Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 2-15-19

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February 15, 2019 | 10 Adar I 5779

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Candlelighting 5:37 p.m. | Havdalah 6:38 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 7 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Pittsburgh resident featured at State of the Union

Mayim Bialik visits Pittsburgh in solidarity

Congress sang “Happy Birthday” to Holocaust survivor Judah Samet.

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seems like they know each other, and it seems like a giant family.”

These impressions were confirmed by her interactions with representatives of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh.

“I think it’s the greatest collaboration I’ve ever witnessed. It’s really, really sweet,” she said.

After arriving on Friday afternoon, Bialik visited Hillel JUC and met with student leaders from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University, Duquesne University and Community College of Allegheny County.

The pre-sunset event featured vegan appetizers from Elegant Edge Catering and enabled a blend of structured and informal engagement. Prior to Bialik’s address, in which she related childhood anecdotes, her belief in the importance of Jewish communal life and Hillel’s significance in

ince Oct. 27, area law enforcement and first responders have blanketed Pittsburgh’s Jewish community in an unyielding embrace. Last week, community members publicly hugged back.

On Feb. 6, more than 300 attendees joined as Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh celebrated its 72nd annual dinner by honoring those whose “sacrifices and contributions on Oct. 27, 2018,” ensured the safety of Squirrel Hill’s Jewish community, explained Dan Kraut, Hillel’s CEO. Commendations from school officials were followed by laudatory remarks from Mayor Bill Peduto.

“People look for heroes and they look for it in different places, but we’re with heroes here tonight,” said the mayor before calling attention to officers Daniel Mead and Michael Smidga, two of the first responding units to arrive at the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27.

“It should be said there’s very little doubt that had the shooter gotten out of the building, he would have gone to another location. He had other weapons in his vehicle, and he had additional ammunition that he did have to use. These two officers were able to put their life in jeopardy in order to make sure that never happened and those are heroes.”

Joining Mead and Smidga in recognition were members of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, Pittsburgh Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Pittsburgh Public Safety Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At several points throughout the evening speeches were interrupted by thunderous applause for those individually identified and their collective divisions. Being the subject of so many standing ovations was “overwhelming,” said Mead.

“I’m not used to it,” he said. “I’m just an average guy living an average life, and

Please see Bialik, page 20

Please see Hillel, page 20

LOCAL Lessons on loss at JCC

 Mayim Bialik poses with her weekend hosts the Knoll family.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

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By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

LOCAL Shinshinims’ first six months

The teenage Israel emissaries reflect on their time in the Steel City.

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First responders honored at Hillel Academy dinner

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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A new exhibit on gun violence has a sobering message.

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ayim Bialik, a neuroscientist, actor, author, mom and vlogger best known for her role as Amy Farrah Fowler in the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” visited Pittsburgh last weekend to demonstrate solidarity with the city’s Jewish community.

Spurred by the events of Oct. 27, Bialik reached out shortly after the massacre to offer condolences and assistance. Through discussions with Pittsburgh’s Jewish communal leaders, it was determined the actor’s presence would be most appreciated months later. So last week Bialik traveled from Los Angeles to the Steel City for Shabbat and a series of weekend programs with local organizations.

In an interview prior to her arrival, Bialik said that although this was her first trip to Pittsburgh, she was excited to learn more about the city’s quirks and charm.

“I sort of read as much as I could” about Squirrel Hill, she said, in the days following Oct. 27. “What I can say is that everybody

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Headlines Pittsburgh resident featured at State of the Union — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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ittsburgh resident Judah Samet recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he was both the guest of the White House and feted by members of Congress at the 2019 State of the Union Address. During the Feb. 5 event, President Donald Trump singled out Samet.

“Tonight, we are also joined by Pittsburgh survivor Judah Samet,” the president said.

“He arrived at the synagogue as the massacre began. But not only did Judah narrowly escape death last fall — more than seven decades ago, he narrowly survived the Nazi concentration camps.”

After Trump announced “today is Judah’s 81st birthday,” attendees sang “Happy Birthday” as Trump mimicked being a conductor.

Now back in Pittsburgh, Samet described the moment as “unbelievable.”

“One of the top assistants to Donald Trump said to me, ‘Judah, we just made history. There was never any singing in Congress. You are the first one.’”

Samet recalled another aide telling him, “Judah, you united the country for two minutes. While they were singing, you have united the country like nobody ever has.”

Apart from the “wonderful” attention he received during the address, the hours beforehand were also enjoyable, said Samet. During a visit to the Oval Office, he had the opportunity to speak with the president. Samet told him, “Baruch atah Hashem Eloheinu melech ha’olam shehalk mikvodo l’basar vadam, God who shares His

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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES Evan Indianer, Chairman Andrew Schaer, Vice Chairman Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary Jonathan Bernstein, Treasurer David Ainsman, Immediate Past Chairman Gail Childs, Elizabeth F. Collura, Milton Eisner, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Tracy Gross, Richard J. Kitay, Cátia Kossovsky, Andi Perelman, David Rush, Charles Saul

p Holocaust survivor Judah Samet

honor with a human being and that’s you, Mr. President.”

“And then I also told him chazak ve’ematz, which means ‘be strong and courageous,’” Samet recalled. “I explained to him, this is what Moses told Joshua, when he handed him the mantle and he proceeded and got up on top of the mountain where he died.”

At the conclusion of the exchange, Samet said, “they usually have one handshake.

[Trump] turned to me, shook my hand twice, and he thanked me.”

Other moments of the trip were also memorable, like meeting First Lady Melania Trump and speaking about European borders, he added. The First Lady is “very

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Photo courtesy of the White House

cordial” and “very nice,” said Samet. He also spent time with other members of Trump’s family.

“I met Ivanka and Jared and we almost became buddies. I said, ‘You know, Ivanka, as a convert, you are beloved by God more than he loves the most righteous. It says in the Talmud that when a convert passes, his soul comes closer to God than the most righteous do.’ She loved it. She told it to Jared.”

In visiting the nation’s capital, Samet said he only experienced one discomfort.

After entering the House Chamber wearing his yarmulke, the Holocaust survivor was approached by a “worker” who told him “nobody wears a hat here,” Samet said.

The octogenarian removed his yarmulke and speculated why he would be asked to uncover his head.

“I don’t know, maybe they’re afraid that somebody might hide something in his yarmulke. I don’t know how you can hide because you go through so much security,” said Samet. “I regretted that I took it off ... I wear this Bukharian yarmulke all the time.

A part of it is because I came from a very Chasidic family and as I’m getting older, I’m becoming a little bit more Orthodox, and the other reason is it keeps my head warm.”

Other than that, however, Samet said he appreciated the opportunities afforded in Washington, D.C., such as meeting fellow Pittsburgher and State of the Union special guest Officer Timothy Matson, who was injured in the Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree of Life building.

Ultimately, there were “two aims” in going to Washington, explained Samet.

“I wanted to raise the kavod [honor] for the Jewish people, first of all, which I think I believe I succeeded from the accolades that I’m receiving all over wherever I go, you know, people thank me and so forth. And the second thing was I wanted to raise the knowledge about Pittsburgh. Some people still think Pittsburgh is a coal town. They don’t know that Pittsburgh has become a powerhouse of technology.”

Additionally, with Purim being so close, the Jewish holiday was also on the survivor’s mind.

“I was thinking about Esther and Mordechai, how they saved the Jews of Persia and the Persian Empire.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines One hundred years later, Yiddish play still relevant to Jewish Pittsburgh — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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century after the groundbreaking Yiddish drama “God of Revenge”

by Sholem Asch was performed at the Schenley Theater in Oakland (where Hillman Library now stands), the controversial play again was resonating with members of Jewish Pittsburgh.

During a Feb. 11 roundtable reading and discussion of Paula Vogel’s Tony Awardwinning play “Indecent,” which will have its regional premiere at the Pittsburgh Public Theater in April, seven actors brought to life the story of the Jewish playwright and the actors who dared to break with the artistic mores of the American stage of the 1920s.

The reading, held at the Senator John Heinz History Center, was preceded by a snapshot of the vibrant Yiddish theater scene in Pittsburgh in the early 20th century, delivered by Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives. Through archival records, Lidji showed the significant scope and vitality of Yiddish theater here and its impact on connecting Pittsburgh’s 55,000 Jews to art and to each other.

p The actors from the Pittsburgh Public Theater read excerpts from “Indecent.”

Photo by Toby Tabchnick

More commonly translated as “God of Vengeance,” the drama featured the first same-sex kiss between women on Broadway, the desecration of a Torah, and was set in a brothel. “Indecent” chronicles that play from its origin in 1907 Warsaw, through its successful tour of Europe, its enthusiastic reception at a Greenwich Village theater, to its premiere, and then closure, at the Apollo Theater on Broadway, when it was shut down by the vice squad and its actors and producers arrested and successfully

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prosecuted for obscenity.

It is set against a backdrop of Jewish persecution in Europe, Jewish immigration quotas in the U.S., and the tenuous tightrope early 20th-century Jews walked between melding into American culture while retaining their own.

“Indecent” covers a lot of geographical, chronological and existential territory, asking not only what it means to be an artist, but what it means to be a Jew. It underscores issues of anti-Semitism, homophobia and censorship.

“When I first read this play, I was struck by

the way it honors this extraordinary moment in history,” said Marya Sea Kaminski, artistic director of the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

“God of Revenge” came to Pittsburgh in 1920, three years before the obscenity trial, with a touring company that included world-renown actor Rudolph Schildkraut, Lidji said. He described what it must have been like for the Jews of Pittsburgh to head to Oakland to see “one of the most famous actors in the world” perform a play written by “one of the most famous playwrights.”

One hundred years later, members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community — including congregants from the synagogues targeted in the Oct. 27 massacre, heads of local Jewish organizations, university scholars, artists and members of the LGBTQ community — discussed the themes emerging from the 45-minute reading of “Indecent” and their significance.

That Asch was the first Jewish playwright to be produced on Broadway, and his play was closed down for obscenity, resonated with attendees. Jewish characters in “Indecent” worry about Asch’s play representing Jews in a negative light, and as a result, fanning the flames of anti-Semitism.

Please see Yiddish, page 24

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Headlines Speaker at Unitarian church promotes end of Israel as a Jewish state — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnik | Senior staff writer

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Jewish activist promoting a one-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, which would effectively put an end to Israel as a Jewish state, was in Pittsburgh last week hoping to gain support for his initiative.

Jeff Halper, the founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions — a group “dedicated to ending the Israeli Occupation” — gave a presentation on Sunday, Feb. 3 at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh on Morewood Avenue to a mostly receptive crowd, despite his opinions teetering on the line between anti-Zionism and what most mainstream Jewish institutions would consider anti-Semitism.

His talk was peppered with conspiracy theories against Israel, and false statistics he presented as facts.

In addition to labeling Israel a “colonial-settler enterprise” and an “apartheid state,” Halper accused Israel of being responsible for much global unrest, connecting Israel to several shady undertakings, including arming the rebel groups in Syria,

p Jeff Halper

Photo by Toby Tabachnick

being “involved with the Kurds,” “involved with Saudi Arabia” and partly responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, pointing to Israel’s purported sale of “eavesdropping equipment” to the Saudis, according to a video recording of the event.

“Israel has publicly taken the side of the Sunnis in the Sunni-Shiite Muslim civil war, basically,” Halper alleged. “In many ways, Israel has become the hegemon, the leader of the Sunni Arab world.”

Israel, he charged, is a country with a

“laboratory that has millions of people that it can literally experiment on. I know it’s hard to say that with all the connotations, but it’s true. You can’t explain the disproportionate attack of the Israel army on Gaza repeatedly by the actual military threat. Those primitive rockets of Hamas that have killed three people over the last 20 years do not pose the military threat that would justify the destruction of Gaza and the use of the whole arsenal that Israel has employed. The only way you can explain it is it is a testing ground for the development and perfection of weapons of wars against the people.”

Palestinians are not responsibile for any of the turbulence in Israel, he said.

“The Palestinians are the guinea pigs, and the people that are in Gaza are simply people who live in a laboratory that are on the receiving end of this type of weaponry. But the whole point of this weaponry is to export it. It is the basis of the Israeli economy.”

Halper proposes abandoning hope for a two-state solution and uniting the Palestinians and Israelis into one state instead, granting all Palestinian refugees the right of return.

If that were to occur, Jews in Israel would no longer be a majority, but that is the point, according to Halper. To be a true democracy, he said, Israel must shed its identity as a Jewish state.

“Our job is crystal clear,” he said. “It is to transform an apartheid regime into a democratic state of equal rights for all its citizens which should not be such a hard sell in the United States.”

He has formed a group along with “about 50 Palestinians and about 20 or 25 Israeli Jews” called the One Democratic State Campaign to promote his plan. At the conclusion of his presentation, he “passed the hat” seeking donations to the group.

Not everyone in attendance agreed with Halper’s narrative of the Israel/ Palestinian conflict.

Halper is “working for the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel and the promotion of what will turn out to be a majority Palestinian state,” said attendee David Ainsman. “He is blaming Israel for many of the world’s woes.”

