Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 6-28-19

June 28, 2019 | 25 Sivan 5779

Candlelighting 8:36 p.m. | Havdalah 9:44 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 26 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Fighting for religious freedom

Community responds to arrest of would-be church bomber

Local attorney Michael Sampson scores a win for the Amish.

F reach out to Pastor [Michael] Day [of the Legacy International Worship Center] to check on his emotional well-being and that of his congregants. After spending some time visiting with him in church, he and I planned to invite the community to stand in support of the church on Sunday morning as churchgoers entered the sanctuary. He also invited all of us to come for service.”

The JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness penned an open letter of support for the church along with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council and Southwest Christian Associates of Western Pennsylvania. The letter, which also cautioned against stereotyping a community based on the actions of a single individual, had accrued 176 signatures by mid-morning, June 23.

The CRC also reached out to Pastor Day to offer support for security and mental health needs soon after receiving news of the thwarted attack.

“So much of what we do at the CRC is outreach and to be there, not only within the Jewish community, but outside the Jewish community,” said Bob Silverman,

or 75 years, the Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh has educated Jewish children. The school was started in 1943 when Rabbi Sholom Posner moved to the city and opened the city’s first Jewish day school. According to the current dean of Yeshiva Schools, Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, “We were the first Jewish day school in Pittsburgh. Back then, there weren’t many Jewish day schools outside of New York.

It was started with a very small group of children and it was a challenge because the concept was not something everyone was excited about.”

From its humble beginnings, the school has grown to educate thousands of students, including over 450 this year alone. “We have the boys’ school, the girls’ school and the preschool. It goes from 6 weeks old all the way through high school,” said Yisroel Rosenfeld.

“We have many students who are second-, third-, fourth-generation students. Their parents, grandparents, some great-grandparents attended the school,” added Chezky Rosenfeld, director of development. “Many, many of our students are children of alum, which is a testament to the school and what it has been for all these years.”

“Along the same note,” said Yisroel Rosenfeld, “many of the teachers that are here today were students themselves. Now they are teachers and their children are students. ... It’s beautiful to see the continuity.”

One of the unique characteristics of the school is its focus on both secular and religious education.

“Our school, by design, tries to be the best we possibly can in both the secular and the Judaic departments,” said Yisroel Rosenfeld.

“So, a child, ready to graduate, is prepared for

Please see Bomber, page 14

Please see Yeshiva, page 14

LOCAL Boosting Jewish life on campus

 Laura Horowitz at the Legacy International Worship Center

Photo by Toby Tabachnick

Page 4 LOCAL Running for Ewing’s sarcoma

South Hills resident raises dollars, awareness for deadly disease.

Page 5

Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh celebrates 75 years

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

Page 2

Hillel JUC hires a new director of engagement.

$1.50

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

N

ews of the June 19 FBI arrest of a 21-year old man with ties to ISIS, who was charged with planning to bomb a church on the city’s North Side, drew a swift response from members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.

The arrest of Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, a refugee from Syria who was resettled in Pittsburgh in 2016, came less than eight months after the deadly Oct. 27 attack on worshippers at the Tree of Life building in Squirrel Hill.

Alowemer, who recently graduated from Pittsburgh’s Brashear High School, allegedly planned to bomb the Legacy International Worship Center, a small black Christian church where he believed many Nigerians worship, according to the federal criminal complaint. He also discussed with undercover FBI agents the desire to bomb a local mosque that served Shia Muslims, but ultimately decided against it.

“Like many, we were shocked to hear about the thwarted bombing attempt at the church,” said Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish life at the Jewish Community of Greater Pittsburgh. “Our first move was to

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Headlines Champion of religious freedom Michael Sampson scores win for the Amish — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

M

ichael Sampson, an insurance recovery lawyer at the downtown law firm Reed Smith, spends much of his professional time focusing on the resolution of complicated liability matters.

He has an alter ego, though, as a champion of religious freedom.

For the last four years, the native Jewish Pittsburgher has devoted significant energy, pro bono, assisting an Old Order Amish family in Southern Indiana in an immigration matter against the U.S. government that threatened their religious liberty.

The government had been insisting on the submission of identification photos to complete an immigration application requirement despite the fact that being photographed violated the family’s sincerely held religious beliefs.

Sampson and his team settled the case last month. The settlement allows the couple and their family —which includes 13 children — to remain intact, and the wife to become a U.S. lawful permanent resident, without having to submit photographs.

“My clients, most importantly, are really excited,” said Sampson, who grew up in Squirrel Hill, and attended Community Day School as well as Taylor Allderdice.

Although an insurance recovery specialist, Sampson has always had a keen interest in religious freedom and religious liberty, he said. While in college, he worked as a summer intern in the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington, D.C., office, and after his

p Michael Sampson

Photo provided

second year of law school at the University of Chicago, he clerked at the ADL’s legal affairs office in New York. Prior to coming to Reed Smith, he worked as the assistant director of legal affairs for the ADL at its national level.

His background had prepared him to take on this case, which involved an Amish couple who married in 2014 after the husband’s first wife died from complications of childbirth, leaving him with 11 children. The couple then had two children together.

When the wife, a Canadian citizen, applied to become a permanent U.S. resident shortly after they married, both she had her husband submitted all the paperwork and other materials required, except the personal photographs. Although they completed

immigration interviews, and even though she was fingerprinted and had agreed to provide other forms of biometric identity confirmation, her application was denied, meaning she would have to return to Canada.

When initial negotiations with the government failed to resolve the situation, Sampson and his team filed suit against the U.S., as well as certain agencies and officers, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

The decision to file suit was not an easy one.

“Our clients, the Old Order Amish, do not believe generally in litigating,” Sampson explained. “It was a real struggle for them, and their community to decide to litigate this case. Ultimately, they had to forgo their belief in non-litigation and in peaceful resolution, non-resistance, in order to vindicate their belief in not being photographed.”

Sampson used a Jewish analogy when discussing the option of litigation with his clients.

“One of the discussions we had was that their decision to litigate did not make their other religious beliefs less real,” Sampson said. He told his clients that as a Jew, even if he decided to eat something that was not kosher, for example, that did not mean that his other Jewish observances were “any more or less sincerely held.”

Through negotiations with several government agencies, the Reed Smith team, which also included Justin Werner, M. Patrick Yingling and Brian Willett, secured a waiver of the photograph requirements, clearing the way for the wife’s application for permanent residency to be granted. The government also agreed to procedures which will allow the wife to cross the U.S.-Canada border without

photographic identification, enabling her to visit her extended family in Canada.

Because the case was settled, the outcome does not mandate any binding legal precedent, but Sampson is hopeful that it will set a standard that the government will follow in the event of similar cases in the future.

There is no confidentiality provision in the settlement, so the parties and attorneys involved are permitted to speak publicly about the outcome.

“The government actually was the one here that did not want to, or could not agree to a confidentiality provision in the settlement agreement,” Sampson said. “I told the government’s lawyer early on that we certainly could live with that because what it allows us to do is to be in the position to speak with others without having to beat around the bush, and share with them the resolution of our case.”

One of the questions that often arises in religious liberty cases is whether the government is able to accommodate the religious beliefs of the individuals who hold them, according to Sampson.

“In the past, what the government has said is that they have been unwilling to do so,” he said. “We think that our settlement, which is public, certainly indicates that the government is able to protect those interests that it says it has, while at the same time accommodating the sincerely held religious beliefs of the Old Order Amish.”

The outcome of the case, he said, “is one that shows respect for the accommodation for religious minorities in the United States. I think that accommodation of sincerely held religious beliefs, especially those that might Please see Sampson, page 15

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Headlines Sister-city tree dedication memorializes 11 victims — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

R

ooted in ancestral soil amid Israel’s northern mountainous terrain, 11 trees were dedicated in Karmiel’s Pittsburgh-Baltimore Promenade, a landscaped stone setting established nearly a decade earlier through the Partnership2Gether program.

Given the surroundings and the events that followed, which included a wreathlaying, a collective kaddish and the singing of “Hatikva,” “it was a really beautiful and powerful ceremony,” said Brian Eglash, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s senior vice president and chief development officer.

Eglash was one of nearly 80 people, including politicians, representatives of the Jewish Federation and members of the Rosenthal family, who attended the June 17 event in the Steel City’s sister city.

Brothers David and Cecil Rosenthal were among those murdered at Tree of Life. Joy Rosenthal, Cecil and David Rosenthal’s mother, said that having the opportunity to light a candle for each of the 11 victims and being able to remember them in such a meaningful way “is something our sister city can be truly proud of.”

Among those who spoke at the dedication

p A memorial wreath was placed during the ceremony.

Photos courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

were Diane and Michele Rosenthal, Cecil and David’s sisters, who expressed appreciation for the unwavering support offered to families of each of the 11 victims following Oct. 27.

The outpouring of love from those in Karmiel and across Israel has been truly appreciated, noted Joy. “We can’t begin to tell you. I mean, Please see Memorial, page 15

p Michele Rosenthal, right, and Diane Rosenthal expressed appreciation for the love and support provided to each of the 11 victims’ families.

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Headlines Hillel JUC hire is a Jewish-life booster — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

M

uch like many who utilize Instagram for its influencing abilities, Ariel Walovitch seeks to disseminate a particular message. As opposed to pushing vegetarian meal kits or minimalist hotel rooms overlooking infinity pools, the product and lifestyle Walovitch promotes is Hillel JUC and a connection to Jewish life on campus.

As the organization’s recently hired director of engagement, Walovitch will work with college students to build meaningful connections with digital starts. “The most effective way to reach students today is through social media,� she said.

Though new to the post, Walovitch is no stranger to the task. Over the past year, she worked with Pitt students on developing a positive social media presence. Walovitch’s efforts resulted in the MazelRazzi’s, a group of seven students who share campus updates, program offerings and musings on Jewish activities in Oakland through scripted videos.

By creating humorous clips, the goal is to influence viewers “on a peer level� and attract people who may never consider associating with Hillel JUC, said Walovitch, whose position at Hillel JUC was preceded

by a paid two-year Springboard Fellowship with Hillel International where she focused on innovative strategies for transforming Jewish life on Pitt’s campus. “Ariel has a tremendous creativity and a commitment to engaging every Jewish student,� said Dan Marcus, Hillel JUC’s executive director. “The way that she uses social media sings to the identities of students on campus, and she has an incredible can-do positive attitude.� “I’m rooting for Hillel in positive ways,� she agreed.

Walovitch’s drive stems from years of cheerleading. As a member, and eventual squad leader, of the University of Vermont’s cheerleading team, she developed a high regard for teamwork, commitment and a sense of fearlessness before large crowds.

A certain moment in her college career is illustrative, she explained. During the first round of the 2017 March Madness basketball tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with 20,000 people in attendance and millions more watching at home, Walovitch was set to perform a tuckbasket-toss. The stunt involved a perfect mid-air backflip after a collective hoist from her four teammates. Flipping too soon would have resulted in falling flat on her face, and flipping too late would have been similarly disastrous, she noted.

When the moment arrived, Walovitch’s

p Ariel Walovitch

Photo courtesy of Ariel Walovitch

and the communities we offer,� he continued. “That’s why having someone dedicated to thinking about engagement all the time — while this is a part of all of the staff ’s job — having someone consistently focused on this is imperative on having us be successful.�

Walovitch, originally of Framingham, Massachusetts, officially begins on July 1, and said she will rely much on past experiences, while continuing to learn from Marcus, the students and fellow staff. “I want to be someone the students can come to no matter what and encourage them to be their best self,� she said.

In seeking to build these relationships, Walovitch hopes to impart new tactics even though occasional failure may occur. “It’s about being brave and taking chances,� she said. Regardless of outcome, you have to “keep a smile on your face.�

Walovitch’s personality resonates with students, said Marcus. “Ariel has a unique set of talents and skills� that enable her to consider, develop and implement “the most creative and relevant ways to connect with students on the University of Pittsburgh campus.�

Added Walovitch, “I really see Hillel as a community and I’m blessed to be at my Hillel where I can try new things and think out of the box.�  PJC

teammates lifted her up. She perfectly flipped and reached a previously unimaginable height.

That experience serves as a model of what can be accomplished at Hillel JUC, she said.

