is the Torah’s most important, the debate would be spirited, the opinions diverse, but Yitro would win in a walk. Here in Yitro, God and the Jewish people meet at Mount Sinai. Here in Yitro, God gives the Commandments, starting with Aseret HaDibrot, the Ten Utterances, and then according to tradition, the Torah in its entirety. Yet, the very name of Yitro expands the magnitude of the portion to the entire world. Yitro was not a Jew; Yitro was a Midianite priest. Emanating from Sinai, the Ten Commandments would also form the moral backbone of the New Testament and Sharia in Islam. The smaller our world grows, the larger these Commandments grow in influence. Thus, given my druthers, I’d prefer to write a D’var Torah for each of the Ten Commandments, and each times ten. Having this one opportunity alone, I focus on the first. What exactly does “I am Adonai your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage” command? Where is the verb that obligates us to do something, or refrain from doing something, as is the case for every other mitzvah? Perhaps this implies that we should believe in God, belief being the foundation and motivation for keeping all other mitzvot. If so, why isn’t “You” the subject, “God” the direct object and “believe” the verb joining them? Yes, belief is a bulwark common to all religions. Belief certainly has its place in Judaism, as with Maimonides’ Thirteen Articles of Faith. But Judaism could not have survived the all too frequent bitter challenges of the last 3,000 years had it been based simply on belief. Judaism needed something more certain and solid. The first of the Aseret HaDibrot asserts

exactly this with “who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” The Torah elevates experience above belief. In this light, the Mekhilta asks why the Torah doesn’t begin with the revelation at Mount Sinai. The Mekhilta then offers a mashal — a parable — of a king who has taken over a new people. To accept his sovereignty, the people ask the king to prove all that he can do for their good. So it is for God and Israel. God brought us out of Egypt, divided the Red Sea for us, fed us with Manna, led us to Sinai and gave us the Commandments. For Torah and Judaism, faith finishes a distant second to fact.

God is above and beyond belief. God is fact, the first and foremost of all facts. The first word, Anochi, “I,” adds even greater strength and stability. This isn’t a secondhand account written in the third person. The first person “I” speaks, thundering from Sinai across the centuries. If somehow one cannot hear it, then one can see it plain as day in black and white, ink on parchment, a lightning bolt to shatter darkness. Anochi “I,” God, am talking to you directly. Hard to believe, over the nearly 40 years I’ve been a rabbi, if I had a dollar for every Jew I’ve heard say, “I don’t believe in God,” I might not be as rich as Zuckerberg or Bloomberg, but I’d be pretty rich. Hard to believe that often the smarter and more educated these people are, the more they profess their disbelief. Hard to believe that they don’t understand that God has never been a matter of mere belief in Judaism. God is above and beyond belief. God is fact, the first and foremost of all facts. PJC Rabbi Mark Joel Mahler is senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of South Hills. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Opinion Agenyahu: Continued from page 13

ultimately affect official Israeli policy. By launching partnerships with the Council of Israeli Youth Movements, the Council of Israeli Youth Organizations, the Council of Pre-Army Academics in Israel and the

National Union of Israeli Students, Ami-Unity is reaching out to the silent majority of Israelis who have not yet formed strong opinions on pluralism and peoplehood. In its first year, Ami-Unity is laying the groundwork for expanded efforts by reaching young Israelis at a stage in their lives when they are open to considering new perspectives on Jewish pluralism.

After spending four years as part of a Jewish community in the Diaspora, I am extremely proud and excited that the Jewish Agency has initiated this platform, which will give Israeli society a deeper awareness about Judaism’s different streams as well as the multitude of possibilities in the realm of Jewish identity. It is time for every Jew, no matter where he or she lives, to have a community to call home. PJC

Pnina Agenyahu was senior shlichah of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel. Each year, the Jewish Agency sends 1,700 such emissaries to Jewish communities around the world to bridge the gap between Jews of different backgrounds and Israel, increase Jewish awareness and pride and promote an understanding of Israel and its ideals.

