Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 2/22/18 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

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February 23, 2018 | 8 Adar 5778

Candlelighting 5:47 p.m. | Havdalah 6:47 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 8 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Author shares her personal look at identity

Jewish Pittsburgh growing, but denominational affiliation dropping

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The fruit of a hamantasch hunt By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

educated, growing population that is highly connected to Israel, but nevertheless reflecting national trends in terms of declining congregational engagement. The last such study was conducted in 2002. The research included interviews with approximately 2,100 Jewish households throughout Greater Pittsburgh. Previous studies of the local Jewish community show that its size has been “relatively stable, with a slight overall decline over the past 80 years,” according to the new report. The 1938 study estimated that there were 54,000 Jews in Pittsburgh, but between 1938 and 1963, that number fell to 45,000. The 1984 study showed 44,906 Jews in the Steel City, while the 2002 study estimated the Jewish population at 42,200. But since 2002, “our Jewish community has grown,” said Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Federation. “We should feel great about that.” The growth in numbers is accompanied by a shift in age demographics. The largest shares of the population are adults aged 18-29 and 60-69, with fewer adults in their 30s and 40s than there were in 2002, and fewer children.

story about fresh hamantaschen in the Steel City may be a bit stale for those seeking colorful Purim pieces, but as the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle discovered, procuring unpackaged pocket-sized pastries is not a painless task, even for those with dough this time of year. Over in Homestead, Costco’s kosher bakery does not plan on stocking the sweet treat. Pomegranate Catering similarly said, “We’re not in Beth Shalom’s kitchen, where we were for the last six years. It’s a different operation. We don’t have the ability.” Deena Ross of Creative Kosher Catering explained that she will be baking “thousands,” which will end up in either hospitals, synagogues or the hands of other order-placing customers, but that an individual cannot walk into her Electric Avenue location and purchase a single hamantasch. From now through the holiday, which begins the evening of Feb. 28, Murray Avenue Kosher has a “wide variety” of options, said Beth Markovic, the store’s owner. “There’s apricot, blueberry, cherry, prune, poppy seed, chocolate and apple. There may be more.” But for those hoping to get a hot holiday snack straight from the oven, the Squirrel Hill shop may not be the spot. “We do not bake on-site. We get them fresh from several locations, including Ungar’s Bakery in Cleveland,” she said. Even so, all is not lost, as an amble across Murray Avenue reveals. Giant Eagle in Squirrel Hill will have hamantaschen for sale, said one of its bakers, “We will have poppy seed, cherry, apricot and apple.” Note to readers, the latter is available upon request. Those interested in exploring other possibilities for Purim pastries may consider Italian hamantaschen, or as Rabbi Barbara Aiello calls them, “Aman’s ears.” As the Pittsburgh-born spiritual leader who serves as founder and director of the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of

Please see Study, page 24

Please see Hamataschen, page 24

Susan Faludi, whose Holocaust survivor father transitioned to another gender, to visit P’burgh. Page 2 LOCAL Polish law spurs Shoah interest

See pages 16-17 for more informational graphics. Provided by The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

Anna Bikont will discuss her new book at City of Asylum. Page 5 LOCAL Perfect costumes for Purim

What’s hot and what’s not this year? Page 7

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

lthough its synagogue affiliation has dramatically declined since 2002, the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish community nonetheless has grown by 17 percent. According to the latest tally, it includes 49,200 Jews living in 26,800 households. While the center of the community remains in Squirrel Hill, with 26 percent of Jews living there and in Shadyside, Jewish Pittsburgh is also expanding geographically, with 31 percent in the rest of the city of Pittsburgh, 20 percent in the South Hills, 9 percent in the North Hills and the remaining 14 percent distributed through the rest of the five-county area, which includes all of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland Counties. These are some of the findings of the newly released 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. It was conducted by the Marilyn and Maurice Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University’s Steinhardt Social Research Institute. The $325,000 study, funded by the Jewish Community Foundation, delivers a portrait of Jewish Pittsburgh that reveals an

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Headlines Father’s sex-reassignment spurs feminist author’s examination of identities — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

hen the t e l e vision show “Transparent” debuted in 2014, Pulitzer Prize-winning feminist journalist Susan Faludi could not help but “binge watch.” “It was uncanny,” Faludi said of “Transparent,” which follows the lives of a Jewish family headed by a father who is transgender. “I sat there bingewatching it thinking, ‘Wait, did somebody wire my home? How did they know? How could this happen to two people?’” In 2004, Faludi discovered, via an email, that her 76-year-old, hypermasculine Holocaust-surviving father, from who she had been estranged for about 25 years, had moved back to his birthplace of Hungary and become a woman. “I’ve got some interesting news for you,” the email read. “I have decided that I have had enough of impersonating a macho aggressive man that I have never been inside.” Steven Faludi — who had been born István Friedman — was now Stefáni following the gender reassignment surgery she had at a hospital in Thailand. Susan Faludi chronicled her experiences in reconnecting with her father — a photographer known as an expert in altering images

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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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— in her 2016 memoir “In the Darkroom.” In exploring her father’s various shifting identities, from shunning Jewishness to changing gender, Faludi examines and challenges broader notions of identity. Faludi will be appearing at the Carnegie Music Hall on Feb. 26 as part of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures Ten Evening series. The lecture is underwritten by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Faludi talked with the Chronicle about her relationship with her father in all its complexity.

How did you feel when you got that email?

It was the proverbial curve ball from beyond left field. It wasn’t as if my father had left any breadcrumbs that I could trace back and say, “Uh, huh. That explains this.” I remember my reaction later that same day. My husband I went to this concert; it just happened to be Schnittke’s “Requiem,” this very discordant grief-stricken piece. I was just sitting there, and in my mind, the jagged music felt like almost a frantic search around the mental landscape of my childhood home, and I kept thinking there must be some evidence, something I missed — and feeling so sorry and almost ashamed that I thought I had my father pegged, and I didn’t know the first thing about my father. You know, I fancy myself this observant journalist, and I completely missed the boat.

Did anyone else in your family have a clue, or did this take everybody by surprise?

It took everyone by surprise. And that was the other thing I found so tragic. My

Susan Faludi

Photo by Tony Luong

father was so secretive. And to live with this

Please see Faludi, page 3

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Faludi: Continued from page 2

bedrock knowledge about oneself and not be able to share it broke my heart.

It’s interesting that he didn’t open up about anything, really, until he became a she.

Yes. My father saw communication in gendered terms. One of the big things that my father stressed to me after the operation, and for years afterward, was, “Oh, now that I’m a woman, I can talk with people.” Particularly, talk with other women. She kept saying, “I couldn’t communicate as a man,” which says something about perceptions of masculinity, at least my father’s perceptions.

As a feminist, how did you feel about the way your father chose to dress — like a stereotypical woman from the 1950s with pearls — and before her transition, with all that flamboyant sexualized clothing?

That was a real challenge to my belief system. The ironies were not lost on me, that here’s the father whose physical violence in my youth sparked my feminist activism, who was now singing the praises of stilettos and feathered boas and saying women have all the advantages, and it’s so easy being a woman, you just act helpless and everyone helps you. This was clearly not my experience in being a woman. And we argued a lot about that. But I think ultimately, my father brought me around. Our conversations ultimately reaffirmed my feminist belief that gender is

varied and on a spectrum. And my father backed away from that femininity over time. Toward the very end of her life, she stopped describing herself in female or male terms exclusively and referred to herself as “trans.”

You ask in your book: “Is identity what you choose or what you can’t escape?” Do you have an answer for that?

Well, I guess my answer, like all chicken and egg questions, like all nature/nurture questions, would be both. That you can’t do either. We construct our identity partly out of what we’ve inherited, but we also at the same time are reconstructing that inheritance. And there are many aspects of ourselves that we can’t escape, no matter how many years we spend in therapy. And we do make choices, and those choices also become inescapable. So, no, I didn’t settle that.

When you were raised, your father seemed to go out of the way to shun her Jewishness, and yet you said you identified very strongly as a Jew. Was that a rebellion against your father?

I think in part, yes, it’s a reaction. The more my father denied being Jewish the more she was calling attention to that. Also, I grew up in a very lower middle class, Irish and Italian Catholic neighborhood, and we were the first Jews to move in. And it was that period where casual anti-Semitism was still very much present. I was called a kike by kids in the neighborhood. Interestingly, we weren’t presenting as Jewish, we had the Christmas lights on our house. I don’t know how these kids figured it out, but they did. I had a very cultural sense of being Jewish,

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not a religious sense, which is pretty typical of assimilated Americans of that period. But one of the things I learned by working on the book with my father was a discovery of why I did have what seemed to be this mysterious attachment to being Jewish. It all seemed to make sense when I began to finally get my father to talk about what she had gone through in the Holocaust and meeting with my extended diaspora family while I was doing the research on the book, reconnecting with roots I sensed I had but I didn’t understand or even know — the extended members on my father’s side, because long ago she had cut them off. I came out of this experience with wonderful loving family members from Australia to Israel to Switzerland. It was a great unexpected gift of the book project.

Why do you think she didn’t want these connections to her family? Do you think it’s because she always felt this sense of alienation and being different? Did it have something to do with experiencing the Holocaust the way she did?

I think it was a lot of things, including just her personality. Even as a very small child, my father was difficult and would have eruptions of anger and cut people off. It was a very difficult childhood, where my grandparents were hardly around, and my father was raised by a series of nannies and maids. And then that all vanished in a heartbeat, and then there’s my father as a young teenager wandering around the streets during the Holocaust with a fake arm band pretending to be a member of the Hungarian Nazi party. You can see why my father would end up not trusting very many people.

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He did seem to go through most of his life in a disguise, from the Nazi arm band, to the macho man. My father had been through a series of what she called “impersonations.” What she said to me at one point was “I impersonate myself,” which is a phrase that stayed with me. Quite a curious way of describing oneself.

You were finally able to connect with your father and communicate with her after her surgery. Would you say that it was ultimately a gift that she went through with this change?

Yes. I mean, we could have connected without that. My father and I could have broken down that wall earlier. And I hold myself partly responsible too for that. In the end, it was a remarkable present. It horrifies me to think that I could have gone through the rest of my life and not reconnected with my father and not had — to the extent we had — a reconciliation, not come to a deeper understanding and empathy and ultimately love. I’m sure it took a lot of bravery on her part to send me that email. But it also freed me from the stock script of who I thought my father was and what I thought my father’s role was in my life, which was based on these shards of understanding. It allowed me to get beyond that and to empathize with my father. Ultimately, it’s just an emotionally healthier place to be for myself. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. FEBRUARY 23, 2018 3

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Headlines Polish journalist, winner of European Book Prize to speak in Pittsburgh Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

he irony of Polandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent legislation criminalizing particular Holocaust-related speech is that the enactment has paradoxically engendered greater interest in the study of the Shoah. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s according to Anna Bikont, a journalist and author whose Feb. 27 event at Pittsburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s City of Asylum will feature a reading of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Crime and the Silence: Confronting the Massacre of Jews in Wartime Jedwabne,â&#x20AC;? a historical work for which she won the 2011 European Book Prize. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I was invited I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that it would be such a hot topic,â&#x20AC;? said Bikont, a Warsaw-based writer who in 1989 co-founded Gazeta Wyborcza, a Polish newspaper whose circulation tops 150,000. Several weeks ago, both houses of the Polish parliament adopted a law prohibiting speech that raises â&#x20AC;&#x153;claims, publicly and contrary to the facts, that the Polish Nation or the Republic of Poland is responsible or co-responsible for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich â&#x20AC;Ś or for other felonies that constitute crimes against peace, crimes against humanity or war crimes.â&#x20AC;? The punishment for violating the new statute is up to three yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; imprisonment.