Because of her background and ability to connect with diverse communities, it was essential to keep Walovitch on board after her fellowship finished this summer, explained Marcus. “We know that having multiple access points to Jewish students to engage with Judaism while at university means that we have to be constantly thoughtful and creative Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ JC TurnUpLife2016_Eartique 6/21/16 we 9:50 AM Page 1 about the type of staff, the results build pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines South Hills resident supports research and awareness for Ewing’s sarcoma — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

S

aturday morning Rod Rothaus will arrive at North Park Boathouse for a tradition that began with his near death. For the fifth consecutive year, Rothaus, a cancer survivor, will join family, friends, physicians and strangers at the Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K Run/1M Walk. The June 29 event supports research efforts of the Sarcoma Foundation of America and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and is a “terrific thing” to be a part of, said Rothaus, 50.

Rothaus’ connection to the cause began five years ago. After doctors struggled to determine his ailments, the Temple Emanuel member was eventually diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare cancer typically occurring in the bones or nearby soft tissue.

In 2015, the South Hills resident underwent chemotherapy. During the nearly one year treatment period, Rothaus connected with similarly diagnosed patients through social media. He shared information about his case, coping strategies, and encouraged others to remain positive. Rothaus’ network grew, and to this day he remains committed to helping those in similar situations.

“It’s a weird brotherhood or sisterhood where some have lived and some have died,” he said.

Among those who Rothaus connected with while receiving chemotherapy was Laura Bulmer. The Canadian, like him, had Ewing’s sarcoma and had received her diagnosis a few years earlier. Rothaus followed

Bulmer’s Instagram account and was inspired by her posts.

He called Bulmer “a fighter with great spirit and positivity,” in a 2015 piece for Sarcoma Foundation of America.

Bulmer died in March 2015. She was 28.

When Rothaus and his two children decided to participate in the PCS 5K that summer, they held pictures of Bulmer and dedicated their walk in her memory.

Four years later, Rothaus continues the practice.

“I walk for Laura every year. I am still in touch with her sister,” he said.

By participating in the event, Rothaus and others have worked to increase awareness of Ewing’s sarcoma. They have also consistently raised money to support research related costs.

This year, Rothaus’ team raised nearly $10,000. Since 2015, that sum has totaled more than $60,000.

Rothaus credited his sister, ex-wife and mother for helping aid the efforts and disseminate the message.

“Personally, I’m not comfortable asking people for money but it’s important,” he said.

“The more people you make aware of something, the more likely they are to tell someone else and spread the word,” said Joan Rothaus, Rod’s mother.

Asking people to support sarcoma research is no different than asking them to support any other cause, she explained.

“If you are passionate about it,” and you know those you are asking, the message will resonate “and people will react.”

Rothaus credited Elliott Oshry, of Ketchum, and mentors from the Jewish

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p Rothaus, second from right, gathered with Howard Louik, left, Joan Rothaus and Betty Jo Louik at last year’s PCS walk.

Photo provided by Rod Rothaus

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6/25/19 9:49 AM

JUNE 28, 2019 5

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

Submissions will also be included in print.

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

The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. p SATURDAY, JUNE 29 Start your week off with a Havdalah Bonfire from 8 to 10 p.m. Bring your ukulele, clarinet, or voice and enjoy a night of singing, bonfires and s’mores. Beer and snacks will be available. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32. p SUNDAY, JUNE 30 Jewish Family and Community Services offers free “Grounding Through Movement: Managing Symptoms of Trauma, Anxiety and Stress in Our Bodies” sessions to anyone suffering trauma from the aftermath of

the Tree of Life shooting in room 202 of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill beginning at 6:30 p.m. No registration is necessary.

Visit jfcs.org/events/events-calendar for a complete list of community support events in June.

will lead a study session examining gender through the lens of Jewish text in the Helfant Chapel. Between mincha and ma’ariv Sienna will give a shi’ur examining LGBTQ+ identities in the Talmud. Dessert will be served. Free and open to the community. For more information and to RSVP visit http:// bethshalompgh.org/noam-sienna/

p WEDNESDAYS, JULY 3, 10, 17, 14 “Heal, Grow and Live with Hope” NarAnon and NA meetings EVERY Wednesday evening at Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road, 15220 at 7:30 p.m. Come to office/school entrance at the end of the building to be buzzed in. Call Karen at 412-563-3395 and leave a message for more information. p SATURDAY, JULY 6 Beth Shalom hosts Noam Sienna as their Scholar in Residence at 12:45 p.m. Sienna

p SUNDAY, JULY 7 Beth Shalom hosts Noam Sienna as their Scholar in Residence. Sienna will discuss his book “A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century to 1969,” at 10:00 a.m. in the Eisner Commons The book will be available for purchase and signing. A light breakfast will be served.

Free and open to the community. For more information and to RSVP visit http:// bethshalompgh.org/noam-sienna/

p MONDAY, JULY 8 Beth El Congregation will host its monthly lunch program, “First Mondays with Rabbi Alex” featuring guest Laurie Zittrain Eisenberg, historian in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University.

She will present “Comforting Objects and Art in the Wake of the Tree of Life Shooting.”

Visit bethelcong.org for more information.

Call 412-561-1168 with any questions. p THURSDAY, JULY 11, 18, AND 25 Thursday Evenings in My Garden offers weekly conversation and exploration about everyday spirituality for healing, growth, creativity and innovation. Thursdays, Memorial Day through Labor Day, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Come once or come weekly, friends are welcome. Check http:// bethshalompgh.org/thursday-evenings-inmy-garden/ for location and confirmation of upcoming dates. PJC

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Headlines Authors explore Lubavitcher Rebbe’s vision of society dynamic that you achieve happiness.

For the Rebbe, the end goal is not a static state where everything is just there, just exists, but the constant give and take is part of the desired ideal. It’s within that dynamic mode of interpersonal relationships where each person becomes joyous because they are able to do something for someone else and because they are able to receive from others, there we find the locus of joy, happiness and purpose.

To have a perfect society is to have a society in which you have wholesome relationships. It’s not just relationships between individuals, it’s the constellation of relationships in which each person feels they are part of a greater whole and feel unharmed by being part of that whole.

— BOOKS —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

What would the Rebbe think of society today?

“S

ocial Vision: The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Transformative Paradigm for the World” explores the social ideas and activism of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the Rebbe). It looks at not simply the Rebbe’s attempts to revitalize the Jewish world after the Holocaust but also his work to transform society in areas like education, criminal justice and ecology. The work is co-written by Philip Wexler, Michael Wexler and Eli Rubin.

Rubin is based in Pittsburgh and recently discussed both the book and the Rebbe’s social theories. “Social Vision” is available to preorder on Amazon. It will be published on July 6.

How did you get involved with the book?

I first met Dr. Philip Wexler in 2012 at a conference at the University of Pennsylvania conveyed around the idea of bringing together academic scholars education practitioners with Chasidic scholars with a view to fostering deeper engagment between these communities … especially with an emphasis on Chabad.

Scholars have identified Chabad as unique among Chasidic groups, partly because of of its focus on communication and education — making the esoteric available to the broader community without dumbing it down.

The idea of this book started to develop over several years. Philip came from a very different place being a sociologist mainly interested in education, he studied public schools and how they shaped ethnographies of schools.

Eventually, somewhere along the road, our two paths met and we got together on this book.

This isn’t a biography of the Rebbe. Why did you focus on his social vision?

I think partly because [a biography has] already been done. We were all much more interested in the ideas of the Rebbe. We wanted to get under the hood. The Rebbe was working within contemporary society, the second half of the 20th century, within the

p Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the Rebbe)

American cultural context. He’s a perceptive analyst of what’s going on in society and has a different way of seeing how society can go.

It’s a scholarly book but we try to tell it in a way that an informed layman can find accessible.

What is the Rebbe’s social vision?

As I perceive it, and as Philip wrote in the book, the Rebbe’s social vision begins with the principle that we should stop seeing the secular and religious realms as inherently in conflict. We need to start seeing the worlds of science and spirituality as being complimentary and as proceeding and progressing together.

The second point is a progressive one.

He sees that society, and the world at large, can be much improved through a fusion of the spiritual and scientific, a fusion of the mystical and the social. It’s the mystical or the vertical dimension, the anchor with God, the fact that a person has a fundamental sense of moral responsibility, that forces them to not just be an individual but to interact with all the other human beings

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File photo

in the world and partner with them because they too are moral beings endowed with the same vertical, inherent legitimacy.

His socio-mystical perspective informs unique approaches to many things like education, justice and ecology, and can inform new conversations about how we should be thinking about society and progress, how we should be thinking about religion and society, and how we should be thinking about political polarization, which is an important topic today. He was a fascinating person who led an international movement of Jewish revival after the holocaust. But even if he would have been a professor at a university, who created no movement, his ideas would be worthy of looking at on their own terms. .

The second half of the book looks at the Rebbe’s theory of reciprocity. What is that?

Reciprocity is one of the key concepts of the Rebbe’s social vision. Reciprocity means that relations are reciprocal. You give and you receive. Each individual is giving, is contributing to others around him and is receiving from others around him. It’s within that

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The Rebbe always had a positive view.

He came out of the Holocaust and directly confronted the deep pessimism that marked that era. And I think we’re seeing a measure of that pessism again in renewed ways. We still have the trauma of the Holocaust within the Jewish community. We still have the anxiety of the Jewish future which is still rooted in the Holocaust.

The Rebbe had a fundamentally positive view and an uplifting one. He said, “we’ve got to stop telling American Jews that Judaism is difficult, that there’s no future. We’ve got to stop with the pessimism. We’ve got to stop trying to adapt Judaism to America and begin to say ‘Judaism is tremendous.’ We’ve got to take the whole of Judaism and teach people about its power and it will succeed!”

The Rebbe had tremendous faith and optimism in the power of Judaism to survive under any condition. He saw America as an opportunity. I don’t think that opportunity has gone away. The problem is that Judaism becomes weaker when we try to pin it to any single issue beyond the entirety of Judaism.

If you pin Judaism only to Israel, or the Holocaust, or conservatism or progressivism, then you have a very weak Judaism. Judaism is a very large thing, a very deep thing. It informs multitudes. It has mysticism. It has law. It has many great ideas. It has many great ways of engaging with it. And it has application and tools for all of the isms of the world.

On the other hand, we’ve all seen how when people reduce Judaism to one thing, and say, “This is the meaning of Judaism and this is the Jewish future,” then as soon as that thing becomes not as compelling to a group of people, that’s when Judaism begins to fail.

So, what I think the Rebbe was saying is, find a part of Judaism that you can embrace and integrate into your life, in a meaningful way, and then you’ll surely find something else and add more. As soon as you say, we want to make Judaism easier for people, so from now on we need to only do this, and the rest of Judaism is no longer meaningful or applicable, well that’s how you weaken people’s relationship to Judaism and prevent them from harnessing its power in their personal lives and for the future good of all humanity. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

JUNE 28, 2019 7

Confirmands & Graduates Adat Shalom

Confirmands Olivia Baer Harrison Calig Isaiah Charapp Lauren Himmel Sam Hirsch Abby Rickin-Marks Ben Rickin-Marks Dylan Stein Ella Horvat Ethan Werner Kaylee Werner Sam Zukerman Graduates Josh Correnti David Feder Gabe Felman Jacob Friedberg Alexa Karet Joey Kushon Liviya Rubin Ben Werner Ella Werner Monica Zaretsky

Beth El Congregation Confirmands Mira Morris

Graduates Sydne Ballangee Justin Dreyer Daniel Felser Mitchell Gelb Myles Greenbaum Rachel Harris Ethan Kreisel Isabelle Levine Ruby Natelson Eliana Perilman Amy Remes Brittany Shniper Robert Shniper Henry Silverman

Congregation B’nai Abraham Graduate Bella Terman

Community Day School 8th Grade Graduates Nealey Barak Maya Beresteanu Gabriela Berger Ilay Dvir Emma Friedman Luke Glickman Daphna Glikson Aaron Grant Kristina Greg Eli Half Noah Indianer Nathan Kaplan Joseph Kitchen Dalia Kolko Daniel Levin Owen Lichtenstein Gabriella Naveh Jonah Rosenberg Alex Polito Lilah Sahud Ivry Sasson Yishai Selig Jessica Simon

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JUNE 28, 2019

Adam Tannenbaum Michael Ulis Isaac Weissman-Markovitz Adrian Yogman Maya Zimmerman

Friendship Circle Graduates Jamil Agip Bryan Bahm Sydne Ballengee Danny Berlin Sam Berlin Mathew Bishop Isaac Brown Yaakov Brown Joshua Cohen Rivky Davidson Aidel Davidson Sara Douds Asha Edson Josh Fidel Ethan Frischman Becca Glickman Rebecca Gordon Sara Gross Isabelle Hammer Andrea Holber Ariel Holstein Grady Jordan Jack Kasaback Macy Levick Jason Levy Jacob Lichtenstein Rachel Luzer Noah Marks Siobhan Moffatt Natalie O’Connor Emily Ortman Bredan Pacalo Esty Peles Hannah Petrucelli Emily Pressman Jesse Rabner Rochel Rosenblum Amelia Rosenstock Ayala Rosenthal Max Rudick Daniella Shear Henry Silverman Ryan Silverman Olivia Wilson Joel Zove

