February 19, 2021 | 7 Adar 5781
Candlelighting 5:42 p.m. | Havdalah 6:43 p.m. | Vol. 64, No. 8 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
Camp directors strive for safe and COVID-free summer experiences
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL A tough market
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Charles Goldblum’s life sentence commuted by Gov. Wolf By Toby Tabachnick | Editor
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Soon-to-be grads talk job hunting during COVID
higher now than they were eight months ago, there’s a real difference between summer 2021 and last year, explained Cantor. “We’ve had time to prepare, and learn and relearn about how we have to interact in groups of people,” said Cantor. A playbook for the summer, with protocols and procedures, has been developed and should hopefully be available within the next two weeks, he added. “The health and safety of our families is our first priority,” said Fara Marcus, JCC’s division director of development and strategic marketing. That mindset dictated last summer’s decisions regarding camp — the JCC safely opened and operated J&R, its day camp, during summer 2020 — and will do so again this year, she explained. Rachael Speck, director of J&R Day Camp, has been directing families to the JCC’s website for updates regarding summer 2021. Information regarding meals, before- and after-care, sanitization and staffing is provided. The JCC has not determined yet whether
fter serving almost 45 years in prison for a murder that many are convinced he did not commit, Charles “Zeke” Goldblum has finally been given his freedom. Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a commutation for Goldblum, who had been serving a life sentence for the murder of George Wilhelm. A commutation of a life sentence means a reduction of the sentence to life on parole. Wolf also signed commutations for 12 other clemency applicants serving life sentences. “These 13 individuals have served time for their crimes and deserve now a second chance,” Wolf said in a prepared statement. “They now have a chance to begin a life outside of prison that I hope is fulfilling for each of them.” Goldblum, the son of the late Rabbi Moshe Goldblum who served for 24 years as the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom, had been unanimously recommended by the Board of Pardons in September 2019, but his application was not signed by Wolf until Feb. 11, 2021. Since Goldblum’s incarceration in 1977, several high-profile figures have come out in support of his release, most notably the prosecuting attorney who tried the case, Peter Dixon, and retired U.S. District Judge Donald Ziegler, who presided over the trial. Dixon and Ziegler, as well as renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, all submitted letters or affidavits at various clemency and commutation proceedings throughout the last three decades, claiming that the evidence and extenuating circumstances required that Goldblum be released. Each time Goldblum applied to have his life sentence commuted, Wilhelm’s family asked the Pardons Board to reject his request. At the Sept. 2019 hearing, KDKA reported
Please see Camp, page 14
Please see Zeke, page 14
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here’s snow outside now, but camp directors and other Jewish professionals are thinking about archery, kayaks and rope climbing. With summer camp slated to begin in approximately four months, staff are feverishly preparing for the challenge of operating during a pandemic. Aaron Cantor, director of Emma Kaufmann Camp in Morgantown, West Virginia, has routinely spoken with partners from the Jewish Community Center Association of North America, and has “relied heavily on CDC reports,” he said. Cantor, like other overnight camp directors, is also relying on the American Camp Association’s Field Guide and communicating with professionals who safely opened and operated last summer. In June 2020, the JCC announced that per “West Virginia’s Guidance for Organized Camps,” and its prohibition of groups of more than 25 people, as well as recommendations issued by other local and national authorities, EKC would not operate during summer 2020. Although COVID-19 cases are currently
Photo courtesy of Camp Harlam
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