While the law, which was signed last week by Polish President Andrzej Duda, may be intended to criminalize the use of terms such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Polish concentration camp,â&#x20AC;? it ignited further stir at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17, when Mateusz Morawiecki, Polandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prime pinister, was asked by Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman whether recounting the story of Bergmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s escape from Holocaust-era Polish collaborators would now be considered criminal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely important to first understand that, of course, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to be punishable, not going to be seen as criminal to say that there were Polish perpetrators,â&#x20AC;? replied Morawiecki, â&#x20AC;&#x153;as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators, as there were Ukrainian â&#x20AC;Ś not only German perpetrators.â&#x20AC;? Jewish leaders condemned the response. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Polish prime ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarks here in Munich are outrageous. There is a problem here of an inability to understand history and a lack of sensitivity to the tragedy of our people. I intend to speak with him forthwith,â&#x20AC;? said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Polish prime minister has displayed appalling ignorance with his unconscionable claim that so-called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jewish perpetratorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

were partly responsible for the Nazi German attempt to wipe out European Jewry,â&#x20AC;? echoed Ronald Lauder, president of World Jewish Congress. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While Poles are understandably sensitive about Nazi German extermination and concentration camps in occupied Poland being Anna Bikont will be speaking about her book and the new Polish laws called Polish, this regarding Holocaust-related speech. Photo courtesy of Classrooms Without Borders government is going to extreme and unfathomable lengths and television. â&#x20AC;Ś Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost paradoxical. I was to exonerate some of their countrymenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shopping, and some woman told me she saw own complicity in the murders of me on television and has to buy my book.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Crime and the Silenceâ&#x20AC;? examines their neighbors.â&#x20AC;? the events of July 10, 1941, in which the For Bikont, the bevy of regulation and citizens of Jedwabne rounded up its Jewish rhetoric has granted unexpected exposure, population and burned them alive in a barn. which at points has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;crazy.â&#x20AC;? Bikontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work relies upon oral histories of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like PR for the book. Normally when you write a book, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not invited to the main television stations, but now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m invited to radio Please see BOOK, page 29

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Headlines Professor of pediatrics delivers talk on vaccinations â&#x20AC;&#x201D; LOCAL â&#x20AC;&#x201D; By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

r. Marian Michaels, a professor of pediatrics and surgery at Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, discussed aspects of immunization during a joint program among Pittsburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three Jewish day schools. Michaelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; talk at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, which was titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Protecting our children from infection: Update on why we immunize when we immunize,â&#x20AC;? featured a recitation of studies and stories regarding the need to immunize. Although the event attracted only 30 attendees, the topic and its manner of presentation was of incredible importance, said organizers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our job is to protect the health of every child and do whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best for them,â&#x20AC;? said Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, dean of Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh. Keeping abreast of immunization information is critical to our collaboration, said Avi Baran Munro, Community Day Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head of school. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the things we have worked on together for so many years is to ensure health and safety for the whole community.â&#x20AC;?

Michaelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; talk came on the heels of an unsolicited mailing targeting many in Pittsburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Orthodox Jewish community. After the arrival of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Vaccine Safety Handbook,â&#x20AC;? a booklet that purports to undertake â&#x20AC;&#x153;the job of filling in the huge information gap and discerning fact from fictionâ&#x20AC;? regarding immunization, Michaels was asked to provide further elaboration on the topic. The booklet, and similar publications, â&#x20AC;&#x153;have no basis in fact,â&#x20AC;? Michaels said. What people should realize is that â&#x20AC;&#x153;aside from improving sanitization, nothing has done as much to protect the health of children as vaccination.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vaccines are one of the greatest achievements of biomedical science and public health,â&#x20AC;? reported the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in a publication regarding achievements in 20 th-century public health. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since monovalent vaccines containing measles, rubella and mumps vaccine viruses â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and subsequently combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine â&#x20AC;&#x201D; were licensed, the numbers of reported cases of measles, mumps, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) have decreased by more than 99 percent,â&#x20AC;? added the CDC in a publication addressing the goals and strategies for measles, rubella

and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) elimination and for mumps reduction in the United States. Similarly, â&#x20AC;&#x153;after the establishment of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1974, with diphtheria vaccine as one of the original six EPI vaccines, the incidence of diphtheria decreased dramatically worldwide. The total number of reported diphtheria cases was reduced by more than 90 percent during the period 1980 to 2000,â&#x20AC;? noted the Weekly Epidemiological Record of the World Health Organization. Polio, a disease once â&#x20AC;&#x153;feared worldwide,â&#x20AC;? has been reduced by 99 percent because of vaccination, added the World Health Organization. While the numerical reductions are staggering, small cases of the aforementioned diseases remain, said Michaels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Smallpox is the only disease weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve completely eradicated.â&#x20AC;? Apart from sharing statistics, much of Michaelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time was dedicated to explaining why immunizations are given to the young. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Babies are the ones with the biggest risk. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the ones we need to protect,â&#x20AC;? said the physician. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we have a child at our hospital in our ICU because of something preventable, it breaks my heart.â&#x20AC;? The seriousness of the topic relates to the classical concept that although observing

the Sabbath is of critical importance, Jewish law instructs that when faced with the decision to save someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life or desecrate the Sabbath, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the life of a person has a priority,â&#x20AC;? said Rosenfeld. Not only do vaccinations protect those receiving them, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we also vaccinate a population to protect others,â&#x20AC;? said Michaels, who explicated the idea through a series of slides on herd immunity. The concept of herd immunity, or community immunity, is that â&#x20AC;&#x153;when enough people are vaccinated against a certain disease, the germs canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t travel as easily from person to person â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the entire community is less likely to get the disease,â&#x20AC;? explained the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. So while herd immunity, because of the large numbers of vaccinators, may protect those unable to receive vaccinations due to other medical conditions, the safeguard will ultimately break down if enough people fail to vaccinate, said Michaels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whenever someone could get vaccinated, they should,â&#x20AC;? said Rosenfeld. The Lubavitcher Rebbe made it clear, he added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being done successfully, so do it.â&#x20AC;? PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Purim costumes are a chance to bring characters to life — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

omeone certainly will show up at a synagogue dressed as Donald Trump this Purim, because if any holiday has the ability to commix religion and politics, it is this one. With its nod to rulers providing rescue, heroes lending a hand or the annihilation of enemies, Purim has the makings of a modern-day saga. Perhaps such is why it is so common for costumes to reflect current trends or stories. Last year, in deference to the popular live-action adaptation of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” Madonna, a known kabbalist, adopted an attire of appropriate appellation by wearing a yellow dress, a la Belle, and a hideous hairy mask representing the sometimes shameful prince. In Pittsburgh, several spiritual leaders are uncertain as to this year’s fashionable frocks; nonetheless, regardless of what Purim participants decide, certain guidelines do abide. “A costume should be fun, creative and playful,” said Rabbi Seth Adelson, Congregation Beth Shalom’s senior rabbi. Cantor Laura Berman of Temple Sinai agreed; costumes should be “in good taste and reasonably modest.” Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David noted that the Monroeville congregation does not send out any guidelines or recommendations for what to wear. Rabbi Jeremy Markiz of Congregation Beth Shalom echoed that he has “never made recommendations before on Purim costumes” either. Where regard for raiment arises is at Pittsburgh’s Jewish day schools. A letter from Community Day School stated: “Students are encouraged to dress in

p CDS middle school students Annelise Hammer, Jackie DeWitt and Ada Perlman

Photos courtes of Community Day School

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Photo courtesy of Community Day School

not limit a student’s ability to sit in class and fully participate; [and] normal dress code requirements apply for students who don’t wear costumes.” At Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, although multiple days in the Hebrew month of Adar are allotted to dressing up, similar requirements were related in a letter from the school. Beginning with the stipulation that a “uniform is required in addition” to other clothing, the message noted “anything that a teacher feels is disruptive will have to be removed for class; boys should make sure that they have kippot” even when other hats are worn; and “costumes must adhere to Hillel Academy’s tziniut (modesty) dress code guidelines.” A concluding provision made it clear that p CDS Kindergarten students Rose Marcus, left, “no weapons (real or fake!)” and Madison Perlow Photo courtesy of Community Day School should be brought to school. For many children, costume on Purim, observing the following Purim is an exciting opportunity to rules: Boys must have a kippah if they have adopt alternative outfits and paralleling a headpiece or hat that may be removed; no Please see Costumes, page 22 weapons (toy or homemade); costumes may PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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Calendar >> Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q SATURDAY, FEB. 24 Shabbat Searchers: The Final Frontier, a 20s and 30s group, meets for an evening that is out of this world from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Buhl Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center for a virtual tour of the night sky, followed (weather permitting) by stargazing and conversation around heavens and the stars. The evening will end with an alternative Havdalah. There is no charge. RSVP to Frischer@rodefshalom.org and visit rodefshalom.org for more information. q SUNDAY, FEB. 25 Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha holds a Purim Carnival from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact Alex Speck at alex@tolols.org or 412-521-6788 for more information. Congregation Beth Shalom holds its annual Purim Carnival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 5915 Beacon St. The $10 per person charge will include lunch, games and crafts. Contact youth director Marissa Tait at 412-421-2288, ext. 463 or visit bethshalompgh.org/eventsupcoming for more information. The Purim Carnival at Rodef Shalom includes games, prizes and food from 11 a.m.

to 1 p.m. Costumes are optional but a sense of humor is a must. Hosted by TheRSTY (The Rodef Shalom Temple Youth). There is no charge. Visit rodefshalom.org for more information. J Street Pittsburgh screens the movie “Wrestling Jerusalem” from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Squirrel Hill Library. Writer/ actor Aaron David embodies 17 different characters in and around Jerusalem on an eye-opening journey into the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian story. Exploring universal questions of identity and human connection, this film dares the audience to leave the screening with their pre-existing ideas about its subject matter intact. There will be a facilitated discussion after the movie. RSVP to moon.bern@verizon.net. 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. 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 hamantaschen, musical entertainment and raffle prizes. There is a $5 suggested

Hadassah Greater Pittsburgh Region partners with the Aleph Institute at 5804 Beacon St. at 6 p.m. to present a Heart Health Program to provide information on the symptoms of heart attacks in women and healthy diet and proper exercise. The speakers will provide important facts along with personal stories. Healthy snacks will be provided. As an extra educational piece, Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel, executive director of Aleph Institute North East Region, will speak about the Institute’s work. All are welcome. Contact 412-421-8919 or pittsburgh@ hadassah.org for more information. An evening with Anna Bikont, author of “The Crime and the Silence: Confronting the Massacre of Jews in Wartime Jedwabne” is scheduled from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at City of Asylum, 40 W. North Ave. Classrooms Without Borders, City of Asylum, the Departments of History, English and Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University and the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh are presenting the program. Bikont is a nonfiction writer and journalist for Gazeta Wyborcza, the main newspaper in Poland, which she helped found in 1989. In 2015 the English version of “The Crime and the Silence: Confronting the Massacre of the Jews in wartime Jedwabne” was selected in the 100 Notable Books of the Year by The New York Times and won a National Jewish Book Award. RSVPs are required via the City of Asylum event link at alphabetcity. org/events/anna-bikont/.