8th Grade Girls Katriel Camp Leora Goldberg Tali Itskowitz Naomi Leibovich Shoshana Levari 12th Grade Graduates Sammy Balyasny Shua Ben-Lapid Isaac Brown

Maya Klapper Gabi Sable Brooke Singer

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Temple Sinai

Graduates Abby Adelman Jordana Avigad Derek Bashe Arianna Charapp Natalie Daninhirsch Evan DeWitt Mitchell Dubin Rebecca Gordon Isaebelle Hammer Sam Kaplan Lizzy Katchen Maya Klapper Russell Petro Alex Pizov Amy Remes Gabe Riberi Max Rosen Brooke Singer Michael Sink Lauren Smith Eden Weiner

Confirmands Levi Miles Otto Abeshouse Ethan Beck Aidan Birkenfeld Benjamin Brown Nathan Donner Adina Miryam Faeder Abigail Rose Hart Olivia Raye Leibovich Spencer Rose Lieberman

Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh 11th-Grade Boys Graduates Dovid Shmuel Burston Reuven Chaim Cooper Yosef Zalman Dubinsky Yisroel Shem Tov Ehven Sholom Dovber Friedman Gavriel Yosef Goralnick Chaim Shalom Goranson Avrohom Alexander Hayman Yakov Yehuda Hoch Menachem Mendel Ivry Yosef Yitzchak Kalmanson Daniel Shaul Waren

Joint Jewish Education Program (J-JEP) 7th Grade Graduates Teag Cloonan Adam Copeland Elena Eiss Gabriel Feinstein Beatrice Fernandes Julia Finke Eli Firman Julia Freudenberg Berach Gildengers Joseph Krokosky Miranda Larson Mathew Long Reuben Mayer Naomi Segel Anna Shyrock Zachary Silnutzer Aaron Smith Isaac Tabachnick Joshua Valinsky Nate Weinstein

Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh 8th Grade Boys Kovi Biton Shmulik Eisenberg David Eydelman Toivia Grossberg Zalman Rodkin Akiva Moshe Silver Mendel Wasserman

Yaakov Brown Yoshi Mahony Yermi Van Sickle

8th-Grade Boys Graduates Yosef Binyomin Creeger Yisroel Jacobs Elimelech Yitzchok Marcus Aaron Elisha Moritz Akiva Simcha Nadoff Avrohom Dovid Rosenblum Solomon Ross Schuler Menachem Yisroel Shkedi Shalom Dovber Shur

Madrichim Graduates Ariel Holstein Reuben Swartz

Temple Emanuel of South Hills Confirmands Cara Josephine Drook Emerick Sylvia Gross Samantha Elizabeth Osborne Elijah Sol Rothaus Anna Faith Schwartz Shayna Rose Silverman Graduating Madrichim Bryan Bahm Rebecca Schwartz Rebecca Schneirov Dina Leyzarovich

Temple Ohav Shalom Graduates Derek Bashe Natalie Daninhirsch

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12th-Grade Girls Graduates Galia Aharon Shana Albee Esther Capland Aidel Brocha Davidson Rivkah Davidson Golda Rochel Epstein Zoe Minah Firtell Doba Friedman Chana Leeds Nechama Moritz Ester Peles Rochel Rosenblum Ayala Sarah Rosenthal Tzipporah Malka Shkedi Shayna Baila Tombosky Gittle Weiss Baila Frummet Zwiebel 8th-Grade Girls Graduates Mushka Altein Menucha Rochel Barrocas Esther Ben-Lapid Sarah B. Cohn Leeba Menucha Davidson Menucha Aidel Ertel Shaina Devorah Hashimi Esther Henteleff Chaya Mushka Pelma Aviva Rafkin Priva Leah Thaler Chana Weiss Devorah Leah Weiss Raizel Wexler

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Headlines US Holocaust Museum rejects all ‘analogies between the Holocaust and other events’ — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

T

he U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum reiterated a strong rejection of analogies to the Holocaust in the wake of the debate surrounding the term “concentration camps� sparked by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The museum “unequivocally rejects efforts to create analogies between the Holocaust and other events, whether historical or contemporary,� the museum said in a statement. “That position has repeatedly and unambiguously been made clear in the Museum’s official statement on the matter.�

The statement linked to one from December following a similar controversy regarding migrant detention camps run by the Trump administration.

Ocasio-Cortez last week tweeted an Esquire article that likened migrant detention camps on the border to concentration camps. Later, she referenced the phrase “Never again.� After critics slammed her for what they said was an invocation of the Holocaust, she said she is not likening the detention camps to the camps run by

p Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is interviewed at the SXSW Conference and Festival at the Austin Convention Center in Texas in March.

Photo by Jim Bennett/WireImage/Getty Images

the Nazis, but rather to a definition of the term that has been used for other detention camps, including those that imprisoned Japanese Americans during World War II.

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The clarification did not convince all of her critics.

The museum statement appeared to be sparked by an article in World Israel

News that cited the tweet of a Holocaust museum historian that seemed, at first, to embrace the view that the current migrant detention camps are analogous to Nazi-run concentration camps. “The Museum further reiterates that a statement ascribed to a Museum staff historian regarding recent attempts to analogize the situation on the United States southern border to concentration camps in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s does not reflect the position of the Museum,� the statement said.

In fact, though the historian, Becky Erbelding, had liked Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, she explicitly said the migrant detention camps were not analogous to Nazi-run concentration camps.

Erbelding, in a statement, called for a retraction and apology from World Israel News and said, “Holocaust analogies are lazy, distracting, insensitive and incorrect.� “I support the Museum’s stance on avoiding Holocaust analogies,� she added in a subsequent interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Holocaust Museum told JTA it stands by its statement, and the author of the Worl Israel News story did not respond to a request for an interview.  PJC

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Headlines White House unveils economic portion of Middle East peace plan — WORLD —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

D

ays ahead of a workshop where Jared Kushner will seek tens of billions of dollars for his Middle East peace plan, the White House unveiled an outline of its economic portion, including proposals, like a Gaza-West Bank travel corridor, that are sure to rattle Israel’s government.

The “Peace to Prosperity” plan authored by a team led by Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was posted on the White House website this week. It does not outline the political portion of the peace plan, which the architects say will come in November, after Israel’s September elections.

The economic plan’s 40 pages enthusiastically endorse expressions of Palestinian identity, from Palestinian food to universities, and hint at political outcomes that could upset Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to forge a coalition with parties to the right of his Likud Party. Not mentioned, however, is Palestinian statehood.

In addition to the Gaza-West Bank link, which would inevitably cross Israeli territory,

p The new West Bank Palestinian town of Rawabi, described as the largest privately-funded development project in Palestinian history, just north of Ramallah in 2017.

Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images

there are proposals to register Palestinian ownership of land and to allow Palestinian farmers greater access to water and arable land.

These outcomes would put Netanyahu in a tough squeeze: He has been unremitting in his embrace of Trump, who has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, pulled out of an Iran nuclear deal Netanyahu loathes,

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defunded the Palestinians and effectively campaigned for Netanyahu in April’s election.

But elements of the plan portend security compromises Netanyahu might be loath to make. Chief among these is a $5 billion transportation project that would link the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Kushner’s plan envisions $50 billion, to be disbursed on building infrastructure

and capacity in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as to promote trade and tourism partnerships with Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, with portions of the funding to go to these countries.

Neither the 40-page plan nor the accompanying 96-page breakdown of how the money will be spent mention statehood. Kushner has said he doesn’t find the term useful, and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, has said that the political portion of the plan will relinquish to Israel security control of the West Bank, suggesting that full Palestinian sovereignty was not on the table. Netanyahu has retreated from favoring a two-state outcome and has said he plans on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, which is boycotting the workshop next week in Bahrain, has rejected the plan unseen in part because it seems clear it will stop short of statehood and of a Palestinian claim to a portion of Jerusalem. The plan and its annex, which breaks down in detail where funds should go, do not mention Jerusalem at all.

“A B C economics is that no monetary value can predicate or substitute economic Please see Peace, page 20

This week in Israeli history Jews as his subjects, and his charter serves as a model across the continent during the Middle Ages.

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

June 28, 1919 — Polish minorities treaty signed

The newly re-formed Republic of Poland adopts its Minorities Treaty to protect the rights of minority groups. The treaty specifically mentions cultural and civil liberties for Jews, who make up 10 to 15% of the population.

June 29, 1939 — Kibbutz Givat Brenner established

Kibbutz Givat Brenner, named for writer Yosef Haim Brenner, is founded 20 miles southeast of Tel Aviv by pioneers from Lithuania, Italy and Germany.

June 30, 2012 — Yitzhak Shamir dies

Israel’s seventh prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, dies at age 96. A veteran of the Irgun and the Stern Gang, he was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 and became prime minister as the head of Likud in 1983.

July 1, 1244 — Jews granted rights in Austria Frederick II, the duke of Austria since 1230, issues a charter extending rights to Jews. Frederick is the first European ruler to claim

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

July 2, 2010 — Benayoun signs with Chelsea

Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun leaves Liverpool for fellow English Premier League club Chelsea.

The 30-year-old Dimona native is a veteran of the Israeli and Spanish soccer leagues.

July 3, 1982 — Jewish Theater conference opens

The First International Conference and Festival of Jewish Theater opens in Tel Aviv despite the month-old Lebanon War. The festival includes 20 theatrical works and four workshops, as well as films, seminars and lectures.

July 4, 1976 — Hostages rescued at Entebbe

Israeli commandos rescue more than 100 hostages held at the international airport in Entebbe, Uganda, by the Palestinian and German terrorists who hijacked an Air France flight on June 27. PJC

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA and JNS reports

Malaysian premier adds to antiSemitic record, elicits chortling from Cambridge Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad added to his anti-Semitic record on Sunday, eliciting laughter from the Cambridge Union — the more than 200-year-old debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society at the University of Cambridge.

“I had some Jewish friends, very good friends. They are not like the other Jews, that’s why they are my friends,” he said in response to a question about his previous remarks that have been deemed anti-Semitic.

“These new comments from Prime Minister Mohamed are reprehensible but nothing new,” said World Jewish Congress president Ronald S. Lauder. “They are merely the latest manifestation of the virulent brand of anti-Semitism that he promotes in his own country.

“Although the Cambridge Union has an extensive history of hosting world leaders and honoring the right to freedom of speech, it should have been aware of Mr. Mohamed’s past comments on Jews and the State of Israel which come uncomfortably close to hate speech,” he said.

The university’s Union of Jewish Students responded, saying “it is chilling to see a crowd of students laugh off flagrantly anti-Semitic comments. Freedom of speech is not a joke when it incites hatred against one people.”

The Cambridge Union did not condemn the comments, though it did distance itself from them.

In a statement, it said that the laughter “originated from the middle section, which was composed of the prime minister’s delegation.”

“The prime minister was scrutinised on his record throughout the event both from the moderator and the audience,” it added.

“As a society, free speech and student welfare are equally important to us. We invited the [university’s] Jewish Society to

attend the talk to ask questions to the prime minister, and we allowed them to hand out flyers to the audience.”

Earlier this year, Malaysia banned Israel from participating in the Muslim-majority nation’s hosting of international sporting events, with the latter saying the choice was motivated by Mohamad’s “rabid anti-Semitism.”

Mohamad labeled Jews as “hook-nosed” last October and condemned Israel for creating chaos in the Middle East. Malaysia was eventually stripped of the right to host a Paralympic swimming championship, scheduled for July, by the International Paralympic Committee. The event will instead be held in September in London.

Headstones smashed in Jewish cemetery in South Africa Four headstones were knocked over and smashed at a Jewish cemetery in suburban Cape Town. It was the third incident of vandalized Jewish gravestones in South Africa in the last week, The Times South Africa reported.

In the latest episode, the vandalized headstones were discovered in Strand over the weekend.

Stuart Diamond, head of the Cape Jewish Board of Deputies, told the newspaper that the vandalism is not believed to have been an anti-Semitic act.

“I am concerned about antisocial behavior becoming pervasive in our cemeteries, which we want to keep sacred. But I do not believe that this was a deliberately anti-Semitic act,” he said.

A police report was filed in the latest incident.

