August 23, 2019 | 22 Av 5779
Candlelighting 7:48 p.m. | Havdalah 8:47 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 34 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Healing journey The Pittsburgh Resiliency Center will open in October. Page 2
Studying community: Young adults find ways to engage with Judaism that is different than their parents
$1.50
Rabbi Jonathan Perlman speaks on the massacre, the media and moving forward
LOCAL Emissaries arrive
By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
I Israeli family adjusts to life in Pittsburgh.
By David Rullo | Staff Writer
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Back to school
Administrators and staff get ready for new initiatives. Page 4
Please see Millennials, page 11
Please see Perlman, page 14
Residents of Moishe House
File photo
Page 3 LOCAL
helped build a temple in Cleveland,” Robin said, noting that her first thought was to have the wedding in her hometown, but the temple was in the middle of a rabbinic transition. “This is kind of unconventional,” she said, “but we decided to find the rabbi first. We were like, ‘Do you do weddings in Connecticut?’ He said yes and we were like, ‘How about conversion?’ He said yes. So we were able to find a great rabbi.” Robin said she feels engaged with Judaism, primarily through tradition and family, and often travels back to Cleveland for holidays. That doesn’t mean she isn’t connected to her Pittsburgh community. “I feel like we’re connected, no matter how infrequently we end up at temple. We’ll probably be attending more now that we’re not planning a wedding.” The couple considers themselves liberal in most aspects of observance, including kashrut. They don’t keep kosher “in a strict
n the days following the massacre at the Tree of Life building, the international, national and local media swarmed upon Squirrel Hill, relentless in their pursuit of interviews with survivors and the families of victims. As the rabbi of New Light Congregation — one of the three congregations targeted in the attack — Rabbi Jonathan Perlman was barraged by requests from journalists to speak about the nightmare he had just experienced. “That first week or so, people were knocking on my door,” recalled Perlman, who saved himself and two other congregants by moving to a dark storage room during the attack. “People were slipping cards under my door that said, ‘Katie Couric wants to speak to you.’” The soft-spoken rabbi did not respond to the request to speak with Couric, nor most of the others. He saw no point in doing so. “I was traumatized, I was grief-stricken, I was really worried about keeping myself together and what I was going to do,” said Perlman, who, 10 months after the mass shooting, is on the road to personal healing. “I really didn’t feel it was helpful to speak to the press. I really felt like, for me, that was very self-serving and just got in the way of what I really wanted to do and it would only re-traumatize me if I had to tell my story over and over and over again. So early on, I decided that if I were to speak, I would speak to be helpful to the Jewish community.” It has taken Perlman awhile to come to terms with the heartbreak and trauma of
This is the second in a 10-part series, exploring the data of the 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study through the people it represents.
obin Engel is a 29-year-old architect living in the South Hills with her husband, John. The newlyweds have been married for a little over two months. He owns a comic bookstore in State College and travels back and forth between Central and Western Pennsylvania. As a result, the two don’t regularly attend Shabbat Services at Temple Emanuel of South Hills, the Reform synagogue where they are members. The pair’s work schedule isn’t the only nontraditional thing about the couple. In fact, both Robin’s parents and grandparents would likely view many aspects of her and her generation’s relationship to Judaism as both nontraditional and different from their experience. John converted to Judaism through an online conversion process that required weekly virtual meetings with a rabbi the couple found while planning their wedding. “My grandparents and great-grandparents
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Headlines Resiliency center to open at Squirrel Hill JCC space is community owned” meaning that clinicians and therapists can meet with community members there instead of having By David Rullo | Staff Writer to find an alternative location. Community is important to Feinstein aggie Feinstein was introduced and she views a gathering place as vital for to the community as the director healing. “This is a place of gathering. It’s not of the newly created Pittsburgh a place people come for transactional relaResiliency Center during a tionship. You don’t come in, wait webinar on Thursday, Aug. 15. The for your appointment and then center will be known as the 10.27 leave. People gather as community. Healing Project. It’s a little bit of an unconventional Feinstein described the center concept that’s totally normal to our as “a safety net, that is supposed human nature. We don’t have a lot to be able to provide services of spaces where we are encouraged and activities that are not already to come together to cry, laugh and provided in the community and talk about feelings that are hard make sure we are able to attend to and not always socially acceptable.” the needs of people in the after- Maggie Each visitor’s experience at the math” of the massacre at the Tree Feinstein center will be completely unique Photo courtesy and individualized. “This is a of Life building. of the Resiliency The center will open Oct. 1 at the Center personal journey, for sure. There’s Squirrel Hill JCC and will be free no one answer. I really believe that for anyone in need of its services. as individuals we are all well and Feinstein said that the project we all have moments of not being will employ a full-time mental well, and that’s universal,” said health professional as well as Feinstein, who has more than a someone to greet anyone coming to decade of experience working as a utilize the center. “We are mindful therapist and working in the area of that even the process of signing integrated mental health. into the JCC can be hard and that it The 10.27 Healing Project is feels very different when you walk funded through a federal grant in to play basketball as opposed to provided by the Anti-terrorism Rabbi Amy when you’re feeling vulnerable or Bardack and Emergency Assistance File photo Program. Because the grant upset. The idea is that we will have someone who will walk down and provides funding after expenses are greet you so that you don’t have to incurred, the Jewish Federation of sign in yourself. They can then bring you Greater Pittsburgh has helped to fill the gap. up to the space.” According to Adam Hertzman, the director The center will also be used by other of marketing for Federation, “In any city, mental health professionals from Jewish a resiliency center needs to be established Family and Community Services and the before applying for government funding, and Center for Victims. She explained that “the the Jewish Federation was proud to provide
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“ In any city, a resiliency center needs to be established before applying for government funding, and the Jewish Federation was proud to provide the startup money for our city’s center given the immense
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needs we are seeing here.
— ADAM HERTZMAN, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING FOR FEDERATION the startup money for our city’s center given the immense needs we are seeing here.” The webinar was the second in a three-part series created by the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Council. According to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s website, the GPJC “is a cross-selection of the Jewish community spanning the religious, political and socioeconomic spectrum. It serves as a forum for sharing diverse Jewish and non-Jewish perspectives on key issues affecting the region.” A final webinar outlining plans and guiding principles for the one-year commemoration of the Oct. 27 tragedy took place on Wednesday, Aug. 21, and featured Rabbi Amy Bardack, Federation’s director of Jewish life and learning. While the resiliency center is located in Squirrel Hill it’s available to anyone, “for the communities outside of Pittsburgh or Squirrel Hill, it’s really important that they
come in so that they can feel connected,” Bardack said. “They probably already have their own communities, but I think that the rivers and bridges and tunnels create a disconnect that makes us feel an us and them. That’s not emotionally healthy. If people are feeling isolated or alone, that’s the best reason to come together because we all work towards wellness by feeling connected.” “The 11 amazing people whose lives we lost that day, touched so many people in the city,” she added. “That’s one of the things for me, they touched so many lives. There is no geographic boundary to where they touched. Cecil and David Rosenthal were amazing stewards for this community. The people who are feeling their loss absolutely have space here regardless of religion or race.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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Headlines Hillel Academy welcomes three-year emissaries
Water Well Betty and Alexis
p Orel, Anael, Alel and Noam Ohayon
— LOCAL — Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
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illel Academy of Pittsburgh’s newest hires had to cross more than a bridge to get to the Squirrel Hill school. Several weeks ago, Noam and Orel Ohayon left Sderot, a city in southern Israel, en route to Pittsburgh. Having now partially adjusted to a time, climate and overall culture change, the married couple and parents of two toddlers are eager to begin their three-year stint as shlichim, emissaries, at the Jewish day school. Per their charge of disseminating knowledge and connecting with Diaspora students, the Ohayons will teach an assortment of Judaic subjects, including Hebrew language, chumash and the philosophy and laws applicable to the land of Israel based on the works of Rabbis Abraham Isaac Kook, Moses ben Maimon and Mosen ben Nachman. The educational endeavors will build on efforts already established through Sherut Leumi, a program through which posthigh school Israeli girls fulfill their national service requirement by coming to the school for one year and teaching Zionism, explained Hillel Academy administrators. Noam and Orel are “going to add passion and excitement about the land of Israel,” said Yikara Levari, Hillel Academy’s assistant principal. “When I met them, they were just so excited and authentic.” “Noam and Orel are energetic and idealistic, they are everything we wanted in a teacher,” echoed Rabbi Sam Weinberg, Hillel Academy’s principal. The Ohayons are well equipped to the task ahead. Back in Sderot, Noam, 28, taught biology and physics to middle school and high school students, along with Talmud
Photo courtesy of Orel Ohayon
and Mishna to 11th- and 12th-graders. Orel, 26, was an English teacher for seventh- and eighth-grade students. With the school year rapidly approaching, the Ohayons are doing their best to adjust. “It was a hard experience in the beginning,” said Orel. “We had to leave our family, friends, our house, furniture, our community in Sderot and our jobs. Everything is new.” Despite the obstacles, however, the Ohayons are excited to begin their roles. Their commitment to spreading a love of Israel to those outside its borders began years earlier, explained Orel, who fulfilled her second year of national service by working as an emissary in Monsey, New Jersey. When the opportunity presented itself through the World Zionist Organization to perform similar functions, the Ohayon family pursued the chance. “We talked about it a lot and decided it would be good for us,” she said. “Our passion and love is for the Jewish community.” The young parents connected online with community members throughout the United States and learned about various openings. “After several interviews we decided the Pittsburgh community attracted us because of the school and the environment,” said Noam. “Pashtut (simplicity) and anavah (humility) are the M.O. of the community.” Hillel Academy, which interviewed five Israeli couples for the three-year position and privately raised the necessary funding to support the overall endeavor, is extremely pleased with the Ohayons’ decision to join the Pittsburgh Jewish community, explained Weinberg. “We thought their experience in Sderot was really special and they have experience teaching,” he said. “They know differentiated
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Please see Emissaries, page 15
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Headlines New school year brings change — LOCAL — Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
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eaves falling from trees may be tough to imagine now, but seasonal change is approaching and with it the start of school. As students and teachers in Pittsburgh’s three Jewish day schools prepare for another year of learning and growth, several plans are underway to maximize time together. At Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, administrators and staff have spent the summer working on the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation process. The accreditation is a “highly recognized accreditation in education,” said Elly Feibus, Yeshiva’s assistant director of development and Early Learning Center creative director. Founded in 1887, the organization performs peer evaluations and accreditations of public and private schools throughout the United States and in more than 100 other countries. Yeshiva Schools recently completed the “self-study” portion of the process and is looking forward to a November visit from Middle States representatives. Following the visit, the accreditation process should be complete, said Feibus. Another new initiative is Yeshiva’s plans to optimize its grounds by adding a garden and outdoor classroom space. Designed
p Students and staff meet in the future garden space to collect ideas for their garden.
p Early Learning Center students enjoying the current space
by teachers and parents from the Early Learning Center at Yeshiva, the area “will include gross motor activities, garden beds, an outdoor classroom and an outdoor art room,” noted Feibus, who thanked Play Pittsburgh for providing grant money. Over on Beacon Street, Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh has similar plans to augment
areas for new instruction. The Bloom Garrett Library, formerly a book-filled space, will become a haven for innovative learning. Once “overhauled” into a STEAM center, the library will house fewer texts, but fill its confines with Legos, materials for a secondary science lab, spots for 3-D printing JC Opn Special moments FIN_Eartique 4/29/19 and a makerspace.