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The Federation Jewish Federation Changes Lives With Israel Internships How can Pittsburghers help the next generation of Jews to make connections to Israel and to their Judaism? One way is by funding Israel travel in high school, college and immediately post-college through support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Campaign. Young adult internships in Israel through the Onward Israel program benefit from this Jewish Federation support. The young people who travel with Onward Israel, typically college students or recently grads, get real life work experience and bond with Israel over the summer program. They also deepen their connection to their own Judaism through meeting new friends with different perspectives and through living the day-today of Israeli life. Emily Rollman, a Pittsburgher studying business and history at Tulane University, felt that connection last summer. We interviewed her back in Pittsburgh over winter break to find out how the Jewish Federation’s support for Onward Israel affected her. JEWISH FEDERATION: When did you first go to Israel? EMILY ROLLMAN: I went twice as a teen. I went on the [Jewish Federation supported] Israel trip with CDS [Community Day School] in eighth grade and then in my junior year of high school. A friend and I decided to sign up for the BBYO trip [BBYO’s Chapter Leadership Training Conference] because it was something fun to do during the summer and it involved BBYO programs from all over the country. JF: Why did you decide to apply for an internship with Onward Israel? EMILY: I knew people from Pittsburgh who had done the program and liked it, and it’s more difficult to find a summer internship going into junior year of college than going into senior year. This was a great way to find an internship. JF: Did you like the internship? EMILY: Onward Israel sent me a list of companies with opportunities to rank [based on my interests]. I got my first choice, and I

loved it! I worked in the Tel Aviv branch of Jacob Peres Office, a public relations firm right on Dizengoff Street. JF: Was it challenging to participate? EMILY: All their business was conducted in English, so it was easy for me to be involved. I really loved the people, and they were really funny and welcoming. JF: What kinds of projects did you complete? EMILY: I got to do an amazing variety of projects. I worked for a company that makes stone countertops and created a trend book with 200 images that I sourced on how to incorporate stone with other design products and projects. For another client, I got to do “guerilla” public relations… finding new journalists to contact and finding different platforms for them to get their message out. Working with a lot of hotels, media monitoring—I did so many things. JF: What was your favorite project? EMILY: One of Jacob Peres Office’s clients was the W Hotel in Jaffa—specifically their luxury condos. It includes the most expensive condo in all of Israel, and I got to take journalists to the condo development to visit! I also got to participate in Jerusalem Design Week and took some of those journalists I met to the W Hotel. JF: What was it like living in Israel? EMILY: You get to experience the place in a way that feels more like a local because of the things you get to do day-to-day. I went to my favorite shop in the suq to get feta. On my morning walk to work, I passed a woman and her dog. We greeted each other every morning. JF: What do you remember most fondly? EMILY: One weekend, the Onward Israel Pittsburgh students stayed in our Partnership2Gether region, Karmiel and Misgav, with host families for two nights. We got to do whatever the family was doing—I actually went to a bar mitzvah in Haifa—so it was a fantastic experience just to see what Israeli family life was like. I have so many amazing stories, it’s hard to pick just one.

Emily Rollman (far left) and her friends take a moment to admire the beautiful Israeli skyline.

JF: What were the advantages of working with Onward Israel? EMILY: Once a week we had all of the Pittsburgh group members of Onward Israel either check in to discuss problems or concerns and/or visit somewhere. We went to a great Children’s Museum exhibit that mimics blindness to learn about inclusion, we went to the West Bank and met people on different sides of the conflict, we visited tourist sites around Jerusalem and we toured around Tel Aviv. It was fun to be together as a group, and I made some great friends. JF: What support did Onward Israel provide? EMILY: We had two great madrichim [youth counselors]. Arielle had just moved from Argentina, and Adar was a student at Jerusalem University, so we had two amazing perspectives on Judaism that were very different from mine. There were also two internship coordinators, someone to help you find an internship and then someone to communicate with you during the internship. They spoke at least once with the employer and myself to make sure things were going smoothly. The support was terrific. JF: Did the Onward Israel internship change your feelings about Israel? EMILY: I feel like I understand their way of life much better. There are such cultural differences between American and Israeli workplaces; they are very fun and easygoing. I lived with six other girls, and we didn’t have a big fridge, so we went out to shop for food a lot, and it was nice to be living like a local and experience Israel that way. Weekends, we tried to go to museums, see cultural sites and even go to yoga classes in the back of a bar, taught by American ex-pats. It definitely made me feel more connected to Israel—like it was my home. JF: What experiences did you bring back to campus with you from the trip? EMILY: I felt more connected with the Jewish people in Israel because I could see that they’re real people—they’re like us, going to work, doing normal things of everyday life. I definitely brought that feeling back to Tulane with me.

18 FEBRUARY 23, 2018

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JF: What did you get out of the internship? EMILY: I learned a lot of things about P.R. and communications strategies, so it was a great way to get my feet wet and try it out. I know the back end of how things operate, and I built better communication skills and time management skills. I gained a lot of technical skills. I had never really worked in an office environment, and I felt like a vital part of the team, especially because I was the only native English speaker in the office. JF: How will the Onward Israel internship help you in the future? EMILY: I loved my internship so much that I want to find something like that for a full-time job after I graduate—something in public relations or consulting.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh helps to make Israel travel affordable through a variety of scholarships and programs—all funded through the Federation’s Community Campaign or through endowments in the Federation’s Jewish Community Foundation. The Jewish Federation also funds connections between Pittsburgh and Israel for people of all ages through our Partnership2Gether sister city relationship, through mission travel and through programs that bring Pittsburghers to Israel and Israelis to Pittsburgh. For more, go to jfedpgh.org/Israel

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19 color

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Polish Jewish groups say they don’t feel safe due to rise in anti-Semitism Twenty-three Jewish organizations in Poland signed a joint letter in which they emphasize that they do not feel safe in Poland and call for mutual “respect and truth.” “Increasingly, hate speech has escaped the confines of the Internet to infiltrate the public sphere. It has found its way into newspapers and television broadcasts, including those belonging to public media outlets,” the letter states. The Jewish organizations also noted that Poland’s Jewish community has received a rising number of anti-Semitic messages. They emphasize that public officials have condemned anti-Semitism, but “do nothing to stop the spread of evil.” Polish Jews, unlike many of Europe’s Jews today, “do not now face direct physical threats” but the situation “is far from normal,” the groups said. Anti-Semitism, according to these groups, is a growing problem in Poland today. “We know that Jews are not the only victims of Poland’s current hateful climate. We stand in solidarity with all people in Poland who experience hostility and discrimination, including Roma, Muslims, refugees, people of color, Ukrainians, and members of other national, ethnic, religious and sexual minori-

ties,” stated the Jewish organizations, which “feel anger toward and shame in our country.” The groups noted that the current wave of anti-Semitism is a response to the passing in the Polish Parliament and signing by the president of a controversial amendment limiting rhetoric on the Holocaust, that criminalizes claims that the Polish nation or state are responsible for Nazi crimes. “More than a break in relations between Poles and Jews, which have been growing stronger in the decades since Communism, we fear the growing chasm in understandings of our national character. Stand with us as honest, brave, united Poles. We shall not be divided,” the letter said. According to the new law, “anyone who, in public and contrary to the facts, imputes that the Polish Nation or the Polish State was responsible or co-responsible for the Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich or for other crimes against peace, humanity or war crimes, or otherwise grossly diminishes the responsibility of the actual perpetrators of these crimes, shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.” Netanyahu warns Iran: ‘Do not test Israel’s resolve’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to attack Iran in response to terror attacks on Israel’s soil. “Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And

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

Feb. 23, 1965 – Sallah Shabbati receives best foreign language Oscar nomination

Ephraim Kishon’s “Sallah Shabbati” becomes Israel’s first Oscar-nominated film when it is nominated for best foreign language film for the 37th Academy Awards.

Feb. 24, 1942 – SS Struma is sunk by a Russian submarine

After being mistaken as an enemy ship, the SS Struma, carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees hoping to immigrate into Palestine, including 70 children, is sunk by a Russian submarine in the Black Sea.

Feb. 25, 1994 – Cave of Machpelah massacre takes place

Baruch Goldstein, an American immigrant and member of the radical Kach party, opens fire on Muslim worshippers in Hebron, killing 30 and wounding 125 before being beaten to death by survivors.

Feb. 26, 1973 – Kissinger and Ismail conduct secret meetings Hafez Ismail and Henry Kissinger conduct secret meetings. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat had decided to appoint veteran diplomat Ismail to a newly created position, Egyptian national security adviser, in 1972.

we will act, if necessary, not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself,” Netanyahu said Sunday, addressing the Munich Security Conference. Netanyahu waved a piece of an Iranian drone shot down over northern Israel last week, which led to Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria, and directly addressed Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also attended the conference. “Iran also denies that it committed an act of aggression against Israel last week, that it sent a drone into our airspace to threaten our people. Well, here’s a piece of that Iranian drone, or what’s left of it after we shot it down. I brought it here so you can see for yourself. Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should. It’s yours. You can take back with you a message to the tyrants of Tehran: Do not test Israel’s resolve,” he said. He added, in a reference to the nuclear deal between the world powers and Iran: “We can stop this dangerous regime. We can roll back its aggression and by doing so, create a more peaceful, a more prosperous and a more secure world for our region and for our future.” Zarif later mocked Netanyahu’s theatrics, calling it a “cartoonish circus.” Netanyahu had called Zarif in his speech “the smoothtalking mouthpiece of Iran’s regime” who “lies with eloquence.” Netanyahu told reporters he focused his Munich address on Iran to convince U.S President Donald Trump to reinstate sanctions against Iran, in an effort to roll back the nuclear deal with the Islamic State.

Cleveland federation exec, among country’s most influential and highest paid, is retiring Stephen Hoffman, who has led Cleveland’s Jewish federation for almost 35 years and regularly lands on lists of the most influential and highest paid federation executives, is retiring. Gary L. Gross, board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, said in a statement Friday that Hoffman will retire on Dec. 31. A search for a successor is underway. His retirement was first reported by the Cleveland Jewish News. Last year the umbrella philanthropy raised more than $32.7 million in its annual campaign; combined with donor-advised and other special-purpose funds, the federation disbursed over $148 million to local, national and overseas causes. Hoffman earned $546,515 in 2016, putting him fifth among local federation executives on the Forward’s annual list of nonprofit salaries. Hoffman, 67, raised in Philadelphia, has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland, as well as a master’s in Jewish studies from the Baltimore Hebrew University. He became president of the Cleveland federation in 1983. From 2001 to 2004, he served as CEO of what is now the Jewish Federations of North America, the federation movement’s national organizing body, before returning to Cleveland as planned. PJC

100% true blue

Feb. 27, 1928 – Ariel Sharon is born

Ariel Sharon, Israel’s 11th prime minister, is born in K’far Malal (near Hod Hasharon). Born Ariel Scheinerman to political, socialist parents who had come to Eretz Yisrael during the Second Aliyah, Sharon joined the Haganah in 1945, serving in the War of Independence.