Israel Hayom reported Sunday that police fear the recent violence at the Jewish cemeteries is “the work of an active neo-Nazi cell.”

“These incidents, unfortunately, spread like wildfire and have become a global trend, and these are very serious incidents that must be stopped immediately before they kill Jews,” the deputy chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Yaakov Hagoel, said in a statement, Israel Hayom reported.

“The South African police must stop these attackers, and it is the South African government’s responsibility to act accordingly against such incidents. If this is indeed

the actions of a neo-Nazi cell, we must put an end to it, the sooner the better” In December, 39 gravestones were vandalized in the Jewish cemetery in Wellington, near Cape Town, in an anti-Semitic attack.

neo-Nazi groups to talk shop. So I’m going to have to decline your invite. But thank you for revealing to all how transparently the far-right manipulates these moments for political gain,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

Headstone smashed at Jewish cemetery in Estonia

American Library Association to remove Dewey name from medal over his anti-Semitism and misogyny

Several headstones were knocked over and a dog was let loose at a Jewish cemetery in Tallinn, Estonia.

The incident occurred Saturday or Sunday in the Baltic nation’s capital city, according to a report by the Israel-based Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism.

On Monday, the organization’s website published pictures from the cemetery showing overturned headstones and canine footprints on earth atop a burial plot. The pictures and report did not mention any hate graffiti or other indications that the incident was a hate crime.

Estonia, which has very few anti-Semitic incidents, is home to about 2,500 Jews.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejects Steve King’s push for her to tour Auschwitz with Holocaust survivor Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., rejected Steve King’s push for her to tour Auschwitz with a Poland-born Holocaust survivor.

Edward Mosberg, 93, reached out to the Democratic lawmaker last week, saying that she should tour the former concentration camp with him to learn about Holocaust history. A week ago, Ocasio-Cortez touched off a heated debate in the media about her use of the term “concentration camps,” widely associated with Nazi Germany, to describe migrant detention centers in the United States.

On Saturday, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, urged Ocasio-Cortez to accept Mosberg’s invitation.

In her response she called out King, who was removed in January from two House committees after he said he wondered why the term “white supremacist” had become offensive.

“The last time you went on this trip it was reported that you also met w/ fringe Austrian

Seems like the creator of the Dewey Decimal System, the book-classification method for libraries that bears his name, was out of order in his treatment of minorities and women.

Now the Council of the American Library Association has voted to remove Melvil Dewey, the association’s founder, from its creative leadership medal because of his anti-Semitism and racism.

Melvil Dewey “did not permit Jewish people, African Americans, or other minorities admittance to the resort owned by Dewey and his wife,” and also made inappropriate physical advances toward women he worked with and wielded professional power over,” the council’s resolution passed on Sunday said, according to a report by Inside Higher Ed. The Melvil Dewey Award, according to the American Library Association, is an “annual award consisting of a bronzed medal and a 24k gold-framed citation of achievement for recent creative leadership of high order, particularly in those fields in which Melvil Dewey was actively interested: library management, library training, cataloging and classification, and the tools and techniques of librarianship.”

A letter to the editor of The New York Times in 1905 noted that Dewey was rebuked by the New York State Board of Regents and resigned as state librarian over complaints from Jewish leaders about his anti-Semitism, in part manifested by his authoring the policy of the Lake Placid Club that banned Jews, blacks and others from membership.

In addition to allegations of inappropriate touching of women, Dewey also asked for photographs of applicants for jobs at his School of Library Economy at Columbia College, according to reports. PJC

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JUNE 28, 2019 11

Opinion Ocasio-Cortez’s careless tweets — EDITORIAL —

I

n contemporary usage, the phrase “concentration camp” means one thing: the place the Nazis and their allies sent Jews and others they considered undesirable for forced labor and mass execution.

Although there are historical uses of the words that relate to other mass detention situations, the stunning recognition of the enormity of the Nazi atrocities has made virtually any other use of the term, no matter how dire the situation, disrespectful to victims of the Holocaust, and pure hyperbole.

So when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted about an Esquire article that described the much-criticized holding centers the United States uses for migrants on the southern border as “concentration camps,” she was not only guilty of hyperbole, but she also betrayed, once again, a remarkable lack of sensitivity to the Jewish community, including many Holocaust survivors in her own district.

“The U.S. is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are,” she tweeted last week.

When that comment attracted attention,

p Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, pictured at the National Action Network’s annual convention in April, has drawn fire for calling migrant detention centers “concentration camps.”

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

she doubled down on the reference and asserted: “If that doesn’t bother you … I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that ‘never again’ means something.” This second round invoked another Holocaust reference — this time using the rallying cry of “Never Again!”

Back in November, she raised the specter of the Holocaust when she compared Central American refugees to various categories of

refugees who came before them, including “Jewish families fleeing Germany.”

We understand Ocasio-Cortez’s passion for the plight of those seeking entry to the United States and share many of her concerns regarding problems with U.S. immigration policy. But crowded detention centers are not concentration camps, and none of those in the detention centers or otherwise seeking entry at our southern

border are fleeing the unspeakable horror of Nazi Germany’s programmed and systematic eradication of an entire people, to which the phrase “Never Again” applies.

That said, we don’t think that OcasioCortez’s “concentration camp” comments were intentionally disrespectful to victims of the Holocaust. Rather, these latest gaffes from the closely watched, publicity-seeking, tweet-happy congressional freshman are other examples of Ocasio-Cortez’s lack of empathy for sensitive, hot-button issues that affect the Jewish community, and her lack of appreciation of the scope and horror of the Holocaust and its lasting impact.

We live in an era of shock politics — complete with competition from politicians of all stripes to draw support through attention-grabbing messaging and provocative statements. As the 2020 rhetoric heats up, and public confrontations and debate of the issues increases, we urge an across-theboard ban on invocation of the Holocaust in connection with anything other than the deliberate extermination of a people through mass killings, or reference to the Shoah itself.

Let’s talk about the issues on their merits. PJC

Why disingenuous Holocaust analogies matter Guest Columnist Jonathan Tobin

T

he willingness of some Americans to analogize the plight of illegal immigrants seeking to enter the United States with that of Jews who sought to flee the death camps of Europe is hard to defend.

Yet instances of political figures and figures making such comparisons continue to proliferate, leaving us to ponder whether it’s so common that it’s no longer possible to push back against such comments, and if anyone even understands the damage being done by rooting the immigration debate in such inflammatory language.

The latest example came from a familiar source of controversy — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has an unerring instinct for fueling outrage on the part of her political opponents and for publicity. Love her or hate her, AOC is, next to U.S. President Donald Trump, the nation’s most unavoidable political personality, and her willingness to push the buttons not only of Republicans, but of moderates of all political stripes, can only be termed positively Trumpian.

So when Ocasio-Cortez claimed in an Instagram post that the United States is “running concentration camps on the southern border” in reference to federal efforts to cope with the surge of illegal immigration, conservative heads predictably exploded, Jewish leaders huffed and puffed, and her liberal allies either rationalized the comment or doubled down on it.

12 JUNE 28, 2019

It’s necessary to acknowledge, as some of AOC’s defenders pointed out, that the term “concentration camp” was not first coined to describe Nazi Germany’s efforts to exterminate the Jewish people during the Holocaust. The first uses date back to efforts by the Spanish colonial overlords to “reconcentrate” a hostile Cuban population during that island’s efforts to gain its independence.

The phrase was also used by the British to describe the camps it set up to imprison Afrikaner civilians during the Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa where tens of thousands died of disease.

Yet these examples are hardly fair analogies to what is happening today at America’s southern border. What happened in both Cuba and South Africa were widely described at the time as war crimes carried out by imperial powers. Whether you support or oppose the policies of the Trump administration or think federal authorities have bungled the problem, efforts to secure an international border against those seeking to cross it illegally falls within the purview of any democratically elected government.

In the 20th century, the term became associated almost exclusively with camps like Dachau, which were primarily places of imprisonment, privation and torture for prisoners of the Nazi regime, as opposed to death camps like Treblinka and Auschwitz, whose main purpose was mass murder by gas chamber, shootings, starvation or disease.

To call U.S. federal facilities—where either those caught crossing the border without permission or seeking asylum without going through the normal process at ports of entry are being held—“concentration camps” is at best hyperbole and at worst an effort to consciously distort the truth.

And as such, outrage about such comments is understandable, whether uttered by a political provocateur like AOC or when leftwing Jewish groups who have embraced the cause of illegal immigrants employ it.

Treating government efforts to deal with the problem of illegal immigration as if it were another Holocaust isn’t just factually untrue, it’s also part of a process by which the slaughter of European Jewry is reduced to just another bad thing that nice people should lament. The Holocaust was a unique historical event of genocide.

Some of those Central Americans who are seeking asylum in the United States are coming from dangerous situations with valid claims. Most, however, are merely seeking better lives in the United States like generations of immigrants before them, but without obeying the laws that those who do so legally observe.

Jews who fled Europe seeking entry into Western countries, such as those on board the ship, SS St. Louis, which was turned away from the United States in 1939 (the 80th anniversary of which was observed last month) were, in the final analysis, fleeing certain death. There is simply no comparison between them and the current batch of asylum-seekers; to claim otherwise is to utter a falsehood. The same is true of efforts to analogize illegals hiding from law enforcement to Anne Frank.

Moreover, nothing going on at the border — as insufficiently funded federal personnel seek to cope with a massive influx of people either violating the law or seeking to game it with false asylum claims — is remotely comparable to the way Jews were treated during the years of World War II. That is true even of the much criticized separation of families at the border.

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Arguments can be made to favor liberalizing U.S. immigration laws or even, as some figures like 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently suggested, welcoming illegal immigrants with open arms, rather than them being arrested or deported. But wherever you think about such ideas, support for enforcing the current laws doesn’t make anyone a racist — let alone a latter-day Nazi. It is only in today’s hyper-partisan era in which politics has become a form of warfare, rather than a debate in which people can agree to disagree, that such statements have become commonplace.

Some Jews may think their community should oppose the Trump administration’s policies because they are inconsistent with their ideas about Jewish values. Even if you agree with that notion, injecting the Holocaust into the debate has only one purpose: the demonization of political opponents and the delegitimization of support for the rule of law.

Even those who agree with AOC about the issue of illegal immigration ought to condemn the way she and other like-minded people talk about it. The more we strip the Holocaust of its singular nature, the more we disarm efforts to speak out against contemporary anti-Semitism and genocide. And the more we use Holocaust terms to conduct a debate about even the most emotional political issues, the more we condemn this nation to rhetorical violence that exacerbates our already dangerously divided society. Anyone who thinks that’s consistent with Jewish values doesn’t know the meaning of the term. PJC Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS — Jewish News Syndicate

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Opinion Let’s stop arguing about ‘concentration camps’ and start talking about our dehumanizing immigration system Guest Columnist Aaron Brusso

L

ast summer, I was on the phone with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer assigned to Armando Rojas, our deported synagogue custodian of two decades, assuring him that I could vouch that he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community. That should have been obvious: Armando had no criminal record, a steady job and a family who needed him.

The ICE officer’s responses were taut and clipped.

Without thinking about it much, I said, “Well, I just want you to know how important he is to us. And I want to thank you for taking such good care of him.”

For the first time in the conversation, there was a pause, and the ICE officer seemed caught off-guard. Finally, he said, ”Many people don’t understand that, but that’s what we do and what we are here for. To help people. I appreciate you saying that.”

p An immigrant released after spending six months in an ICE detention facility hugs her daughter while being reunited with family at Portland International Airport in 2018.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

There has been a great deal of heated debate about whether it is appropriate to call the growing number of immigration detention facilities in this country

— LETTERS — “What we stand for” misses Mr. Ivan Frank, a frequent contributor to the Jewish Chronicle, presented an op-ed in the June 21, 2019, Chronicle called “What we stand for.” Mr. Frank attempts to repudiate the right-wing views of columnists Anat Talmy and Abby W. Schachter presented in their column “Why Israelis left the left behind” (Chronicle, May 17). He provides a fairly accurate description of the progressive and Democrat thoughts on where Israel should stand on things.

Perhaps applying American progressive social and political ideas and thoughts as if they should be the norm in Israel is American wishful thinking or ignorance. Israel, compared to its neighbors, is — even with a conservative right-wing government — light years ahead of where its neighbors stand on Western values. But Israel is not a U.S. middle-to-uppermiddle-class enclave like the ones many of us live in here today. They are bordered by Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, where terrorist groups and Iranian proxies want to annihilate Israel.