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Perhaps less shiny than a self-printed plastic puzzle, plans are also underway to implement a process for systematic betterment. “Kaizen,” which is Japanese for “improvement,” will be applied throughout the school to enhance everything from 4:31 PM Page 1 Please see School, page 15
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Headlines Personnel changes at the JCC — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Reporter
T
he Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh announced a host of personnel changes in camp leadership. Rachael Speck, Emma Kaufmann Camp’s associate director of camping and innovation, was named JCC’s division director for children/youth/family and day camps, effective Aug. 19. Speck succeeds Lewis Sohinki, whose resignation from the position is effective at the end of the day camp season. Sohinki’s nearly five years as a division director for the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, were marked by “the foundational work in implementing the Clubhouse Gets Healthy initiative to support physical activity and related behaviors to support child well-being within the after school program,” said JCC’s president and CEO Brian Schreiber in a statement, noting as well Sohinki’s assistance at leading J&R Day Camp’s re-accreditation with the American Camp Association. “The JCC thanks Sohinki for his service and offers our best wishes for the next phase of his professional journey,” Schreiber said. Sohinki will continue to serve the JCC as a consultant on special projects through the remainder of 2019. When Speck begins her new post, she will
p Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
find herself in a familiar environment, as her connection to the JCC spans decades. Speck attended EKC as a camper and seasonal staff member, and served as an educator in the JCC’s Early Childhood Development Center and as a program coordinator in the Children and Family Division. During her 10 years of professional service to the JCC, Speck created and implemented numerous program initiatives and
Photo by Adam Reinherz
led strategic efforts in camper recruitment, camper care, communications/marketing and staff training programs. “I am honored to be able to nurture children, young adults and families in this community through amazing experiences,” she said in a statement. “I am passionate about creating connections between families and providing children and young adults with connections, values, growth and
fun through meaningful experiences that prepare them for life’s journeys.” Speck will lead both the Squirrel Hill and South Hills JCC branches in programmatic areas. Other changes were also announced at the JCC. Cathy Green Samuels, senior director of development and communications, was named chief development and communications officer. The title change reflects Samuels’ additional work with the Center for Loving Kindness and her efforts at focusing on the CFLK strategic plan’s efforts to build sustainable audience, leadership and grow a consistent public presence. Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish life, will continue to focus primarily on the CFLK, its activities and oversee key areas of the strategic plan. Melissa Hiller, director of the American Jewish Museum, was named assistant director of the CFLK and will focus on grant management and the integration of artistic expression within the CFLK. Fara Marcus, director of annual giving, was named division director of development and strategic marketing, and will provide strategic marketing for the agency and the CFLK, and aid the development team’s annual fund and legacy efforts. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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AUGUST 23, 2019 5
Headlines Day of programming announced to commemorate Oct. 27 massacre — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
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nitial plans have been announced for a day of activities marking the one-year commemoration of the Oct. 27 massacre at Tree of Life building, the most violent anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. Emblematic of the tenor of the day’s activities, to be held on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, is a new logo with the words “Remember,” “Repair” and “Together.” Programming will focus on honoring the victims, families and survivors affected by the mass shooting, which took the lives of 11 congregants of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, New Light and Dor Hadash congregations. The day will include speakers, Torah study and a host of volunteer opportunities. A public memorial service to remember those murdered will be held at 5 p.m. at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland. The events are being planned by a commemoration committee comprised of representatives of the 11 victims’ families; the three congregations in the building at the time of the attack; the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh; the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh; Jewish Family & Community Services of Pittsburgh; and the Center for Victims. Other representatives included the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, the director of the Pittsburgh resiliency center, and other advisors. “On October 27, 2019, we will commemorate one year since the attack with public events to honor the memories of the deceased and those most closely impacted,” said Rabbi Amy Bardack, planning committee chair and director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Federation. “The theme encompasses three elements. ‘Remember’ means recalling the lives that we lost and remembering the attack so that we can prevent future attacks. ‘Repair’ means both repairing emotional wounds in the community and repairing our sense of brokenness in ourselves and in the world. ‘Together’ means that we were heartened by the support we felt from the city, county, many different faith communities and diverse communities, and all over the world. ‘Together’ also means that we are not in this alone.” Schedules for the events are still in the planning stage and will be available on the official website, pittsburghoct27.org.
p The Tree of Life synagogue building, 2018
“There are already over 30 community service sites that will be available,” noted Adam Hertzman, director of marketing for the Federation. “There will be a variety of different types of organizations throughout the city. We are conscious of the fact that the October 27 attacks affected not only the Jewish community, but really all of Pittsburgh, and that many different people of all faiths and diverse communities will potentially want to volunteer.” The commemoration planning committee evolved from “the same committee that has been meeting almost from the beginning to coordinate help for the victims’ families and people with psychological trauma,” Hertzman explained. The victims’ families have requested that the day be “non-political,” according to Hertzman, allowing the focus of the commemoration to be “on the lives we lost and the needs of the victims. We are hoping that the people who have political interests don’t choose to demonstrate or show their political leanings on that particular day.” The day will provide an opportunity “for the community to come together,” said Barb
p Remnants of the memorials that were displayed
6 AUGUST 23, 2019
File photo
File photo
Feige, executive director of TOL*OLS. “Not one entity owns the event — it happened to all of us. I think the lovely opportunities for both Torah study and volunteerism are particularly meaningful and a reflection of the dedication and the personalities of those we lost.” The commemoration’s motto — “Remember,” “Repair” and “Together” — captures the essence of the overarching aims of the day, according to Ellen Surloff, immediate past president of Dor Hadash. “We want to remember those of all three congregations who lost their lives on October 27 and we want to honor them,” she said. “There will be opportunities to do service projects that day which will honor their memories. There will be opportunities for Torah study that day, and that will also honor their memories. “The ‘repair’ is we are all going to be together, and we will be doing projects,” she continued. “‘Together’ is just seeing the whole community come together and show support just like they did in the immediate aftermath. It’s really an opportunity to reflect on the people whose lives were lost, reflect on the last year and the impact it’s had on everyone, the survivors, the community, the greater Jewish community, the Jewish community in the world at large.” Although there will be some events “that will be unique to the survivor group or unique to the three congregations,” public events have been scheduled “because just as the entire community, Jewish and non-Jewish, helped us to heal, they can help us to remember and honor on the one-year anniversary.” While the programming for the day is designed to help the community remember and to heal, Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, spiritual leader of New Light and a member of the commemoration committee, is approaching the day of commemoration events with some apprehension. “I’m a little skeptical,” he said. “There
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are people on the committee that expect a media spectacle, they expect a great deal of attention, Pittsburghers and people coming from elsewhere. And they say this is based on the evidence they have from other sites of tragedy, like in Parkland, or Colorado, Columbine, for the one-year anniversaries and other anniversaries. They said the same thing is going to happen here. “I don’t know,” he said. “The thing is that I really feel that all the love and the hugging and the memorials and the goodness came out around the first two or three months of the killing. Pittsburghers really showed themselves, and showed themselves well. I don’t really see them coming back to say, ‘We need to do our own memorialization’ and turn this into a holiday where we return to the scene of the crime or go back and have another vigil with the same numbers.” The “mood” for Perlman, is that “it is over,” he said. “We all have our souvenirs and our T-shirts and bumper stickers and it’s not going to be in the same numbers as it was last year. And we are planning for a great number of people to come out. We are reserving Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, expecting we are going to get the same numbers. “I’m the skeptical one on the committee,” he said. “Everyone else seems to be very enthusiastic. What I don’t want to happen is that the people feel the pressure to go to all these activities and then be re-traumatized about what happened. I want them to feel positive about going forward.” Still, Perlman praised the “creativity” of the planning committee, organizing a variety of volunteer opportunities, Torah study and being mindful of the needs of the victims’ families. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org,
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Calendar >>Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.
q WEDNESDAY, AUG. 28
q FRIDAY, AUG. 23 Join Temple David for Shabbat in the Park featuring a picnic at Monroeville Community Park West, Pavilion 1 (2399 Tilbrook Road) and Shabbat service. Bring your own picnic basket and join in for dinner in our pavilion beginning at 6 p.m. After dinner Rabbi Symons and Cantorial Soloist Andrea Guthrey will conduct a Shabbat service. (There will not be a concurrent service at the temple.) q SATURDAY, AUG. 24 Beat the August Heat with Moishe House’s Pool Party at Highland Park Pool from 2 to 4 p.m. Meet at Highland Park Pool (151 Lake Drive). Be sure to RSVP so they can pay for your pass! RSVP at moishehousepgh@gmail.com. Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32. q SUNDAY, AUG. 25 All are welcome to join the Beth El Men’s Club for a Community Bike Ride along the Peters Trail. Meet at the parking lot off Valley Brook Road in Peters Township at 9:30 a.m. for coffee, juice and snacks. Register at bethelcong.org/ events/mens-club-bike-ride-2. q TUESDAY, AUG. 27 Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Volunteer Center at 9 a.m. for its Volunteer Opportunity of the Month (VOOM) at The Food Bank Farm in Gibsonia, Pa., at Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus. The farm was created to support the mobile farmer’s market program, Green Grocer. The goal of the market is to create access to fresh, healthy food in neighborhoods that do not have ready access to a grocery store or fresh produce in their community. Volunteers will support the program by either weeding or gathering/harvesting produce. For more information visit: jewishpgh.org/event/voomfood-bank-farming. q TUESDAYS, AUG. 27;
SEPT. 3
Learn how the stories of Abraham, Hannah, Isaiah and Jonah illustrate themes of the Jewish New Year and help us prepare spiritually for the upcoming holidays at Spiritual Readings for the Jewish High Holidays with Rabbi Jonathan Perlman presented by New Light Congregation and Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church. The free series takes place at 7 p.m. at New Light Congregation. Email info@newlightcongregation.org or call 412-421-1017 to enroll. q WEDNESDAYS, AUG. 28;
SEPT. 4
“Heal, Grow and Live with Hope” Nar-Anon 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. q WEDNESDAY, AUG. 28 Join Moishe House for a Movie in the Park at Flagstaff Hill beginning at 8:30 p.m. Watch
Local author and attorney James Lieber will speak about his latest book, “Victory: How Pennsylvania Beat Gerrymandering and How Other States Can Do the Same,” at the White Whale Bookstore (4754 Liberty Ave.). He’ll also join Doug Webster of Fair Districts PA in a discussion about the current state of redistricting reform in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit facebook.com/ events/484252742340516.
“Jurassic Park” with snacks and friends. Sign up to bring something (food, beverages, cutlery, etc.) RSVP at moishehousepgh@ gmail.com. Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32. q THURSDAY, AUG. 29 Thursday Evenings in My Garden offers weekly conversation and exploration about everyday spirituality for healing, growth, creativity and innovation. Thursdays through Labor Day, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Come once or come weekly, friends are welcome. Check bethshalompgh.org/thursday-evenings-inmy-garden for location and confirmation of upcoming dates. q SUNDAY, SEPT. 1 We all have questions after Oct. 27. How do these things happen? Why? Where was God? The 10.27 Healing Partnership with the Elul Program Committee presents Awaken, Reflect, Together, a discussion of these questions by community leaders. Planned by Beth Kissileff Perlman and Sara Stock Mayo at the JCC Kaufmann Building beginning at 4 p.m. All are welcome. q THURSDAY, SEPT. 5 Celebrate Community Strength at FED Talks, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2019 Annual Meeting at the August Wilson Center beginning at 7 p.m. Experts will discuss what makes a person or community resilient, Jewish community leaders will be celebrated and Federation leaders will report on a year without precedent. Visit jewishpgh.org/annualmeeting to preregister. Dietary laws observed. Free valet parking. Preregistration: $10/Walk-in Registration $20. Online registration closes at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 3. q SUNDAY, SEPT. 8 Celebrate a sweet new year with Shalom Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Jewish community at the Ninth Annual Apples & Honey Fall Festival! Join us at the Waterfront Town Center from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for a celebration with apples and honey, crafts, activities, a bounce house, shofar making, entertainment, vendors, food and more! Visit jewishpgh.org/apples-honey to pre-register and take full advantage of all Apples & Honey activities and earn your Bee Stop Passport (your ticket to a sweet treat)!
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q SUNDAY, SEPT. 8 You are invited to attend the closing program of the Jewish Women’s Center of Pittsburgh, Retrospective: 1992-2019 from 3-5 p.m. at the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives located in the Heinz History Center. Come mingle, reminisce and enjoy light refreshments. Please RSVP by Aug. 28 to evite.me/zUeenuUehG. q MONDAY, SEPT. 9 Beth El Congregation of the South Hills presents its monthly lunch series, First Mondays, at 11:30 a.m., with Rabbi Alex, featuring Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and a guest. This month, Judah Samet presents his experiences from birth in Hungary to liberation from the Bergen Belson concentration camp and beyond. $6 and includes lunch. Visit bethelcong.org/events/ first-mondays-13 or call 412-561-1168.
$5 Visit bethelcong.org/events/currentevents/2019-09-16 or call 412-561-1168. q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18 The Squirrel Hill AARP will hold their first fall public meeting at 1 p.m. The open meeting will be in the Rodef Shalom Congregation’s Falk Library (4905 Fifth Ave.). Handwriting analyst Michelle Dresbold will share her experiences in multiple trials and will discuss different handwriting styles and what they can reveal about a person’s personality. Contact Marcia Kramer for more information, 412-731-3338. q THURSDAY, SEPT. 19 Join Beth El Congregation of the South Hills for Drag Queen Bingo. Doors open at 6 p.m. $20 per person, includes bingo and show. Food, drinks and raffles available. Visit dragqueenparties.com for tickets.
q MONDAY, SEPT. 9
q SUNDAY, SEPT. 22
Beth El Congregation of the South Hills welcomes George Savarese at 7 p.m. for Adult Ed Evenings. Savarese will discuss North Korea. Begins with a wine and cheese reception. $5. Visit bethelcong.org/ events/current-events/2019-09-09 or call 412-561-1168.
Conquer the unknown at the Steel City Showdown: Beast of the Burgh, 3-5 mile obstacle challenge through the JCC of Pittsburgh’s 100+ acre Henry Kaufmann Family Park woods. $55 for 9-9:45 a.m. heats; $50 for all other heats; $25 for kids race. Visit active.com/monroeville-pa/running/distancerunning-races/steel-city-showdown-2019 for more information and to register.
q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh presents Child and Infant CPR Basics at 7 p.m. Open to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and anyone who wants to learn the basics of infant and child CPR. This short training is designed to provide the basic skills needed to feel comfortable and confident in the case of a medical emergency. Training will be conducted by Dr. Natan Cramer, emergency medical physician at Children’s Hospital, along with a team of physicians/ medical providers. Space is limited so be sure to register today! Cost is $25 unless previously enrolled in Jewish Baby University. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/cpr-basics for more information and to register. q SUNDAY, SEPT. 15 The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Assn. (JCBA) will hold its annual unveiling of headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery on Oakwood St., Shaler Township at 10:30 a.m. Headstones for Blyuma Gitlin, Joseph Weiss and Olga Klein will be unveiled. Rabbi Eli Seidman, director of pastoral care for the Jewish Association on Aging will officiate. The community is invited to attend. For further information contact the JCBA at 412-553-6469, jcbapgh@gmail.com. q MONDAY, SEPT. 16 Join Rodef Shalom (4905 Fifth Ave.) for Urban Art: A Discussion as architect Kent Bloomer talks about his unconventional sculpture designed for the entrance to Freehof Hall. The fee to attend is $10 (congregation members $5). A reception follows. For more information, call 421-6216566, ext. 140. q MONDAY, SEPT. 16 Beth El Congregation of the South Hills welcomes Peter Dinardo at 7 p.m. for Adult Ed Evenings. Dinardo will discuss free speech. Begins with a wine and cheese reception.