Feb. 28, 1955 – Raid on Gaza takes place

Two Israeli paratrooper platoons made up of approximately 50 IDF soldiers storm an Egyptian army camp in Gaza. The raid is a reprisal for continued fedayeen (Palestinian militants) attacks against Israeli civilians.

March 1, 1922 – Yitzhak Rabin is born

Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s fifth prime minister, is born in Jerusalem to parents who came to Israel during the Third Aliyah. He is the first Israeli prime minister to be born in Eretz Yisrael. PJC

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20 OPINION

Opinion When will America wake up?

— EDITORIAL —

e thought that Newtown would be a wake-up call. We thought that Las Vegas would be a wake-up call. Now we have Parkland — 17 people murdered, five of them Jewish, and most of them children, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Feb. 14. The killer, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, had been expelled from the school and was known for having “strange” but not criminal behavior, and a fixation with guns. He may have made a YouTube post with the message, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” He was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, using an AR-15 assault-style rifle that he purchased legally in Coral Springs, Fla., about a year ago. We hope that Parkland is a wake-up call, but we’re not naive. Year after year of horrific mass murders, some ideologically motivated, some whose motivation is a mystery — most of them perpetrated with the same model of weapon — and nothing changes in the law or in the debate over this societal scourge practically unknown in other developed countries. But no matter how deep and how gut-wrenching the hurt of these horrible mass murders, none of the wake-up

iStock / Getty Images Plus / IndiaUniform

calls seems to wake up our policy-changers. Instead, the debate always devolves to Second Amendment rights versus gun control, with mental health raised as a sidebar. This much is clear: Rampant mass shootings are a security problem — although school security stands to lose under the president’s budget. An element of mass shootings is plainly a mental-health

problem. But the killing spree epidemic is also a gun ownership problem — although Congress, with huge NRA influence, still has not brought back the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. Data shows that during the 10 years the ban was in place, the number of people murdered during mass shootings fell by 43 percent. Mental-health care is a serious issue in this country. But no amount of mental-

health awareness or care will keep rapidfire assault weapons — whose sole purpose is to strike down multiple targets in little time — off America’s streets. Only sensible laws that, in keeping with Supreme Court precedent, restrict purchases to purely defensive arms will protect our children. Progress in the debate only will be made when both sides cease looking at the issue of gun control as an all or nothing proposition — when Second Amendment advocates recognize that reasonable restrictions on guns need not turn into a slippery slope leading to the ultimate abolishment of one’s right to bear arms for self-defense. Some pro-gun Americans point to Israel as an example of a gun-dependent society that does not have school shootings. They’ve been posting to Facebook and elsewhere familiar pictures of people walking down streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, their rifles strapped to their backs, as a way to “prove” that arming the masses “works.” But that’s a misdirection. Indeed, Israel has so many restrictions on civilian gun ownership that many security guards don’t even carry a gun. The right to bear arms is not a license to kill. Anyone who tells you that Parkland, Las Vegas and Newtown are the unfortunate price we have to pay in order to live in a “free” society doesn’t deserve to hold elective office. PJC

Shades of the present day in Purim Megillah Guest Columnist Rabbi Richard Hirsh

magine this scene: The raw hatred of the villain Haman towards the Jews of Persia is known to a few court appointees charged with vetting him for presumptive appointment to the palace governance team. Conveniently looking the other way, those responsible ensconce Haman in authority. When his outrageous attitudes and violent intentions are disclosed, after an initial defense and denial, the court of King Achashverosh “accepts with regret” Haman’s resignation, even as it supports his protestations of innocence. As the outrage about the history of the appointment escalates, a palace spokesman meekly suggests, “We could have done better.” The recent imbroglio over a White House official whose former wives provided known and credible testimony to having been victims of domestic violence at his hands, reminds us that when it comes to abuse perpetrated by one spouse against another, “doing better” is hardly an adequate response — and never an acceptable excuse. What an odd moment in American cultural history surrounds this coming season of Purim. The opening chapters of the Megillah are replete with narratives that resonate in contemporary terms. A husband orders his wife to appear wearing her royal diadem —

20 FEBRUARY 23, 2018

and, in the midrashic imagination, “nothing else” — for the amusement of his banquet guests, none of whom speak to the inappropriate and degrading demand. In the context of the exposure of the abusive behavior of Harvey Weinstein and his systemic network of enablers, the silence of those with knowledge of the abuse implicates them. The banishment of Vashti “lest the women of Persia emulate her” seems uncomfortably similar to the wave of out-of-court accusations of abuse settlements, surely designed in part to discourage other women from coming forward to tell their stories and to protect the powerful. Like so many issues in this fraught political moment, the responses to the wave of recent accusations of inappropriate behavior against women, ranging from boorishness to outright assault, has been polarizing. On the encouraging end, there has been the steady and continual stream of women coming forward to reveal abusive behavior. And there have been, in many instances, steps taken to hold people accountable — in particular, where long-standing patterns of harassment, abuse and violence have been brought to light. And yet, as the support for former Senate candidate Roy Moore and the defense of former White House aide Rob Porter — to name just two recent examples — reveal, there is good reason to feel discouraged. Predictable patterns, in which accusations of abuse, even when documented, are conveniently dismissed as “false news” or ignored, prevail. Women who come forward, often at considerable risk, to reveal abuse are as likely to be

impugned as to be believed, and often become victims of social media barrages of hate. Perhaps polarization might be reduced if agreement was reached regarding what sorts of behavior are unacceptable in relationships, domestic as well as professional. No woman — no mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin — should be subject to physical, emotional, economic, elder or any other type of harassment, abuse or violence. We can do better by striving for bipartisan congressional support in 2018 for full funding of the Violence Against Women Act. The enforcement of that act, especially in this #MeToo moment, needs to be a priority of the Department of Justice. Despite the polarizing debate over guns and the Second Amendment, in 1996 Congress passed legislation that restricted those convicted of assaulting a spouse or a child from purchasing firearms. But that legislation allowed for significant loopholes to emerge, allowing boyfriends convicted of abuse to own and use guns, putting the survivors of that abuse in grave peril. We can do better by advocating for Congress to take the necessary remedial steps to ensure that the intent of that legislation is reflected in its application. Ending abuse and violence against women ought not to be a partisan political issue but rather a motivating moral message. Recognizing both the systemic enabling of abuse and the credible accusations of those abused deserves advocacy rather than attack. It would be encouraging if voices at the highest levels would speak out against

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intimate partner violence and other forms of relationship abuse. When those voices are absent, then, as the story of Esther suggests, help must come mimakom acher, “from a different place.” Rather than settling for “we could have done better,” we need to ask why in so many cases we did not do better, and uncover the causes and conditions that condone harassment, abuse and violence against women. Rather than seeking to silence those who want to bring to light often systemic and pervasive patterns of misconduct, we need to ask how we will repair the conditions that allow such patterns to be perpetuated. What steps will each of us take to ensure that, regarding abuse in our homes, schools and workplaces, we will in fact do better? The Chasidic teacher Yehudah Leib Alter comments on the story of Purim as follows: Mordechai believed that even if Esther avoided using her access to the King to plead for the Jews of Shushan, help would come “from another place” — traditionally understood to mean “from God.” Then why did Mordechai ask her to go to the King? Because in a time of distress, it is necessary to speak out. That is when change begins to happen. PJC Rabbi Richard Hirsh is a member of Jewish Women International’s Clergy Task Force to End Domestic Violence in the Jewish Community. To join the conversation about Vashti, sexual harassment and the Jewish response to the #MeToo movement, follow #IAmVashti on social media.

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21 color OPINION

Opinion UNRWA is an obstacle to peace Guest Columnist Richard Schifter

he Trump administration’s decision to suspend payment of contributions that had been scheduled to be disbursed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) has drawn special attention to this U.N. agency. Given that fact, it is important to understand UNWRA’s history as well as its current operations. There is, of course, compelling evidence that UNRWA uses the schools it maintains to instill anti-Israel sentiments in students and that it has otherwise engaged in anti-Israel activities. But beyond that, we need to note that this agency, which was created in 1949 to provide temporary relief and resettlement assistance to an estimated 750,000 refugees of the Israeli/Arab war — Jews as well as Arabs — has been transformed into a perpetual aid program for the descendants of Arab refugees who fled from land that in 1948 became the State of Israel. UNRWA now serves about 5.3 million people, less than 1 percent of whom are original refugees, while more than 99 percent are the descendants of refugees. Refugees who fled in 1948 to adjacent Arab states were not resettled, as originally anticipated. Instead, they and their descendants have been kept in “refugee” status to support the Palestinian claim of a “right of return” to Israel. Their mass migration to Israel would create an Arab majority in the State of Israel, leading to an end of a majority-Jewish state. What advocates of a “right of return” anticipate is that the United Nations will compel Israel to accept these immigrants. The intentions of the founders of UNRWA are quite clear and are perfectly reasonable. The refugee problem which UNRWA was to address arose in territory that had until May 15, 1948 been a U.N. Mandate. As the mandate terminated, the State of Israel was established and immediately attacked by the neighboring Arab states. The resulting war, in which Israel prevailed, created the refugee problem with which we are still dealing today. As the United Nations tried to negotiate an end to the conflict, it considered it to be its special responsibility to deal with the refugee problem as well. The Israeli/Arab war, known as Israel’s War of Independence, was still ongoing when the U.N. General Assembly, on Oct. 8, 1948, adopted Resolution 212, which called for action to deal with “the problem of the relief of Palestine refugees of all communities.” These last three words make clear that the term “Palestine refugees” originally referred to refugees of all ethnic backgrounds, including Jews who had been driven out of the area that became part of Jordan — in particular, East Jerusalem, which had a substantial Jewish population. Resolution 212 did not as yet establish UNRWA, but it called upon the U.N. secretary-general to provide the needed assistance and “to establish such administrative organization as may be required for that

purpose.” The secretary-general followed these instructions. On the basis of his work, the U.N. General Assembly adopted on Dec. 8, 1949 — after the war had come to an end — Resolution 302, which created UNRWA. What is critically important is that UNRWA was to provide only temporary relief. Its fifth paragraph states that “constructive measures be undertaken at an early date with a view to the termination of international assistance and relief.” The seventh paragraph, which actually established UNRWA, provides explicitly that UNRWA is to “consult with the interested Near Eastern Governments concerning measures to be taken by them preparatory to the time when international assistance for relief and works projects is no longer available.” It is clear that the resolution that established UNRWA contemplated the resettlement of the original refugees and not the inheritance of refugee status by their descendants. The government of Israel certainly understood that, and by 1954 had arranged for the resettlement of Jewish refugees from the area that had become part of Jordan, as well as those Arab refugees who had lost their homes in Israel during the war but had remained in the area that became the State of Israel. UNRWA thus stopped functioning in Israel in the early 1950s. By contrast, the states that had received Arab refugees from Israel did not provide for resettlement. Jordan — including what is now known as the West Bank — Syria, Lebanon and Egypt (which controlled Gaza) deliberately prevented it. Instead, over time, they manipulated UNRWA to change its policy and allow refugee status to be inherited along the male line. As a result, the “refugee population,” which in 1948 was about 750,000, has now grown to 5,300,000. Why are people on the UNRWA assistance list being forced, by their own leadership, to bear the burden of life as refugees, rather than being resettled and integrated into Arab communities? The answer is that these Palestinians have been held in limbo to support the claim of a “right of return” to Israel. This claim means that the “moderate” Palestinian Authority will not enter into a peace agreement under which they would give up the claim that Israel must be compelled to accept the mass migration of all UNRWA beneficiaries to the territory of the State of Israel. That would, of course, provide a Palestinian majority in the State of Israel and thus lead to the creation of a Palestinian State “from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.” No Israeli government would accept a peace agreement that reserves the “right of return” and thus the liquidation of the State of Israel. But given the continued existence of UNRWA and the U.N. endorsement of the “right of return,” the “moderate” Palestinian leadership is not prepared to give up that claim. Thus UNRWA, which is a U.N. agency, functions in a way that contravenes the basic principle of the U.N. Charter: “to develop friendly relations among nations.” It is the major obstacle to an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. PJC Richard Schifter is chairman of the board of directors of the American Jewish International Relations Institute.