Israelis send their children off to military service to be in harm’s way — not many Americans do that. How many of us wake up each day wondering if the sky will rain rockets? Israel has multiple internal problems like we have here, including but not limited to housing crisis, political and religious friction, and yet it still has amazing contributions to the world in medicine, technology and science, to name a few.

To assume Israelis should think like Americans and what we stand for ignores the demographics of Israel, where many of its citizens are from or the descendents of people from the former Soviet Union, North Africa and the Middle East. Western liberal progressive thought is not their political base. It is a good thing the majority of American Jews love and support Israel. To assume they should fit our political mold or Mr. Franks’s may be condescending.

Mr. Frank often presents critical statements and questions on Israel. We as a community are fortunate to have the Chronicle as a forum for dialogue. Perhaps someday Mr. Frank will share with us his view on the Arab side of the equation and how they should adapt Western progressive political values and their errors in not doing so. It gets old to keep beating on Israel.

Rocky Wice Pittsburgh

What “we” stands for In “What we stand for,” an op-ed ostensibly in response to the recent op-ed by Anat Talmy and Abby Schachter, Ivan Frank purports to explain the position that he, like many other American Jews, has taken toward Israel. As such, Frank’s piece uses that Talmy and Schachter op-ed as a pretext only: American Jews were mentioned in it only in the last short paragraph.

The Talmy and Schachter op-ed was about the dramatic shift in the position of the Israeli PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

“concentration camps,” a term most recently used by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. I will leave it to scholars to parse the terms of rhetorical escalation.

But what I can say from personal experience with our opaque immigration system is that it is not only devastating for those who go through it, but also for the Americans who are employed by it. Using terms like “concentration camp” may have technical merit, but I worry that it actually frees those working in the system from taking any criticisms seriously.

Armando came to this country from Mexico nearly 30 years ago. In the 20 years he worked in our synagogue, he paid Social Security, Medicare, state and local taxes.

While Armando was in ICE detention awaiting deportation, our attorney filed for a stay with a judge. Within a week he was suddenly, and without any notice to his family, deported to Mexico. This was in February.

I emailed the ICE officer assigned to his case the day he was deported asking him to call me. Hours later I received an email back from the officer saying he “regretted” to inform me that Armando was put on a plane to Mexico “before his attorney was able to Please see Brusso, page 15

“left”— as a consequence of being “mugged by reality.” Frank’s op-ed has nothing to do with that reality, let alone with being mugged by it. Whatever the Israeli “left” may have seen to change their minds — and they have seen a lot since the disastrous Oslo Accords — he, Mr. Frank, or rather “we” that he uses interchangeably with “I,” knows better. Why? Because whatever those reality-bound Israelis may have to say, “[i]t is unlikely that their points will convince us to change our philosophy or our social and political positions.”

In contrast to those readers who are unfamiliar with philosophies that cannot be swayed by facts, I have had a long experience with one — back in the USSR. Once you are in possession of (or possessed by) that only true philosophy, no reality can deviate from it. It does not matter that your judgments from the comfort of your Squirrel Hill home conflict with the reality-born opinion of the overwhelming majority of Israelis. Neither does it matter that your Democratic bonafides, checking off all the right points of “gun control” and “minimum wage” in the US, are irrelevant to the mortal dangers experienced by Israelis daily.

The progressives of Frank’s persuasion are not merely “stuck in the past,” as benignly characterized by Talmy and Schachter. They have done tremendous harm to Israel, the U.S. and the entire world — not the least by approving the horrific Iran deal that gave the terror state untold billions to spread among its murderous branches in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Gaza, and guaranteed Iran’s getting nuclear arms unmolested. Frank assures Israel of how “the majority of Jews who live in America continue to love the people and the land of Israel” — neglecting to mention that this love does not include accepting Israelis’ own choice of their future, but does include readiness to hand the land of Israel to Israel’s sworn enemies.

Frank’s “we,” who indeed regrettably constitute the majority of the U.S. Jews, “75% liberal and progressive,” cannot be bothered with Israel’s reality over their “social justice positions.”

In “Anthem,” a short novel by Ayn Rand depicting a logical outcome of collectivism, a totalitarian “social justice” state, the singular first-person pronoun is abolished. Everyone is a “we.” Not a royal We, making a person grander than himself, but the “we” that erased the individuals, “one in all and all in one.” Frank’s “we” is possessed by the progressive philosophy that has always dictated grandiloquent slogans while trampling on the actual needs of those whom they targeted. The willing “we” of Mr. Frank’s collective are ready to sacrifice their object of continued love to their immutable “social and political positions.”

Michael Vanyukov Ph.D. Pittsburgh We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or email letters to:

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JUNE 28, 2019 13

Headlines Bomber: Continued from page 1

chair of the CRC. “It’s been pretty horrible over the past year, obviously since Tree of Life, and any opportunity we have to show support--unfortunately for all these horrible reasons--we want to be there for people.

We have an understanding and we know all too well what it’s like to be threatened and attacked. We want to be there for them, not only in the short term, but in the long term.”

About 30 people of various faiths showed up to greet congregants at the church Sunday morning. Pittsburgh Police officers provided security.

“I wanted to be here partly to repay the kindness that my congregation, Dor Hadash, received after October 27 and to let the communities who supported us know that we support them,” said Laura Horowitz as she stood at the doorsteps of the church.

“And I also wanted to be here because there are no rights unless you can exercise them. If people are afraid to exercise their rights then the rights have been effectively taken away. So, we’re here to make sure that these folks can exercise their right to free practice of religion.”

Mayor Bill Peduto, who urged President Obama in 2015 to increase the number of Syrian refugees permitted in the U.S, reiterated his support for that policy in the hours after Alowemer was arrested.

“Pittsburgh has historically been a home for refugees and immigrants and will continue to be one,” Peduto said in a prepared statement. “In debates over the refugee crisis the past several years, as people from around the world have sought to flee violence and misery and seek better lives

for their families in the United States, I have always been consistent in our message: we welcome all refugees and immigrants, and we oppose hate against anyone in any form, and we also cooperate with law enforcement whenever legitimate and dangerous crimes are threatening us.”

The mayor then noted that threats “come from everywhere.”

“The record shows most terrorists attacking the United States are domestic, such as the man who murdered 11 Tree of Life worshippers in October,” he wrote.

Some on-line comments following local newspaper accounts of Alowemer’s arrest criticized Peduto for his policy on refugees.

But Donna Coufal, the president of Congregation Dor Hadash, one of the three congregations attacked on Oct. 27, said that linking the crime to the accused’s status as a refugee is wrong.

“I think it is really a false narrative,” she said.

America is made up of refugees, she stressed, most of whom abide by the law.

Those who break the law do so “not because they are refugees,” Coufal said. “There is not a refugee problem; there is a hate problem and there is a violence problem.”

Jews, especially, should be sensitive to the dangers of stereotyping an entire community based on the actions of one individual, said Silverman, speaking on his own behalf.

“We would never have wanted that for anybody in our community who had done anything wrong,” he said. “And it’s not fair to stereotype or blame anybody else in their community.”

Pittsburgh’s Jewish Family and Community Services has settled more than 800 refugees here in the last five years, including those from Syria. Alowemer was not one of that

agency’s clients, said Iris Valanti, public relations associate at JFCS. Ironically, just two days after Alowemer’s arrest, a World Refugee Day event was held in Market Square downtown to celebrate Pittsburgh’s refugee and immigrant communities.

The celebration included music, dance performances and refugee testimonies.

The CRC, in a stateCommunity members of various faiths showed up ment issued following p Sunday in support of the congregation.

Alowemer’s arrest, noted Photo by Toby Tabachnick that the event, organized

by AJAPO Refugee Immigrant Services and not be generalized upon the actions of co-sponsored by JFCS, was an opportunity one individual. for people to “stand with the refugee and Refugees coming to the U.S. are “vetted to a immigrant community to show that we fault,” Hetfield explained, noting that in addiunderstand that the alleged ISIS supporter is tion to being fingerprinted, their biodata is an outlier among immigrants and refugees.” scanned against worldwide intelligence data The timing of the World Refugee Day bases, and they are interrogated by numerous event was “an unfortunate coincidence,” government officials and contractors. according to Mark Hetfield, president and “They don’t get the benefit of the doubt,” CEO of HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit he said. “A lot of innocent people are vetted that protects refugees, in an interview out of the system.” following the program.

It is unclear whether Alowemer was Hetfield, who was a featured speaker at radicalized prior to admittance to the U.S. the event, said he had wondered if the arrest But according to the criminal complaint, of Alowemer would affect attendance or the in April 2019, Alowemer told an online tenor of the celebration, but those concerns covert employee for the FBI that he “was were laid to rest when he saw hundreds of raised in Jordan on loving the Jihad and enthusiastic supporters there. the Mujahdeen [sic]. I met some Jordanian Hetfield noted that Peduto appeared brothers, some of which did the Nafir in at the celebration with Pastor May, “who Raqqah, and I, alongside some brothers, made it a point to say that he had already were arrested three times in Jordan, because forgiven” his would-be attacker. He praised I was one of the supporters.” PJC Peduto for reiterating “that every person Toby Tabachnick can be reached at has to be judged based on his or her own character,” and that communities should ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Yeshiva: Continued from page 1

whatever they would like to do. If they want to be a rabbi, they’re prepared for that; if they want to be a scientist, they’re prepared for that.

They can go on and decide what they want to pursue. We feel it’s very important they have those options. Who knows, when they are in first grade, what they want to be? And who knows, when they graduate high school, what they want to be? At least they know whatever they want, they have the right background.”

Former Yeshiva Schools students have gone on to top medical schools and law schools as well as yeshivas and seminaries for women around the world. “They really do have those options open to them,” said Chezky Rosenfeld.

The school’s reputation is so good that it draws families from other states, who move to Pittsburgh so their children can attend.

“A large part of our community is made up of families that have moved from different parts of the country because this is the type of education they want for their children, this is the type of school they want, where they can excel at both ends,” said Yisroel Rosenfeld.

“We have students from Morgantown, West Virginia. They come in every day. Students from Altoona, from State College, they spend their week here and go back for Shabbos.”

14 JUNE 28, 2019

p Ninth-grade girls learn how to use coding software.

Photo provided by Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh

As special as Yisroel Rosenfeld thinks the Yeshiva Schools is, he realizes it isn’t the right choice for everyone.

“Our goal is that every Jewish child in Pittsburgh should get a Jewish education.”

Sometimes that might mean that students attend instead either Hillel Academy or Community Day School. “When we find a

student that one of the other schools work better for then, by all means, that school is better for you. Let’s do the best we can so each student gets what they need.”

Now, Yeshiva Schools is working on developing a strategic plan for the next five years.

“We’re involving the entire community. We are taking a look at the community and

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where the community wants to go with the school,” said Yisroel Rosenfeld. “What are the new thoughts and possibilities?”

The school has just received accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. And they recently purchased the former New Light building.

“We don’t have concrete plans yet, but we’re going to figure out the best use for the building because we need more space,’” said Chezky Rosenfeld.

Whatever they decide, it will be implemented in conjunction with community partners. “The community partners we have, the Jewish Federation, etc., whenever one of the Jewish organizations are in need, or we are in need, there’s always someone there,” said Chezky Rosenfeld. “We’re all successful because of that. That’s the secret to success in Pittsburgh, when someone is in need, the organizations are there. There’s always an expert at the JCC or Federation or JFCS, whether it’s in finances or mental health or Jewish health. Each one, whenever we have an issue, before we reach out, they’re reaching out to us. The working relationship we have with every organization in town is unique. This year, we saw it more than ever, unfortunately with the Tree of Life, but the truth is, it’s always been there.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Sampson: Continued from page 2

be a little bit different, is very important, and anything this decision does that fosters acceptance and protection of sincerely held religious beliefs by whoever is important.”

Sampson, a member of Congregation Dor Hadash, attributes his commitment to the protection of the rights of the individual to the strong Jewish values instilled in him by his parents and his teachers at CDS. “When I look at myself as a Jew, and know how I want to be treated, and know the rights I believe I should have and how they should be protected, I feel the same way about others, whether they are Old Order Amish, or any other religion,” he said, adding that he was raised to stand up for “equality, justice and basic human rights.”

Representing his Amish clients gave

Sampson a glimpse into the lives of a religious group that is simultaneously so different from his own and also so similar.

The family he represented live on farmstead in Southern Indiana, in a home they built themselves, with no electricity.