During a Q&A following Halper’s lecture, one audience member commented: “The real problem is the Jewish people and the way the Jewish people conceive of themselves.”

In response, another audience member shouted: “That’s anti-Semitism. You went over a line.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Life, loss and neighborhood explored in gun violence exhibit — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff writer

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new exhibit at the American Jewish Museum shares an uncomfortably familiar story. “I Lived, We Live: What Did We Miss?” narrates a tale of those lost to gun violence and the family and friends left sheltering the emotional burdens. The exhibit, through images, video and mementos, highlights residents of the Hazelwood neighborhood.

“There’s no adequate way of memorializing these losses,” said Melissa Hiller, director of the museum, which is located in the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

But because the exhibit is “powerful and aesthetically high-quality, it was a no-brainer that we wanted it here.”

Prior to its display in the JCC’s Robinson Building, the exhibit appeared for almost two years at Center of Life, a “community-empowerment organization” located in Hazelwood.

Rev. Tim Smith, Center of Life’s founder, was inspired to create the exhibit after discovering the Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Keeping Tabs Holocaust Sculpture at Community Day School, he explained.

After discussions with CDS and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, he was inspired to memorialize Hazelwood’s victims

of gun violence. In 2017, with the assistance of Carnegie Mellon University School of Design professors Kristin Hughes and Dylan Vitone, Smith and 33 CMU students partnered with 28 Hazelwood residents to develop a narrative of human loss and communal evolution.

“We learned a lot about our differences and our similarities, our values for family,” said Smith. “We learned a lot about how different people were educated, our value system, why we believe what we believe.”

Once the collective was broken into smaller groups, they developed “even more significant relationships,” as the parties visited each other’s homes, dined together and even shared cooking techniques, he added.

Cultural heterogeneity in Hazelwood isn’t new, as the exhibit demonstrates through decades-old photographs, including one depicting a racially diverse scene of school-age children walking past neighbors.

Understanding Hazelwood’s history is an important aspect of experiencing the exhibit, explained Hiller.

Following its incorporation into the City of Pittsburgh in 1869, Hazelwood — a woodland lined with hazelnut trees along the Monongahela River — transformed into a center for steel, iron and related economic opportunities. In 2009, a CMU report characterized the neighborhood “during the height of industrial production” as “a bustling, diverse, ‘city within a city’ where two-thirds of residents

p “I lived. We Live. What Did We Miss?” exhibit is currently on display at the American Jewish Museum in the JCC. Photo by Adam Reinherz

lived within a 2-mile radius of their workplace.”

After 1960, though, Hazelwood experienced an economic decline. Today, conditions reflect the “cumulative years of disinvestment.”

“I Lived, We Live: What Did We Miss?” reveals this transformation through signage and materials from area businesses. But the exhibit’s primary emphasis is on the simultaneity of life and loss as chronicled through vignettes and empty frames.

A 13-minute video provides snapshots of Hazelwood residents as they hold jewelry, shoes and other keepsakes that once belonged to loved ones felled by gun violence.

The filmmakers move rapidly between interviewees, but each voice, imbued with such vulnerability, has tremendous impact. This is intentional. Emotion is at the heart of the collection, explained Hiller.

A panel at the center of the exhibit reads: “There is no good reason to bury a child. There is no justification for why this unnatural act has become normal in Hazelwood. Here, we recognize the countless individuals who have felt the pain of saying goodbye to loved ones whose lives were cut short by street violence. Their stories of loss encourage us to share our own, and through this exchange, we take part in something bigger than ourselves. We become a community empowered by our vulnerability, something bigger than ourselves. We become a community empowered by our vulnerability, strengthened from our compassion, and engaged with the issues that matter to us.”

To the left of the panel is a collection of empty picture frames. Each one represents a memory that will never get made.

On the whole, the exhibit serves as a call to action. “Neighbor is not a geographical term, but a moral concept,” said Hiller, who is available for guided tours of the free exhibit, which is up through May 28.

Smith feels the same way. “It’s important to get to know people and community so that they can understand the truth,” he said. “I think that as we do that, even in our cross-community relationships, we will begin to break down all kinds of walls that have been built up because of fear and misinformation.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Calendar q FRIDAY, FEB. 15 TO SUNDAY, FEB. 17 Temple Sinai will hold a Scholar-in-Residence Weekend with Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, author of “Writing the Wayward Wife: Rabbinic Interpretations of Sotah” and the editor of “The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality.”

Visit TempleSinaiPGH.org for the complete schedule of programs and events.

>> 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.

Amendment and the Jewish view of bearing arms. The series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation.

q SATURDAY, FEB. 16

Chabad of the South Hills will hold a lunch for seniors and a presentation on fall prevention at noon. There is a suggested donation of $5. RSVP to 412-278-2658 or visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/healthy for more information.

SHARP Dance Company, a Philadelphiabased modern dance company, will be performing a benefit show for the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue building shooting beginning at 8:00 p.m. at The Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, 423 Fox Chapel Road. “Spreading Love Conquering Hate” will consist of several exciting dance pieces including the 2018 collaborative dance project “Puzzle” co-choreographed by Joe Cotler (Koresh Dance Company Member) and Diane Sharp-Nachsin (Artist Director of SHARP) and “669” which was inspired by the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a man who saved 669 children from the Holocaust.

All proceeds will be donated to the victims’ families. Visit sharpdance.org for tickets and more information. q SUNDAY, FEB. 17 The Lunar New Year Parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Phillips and Murray avenues. Steel Dragon Kung Fu & Lion Dance will begin the festivities with a traditional Chinese blessing ritual. Pan-Asian cultural organizations in costumes and uniforms will showcase their crafts marching up Murray toward Darlington Street. Weaving in and out will be Chinese dragon lines, lion dance teams and Thai fire-eaters. The Pittsburgh Allderdice Marching Band will be keeping the rhythm, and Pittsburgh Minadeo K-5 will show how a young dragon team can rock the line.

Dragonboat teams Pittsburgh Paddlefish and Hearts of Steel will share what makes them strong and resilient in the three rivers. The Lunar New Year Parade is free and open to the community. Visit shuc.org/lunar-newyear-2019 for more information.

Congregation Dor Hadash will present a lecture on “Anti-Semitic and Other Hate Violence: The Current Context, Perpetrators and the Role of Social Media” presented by Kathleen Blee, distinguished professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, at 3 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Levy Hall. Blee has researched and published widely about the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and other white supremacist groups. In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh massacre, she will discuss how such groups have fomented racist and anti-Semitic violence in the U.S. over the past century. Registration is required by contacting admin@dorhadash.net. q MONDAY, FEB. 18 Beth El Congregation will host the third evening of the Speaker Series with professor Jules Lobel and Rabbi Alex Greenbaum at 7 p.m. for a discussion on the Second

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q TUESDAY, FEB. 19

Chabad of Squirrel Hill will host Farbrengen, an evening to say l’chaim together, hear inspirational words by Lou Weiss and Farrel Buchinsky on living a joyous life and sing lively Chasidic niggunim (melodies) led by the Davidson brothers and accompanied

by Aaron Berger on the violin and Rabbi Yitzchak Cowen on the piano. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Squirrel Hill, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. There is a $10 charge.

Visit chabadpgh.com/farbreng for more information.’ q WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20 All seniors are invited to come and singa-long with the Jewish Community Center Chorus, at the regular monthly meeting of the Squirrel Hill AARP at 1 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Falk Library. The meeting will include information on legislative matters concerning seniors, current health report and business meeting.

Crochet chemotherapy hat patterns will be available; if you have a knitted pattern, please bring to share. The chapter would appreciate donations of used eyeglasses, cell phones with chargers and new travel size toiletries to provide to nonprofit organizations. If the Pittsburgh Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the AARP meeting is cancelled. Contact Marcia Kramer at 412-7313338 for more information.

Moishe House will hold a mediocre skill share for showing off some mediocre or useless skills of your own from 7 to 9 p.m.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults, ages 22-32.

Park: Chicago’s Once and Future Jewish Neighborhood.” The documentary highlights successful urban improvement strategies that can be applied in Squirrel Hill to fuel positive change and keep the neighborhood desirable for future Jewish generations. The program is free of charge. The community is encouraged to attend. Visit jccpgh.org/event/whatsquirrel-hill-can-learn-from-chicagos-westrogers-park-at-the-jcc for more information.

Mahj and Martini with NA’AMAT Pittsburgh at Rodef Shalom Congregation will be held every third Thursday of the month from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. All ages, genders and levels are welcome. If you don’t know how to play and want to learn, this is perfect for you.

RSVP to provide enough tables and martinis.

Donations accepted to cover the costs.

Contact Jackie Braslawsce at naamatpgh@ gmail.com or 412-303-5769 for more information. q THURSDAYS, FEB. 21-MARCH 28 Chabad of the South Hills will host Kids in the Kitchen Cooking: For Shabbat From A-Z at 5:30 p.m. for ages 3 to 11. Each class includes the cooking segment, fun and hands-on learning on Jewish topics and oneon-one Hebrew Alef-Bet and reading. An adult must accompany the 3-year-olds. There is a charge. Contact mussie@chabadsh.com or 412-344-2424 or visit chabadsh.com/jkc for more information and to register.

performance features the full Verdi Requiem with the chorus and soloists accompanied by a single piano, as it was in Terezín. The Defiant Requiem Foundation, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Music and the Penn State Altoona Department of Arts and Humanities, with funding from the Gretchen M. Brooks University Residency Project are presenting this performance. Visit https://www.iup. edu/event-detail.aspx?id=257771 for more information.

Beth Shalom Congregation will hold Clues & Schmooze (with some booze), a fundraising and fun trivia event, including a raffle, open bar and snacks. Trivia will be in teams of 3-6 players. Bring your own team or be matched up at the door. Registration and drinks start at 7:45 p.m. and trivia games start at 8:15 p.m.

The charge is $25 per person in advance, $40 per person at the door. Visit tinyurl.com/ clues2019 for more information. q SUNDAY, FEB. 24 Join Moishe House and I-Volunteer to pack medical supplies for targeted communities in need throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Come to MoHo at 12:15 p.m. for rides, or meet us at Global Links, 700 Trumbull Drive, 15205 at 1 p.m. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults, ages 22-32.

q FRIDAY, FEB. 22

q MONDAY, FEB. 25

Moishe House Murder Mystery Shabbat will be held from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Come on over for an elaborate game of “whodunit,” and try to solve the mystery (in character) before the killer gets you. As Agatha Christie once put it, “let us drink, laugh and make Kiddish. For tomorrow we die, or who knows - perhaps even tonight!” Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults, ages 22-32.

Beth El Congregation will host the fourth evening of the Speaker Series with Rabbi Danny Schiff at 7 p.m. speaking on “The Countercultural Power of Humility.” This series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Enjoy one evening or all.

Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation.

q SATURDAY, FEB. 23 “Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at Fisher Auditorium, 403 S. 11th Street, Indiana, Pa. The concert/ drama commemorates the Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II who performed Verdi’s Requiem 16 times, as an act of defiance and resistance to their Nazi captors. Defiant Requiem is a complete live performance of Verdi’s Requiem interspersed with historic film, testimony from survivors and narration that tells this tale of bravery. This

q THURSDAY, FEB. 21 Steve Manns, fitness coordinator at the Jewish Community Center South Hills, will present Fitness Foundations at 7 p.m. There is no charge. Visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh. org/healthy for more information.

What Squirrel Hill Can Learn from West Rogers Park will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. Former Federation of Greater Pittsburgh president and CEO Howard Rieger will discuss making Squirrel Hill a better place to live during the program, which will begin with a 25-minute documentary by Beverly Siegel entitled “Driving West Rogers

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q THURSDAY, FEB. 28 Moishe House will hold game night from 7 to 9 p.m. Whether you long for the days of Pinball and Pac Man, or you prefer a quiet round of Go Fish, Victory Pointe is the place for you. Come to the house at 6:15 p.m. for rides or meet at Victory Pointe, 1113 E. Carson St. at 7 p.m. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults, ages 22-32.

Please see Calendar, page 7

q SUNDAY, MARCH 3 Temple Sinai Brotherhood Brunch with Christina Cassotis will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cassotis, CEO of Allegheny County Airport Authority, will speak on “Pittsburgh International Airport’s Terminal Modernization Plan: Building for the Region’s Future,” following an introduction by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. The charge is $10 pre-registration; $18 at the door. Contact Todd Miller at toddprmktg@gmail.com or 412-848-1082 for more information or visit templesinaipgh. org/brotherhood-brunch-guest-speakerchristina-cassotis.

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7 LOCAL

Calendar Calendar:

q MONDAY, MARCH 4 Continued from page 6

q SATURDAY, MARCH 2 JCC Big Night University, the 13th annual Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s fundraiser, will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the JCC Annual Fund.

Visit jccpgh.org/donate-support-jcc/bignight-2019 for more information. q SUNDAY, MARCH 3 Join the Youth Department and the Beth Shalom Men’s Club to watch the Pitt Women’s Basketball Team vs. Louisville, at 1:45 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace Street. Cost is $5, with tickets to be paid for and picked up in advance at Beth Shalom. RSVP by February 8 to Marissa Tait at youthdirector@bethshalompgh.org.