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q SUNDAY, SEPT. 22 The Jewish Community Foundation presents the 2019 Fall Forum featuring Dr. Erica Brown in conversation with Rabbi Danny Schiff on Leading Issues in Contemporary Jewish Life. Featuring the presentation of the 2019 Gift of Consequence Award to Sandy & Larry Rosen. Visit jewishpgh.org/fall-forum to learn more and register. q SUNDAY, SEPT. 22 Kids will get a fresh start by visiting Chabad of the South Hills’ Rosh Hashanah Farmers Market at the South Hills JCC. They’ll go from booth to booth exploring the holiday’s culinary themes with unique recipes-round artisan challah, apple mocktails and more. Designed for children ages 3-11. To register call 412-344-2424. q TUESDAY, SEPT. 24 Chabad of the South Hills presents a Pre-Holiday Seniors Lunch. Enjoy a delicious lunch with honey cake and a presentation by the Jewish Association on Aging. Raffle prizes. $5 suggested donation, wheelchair accessible. For more information and to preregister, please call 412-278-2658. q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25 Learn about AgeWell and other community and government services available to seniors at a free presentation at Temple Emanuel (1250 Bower Hill Road) beginning at 7:30 p.m. Seniors will learn about services available to help them stay in their home and adult children will learn where to find help when they become caregivers. RSVP to templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org 412-279-7600. PJC
AUGUST 23, 2019 7
Headlines — WORLD — Labor Department says new proposal protects civil rights, but critics say it allows religious discrimination A new Labor Department proposal would allow religious federal contractors to make employment decisions “consistent with their sincerely held religious tenets and beliefs.� The Labor Department said employers would not be able to “discriminate on the basis of race, sex or other protected bases.� “Today’s proposed rule helps to ensure the civil rights of religious employers are protected,� acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella said. “As people of faith with deeply held religious beliefs making decisions on whether to participate in federal contracting, they deserve clear understanding of their obligations and protections under the law.� Progressive advocacy groups said the proposal would allow religious organizations to discriminate and still receive federal contracts. “[A] government contractor could cite religion to refuse to hire a single mom or someone who is LGBTQ,� said Rachel Laser, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “And now any for-profit corporation that claims it’s religious can take taxpayer dollars and fire someone who is a religious minority — so
fire me, for example, because I’m Jewish.� The Anti-Defamation League criticized the proposal in a tweet Thursday. “‘No Jews, No Gays, need apply’ is utterly unacceptable & the proposal must be withdrawn,� the group wrote. Anti-Semitic flyers found in New York neighborhood Dozens of anti-Semitic flyers were found in a Queens, New York, neighborhood. The incident is being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit, the Queens Daily Eagle reported. The flyers were first discovered on Wednesday night. The image on the flyer shows a man’s head with a kippah on top of it that has a Star of David in the middle. The words “Worthless F—ing Cancer Filled Jew� is printed over the image. There have been several anti-Semitic incidents in Queens in recent months. ICE officer who drove his truck into row of Jewish protesters resigns The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who drove his pickup truck into a row of Jewish protesters at a detention facility in Rhode Island has resigned from his position. Last week, Capt. Thomas Woodworth drove into a row of protesters who were
I n - Ho m e Care S e r v i ce s
sitting on the ground and blocking the entrance to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. The protest was organized by the new Jewish group Never Again Action, which opposes ICE and United States immigration policy. Woodworth was placed on leave from his job the following day, and police and the state attorney general’s office began investigating the incident. The day after that, Wyatt announced that Woodworth had resigned. “Captain Thomas Woodworth resigned from his position at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019,� the statement read. “The incident which occurred on Aug. 14 remains under active investigation by the Rhode Island State Police and under internal investigation by the Wyatt.� Two people were hospitalized as a result of the incident, according to the group, including one person with a broken leg and internal bleeding. Three more protesters were hospitalized after being pepper sprayed by other officers. Rashida Tlaib calls for boycott of Bill Maher’s show after he calls BDS a ‘bulls**t purity test’ Rep. Rashida Tlaib called for a boycott of comedian Bill Maher’s HBO show “Real Time� after he called the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel a “bulls**t purity test.� Tlaib said in a tweet on Saturday that she is
“tired of folks discrediting a form of speech that is centered on equality and freedom.� Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., were barred from entering Israel due to their support for boycotts against the country. “BDS is a bulls**t purity test by people who want to appear ‘woke’ but actually slept through history class,� Maher said on his show. “I think it’s very shallow thinking that the Jews in Israel are mostly white and Palestinians are mostly brown, so they must be innocent and correct and the Jews must be wrong. As if the occupation came right out of the blue, that this ‘completely peaceful people’ found themselves occupied. Forget about the intifadas and the suicide bombings and the rockets and how many wars.� Maher quoted BDS founder Marwan Barghouti as saying “no Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, would ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine� and wondered out loud why this does not get presented in the American media. He added: “Congresswoman Omar has said things like, ‘It’s all about the Benjamins,’ ‘Israel has hypnotized the world,’ ‘May Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.’ She apologized for it, but it’s out there: Jews control the world, control the money. I can see why they don’t get a hero’s welcome� in Israel, he concluded. Maher’s mother is Jewish and he identifies publicly as half-Jewish.  PJC
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Headlines Here’s what Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were going to do on their trip to Israel and the West Bank — WORLD — By Ben Slaes | JTA
B
y now it seems clear that Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are not going to be visiting Israel or the Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Israel’s government announced on Aug. 15 that it would not allow the Democratic congresswomen to make their scheduled visit because both have declared support for the Israel boycott movement. A 2017 law entitles the state to deny entry to boycott activists. (Tlaib was granted entry on a humanitarian trip to visit her grandmother in the West Bank. She ultimately rejected the offer.) Explaining the decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the lawmakers’ itinerary, which he said “reveals that the sole purpose of their visit is to harm Israel and increase incitement against it.” What was on this itinerary? Omar outlined it in a series of tweets on Friday.
Where they would have gone
In broad strokes, the itinerary — titled “Delegation to Palestine” — took Tlaib and Omar through major Palestinian population centers in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and to a string of meetings with Palestinian and left-wing Israeli nonprofits and activists, as well as international human rights groups. “Let’s be clear: the goal of our trip was to witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine and hear from stakeholders — our job as Members of Congress,” she tweeted. Omar wrote that the delegation was going to meet with Israeli lawmakers — including Jewish ones. She did not say which members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, they planned to meet. The lawmakers were also scheduled to meet a Palestinian official, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Btselem, the left-wing human rights group, was to be present at one of their meetings, along with three other non-Israeli organizations. And the congresswomen were to receive a tour of Hebron from Breaking the Silence, a left-wing Israeli group that opposes the West Bank occupation. “I would’ve loved to take @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib on our tour of Hebron,” tweeted Avner Gvaryahu, who would have given the tour. “There’s no joy in seeing or showing the harsh reality of the territories, but change will only come when we face up to the truth.” The would-be trip contrasts with a Democratic congressional delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories taken earlier this month by 41 representatives and sponsored by an organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. That delegation met with both Israeli and Palestinian officials and activists. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
p Israeli border police officers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank city of Hebron, Aug. 11, 2019. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were scheduled to visit Hebron and other parts of the West Bank. Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90
Abbas, however, refused to meet with a parallel Republican delegation. Omar and Tlaib’s trip was planning to meet with staff at the U.S. Embassy in Israel. In addition, they were going to meet with UNRWA, the United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees and often is criticized by Israeli officials for having an anti-Israel bias, and had also planned meetings in eastern Jerusalem. Omar and Tlaib planned to visit Jerusalem’s holy sites, including the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They additionally planned to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is located at the Temple Mount, a Jewish holy site also revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The remainder of the trip took them to meetings and tours in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah, including at a refugee camp.
Who organized the trip
Miftah, a Palestinian NGO chaired by Ashrawi, organized the trip. Its website says its mission is to “promote the principles of democracy and good governance within various components of Palestinian society” and to “engage local and international public opinion and official circles on the Palestinian cause.” The group, like many Palestinian civil society organizations, supports the movement to boycott Israel. But it has also praised Palestinian suicide bombers and published an age-old anti-Semitic stereotype, for which it later apologized. Netanyahu described Miftah as “an avid supporter of BDS, and among whose members are those who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel.”
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A report on the group’s site from 2006 about Palestinian women in the second intifada praises Wafa Idris, who killed one Israeli civilian and injured 150 people in a 2002 suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem. The report says Idris, the first female suicide bomber of the second intifada, “marked the beginning of a string of Palestinian women dedicated to sacrificing their lives for the cause.” Years later, in 2013, Miftah staffer Nawaf Al Zaru posted an article on its site criticizing President Barack Obama for hosting a Passover seder at the White House. In the article, Al Zaru repeated a false accusation that Jews kill non-Jewish children and use their blood in religious rituals. “Does Obama in fact know the relationship, for example, between ‘Passover’ and ‘Christian blood’..?! Or ‘Passover’ and ‘Jewish blood rituals?!’” Al Zaru wrote. “Much of the chatter and gossip about historical Jewish blood rituals in Europe are real and not fake as they claim; the Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover.” At first the group defended the article by saying the blogger who first criticized it had “wrongly accused MIFTAH and Dr. Ashrawi of promoting Jewish blood libel during Passover through its publication of an Arabic-language article that briefly addressed the subject.” But the group deleted the article from its site, apologized and said it disciplined Al Zaru. “The said staffer has been reprimanded and all our staff has been informed as to the disgusting and repulsive phenomena of blood libel or accusation, including its use against Jews,” the apology said.
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In a statement, Miftah called the ban on Omar and Tlaib “an affront to the American people and their representatives. It is an assault on the Palestinian people’s right to reach out to decision-makers and other actors from around the world.” The group said it wanted to facilitate Omar and Tlaib’s “direct contact with the Palestinian people, who are subject to Israel’s cruel regime of colonization, oppression and land grab.” Ashrawi has not returned a Jewish Telegraphic Agency request for comment. This was not the first congressional delegation to Palestinian areas sponsored by Miftah. Politico first reported last week that Miftah co-sponsored a trip by five Democratic congressmen to Israel and the West Bank in 2016 that was allowed into Israel without a problem. The participants were Matt Cartwright, Dan Kildee, Hank Johnson, Luis Gutierrez and Mark Pocan. The itinerary of that trip was similar to Omar and Tlaib’s would-be visit. The representatives met with Arab-Israeli lawmakers. Other than that, the trip was centered on visiting Palestinian areas and Arab cities in Israel, and on meeting with Palestinian activists and groups. But while both Omar and Tlaib support boycotting Israel, all of the congressmen had been to Israel previously or otherwise had spoken out in support of Israel, though they have also criticized its policies, at times harshly. All five were endorsed by JStreetPAC, the political funding arm of the liberal Israel lobby. JStreetPAC did not endorse Tlaib or Omar. PJC AUGUST 23, 2019 9
Headlines Israel has been barring lawmakers of friendly nations for years (just not from the US) — WORLD — By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA
W
hen Israel announced that it would deny entry to Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the decision struck many as an unprecedented step. But Israel has blocked multiple lawmakers from coming in recent years. The difference this time is that it’s lawmakers from the United States who are being declared personae non gratae. That’s a significant difference, given the closeness of the U.S.-Israel relationship — a link so crucial to Israel that the country’s diplomacy vis-à -vis the United States is often conducted according to its own set of rules. Such sensitivities could explain the unusual personal involvement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the issue. Israeli governments have been refusing entry to lawmakers from friendly nations for years with little more than a laconic statement by low-level Interior Ministry officials. This time, Netanyahu made a point of explaining the issue. Just last month, Fouad Ahmad Assadi, a
Lebanon-born lawmaker for Spain’s ruling Socialist Party, was denied entry at Ben Gurion Airport. Israel cited unspecified security reasons. In 2017, Israel barred the entry of a lawmaker from France’s National Assembly — the lower house in parliament — from the far-left France Unbowed movement. The lawmaker, ClĂŠmentine Autain, said she was coming to meet Marwan Barghouti, a PLO commander serving multiple life sentences in Israel for the murder of dozens of people in terrorist attacks. That same year, Israel kept out two French members of the European Parliament, Pascal Durand and Patrick Le Hyaric. The Interior Ministry cited the French lawmakers’ support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Israeli law defined BDS calls as grounds for a lawsuit in 2011. In 2018, a Ghanaian lawmaker, Ras Mubarak, who has called Israel a “rogue state,â€? said he was denied entry into it. He had been planning to meet politicians in the Palestinian Authority. Israel’s ambassador to Ghana, Ami Mehl, denied that Mubarak had been barred and said that he would have been allowed to enter had he waited more patiently for background checks to be completed.