“One of the great honors of my life was being invited into their home and allowed an insight, which most people don’t get,” he said. “What was driven home in that process is that people are people. There is this image of the Amish as so different, and so much the other. But when you go to their home, you see everybody is ultimately the same. My client has a great sense of humor and, for a while, he was laid up with a broken leg from playing softball. It drove home how similar we are regardless of religion, and that it is easy to build bridges if one works at it.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Memorial: Continued from page 3

everybody here has put their hearts out to us and what we tell them is that this is giving us the strength to pull through this,” she said.

Last week’s visit was the Rosenthal matriarch’s first return to Israel since participating in a 1991 United Jewish Federation mission.

Placing those trips in context is “mind boggling,” she said.

There are “such determined people, especially the young people of today,” who experience constant threat, and what they have been able to accomplish is remarkable.

“I mean, they go on with living, like you and I go on with living, and don’t think about what can happen the next day.”

Despite daily struggles, there has been a continuous stream of warmth and consolation offered since Oct. 27, she added.

Brusso: Continued from page 13

file a request for a stay.”

As it turned out, the stay of deportation was actually granted before Armando was deported, a factor an immigration judge later pointed out, scolding the government for “erroneously deporting” Armando.

The truth was, the ICE officer knew all along that our attorney was working on a stay: Our attorney had spoken with him as soon as Armando was placed in ICE detention. Subsequently the officer had been difficult to reach, sometimes going a few days without returning our attorney’s calls.

By the time I responded to the ICE officer, we had heard from Armando on the other side of the border and what had happened to him. I emailed the ICE officer back, CCing our congregational leadership, decrying the fact that Armando was dropped into a country he hasn’t been to in decades with no chance to collect belongings or money, nor to contact his family.

I added that “Armando is beloved in our community of 500 families; he is a kind, generous and caring person. But you didn’t need to know any of that in order to know that no human being should ever be treated this way.

“And you ‘regret’ to inform me? Is this how you always treat human beings?”

I received no communication back.

I do believe the ICE officer “regretted” the swiftness of the process. I also know that he was working in a system with orders from the top to speed up “expedited removals” of “aliens.” Both the process and the language are built to distance those who function within it from relating to the people in their care as human beings.

Later we learned that the ICE officers who dropped Armando’s group at the border taunted them, saying “you’ll all probably get kidnapped.”

But should we be surprised by this behavior when we put Americans in the position of taking parents and children away from their families?

p From left to right, Rabbi Aaron Brusso, Armando Rojas’ son, Rojas and congregants Linda Dishner and Mike Kraus in Tijuana, Mexico. Rojas was deported by ICE and separated from his family after working in the same synagogue for two decades. His case is ongoing.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Brusso

While we must fight the injustice of what’s happening in our country, we must not inadvertently associate those who work in the immigration system with those who carried out a genocide.

In April, Armando’s son and members of my congregation met Armando in Tijuana so that we could be with him while he asked for asylum. At the border between Mexico and the United States, we all smelled alcohol on the Customs and Border Patrol officer’s breath. A few yards from us, a dozen or so mothers and

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children sat in the dirt waiting for someone to listen to their stories, a function of Border Patrol’s metering policy of turning away asylum seekers by saying, sometimes disingenuously, that the detention facility is “at capacity.”

How else is someone supposed to cope with this but by numbing themselves?

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Rosenthal appreciates such kindness and recognizes the mutual value afforded.

Back in Pittsburgh, “we as a family always made Cecil and David part of the community,” she said. “How much the Squirrel Hill community made of Cecil and David, what they added to their life you can’t buy.”

Michele Rosenthal agreed.

“We’re so fortunate to live in such a supportive community in Squirrel Hill and the greater Pittsburgh community, but we have not been forgotten around the world.”

Being able to participate in this ceremony where each of the 11 victims was recognized is reminiscent of what “my mom and dad always say,” continued Rosenthal.

“We just don’t want people to forget. And I think this affirmed that people have not forgotten.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

In June, Rojas was taken into custody, sent to Albany and began waiting for a chance to seek asylum from an immigration judge.

I can only imagine what goes on in the hearts and minds of immigration employees tasked with carrying out the family separation policy. I shudder to think of what will happen to people in our country taken from their families, as well as those who receive the orders to remove them if even a fraction of the threatened mass deportations are carried out.

Immigration officials with whom I came into contact wanted to “help people,” expressed “regret” and were possibly self-medicating their way through their jobs.

While we must fight the injustice of what’s happening in our country, we must not inadvertently associate those who work in the immigration system with those who carried out a genocide. Using such language, easily dismissed, allows those complicit in the system to abdicate their own responsibility for the daily indignities and traumas they carry out, since they can rationalize away the criticisms they believe are overblown.

We don’t need to resort to hyperbole; what they are being asked to do is bad enough.

Using such loaded language also, ironically, destroys our own empathy. Calling a detention facility a concentration camp makes it too easy to distance ourselves from the full picture. In reality, ICE officers are our fellow Americans, and they are trying to do jobs that many of them did not accept under these conditions. They are being tasked with carrying out increasingly cruel policies that force them to do dehumanizing things. And we need them to see that.

We are responsible for addressing what led our country here. But we are also responsible for what happens to ICE officers — and for seeing them as human beings.

If we hope to stop the dehumanization at our borders, we have to take responsibility for all of it. PJC Rabbi Aaron Brusso is the rabbi of Bet Torah in Mount Kisco, New York, and serves on the executive council of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international professional organization of Conservative rabbis.

JUNE 28, 2019 15

Life & Culture Area festivals add spark to Independence Day dignitaries. The evening is capped with a fireworks display.

Event details can be found at: brentwoodboro.com/fourth-of-july-celebration.

Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival

Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg — about a 45-minute drive from Pittsburgh — is the site of the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival, a four-day event that commences on July Fourth and showcases a juried fine art and photography exhibition, an artist market featuring the work of more than 200 craftsmen and artisans from around the country, as well as entertainment, food and children’s activities.

This year marks the 45th year of the festival, which runs through July 7.

On July Fourth, a diverse range of musical acts will take the festival’s stage beginning at 11 a.m. Big band, acoustic, blues and country musicians will perform until 8 p.m., interspersed with canon firing every hour on the hour.

Various food vendors, offering a wide selection of ethnic fare, will provide refreshment. More information can be found at: artsandheritage.com.

— FESTIVALS —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

T

In addition to its excellent appellation, the Big Butler Fair offers an eclectic and exciting schedule of events for July Fourth, and is just a 50-minute drive from Pittsburgh.

The day begins at 9 a.m. with the Butler Fair Horse Show, and continues with the judging of open market steers.

After lunch, head over to the carnival, where you and your children can enjoy tried-and-true rides such as a carousel, Ferris wheel, and chair swings. Games will abound as well, and those with skill and good aim could find themselves travelling home with a prize goldfish or giant teddy bear.

Stick around to see who will be participating in the Celebrity Milking Contest at 7 p.m., then enjoy viewing the truck pulls. If you are so inclined, take a stab at the curiously tempting Free Giant Sundae, before settling down for the fireworks display.

This is the 164th anniversary of the Big Butler Fair, the largest agricultural fair in Western Pennsylvania. Additional information can be found at: bigbutlerfair.com.

Brentwood Fourth of July Celebration

Canonsburg July 4 Celebration

The borough of Brentwood, nestled in Pittsburgh’s South Hills, is just a 12-minute drive from downtown. The community, which first hosted July Fourth festivities in 1919, has continued the tradition ever since.

What began as a small parade 100 years ago has transitioned to a three-day celebration that draws crowds from across the region, while still retaining “the idyllic, old-fashioned charm of a small-town carnival,” according to the event’s website.

The celebration starts off on Saturday, June 29, with a Community Day featuring entertainment, a physical fitness program, food and children’s activities, and continues on July 3 with a street fair hosted by the Brentwood Business Owners Association on the Brownsville Road corridor with music, food and games.

On July Fourth, Brentwood hosts its annual Firecracker 5K, followed by the community’s storied parade which includes marching bands, floats, and local

There is a lot going on in Canonsburg — a borough in Washington County about a half hour from Pittsburgh — in honor of Independence Day. The morning commences with the 35th annual Whiskey Rebellion 5K at 7:30 a.m., followed by a parade at 10 a.m. As this year’s fete is dedicated to the memory of Canonsburg founding father Anthony L. Colaizzo, who was fond of donning a bow tie and Panama hat, attendees are encouraged to do the same.

From noon through 6 p.m., free Town Park activities include balloon animals, face painting, rock climbing and inflatables. A family swim party begins at noon.

Midday musical entertainment includes polka music, top 40 and rock. Fireworks by Zambelli Fireworks International will be launched at 10 p.m.

For more information, go to: canonsburgjuly4th.org. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Photo/art courtesy of iStockphoto.com

ens of thousands of Pittsburghers will be heading to Point State Park on July Fourth to attend “Celebrate America,” the largest Independence Day event in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As in years past, the festivities downtown will include food, music, military demonstrations and kids’ activities, and will culminate in the Flashes of Freedom Fireworks Display, recognized by the American Pyrotechnics Association as one of the top 10 fireworks displays in the country.

But for those looking for an alternative way to celebrate our nation’s independence — and smaller crowds — there are several other festivals on July Fourth, all within a short drive from Pittsburgh.

Here are just a few.

Big Butler Fair

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Life & Culture New York City is considering a ban on fur.

Chasidic Jews and Jewish fur dealers aren’t happy — FASHION —

By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

I

t’s summer and Marc Kaufman has thousands of coats in the basement of his store in Midtown Manhattan. For a fee, the fifth-generation fur dealer cleans and stores them for his customers to help prevent heat damage.

Upstairs there are racks and racks of coats for sale — lynx, mink, chinchilla, sable and coyote, Kaufman’s personal favorite. There’s everything from a long white fox coat speckled with bright pink, black and blue to a bluish gray bomber-style chinchilla jacket.

Coats sell for an average of $3,000 but can go for up to $150,000. Kaufman has sold to big names such as Jennifer Lopez and 50 Cent, and his grandfather sold fur to Marilyn Monroe and Liberace.

But new legislation proposed in the New York City Council could threaten Kaufman’s livelihood, and those of some 150 other stores in New York that earn the majority of their income through fur sales.

In March, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced legislation that would ban the sale of new fur apparel.

“As an animal lover, I believe it is cruel to kill an animal just for the purpose of people buying and wearing a fur coat. There is really no need for this,” Johnson said in a statement ahead of introducing the bill.

In May, the council heard testimony from opponents and critics of the ban. Following the hearing, Johnson slightly changed his tune, saying he would want a potential ban to be phased in over time time to have a less dramatic impact on the industry.

The New York State Senate and Assembly also are considering bills to ban the sale of fur in the state.

Stores that earn the majority of their revenues through the sale of fur employ about 1,110 people, according to Fur NYC, which opposes the ban. That doesn’t include a supply chain that includes marketing, banking and insurance, says the trade group.

“A fur ban would be catastrophic to New York City — eliminating a historic manufacturing community, along with thousands of jobs for New Yorkers who’ve never made another living and millions of tax revenue that fund critical government programs that help New Yorkers,” according to Fur NYC. Like many other stores in New York’s Fur District, there are signs posted on Kaufman’s store protesting the proposal.

“If they don’t want to wear furs, they don’t [have to] wear it,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last week. “If they don’t want to eat meat, let them not eat meat. But don’t impose your views on me.”

Jews once dominated the New York fur and garment industry. The boom of the ready-to-wear clothing industry after the Civil War coincided with a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe,

p There are more than 150 fur stores in New York City, according to a trade group advocating against a proposed fur ban.

p Marc Kaufman’s family has been in the fur business in New York for five Photos by Josefin Dolsten generations.

said Daniel Soyer, a professor of American Jewish history at Fordham University who researches the garment industry. Indeed, Kaufman’s own family entered the industry in 1870 after emigrating from Russia, Germany and Hungary.

Since ready-to-wear clothing production was a new industry, Jews faced fewer barriers than in already established fields, Soyer said.

Some Jews also brought relevant skills from their native countries.

The number of Jews working in the garment industry remained high through the 1920s (in 1910, three-quarters of the furriers in the city were Jews). It started decreasing in the 1960s with the rise of mass-produced clothing, according to Soyer.

Animal rights activists say the practice and methods of killing animals for their

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fur is cruel. Starting in 1992, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, began a memorable “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign that eventually included celebrity spokespeople.

During a hearing on the proposed legislation last month, Johnson showed graphic images of animals housed and killed for their pelts. A number of celebrities, including fashion guru Tim Gunn, have spoken out with PETA in favor of the ban.