Chabad of the South Hills will hold its annual Jewish Comedy Night to bring time to laugh, heal and remember, at 7 p.m. at the Music Hall at the Carnegie Free Library, 300 Beechwood Ave. in Carnegie. The evening features Sarge a singer, comedian and piano savant. Enjoy wine, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The charge is $25 for the early bird special, which includes priority reserved seating, and $36 without. For more information and to RSVP visit chabadsh.com or mussie@chabadsh.com or 412-344-2424.

Beth El will host the fifth evening of the Speaker Series with Rabbi Danny Schiff discussing Israel’s Nation State Law, A Loving Critique at 7 p.m. The series is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation. q SUNDAY, MARCH 10 Children ages 3-12 are invited to an afternoon of pre-Purim fun, from 1 to 2:15 p.m. at Chabad of Squirrel Hill, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Children will bake festive hamantashen to take home and to donate and will enjoy a special ventriloquist/puppet show following the baking activity. The cost is $10 per child; reservations are required by March 7 at chabadpgh.com/kidscooking. q MONDAY, MARCH 11 Beth El Congregation will host the final evening of the Winter Speaker Series with Dr. Karen Wolk Feinstein at 7 p.m. She will discuss “What is Jewish Healthcare and how do you build a foundation around it?” This evening is free and starts with a wine and cheese reception. Visit bethelcong.org to make a reservation. q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 Women are invited to an afternoon of food for body, mind and soul at Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s ladies’ lunch and learn from

q SUNDAY, MARCH 17 Congregation Beth Shalom’s Purim Carnival, “Purim in Space,” will be held from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. For $10 each you can enjoy lunch, games and crafts and a trip across the universe. Contact Youth Director Marissa Tait at 412-421-2288, ext. 463 for more information.

noon to 1:15 p.m. with lunch and a lesson on the Kabbalah of time presented by Leah Herman at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. The cost is $18; reservations must be made by March 12 at chabadpgh.com/lunch.

“Ten Matchboxes” will be performed from 7 to 8 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation.

A poor teacher, 10 empty matchboxes and the ability we all have to use our imagination is the setting for Janusz Korczak’s story of decency, honor and the acceptance of each other’s differences. Israeli actor and teaching artist Amichai Pardo of the Orna Porat Theater will star in this performance, which is suitable for ages 8 and up. The

performance is sponsored by Classrooms Without Borders. There is no charge. Visit classroomswithoutborders.org/events/show. php?216 for more information. q THURSDAY, MARCH 14 Chabad of Squirrel Hill will host a Loaves of Love event for women from 7 to 9 p.m. at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Amy Weiss will lead participants in challah-making, and Sue Berman will demonstrate Purim challah shapes. The cost is $10; reservations are required by March 12 at chabadpgh. com/lol. PJC

PHILIP CHOSKY PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM PRESENTS

Richard E. Rauh Senior High Musical 2019 Directed by Jill Machen Thursday, February 14

7:30 PM

Saturday, February 16

8:00 PM

Sunday, February 17

2:00 PM

Wednesday, February 20

7:30 PM

Thursday, February 21

7:30 PM

Saturday, February 23

8:00 PM

$8/General; $6/Students & Seniors Available in advance at the Centerfit Desk, lower level, Kaufmann Building At the door 30 minutes before show starts JCC of Greater Pittsburgh Katz Performing Arts Center 5738 Darlington Road • Call 412-697-3520 for more information.

Call 412-697-3520 for tickets PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

FEBRUARY 15, 2019 7

8

Headlines Black Jewish actress plays title role in Kinetic Theatre’s “Octoroon” — THEATER —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

O

ffensive blackface imagery has been ubiquitous recently, from revelations about various politicians wearing blackface as students (Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark R. Herring) to Gucci’s black knit balaclava embellished by bright red lips that spurred a boycott of the company’s “blackface fashion” (Gucci has since issued an apology and pulled the sweaters). To make matters more complicated, all of this has come to the fore during Black History Month.

Blackface will be used this month at Pittsburgh’s Kinetic Theatre — but this time to make a point about racism and stereotypes in the award-winning play “An Octoroon.”

The play, which will be performed at the New Hazlett Theater on Pittsburgh’s North Side from Feb. 15-24, “uses a historical lens to satirize and comment on issues of race and class in modern culture,” said Andrew Paul, the producer of the Kinetic Theatre in an email. “Not for the faint of heart, the production contains scenes wherein actors of different races appear in white face, red face, and blackface to accentuate the author’s message. I’ve seen the play twice in performance and find it mesmerizing.”

An “octoroon” is a person who is one-eighth black, and the play, written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, is adapted from Irish playwright Dion Boucicault’s 19th-century melodrama set on a cotton plantation in Louisiana. The plot of the new play remains true to Boucicault’s original script: The owner of a plantation has died, and his estate is in financial ruins. When his nephew arrives as heir apparent, he falls in love with Zoe, a beautiful octoroon.

p Sarah Hollis performs as Zoe in “An Octoroon” at Pittsburgh’s Kinetic Theatre.

rehearsing the show. Her father, she said, is an African-American Unitarian minister, who also embraces Judaism and attends Shabbat services weekly at a Conservative congregation in Boston.

Hollis grew up in the 1990s when “it wasn’t extremely popular to be a child of mixed race,” she said. “Until recently, you didn’t see as many interracial relationships as you see now. And it was different growing up. You didn’t see as many kids who were mixed.”

“ We can all don a face to fit in, and we also all have our own struggles with racism. ‘An Octoroon’ asks you to go deeply inside yourself and take off

”

your mask.

— SARAH HOLLIS In Kinetic’s production, Zoe is played by Los Angeles-based actress Sarah Hollis, who is half-black and “fully Jewish.”

“My mom is Jewish, I had a bat mitzvah, and I went to Hebrew school three days a week,” said Hollis, in Pittsburgh last week

She was raised “predominately around Jewish and white kids, and not really connected to my African American history until I got much older. I didn’t go to ‘black school’; I went to Hebrew school.” As a result, she tended as a child to identify most

prominently with the struggle of the Jews and their history.

Although the relationship between blacks and Jews has been fraught at times, the two communities share much in common, she noted, including the fact that, until fairly recently, Jews were not viewed in America as white.

Still, blacks and Jews have “differentiated from one another to assimilate” into white America, she said. “I have had to embrace both sides.”

While scrolling through Instagram last week, Hollis saw the Gucci sweaters, and was reminded of the controversy with Prada figurines resembling black caricatures that hit the shelves last December. Both incidents created a social media uproar.

Blackface, although “shocking” now, has long been part of American history, she pointed out.

“Look at [the 1915 film] ‘Birth of a Nation,’” Hollis said. “People were in blackface; that was not an irregular way to portray people of color because they couldn’t be hired all the time.” In fact, she noted, Boucicault’s original play “would have been performed in blackface.”

“We can all don a face to fit in, and we also all have our own struggles with racism,” Hollis said. “‘An Octoroon’ asks you to go deeply inside yourself and take off your mask.

There is an intolerance we can relate to in all

Photo provided by Sarah Hollis

of us. As much as we want to be tolerant of all people, even being intolerant of intolerant people shows a level of intolerance.”

The play, which is a comedy, “makes people uncomfortable in what they find funny,” she said. “It is a little shocking and it is not suitable for children.”

While the subject of the play is “race in America today as seen through the prism of race in America circa 1859,” its topic “feels so current,” Paul explained. “Right now, we have the governor of Virginia facing calls to resign because of a medical school yearbook photo in blackface. We have actor Liam Neeson confronting outrage over comments he made about an ugly racial incident from his youth. This topic is so huge and so potentially inflammatory, and yet Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins has chosen to address it and confront our preconceptions about race and identity. The play is at times both laugh-out-loud funny and purposefully offensive but ultimately forces its audience to come face to face with its own prejudices.”

“An Octoroon” was recently named

by The New York Times as “One of the 25 Most Important Plays of the Past 25 Years,” and won an OBIE Award in 2014 for Best New Play. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 8 FEBRUARY 15, 2019

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9

Headlines Six months in, shinshinim reflect on service — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

F

ive months after arriving with little knowledge of the Steel City, Pittsburgh’s shinshinim consider the community home. Friendships and relationships developed in day-to-day activities have bolstered Hadar Maravent and Raz Levin’s affinity for the city of bridges while facilitating the aims of their year-long volunteer service program.

Maravent and Levin are teenage emissaries who — through support of the Jewish Agency of Israel and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh — deferred their Israeli army service in order to connect the community with Israel and Israeli culture.

Through regular visits to Community Day School, J-JEP, J-Line, Temple Sinai and other area organizations and synagogues, Maravent and Levin have created tangible bonds between the Jewish state and local residents, explained Kim Saltzman, director of Israel and Overseas Operations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

The demand for Maravent and Levin’s involvement in communal activities has been exceptionally high, added Shani Turel, Federation’s shinshinim coordinator.

For their part — even with six-day

workweeks — the shinshinim are pleased with how the year has gone.

“In a lot of the places that we went, I felt like we are the live connection to Israel,” said Levin. For local youth, interactions with Maravent and Levin are often “the first time that they could speak freely to Israelis who are more or less their age.”

They both felt providing such a platform was particularly significant in light of recent events.

Immediately after Oct. 27, “it was really important for me to see the kids that I work with, or the teenagers that I work with, or the teachers that I work with or to reach out to make a phone call,” said Maravent.

These actions were mutually beneficial, she explained.

“I felt my impact. I felt that I had people here that I have connections with. I felt like I was meaningful here, like that these relationships are meaningful to me too, really to feel like I was a part of something here and not just the guest. I’m not just a visitor.”

The tragedy also provided a new understanding between the community and Israelis, explained Levin.

“It made people understand the pain that Israelis are going through,” said Levin.

“When we speak about terror attacks, people have a different connection with it now than it was before the shooting happened.”

Having worked tirelessly since their August

Support for the shinshinim has been tremendous, said Saltzman.

Moving forward, creating relationships with the shinshinim will become easier, as the program will welcome four participants next year, added Turel. “[Maravent] and [Levin] have really been working around the clock and trying to reach out and meet as many kids and youth” as possible, said the Federation staffer. “We’ve learned that we’ve been spreading them out thinly.”

Having four people will enable the shinshinim “to invest more in personal connections and in their specific p Raz and Hadar enjoy the first snow.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh lines of work, instead of trying to do everything.”

But Maravent clarifies that they’re not too arrival, the shinshinim are scheduled to return home to their families for a two-week busy to be accessible.

“For anyone that wants to talk to us, to ask break. After that, the teenagers will begin work on upcoming Yom Hazikaron and Yom anything, please reach out. We’re more than Ha’atzmaut programs, said Saltzman. Then available. We are more than happy to just talk they’ll spend the summer on staff at Emma over a cup of coffee with whoever wants or feels Kaufmann Camp. When they’re done here, like they want to ask anything in the world.”

Informal get-togethers have been successful Maravent and Levin will return home to begin army service. In the meantime, they’re engagement mechanisms, echoed Levin.

“Kids and youth are curious and they glad to be having this experience.

“I want people to know that we are grateful always keep asking us questions. It’s and appreciative to the role that the community really fun.” PJC lets us take their in their lives,” said Maravent.

Seeing the community come together and Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ embrace them was “beautiful,” added Levin. pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

After Freedom to Marry, much work remains, says Wolfson — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

T

he battle for marriage equality for LGBT people in the United States was won in 2015 with the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, but the fight for gay rights is far from over, according to Squirrel Hill native Evan Wolfson, the founder of the Freedom to Marry Campaign that helped win marriage rights nationwide.

Wolfson, who lives in New York City, returned to his hometown last week to speak at Temple Emanuel of South Hills on “Making More Progress for Gay & Transgender People in our Community, Pennsylvania, the U.S. and the World: What Can We Do?” The event was presented on Feb. 7 by Temple Emanuel’s LGBTQ+ Task Force.

Wolfson, an internationally recognized civil rights lawyer and the author of “Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry” (Simon & Schuster, July 2004), spoke to the Chronicle prior to the event, explaining that although LGBT people have won the freedom to marry as a matter of law, “and more than a million gay people have gotten married in the United States, the marriage conversation is not over.”

“It’s not something you win and then you put it on a shelf and move to the next thing,” said Wolfson, who now teaches courses related to social change at both Georgetown Law School and Yale. “The marriage conversation remains an important engine of transformation, an important way of building more

p Evan Wolfson

Photo provided

visibility, more empathy, more connection, more acceptance, and so we need to continue that conversation, and then harness it to the other important work still in front of us.”

That work, he said, includes not only safeguarding marriage equality, but continuing to fight against the discrimination and exclusion of gay and transgender people.

Those fights must not be limited to marriage and family rights, Wolfson said, but should extend to standing up against discrimination in “employment, in housing, in places of public accommodation — which are basically opportunities to participate in businesses or services or even bathrooms.”