SAFEGUARDING YOUR PRESENT & FUTURE
often bar entry to foreign lawmakers deemed to be troublemakers — including from fellow E.U. member states and other friendly nations. In 2009, the United Kingdom barred the Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker, Geert Wilders, from entering its borders, though a court later overturned the ban. In 2017, the Netherlands barred two Turkish cabinet ministers from entering because it said they were campaigning among Turkish citizens living in the Netherlands on behalf of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And, in 2016, British lawmakers in the House of Commons debated a call to ban President Donald Trump, who was then the Republican Party’s nominee for president, over his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Trump, who supports Israel’s ban p French lawmaker Clementine Autain of Omar and Tlaib, was not happy. He participating at a demonstration in threatened to withhold a $1.1 billion Paris, France in 2018. Photo by Michel Stoupak/NurPhoto via Getty Images investment in Scotland if the ban on him was implemented. Neither the European Parliament nor In holding the debate, a spokesperson for European governments whose lawmakers the Trump campaign said at the time, the were banned from entering Israel have been British Parliament was setting a “dangerous very vocal about it. precedent� and “sending a terrible message That may be because European countries to the world.�  PJC
This week in Israeli history distributed anti-Semitic publication in history, is first published in Znamya, a Russian newspaper. The Times of London proves it is a fraud in 1921.
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10 AUGUST 23, 2019
Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
Aug. 23, 1903 — Sixth Zionist Congress opens
The Sixth Zionist Congress, the last presided over by Theodor Herzl, convenes in Basel, Switzerland. It is the largest Zionist Congress so far, with approximately 600 delegates, and explores a proposal for a Jewish homeland in Uganda.
Aug. 24, 1954 — Bank of Israel established
The Knesset passes the Bank of Israel Law on a 55-0 vote with 14 abstentions. The law, which goes into effect Dec. 1, 1954, sets up the Bank of Israel as the central financial authority for the country.
Aug. 25, 1918 — Leonard Bernstein born
Leonard Bernstein, one of the most prolific composers and conductors in American history, is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Ukrainian-Jewish parents. His music is deeply influenced by his Boston synagogue, where he is introduced to Zionism.
Aug. 26, 1903 — Protocols published
“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,� the most widely
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Aug. 27, 1892 — Jaffa-Jerusalem rail line opens
The first passenger train arrives in Jerusalem from Jaffa on a 53-mile rail line that reduces travel time from the port to Jerusalem from two days to four hours.
Aug. 28, 1898 — Second Zionist Congress convenes
The Second Zionist Congress convenes in Basel, Switzerland, with 400 delegates, nearly double the size of the First Zionist Congress a year earlier.
Aug. 29, 1967 — Fourth Arab League Summit starts
The Fourth Arab League S u m m i t convenes in Khartoum, Sudan. It ends Sept. 1 with a resolution featuring the famous three nos: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations with Israel.  PJC
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Headlines Millenials: Continued from page 1
sense. We don’t have two sets of dishes, but we don’t eat pork or shellfish. I’m pretty selective. Our home is mostly vegetarian.” Then she added, smiling, “I mean, we will cook a brisket. Our vegetarianism isn’t because of our Judaism.” “Our Judaism overlaps with our beliefs,” John said. Those beliefs mean that sometimes they donate to Jewish causes and other times it’s to non-Jewish nonprofits whose mission speaks to them. Those organizations change annually but often include animal shelters. “You can’t donate to everything. You make a choice. That’s why we change where we give every year.” Despite not attending a synagogue every week, Robin said the couple still feels connected to Jewish life and ritual. They have a Hebrew calendar hanging in their kitchen. “We use it for planning vacations, everything.” Like many of her generation, Robin has spent time in Israel. “I went in college for the first time. I volunteered for a few weeks and did some community service. I spent another week with my cousin. It was an amazing experience. I fell in love with Israel. It was just such a spiritual awakening.” According to the 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study, commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and conducted by researchers at Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Jewish young adults aged 18-34 identified as being engaged at a higher rate than previous generations. The study created five different categories of engagement: immersed — meaning respondents were highly engaged in all aspects of Jewish life; connected — in which respondents were highly engaged in most aspects of Jewish life; involved — respondents were highly involved in Jewish organizations; holiday — signifying a high level of observance of Jewish holidays; and minimal — with little or no involvement in Jewish life. A quarter of young Jewish adults were identified as both immersed and connected in the study. Close to 30% were labeled involved while only about a fifth were put into the holiday and minimal categories. By contrast, only 15% of Generation X’ers and 16% of baby boomers were identified as immersed. These statistics seem to belie recent studies by both the Pew Research Center and Gallup. In a recent Gallup poll, only 52% of millennials have stated they participate in organized religion. That finding is similar to Pew’s research, which found that four in 10 young adults self-identify as religiously unaffiliated or “nones.” This group is less engaged in religion than previous generations and far less likely to belong to a traditional synagogue or church. And yet Pittsburgh Jewish young adults seem to be bucking national trends. Rebecca Purcell’s Facebook cover photo shows her standing in a flowing dress and shawl on a porch with Israel as her backdrop. The pictures are from a Birthright trip she took in June. She attends Shabbat services at Temple Sinai with her two children and has found community and support at the synagogue. The single mother said that she feels “as engaged as I can be right now but not as
engaged as I’d like to be.” Because her time is often filled with caring for her children, she doesn’t attend many young adult events sponsored by groups like Shalom Pittsburgh or Moishe House. “I know they’re out there, but they don’t always fall on days that are available for me.” Instead, the 28-year-old said she finds engagement with her friends, “I have a lot of Jewish friends.” Raised in a non-observant home, Purcell is working to increase her participation. “For me, having a Jewish identity can be complicated because it cuts across ethnicity and religion, community and culture. I wasn’t raised religious and never felt connected to that, but I’ve decided to become more religious.” While her observance is still growing, she feels the most important thing to her is Jewish community. “When you’re Jewish, you connect with other Jewish people, you can’t be Jewish alone. It’s really about
membership among young adults, most millennials are exploring alternative ways to meet whatever their spiritual needs may be. In fact, of the four young adults profiled for this article, one is a member of a synagogue, one is exploring membership, one is seeking alternatives to traditional membership and one is considering ways to take spirituality from the synagogue and add it to her home traditions. Rose Eilenberg is a graduate student. The 28-year-old said that her Jewish identity is “in my essence. It’s a big part of my identity” Eilenberg recently finished a tenure living at Moishe House and is still friends with the residents but admits that she’s looking forward to having a little more free time. “We hosted seven events every month. I’m going to take a little break and not go to seven events a month right now.” The graduate student grew up in Brooklyn and had a typical Conservative upbringing, including Jewish day school, summer camp
“ As Jews, we have a responsibility to share the privilege with those who don’t otherwise have it. And in that way, I’ve been offered the privilege of health, education and the family I have. To me, those are shared in
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the form of Connecting Champions.
— SIDNEY KUSHNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONNECTING CHAMPIONS community and in community you have culture. An important part of that culture for me is going to Shabbat services at temple every Friday. These people are my community. They recognize our faces and know if we aren’t there.” Purcell credits Pittsburgh with helping to cement her Jewish identity. “Growing up in Central Pennsylvania, my bubbe was like, ‘You’re Jewish’ and that was it. Until I came to Pittsburgh, I felt as Jewish as I did German, Russian, French or English. Coming to Pittsburgh and having a lot of friends who were Jewish, I was a little jealous and felt like I didn’t have what they had.” A chance encounter with someone at the laundromat, who recommended she give temple a try, changed that. “For me, as a single mom, life sometimes feels like it’s out of order. Going to temple has given us foundation and order to our lives. I want that for my daughters. I want them to know they can go to any city and find a temple and find their center again.” Young Jewish adults in Pittsburgh aren’t simply self-identified as engaged. The statistics bear out their involvement with and connection to the community. Thirty-five percent of millennials attend a synagogue, the same as previous generations. Sixty-two percent attend High Holiday services and over 65% donate to a Jewish cause. Despite the consistent level of synagogue
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and trips to Israel, but she doesn’t belong to a synagogue. Because of her time with Moishe House and the friends she has made, Eilenberg feels connected to the Pittsburgh Jewish community. Eilenberg considers herself an atheist but “finds a lot of meaning in the rituals” connected to Judaism. One of those that she’s integrated into her daily life is keeping kashrut. “I keep kosher. I’m a vegetarian so it’s not quite as hard. I’m not the strictest. I’ll eat at a non-kosher restaurant but won’t eat meat. The handful of times each year I do eat meat, I only eat kosher meat.” “Now that I’m out of Moishe House, I’m excited about starting a monthly Kabbalat Shabbat. The vision is that we would send out a link to a song a week ahead of time and people could learn it and sing a new song each time we meet. I like the idea of singing and chanting together. Maybe we could do it at people’s homes. I’d like to find some people excited about the prayer part of the ritual. I’m spiritual but not religious.” All four of the young adults interviewed for this article shared one thing in common: a complicated relationship with Israel politically. When asked about the state’s current positions, each paused, considering their words carefully. Their thoughts, while not identical, were best reflected by Sidney Kushner. “I can see in my grandparents’ eyes how
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important Israel was when it was first founded and what it meant for them, and those in their generation, to have a safe space, at time when it didn’t feel like there was a safe space anywhere. However, I don’t feel that Israel reflects me as a Jewish person anymore … It’s hard for me because I know that whatever Israel does, it’s a reflection on me as a Jewish person. On the one hand, I feel an obligation to acknowledge how important it is to my parent’s generation. But on the other hand, I don’t want it to reflect me; I don’t believe they are a reflection of me.” Despite these conflicted feelings, 40% of young adults feel very attached to Israel. The same percentage reads an Israeli newsweekly. And while 44% of Pittsburgh Jews have been to Israel once, and a quarter of those in the Pittsburgh Jewish community have been to Israel more than once, even here millennials have an edge. Seventy-six percent of young adults interviewed for the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study have traveled to Israel and more than 40% have been to the country multiple times, the highest level of any age group. Kushner is the executive director of the not-for-profit Connecting Champions, connecting kids with cancer to mentors. He was raised Conservative, attended Chabad, went to Hebrew school and keeps kosher as a 28-year-old bachelor at his home in Friendship. He identifies as engaged with the Jewish community but notes that now that he lives by himself in a different Pittsburgh neighborhood than his family, it’s “in different ways than it used to be.” “I haven’t gone to synagogue in a long time,” he said. “Mostly because, for me, synagogue was always about family. I almost never went to synagogue without at least my mother. Even though synagogues are welcoming places, it’s different as a single person. For years, I had a synagogue buddy, one of my friends, and we would go each week, but she moved. So now, going to synagogue as a 20-something alone, who is not married, is not the norm.” Kushner feels that his nonprofit is a direct extension of his Jewish identity. “It’s not directly working with Jewish people, but it feels very Jewish in what I do and what I’ve created. Each year at our Seder, my grandparents spoke about the civil rights movement and the pride we have as Jews for being some of the first people that stood up next to African Americans. As Jews, we have a responsibility to share the privilege with those who don’t otherwise have it. And in that way, I’ve been offered the privilege of health, education and the family I have. To me, those are shared in the form of Connecting Champions.” As for the future of Judaism, Kushner said, “when my generation thinks of religious Judaism, it does not mean for us what it did for older generations and the ones that are in charge of the synagogues, how they define it.” As the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study points out, young adults have found their own ways to remain engaged to Judaism. It may not look like the engagement of previous generations, but it is rooted in the values of the past while keeping an eye firmly on the future. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. AUGUST 23, 2019 11
Opinion Pro-BDS congresswomen’s trip to Israel was a no-win situation — EDITORIAL — We watched with unease last week as the Israeli government fumbled its response to plans by Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to visit Israel and the territories. When the two announced their trip last month, everyone knew that their purpose was not to gain a deeper understanding of the policies of the Israeli government. Nonetheless, Israel’s U.S. Ambassador, Ron Dermer, issued a diplomatically worded welcome: “Out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel.” That’s where things should have ended. But last Thursday, Israel announced that the legislators were no longer welcome, declaring that their announced itinerary “reveals that the sole purpose of their visit is to harm Israel and increase incitement against it,” referring also to their support of the BDS movement, and Israel’s prohibition on allowing BDS advocates to enter the country. So what changed after the upbeat Dermer statement? Many observers pointed to
a tweet from President Trump, which warned, “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit.” Almost immediately thereafter, Israel announced the ban. But whether Trump’s tweet had anything to do with the ban is unclear, especially following media reports of the congresswomen’s scheduled itinerary while in Israel, and a revelation of the insidious anti-Semitism of the group that was sponsoring their trip, Miftah, an organization that has praised suicide bombers and once published an article, since retracted, that promoted the “blood libel” doctrine, claiming that “Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover.” Moreover, although Omar said that she planned to meet with some Knesset members prior to being joined on the trip by Tlaib, the congresswomen’s joint itinerary did not include meetings with any Israeli officials. Rather, the trip centered on visits to the Palestinian territories and meetings with Palestinian nonprofits and activists. The decision of Israel to refuse admittance to Tlaib and Omar angered many of Israel’s Democratic friends, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Calif., who called it “a
sign of weakness.” Many mainstream Jewish organizations, including AIPAC, Jewish Federations of North America and American Jewish Committee were also critical. We agree that Israel made a mistake in changing course and banning two American legislators from visiting. But we also think that the barrage of criticism Israel faced in the wake of its decision went overboard and is off-target. When late last week, Israel announced it would permit a visit from Tlaib on “humanitarian grounds” so that she could visit her aging grandmother, she quickly decided she wasn’t coming after all. Although in a letter she had agreed to refrain from BDS activity if only she could visit her grandmother, the congresswoman had a curious change of heart, claiming that to refrain from BDS activities would be “oppressive.” Both Omar and Tlaib have moved far beyond mere criticism of the Israeli government, teetering on the edge of anti-Semitism. On Aug. 16, the two shared a cartoon on Instagram by a cartoonist who placed second in Iran’s 2006 Holocaust cartoon contest. The cartoon depicts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump silencing Omar and Tlaib, with a Star
of David prominently placed in the center of the cartoon. Omar could not even muster condemnation of the Palestinian Authority for its recent ban of LGBTQ activities without trying to make it about Israel. Earlier this week, she tweeted: “Pretending that this act somehow balances or mitigates Israel violating the dignity & rights of Palestinians — or undermines case for defending Palestinian rights — is deplorable!” And both congresswomen have suggested that cutting U.S. financial aid to the Jewish state might be an appropriate response to their ban. Israel’s first response to the trip — allowing Omar and Tlaib into the country — made sense. Members of the U.S. Congress, regardless of their political views, should be welcome to visit the Jewish state. That’s part of the price for America’s decades-long bipartisan support for Israel. Although the context in which the Jewish state made its decision is critical in understanding what was really going on here, the fallout has simply amplified the voices of these anti-Israel representatives. Israel was faced with two bad choices. We believe the one it chose was the worst. PJC
Pennsylvania’s Jewish students are safer than ever, but more needs to be done Guest Columnist Arielle Frankston-Morris
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n the coming weeks, more than 3,000 of Pennsylvania’s Jewish students will head back to day schools around the state — many in the Pittsburgh area. For many parents, the usual routine of homework, test studying preparation and that nagging fear of school security will return. Parents send their children to school each day excited for the experiences and education they will gain, but as attacks on schools and in the Jewish community have proliferated, many are left wondering if their children will be safe in school. The Anti-Defamation League reports that there were 48 percent more anti-Semitic episodes in 2018 than in 2016, and 99 percent more than in 2015. We in Pennsylvania felt this first-hand last October when members of the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light congregations were gunned down while attending Shabbat services. This isn’t just something we read about in the papers or watched on television. It was something that directly impacted the fabric of our community and left us wondering if we’re safe going to synagogue on Shabbat morning and if our children will be safe in school.