In addition to fur dealers, a number of groups oppose the proposed ban. They include members of the African-American community, for whom fur continues to be a status symbol, and some environmental activists, who argue that it will lead to an increase in non-biodegradable fake fur coats.

Also opposing the ban are Chasidic Jews,

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who often wear the cake-shaped sable hats known as shtreimels on Shabbat and holidays. Made from the tails of sables and foxes, the hats can cost as much as $5,000.

Councilman Chaim Deutsch of Brooklyn cited the Chasidic custom as a reason why he opposes the ban. The legislation contains a religious exemption that would allow the sale of fur to those using it as part of their faith.

“If we ban fur and then you have people that are still out there wearing it, considering the fact that hate crime in New York City is on the rise, people will be targeted on the streets, saying, ‘Why are you wearing this if there’s a fur ban?’” Deutsch, an Orthodox Jew, told The New York Times.

Alexander Rapaport, a Chasid who runs a Brooklyn-based network of kosher soup kitchens, echoed Deutsch’s fears.

“There are thousands and thousands of citizens who wear [the shtreimel] for culture and tradition, and it’s almost symbolic to their way of life,” he told JTA. Rapaport questioned the efficacy of the bill, since it would only ban fur in New York, and wondered whether it would put “a bulls-eye on every shtreimel.”

Some see the religious exemption as problematic and untenable. Bezalel Stern, an attorney at Kelley, Drye & Warren, LLP, representing the International Fur Federation, says the exemption violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause because it would favor religion and have the government evaluate the validity of a person’s religious claim.

Stern fears that if the law were to pass, the religious exemption would not stand up in court.

“I think the [City Council] speaker knows that the religious exemption is unconstitutional and he’s putting it in because he wants to — excuse my pun — pull the fur over people’s eyes in order to get it passed,” Stern said.

But the ban has Jewish proponents, too.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, the founder of Shamayim: Jewish Animal Advocacy, criticized Chasidic opposition to the ban in an email to JTA, saying that wearing shtreimels is a custom but not mandated by Jewish law.

“It is not required to actualize holiness,” said Yanklowitz, who is Orthodox. “What is required, however, is the need to follow the notion of ‘tzar ba’alei chaim’: not causing needless pain to animals.”

Jewish Veg, which advocates for veganism in the Jewish community, also threw its support behind the bill. In a statement, the group said that fur industry practices constitute “egregious violations of Jewish ethics.”

“Judaism mandates that we treat animals with exquisite and sensitive compassion, and the practices of the fur industry grotesquely violate this mandate,” the organization said.

Meanwhile, Kaufman says he’s more focused on running his business than worrying about the legislation, which he believes is unlikely to pass.

“God will take care of everything,” he said. “Furs come from God, it’s part of the Bible.” PJC

JUNE 28, 2019 17

Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

How to know what’s good to Egypt. G-d decrees that Israel’s entry into the land shall be delayed 40 years, during which time that entire generation will die out in the desert.

One may wonder: When the leaders of each of the 12 tribes handpicked the spies, they surely chose the best and most pious among them — someone that they all trusted. So how did these 10 great men become “radicalized” anti-Israel in just 40 days, without YouTube or Facebook?

The 10 spies must have truly believed that persuading the Jews not to enter the holy land was the best thing they could do.

When the Jewish nation was in the desert they were in a utopia, all their physical,

Rabbi Zalman Gurevitz Parashat Sh’lach Numbers 13:1 - 15:41

T

here are good people that do bad things, there are happy people that have sad days and there are bad people that sometimes do good deeds. We sometimes do something we think is good just to find out later that is was bad, and sometimes we do something wrong but later learn that something good came out of it.

It’s a human need to feel that you are a good person; our mind will distort reality to make us feel good.

… G-d wants us to go in to Israel Stacey and Steven Edelstein are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter, Errin Edelstein, to Doron Tamari, son of Michal and Solly Tamari of Herzliya, Israel. Errin is the granddaughter of Esther and Norman Amper and Hanna and the late David Edelstein.

Errin obtained a bachelor’s degree in strategic communications at The Ohio State University and is employed by Brookfield Properties Retail as a leasing director for shopping centers.

Doron Tamari is the grandson of Dvora and the late Chaim Weinstein and Pixie and the late Yoel Tamari. Doron grew up in East Brunswick, N.J., and is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business. He also obtained his master’s degree in sport administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Doron is currently employed by the Big Ten Conference as an assistant director of branding. Errin and Doron met in Chicago, IL and currently reside there. A September 2020 wedding is planned.

Bar Mitzvah Jonah Max Proulx, son of Rachel (Simon) and Christopher Proulx and brother of Gabrielle Ava, will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, June 29 at Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation in Orlando, Florida.

Jonah is the grandson of Diane and Mark I. Simon of Pittsburgh and Jeanne and Richard Proulx of Bedford, New Hampshire. He is the great-grandson of Gertrude Supowitz of Pittsburgh. Jonah enjoys playing soccer and has earned a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. PJC

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and face the challenges involved in providing for our loved ones and with that still serve him and do mitzvot.

On a recent visit to the FCI Gilmer WV, an inmate who was about to be released told me that he has no enemies outside of prison because he only robbed banks and chain stores and never robbed mom-and-pop shops. Another inmate, who was a gang leader in Philadelphia, told me that even when he was heavily involved in drug trade he never sold drugs to his friends’ moms.

At the time, that was his standard to make himself feel like a good person.

From a Jewish perspective, how can one know what’s really good? The Fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe (1834-1882) explained to his son: “Take this as a general principle and remember it always: Any matter that is effective towards or actually leads to active service of G-d, and is confronted with opposition of any sort, even the most noble, that opposition is the scheming of the animal soul.”

This idea can help us understand something puzzling in this week’s Torah portion: Moses sends 12 spies to the land of Canaan.

Forty days later they return, carrying a huge cluster of grapes, a pomegranate and a fig, to report on a lush and bountiful land. But 10 of the spies warn that the inhabitants of the land are giants and warriors “more powerful than we are.”

The people weep that they’d rather return

emotional and spiritual needs were provided to them from G-d. They did not have any worries, they were protected by the clouds of glory.

The spies knew that this was all going to come to an end once the Jewish people entered the land of Israel. They would need to work the land to meet their needs. This is not just a very time consuming task that would take them away from studying Torah, for the responsibility to provide can cause stress even when you are not at work.

Somehow, even people that are very wealthy mange to worry about their financial future.

The spies believed that the Jewish people are much better off remaining in the desert where they can serve G-d without any physical or emotional distractions. They were wrong, because G-d wants us to go in to Israel and face the challenges involved in providing for our loved ones and with that still serve him and do mitzvot.

So next time you are trying to do a mitzvah and you get distracted, instead of feeling guilty remember that facing these challenges is the reason G-d brought us to the holy land. PJC Rabbi Zalman Gurevitz is the rabbi at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center in Morgantown, West Virginia.

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Obituaries AMSTER: Ada Resnick Amster, age 102, born July 1916, passed away on June 14 in Tamarac, Fla. Ada was the daughter of the late Benjamin and Sadie Resnick. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley Amster and her son, Lee R. Amster as well as her brother, Ed Resnick. She is survived by her son, Alan (Anne), her grandson, Josh (Megan), children Jacob, Levi and Hannah, and granddaughter, Kim (Payam), children Soraya and Ari. Ada graduated from Triadelphia High School in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1934 and then from the University of Michigan School of Dental Hygiene in 1936. After studying at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania she lived in Montevideo, Uruguay for a time and then moved to Detroit, Mich., where she worked as a dental hygienist. She was recruited by Dr. Paul Elbin, the president of West Liberty College to be the first supervisor and professor at the newly created Sarah Glass School of Dental Hygiene. This was only the 13th dental hygiene school in the U.S. She married Stanley Amster and left her position to become a part-time hygienist and housewife.

She was active in community activities, loved playing bridge, flower clubs in Pittsburgh until she moved to Lauderhill, Fla., when Stanley retired. Her favorite activities in Florida were going to the flea markets, walking at Sawgrass, duplicate bridge and dancing. A graveside service was held at Jewish Memorial Park, 1665 Middle Creek Road, Triadelphia, WV. The family requests no flowers, in lieu donations in Ada’s memory may be made to Temple Shalom, 23 Bethany Pike, Wheeling, WV 26003 or Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements

by Kepner Funeral Homes, 900 National Road, Wheeling, WV (304-232-2732) and personal condolences may be offered at www.kepnerfuneral.com.

HOROWITZ: Barbara Goodman Horowitz, on Saturday, June 22, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Harvey A. Horowitz. Loving mother of Michael (Diana) Horowitz of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Scott (Tammy) Horowitz of Forest Hills. Mimi of Noah, Emma, Ethan and Leo Horowitz. Companion of Irwin “Nick” Chernew. Beloved by family and friends. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Entombment Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, 501 Martindale Street, #670, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 or Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, 1251 Waterfront Place Floor # 5, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

KLEIN: Eugene J. Klein passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, June 20, 2019.

Beloved husband of the late Ruth Ann (Eisner) Klein for 63 years; loving father of Cary (Kathy) Klein and Amy (Jack) Silverman; proud grandfather of Joshua (Sam), Julie (Evan), Andrew, Jessica and

Abigail; and adoring great-grandfather of Levi, Silas and Lucy. Gene was preceded in death by his brother Albert Klein and his parents Sam and Lenka Klein. Gene was a lifelong entrepreneur, starting with his apparel business, Fashion Factory, and ending with a chain of dollar stores that he built during his “retirement”. He will be remembered for being a loyal friend, a strong mentor and an eternal optimist — and for having a wonderful sense of humor.

Gene will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Services and interment private.

Contributions in Gene’s memory may be made to Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, 5150 Centre Avenue, Suite 1B, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

REIMER: Marion Phyllis Riemer, age 86, on June 16, 2019. Beloved wife of 49 years to Morris Riemer. Loving mother of Helene (Michael) Berman, and stepsons, Jerry (Susan Kraham), Barry (Ann), and Sanford (Barb Feige). Cherished bubbie of Matthew Berman, Erika Berman, Eric (Chava) Riemer, Danny (Sheera and the late Meira Bresler) Riemer, Aliza (Chanan) Strassman, Jennifer (James) Cataline, Beth (Maurice) Verano, and Adam Riemer, as well as 8 great-grandchildren. Marion was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Esther Covel and sister, Pauline Shorr.

The family would like to thank her caregiver, Lavonna Nelson, as well as the staff of Sivitz Hospice. Graveside services were held at Poale Zedeck Memorial Park Cemetery on Monday, June 17. Arrangements were entrusted to the Gesher Hachaim Jewish Burial Society. Contributions may be made to the Jewish Association on Aging, 200 JHF DR. Pgh., Pa. 15217.

SILVERMAN: Geraldine L. Silverman, on Thursday, June 20, 2019. Beloved wife of Sidney Silverman. Beloved mother of Joel (Sharmayne) Silverman, Cheryl Day, Beth (David) Lindsay, Paul (Jennifer) Silverman, Stuart Silverman and Avi (Ditza) Silverman.

Sister of the late Eugene Lipman and Reva Swartz. Also survived by 24 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Abraham Cemetery. www.schugar.com WEINER: Meercy B. Weiner, on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Marvin Weiner. Daughter of the late Max and Eva Braff. Sister of the late Hannah Protetch, Blanche Leaf and Rena Buncher.

Aunt of Bonnie (late Jerry) Stalinsky, Gerry Buncher, Francie (Richard) Serbin, Max Protetch, Shelly Leaf and the late Maxine (late Fred) Shirey. Also survived by many great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews. Graveside Service and Interment were held at New Light Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Riverview Towers, 52 Garetta Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. www.schugar.com PJC

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

In memory of...

A gift from ...

In memory of...