Ultimately, he said, LGBT people “don’t just want good laws, we want good lives,” which moves the work beyond the legal and the political, and into the social.

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“It’s about making sure that young people, no matter where they are growing up, don’t feel isolated, don’t feel fearful, but are actually able to dream big of participating fully in society,” he said. “And we want older people to be safe and secure, not to have to be forced into the closet again in order to find a facility where they can live or get needed medical care. It’s really about continuing to grow the acceptance and happiness of all people throughout the country, and indeed, of course, throughout the world.”

Wolfson’s Freedom to Marry campaign shut down in 2016 following its landmark victory. Since then, Wolfson has been assisting other progressive organizations and causes in the U.S. and abroad, “taking the lessons and elements of success from our campaign and adapting them to the other important battles,” he said.

Those battles include working on behalf of the LGBT community for non-discrimination laws “and working to prevent the impact from the Trump/Pence administration aiming at rolling some of them back.”

Wolfson has also provided guidance to groups advocating for gun control, immigration, women’s rights, health care and the environment in the U.S., he said, as well as organizations in other parts of the world seeking the freedom to marry.

Although those causes are important to him, he said, it is even more important for him and others to “work to get our country back on track.”

“It’s not just that there are so many communities and values under assault that we have to stand up for, but we also need to work to restore our democracy and reinvigorate our

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

politics and our commitment to government for the good, and get rid of this atrocious treacherous Trump/Pence regime and the politicians who have enabled it,” he said. “So there is a huge amount of work to do, and I have to do that as a gay person, but I also have to do it just as an American.”

He cited the current administration’s issuance of “executive orders to undermine non-discrimination protections that have existed in the federal government” as one attempt to rollback rights.

“They have moved to discriminate and even exclude the transgender people who are bravely serving our country in the armed forces,” Wolfson said. “They have sought to engineer so-called religious exemptions to legal protections wherever they can to allow, for example, adoption agencies to discriminate not only against gay people, but against Jews.

They have appointed judges who have atrocious records on civil rights, on standing up for the little guy and standing up for gay and transgender people. They are committed to trying to tear down the wall between church and state.”

Although our democracy is “under attack,” he said, the saving grace is that “we still have a democracy.”

“Each of us has a vote, each of us has a voice, each of us can join organizations, each of us can do the quiet work of volunteering and persuasion, or the louder work of protesting and door-knocking and writing to our elected officials and lawmakers,” he urged. PJC

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

FEBRUARY 15, 2019 9

10 WORLD

Headlines Parkland survivors have spent the year advocating change.

They’re also coping with trauma — NATIONAL —

By Ben Sales | JTA.org

F

ive weeks after she hid on the floor of the auditorium at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as a mass shooter terrorized the campus, Casey Sherman was helping organize a 30,000-person march against gun violence in Parkland.

When the buzz of that activism wore off, the then-17-year-old moved on to her next project: co-founding a nonprofit with another student to help people engage in civic activism. That organization, called Empower the People, partnered in October with “Insatiable,” a Netflix show, to get out the vote ahead of the midterm elections.

But while she was trying to create change on a national stage, Sherman also was dealing with personal trauma. She began to startle at loud noises. Last week, while passing a building where the fire alarm was blaring, she froze.

Why weren’t people streaming out the doors?

“I spent five minutes staring incredulously at this building where nobody was moving and nobody had any sense of urgency,” she said. “If it was me in that building, I’d be moving the second the alarm goes off.”

Sherman, along with other Parkland students, teachers and parents, has spent the past year combining relentless activism with recovering from the shooting and mourning the 17 people killed on Feb. 14, 2018.

Sometimes, she says, the two work hand in

p Noah Fineberg, a student at a neighboring school who lost a close friend in the Parkland shooting, has delved into political activism in its wake

Photo by Ben Sales

hand: Her grief propels her to keep fighting for a safer world. But she knows that other times, organizing marches and registering voters allows her to avoid dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy.

“During those five weeks, I got very caught up in the planning process,” Sherman said of the time between the shooting and the demonstration on March 24, called March for Our Lives. “I avoided addressing the emotions I didn’t really know how to deal with.”

When the march was over, she said, those emotions flooded in.

“Everything came washing over me and it was like, why did this have to happen?” she said. “Nobody should have to deal with this. It sucks. It really does. That’s one of the things that pushed me forward. There’s nothing I can do to change the past, but I can change the future.”

The shooting in Parkland led to a burst of student-led activism from this quiet,

sunny suburban community near the beach.

High school juniors and seniors confronted national politicians on CNN. The March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., brought as many as 800,000 people to the capital to protest gun violence, perhaps the biggest march in the city’s history. In the time since, parents of slain students have started organizations to address the issue and honor their children’s memory.

Noah Fineberg, who was close family friends with Jaime Guttenberg, one of the murdered students, attended his first political protest at the March for Our Lives and hasn’t looked back. He interned last summer and fall for Andrew Gillum, Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee, working seven days a week. Still a student at the nearby Deerfield Beach High School, he is now the campaign manager for a local mayoral candidate. He, like Sherman, is also active in NFTY, the Reform Jewish youth group, and participated in its Shabbat services on the day of the march.

“We realized, we were having lunch in the Capitol, and we were saying, like, oh my God, we just walked into members of Congress’ office and we basically demanded a meeting, and we got one in five minutes,” he said, describing an impromptu lobbying trip he took the day before the march. “That is our power right now.”

Not everyone is focused on boosting gun control legislation. One of the parents, Lori Alhadeff, focuses instead on measures to make Please see Parkland, page 24

Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar says AIPAC pays politicians to be pro-Israel — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

D

ays after a series of apologies for an old tweet seen as echoing anti-Semitic themes, Rep. Ilhan Omar said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee paid politicians to be pro-Israel, a falsehood that drew immediate rebukes.

On Sunday Omar responded on Twitter to a threat two days earlier by Rep. Kevin McCarthy to take action against her because of her statements on Israel. She tweeted in response, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.”

Her seeming implication that McCarthy was attacking her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby was made clear with her subsequent response to a tweet by Batya Ungar-Sargon, an editor at The Forward.

Ungar-Sargon tweeted, “Would love to know who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, though I think I can guess.”

“AIPAC!” Omar replied.

AIPAC does not contribute to politicians, 10 FEBRUARY 15, 2019

although some of its donors give money to political campaigns.

“We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the U.S.Israel relationship,” AIPAC said in a statement. “Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests. We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work.”

Omar’s remarks drew immediate rebukes, including from Chelsea Clinton.

“We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism,” Clinton said.

Clinton and Omar later agreed to speak on the telephone on Monday. Also on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Omar to “immediately apologize” for her remarks.

“Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive,” Pelosi said. “We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments.”

Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., a Jewish freshman, tweeted that Omar’s comments were “deeply

hurtful to Jews, including myself.”

Omar recently apologized for a 2012 tweet in which she accused Israel of “hypnotizing” the world, acknowledging that she had unwittingly echoed anti-Semitic themes.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the AntiDefamation League, also criticized Omar’s “Benjamins” tweet, tweeting, “Words matter Rep. @IlhanMN. Anti-Semitism is on the rise in the US and abroad. The use of this tired anti-Semitic trope about Jews and money is inappropriate and upsetting. As Americans and Jews, we expect our politicians to condemn bigotry, not fuel it.”

Omar’s defenders said her tweet was about the undue influence of an undeniably effective lobby on U.S. Mideast policy, and not about Jewish influence per se.

“Just as polls show Americans favor some gun control (background checks etc) & people point to interest groups like NRA for preventing change so [too] do polls show most Americans don’t want US taking a side between Israel/Palestine yet interest groups create ‘pro-Israel’ expectation,” tweeted Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

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On Monday afternoon, Omar apologized after the Democratic l e a d e rs h ip called for an apology.

“Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and Rep. Ilhan colleagues who are Omar educating me on the Alex Wong/ Getty Images painful history of anti-Semitic tropes,” the freshman Minnesota Democrat said Monday in a statement posted on Twitter, where her offensive posts had appeared a day earlier.

“We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity,” said Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, and a refugee from Somalia. “This is why I unequivocally apologize.”

Omar then said she reaffirmed her concerns about the “problematic” role of lobbyists, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, but adding the gun and oil lobbies. PJC

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Headlines Super Bowl milestone: First ever Jewish MVP is clutch in the biggest of games. I don’t know what else to tell you. He is, in my eyes, truly the definition of a Hall of Famer: Make the play when the play needs to be made in the biggest games to win the game.”

Edelman, 32, is one of only a few Jewish players in the league, embracing that side of his identity over time. He has a Jewish father but was not raised in the religion, and through the Patriots front office often would defer on questions about his religion.

His is the quintessential surprise story: Undersized at 5-10 and less than 200 pounds, without blazing speed and coming from Kent State — not exactly Alabama — Edelman was picked toward the end of the last round of the 2009 draft. He didn’t establish himself as a standout until the 2013 season. Coincidentally or not, it was during his breakout year that Edelman identified as Jewish in an interview with the NFL Network.

Since then, he has shown his Jewish pride on a number of occasions. In a 2014 game, for instance, he wore a pin featuring the Israeli flag. He has tweeted about Jewish holidays. He even went on a Birthright-style trip to Israel, and has written a children’s book that references modern-day Zionism

— NATIONAL — JTA

W

ide receiver Julian Edelman was named Most Valuable Player as the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

The Patriots’ Jewish owner, Robert Kraft, also earned a kiss on the lips from quarterback Tom Brady as their team celebrated its 13-3 victory — New England’s sixth Super Bowl triumph.

After the game, an interviewer asked Edelman how he felt about earning the MVP award. “It sounds crazy, it sounds crazy.

2018. L’Chaim!” he said.

Edelman provided some of the rare offensive highlights in a torpid defensive game with a game-high 10 catches for 141 yards.

Eight of those receptions led to first-downs, keeping the ball out of the hands of the Rams’ potent young quarterback, Jared Goff.

The day after the game, CBS Sports analyst Boomer Esiason made an intriguing statement: Edelman belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Is Julian Edelman not a Hall of Famer?”

Esiason, a former NFL quarterback, asked on a Boston radio show last week. “The guy

p Julian Edelman was named Most Valuable Player as the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

Photo courtesy of WikiCommons

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

Feb. 16, 1932 — Aharon Appelfeld born

Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld is born near Czernowitz, now part of Ukraine. Despite being assimilated into German culture in a home where Yiddish is banned, he and his father are sent to a Nazi concentration camp in 1941, and his mother and grandmother are killed. Appelfeld escapes at 10 and survives on the run until joining the Soviet army. He makes aliyah in 1946, completes his education and writes works that earn him the Bialik Prize in 1979 and the Israel Prize in 1983.

Feb. 17, 1948 — State Department tries to stop partition

The State Department sends a memo to President Harry Truman and Secretary of State George Marshall to argue against the implementation of the U.N. partition resolution for Palestine. They argue that the creation of a Jewish state will create Arab anger toward the U.S., force the military to intervene after Arab armies win the war and open the door to Soviet military intervention.

Feb. 18, 1577 — Safed Jews petition for protection

The Jews of Safed (Tzfat), the largest Jewish community in Ottoman Palestine during the 16th century, petition the sultan for protection from persecution by local officials.

The petition cites extortion, violence and demands that Jews perform menial tasks, such as transporting dung, on Shabbat.

Feb. 20, 1957 — Eisenhower tells Israel to follow U.N. resolutions

In a nationally televised address, President Dwight Eisenhower discusses the Middle East situation after the October 1956 war over the Suez Canal. He emphasizes the need for Israel to abide by U.N. resolutions calling for its withdrawal from all of the Sinai and the Gaza Strip. Israel has refused to complete its promised withdrawal while seeking international security guarantees.

Feb. 21, 1852 — Pope protests Jewish emancipation

Pope Pius IX writes to Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany to protest the decision to grant some degree of emancipation to the Jews of the grand duchy. “The spirit of the church, expressed in many dispositions and decrees, … has always been to keep Catholics as much as possible from having any contact with the infidels,” the pope writes. PJC

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Headlines — NATIONAL — From JTA reports

Dozens of bullet holes found in Ohio synagogue A synagogue in Lima, Ohio, was shot up with what police describe as a BB or pellet gun, although they caution it was likely not a hate crime.

At least two dozen holes were discovered in the windows of Temple Beth Israel-Shaare Zedek on Shabbat, according to the congregation’s part-time rabbi, Pittburgh’s Howie Stein, who reported the vandalism in a public Facebook post that has since been deleted.

“Friday night, we prayed in a sanctuary with three bullet holes in its windows,” Stein wrote. “Services followed a potluck supper, in a social hall with a minyan of holes in its windows, brought out from a kitchen with twice as many holes in its window. Shabbat morning we found three more holes in the upstairs classrooms, no longer used because of the shrinking and aging nature of the congregation. Thankfully, nobody was in the building at the time, and the damage, while emotionally and physically extensive, was not more significant.”