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No election is too small when it comes to showing our elected officials what matters most to us: our children’s security. The good news is that our politicians are listening. In July, Gov. Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania’s General Assembly passed a state budget that included an unprecedented $3.2 million — a 597 percent increase over last year — to dramatically expand security grant resources for Jewish and other religious and nonpublic K-12 schools. As a result, this year, for the first time, nonpublic schools (including our day schools and yeshivas) will be allowed to use the grants to pay not only for school police officers but also to hire other security and resource officers; purchase and install a range of security equipment such as fencing, lighting, bulletproof doors and windows and alarm systems to bolster building safety; and to provide educators, students, parents and guardians with security and violence prevention programming. These legislative wins reflect the goal of Teach PA: to support a strong Jewish present to ensure a strong Jewish future. And Jewish education and basic safety are key. Since our
founding in 2013, Teach PA, a division of the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition, has been advocating for equitable government funding for Pennsylvania nonpublic schools. We’ve made tremendous strides in the areas of security, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program and funding for educational resources for schools, but there is still much to be done. This coming year will be another bold one. The security program is by no means broad enough and funded appropriately to keep Pennsylvania’s kids safe. It’s a start, and we are proud of the campaign thus far. With continued coalition building with other faith groups and school associations, we will push a safety agenda forward and keep identifying champion legislators. There are other policy items on our agenda for the coming legislative season, including an increase in the EITC program. We will also be working to increase the funding available for textbooks, which has remained stagnant for five years despite the increases
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in Basic Education Funding that should necessitate nonpublic school increased textbook, materials and services funding. And lastly, as health safety is inadequate, we will continue our work to keep students safe and healthy with broader school nurse services. There is a special excitement in the air as students head back to school and a new year begins. And yes, it’s understandable that Pennsylvania parents — like all parents — worry about the safety of their children while they are in school. However, the good news is that our politicians are listening, and we’ve made wonderful strides in getting more security funding from them. You, too, can make a difference here. If we want our state legislature to include all students in the provision of funding for security protection, then we need to speak up and show up. Ask how your local politicians stand on school security funding for nonpublic schools. Ask them if they are following what’s happening in other states. You can call their offices, send them an email, partner with Teach PA on a program in your neighborhood, but most importantly, please remember to show up and vote. No election is too small when it comes to showing our elected officials what matters most to us: our children’s security. PJC Arielle Frankston-Morris is the executive director of Teach PA. For more information, visit teachcoalition.org/pa.
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Opinion Israel was right to ban Reps. Tlaib and Omar, but Trump was wrong to pressure us to do so Guest Columnist Laura Ben-David
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hen Israel announced that it would be banning lawmakers Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Israel, it caused a huge debate to erupt in the Jewish community for all sorts of reasons. Supporters of the ban argue that if someone denies your right to exist — as Tlaib and Omar do through their support for the BDS movement against Israel — then why would you let them into your house? Those who oppose the ban say that it is undemocratic or simply wrong to ban elected officials of our No. 1 ally. So what is the right course of action for Israel to take? Social media has been teeming with concerns and possibilities, with Israelis and American Jews sharing their opinions as if they were going to be taken into account. Some of the details of the planned trip are disturbing at best: the fact that lawmakers were planning a trip to “Palestine” and didn’t even mention visiting “Israel”; the fact that Tlaib and Omar are BDS supporters and, in essence, deny Israel’s right to exist; the reality that they were going to be avoiding all of the usual meetings, visits and simple diplomatic
pleasantries that an elected official would typically take part in. Those who suggested Tlaib and Omar should come, but under some sort of controlled circumstances that included showing them what Israel is really about, quickly realized that this wasn’t going to happen once they read through the list of destinations. Their planned visit to the Temple Mount could have sparked violence, bringing back alarming memories of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s ill-advised visit to the Temple Mount in 2000 and the “spontaneous” eruption of rioting that tipped off the second intifada. What good can come from allowing them in? We know there is no debating Tlaib and Omar. Their views have been set in stone for a long time, and we’re unlikely to change them. But what about their supporters? Even more so, would the trip show a new side of the conflict to those watching on the sidelines who are not quite sure what to think? Until recently, I felt strongly that Israel should permit Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to enter the country and see Israel for what it is. I wish we actually had a chance of giving them a balanced experience. But they clearly have an agenda, and frankly, the whole trip is just a public relations stunt. In fact, it is a PR stunt whether or not they get into Israel — being barred from their trip just makes them appear like righteous victims to their fans. If we can’t win no matter what we do, why
give them this opportunity that we know they will be using to harm us? I’ll admit that it was personally very satisfying to see the news that they were banned. After all, Israel has a law that allows it to bar BDS activists from entering. But this isn’t about me. Was it the best thing for Israel? In truth, there was something I’d missed: politics at the highest level. President Trump had very strong opinions about the two representatives’ proposed visit, and made them known on Twitter, of course: “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!” he wrote. Then, a few hours later, he tweeted again: “Representatives Omar and Tlaib are the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel!” For me, this changed everything. Under normal conditions, if the leader of an allied nation told an ally to ban certain members of his own government for being known subversives, that would be something valid to consider. Indeed, there are extremists on the far right and the far left in Israel’s political arena who most Israelis would be happy to tell the U.S. to ban — and a few are indeed barred from entering the country. But unfortunately, there’s nothing normal about the state of America’s relationship with its Tweeter-in-Chief.
Trump did two things which changed my personal view completely: He supposedly pressured Netanyahu to bar Tlaib and Omar, though Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, denies this. And Trump made the whole visit a partisan issue. Whatever legitimate weight we may have had on the side of barring them has been crushed under the terrible damage and toxic effects of Trump’s verbal onslaught. Even the American Israel Public Affairs Committee came out against the move: “We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti-Israel and anti-peace BDS movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a one-state solution. We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand,” AIPAC said in a statement. Yes, Reps. Omar and Tlaib should be able to visit and experience Israel firsthand. But would they have? There was no pretense. They were going to visit “Palestine.” There was certainly no winning here. We truly were stuck between a rock and a hard place. But rather than allow ourselves to be turned into a political football, perhaps we would have stood to lose less by just gritting our teeth and letting them in. PJC Laura Ben-David is a writer, speaker and photographer who lives in Israel. This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
Banning Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib will turn young American Jews against Israel Guest Columnist Samuel Heilman
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uring the past week in Israel, a debate has broken out about the proposed visit of U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to the Palestinian territories.
Both Democrats, Muslims and vocal critics of Israel, the congresswomen were planning a not uncommon fact-finding trip to the region while Congress is on recess — before Israel made the decision to ban them. Omar and Tlaib had been planning to visit Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem, as well as Israeli-annexed eastern Jerusalem, including a visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque. Tlaib had been planning to stay on to visit relatives in her parents’ former home. In the last few hours,
— LETTERS — Words matter I agree with the premise of your editorial (“Domestic terrorism must be called out,” Aug. 9) that the El Paso shooting should be treated as an act of domestic terrorism. However, I had to reread your editorial searching (in vain) for any reference to the contributions President Trump and right-wing pundits have made in inciting such heinous acts of violence. Your editorial predated the New York Times Aug. 12 analysis of the number of citations from the El Paso terrorist’s manifesto that echoed the words of President Trump and right-wing pundits. To summarize, this year Donald Trump used the terms “invasion” or “invaded” seven times on Twitter to describe the situation at the border, at one point referring to the approach of the migrants as “the attempted invasion of illegals.” At rallies he has injected terms like “predator,” “killer” and “animal” in his descriptions of immigrants. While you elected to end your editorial with your agreement with Trump’s
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the flip-flopping Netanyahu government has said it would allow Talib to visit her relatives in the West Bank on humanitarian grounds as she pledged to abide by any restrictions and not to promote boycotts against Israel, but the Michigan lawmaker decided that she will not be going “under these oppressive conditions.” What made this proposed visit significant was that the congresswomen had no plans to visit Israel during their time in the area, and that they hold clearly expressed concerns
about the occupation and the conditions of Palestinians living under Israeli control. Originally it seemed that Israel would follow precedent and allow the elected officials of its most important ally to visit. But seemingly under pressure from President Trump, the Netanyahu government decided to stop their planned visit. There are many in Israel, where I am now, Please see Heilman, page 20
criticism of President Obama, you have completely ignored the inconvenient fact that in 2009 President Obama’s Homeland Security Dept. produced a report predicting that the economic downturn, the rise of social media and the election of the first black president would combine to make race-driven extremism a serious threat to national security. When this report was made public, Congressman Mike Pompeo, now Trump’s Secretary of State, said, “focusing on domestic terrorism was a dangerous undertaking born of political correctness that denied the threat that radical Islamic terrorism poses.” A “fair and balanced” editorial would have tempered its praise of President Trump with a plea to him to end his racist, dehumanizing policies and attacks against the poor and people of color, and to the Republican-controlled Senate to pass common-sense gun safety legislation as has been already passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Thereby denying these terrorists the inspiration and tools with which to commit mass murder!
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Mindy S. Fleishman Pittsburgh
AUGUST 23, 2019 13
Headlines Perlman: Continued from page 1
Oct. 27, and to recognize his own role as a first responder. “You know, I really did not consider myself a hero in the event that happened in October, and I keep reminding myself that I was able to save myself and two others,” he said. “But I tended to really suffer and be depressed about the other three that lost their lives downstairs and in the building. I really had no control over anything else. I felt very helpless in terms of other people in the building.” After hearing gunshots that Shabbat morning, Perlman ushered the three congregants who were in his sanctuary — Barry Werber, Carol Black and Mel Wax — to a dark storage room and instructed them to hide. After some time, Wax opened the door to the storage room to see what was going on, and was shot by the gunman. Two other New Light congregants, Richard Gottfried and Dan Stein, were murdered in the synagogue kitchen as they were checking supplies for the next morning’s brunch. “I began to come around to the idea that I also was a first responder in a way, and that as a result of my actions I was able to save people’s lives,” Perlman said. “I was able to see myself as God’s servant and a builder of other lives. That was a remarkable feeling, and one that I also have communicated to some of the first responders when I went to visit them at the hospital or saw them at events.” Although he has received many requests to speak, the rabbi has been deliberate in choosing which invitations to accept, and has kept them to a minimum. In December, he addressed the Colel Chabad in New York, identifying with the group’s mission of Jewish unity and combating hunger in Israel. That month, he also spoke at the USY International Convention in Orlando, Florida, charging the Conservative teens to lead the way in fighting gun violence and anti-Semitism. In February, he spoke at a Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh dinner honoring first responders, including Rabbi Elisar Admon who worked with the FBI in the aftermath of the attack to ensure the dignified treatment of the victims’ remains. Although the media storm persists, Perlman has managed to keep a low profile. “I thought they would stop after six months, but they kept coming and coming and coming, and I just didn’t want a constant diet of this event,” he said. “It’s interesting, I can take the constant diet of death that comes through hospice work, but not the constant diet of fear and despair and the idea that I will never see some of these people ever again.”
p Rabbi Jonathan Perlman
Photo by Toby Tabachnick
“ I was able to see myself as God’s servant and a builder of other lives. That was a remarkable feeling, and one that I also have communicated to some of the first responders when I went to visit them at the hospital or
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saw them at events.