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— LETTERS — Stop the insanity! I received this week’s Chronicle right before Shabbos. When I started to read it, with all of its social justice Jewish views and editorials, I realized why I will never pay for a subscription. Not every Jew in Pittsburgh is a social justice warrior and follower of cultural Marxism. You have been publishing like this for decades, and your subscribers kept dropping. My best guess is this is the reason for the Federation to subsidize you and offer free papers. I am certain that when people have to pay to receive the paper, your circulation will drop once again. Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different result. I for one will not pay for a subscription, as the Chronicle primarily publishes the weekly trials for the social justice movements with editorials that seem to be bought and paid for by the left. Maybe you should stop the insanity and change how you publish articles and opinions. Andrew Neft Upper St. Clair

JFCS misinformation

As a person who has worked in the adoption field since 1987 and the last 20 years at JFCS, I wanted to correct some misinformation in a recent article about the adoption program at JFCS (“JFCS closes Family Hope as longtime director retires,” Feb. 16). Adoption services include services to women who are experiencing an unintended pregnancy, adults who want to adopt and infants, children and teens who are in need of parents. Birth parent services may culminate with an adoptive placement. At JFCS we worked with 20-plus birth parents

during the past 10 years, which resulted in five infant placements. These birth parents were all from Pennsylvania. Every state has its own adoption laws, with Pennsylvania being one of the more conservative. For families who want to adopt, Pennsylvania involves a lengthier period of legal risk. In other states, due in part to different adoption laws and demographics, there may be more birth parents making adoption plans. The majority of families coming to JFCS-Family Hope wanted to adopt in states with less legal risk. As a result, Family Hope helped families locate and work with agencies in other states, where they were more likely to obtain an adoptive placement with less legal risk. Over the last 10 years, JFCS-Family Hope was involved with 80 families who had adoptive placements. Family Hope provided training, home studies, coordination of placements and post-placement services until the adoptions were finalized in all of the 80 placements. Over 20 years ago, families came to JFCS to request adoption services, as they felt they weren’t being well served by other adoption agencies. As recently as the past month I’ve met with three families who were turned down for services due to their religion, age, and/or family structure. This past year has seen fewer adoption agencies and more restrictions on the adoptive families. It is my concern that Jewish families may not be able to fulfill their desire to create their families via adoption. It was with great pride that I was tasked with creating an adoption program through JFCS, and I’m very sorry to see the program end with my retirement. It is my belief that the community still needs this service. JoAnn White Pittsburgh

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FEBRUARY 23, 2018 21

Life & Culture This Israeli-Ethiopian woman brings the food of her cultures to Harlem — FOOD — By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

EW YORK — At Tsion Café in Harlem, visitors can order a vegetable injera, an Ethopian sourdough flatbread topped with vegetable, lentil and chickpea stews. There is traditional shakshuka, a dish common in Israel and the Middle East where eggs are cooked in a hearty tomato sauce. And then there’s the scrambled eggs with caramelized onions and lox. The assortment of menu items — random as it may seem — tells the story of the eatery’s owner, Beejhy Barhany, an Ethiopian Jew who moved here by way of Israel. Tsion Cafe, which is located in the historic Sugar Hill district of the Manhattan neighborhood, represents all of Barhany’s identities. “It’s a celebration of the Ethiopian, Israeli and American [cultures], so we are encompassing and celebrating all of these together,” she said last month. Barhany, 42, also wants the restaurant to serve as a cultural center of sorts. On the wall hang paintings by local artists, and on the weekends bands play jazz, a nod to the neighborhood’s influential role during the Harlem Renaissance, when African-American artists, musicians and writers converged in Harlem. The restaurant’s venue is historic in itself. It previously was the home of Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, a famous eatery and jazz spot frequented by Malcolm X and comedian John Elroy Sanford, also known as Redd Foxx, and where jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker Jr. washed dishes before his big break. “A lot of inspirational people passed through, and we’re very happy to continue

that by playing music and celebrating the diversity within Harlem,” Barhany said. Barhany came to New York in 2000: She was enamored with the city on a trip here after completing her Israeli army service.

Ethiopian migration to Israel. In Israel, the family initially lived in an immigrant absorption center in Pardes Hana, in the country’s north, later moving to the city of Ashkelon. At 13, Barhany decided

p Beejhy Barhany and her husband, Padmore John, celebrate Ethiopian, Israeli and American cultures through their food at Tsion Cafe.

Photo by Josefin Dolsten

In this city, she feels less defined by her race or status as an immigrant than she did in Israel. “Here you could be whomever you are and nobody knows who I am. I’m Ethiopian, I’m a New Yorker, I’m here, but I’m not categorized as Ethiopian, Russian, Yemenite,” she said, referring to immigrant groups to Israel that have faced various types of discrimination. Barhany was 4 years old when her family left Ethiopia for Israel. The journey took three years, passing through Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and Europe. They arrived in the Jewish state in 1983, in the early days of the

to move to a kibbutz, where she lived until joining the army at 18. Barhany disputes what she sees as a common but distorted narrative: that Ethiopian Jews were poor and suffering prior to moving to Israel. She said her family chose to leave Ethiopia because of a longstanding wish to return to the Jewish homeland. “We voluntarily left Ethiopia because we wanted to be in Israel,” she said. “We had our land, we had our properties, we didn’t starve or anything like it. We were doing very well.” Barhany opened Tsion Café in 2014 with

rabbi. “Judaism is a tradition for adults as much as for kids. “It seems to me that sometimes we focus on children too much and do not enjoy personalities. Adults should follow such the fun parts of our tradition as adults, lead, said Adelson. and I would like to see more adults partic“I would love to see more adults in ipating in many aspects of Jewish life, costume — it’s not just for kids,” said the including Purim.” In providing such a path, Shalom Pittsburgh and J’Burgh are hosting a young adult Purim party on Saturday evening, Feb. 24, styled in the theme of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” Those interested in entering a world of pure imagination are invited to “indulge in a night of candy-coated dreams at the Chilp CDS first-grade teachers (and real-life superheroes) dren’s Museum,” noted Amy Matthews, left, and Elizabeth Halfhill promotional materials. Photo courtesy of Community Day School

Although there is a $40 door fee, the pricier way to enjoy the night may be by dressing the part. According to icollector.com, when Gene Wilder’s iconic purple jacket, frilled shirt and bow tie went for auction in 2012, the outfit fetched $73,800 — that is apart from the $33,825 it cost to procure Wilder’s brown hat. But no need to be a million-dollar man (unless, of course, you are going for former pro wrestler Ted “Million Dollar Man” DiBiase’s classic black-and-gold sportcoat look) to enjoy the holiday. The irony of dressing up is that what matters most is what is beneath, said Rabbi Stacy Petersohn of Congregation Emanu-El Israel. Said the spiritual guide: “What makes a good Purim costume is a person’s attitude while in costume, if they can make their character come to life.” PJC

Costumes:

Continued from page 7

22 FEBRUARY 23, 2018

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

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her husband, Padmore John, a native of the Caribbean island republic Dominica. The pair wanted to start a restaurant that offered both healthy food and culture. “I think it’s important that you eat healthy food, good products, and I wanted to have a venue where I can encompass everything — a little bit of culture, a little bit of food, and in a place where nobody did it before,” Barhany said. She wants Tsion Café to serve as a venue for people to connect. “My bigger vision is for people from all backgrounds [to] come and talk and have a discussion, a dialogue, and to be more open minded, despite the political situation that we are in, to be more embracing and welcoming one another,” she said. Barhany is also the founder of Beta Israel of North America, a group for Ethiopian Jews. She founded the group in 2000, so she could come together with others who shared her background. She estimates that some 1,000 Ethiopian Jews live in the New York area. “I had nobody to reach out to so I said, ‘Let me create that, so whoever comes at least can be assisted,’” she said. The organization hosts the annual Sheba Film Festival, now in its 15th year, which highlights the experiences of African Jews. Her two children, a 12-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy, are part of the Ethiopian Jewish community here — and other communities as well. “They are Ethiopian, Israeli, American, Caribbean,” she said. Barhany said she finds ways in Harlem to honor all the different parts of her identity — and to incorporate them in the dishes at Tsion Cafe. “I’m a proud Ethiopian, a proud Jew, a proud black female living in Harlem, so all of that is part of me,” she said. “I celebrate all of that.” PJC

p CDS eighth-graders Carly Caplan, left, and Madison Zunder

Photo courtesy of Community Day School

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23 color

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION recently held events in Florida to connect with Pittsburgh Snowbirds and to provide an update on the work of the Foundation.

Sara and Ahmie Baum

Judy Papernick and Federation President & CEO Jeff Finkelstein

Art and Marlene Silverman and their grandsons, Ethan and Jacob

Patti and Sandy Berman

Event Co-Chairs Sheri Letwin, Robin Gordon and Ellie Bahm

Steve Kline and Stan Ruskin with Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff

Sally Goldhaber, Jody Hoffman and Jessy Stein

Arlene Weisman, Suzanne Wagner and Barbara Parker

Norman and Gail Childs and Wendy Kaplan

Barbara Rosenberg, Joan Prizant and Eva Tansky Blum

Daniel Edelstone, Dodi Walker Gross, Amy Brourman and Chuck Snyder

Speaker Gil Troy and Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff

Bonita Springs

Sarasota

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG â&#x20AC;&#x201A;

Boca Raton (Photos: prizmaphoto)

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FEBRUARY 23, 2018 23

Headlines Study:

Continued from page 1

Because nearly 40 percent of Jewish children in the community are younger than 5 years old, and because newcomers to the community seem to be replacing those who move away, growth in the community is likely to continue, according to the study. “There are a lot of young people here, which presents a really exciting opportunity for us to think about how to engage them all in Jewish life,” Finkelstein said. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald noted that the increase in Jewish young adults in Pittsburgh reflects a trend in the broader Steel City community. “This is something we’re excited about. This study indicates we’re getting younger, that young parents are moving here and staying here.” The study also revealed changes since 2002 in terms of organizational affiliation, reflecting national trends. Only 35 percent of Jewish households in Greater Pittsburgh belong to a synagogue or other Jewish worship community, declining by 53 percent in the last 15 years. Matt Boxer, an assistant research professor at CMJS who worked on the study, said it reveals little information that was unexpected. The decline in synagogue affiliation in Pittsburgh, he said, is not surprising, noting that “people joining or attending chavurot-style minyanim or Chabad has contributed to the decline of the brick and mortar synagogue model.” The number of people identifying as Orthodox in Pittsburgh has increased slightly, from 7 percent to 9 percent, but it is the only denomination that has grown in the last 15 years. The study shows that the proportion of Pittsburgh Jews who identify either as Reform or Conserva-