Sgt. Jason Warren of the Lima Police Department told JTA that the incident, which likely occurred on Friday night, was not being treated as a hate crime. Police are treating it as an act of vandalism because there was nothing besides the bullet holes to

suggest an anti-Semitic motive, he said.

Warren said the bullet holes appear to have come from a BB or pellet gun, and that shooting those weapons is a relatively popular activity for kids in the area.

Police have increased patrols around the synagogue, he said. There are no suspects at this time.

“We have kids who think it’s fun to shoot houses and cars,” Warren said. “It’s a pretty common occurrence.”

Though Stein declined to make any further statement about the incident itself, he did tell the Chronicle that he called on the congregation to use Shabbat to “focus inward on our own rest and renewal. We must not allow those who hate, and those who act on their hate, to deter us from our cherished beliefs and practices.”

In a statement released Tuesday, the synagogue thanked law enforcement for its assistance and added that “the outpouring of support makes it clear to us that Jews do indeed have a home in Lima.”

Stein travels to the synagogue, a merged Reform and Conservative congregation, twice a month from his home in Pittsburgh to minister to the congregation. Since accepting the position in October 2017, Stein has learned much about the community.

“Like a lot of the old mill towns in the rust belt, this is a congregation that has been around for more than a century,” he said.

Despite a shrinking congregation, he said, Temple Beth Israel-Shaare Zedek is a “warm place” in a town that is not only struggling

economically, but has been hard hit by the opioid crisis.

Neighbors have embraced the congregation, Stein said, describing “good relationships” with city officials and members of other faith groups.

“I was there the weekend after the [Tree of Life] shooting and there was a big community presence at Friday night services.”

Although there are usually 15 people present at Friday night services, that evening more than 80 people attended, including Muslims, Christians and those who traveled from areas outside of Lima to demonstrate support for the Jewish community, said Stein.

Prior to serving as Temple Beth IsraelShaare Zedek’s spiritual leader, Stein was rabbi of Temple Hadar Israel in New Castle, Pa. Lima is in northwest Ohio, between Toledo and Dayton.

—Additional reporting by Adam Reinherz LA Fire Department declines help from Jewish ambulance corps Hatzolah has received pushback from the Los Angeles Fire Department and its firefighters’ union as the Orthodox Jewish emergency response service has tried to obtain a license from a county agency.

The service wants to transport noncritical patients to or from a medical facility and respond with ambulances to emergency calls using lights and sirens. Across the United States, independent chapters of this type of Jewish emergency response service

have formed agreements with city agencies to respond, free of charge, to emergencies, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Fire Department, which is the only entity that can respond to 911-type calls designated as Code 3, or requiring lights and sirens, said that allowing another entity to respond to emergencies creates a public safety issue.

Hatzolah’s practice of alerting 911 to emergencies while sending its own responders to a scene without authorization is in violation of the Los Angeles County code, the group was told during a licensing hearing last month.

Hatzolah is asking for an exception from the county’s Emergency Medical Services Agency, saying that volunteers who speak Hebrew, Yiddish or Farsi act as translators for firefighters and are trained on how to apply Jewish law when responding to emergencies on the Sabbath. In addition, the service said its response time is faster because its volunteers live in the neighborhoods where the calls are coming from.

The service even with the license would be prohibited from performing more than basic life support, like CPR, or responding and transporting patients during medical emergencies, like a stroke, heart attack or shooting, according to the Times.

Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol has certified Hatzolah as an ambulance company, which allows it to drive Code 3 to a call. Each city and county may institute additional regulations, however, as Los Angeles has done. PJC

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NEW RULES PROTECT NURSING HOME RESIDENTS This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq. Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney practicing at Marks Elder Law with offices in Squirrel Hill and Monroeville.

Send questions to michael@marks-law.com or visit www.marks-law.com.

Nursing home patients are to benefit from new protections under new rules from the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The new regulations are intended to improve patient quality-of-life, quality of care, patient safety and patient legal rights. Here is a brief summary of some of the highlights of these comprehensive new rules.

The new regulations will help promote a key concept called “person-centered care.” Care is central to what a nursing home does. The goal of “person-centered care” is to give residents more control over decision-making and more choice about their care and treatment — key factors in their daily life in a care facility.

Facilities must do better care planning starting with initial “baseline” planning immediately after admission, and a comprehensive, detailed plan of care within 14 days. These plans must address all aspects of a resident’s needs, strengths, goals, preferences, and discharge plans; and must continue regularly after admission or after any significant change on the part of the patient. Facilities must do more to communicate with patients.

Quality of care focuses on such health factors as the resident’s vision and hearing (help with glasses and hearing aids); skin (i.e. preventing and treating sores and ulcers); preserving mobility and range of motion; preventing accidents; addressing incontinence; and pain management.

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A key goal for patient advocates was to establish an objective minimum staffing ratio or requirement for nurses and other caregivers. Staffing levels are a crucial component of quality care, but a stronger numerical formula was not included in the regulations. Instead nursing homes must still only adhere to a vague, subjective standard of “sufficient” staffing. The regulations also don’t require a registered nurse around the clock, which was also requested by patient advocates.

if the resident needs a degree of care that the facility cannot provide, or his or her presence endangers his own health and safety or that of others, or for nonpayment, after having received adequate notice under the rules. The new rules require that notice of transfers and discharges must now be sent to the state ombudsman program – though the ombudsman function in Pennsylvania is often seen by patient advocates as chronically weak and ineffective.

Physical or chemical restraints are more strongly prohibited. Residents must be safe from the use of devices or drugs used only for purposes of confining or controlling the resident for the convenience of the staff, and not to treat a legitimate medical need.

Protections are also strengthened against abuse, neglect and exploitation.

A patient’s right to return to the same nursing home following a hospitalization is also more closely guarded, along with clarifying the related issue of required payments for “bed holds” when the patient is temporarily out of the facility.

A nursing home or residential facility is never the same as beingin your own home. I’ve had clients in the same facility where one family is satisfied, but the other criticizes bitterly. The experience of patients in nursing homes is personal, subjective, inconsistent and unpredictable. The best advice?

Stay out of nursing homes. The next best advice? If necessary, be an informed and proactive consumer.

Overall, these regulations contain a mixed bag of improvements for nursing home residents.

As an advocate for patients, I hoped that they would have gone even further to improve

At Marks Elder Law, we help people every day with issues like these. I invite your questions and feedback. Please let me know how I can help you and your family.

The new rules also address payment and administrative actions of the care facility. Nursing homes cannot require any third-party such as a family member to guarantee payment, and may no longer require mandatory arbitration clauses to resolve disputes (which generally favor business interests) as a condition of admission.

Also, a resident has the right to receive visitors of his or her choosing, and to have their own personal possessions (and a nursing home must use reasonable care to prevent loss or theft of such personal property). The facility must support and facilitate residents in their choices of visitors, community, religious and community activities, and schedules, including choosing their own sleeping and waking times.

As under prior regulations, nursing homes can only discharge or transfer patients for a limited number of specified reasons, such as

care and safeguard patient’s rights. As might be expected, the nursing home industry is fighting against and in some cases litigating against these new requirements. While the outcome remains to be determined, it’s important for patients and their families to be vigilant to protect nursing home patients.

helping you plan for what matters the most

www.marks-law.com

412-421-8944 4231 Murray Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

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With the increasing costs of long-term care, having the help of a legal professional when planning for your family’s future can help you make better decisions that can result in keeping more of your money.

We help families understand the strategies, the benefits, and risks involved with elder law, disability and estate planning.

Michael H. Marks, Esq. Linda L. Carroll, Esq. michael@marks-law.com member, national academy of elder law attorneys

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Opinion Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, bridge-building philanthropist — EDITORIAL —

I

nernational Fellowship of Christians and Jews founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who died Feb. 6 at age 67, is being remembered this week by politicians, clergy and Jewish community leaders. From all corners of the world, the tributes are pouring in for the New York-born rabbi whose organization raised more than a billion dollars from the evangelical community to support Israel and the Jewish people.

In addition to facilitating immigration to Israel from all over the Diaspora, Eckstein’s IFCJ helped transform the lives of thousands of Israeli residents, including IDF soldiers and their families, adults and children living in poverty and elderly Holocaust survivors, as well as the Jewish poor in the former Soviet Union.

In every area where his IFCJ got involved, it did so in a big way, and made a big difference.

The posthumous outpouring might surprise Eckstein, a dual American-Israeli citizen, whose efforts to foster ties between evangelicals and Jews were not always met with approval. Indeed, when he first proposed building alliances between the two groups in the late 1970s, he was met with deep skepticism and even disdain. Undeterred, he founded IFCJ in 1983, and battled to gain credibility for his bridge-building efforts in

p Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein arrives in Israel with the first group of immigrants brought by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 2014.

Photo courtesy of International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

the “mainstream” Jewish world, even as he cultivated extraordinary relationships with evangelical leaders and their flocks and pulled in eye-popping donations.

Eckstein’s activities gained traction in the 1990s, when he pursued efforts in support

of Jews in the former Soviet Union, raising enough funds to facilitate thousands of immigrants to Israel. In the following years, his Jerusalem-based organization became a well-oiled money-making machine with diverse programming — one of the largest

charitable organizations in Israel.

But notwithstanding his organizational and financial success, Eckstein was frustrated by his inability to persuade many of his fellow Jews to believe in the purity of his motives and the legitimacy of his outreach to evangelicals. He tangled with Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and was criticized by a wide array of Orthodox leaders, liberal American Jews and Jewish organizational stalwarts. Later, he would have a very public falling-out with the Jewish Agency.

In a 2005 profile of Eckstein for the New York Times, Zev Chafets reported that he was focused on getting Jews to practice “the Four As: awareness that evangelicals are helping Israel; acknowledgment of that help; appreciation; and attitude change.”

We have no question that “awareness” and “acknowledgement” have been met. And the posthumous accolades for Eckstein’s extraordinary accomplishments suggest that “appreciation” may have also been achieved.

As for the desired “attitude change,” the jury is still out. Part of the problem may have been Eckstein’s larger-than-life persona and related issues that got in the way.

But in the end, all that is overshadowed by the good he did for the Jewish world, all driven by his deep passion for the Jewish people and love for the state of Israel.

May his memory be for a blessing. PJC

Finding inspiration in the women of Guatemala Guest Columnist Sharyn Henry

I

couldn’t stop looking at their aprons: handmade masterpieces woven of bright colors and sparkly bits. My mind goes immediately to the “vestments” described in the passages of the Torah detailing the clothing worn by the kohanim as they attended to their sacred work in the Mishkan, resplendent in shiny gold, sky blue, royal purple, and crimson, the color of the blood of the animals offered as sacrifices.

The women all around us wear blue, the color of the Guatemalan skies, and red, the color of the blood of childbirth. They wear purple, too, and they look like royalty, these poor midwives, some of them illiterate, all of them smiling. I wonder if they wear these aprons as they do their work, the holy work of bringing new life into the world.

The women are part of CODECOT, a collective of indigenous women, midwives, healers and educators in the Quetzaltenango region of Guatemala, and I am one of 15 rabbis, traveling with the American World Service Global Justice Fellowship.

The primary goal of the Global Justice Fellowship is to inspire American rabbis to become advocates for human rights. After a 30-year brutal internal armed conflict, there are still human rights violations in Guatemala. We’re here to meet Guatemalans

18 FEBRUARY 15, 2019

engaged in advocating for their rights and to hear their stories.

The work of the CODECOT midwives is not supported by the government, yet the women travel long distances, sometimes at night, sometimes into areas where gangs prowl the terrain, sometimes — most of the time — without pay, to be with laboring Mayan women. After our tour of the CODECOT office/training school/ communal gathering space/clinic, we hear personal stories from the midwives. One of them, a particularly gregarious woman, talks about being bitten by a patient’s dog.

Her corn tortilla remedy: Quickly mix masa with water, flatten it into a tortilla, apply it to the wound … and then feed it to the dog!

She belly laughs. We worry.

Our week-long sojourn in Guatemala included briefings by the leadership of UDEFEGUA (Unidad de Defensores y Defensoras de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala), which defends human rights activists working for social change. From 2008 to 2011, there were 1,286 reports of attacks against human rights activists; 55 of them were killed, sometimes by hired assassins. Attacks range from harassment and public defamation campaigns to rape and murder. Criminals, corporations and corrupt government officials use fear, trauma and bloodshed to suppress grassroots activists and to mute journalists. UDEFEGUA aids activist organizations develop safety and security plans for their offices and staff in order to minimize the risk of attacks.

UDEFEGUA also provides mental health

We were encouraged to lobby our own government leaders to address corruption and impunity in Guatemala. support to activists coping with anxiety and trauma related to threats, and supports victims seeking justice in courts.

The mission of UDEFEGUA relies heavily on a CICIG, the International Commission Against Impunity, a 2007 agreement between the UN and the State of Guatemala.

CICIG provides for the investigation and criminal prosecution of groups that foster impunity and undermine the democratic achievements in Guatemala since the end of the internal armed conflict. In its 11-year existence CICIG has won the approval of the Guatemalan people and made significant progress — sending corrupt politicians, business people and leaders of organized crime to prison. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has called for an end to CICIG and taken steps to hasten its demise — but the people are speaking out. We

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witnessed demonstrations where hundreds, if not thousands of Guatemalans protested the president’s decision.