— RABBI JONATHAN PERLMAN In some instances, when he has shared his story with journalists and authors, he has felt betrayed, he said. “Sometimes I find out the hard way, that they really weren’t interested in my story, but they were interested in getting me to say what they wanted me to say, and I really don’t like that,” Perlman said, describing a culture “of people using victimization as a way of telling a good story, and being like vultures who wait to see what is going to happen with the people who are in pain.” A very real concern of Perlman’s is the “re-traumatizing” of those most keenly affected by the massacre. Earlier this month, he sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General
William Barr, imploring him to forgo the death penalty for the Pittsburgh shooter. “I wrote that I really want him to just plead guilty without a trial and be able to have a life sentence without parole,” Perlman said. “I know that is a little bit controversial, but I think that more people agree with me than not for the very reason that we should not allow ourselves to be re-traumatized. Enough with the madness. Just keep this out of our peaceful city.” Perlman has a gentle demeanor, exuding earnestness, traits that will serve him well in his newest endeavor, full-time staff chaplain for the department of palliative care for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
system. Beginning Aug. 26, the rabbi will be serving Jewish and non-Jewish palliative care patients at Shadyside Hospital, and possibly other UPMC facilities as well. He has been doing chaplaincy work for the last 10 years at various facilities. He will continue to serve as rabbi for New Light, which is essentially a part-time position. “I keep trying to take care of New Light,” Perlman said. “We always welcome new members. We are not the country club or the big show in town. Our congregation is older, but we have some very spirited volunteers who want to do good and who want to keep our family together. “This has been a year where we really have had to step back and take care of ourselves,” he continued. “A lot of people were involved in helping us do that outside the synagogue and we were grateful to them.” Perlman recognizes that he has been changed as a result of the massacre. “I think I got to know trauma in its true sense,” he said. “I have had trauma in my life — personal trauma. This was trauma I have not yet been able to process, so in that sense it changed me because it made me feel more sympathetic to those people who are in trauma, to be able to express empathy, to be able to understand how God heals us and how God is present for us, and to connect with all these people that are undergoing violence, reaction to the violence, all over the world. So if someone shoots up people in Palo Alto or Dayton or Israel or in Europe somewhere, I feel it very deeply. It takes me about a day, two days, to really come back to my senses. That’s how I’ve been changed. It’s become sort of hard-wired in me as someone who feels deeply.” Although he is healing, Perlman is not planning on expanding his public persona, and will not be “running around the country and giving speeches and responding to every news source. That is something that I started from the first and it’s going to get smaller and smaller.” Instead, he intends to focus on “rebuilding community.” “As we say in Psalms, ‘We build the world with compassion,’” he said. “So if I can be the person who inspires those acts, let God act through me, let me be his instrument. And whatever brings us closer to peace and compassion, whether it is getting people to draw closer to the synagogue service, or draw closer to making visits to the hospital, bikkur cholim, or to have an insight into Torah learning or to feel a greater togetherness, a sense of unity with the Jewish people and to show courage and self-esteem, let God help me to do that.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Every Friday in the
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Headlines Emissaries: Continued from page 3
instruction and project-based learning. Their understanding of good pedagogy was really impressive.� Although the Ohayons are excited for their classrooms to fill, they also hold multiple interests apart from teaching. Noam enjoys playing guitar and hiking, and is an ornithological enthusiast who trekked through Israel researching birds. He is a fluent Hebrew and English speaker and is working on his Spanish and Portuguese. “I like learning languages,� he said. Orel is a culinary aficionado who enjoys baking challah and making couscous, fish and meat. “I really like to cook. This is my big love after Noam,� she said.
School: Continued from page 4
classroom management and parent communication to the lost and found system, said Weinberg. “Even systems that were working, we found ways to make them better.� Finally, Hillel Academy also has a program called “Be A Mensch,� an initiative focused on strengthening students’ character in school and at home. “While we’ve always supported and encouraged our students to behave with excellent character development, this year we want to make it a very strong point of emphasis,� said the principal. Whether it is through a “comprehensive digital citizenship program,� in which issues like bullying are addressed, working with Jewish Family and Community Services consultants on role-playing exercises to learn “prosocial behaviors� or attending workshops on inclusion and sportsmanship, there will be ample opportunities for students to experience “intentful programming� dedicated to character growth, said Weinberg. Ensuring students’ betterment is an educational priority, which is why Community Day School hired Casey Briglia to be its school-based counselor, explained Avi Baran Munro, CDS’ head of school. “Young families and children today are under increasing social, emotional, economic and existential pressures. Teachers everywhere are increasingly called upon to
Despite the proximity of nearby supermarkets, preparing particular dishes has been a new adventure, as in America there is a slew of products, both domestic and international, but the ones most desired are nowhere to be seen, explained Orel. “If anyone finds cornflakes from Telma, tell me. Kellogg’s are not the same at all,� she said. Searching for a specific cereal may be one quest, but finding those willing to help shouldn’t be too tough. Since their arrival, the Ohayons have been flooded with gifts and greetings. “We are so excited to be here,� said Orel. “We want to thank everyone for their warm welcome. We have received a lot of messages. People have invited us over. People even dropped off cookies.�  PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
be school counselors, and even the very best among them lack the resources, training and time necessary to fully meet the social/ emotional needs of the children and families in any school,� said Munro. Briglia will meet those needs “on the playground, at lunch and during hallway transitions, observing student interactions in those highly unstructured times when social rules and relationships are negotiated, tested and renegotiated.� Briglia will also collaborate with teachers on classroom management tools, establishing a positive behavior reinforcement frame of reference, said Munro. Additionally, Briglia, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Duquesne University, will facilitate student meetings and “work with parents and students who present with a need or desire for support, as well as make referrals to community services as needed,� said Munro. Based on CDS’ strategic plan, bringing Briglia onboard was a “top priority,� explained the head of school. “The presence of a professional who is available for consultation will help our students, faculty and families navigate life’s often-challenging emotional landscape, while elevating the work of our classroom educators.�  PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
celebrations IN THE
Dor Hadash announces new hires — LOCAL —
C
ongregation Dor Hadash has hired Cantor Julie Newman for the upcoming year to succeed Rabbi Cheryl Klein as the congregation’s lay cantor and to assist its lay service leaders. Dor Hadash will “continue to be a lay-led congregation,� stressed Ellen Surloff, immediate past president of Dor Hadash. Newman received her cantorial ordination and a master’s in Jewish education from Hebrew College. She is the founder of Tiferet — A Jewish Spirituality Project and one of the spiritual leaders of Chavurat Shirah, an experimental minyan in Pittsburgh. Klein announced that she would step down from her role at Dor Hadash prior to the massacre at the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, where Dor Hadash was a tenant. Dor Hadash has also hired Rabbi Ezra Weinberg, a Reconstructionist rabbi and a course instructor at Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, to serve as lay cantor for this year’s High Holiday services. As in the past, the High Holiday services will be led by Dor Hadash congregants.
The congregation also has hired a new religious school principal, Karen Morris, who previously served as the principal at Tree of Life Or L’Simcha’s religious school. Last year, TOL*OLS’s religious school students joined with Dor Hadash religious school students. Additionally, a Reconstructionist rabbi, Rabbi Shelley Goldman, has been hired for a 10-month period to serve as the congregation’s interim spiritual and organizational consultant She will be coming to Pittsburgh for a three-day weekend once a month beginning this fall. Goldman will be co-leading services, working with the board, and providing educational sessions for the congregation. “With the benefit of Cantor Julie Newman for the coming year, Rabbi Ezra Weinberg for the High Holidays, Karen Morris as the interim principal and Rabbi Shelley Goldman for a 10-month period, Dor Hadash sees many opportunities to try new ways to daven and learn together as we continue to strengthen and enrich our already wonderful community,� stated an email from Dor Hadash to its membership.  PJC —Toby Tabachnick
Some survivors of Oct. 27 attack oppose death penalty for accused — LOCAL —
C
ongregation Dor Hadash sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr earlier this month imploring him to forgo seeking the death penalty in the case against the suspected anti-Semite accused of murdering 11 people at the Tree of Life building last October, and to seek a plea deal instead. The letter followed a similar request sent to Barr from Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, spiritual leader of New Light Congregation. Members of both Dor Hadash and New Light were victims of the attack, which also claimed the lives of seven members of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha. “In consideration of the significant injury to our congregation, Dor Hadash requests that the parties agree to a plea deal in which the perpetrator would accept a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility
of parole in exchange for the prosecution’s agreement not to seek the death penalty,� the letter from Dor Hadash read. A plea deal, the letter stated, would prevent the accused from “getting the attention and publicity that would inevitably come with a trial.� A separate letter was sent to Barr from Miri Rabinowitz, the wife of Dor Hadash member Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, who was murdered in the attack. “In honor of his blessed memory, and his deep and abiding opposition to the death penalty, I am writing to urge you, in the strongest terms possible, to accept the offer made by the perpetrator to plead guilty,� Miri Rabinowitz wrote, adding that a plea deal would help to “continue the slow and painful process of healing without having to relieve the horrific circumstances of Jerry’s murder through a trial and inevitable lengthy appeals.�  PJC
SPECIAL OCCASIONS DESERVE SPECIAL ATTENTION The more you celebrate in life‌ the more there is in life to celebrate! SEND YOUR SIMCHAS, MAZEL TOVS, and PHOTOS TO: announcements@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
—Toby Tabachnick
18 — THE
18 — THE
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Life & Culture Documentary shows how ‘Fiddler on the Roof ’ made it to the stage — FILM — By Curt Schleier | JTA
I
nstinctively, director-choreographer Jerome Robbins (née Rabinowitz) knew the musical that he was preparing for Broadway was something far greater than just the story of a Jewish family facing persecution in Czarist Russia. So at one of his early meetings with the creatives behind the project, he made clear where he intended to go with his project: “Fiddler on the Roof ” touched on many themes, he said, but at its core it was about tradition. And thus was born one of the great opening numbers in the history of musical theater, laying the groundwork for one of the most important and popular plays ever. It opened in September of 1964 and became the longest-running Broadway musical of the time. It ran for a decade, spawned five Broadway revivals and has been performed everywhere from Vienna to Mexico City to Reykjavík, Iceland. A new documentary, “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles,” digs into the show’s origin story and much more. Filmmaker Max Lewkowicz expertly combines archival footage with interviews of show participants to weave a story that is heartwarming, entertaining, informative and in some ways eye-opening. Ironically, considering its subsequent success, “Fiddler” had a rocky start. A friend gave lyricist Sheldon Harnick a copy of the book “Wandering Stars” by Sholem Aleichem. Harnick thought it would make a great musical, and forwarded the book to his writing partner, Jerry Bock, who agreed and in turn sent it to playwright Joseph Stein. Stein, however, didn’t believe it would work as a musical. Instead, he suggested another Aleichem work, “Tevye the Dairyman,” a book of stories that his father had read to him in the original Yiddish. Though it had the backing of the three award-winning Broadway pros, it was still far from a sure thing. Producers were wary, afraid it was too Jewish. “What do I do once we run out of Hadassah benefits?” is what
GET THE
p From left: Maria-Karnilova, Tanya Everett, Zero Mostel, Julia-Migenes and Joanna Merlin backstage at opening night of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Imperial Theater in New York City, Sept. 22, 1964.
Photo by AP/Courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films
one allegedly said. It wasn’t until the late Harold Prince signed on to produce that the play achieved any momentum. Even then, success was not assured. Reviews following an out-of-town opening in Detroit were uniformly negative. Even after substantial changes, The New York Times’ influential critic at the time, Walter Kerr, offered a tepid review after its Broadway debut. But the next day, there were lines around the block. The film is replete with fascinating anecdotes about the process: how star Zero Mostel and Robbins feuded because the latter named names before the House Un-American Activities Committee; how Robbins attending a Chasidic wedding
provided the inspiration for a fun dance scene; how the play was initially intended to be called “Tevye” until someone saw Marc Chagall’s painting “The Fiddler” and renamed the play as a tribute to him. There have been at least two books written about “Fiddler” — but while both share many of these anecdotes, neither can satisfactorily describe the gleam in the eyes, the smiles on the faces and the pride in the voices of the dozens of actors interviewed here who have played a part in the “Fiddler” phenomenon. Lin Manuel-Miranda, who is interviewed in the film, first performed in a “Fiddler” production in sixth grade. He was so enchanted by the experience, he and his entire wedding party rehearsed
and choreographed the song “L’Chaim” as a surprise for his bride, Vanessa. The performance went viral. Harnick remembers attending an early Tokyo performance and being asked: “Do they understand it in America? It’s so Japanese.” Although there are no overt political references, ties to the current spike in anti-Semitism and hate seem obvious. As Danny Burstein, who played Tevye in the last Broadway revival, notes: “As long as human beings exist and continue to have troubles, ‘Fiddler on the Roof ’ will be there.” “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles” opened Aug. 23 in Los Angeles and New York. Additional venues will soon be announced. PJC
news. THEN GET THE FULL STORY. ❀ In the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. For home delivery, call 410.902.2308.