Hamantaschen: Continued from page 1

Calabria explained, the global goodies contain marmalade, apricot and honey. “The recipe is a classic Purim recipe of the Jews of Libyan descent, like my grandparents,” said Benedetta Jasmine Guetta, of Milan, Italy. “During World War II, Libya’s Jewish population was subjected to anti-Semitic laws by the fascist Italian regime and deportations by German troops. “After World War II, anti-Jewish violence caused many Jews to leave Libya principally for Israel, though significant numbers moved to Italy, specifically to Rome, and many later immigrated to various communities in North America. Under Col. Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled the country from 1969 to 2011, the situation deteriorated further, eventually leading to the emigration of the remaining Jewish population. There are no Jews left today in Libya, but we maintain our old traditions and customs and a strong sense of identity, wherever we are.” Guetta, who moderates the food blog Labna. it, learned how to make Manicotti di Purim from her mother, who in turn learned from her mother. “I consider sharing this (and very many other) recipes with my readers very important, because the story of the Jews of Libya remains mostly untold, unfortunately.” While the origins of Italian hamantaschen may dip a bit deeper than the bel paese, there is some culinary credibility for those willing to make them. As Haaretz reported, the source of hamantaschen may stem from a 16th-century 24 FEBRUARY 23, 2018

tive has declined since 2014 from 73 percent to 56 percent. The proportion of Jews in Pittsburgh who claim no denomination has increased from 17 percent to 30 percent of the population. “I think we as a community have to look at the changes in denominational affiliation that the study shows,” Finkelstein said. “I think it’s really important for members of the community and different organizations to not be defensive when they see this study, but to try to own the data and grapple with it to make sure each organization is achieving its mission.” While synagogue affiliation in Pittsburgh has dropped to one-third of area Jews, the Steel City is doing better on that front than other communities, according to Leonard Saxe, director of the CMJS. Washington, D.C.’s Jewish community, which just completed a similar study, has a 25 percent affiliation rate. “There are multiple ways to be Jewish today,” Saxe said. “It’s not just going to synagogue,” but includes participating in a variety of other organizations and Jewish cultural opportunities. “The different patterns we identified will help to figure out how to enhance and serve the Jewish community.” Saxe added that according to the study, 30 percent of Pittsburgh’s Jewish population is engaged “in many aspects” of being Jewish, even though they do not “necessarily go to synagogue every week.” The study revealed a lot of positive data, Finkelstein noted, pointing to the “penetration rate” in terms of Jewish education. Overall, 52 percent of Jewish children in grades K-12 participated in at least one Jewish educational program in the past year. “There is more that we can do, but that is pretty good,” Finkelstein said. “The biggest take away from the study is opportunity,” said Evan Indianer, the study’s

chair. It will allow community organizations to make “smart, data-driven decisions. “We have limited resources in the community, and we have to figure out how to most effectively use them,” Indianer continued. “The data will be looked upon in different ways and will inform us as to the different questions to keep asking.” One statistic that Indianer found encouraging is that 76 percent of children being raised in Jewish households in Pittsburgh are being raised Jewish in some way. While intermarriage rates among the non-Orthodox continue to rise nationally, Indianer sees Pittsburgh’s rate of raising children Jewish as “encouraging.” But among intermarried families, the study shows, only 33 percent of children are being raised exclusively Jewish. Moreover, few intermarried families in the Pittsburgh community “feel very much a part of the local Jewish community, but these families have over one-third of all children in Jewish households in the area,” the report states. Nonetheless, for intermarried families who are raising their children Jewish in some way, “nearly as many are sending their children to Jewish preschool as are intermarried families.” Reaching out to intermarried families may provide a good opportunity for growth, Boxer said, and Pittsburgh should see “what else can be done to make them feel welcome.” Indianer hopes the study provides an opportunity for community leaders to “embrace reality, which can catapult conversation to a new level and bring action, rather than being paralyzing, providing insight as to our weaknesses so we can stay at the top of our game.” One surprising piece of data revealed by the study is that 59 percent of Jewish Pittsburghers have visited or lived in Israel, said Raimy Rubin, a Federation employee who staffed the study. “For Jewish connection to Israel, our

mentioning in Leone de’ Sommi’s “A Comedy of Betrothal.” The Hebrew-language play, which served as an early example of a Purim shpiel, performs a particular pun by linguistically entwining “manna” and “Haman”; in so doing, Sommi, a Mantuan playwright, director and poet, substitutes the biblical eating with a more subversive devouring. If so, whether fresh or packaged, hamantaschen are neither a piece of cake nor food for thought. What they are is actually a lot to chew on. PJC

the smooth opening of the machine, which pulls and flattens the dough: after the first draft (level 1 of the wheel), fold the dough into two by adding a little flour inside and proceed with the next steps (the dough must pass once for each level of the machine, from 1 to 6). If instead you do not have the pasta machine you will have to make do with a rolling pin, taking care to flour the worktop well and the rolling pin itself: the spread pastry must be very thin, very few millimeters. When the dough is spread out in thin sheets, cut it into strips about two fingers wide; then arrange the strips on a damp dusted cloth with a little cornstarch, and get ready to fry. Fill a saucepan with a high edge and a thick base with plenty of oil and heat the oil over medium heat. Test the oil with the help of a slice of apple, which among other things reduces the smell of the frying, and when it is hot begin to fry the dough. Take the first strip of dough and roll one of the ends of it around a fork; lower the fork into the oil holding the other end of the dough strip in hand, and gradually roll the dough strip, while this fries, swells and takes color. When the first strip is rolled around the fork and the dough is well browned, drain the sleeve obtained on two sheets of paper and proceed in the same way with the subsequent strips.

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Benedetta Jasmine Guetta’s recipe for Italian Hamantaschen: For a dozen sleeves we need:

1 1 1

cup cake flour

egg tablespoon of cornstarch, to separate the sheets sunflower seed oil or any other vegetable oil, for frying sugar syrup (recipe below) sesame seeds

Directions: Place the flour in a fountain (like a well) and break the egg in half, then add a little oil and start working the dough with energy: it is necessary that all the indicated amount of flour, if not a little more, is absorbed. When the dough is smooth and uniform and does not stick more to the hands, you can proceed to roll it out. If you have the appropriate pasta machine, gradually remove some dough, roll it and put it in

Cool the sleeves and in the meantime prepare the “honey.” For 2 1 1 ½

the “honey” cups sugar scant cup water teaspoon of lemon juice lemon without the peel

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numbers are higher than nationally.” Young Jewish adults in Pittsburgh are also more engaged Jewishly than that demographic is on a national level, Rubin added. “They defy the stereotypes,” said Boxer. “The young adults in our survey look like the [Pittsburgh Jewish] community as a whole. They join organizations, but they may be different organizations, or slightly different kinds of programs.” The study shows that the Pittsburgh Jewish community is mostly middle class. One-third of Pittsburgh-area Jews describe themselves as prosperous or living very comfortably, and another 45 percent say they are living reasonably comfortably. But 15 percent say they are just getting along, and 8 percent describe themselves as poor or nearly poor. One-quarter of Jewish households lack sufficient savings to cover three months of expenses, and 13 percent say they could not cover an emergency $400 expense with cash, money currently in a bank account or on a credit card they could pay in full. “Although the community as a whole is comfortably middle class, there is a substantial proportion facing economic pressures,” Boxer stressed. “About one-quarter of Jewish households say they’re just getting along, nearly poor or poor, and the proportion on the lower end of the scale is highest in the outlying areas of the region farthest away from the resources the Jewish community has available to help.” The study is a “planning tool,” Finkelstein surmised, saying that he hopes it will be utilized by the community to see “what we’re doing well — and do more of that — and what we’re not doing well. “It’s a snapshot in time. Shame on us if we don’t use it to look at the trends and make sure we’re addressing the needs of our Jewish people.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Photo provided by Benedetta Jasmine Guetta.

Directions: In a small saucepan put the sugar, water, lemon juice and peeled lemon and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, until the liquid resembles honey. Remove the “honey” from the heat and let it cool at room temperature. When the honey is ready, pour it over the sleeves, adding a sprinkling of sesame seeds or colored sugar tails. The sleeves are delicious eaten freshly made: Take advantage of it now! >> Recipe is available at labna. it/manicotti.html

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FEBRUARY 23, 2018 25

27 CELEBRATIONS/TORAH

Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

The miracle of knowing your mission

Horvitz/Bittenbender: Rhonda Horvitz and Teddi and David Horvitz of Squirrel Hill are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Rachel Horvitz, to Jeffrey Bittenbender, son of Christy and Chuck Bittenbender of Cleveland. Rachel’s grandparents are Marilyn and the late Herbert Weisman and the late Esther and Robert Horvitz, all of Pittsburgh. Jeff ’s grandparents are the late Janet and Paul Jones Jr. of Cleveland and the late Mary and William Bittenbender of Granville, Ohio. Jeff graduated from Lafayette College with a Bachelor of Arts in art history and subsequently received a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Cornell University. Jeff is a landscape architect for the CRJA-IBI firm in Boston. Rachel graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and received her master’s degree in school psychology from Northeastern University. Rachel is a school psychologist for the Winchester school district, which is a Boston suburb. Rachel and Jeff met in Boston and reside there. A wedding is planned in Pittsburgh in May.

Wedding Spiegler: It is with great joy that Melanie and Oren Spiegler announce their marriage, which was officiated by Rabbi Aaron B. Bisno at Rodef Shalom Congregation on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017. Melanie was attended by her son, Matthew. A dinner reception followed in the Aaron Garden Courtyard. Oren is the son of the late Gloria Siegle Spiegler and Dr. Kurt Samuel Spiegler. Melanie is the daughter of Anthony Krupinski III and the late Patricia Sue Krupinski. Oren is in his 34th year as a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania employee, currently serving as an unemployment compensation hearing officer. Melanie is an accountant. The couple is at home with Matthew and their three dogs in South Strabane Township, Washington County.

Births Berg: Casey Broff Berg and Jeffrey David Berg of Royal Oak, Mich., are proud to announce the birth of their son, Edward Broff Berg, on Jan. 23 named after his late great-great-aunt Elinor Cohen. Maternal grandparents are Laura and Chuck Broff of Pittsburgh. Maternal great-grandmother is Helene Wechsler of Chatham Village, N.J. Paternal grandparents are Elizabeth McNamara of Allegan, Mich., and John Berg of Hastings, Mich. Hertz: Samuel Joseph Hertz was born on Jan. 29 to Ashley and Jeffrey Hertz. Grandparents are Marlene Paul, Mary Ann Hertz, Rick and Helene Paul and Debby Koster and Jack Hertz (formerly of Pittsburgh).

Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum Parshat Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20-30:10

his coming Wednesday evening, Feb. 28, we will begin Purim with the reading of the Megillah. In Chapter 4, as the story begins to turn to Haman’s plot to destroy the entire Jewish people, a dialogue begins between Mordechai and Esther on how to deal with the extremely dangerous situation that the Jewish people find themselves in. Mordechai sends a dire message to Esther in an effort to get her to go to King Achashverosh, although such a move without the invitation of the King could easily cost Esther her life, as the King has decreed that anyone who appears without an invitation risks being killed. Here is the quote from the Megillah: “And Mordechai said to relay to Esther, ‘Do not think that you will escape [the fate of] all the Jews by being in the king’s palace. For if you will remain silent at this time, relief and salavation will come to the Jews from another source, and you and the house of your father will be lost. And who knows if it is not for just such a time that you reached this royal position.’ ” If we break down this message, essentially Mordechai is giving Esther three reasons to risk her life and go to the King immediately: >> You will have the honor of the Jewish People’s salvation coming through you and your actions. >> If you don’t do this, you’ll be destroyed even if the rest of the Jewish people are saved. >> Perhaps this mission is the very reason you were born and brought to greatness. Now, one would think that if Mordechai is trying to convince Esther, his arguments should increase in strength with each added reason. Why does it seem as if the last reason (this mission might be the reason for your existence) seems to be the weakest of the three? I would like to answer this question with a story that happened in the 1970s with a man named Abe Saks, who was a coach for the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. One night in 1973, he found himself glued to his television screen watching a series called “Religious America,” which focused

on the spiritual lives of different Americans. That week, the television displayed scenes of Lubavitch life in Crown Heights, Brooklyn: prayers with the Lubavitcher Rebbe; a Chassidic wedding; and the circumcision of an 8-day-old boy. Abe was transfixed. Most of all, he was captivated by the images of the Rebbe himself. On an impulse, as soon as the show was over Abe caught a train and headed to the address he had seen on the screen, 770 Eastern Parkway, the central synagogue of Lubavitch. He was obviously unable to meet the Rebbe, as that required an advance appointment. However, after doing a bit of quick research, he found out when the Rebbe would walk from his office to the shul each day. He resolved that he would stop the Rebbe on that short walk and introduce himself. Sure enough, he returned at the appointed time and stood in the Rebbe’s way and blurted out, “Rebbe I am a coach!” The Rebbe was already a world Jewish leader at the time with countless Chabad Centers around the world, meeting regularly with world leaders, conducting public addresses that would attract thousands of people, etc. One could have easily excused the Rebbe if he would just smile and move on. However, that is not what happened; he turned to Abe and said “You are a coach? I need a coach!” And this began a relationship between Abe and the Rebbe that lasted until Abe’s passing in the mid-1980s. Following the Rebbe’s directive, when groups of college students came to Crown Heights for an “Encounter” weekend, Abe would, “coach” the students in Judaism. Having been coached himself, he was now able to coach others. And a basketball coach also became a Judaism coach. The Rebbe’s message to him is that there was a way to use his talents and skills to benefit his brothers and sisters. This is perhaps what Mordechai is telling Esther as the most powerful message. There does not need to be a splitting of the sea or manna from heaven to bring G-d’s salvation to you and to the world, just the miracle of you realizing your mission and acting on it. PJC Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum is the spiritual leader of Chabad of the South Hills. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

B’nai Mitzvah Ava Caroline Kronman and Alexander Lawrence Kronman, children of Rebecca and Jeremy Kronman, will become b’nai mitzvah at Adat Shalom during Shabbat morning service on Saturday, Feb. 24. Grandparents are Dr. Barry Kronman and Barbara Kamen Movius and Barbara Bender and the late Larry Bender. PJC

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Headlines Politicians: Continued from page 14

What he said: He thought they were M&Ms. What he served: More than two years of a five-year sentence. He was released in 2007. Segev was last heard practicing medicine in Nigeria.

Shlomo Benizri, health and energy minister

Benizri, of the Sephardi Orthodox Shas party, served as a health minister under a Labor Party government from 1999 to 2001 and then as labor minister under Likud governments from 2001 to 2003. He was

charged in 2008 with accepting bribes, breach of public trust and obstruction of justice for actions during his stint as labor minister. He had provided Shlomo Benizri inside information to a Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 contractor friend. What his brother said: It was the gays’ fault. “The entire system has tuned Shlomo Benizri into its target,” David Benizri said when his brother was convicted. “He was a man who wasn’t afraid to say what we, as religious Jews, did not dare utter. There are a lot of gays in the courts, the Knesset, the police and the

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State Prosecution, and I guess many Jews in the law enforcement system did not like to hear the truth.” What he served: Benizri appealed an 18-month sentence in 2008; the High Court increased the term to four years in 2009. He served 2 1/2 years and was released in March 2012 in part because of overcrowding in Israeli prisons. For a time he and Katsav were cellmates.

Aryeh Deri, interior minister

Deri, the Shas leader, was the interior minister from 1988 to 1993, under national unity, Likud and Labor-led governments. He was charged with multiple counts of corruption relating to using his position heading the

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Interior Ministry, which oversees local councils, to get towns and cities to dispense favors to friends and associates. What his rabbi said: God was protecting him. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the former Sephardic chief rabbi and the spiritual leader of Shas, called Deri to his apartment in 1993 and instructed him not to step down. Yosef said Deri’s “enemies will fall before him” because Deri “is guarded by angels.” What he served: Deri was sentenced to three years in 2000; he was released after 22 months in 2002. What we learned: Maybe Ovadia Yosef was right: Deri’s back in government — as interior minister. PJC

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Headlines Florida: Continued from page 10

for the counselors to supervise. Several of Coleman’s campers go to Stoneman Douglas High School, and the camp hosted a service on Facebook Live in the victims’ memory. “She was a very sweet camper,” Harris said. “Her counselors always said she did exactly what she was told to do, always helped out whenever she was needed to help out. She was like an angel. She was just a bright light and was very positive.” Meadow Pollack, a senior, had gone missing and was confirmed dead Thursday morning. In a photograph posted on Facebook, she is wearing a cap and gown in preparation for graduation. She planned to go to Lynn University in nearby Boca Raton next year. 28 FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Another victim was Alex Schachter, Congregation Beth Am wrote on Facebook. He was a member of the school’s marching band. Scott Beigel was reported to have been shot as he shut the door to protect students from the gunman, an expelled student identified as Nikolas Cruz. One of the students in his class, Kelsey Friend, recounted how Beigel, 35, let her and other students into his classroom and then attempted to lock the door. “I had talked to my teacher and said ‘I am scared.’ And then we all heard gunshots, and he unlocked the door and let us in. I had thought he was behind me, but he wasn’t,” Friend told ABC News. “When he opened the door, he had to relock it so we can stay safe, but he didn’t get the chance to [stay safe].” Friend said she would likely not be alive had Beigel not opened the door for her. “I’m so thankful that he was there to help

everybody who did live in that classroom because he was in the doorway and the door was still open and the shooter probably didn’t know we were in there because Mr. Beigel was laying on the floor,” she told ABC. “If the shooter would have come into the room, I probably wouldn’t be speaking with you right now.” Friend called Beigel “a really amazing teacher.” “He would explain things easier to a lot of us in the classroom,” she said. “It was just easier to comprehend the subject when he taught it.” Beigel was a staff member at Camp Starlight, a predominately Jewish summer camp in Starlight, Pa. In a Facebook post, the camp called him a “beloved friend and hero.” “He was someone who could make you laugh in any situation and those kids were very lucky to have him as a teacher and protector,” Liza Luxenberg, a friend from Camp Star-

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

light, wrote. “I am not at all surprised to hear that he endangered his own life to save others. He has always been a hero to me as a friend and now unfortunately the rest of the world gets to learn of his heroism in this tragedy.” Other campers also shared fond memories of Beigel. “Today is a really sad day as we learn about your passing Scott Beigel,” Adam Schwartz, a Starlight camper, wrote in a post. “You were one of my favorite counselors growing up and my Olympics General my senior year. Those kids were incredibly lucky to have you, you are a real hero.” Melissa Strauss wrote: “A man with strength and wisdom has died, protecting his students during the school shooting in Florida yesterday. Scott Beigel was not only a teacher and a counselor but he was the biggest role model.” PJC

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Obituaries BIGLER: Harold S. Bigler, on Thursday February 15, 2018. Beloved husband of Bette J. Bigler. Beloved father of Marshall S. Bigler and Clifford (Colleen) Bigler. Brother of the late Eleanor Lewis and Sylvia Bigler. Popop to Bryan and Chauncie Bigler. Uncle of Matt Lewis, Mary Rhonda Lewis, Ritchard Lewis, David Winkler, Laura Kraslow and Susan Rosenthal. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Interment at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to Jewish Family and Community Services 5743 Bartlett Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or a charity of donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. FIEDLER: Morton Fiedler passed away at age 93, after a brief illness, on February 13, 2018, near Lake Worth, Fla., where he had spent a happy retirement since 1990. Mort (or Morty) was born in Pittsburgh on April 28, 1924, the son of William Fiedler and Lillian Zolten Fiedler, both of whom emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States as young children. Mort and his devoted wife Sherma (Sheri) Feldman Fiedler celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on January 28. He was a loving father to Nancy and David. The Fiedlers raised their family in White Oak. They were longtime members of Temple B’nai Israel. They also were members of Baldoc Hills Country Club (later Lincoln Hills) in Irwin. Mort loved flying airplanes, golf and was a voracious reader. He served in the Army Air Force, starting at the age of 18 as an aviation cadet, and progressed rapidly through his training to get his pilot’s wings and commission as a 2nd lieutenant two days before his 20th birthday. Soon after, as commander of a B-17 bomber crew, Mort flew a brand-new bomber with his entire crew from Georgia to England, and the crew was assigned to the Eighth Air Force, 18th squadron, 34th bomb group outside the village of Mendle-

Book: Continued from page 5

survivors and witnesses to explore not only the massacre itself, but the setting and sentiment that enabled such atrocity. Although the legislation will not retroactively affect Bikont’s work, it may prevent future researchers from pursuing similar academic or historical endeavors, she said. “All scholars who start now in their career, each scholar has to think twice or three times before thinking of some subject where you can go to two to three years of prison.” Those who choose to pursue interests such as Polish-Jewish relations during the Holocaust “have to be very courageous to do it,” she added. But while the possibility of peril may discourage new scholars from exploring the topic, outside interest is growing. “It’s ironic. I was at the Polish Museum of History in Warsaw for a seminar, a lecture about Jews killed by Poles after the war,

sham. The crew flew 32 missions before the war ended, and every member under Mort’s command survived with no injuries. After the war, Mort returned to McKeesport where his parents and sister lived, with plans to work in the business of selling appliances and to expand it to include air conditioning and heating contracting. He attended the University of Pittsburgh, one of the first students to register there under the new G.I. Bill. He earned his bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering there in three years, and met Sherma Feldman, whom he would wed on her 21st birthday. Mort joined the newly formed Air Force Reserve unit in Pittsburgh, where he was able to continue flying transport planes, and retired from the Reserve 28 years later as a lieutenant colonel. The business in McKeesport flourished for a period, and then closed, and Mort started a second career in the architectural lighting business. He worked for Lightolier, an innovator in the field, eventually moving to Chicago, where he became the manager of the company’s Midwest business before retiring. He is survived by his wife, daughter Nancy (Jeff) Millman, son David (Becky) Fiedler, granddaughters Amy (Alyssa) Fiedler, M.D. and Morgan (Nathan) Delack, and two great-grandchildren, Hannah and Caleb. Services were held on Friday, February 16, 2018 at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel, Boynton Beach, Fla. Interment at Temple Cemetery, Versailles, Pa. Please honor Mort with a donation to a charity of your choice. SWEER: Grace Sweer (nee Fried) on February 9, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Bernard Sweer; cherished mother of Leon (Karen) Sweer and Susan (Larry) Rooner; devoted sister of the late Richard Fried; loving daughter of the late Florence Beck and Leon Fried; adoring grandmother of Ryan (Krista) Sweer, Kevin (Lauren) Sweer, Jordan Sweer, Daniel Rooner, and Adam Rooner; also survived by loving nieces, nephews and cousins. Mrs. Sweer was a “people person,” a wonderful wife of 66 years, a longtime legal secretary and an outstanding mother and grandmother. Funeral services were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions in her memory may be sent to the charity of donor’s choice. Arrangements by Sol Levinson & Bros. PJC and normally because they have two young scholars talking about it, there would be 20 or 30 people at events like this, but there were 200 or 300 people,” said Bikont. “This legislation on the one side provoked a wave of anti-Semitism but on the other hand provoked many people to investigate what this is about and what happened during the war and why the government is making this legislation to prevent people from talking about it.” Bikont’s Pittsburgh visit, which is being supported by Classrooms Without Borders, will include stops at the Mt. Lebanon Library, Seton Hill University and Winchester Thurston School. Those interested in hearing Bikont are invited to attend Tuesday’s 8 p.m. City of Asylum talk. Free registration is available at tinyurl.com/y8ddwhpb. Said the journalist, “I hope to tell more during my lectures.” PJC