At our meeting with Charge d’Affaires David Hodge and other U.S. staff at the embassy, we were encouraged to lobby our own government leaders to address corruption and impunity in Guatemala. Because the next part of our rabbinic fellowship will take place in Washington, D.C., in March, we will be asking for congressional support to address the human rights crisis in Guatemala. While we are there, we will also seek legislative support for other issues identified as priorities by AJWS: raising awareness of the current atrocities being faced by the Rohingya people and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar, and endorsing evidence-based global health programs that support reproductive rights, LGBTI populations and women.

My participation in the AJWS Global Justice Fellowship has deepened my sense of awe in the capacity of the human spirit.

How might my life look different if I, like the capeless heroes in Guatemala with whom we had the honor to meet, despite previous failings, formidable challenge and real danger, steadfastly refused to give up on the quest for dignity, safety and justice? I intend to find out — with or without the apron I bought in Guatemala to remind me of the quiet strength of the beautiful, formidable and gentle midwives in Quetzaltenango. PJC Rabbi Sharyn H. Henry is a rabbi at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh.

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Opinion It’s time for electoral reform in Israel Guest Columnist Daniel Samet

O

n April 9, Israeli voters will head to the polls to select the 21st Knesset.

This campaign, as in past years, features many parties vying for 120 seats — a whopping 12 parliamentary groups are currently represented in the Knesset. Polling indicates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party will win between 25 and 29 seats, well below the 61 needed for a parliamentary majority.

The Israel Resilience Party, a new faction led by ex-general Benny Gantz, should pose a strong center-left challenge to Likud, whereas the country’s once formidable Labor Party may pick up only seven or eight seats. Following April’s elections, Israel will find itself in an all-too-familiar quagmire: The prime minister will cobble together a hodgepodge of disparate parties in a ruling coalition that shares few legislative priorities.

Israel’s volatile political scene results from a low electoral threshold. Currently, parties need to take only 3.25 percent of the vote to return a member of the Knesset (MK).

Such a system ensures the gamut of political parties will be represented, from left-wing to right-wing and secular to Haredi. Israel is a divided nation, and the electoral system worsens its divisions. A significant raise in the minimum threshold would force parties to appeal to large swaths of the country, not just small voting blocs. If Israel is to eliminate its political dysfunction and elect working governments, electoral reform is sorely needed.

In comparison to other parliamentary democracies, Israeli politics is tremendously volatile. The Jewish state has endured over 30 coalition governments since 1948, many of which united ideologically opposed factions.

The House of Commons, in contrast, has seen only a handful of coalitions throughout the United Kingdom’s long history. Likud, currently the most represented party in the Knesset, has just 30 seats. To form the current government, Netanyahu has culled a razor-thin 61-seat majority that includes centrist, right-wing, National Religious, Ashkenazi Haredi, and Sephardic Haredi parties in addition to his secular conservative Likud. Netanyahu’s government has seen vicious infighting on everything from the ceasefire with Hamas, which compelled the hawkish Avigdor Liberman to remove his Jewish Home party from the coalition, to Haredi conscription. Under the current system, small parties can make the survival of a ruling coalition conditional on its promotion of niche interests that detract from the greater national agenda. It is almost impossible to govern effectively in arrangements like this.

Electoral reform has enjoyed popular backing in the past. In 2014, the Knesset

raised the minimum threshold from 2 percent to 3.25 percent. Prior to 1992, it was only 1 percent. Though detractors claimed that the increase targeted Arab and Haredi blocs, they were incorrect in arguing that the change imperiled representative democracy. Many parliaments in Europe have thresholds, and few would claim these countries are undemocratic. Israel’s low threshold may have functioned well in the country’s nascent years, when the Mapai Party dominated national politics, but it has long outlasted its expiration date.

There is widespread agreement that reform is necessary, yet change does not transpire. Part of the problem is that any revision to Israel’s Basic Laws, the country’s effective constitution, requires a supermajority vote in the Knesset. The prospect of increasing the electoral threshold and potentially limiting their power is a tough sell for smaller parties. Despite brushback from some corners, MKs should once again raise the threshold in the interest of a functional state as they did five years ago. A higher threshold would strengthen big-tent parties, reduce political fragmentation, and deliver more effective governments. However, recent reports suggest the opposite may occur — the government is considering lowering the threshold to ensure the election of MKs from small right-wing parties. So much for a way forward.

Another route of reform is to implement a district-based system. Currently, Israel has no electoral districts, meaning voters select parties based on national considerations. The Israeli system is unlike that of the United Kingdom, for instance, where candidates run in specific districts and are directly accountable to the constituents they represent. Advocates of this method for Israel say that fixed-boundary constituencies would reduce the influence of the party establishment while favoring greater local representation. Right now, voters in Herzliya receive the same ballots as those in Mea Shearim. A district-based system would probably bolster parties that have broad appeal across the country.

It’s true that raising the electoral threshold or moving to a constituency system would curb the power of certain blocs. Yet the status quo in Israeli politics is untenable.

Demographic changes (like rapid Haredi growth rate) will further widen Israel’s social cleavages and produce an even more divided legislative body. Israel’s political dysfunction is well-documented, and its electoral system is the root cause. Coalition governments are inherently bad, but in Israel’s case they’re unstable to an unacceptable degree.

No matter what happens on April 9, we can expect a fractured vote that reflects the divided nature of Israeli society. It’s clear that MKs should come together to reform an outdated electoral system that no longer creates functional governments. PJC Daniel J. Samet is a foreign affairs researcher based in Washington, D.C.

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— LETTERS — Pittsburgh honored As a member of this community, it was thrilling to see Holocaust survivor Judah Samet and hero Pittsburgh Police Officer Timothy Matson appear as guests of the president in the annual State of the Union Address.

Mr. Samet miraculously survived two close calls with death, the first in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, the second as he missed by minutes the carnage that unfolded at Tree of Life Synagogue on a modern day of infamy which is forever emblazoned in our consciousness, 27 October 2018. Officer Matson risked his life to run into danger as he sought to save his neighbors who were under assault by an armed man who was consumed with hatred, ignorance, and vengefulness. The officer absorbed seven shots and has undergone multiple operations with more to come in order to repair the significant damage done to his body.

The community can never thank him enough for his bravery and selflessness and there is not enough money to properly compensate him for his actions.

The choice of these two individuals was moving. Although the speech included boastfulness and false assertions made by the president, the presence of Messrs. Samet and Matson, along with other prominent figures, made it important television viewing of substance. I am grateful to the president for inviting them.

Oren Spiegler South Strabane Township PA

Clarification In the Feb. 6 article “Racial Justice Summit provides platform for anti-Jewish rhetoric,” we quoted some remarks by Laura Horowitz, a Pittsburgh resident, who posted her thoughts about the summit on Facebook. Horowitz did not intend for those Facebook remarks to be made public or published beyond those who could see them on Facebook.

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20

Headlines Bialik: Continued from page 1

forging her Jewish identity, she took photos with attendees.

“My first thought is, ‘Oh my gosh, I just met Amy Farrah Fowler,’” said Carolyn Brodie, president of Pitt Hillel. “She’s really cool. It was so nice of her to donate her time.

She’s just like a normal person. It’s really great that she’s doing something so nice for us.”

“The students had a really hard semester last semester, and I think it was such a generous act of her to decide to come and to bring her presence as a comfort to the students,” said Danielle Kranjek, Hillel JUC’s senior Jewish educator.

Following the Friday afternoon event, Bialik and the group walked to Rodef Shalom Congregation, where more than 200 college students enjoyed a vegan Shabbat dinner — Bialik is the author of “Mayim’s Vegan Table: More Than 100 Great-Tasting and Healthy Recipes From My Family to Yours.”

For college students, the value of spending time with Bialik is that she is able to share “a powerful message of Jewish identity and belonging that gives them a sense that they’re part of a greater Jewish peoplehood,” said Dan Marcus, Hillel JUC’s executive director.

Shabbat morning, she attended services at Shaare Torah Congregation. On Saturday night, she participated in a Shalom Pittsburgh event, and on Sunday she spoke with a group from the JCC. The functions featured “four very different kinds of talks,” said Bialik. “I want people to take out of [the talk] what is meaningful to them.”

But she was also interested in dialogue.

So while listeners gleaned aspects of Bialik’s Jewish journey, discovered an insider’s look at Hollywood or heard from a neuroscientist — she doesn’t just play one on TV — the actor said it was an honor for her to learn more about Pittsburgh and its inhabitants.

And visiting Jewish places allowed her to share the Jewish facets of her life as well, she said, whether “joy, destruction, my personal experience or being a person touched by aspects of what it’s like to be Jewish and vulnerable in our society.”

Similarly, for those interested in neuroscience, she was ready to discuss that subject, too, and she was certainly qualified: Bialik got her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2007, with a focus on psychoneuroendocrinology. Having studied PTSD as part of her thesis research, she now gets easily annoyed when she hears the term employed incorrectly. “Once we kind of learn a term, it becomes like part of pop culture in a lot of ways. One of the blessings and curses of being a neuroscientist is that I have very low tolerance for the misuse of medical terms.”

For the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, she said, PTSD “is a real thing.”

These days, Bialik feels like her scientist self and her actor self are closely related. “It becomes part of your worldview. You know, it’s kind of like, if you’re an artist, a painter or something, you see life differently. It’s kind of like that when you become a scientist. Even if you don’t live as a neurologist or, you know, practice, even if you’re a stay at home parent, that information that you have is with you always, so it kind of just becomes a part of my parenting, a part of my existence. It’s just part of who I am.”

Bialik’s visit was gratifying to those who

p Jason Binder, Rachel Firestone, Mayim Bialik, Maggie Goldstein and Mike Goldstein Photo provided

met with her. Teddi Horvitz, a staffer at the JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement, who organized Sunday’s event, enjoyed learning about Bialik’s journey.

“She understands being part of a community,” Horvitz said.

Even more impressive than the narrative may have been Bialik herself, said Rebecca Knoll, who hosted Bialik while she was here.

“She was just incredibly approachable. She came here to really support the community, not in a showy way, in a way that was just really low-key and authentic. I think she is just an incredibly genuine person.”

Bialik, who refused to accept any money

Hillel: Continued from page 1

they come down here like this, I mean the support has been overwhelming. The people have been fantastic. The support has been something else, it really has.”

Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, of New Light Congregation, described the evening as “emotionally charged.” Perlman, who survived the Oct. 27 shooting, delivered a prayer in gratitude of the first responders and asked for a complete healing to those injured. “I had prepared something in my mind, but you know all I wanted to do is pray for them,” he said.

For the rabbi, Hillel Academy’s dinner was a chance to finally come “face to face” with his rescuers, he explained. “I didn’t realize until I got up there all these people who came to our rescue, and I was just really overwhelmed.”

The evening was memorable for other honorees, including Rabbi Elisar Admon, who received the Chantze and Donald Butler Teacher Recognition Award. Admon, who apart from serving as program coordinator at Hillel Academy’s boys middle school and high school, teaches Torah, Navi, Talmud, Jewish law and Hebrew language, was instrumental in the aftermath of Oct. 27. Along with Rabbi Daniel Wasserman of 20 FEBRUARY 15, 2019

p Dan Kraut, Hillel Academy’s CEO, left, presents an award to FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones, in the presence of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

Photo courtesy of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

Shaare Torah Congregation, Admon quickly developed a relationship with members of the FBI and ensured the 11 deceased were treated with the highest dignity afforded

by Jewish law. Years earlier, as a member of ZAKA in Israel, Admon became an expert in facilitating traditional Jewish burials for

victims of terrorist attacks and other tragedies. He shared his knowledge and practices by training members of Pittsburgh’s chevra kadishas immediately after Oct. 27.

As attendees at Hillel Academy’s dinner heard of Admon’s tireless efforts, surprise guests entered the back of the Marriott City

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for her visit, stayed with the Knoll family throughout the weekend.

“It was like having your favorite first cousin who came over who happens to be off the charts smart, a comedic genius, fun, kind, genuine and all good things,” said Dovid Knoll.

On Sunday, shortly before heading to the airport, Bialik made two final stops. She toured the Tree of Life building and visited first responders at Zone 4 in Squirrel Hill.

“That’s what Mayim Bialik is,” said Knoll.

“She’s just super in every way.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Center’s ballroom. They were members of Admon’s family who had flown in from Israel to see him honored. Embraces and cries were shared as the surprise unfolded.

Helping reiterate the school’s sense of gratitude was a video incorporating statements and tunes regarding the honorees. Titled “The First Responder Song,” and created by Shmideo, the material struck a much appreciated note, said viewers.

“I love this video they made with the children and the song, it was great. You got to find something laughable, to laugh about, and I appreciated that too,” said Perlman.

The following day, Peduto tweeted a link to the video and wrote, “The First Responder Song — Amazing video from the students of Pittsburgh’s Hillel Academy in Squirrel Hill, to the men & women who serve in Public Safety.