16 AUGUST 23, 2019
PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE
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Life & Culture Veggie shwarma pita sandwich: A meat-free alternative for lunch or dinner
p You don’t need meat to enjoy shwarma in a pita.
— FOOD — By Emanuelle Lee | JTA
P
ita bread is often stuffed with spiced, shaved shwarma meat or crunchy, deep-fried falafel. But my version of a pita sandwich is a hearty vegetarian alternative to a meat-stuffed pita, inspired by the anything-but-ordinary stuffed pita sandwiches of Miznon from iconic Israeli chef Eyal Shani. Eggplant is a common ingredient in Israeli and Middle Eastern cooking. After all, it is meaty, delicious, versatile and can cook up quickly — ideal for weeknight meals. I serve these sandwiches with spicy pickled cabbage, just like they do at the shwarma shops, along with yogurt and chopped parsley for some bright freshness. Note: You can make each element of the pitas a day ahead and stuff the pitas when you’re ready to enjoy (reheat the eggplants for a minute in the microwave before serving). Ingredients:
For the eggplant steaks: 5 tablespoons olive oil 1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 5-6 slices 1-inch-thick 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 teaspoon shwarma spice 1/4 teaspoon chili powder sea salt 1/2 cup water
Photo by Emanuelle Lee
For the parsley salad: 1 small bunch of fresh parsley, washed and dried, very finely chopped zest of 1 lemon 1/2 clove garlic, crushed juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon olive oil a pinch of sea salt
For the pickled cabbage:
1/4 white or red cabbage, stem removed and very finely sliced juice of 2 lemons 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
4. Combine the sliced cabbage with the lemon juice, sea salt, chili flakes and olive oil; mix well. Set aside so it softens and pickles. 5. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same pan that you used for the eggplants and add the garlic. Once it becomes slightly golden and aromatic, add the tomato paste and mix to soften it. Add a pinch of sea salt, the honey, shwarma spice and chili powder. Add 1/2 cup water and mix until you have a silky consistency. 6. Add the cooked eggplant slices back into the sauce, coating them on all sides. Leave each piece to slightly caramelize, turning
them over once the bottoms are slightly sticky and browning, about 2 minutes on each side. 7. To serve, warm the pitas in the microwave for 30 seconds or in the oven for three minutes. Cut the tops off the pitas (don’t discard them!) and stuff each one with some cabbage, 2 1/2 eggplant steaks, a few spoons of yogurt and finally the parsley salad. Enjoy the extra pickled cabbage, yogurt and parsley salad with the leftover pita tops. Serves 2. PJC This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher.
To serve: 2 pieces of fluffy pita bread 4 tablespoons plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
Directions:
1. Brush the eggplants generously with olive oil. 2. Heat a large frying pan and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the eggplant slices to the pan. Make sure each piece is touching the surface of the pan; you may need to work in batches. Once the bottom sides have softened and become golden, turn them over. Add a little more oil if necessary. Press down on the slices with a spatula or wooden spoon to help them cook through. Transfer the eggplant onto a paper towel to remove the excess oil. 3. To make the parsley salad, combine the chopped parsley with the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt.
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AUGUST 23, 2019 17
Celebrations
Torah
Engagement
Partnering with God Rabbi Daniel Wasserman Parshat Eikev Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25
M
oshe Rabeinu recounts for us the awful events of the making of the golden calf, and the necessity to smash the luchot (tablets). Moshe subsequently prayed for us and pleaded with God to forgive us. In response, God forgave us and on the first day of the month that we now call Elul, God said to Moshe: “Carve out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to Me atop the mountain” (Devarim 10:1). Moshe did so, and God “wrote on the tablets the same text as the first ones, the Ten Statements, that God spoke to [the Jewish people] on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the Day of Assembly” (Devarim 10:4).
Dr. Stuart L. Silverman and Ms. Nan Silverman are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Florence Silverman, to Tyler Alan Vandervalk, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ron Vandervalk of Boynton Beach, Florida. Emily graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. She is an account manager with Google in New York City. Tyler also graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing. He is an account executive with A Million Ads in New York City. Emily’s grandparents are Allene and the late Warren Gittlen of Harrisburg and Audrey and Ralph Silverman of Pittsburgh. Tyler’s grandparents are the late Cynthia and Irwin Silverberg of Boynton Beach, Florida, and the late Jean and Jacques Vandervalk of Queens, New York. Emily and Tyler are planning a November 2020 wedding in Pittsburgh. PJC
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He gave us an opportunity to partner with Him, so to speak, and He said that if we do our part, He will do his, and together we will bring holiness and Godliness into the world. The contrast between the first and second tablets is stark. The first tablets were given to Moshe at the top of the mountain and they were “made by God and written by God with God’s script engraved on the tablets.” The second tablets were made by Moshe, brought up to the mountaintop by Moshe, but engraved by God with God’s words and God’s script. The rabbis of the Talmud contemplate the real differences that were manifest in our interaction with the first tablets (however brief an interaction it was) and the second tablets due to the differences between the two sets. Still, it is fair to ponder and to ask: Which set of tablets were “better” in the grand scheme of things? The ones made by God alone that could not remain in a world that has a golden calf at the foot of the mountain, or the ones that God had us partner with Him to make and were placed in a wooden
Chai
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— it has to be the eternal perspective and the eternal ideas taught by God. The words on the tablets have to be God’s words and God’s script, exactly as were the first tablets. Even the tablets that we fashion have to be “like the first ones” (Devarim 10:1). But He gives us the opportunity to be part of that process. What a special expression of God’s love. As the first of Elul is almost upon us, let me wish everyone the blessing of a sweet, new year of life, and health and success. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to the holy work that there is to be done. We have an offer on the table from the Eternally Best Partner that there can be. PJC Rabbi Wasserman is the rabbi of Shaare Torah Congregation and the president of Gesher HaChaim Jewish Burial Society. This column is a project of the Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.
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ark and housed in the center of the camp within the holy walls of the Ohel Moed (the Tent of Meeting) and the Mishkan (the Tabernacle), all of which was made by us? Perhaps the answer to the question is: Yes. Certainly, had we not lost our focus and determination, had we not sinned, we would have remained on the supremely high spiritual level that we attained as we stood at the foot of the mountain. We would have had in our midst the very handiwork of God. Alas, we did not. But in God’s infinite love and mercy, He gave us a path of prayer, and return and repentance. He gave us an opportunity to partner with Him, so to speak, and He said that if we do our part, He will do his, and together we will bring holiness and Godliness into the world. To be sure, that can’t be on our terms, it has to be on God’s terms. It can’t be the myopic perspective and ideas of humankind
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Obituaries AARONS: Jean Yona Aarons, a longtime resident of Pompano Beach, Florida passed peacefully in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019. She was the beloved daughter of the late William B. and Hilda Elpern Aarons; dearest sister to Marcia A. and the late Charles L. Deaktor; aunt to Anne Beth Baker and husband Marion, Carol Deaktor and husband Brian Mursky and sons Charlie and John of Boca Raton, Florida, Scott J. Deaktor and wife Marsha and sons Charles “Chase” Leonard and William “Wills” Aaron Deaktor of Pittsburgh. Jean graduated from the University of Georgia in 1947, after taking courses related to building design, pottery and fabric design. After college Jean took over the family “dry foods” store and had a 6500 sq. ft. new store built in the small town of McRae, Georgia, called Aarons Village. She brought in name brands of active wear which was a new type of merchandise at that time. After losing her father, Jean and her mother moved to Pompano Beach, Florida to the Renaissance, where they enjoyed life. Jean met Stanley Gruber early on in Pompano Beach. Jean and Stan became great friends and were always an integral part of both of their families. Jean remained great friends with many including Catherine Floyd who she had known since 6th grade and Wanda and John Rulo since moving into the Renaissance. They were always checking on her and how she was doing. She loved them all. Whenever that was a choice of “Jean or Marcia,” there was no question, Jean was #1. Marcia felt that being behind such a great #1 was just fine! Jean had exceptionally great caregivers who turned out to be another part of the family. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607. Wschugar.com BERKOVITZ: Joyce Berkovitz, age 82, of White Oak, formally of Glassport, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Wed. Aug. 14, 2019. She was born in McKeesport on October 6, 1936 and is the daughter of the late Benjamin and Dorothy Monheim Miller. She is the wife of the late Bernie Berkovitz. Joyce was a travel agent for over 20 years for the Four Seasons Travel Agency. She was a member of B’nai B’rith, a life member of Hadassah, and the former Tree of Life Congregation where she served as a past president. She is survived by her children; Lori (Joel) Davidson of Bradford Woods, Carol (Tom) Martynuska of Wexford and Steve (Tammy) Berkovitz of Bridgeville; grandchildren Ben, Jake, Julia, Skylar, Chase, Jadyn and Trey; and brother Scott (Nancy) Miller of Plano, Texas. Services will be held at Elrod Cemetery, Center Street, McKeesport, PA 15132, Friday, August 16, 2019, at noon and officiated by Rabbi Yaier Lehrer. Arrangements by Strifflers of White Oak Cremation and Mortuary Services, 1100 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 (412-678-6177). Remembrances may be made to the American Cancer Society, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205, or the Alzheimer’s Association, 1100 Liberty Ave., Suite E 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.
CHAMOVITZ: Robert Chamovitz, M.D., age 94, on Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Beloved husband of Sheila Chamovitz; beloved father of Mindy (Mitchell) Small, Julia (Brad Nilson) Chamovitz Nilson, Max (Kristina Hatcher) Chamovitz and the late Cathy Chamovitz; brother of the late Jerome, Irvin, Allen and David Chamovitz; Zada to Ammi, Yudi, Dovi, Devorah, Levi, Yossi, Eli, Benjamin, Leah, Asher and Caleb. Also survived by many great-grandchildren and adoring nieces and nephews. He was a beloved and dedicated physician, a veteran of the U. S. Navy during WWII and the Air Force during the Korean War. He was a medical researcher, teacher and a board member of the Hebrew Free Loan and an active supporter of many other Jewish causes. Services were held at the Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the JNF, 6425 Living Pl., second fl., Pittsburgh, PA 15206, Israel Bonds, 6507 Wilkins Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or the Hebrew Free Loan, 4307 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com HILTON: Gertrude Kamin Hilton, on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Albert A. Hilton; loving mother of Stanley (Beth) Hilton, Charles (Kristin) Hilton and Heide (Scott) Cacciabaudo; sister of the late Celia Kaddell, Marvin Kamin, Harry M. Kamin and Harold Kamin; grandmother of Sarah (Justin) Kauffman, Deborah Hilton, Victoria (Eric) Herbst, Sarah Cacciabaudo, Zachary Hilton and Julia Hilton; great grandmother of Jaxson and Cooper Kauffman; also aunt to many nieces and nephews. Services and interment private. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. family owned and operated. schugar.com JACOB: Sandra Jacob, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Kenneth “Rusty” Jacob. Devoted mother of Amy (Barry) Kubas; sister of Rita (the late Jay) Cohen and the late Robert Krauss; grandmother of Samuel Ethan (Jordan Ashley) Kubas, Maxwell Louie Kubas; aunt of Lisa (Alan) Carney and the late Eric Krauss Cohen; great-aunt of Jacob Carney. Also survived by Lucky and Princess. Sandra worked at Presbyterian Hospital as a medical secretary until Amy was born and then after she went to first grade, went back to work at the Operating Engineers Local #66 until her retirement in 2006. Services were held at Temple David. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Animal Friends, 562 Camp Horne Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 or the ACLU, 313 Atwood St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family-owned and operated. schugar.com
Name: JAA Width: 5.0415 in Depth: 6.75 in Color: Black Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: Ad Number: 5525_1 A gift from ...