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

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Stewart Barmen ......................................................... Abe Turk Ellen Danovitz Blum .........................................Edgar Danovitz Marilyn & Bernard Caplan ................................Arlene S. Apter Patricia Cohen.....................................................Jennie Fisher Lois S. Crone..............................................Benjamin B. Crone Sharon & Morry Feldman .................................... Nellie Swartz Joan Finkel ............................... Miriam & Benjamin Silberman Ruth Haber ................................................... Ella Miller Lewine Rhoda Judd ........................................................ Jacob Marks Karen R. Jurgensmier .................................Samuel Rosenfeld Jan & Edward Korenman ............................Isadore Winerman Racille Lazar ..........................................................Ida N. Shrut Beverly Lebovitz............................................. Sidney Lebovitz Mrs. David Lieberman....................................... Joseph Zinner Mrs. David Lieberman............................Rebecca Betty Rubin Anonymous ............................................................... Carl Katz Nellie Mae Litowich ............................................Jack Lebovitz Susan Melnick............................................ Julius Jakob Maas

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Thelma R. Miller ............................................... Sadie Rubinoff Abby Sniderman Milstein ............................Marvin Sniderman Mrs. Alvin Mundel ................................................B. J. Mundel Faye Nickel.......................................................Fannie Melnick Faye Nickel......................................................Joseph Melnick Faye Nickel......................................................Rory S. Melnick Paul & Diane Pechersky.................................Louis Pechersky Nathaniel S. Pirchesky ................................Belle C. Pirchesky Evelyn K. Rebb.......................................................Bella Bilder Evelyn K. Rebb....................................................Sidney Bilder Evelyn K. Rebb............................................Isadore Winerman Linda & Jeffrey Reisner & Family ......... Joanne Brodell Alpern David Rosenberg ........................................Minnie Rosenberg Jay N. Rosenberg .......................................... Sam Rosenberg Lee & Debra Rosenfeld & Family ................Samuel Rosenfeld Robert Rosenstein ..................................... Eleanor Silverstein Rosalyn Shapiro .................................................Frank Shapiro Andy Weiss............................................................Edna Foster

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday February 25: Tillie Berenfield, Shirley L. Borcover, Louis C. Burstin, Hyman Cahen, Dora Cohen, Morris Gilbert Davidson, Pauline Davis, William Davis, Charles Glick, Jack Greenfield, Julius L. Gusky, Sondra Hansell, Florence L. Hochhauser, Mollie Koss, Esther Mandel, Thelma Marder, Jacob Marks, Max A. Moses, Estelle S. Nernberg, Fannie Orlansky, Nat Rubin, Rebecca Rubin, Max Seltman, Markus Sherman, Fannye Taper, Israel Whiteman, Samuel Williams Monday February 26: Minnie Abelson, Frank B. Bortz, Ethel Chesterpal, Eva Fox, Harvey N. Goldstein, Minnie Herring, Fanny Kingstone, Reuben Kingstone, Isadore S. Levin, Oscar Levine, Joel Litman, Sophia Meyers, Dorothy Morantz, Sadie Pearlstein, Lester Poser, Julius Rosenberg, Louis S. Rosenthal, Freda Rosenthall, Freda Rubin, Jean G. Semins, Ida Shieff, Ethel Simon, Goldie Simon, Harry Uram Tuesday February 27: Isadore Bergstein, Jacob M. Blaufeld, Joseph H. Braemer, Ida Dektor, David L. Ekker, Jack Elkovitz, Anna Finer, Rebecca (Barron) Greenberg, Marvin L. Gusky, Earl Herman, Harry I. Horwitz, Lily June Kanarek, Elinor Kann, Ida Kramer, William Oskie, Pearl Wintner Rosen, Maurice F. Sadowsky, Kenneth S. Samowich, Milton Weisenberg Wednesday February 28: Samuel Cohen, Harry Davis, Mary Farber, Eva Fingeret, Belle S. Friedman, Rebecca Kauffman, Gary Lee Kress, Anna Kuperstock, Ben Leshney, William A. Lubarsky, Steven L. Ochs, Lena Pavilack, Cecelia F. Rosen, David Rosenthal, Bessie S. Schulman, Frances L. Shaeffer, Malie Silverman, Dorothy Sloan, Myer Solomon, Miriam W. Steerman, Silvia Stuhl, Lea S. Teplitz, Helen Tepper, Sidney M. Wolk, Martin Zamore, Sarah Leah Zinner Thursday March 1: Dorothy Adler, Arlene Y. Apter, Israel Backer, George Bonder, Daniel M. Emas, Anna Feinberg, Mollie F. Ganelin, Minnie Gottesman, Maurice Greenberg, Hyman Greenspan, Rose Harris, Melvin W. Helfant, Max Janavitz, Harry M. Kamin, Jack Lebovitz, Julius Markley, Leonard Nadel, Freda R. Selkovits, William H. Silverman, Esther K. Stutz, Nellie Swartz, Isadore Winerman, Phillip Zamsky Friday March 2: Pearl Auslander, Max L. Bluestone, Dr. Paul Cramer, Celia F. Daniels, Pearl Erenstein, Max Freedel, Samuel M. Gordon, Betty I. Greenwald, Winifred Joyce Hynes, Lena Kline, Jacob Kunst, Samuel Marcovsky, Gertrude Robinowitz, Isabelle I. Sachs, Irwin J. Schultz, Becky Schwartz, Ida Valinsky, Sidney Weisberger, Moisha Weissman, Sidney Wiesberger, Samuel Yanks Saturday March 3: Dr. Simeon Allen, Bella Bonder, Ida Sisser Bortz, Malvina Chotiner, Clara Cohen, Isidor Davis, Mildred Cohen Feldman, Sadie Fink, Anna Fireman, Dr. Ben Greenberger, Alexander Handmacher, Miriam Keilly, Bessie Kempler, Ella Klein, William Lederer, Ella Miller Lewine, Abe Albert Lewis, Adolph Lobl, Helen Miller, Louis Pechersky, Lucille Pollock, Aaron Pretter, Esther Ruben, Ralph Rubinoff, Jean Y. Shapera, Mollie Silverman, Sadie M. Speer

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SERVING Scott Twp., Greentree, Carnegie, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park

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

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Community OneTable launches

Story of inspiration

OneTable Pittsburgh held its sold-out launch party at Threadbare Cider and Mead on Friday, Feb. 9. Seventy-five people enjoyed hors d’oeuvres of cheese boards, specialty hummus, crackers and veggies, a mixology bar, seasonal salads, specialty pizzas, a celebratory cake and macarons from Macaron Bar Pittsburgh. Cider tastings featured Threadbare and 412 Food Rescue’s City Cider, made from handpicked crab and wild apples around Pittsburgh. OneTable helps post-college people in their 20s and 30s find, enjoy and share Shabbat dinners by making it easy for hosts to welcome people to dinner.

 Lianne Sufrin, left, Pittsburgh hub manager, and national community manager Sara Fatell show off tickets for the raffle. Donations came from Trader Joe’s, Macaron Bar, Wigle Whiskey and included OneTable swag bag.

Photo by Kyle Oldfield

 Dina Hurowitz, a Chabad Rebbetzin whose husband was diagnosed with ALS five years ago, shared her story at Chabad of Squirrel Hill. Hurowitz is from Los Angeles and the event, a lecture entitled “Creating Light from Darkness,” took place on Feb. 7. Photo courtesy of Chabad of Squirrel Hill

CHUTZ-POW!

 Lianne Sufrin showcased different ways that hosts can offer ritual or mixology techniques in their own OneTable Shabbat dinners.

More than 100 people turned out for the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s opening of its latest exhibit, “CHUTZ-POW! The Art of Resistance,” which included the release of the latest installment in the CHUTZ-POW! comic-book series, “CHUTZ-POW! Volume III: The Young Survivors.”

Photo by Kyle Oldfield

 Seventyfive people participated in the OneTable launch. These diners had a lot to smile about. Photo by Lovas Photography and Design

 A group shot of the creators behind “CHUTZ-POW! Volume III.” Top row, from left: Mark Zingarelli, Wayne Wise, Deesha Philyaw, Howard Bender and Vince Dorse; bottom row, from left: Rachel Masilamani, Marcel Walker and Yona Harvey (not pictured: Loran Skinkis) Photo by Melanie Friend

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Community On stage  Pictured is a scene from the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill, which is playing through Feb. 24. Jill Machen is the director of the Richard E. Rauh Senior High Musical 2018.

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

Movie fun

‘Loaves of Love’

The Transition class at Temple Emanuel Early Childhood Development Center welcomed Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office. Keezer spoke to the children about how movies are made and the movies that are made in Pittsburgh, and she read “Clifford Goes to Hollywood.” Keezer gave each child an Oscar and a hand-drawn coloring book about movies. The Transition class is making its own movie, and the curious friends had a lot of questions for the guest speaker. Photo courtesy of Temple Emanuel

Chabad of Pittsburgh held its Loaves of Love program for making hamantaschen on Feb. 15. Photos courtesy of Chantal Belman

 From left: Stephie Shugerman, Pam Shugerman and Jennifer Buchinsky

Mat king! ◀ Troy Jacobson, a freshman at Pittsburgh Allderdice, won the 113-pound weight class of the District 8 (City League) Wrestling Championships on Saturday, Feb. 17, held at Carrick High School. He defeated Joe Dang, a senior from Carrick, by pin in the second period. Troy qualified for the PIAA NW Regional Championship being held March 2-3 at the Altoona Field House.

Photo by Constance O’Connor

 From left: Hallie, Samantha and Debbie Cohen

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• All-natural, corn-fed beef — steaks, roasts, ground beef and more • Variety of deli meats and franks • All-natural poultry — whole chickens, breasts, wings and more Available at select Giant Eagle stores. Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

Alle Kosher 80% Lean Fresh Ground Beef

99 lb.

Price effective Thursday, February 22 through Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Available at 17AD32054_PJC_0222.indd 1

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and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

2/16/18 2:52 PM

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