Well worth watching from beginning to end!”

Before leaving the Feb. 6 event, the mayor said, “There’s a lot of pain and hurt that’s throughout all of the city, and especially for the Jewish community, but as we start to get closer to that one-year anniversary, I think we’ll just have to watch one another and be able to find ways to bring laughter to a lot of people. So having it begin tonight is a good start, but there’s still a lot of healing that must happen.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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22

Life & Culture Reviews: Exploring grief, remembering Potok — BOOKS — kaddish.com

Nathan Englander Alfdred A. Knopf

T

HE SIMPLEST RESPONSE to being taught the story of Jacob and Esau as a child is to wonder which of them you are. Are you sensitive, thoughtful Jacob, who cleverly — perhaps sneakily — acquires his brother’s birthright? Or are you the virile, dull Esau, a physical genius who neverthleless gives up his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup?

The answer, as Nathan Englander posits in his newest novel, “kaddish.com,” is that you are, in fact, both. Even at the peak of Jacobness, Esau lurks, and vice versa.

It’s 1999. Larry, who left the Orthodox Judaism of his family, arrives sullen, surly and (worst of all) tattooed to his father’s shiva, held in the house of his sister Dina, who stayed on the derech, in the parlance of Larry’s former life.

Following the predictable clashes, Larry is cornered by Dina and their religious betters with a request. Will Larry take on the responsibility of saying Kaddish for their father? He hems and haws, screams back and forth with Dina, until the rabbi steps in to offer a solution: what if Larry found “a kind of shaliach mitzvah — like an emissary. A proxy to say it in your stead.”

Though he loved his father dearly, Larry

GET THE

is more than ready to give up his birthright, and like any good modern man, he looks to the internet for a solution, where he stumbles upon an answer to his bitter prayer: kaddish.com. The site offers its customers the chance to pay dedicated, honest-to-God yeshiva boys to say Kaddish on your behalf for the requisite 11 months.

What’s an Esau to do? He signs a digital kinyan, symbolically giving away his right to the Kaddish. If the book ended right here, it would have already been an excellent read, which speaks to Englander’s strength as a writer of short stories.

But there’s too much of Larry’s story left to tell. Twenty years later, Larry is now Reb Shuli, a ba’al teshuva who uses his former life as a cautionary tale for whoever happens to crowd his Shabbos table that night. He’s a rabbi, a teacher, a husband and a father, and he couldn’t be happier.

With regard to the story, Shuli says, “I only share it to say, it’s never too late to live one’s true life.”

We’ve spent too much time at Shuli/ Larry’s nadir to believe that this is his one “true” life, whatever that means. Soon, he’s tasked with finding the root of some un-yeshivish behavior from Gavriel, a pre-bar mitzvah boy in his class. He stumbles on a terrible conclusion: though he’s been saying Kaddish for his father all these years now, the kinyan he signed away, even if it was in Flash, renders his prayers irrelevant. Shuli, who thought that he left the world of obsession and impulse behind with Larry, soon finds himself consumed with a need to re-obtain his birthright.

Englander’s sense of humor and willingness to wallow in Shuli/Larry’s basest moments aren’t out of the ordinary for him, and neither are the extended dream sequences. What does feel new is the stereoscopic effect of breaking the story up into 28 chapters over just a scant 200 pages. Just as everything starts to settle into 3-D, click!

Next slide. It’s an interesting effect.

One quibble. Though the title seems to promise a more thorough interrogation of what the internet has done to Judaism (and to everyone), Englander, so wordy and willing to take his time on other themes, seems to want to let the reader do the work when it comes to the Web. This task, in some ways, feels not unlike the experience of furiously Googling in search of a single result, only to be stymied by a simple fact: you’re gonna have to figure it out yourself.

—Jesse Bernstein

The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok Edited with an introduction by Rena Potok; contributions by David Bassuk, Carol Rocamora and Aaron Posner Adam Kadmon Books

FANS OF CHAIM POTOK, author of the bestselling “The Chosen” and “My Name Is Asher Lev,” now have a chance to explore another side of the late novelist’s work.

His daughter, Rena Potok, has compiled five of her father’s plays in a new book, “The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok,” which came out in October.

Many of the plays, all of which premiered in Philadelphia, draw on Potok’s lived experiences.

Born to a Chasidic family in New York, Potok came of age during World War II, then went on to become a Conservative rabbi.

He served in the Army as a chaplain in South Korea, where he faced the cultural confrontation central to his writing. He found that Judaism, so fundamental to his identity, had no place in Korean culture.

Potok also has roots in Philadelphia, where he attended the University of Pennsylvania and was a scholar-in-residence at Har Zion Temple.

This collection includes “Out of the Depths,” an original work about Russian Jewish ethnographer S. Ansky; “Sins of the Father,” a combination of the two one-act plays “The Carnival” and “The Gallery,” the former based on “The Promise” and the

latter based on “My Name Is Asher Lev”; “The Play of Lights,” based on “The Book of Lights” about two young Jewish men serving in Korea; and “The Chosen,” based on the novel of the same name about a friendship between two young men coming of age during and after World War II. The collection includes stage notes and prefaces for the plays. It also includes a transcript of an “Out of the Depths” post-performance panel discussion with Potok, which is probably the most fascinating section of the book. An introduction written by Rena Potok connects Potok’s life to the plays’ themes and analyzes how each explores his ideas.

These additions elevate the book, from simply a collection of plays to an in-depth look at the author himself.

In both his novels and plays, Potok’s protagonists struggle with what was maybe the biggest question of postwar 20th century American Jewish life: How do you live in a secular world without letting go of your Judaism?

The plays explore the idea of what Potok called “core-to-core culture confrontation,” when one grows up in the heart of a subculture and confronts an element at the heart of the umbrella culture. Characters face art, politics and other religions that challenge their Jewish identities.

Relationships between male friends and between fathers and sons serve as another theme in Potok’s writing. Fathers play important roles in symbolizing one side of the cultural confrontation, while friends serve as confidantes in the midst of this conflict and even sometimes as narrators. Women are noticeably absent from Potok’s work and, when they do appear, they are not given the same depth as the male characters.

The collection’s standout play is “Out of the Depths,” which is grander and more epic than the others. While the other plays tend to feel like they’re more about the ideas the characters represent rather than the characters themselves, “Out of the Depths” breaks from that trend, making for a much more interesting read.

Overall, the collection is intellectual and will provide plenty of material to muse on. If you’re looking to better understand Chaim Potok, this collection is a good place to start. PJC — Selah Maya Zighelboim This article originally ran in the Jewish Exponent, a Chronicle-affiliated publication.

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22 FEBRUARY 15, 2019

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23 CELEBRATIONS/TORAH

Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

Kindling the flame of our tradition

Ganek/Leith: Lynne Brenner Ganek and Jeffrey Ganek of Bethesda, Maryland, joyfully announce the engagement of their daughter Dr. Hillary Ganek to Jordan Leith of Toronto, Ontario.

Jordan earned his degrees in Canada, including a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and business from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Waterloo. Jordan is a senior account manager at Environics Analytics in Toronto.

Hillary earned a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from McGill University, a Masters of Art in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University and a doctorate in rehabilitation sciences from the University of Toronto. Hillary is a postdoctoral research fellow at Archie’s Cochlear Implant Lab at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Hillary is the granddaughter of the late Rosella and Herbert Brenner of Pittsburgh and Marjorie and the late J. Jack Ganek of Monroe, N.J., and Boynton Beach, Florida.

Jordan is the son of Toronto psychiatrist Mark Leith and Rhona Leith, an educator and clown and mask performer.

Hillary and Jordan became engaged in Morocco in 2018 and are to be married in Toronto on May 4. The bride and groom plan to reside in Toronto.

Wedding Tabor/Hirsch: Susie and Mark Tabor of Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Pittsburgh, are delighted to announce the marriage of their son Gregory Paul to Eden Bari Hirsch, daughter of Robin Hirsch and the late Mark Hirsch of Albertson, New York. The wedding took place on Oct. 20, 2018, in Boca Raton.

Greg is the grandson of Adeline Tabor and the late Harry P. Tabor of Boca Raton, formerly of Pittsburgh, and the late Jane and Bruce Gilbert, formerly of Pittsburgh and Boca Raton. Eden is the granddaughter of the late Sarah and George Targum and the late Beatrice and Leo Hirsch of New York.

The newlyweds reside in Boca Raton.

Rabbi Seth Adelson Parshat Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20-30:10

W

ho is responsible for transmitting our tradition to our children, grandchildren and beyond? Who will ensure that the richness of our texts, the connective power of our rituals, the yearning in our melodies, the joy in our holy lifecycle moments, the power of our wisdom all continue to fill our lives with meaning?

Whose job is it to keep the ner tamid, the eternal light, aflame?

Parashat Tetzaveh opens with a curiously structured commandment from God to Moshe Rabbeinu, our teacher Moses (Exodus 27:20): Ve-atah tetzaveh et benei Yisra-el (“And you [Moshe] shall instruct the Israelites”). The Hebrew “ve-atah” (literally “and you”) seems superfluous, since the verb “tetzaveh” is an imperative: instruct. The second-person singular pronoun is implied.

So why is it there? Ramban, the 13th-century Spanish commentator, tells us that this must mean that Moshe himself is to personally instruct those appointed to create holy implements for the mishkan, the portable tabernacle used for worship in the desert: the menorah, the priestly vestments and so forth. He must personally evaluate their skills, their dedication, their character. It is this personal involvement that ensures the

strength and endurance of the mitzvah.

When we think about passing our traditions from generation to generation, we cannot leave that responsibility to rabbis or teachers or administrators of synagogues or communal institutions. Rather, we are all individually responsible. Although we Jews are good at organizing to help with the fulfillment of Jewish life, each of us has a personal stake in the future of Judaism, and we are therefore each obligated to live and demonstrate the value of our tradition.

Yes, we look to our leaders for guidance and inspiration, but ultimately, the obligation to keep the ner tamid, the metaphorical eternal light burning falls upon us as individuals.

At the end of that same verse, we learn that the specific responsibility that God is emphasizing here is “leha’alot ner tamid” (“for the kindling of a lamp regularly”). But the word “leha’alot” literally means “to raise.” When you light a candle, says Rashi, in 11th-century France, the flame rises of its own accord.

Taken metaphorically, when we have kindled within our children and grandchildren the flame for our tradition, they will be elevated in the warmth and richness thereof.

But it is up to all of us to personally light that flame, to ensure its endurance. PJC Rabbi Seth Adelson is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Bat Mitzvah Naomi Segel, daughter of Sara and Ken Segel, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 10:30 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Naomi is a seventhgrader at Pittsburgh Colfax. She plays soccer, basketball and hangs out with friends during her free time. She is also involved in social and political activism. Summer camp at the URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute is like a second home to Naomi. PJC

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FEBRUARY 15, 2019 23

24

Headlines Yiddish: Continued from page 3

“If you must throw stones,” one character says, “throw them outside the tent.”

The struggle of a Jew, another character says, “is how do we as Jews show ourselves as flawed and complex human beings?”

Jews must strive to be “paragons,” yet another character argues. When a story hits the

Parkland: Continued from page 10

schools safer, given the frequency of mass shootings in the U.S. She says the national debate on gun safety gets too polarized, leaving practical safety measures lost in the shuffle.

She just helped pass legislation in New Jersey to require silent, location-based alarms in schools to alert law enforcement in the event of an emergency like a shooting. The policy is called Alyssa’s Law, in memory of Alhadeff ’s daughter, who was 14 when she was killed.

Make Our Schools Safe, the organization founded by Alhadeff and her husband, Ilan, also has helped provide schools with Stop the Bleed kits, which contain medical supplies to stem traumatic hemorrhaging.

It is mobilizing students at Stoneman Douglas and elsewhere to encourage their schools to implement safety measures.

And the Alhadeffs met in December with President Donald Trump about his School Safety Commission, which released its final report that month.

Super Bowl: Continued from page 11

founder Theodor Herzl. After the Tree of Life synagogue building shooting in the fall that killed 11, he wore special cleats with Hebrew on them to honor the victims.

As Esiason noted, Edelman has become renowned in large part because of his clutch performances in the playoffs. He has made a series of memorable catches, including one in the 2017 Super Bowl that ranks among the wildest in championship games. Edelman also has the second most postseason

newspaper of a person behaving immorally or illegally, the impulse is to hope he is not Jewish.

The issues are current, perennial.

In the discussion after the reading, one audience member commented: “It’s hard within the Jewish community to have conversations. There is a fear of airing your dirty laundry, of putting everyone in danger.”

The play articulates the precept that “you never expect [anti-Semitism] to happen to you until it does,” said Carnegie Mellon University

student Adira Rosen, who discovered swastikas in a university library book while researching “God of Vengeance” several weeks ago. “Then you ask the question, ‘now what?’”

“God of Vengeance” is a play that “resonated around the world,” said Kaminski. “To have it resonate so deeply on a local level is inspiring to me.” Theater is best, she said, “when it is connected with civic experience and discourse.”