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Obituaries BOREN: Sylvia Boren, on Thursday, January 18, 2018. Devoted mother of Dr. Stephen Boren and Craig and Naomi Boren. Beloved sister of Audrey and Ralph Silverman. Beloved grandmother of Joey Boren and Sarah Boren. Loving aunt of Dr. Stuart Silverman and Ellen and Bob Garvin, also survived by great-nieces, nephew and cousins. Sylvia, a native of Pittsburgh, lived in Washington, D.C., for many years, working for FEMA in the Pentagon. Upon retiring, she returned to Pittsburgh and the last three years resided in Philadelphia with her son, Stephen. Graveside services were held on Sunday, January 21, 2018, at Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Cemetery. Contributions may be sent to Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, or a charity of donor’s choice. BRODY: Shirley (Bloom) Brody, 96 passed away on Sunday January 21, 2018. She was the loving mother of BettyAnn Brody Bucksbaum (Steven) of Glenview Ill., Carolyn Schwarz (Frank) of Pittsburgh, Francie Brody of Pittsburgh and Robert Brody (Pam) of Weston, Mass. She adored her 7 grandchildren, Tim Schwarz (Jennifer), Matt Schwarz, Benjamin Brody (deceased), Jennifer Brody, Zachary Brody, Noah Bucksbaum and Teddy Bucksbaum and greatgrandson, Owen Schwarz. She was the loving wife of Dr. Alfred W Brody (deceased 2015,) loving sister of Thelma (Tedde) Rosenblum (deceased) and loving sister-in-law of Victor Rosenblum, Donald Brody (deceased) and

Belle Brody. Born and raised in New York City, she lived her last 64 years in Omaha. She celebrated her 71st anniversary with her husband in 2014. She was very involved and generous with her entire extended family including many nieces, nephews and cousins. She received a bachelor’s degree at Brooklyn College in New York in economics and statistics. When her children were young, she focused on being a mother and homemaker. After the youngest of her children reached high school, she earned her teaching certificate and master’s degree in counseling at Creighton University in Omaha. She was the first female houseparent at Omaha Boys’ Town. She and her husband loved bridge, tennis and exercise. She gave up playing tennis at 89. She was an avid photographer at all family gatherings. Funeral and burial were held at Menorah Chapels and United Hebrew Cemetery in Staten Island, N.Y. on Friday, January 26, 2018. Donations can be made to one of her favorite charities, which were Dundee School, Dundee Memorial Park, Jewish Community Center or Chabad House in Omaha or a charity of your choice. EKSTRAND: Edith Greenberg Ekstrand, on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Dr. John P. Ekstrand. Beloved mother of Paul J. (Leslie) Ekstrand and Rabbi Marc E. Ekstrand (Pauline J. Berg). Sister of Susanne Pearlson. Grandmother of Elizabeth, Michael, Aaron, Nava and Ilan Ekstrand. Graveside services and interment were held at Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contribu-

tions may be made to Bethlehem Haven, 905 Watson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or Sojourner House, 5460 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. ELLMAN: Irene Sheinberg Ellman, age 89, surrounded by her children, peacefully, on January 19, 2018. Renie was the daughter of Helen and Edward Sheinberg. She was married to the love of her life, Walter, for 54 years and is survived by her children, Walter Ellman Jr. and the late Sandy, JD and Debbie Ellman, and Laura Ellman and Peter Ennis. Renie is also survived by her grandchildren, whom she adored, Maya and Ryan Brook, Marisa Ellman and Yaniv Baruch, Sam Ennis and Mary Prendergast, Jesse Ennis and Molly Ennis. And as if those weren’t enough blessings, she is survived by her six great-grandchildren. Renie loved her family, her career in real estate, her political activism and her strong Jewish faith. A funeral was held at Rodef Shalom Congregation on January 22, 2018. FORMAN: Harold Steven Forman, on Thursday, January 25, 2018. Beloved husband of Honey Davidson Forman. Loving father and best friend of David (Tiffany Bolner) Forman of Pittsburgh. Brother of Meryle (Michael) Fisher of Lauderhill, Fla. Brother-in-law of Golda Getz and Lynn Tashbook, also survived by nieces and nephews. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at Pliskover Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of donor’s choice.

FREEDLANDER: Ronald Freedlander of Oakland, on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. Beloved husband and best friend of Judy Freedlander. Beloved and devoted father of Mark (Christina) Freedlander and Brad (Heather) Freedlander. Beloved grandfather of Jacob and Caitlyn. Brother of Linda (Joe) Valentine. Brother-in-law of Harry (Barbara) Simon. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Ronald was an avid book reader and his favorite pastime was the Parkinson’s boxing program Rock Steady Boxing. Graveside services and interment were held at Torath Chaim Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Parkinson Foundation Western Pennsylvania, 575 Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue, PA 15202. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. LAUTMAN: Jerry Lautman, on Thursday, January 25, 2018. Beloved husband of Sherry Lautman. Loving father of Mitchell Lautman, Mark (Lea Ann Reilly) Lautman and Helene (Charlie) Michael. Brother of the late Louis Lautman. Papa and Grandpa to Steven (Sierra) Lautman and Drew Michael. Great-grandfather of Rinoa and Grayson Lautman. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment private. Contributions may be made to Alzheimers Association, 1100 Liberty Avenue, Suite E 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Please see Obituaries, page 25