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Anonymous ...................................... Jean Serbin
Jeff Rosenthal .........................Donald Rosenthal
Mrs. Shirley L. Hirsch ......... Raschel (Ray) Levine
Anonymous ................. Norma Cohen Dobrushin
Joseph W. Blumenthal .............Harry Blumenthal
Ms. Marjorie Halpern ........ Zelda Glantz Chasick
Anonymous .......................................Jack Gusky
Jules Spokane...................................Eli Spokane Karen & Allison Broudy ............. Sylvia Lebenson
Myrna Finkelstein .............................Gilbert Stein
Alvin and Susan Elinow.................Sidney Elinow Barbara & Shelly Rose ........Dorothy B. Solomon
Larry Myer ...........................................Lena Myer
Barbara E. Vogel .................. Florence Bertenthal
Laura Goldsmith............. Hinda Kuhl Rubenstein
Clarice and Robert Katz.................Robert Ziman
Lawrence D. Kanselbaum ...... Ethel Kanselbaum
Dr. Susan Snider and Family........Howard Snider
Leona Levine .............................Albert Rosenfeld
Norman Glantz ..............................Zelda Chasick
Edward M. Goldston .............Rebecca Goldstein
Marilyn & Irv Beck .............. William & Rose Beck
Renée Batten ................................... Ella Herman
Elinor & Ivan Gold ............. Mildred “Mitzie” Gold
Marilyn & Irv Beck ............ Sylvia & Phil Solomon
Rita Ziman .................................... Morris Mandel
Ellen Blum .................................... Patty Danovitz
Marvin R. Berk ...........................Samuel W. Berk
Sandra Taxay Schanfarber..Dr. Stanley M. Taxay
Frani and Milo Averbach ......Morris L. Schachter
Mary B. Marks ....................................Sam Baker
Sara & Howard Harris .................. Bernard Harris
Gay & Alvin Goldstone .....Jack Henry Goldstone
Mary B. Marks .....................“Don” Donald Baker
George Pattak ...................................Ruth Pattak
Mary Jatlow...................................Nathan Glantz
Sherwin Glasser ................................Mollie Kurtz
Gerald Gold .........................................Rose Gold
Michael D. Kweller ..........................Leon Kweller
Howard M. Berman......................Jacob Berman
Minnie Zavos .................................David Sinaikin
Howie & Shelley Miller ............ Harold B. Cramer
Mr. Joel Robins .................... Abraham S. Robins
Howie & Shelley Miller .......................Isreal Miller
Mrs. Alvin Mundel ...................... Mark J. Mundel
Evelyn Favish ...............................Andrew Cohen
Irene & Harry Chizeck ....................Irene Chizeck
Mrs. Harvey E. Robins ........Samuel Mermelstein
Irwin Goldston .......................Rebecca Goldstein
Irma E. Morris ....................................... Max Eger
Mrs. Harvey Supowitz..................Samuel Berger
Sherry Lynn Marcus .......................Edward Stern
Neil I. Smolar ......................... Anna G. Rosenthal Nessa Mines ...............................Irving Farbstein Nessa Mines ......................Martha Hirsch Green
Shirley Waters .......................... Sidney Bernstein Susan Goldman ........................ Lillian Pachtman Harvey L. Rice .......................Hannah Lillian Rice
THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday August 25: , Eda Yitta Katron Ash, Etta Borof, Etta Borof, Charlotte Charapp, Lois Pearlman Diamond, Dora Fargotstein, David Finkel, Ronald Friedken, Arthur Friedman, Faye Glasser, Libbie Glasser, Rebecca Goldstein, John J. Gruene, Charles Laufe, Kenneth Phillip Levenson, Pauline Loibman, Essie Jacobs Marcus, Anne P. Morris, Mary Plung, Harry Serbin, Clara Ida Shapiro Monday August 26: Samuel Danzinger, Abraham Gernstat, Samuel Green, Elliott Hansell, Jennie Herron, Richard Lebby, Dina Schiff, Tzulel Seiavitch, Hymen Weiss, Gussie Wright Tuesday August 27: Lt. Ace Allen, Andrew Cohen, Minnie Drosnes, Lena K. Friedman, Benjamin Heller, Elenora Soupcoff Heller, Hyman Herman, Norma Kalmenson, Phillip Lerner, Bessie Mallinger, Shirley Markowitz, Molly Pollock, David Rabinovitz, Samuel M. Rosenzweig, Meyer Maier Talenfeld, Jacob Wells, Joan Elise Ratowsky Whitley Wednesday August 28: Marion Jessica Blumenfeld, Helen Finkel Eger, Esther Fried, Max Hadburg, Lottie Heller, William Katz, Rose Lieber, Louis Olitzky, Bettie Olender Polak Tanur, Anita Ohringer Ruslander, Gabrielle Heliene Segall, Sam Weinberger Thursday August 29: Hazel R. Dickler, Sam Garfinkel, Samuel Goldenson, Philip Goodman, Abraham Katz, Samuel Krasik, Jack Morris, Abraham S. Robins, Albert Shapiro, Fay Oppenheim Stein, Mollie E. Swartz, Fannie Cohen Weiner, Saul H. Weissman, Myers L. Zacks Friday August 30: Ruth E. Bell, Harry Gottesman, Eugene I. Hilsenrath, Frank Kress, William S. Mason, Rosa Perlstein, Dorothy Miller Ryave, Gertrude Siegel, Sol Silver, Lillian Linder Silverman, Frank Solomon Saturday August 31: Judge Samuel J. Feigus, Sherman Hershman, Stuart Irwin Holtzman, Joseph Kossis, Celia S. Landay, Simon Miller, Ruth Pattak, Morris Rosen, Ann F. Schwartz, Benjamin Schwartz, Isadore Louis Sigal, Dorothy B. Solomon, Harry M. Solomon, Bessie Stein, Maurice Louis Swartz
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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19
MALLIT: Ann Lois Mallit, on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Dr. Melvin L. Mallit. Beloved mother of Gary Mallit, Ken (Wendy) Mallit and Marty (Bonnie) Mallit. Daughter of the late Joseph and Dorothy Goldstein. Sister of Marilyn (late Paul) Kaufman. Grandmother of Joshua Mallit, Justin (Darla) Mallit, Joseph (Cyndi) Mallit, Emily (Michael) Kryger, Michael (Nadia) Mallit and Melanie Mallit. Greatgrandmother of Eli, Miriam and Darian.
Heilman: Continued from page 13
who believe strongly that prohibiting these members of Congress from coming was a bad mistake. As the former Israeli consul general in New York Alon Pinkas put it, “These are congresswomen of the majority party, which most American Jews vote for.” Many of the Israelis who agree with Pinkas and think this ban is a bad idea are not likely to vote for Netanyahu or his political allies in the Israeli elections due in a few weeks. And those in America who agree are probably not likely to vote for Trump. The fact that the Netanyahu government acceded to the president’s “advice” is a reflection of the fact that it long ago put itself firmly in sympathy with the Republican Party and Trump administration, both of whom have singled out these two Democrats as public enemies of Israel, with Trump, in a widely criticized statement, having infamously suggested the American-born Tlaib and the U.S. citizen Omar “go back to where they came from.” Trump has also singled out these two women in his campaign against the Democrats in the race for the White House and control of Congress in the 2020 elections. It is obvious that he is trying to use Israel to punish his political enemies, and Netanyahu is no less interested in showing that his political enemies are aligned with the enemies of the state. Of course, siding with Trump, as well as making any efforts to limit the members of Congress from meeting with Palestinians, or from visiting the mosque on the Temple Mount, plays right into the hands of those
Loving cousin of the late Adele Fishman. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Ann Lois was completely devoted to her family. Along with raising her three sons, she helped her husband with office work at his medical practice and later worked side by side with her son Marty at the family business, National Distributors. Ann Lois enjoyed cooking for her family and hosting holiday celebrations. She was well known for her egg salad and matzo ball soup. Ann Lois was the matriarch of the family and will be greatly missed by all. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Kether Torah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Temple David, 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville, PA 15146 or Alzheimer’s
Association, 1100 Liberty Ave., Suite # E-201, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. schugar.com
Man arrested in Youngstown after online threat to JCC
WEISMAN: Marilyn Weisman, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. Beloved wife of the late Herbert Weisman. Beloved mother of Rhonda Horvitz and Nelson “Craig” (Karyn) Weisman. Cherished grandmother “G” of Rachel (Jeff ) Bittenbender, Shana and Sarah Horvitz and Lou Weisman. Graveside Service and Interment were at the Betty Rosenberg/Parkway Jewish Center Cemetery, Wilkins Twp. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family-owned and operated. schugar.com PJC
who want to point out how the Israeli occupation has been baneful and unfair. After all, when Eid-el-Adha fell this year on the same day as Tisha B’Av, Israeli authorities permitted approximately 1,700 Jewish visitors onto the mountain on which sits the Al-Aqsa mosque. How does it look if Israel allowed Jews on the mountain for their holy day but now limits visits from Muslim members of Congress? To restrict these two Democrats will only serve to alienate many young American Democratic voters, as well as the progressive wing of the American electorate — and in the long run harden their opposition to Israel. It will feed the argument that Israel treats Palestinians poorly and unfairly, and that it is no better than the Arabs who for years limited access to Jews who wanted to visit their holy sites when they were under Muslim rule. And it will allow the world to paint Israel as far from being the open society it claims to be. Indeed, Omar lost no time in pointing out that “The irony of the ‘only democracy’ in the Middle East making such a decision is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation.” In fact, the Israeli government would have been far better off, as many Israelis have been saying, had it done all it could to enable these two prominent Muslim congresswomen to see what and who they want. More than that, the government could have extended an invitation to them to meet with whomever they want among Israelis as well. It might have offered them a “delux” visit, taken them to Mount Herzl and its military cemetery, Yad Vashem and Neve Shalom, the joint Arab and Israeli village. There is
much they would have benefited from seeing that would give the world another side of the story. But instead, Israel has given the lawmakers and their voters the ammunition that shows the world the most negative side of the country and confirms all the accusations leveled against it. Now even moderate Democrats who generally support Israel will have to take a stance against the Israeli ban, which is so wrapped up in the political agenda of Trump Republicans. A major supporter of Israel, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, called the Israeli decision “outrageous.” It is also worth remembering that there is nothing sinister about Muslims wanting to be at their holy places, about a Palestinian American whose parents were born in Palestine wanting to visit that place from which her family immigrated and where her grandmother still lives. Returning as a newly seated U.S. congresswoman (and not just an American relative) to the village that is understandably so proud of her is part of the long-held American tradition of elected officials going back to the places of their ethnic origins. As an ally of the United States, Israel understands this well. Who knows if the visit of the two, if allowed to go on with minimal control from Israel, could not have served as an opening for peace? It is worthwhile to remember that one makes peace not with one’s friends but with one’s adversaries. That is how swords are turned into plowshares.
A 20-year-old male who made an online threat to the Youngstown Jewish Community Center was arrested early on Aug. 17. The Youngstown Police, law enforcement in surrounding jurisdictions, and the FBI worked in conjunction to arrest the suspect, James Patrick Reardon, who allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at the Youngstown JCC. He is being held on charges of telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing, according to local reports. A video posted on Instagram last week showed Reardon shooting an assault rifle, accompanied by the sounds of sirens and screams. Under the video Reardon added the caption, “Police identify shooter of Youngstown Jewish Family Center as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon.” The Youngstown JCC was tagged in the post. A search of his home found assault weapons, extra ammunition, a gas mask and other items that were seized, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Reported. The rest of the Instagram account contained many images of Reardon or someone else shooting guns, and “lots of anti-Semitic comments and white nationalist content,” CNN reported. “I am so very grateful to the local FBI and law enforcement for their swift and strong response to this matter and for their continued willingness to keep the lines of communication open at all times,” said Andy Lipkin, executive vice president of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation. “It is because of their efforts that a very positive resolution to this matter has occurred. The positive result here is a clear example of the importance of monitoring social media to identify credible, hate-fueled threats before they are acted on.” PJC
Samuel Heilman is distinguished professor of sociology at Queens College and holds the Proshansky Chair of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Center of CUNY. He is author of “The Rebbe: The Life and the Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson.”
—Toby Tabachnick Discovery extended in Tree of Life case Lawyers for both sides in the case against a man charged with killing 11 Jews at the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, agreed to extend discovery by 120 days. The decision followed a brief meeting between the sides in federal court last week. The defendant did not appear in court but has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty. PJC — Adam Reinherz
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Community Steel City all smiles at JCC Maccabi Games Pittsburgh’s Maccabi delegation participated with more than 1,000 athletes from 45 communities around North America, Central America and Israel. The JCC Maccabi Games are an Olympic-style sporting competition held each summer. Harnessing the power of bringing teens together from all over to emphasize sportsmanship and camaraderie, the annual event is the second largest organized sports program for Jewish teenagers in the world.
p Team Pittsburgh at the Detroit Maccabi Games 2019
u Maccabi swimmers Liam Friedlander, Zev Schrieber, Zoe Zuckerbraun and Hannah Friedlander
p Trey Schachter, Dylan Nauhaus and Ryan Zuckerbraun having fun during the Maccabi Games
p 16 and under boys soccer getting ready to play their first match
22 AUGUST 23, 2019
p Team Pittsburgh and East Bay Boys Basketball 14 and under
PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE
Photos courtesy of JCC of Greater Pittsburgh
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Community Hadassah gathering
Studying with friends
During a recent gathering in which two national convention reports were given, Hadassah Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, Carmel Group, honored several women who are always willing to assume leadership positions.
p Seated: Shirley Zionts, Zandra Goldberg and Sarita Eisner. Standing: Lynda Heyman, Nanette Rosenzweig, Carol Gordon and Susan Mazer
p Karen Coburn, of New Light Congregation, and Carol Lee, of Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church, were among those to participate in Rabbi Jonathan Perlman’s class on scriptural readings for the Jewish High Holidays. Class participants prepared for the upcoming season by investigating how the stories of Abraham, Hannah, Isaiah and Jonah illustrate themes of the Jewish new year.
Photo courtesy of Susan Mazer
Take me out to the ballgame
t Rabbi Jonathan Perlman leading the class
p Members of Temple David enjoyed an evening at PNC Park cheering on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Photo courtesy of Temple David
Macher and Shaker
Photos courtesy of Barry Werber
Baseball and the beard
p Andi Perelman, senior director of new media at Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle board member, was named to the Pittsburgh Business Times’ 30 Under 30 class of 2019. Perelman was selected from among hundreds of nominees. Photo courtesy of Andi Perelman
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p Yitzy Sutofsky and Ashi Itskowitz, right, were among a group of players from Squirrel Hill Baseball Association’s 9U All-Star Team to visit with Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Colin Moran. Captain Redbeard signed autographs and posed with players during the players’ visit to PNC Park.
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Photo by Memories By Mindy Photography
AUGUST 23, 2019 23
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and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE
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