Anonymous ..................................................Sam Burckin

Jean Metzger .............................................. Erwin Becker

Anonymous .................................................. Bessie Miller

Bernice & Jack Meyers ............................Anne P. Meyers

Dr. Lawrence Adler & Natalie Kaplan ....... Samuel H. Adler

Nathaniel S. Pirchesky ............ Elizabeth Pirchesky Sklov

Ms. Marlene S. Alpern ............................... Nathan Shaer

Joel Roteman ................................................. Irene Taylor

Marcella Apter ........................................ Hyman Moravitz

Faye Schwartz ..............................................Arnold Pearl

Charlotte Bluestone ..........................Rebecca Bluestone

Patricia Green Shapiro ........................ Betty Stan Kaplan

Paula Weiss Callis ...........................Irene Feldman Weiss

Harold Siegel ...........................................Murray A. Segal

Sarita Eisner .........................................Isadore Goldblum

Henria Strauss................................. Helene Rose Hyman

Adolph Geminder ................................. Natalie Geminder

Mitchell & Elly Toig ...........................................Zetta Levy

Beverly Kenner ............................................ Louis Kenner

Iris Amper Walker .........................................Lillian Amper

Esther Latterman Schwartz .............. Harry W. Latterman

Iris Amper Walker ..................................... Herbert Walker

Lois Levin .....................................Herman Margolis Buck

Ruth Zytnick ..............................................Harry J. Rosen

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday June 30: Mollie Apter, Erwin Becker, Barry Birner, Lena Caplan, Abraham Fink, Sarah Friedman, Arthur Klein, Eva Miller, Hyman Moravitz, Donald L. Samuels, Louis Shapiro, Eva Coon Solomon Monday July 1: Libbie Cohen, Benjamin Friedlander, Harold Goldstein, Diane Golbitz Hamilton, Louis Klein, Frank Kopelson, Lilian Miriam Krasik Kurtz, Max Marcovsky, Jean Smolevitz Marshall, Ethel Miller, Saul Oliver Neft, Maurice A. Nernberg, Ethel Riesberg, Sarah Turk, Lawrence S. Williams Tuesday July 2: Celia Bergad, Rebecca Bluestone, Caroline Cooper, Tillie Gold, Shelton C. Goodman, Henry E. Hersh, Mollie Kramer, Celia Kweller, Martha Cohen Landy, Charlotte Leff, Helen Levin, Minnie Mendler, Morris A. Robins Wednesday July 3: Beatrice Helen Amper, Sarah Rosenbloom Ronay, David Scholnick, Mildred Simon, Blanche Tarlo, William Wanetick Thursday July 4: Sally Berger, Bessie S. Bernstein, Cecelia M. Fink, Jacob Galanty, Simon Gastfriend, Sarah Leah Greenberg, Sadye I. Horwitz, Sylvia Herman Kahan, Betty Stern Kaplan, Abe L. Kessler, Dr. Ben Moresky, Henry Norell, Max Rubin, William Bernard Segal, Morry Wise Friday July 5: Anna Alpern, William Brown, Ruth Tolchin Ehrenreich, Natalie Geminder, Emma E. Gottlieb, Betty Stern Kaplan, Hyman Sanford Liebling, M.D., Lois Recht, Sarah Hoffman Reifman, Sidney Schatz, Irving Schiffman, Esther Solomon Saturday July 6: Paul Braun, Samuel H. Caplan, Charles Charlap, Ethel Cowen, Theda Rose Greenberg, Nathan Kaiserman, Anna Krantz, Irving Levine, Arnold Pearl, Fay Doltis Shaer, Charles B. Spokane, Sam Weiner, Maurice Meyer Weisberger

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JUNE 28, 2019 19

Headlines Sarcoma: Continued from page 5

Federation of Greater Pittsburgh with teaching her fundraising techniques.

“I had Sylvia Robinson and Sylvia Busis.

They were terrific role models. They were philanthropic, compassionate, caring, approachable, dynamic women who always had time for everyone. They were just terrific role models to see.”

Rod said that life too has provided him

Peace: Continued from page 10

sovereignty which is the first requirement for prosperity,” Husam Zomlot, the Palestine Liberation Organization envoy to Washington until he was expelled last year by the Trump administration to punish the Palestinians for their boycott of peace talks, said on Twitter.

Kushner in an interview with Reuters, which reported the plan before it was posted, said its publication could bring around skeptics.

“I find that in the real world, the way you solve problems is by really going into the details, putting forward proposals, agreeing, disagreeing on certain things — that’s very healthy, that’s how you resolve a conflict,” he said. “Remember, nobody agrees up until right before they do so. It’s not unexpected for people to posture and to criticize things but what we’re hoping to do is create a framework where we can change the discussion and get people to look at these problems differently and more granularly and hopefully in a way that can lead to some breakthroughs.”

The Gaza-West Bank project would take about two years.

“Features could include an interurban rail line linking many of the major cities of Gaza and the West Bank for rapid urban transport, mass transport stations near urban centers, and connections to regional railways such as the Jordan railway project,” the proposal said.

teachers and that their influence pushed him to remain positive and continue living each day. Even so, such optimism does not negate doubt. Rothaus still struggles with understanding why he survived Ewing’s sarcoma and others did not.

“It’s hard for me because I wonder, ‘Why me? What happened with me?’ Who knows?

I wish I knew,” he said.

Even amid the uncertainty, Rothaus has gained perspective.

“I learned a lot about adversity and it has helped me moving forward.”

For the past five years, Rothaus has tried to transmit such lessons to his two teenage children.

“My son had something happen to him, not health-related, but it caused him some stress, and I was telling him, ‘You have two ways to look at this,’ said Rothaus. ‘Either you bury it and put it out of mind — because if you don’t deal with it, it’s always going to follow you around waiting to bubble up — or you look it straight it in the eyes and fight it straight on.’”

The message is a frequent trope for

Rothaus, but depending on the audience results are mixed, he explained. Whereas fellow sarcoma patients respond to Rothaus’ charge, such spiels are received differently at home.

After Rothaus delivered the aforementioned inspirational message to his son, the teenager replied, “‘Dad, what I’m getting through isn’t cancer,’ which is the perfect answer for a teenager,” noted the father. PJC

A similar proposal was raised during the Oslo process in the late 1990s. Israeli officials at the time fretted that any system that transported Palestinians from Gaza, where the Hamas terrorist movement flourishes, to the West Bank across Israeli territory posed a massive security risk.

Other elements of the plan suggest an embrace of Palestinian national identity, which could also be a hard sell to Israeli hardliners, and even to Netanyahu’s Likud Party.

“A new flagship liberal arts and sciences university in the West Bank and Gaza” is tagged at $500 million. Palestinian universities have over the decades nurtured the Palestinian national identity and have at times been the nexus of protest at Israel’s occupation. Israeli authorities over the years have repeatedly shuttered the universities during periods of unrest.

Another $80 million has been set aside for the development of Palestinian arts, which often embrace a nationalist outlook, and $150 million is earmarked for the Palestinian museum near Ramallah. The museum is dedicated to celebrating Palestinian identity, including resistance to Israel.

“Traditional Palestinian cuisine varies across regions and excites visitors,” says a segment on tourism. “Each Palestinian city boasts its own trademark dishes and flavors, from Ramallah’s Rukab ice cream to the famed knafeh of Nablus.”

The plan includes nearly $28 billion earmarked for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Funds would also go to three neighboring countries, for cross border projects,

including tourism: More than $7 billion for Jordan, $9 billion for Egypt and $6.3 billion for Lebanon. Unlike Jordan and Egypt, Lebanon does not have a peace treaty with Israel, and Hezbollah, an Iranian-allied terrorist militia that rejects any accommodation with Israel, remains hugely influential in the country.

The proposal advocates for easing movement for Palestinians, and for greater access to fertile land and water. “An improved business environment in the West Bank and Gaza and access to more land will create an enormous opportunity for farmers to expand their operations,” it says.

Unmentioned are the obstacles that Israeli policies, mindful of security and favoring Jewish settlement growth, impose on these ambitions.

The proposal’s optimistic outlook skates over some of the issues that have most vexed any resolution, including who exactly owns each acre of land.

“Land registration is a critical step in the transformation of the Palestinian economy, which will unlock property for use as collateral for capital and eliminate many existing barriers to development,” it says, without mentioning who would register the land, and who would settle competing claims.

The plan proposes a vast expansion of border crossings, which will incur costs for Israel, if it is to secure and help staff the crossings.

The issue of governance, which presumably will feature in the political component, is absent — but nonetheless haunts the document. Hamas, a U.S. designated terrorist group, rules the Gaza Strip and the Trump

administration and Congress have banned all but a small amount of direct funding to the Palestinian Authority.

Kushner, in Bahrain, will be in the position of lobbying the oil-rich leaders in the Persian Gulf to come up with money for projects in areas run by authorities that his government currently treats as pariahs. It’s not clear who will be in Bahrain: So far, only the Bahraini, Saudi and United Arab Emirates finance ministers have confirmed they will attend. The fund, the proposal says, will be “administered by an established multilateral development bank.”

There are other anomalies that fail to reconcile the stick the Trump administration has applied to the Palestinians, drying up their funding, with the plan’s disposition toward celebrating the Palestinians.

It proposes training judges to make the judiciary independent — USAID, the State Department aid agency which Trump has removed from Palestinian areas, ran exactly such a program as recently as 2014.

“This project will provide short-term financial support to the Palestinian public sector to pay off its arrears to the private sector,” it says, arrears incurred in part because of cuts in U.S. funding.

The website features photos of schoolgirls walking by a school funded by USAID — funding Trump eliminated. It includes a picture of the Israeli and Palestinian co-leaders of the “Parents Circle,” a peace dialogue group for families of people killed in the conflict — a program once funded by the United States, also cut by Trump. PJC

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

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 28, 2019

21

Community World Refugee Day 2019 Jewish Family and Community Services joined others in marking World Refugee Day 2019 with a celebration in Market Square on June 21. The day-long event included a citizenship and naturalization ceremony downtown, during which 15 refugees from six countries were welcomed

by Mayor Bill Peduto to Pittsburgh.

In Market Square, entertainment was provided by dancers, singers and poets.

Refugees shared stories, and dignitaries described the history and contributions of immigrants and refugees. Speakers included Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald; Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto; Director of the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Lawrence (Larry) Bartlett; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees, USA branch, Matthew Reynolds; and President and CEO of HIAS Mark Hetfield, who visited Pittsburgh in the days immediately following Oct. 27.

p Participants enjoyWorld Refugee Day

p Mark Hetfield

Photo courtesy of HIAS

p Larry Bartlett

Photo courtesy of State Department

p Matthew Reynolds

Photo courtesy of UNHCR

AARP Annual Luncheon On Wednesday, June 19, 2019 the Squirrel Hill AARP chapter held its annual luncheon at the Comfort Inn on Rodi Road. President Marcia Kramer welcomed attendees. Barry Werber made a blessing over bread and presented the new slate of officers. Entertainment chair Lynn Gottesman introduced singer Nick Fiasco, who performed hits from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley.

p Marilyn Kaufman, left, speaks with Marcia Kramer.

22 JUNE 28, 2019

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

p Past and present AARP Squirrel Hill #3354 chapter president Marcia Kramer Photos by Barry Werber

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Community Chamber music for celebration Temple Emanuel hosted “An Evening of Chamber Music in Honor of Jacob Naveh” on June 20. More than 100 people attended the event featuring music of Joachim Stutschewsky and Felix Mendelssohn.

Flag Day features rabbi

u Jacob Naveh greets wellwishers during intermission.

Photo by Kim Rullo

Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers spoke on June 14 during a National Flag Foundation ceremony at United Steelworkers Building in downtown Pittsburgh. Meyers decried xenophobia and said, “While the vision of America as a melting pot looks beautiful, it is not our reality. We exist in silos, many of which do not have any means of connecting to others because some silo owners do not wish it to be so. With no connection to our neighbors, we know nothing about them. Might it surprise you that they desire the same things that you do: a roof over their heads, food on the table, clothing, a good education, affordable health care, good employment opportunities with benefits, a safe place to observe their faith. We are united by these common desires.”

Photo courtesy of Tree of Life.

p Jacob Naveh and his family gather during the June 20 event.

Photo by Kim Rullo

Machers and Shakers

t Rabbi Don Rossoff, left, Jacob Naveh and Rabbi Jessica Locketz

Photo by Kim Rullo

President and CEO Dr. Jordan Golin and Jewish Family and Community Services have received the Pennsylvania Psychological Association’s Presidential Citation and Citizen Psychologist Award for 2019 for their work in community support after the Tree of Life shooting. JFCS has taken the lead in offering counseling to the entire community following that tragedy of Oct. 27.

Photo courtesy of JFCS Stanley M. Marks, MD, chairman of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, was recently named the 2019 History Maker in Health Care by the Senator John Heinz History Center. Dr. Marks (left) is pictured with Lou Cestello of PNC, who presented the award during the 2019 History Makers Awards Dinner earlier this month.

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo courtesy of UPMC

JUNE 28, 2019 23

KOSHER MEATS

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

Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

Empire Kosher Chicken or Turkey Franks 16 oz. pkg.

2

79 ea.

Save with your

Price effective Thursday, June 27 through Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Available at 18AD33745_PJC_0627.indd 1

24 JUNE 28, 2019

and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

5/23/19 9:28 AM

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