P I T TS B U R G H
January 25, 2019 | 19 Shevat 5779
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Entrepreneurs aim to create a new Jewish-Arab reality
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Candlelighting 5:12 p.m. | Havdalah 6:14 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 4 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
CDS celebrates King legacy with Afro-Semitic Experience
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and spoke of it from public platforms. In a May 14, 1958, speech delivered to the national convention of the American Jewish Congress, King said: “My people were brought to America in chains. Your people were driven here to escape the chains fashioned for them in Europe. Our unity is born of our common struggle for centuries, not only to rid ourselves of bondage, but to make oppression of any people by others an impossibility.” A few months later, Atlanta’s oldest synagogue was bombed. The suspected perpetrators were white supremacists enraged by the congregation’s and its rabbi’s support for the civil rights movement. Cognizant of the deep ties between the Jewish community and the civil rights movement, the Afro-Semitic Experience was formed 21 years ago, first as a duo co-founded by African-American jazz pianist Warren Byrd and Jewish-American jazz bassist David Chevan. Now a sevenpiece ensemble that has performed across the United States, the band combines an
s the federal government shutdown persists, local Jewish non-profits are stepping up to aid those affected by furloughed employment and missing paychecks. The Hebrew Free Loan Association announced last week that it is making interest-free loans of up to $2,500 available to furloughed federal employees who are residents of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington or Westmoreland Counties. The availability of these loans is a departure from HFL protocol, which typically requires borrowers to have an income in order to be eligible, according to Aviva Lubowsky, HFL’s director of marketing. Because of immediate needs created by the government shutdown, however, the board of HFL voted to make an exception. Although repayment of HFL loans is usually required to begin within 30 days, that time will be extended until furloughed employees are reinstated. In another departure from usual procedures, the loans will be made directly to the borrowers, rather than to the entities providing goods or services the money is intended to cover, said Lubowsky. The HFL loans are available to applicants regardless of religious affiliation. Federal employees who are Jewish can also contact the Jewish Assistance Fund for help, she said. The JAF provides grants for certain necessities and requires no repayment. HFL is “expecting to make a lot more loans,” Lubowsky noted, and because the HFL has “a limited amount of funds,” the agency is “asking for donations from the public.” The JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry, which serves more than 1,200 people living in the 15217 ZIP code and kosher clients from
Please see CDS, page 15
Please see Shutdown, page 15
Page 2 LOCAL NPR reporter talks media
From left: CDS eighth-graders Gabriella Naveh, Lilah Sahud, Gabriela Berger, Nealey Barak and Jonah Rosenberg help lead morning prayer with their music teacher Eileen Freedman and The Afro-Semitic Experience band on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Photo courtesy of Community Day School
Page 3 THEATER A complicated character
Jewish actor takes on role of Willy Wonka. Page 5
Jewish agencies feeling the sting from government shutdown By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
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By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer
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oinciding with the annual observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the kinship between African Americans and Jews was celebrated at Community Day School on Monday, Jan. 21, with a morning concert by The Afro-Semitic Experience, a jazz ensemble based in New Haven, Conn., that blends Afro-diasporic and Jewish music. The concert was attended by the student body, and was open to the public. Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice rang out as one of the most emphatic and effective influences against racism of the 20th century. His 12 years at the helm of domestic civil rights advocacy, with its emphasis on nonviolent resistance, led to more progress toward equality for African Americans than occurred in the previous 350 years, according to The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. He was also a staunch ally to Jews, a steadfast supporter of the State of Israel who vehemently condemned anti-Semitism. King saw a deep connection between African Americans and Jewish Americans,
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