She intends to continue to partner with

Lidji in expanding the conversation around “Indecent” and its rich and recurrent themes.

“We are always trying to find new ways to use the materials in the archive and to make them relevant to people today,” said Lidji.

“This is a play that is steeped in history and it is a unique opportunity to show how history can become a work of art.” PJC

“Everybody lives in a bubble, like, ‘You know what, this could never happen to me,’” said Alhadeff, who is Jewish. “And I’m trying to bring the awareness [that] this could happen anywhere at any time, and our schools are soft targets, so we need to take a holistic approach.”

Advocating for school safety has helped Alhadeff process the grief over her daughter, a smart, vivacious soccer player who loved her friends and hanging out on the beach.

Last year Alhadeff won a seat on the Broward County school board, where she has pushed for greater transparency when discussing safety procedures at local schools. She made waves locally this week when she clashed over the issue with Superintendent Robert Runcie — a fight that led the local NPR station’s afternoon news on Tuesday.

“It’s empowered me to want to make change in the sense of using my grief as activism, using this as my power,” she said.

“On 2-14, I had no power. It was taken away from me. I couldn’t do anything, but now I can. I’m living for Alyssa, I’m honoring her.”

Alongside the advocacy efforts, a local

Jewish organization, JAFCO (Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options), has received a federal grant to open a wellness center for the Stoneman Douglas community. The center will offer a variety of wellness activities for teachers, students and families of the high school such as yoga, meditation, nutrition or aromatherapy. It also will employ social workers who can visit with families and help them access needed social services.

Sarah Franco, JAFCO’s executive director, said those impacted by the tragedy need more than activism to heal. In general, the organization works on behalf of abused and neglected children, facilitates adoption and foster care, and provides counseling and support to struggling families — that gives it expertise in how to cope with trauma.

“The only way to be OK is to be OK inside of yourself, and that’s what wellness is about,” Franco said. “It’s not about being outside of the chaos. It’s about being in the middle of the chaos and being at peace.”

Healing in the midst of chaos is what Casey Sherman has tried to do in the year since the

shooting. During the past 12 months, she has managed to balance completing her school work, running a nonprofit and finding a few minutes to relax, watching reruns of “The Office” on Netflix.

And she’s still processing the tragedy.

After months of activism for gun safety, she felt frustrated and upset when the Tree of Life synagogue building shooting happened in October near where some of her camp friends lived. Now they were dealing with some of the issues she had been confronting since February.

Next year, Sherman will be off to college, in a place that isn’t embedded with the same harrowing memories as Stoneman Douglas.

She hopes to continue her activism and, like many graduating seniors, she is nervous about keeping in touch with her friends.

But Sherman is ready to move forward with her life, too.

“This is the only place where everyone went through the exact same thing,” she said.

“It’s definitely a huge source of support. It will be hard to leave, but I’m definitely ready for the next chapter of my life.” PJC

receptions of all time.

But getting into the Hall of Fame in any sport isn’t just about playoff performance — regular season statistics are an even bigger part of the equation. While Edelman has three seasons of over 90 receptions and two seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards — more than respectable stats — he just doesn’t have the numbers to make it to the Hall (regardless of how Boston-area sports writers have been spinning the story).

Still, could Edelman be the best Jewish professional football player ever? Jews certainly don’t have a long or illustrious football lineage.

On paper, it looks like Sid Luckman, a

Chicago Bears quarterback born to German Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, owns that distinction. Luckman, who played for the Bears from 1939 to 1950, boasts an array of impressive stats: He led the Monsters of the Midway to four championships, was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1943, led the league in passing yards and touchdowns in three seasons, and holds the record for most touchdown passes in a single game with 7.

In 2016, the American Jewish Historical Society released a list of who it deemed to be the 10 best Jewish football players of all time. Luckman placed first, while Edelman was fourth behind two other Hall of Famers

— offensive lineman Ron Mix and quarterback Benny Friedman.

Of course, Luckman played in a much different era. For now, Edelman remains the only modern Jewish player you can count on to appear in a Super Bowl — just about every year.

Edelman has three seasons of over 90 receptions and two seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards.

Kraft is the latest recipient of the Genesis Prize, given to a Jewish leader or celebrity who serves “as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through their outstanding professional achievement along with their commitment to Jewish values and the Jewish people.” PJC

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Obituaries BUSHNICK: Myron Bushnick, on Friday, February 8, 2019. Beloved husband of the late Jean Bushnick. Beloved father of Janice (Barry R.) Nathan and Samuel Bushnick. Grandfather of Jeffrey R. (Priya Pappu) Nathan. Services and interment private. Contributions may be made to Autism Connection of PA, 35 Wilson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15223. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com COHEN: Jay Michael Cohen, on Sunday, February 3, 2019; husband of Rita Krauss Cohen; beloved father of Lisa (Alan) Cohen-Carney and the late Eric Krauss Cohen; son of the late Louis and Rosella (Buncher) Cohen. Jay is survived by two sisters, Francine and Carolyn, and many nieces and nephews, including Amy Davidson Kubas; grandfather of Alan Carney, Jacob Carney and Max Devereaux. Jay graduated from Duquesne University with a bachelor’s degree in education. He received his master’s degree in special education from Penn State University.

He was a chaplain of Tyrian Lodge #644 F & AM, a member of Scottish Rite Valley of Pittsburgh, a member of Tall Cedars of Lebanon of Pittsburgh Forest #160. Jay was a kind and generous man who treasured his Masonic affiliations and loved his Lodge brothers. He was a very dedicated person who cared deeply for other people and also for animals. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Temple David, 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville, PA 15146, Animal Friends, 562 Camp Horne Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, or Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley, 533 Linden Avenue, New Kensington, PA 15068. schugar.com LEHMAN: Fred S. Lehman, on Saturday, February 9, 2019, in Boca Raton, Florida. Beloved husband of the late Miriam R. Lehman and the late Sally Perelman Lehman. Cherished father of Maxine (Larry) Myer. Grandfather

of Michelle (Ross) Cohen and Laurel Deutsch. Great-grandfather of Emerson Cohen, Harper Cohen, Jemma Deutsch and Liam Deutsch. Preceded in death by his parents, Paula and Max Lehman and his brother, Martin who died in the Holocaust.

He is also survived by Sally’s children, Arlene (Richard) Weisman, Brad (Joanne) Perelman and Gregg (Susie) Perelman, their children and grandchildren. He was a World War II veteran who received a Purple Heart for bravery. He loved reading The New York Times, golf, poker, rooting for the Steelers and spending time with his family who meant the world to him. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment West View Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, 826 Hazelwood Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com NATHENSON: Alan Nathenson, on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, husband of the late Marian Rosner Nathenson; father of Ira (Helen) Nathenson and Marcy (James) Jordan; brother of Eugene Nathenson, Manny Nathenson, Shari (Rick) Sweet and Jay Nathenson; brother-in-law of Carol (Larry Megahan) Neuhaus; grandfather of Kathryn and Jennifer Nathenson and Julia Robb. A longtime resident of Squirrel Hill, Alan ran Allied Optical, a business started by his late father-in-law, Irving Rosner, selling eyeglass frames to optometrists. He enjoyed playing tennis and was a longtime fixture at the Allderdice tennis courts as well as at the Racquet Club in Monroeville. Services and interment were private. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com ROSENFELD: Lois (nee Blyler) Rosenfeld, on February 7, 2019, Lois Jean Rosenfeld died at 91 in Sarasota, Florida. She was predeceased by her husband David less than six months ago.

She was the beloved daughter of Edward Alton Blyler and Jeanette Gertrude Brenner Blyler of Altoona, Pa. She is survived by her children Samuel (Sacha), Brian (Sally Thorner) and Maida Milone, her two

grandsons, Everett Rosenfeld and G. Matthew Milone, and her sister Molly Perez.

Her grandson Jordan Rosenfeld predeceased her, and his death left a sadness in her heart that was indelible. Lois was born in Altoona in 1927. Along with her three sisters, Doris, Claire and Molly, she was one of the pretty Blyler girls, and though her beginnings were humble, she always dreamed of having a glamorous life. During high school at Altoona High and when she graduated in 1946, she worked at Quaker Cleaners, one of number of stores owned by Dave and his Pittsburgh-based family. They met and fell in love there, but their marriage had to await her return from Philadelphia where she was pursuing a modeling career. Lois and Dave married in 1950 in Pittsburgh, where they raised their three children. Lois was a homemaker for much of that time, although always the most beautifully dressed and poised, her model instincts never leaving her. Indeed, throughout her life, she imparted to her daughter Maida a deep love of all things beautiful and the joy that comes from being surrounded by aesthetically pleasing things. When her life circumstances required it, she went into the working world and opened an art and framing gallery, the Little Gallery, surprising her family with her entrepreneurial spirit. When she moved to Philadelphia in the 1970s, she continued working as an antique dealer, always loving the hunt for special pieces and finding the right customers for them. She and Dave moved to Sarasota in the 1990s to escape the

cold winters, and she continued to do antique shows well into her mid-80s when a stroke suddenly and significantly disabled her. It was so difficult for someone with her elegance to no longer be able to move with grace through the world. A private graveside ceremony will be held. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in her memory to the American Stroke Association. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com SIEGEL: Lee Howard Siegel, born on May 10, 1962, age 56, on Friday February 8, 2019.

Son of Betty Mae Siegel and the late Barris Siegel; Brother of Fern E. Siegel of New York, and the late Neil F. Siegel; Uncle of Eli C. Siegel of Philadelphia, Nathan F. Siegel of Philadelphia; also survived by cousins Norman A. Zober of Maryland, Nolan H. Sigal of California and the late Janet Zober; Grandson of the late Fannie and Nathan Siegel and Bella and Stanley Swartz. Lee was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, and lived in Beaver and Pittsburgh. He was a graduate of the George School in Newtown, Pa. (prep. school), and Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois. Graveside services and interment were held at Workman’s Circle #45 Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Beaver Memorial Library, 100 College Ave. Beaver, PA 15009.

Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com PJC

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

In memory of...

A gift from ...

In memory of...

Anonymous ...................................... Lynette London

Ilene T. Iskoe .............................Martha Trachtenberg

Anonymous .................................Samuel Marcovsky

Louise McConaha ..........................Herbert Rothman

Anonymous ........................................ Manuel Selker

Thelma R. Miller..................................Sadie Rubinoff

Sanford Darling...................................... Mary Darling

Barbara & Richard Reisner ...Stanley E. Rosenbloom

Kenneth & Harriet Franklin ..................Edward Lewis

Deanna Roth............................................. Rose Roth

Esther Fried ..................................... Morris S. Levine

Dorothy Samitz .......................... Miriam N. Steerman

Florinne Friedken ............................Dorothy Friedken

Rhoda F. Sikov................................... Jacob M. Rose

Arlyn Gilboa ...........................................Nisan Gilboa

Rita M.Weinberger ........................ Phillip Weinberger

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday February 17: Isadore Bergstein, Jacob M. Blaufeld, Ida Dektor, Anna Finer, Rebecca (Barron) Greenberg, Marvin L. Gusky, Earl Herman, Harry I. Horwitz, Elinor Kann, William Oskie, Maurice F. Sadowsky, Milton Weisenberg Monday February 18: Samuel Cohen, Mary Farber, Eva Fingeret, Emanuel B. Friedberg, MD, Belle S. Friedman, Rebecca Kauffman, Anna Kuperstock, Ben Leshney, Cecelia F. Rosen, David Rosenthal, Bessie S. Schulman, Frances L. Shaeffer, Myer Solomon, Miriam W. Steerman, Silvia Stuhl, Lea S. Teplitz, Sidney M. Wolk, Martin Zamore Tuesday February 19: George Bonder, Anna Feinberg, Mollie F. Ganelin, Minnie Gottesman, Maurice Greenberg, Hyman Greenspan, Melvin W. Helfant, Max Janavitz, Harry M. Kamin, Albert C. Kramer, Jack Lebovitz, Julius Markley, Freda R. Selkovits, Esther K. Stutz, Nellie Swartz, Phillip Zamsky Wednesday February 20: Pearl Auslander, Max L. Bluestone, Pearl Erenstein, Max Freedel, Samuel M. Gordon, Betty I. Greenwald, Winifred Joyce Hynes, Lena Kline, Jacob Kunst, Louis Lawrence, Samuel Marcovsky, Irwin J. Schultz, Becky Schwartz, Harry Swimmer, Ida Valinsky, Sidney Weisberger, Moisha Weissman, Sidney Wiesberger Thursday February 21: Dr. Simeon Allen, Bella Bonder, Ida Sisser Bortz, Clara Cohen, Isidor Davis, Mildred Cohen Feldman, Alexander Handmacher, Bessie Kempler, Ella Klein, Ella Miller Lewine, Adolph Lobl, Helen Miller, Lucille Pollock, Aaron Pretter, Jean Y. Shapera, Mollie Silverman, Minnie L. Sokole, Sadie M. Speer Friday February 22: Rachel E. Goldberg, Dr. Norman Golomb, Lillian Hellman, Gerhart M. Horewitz, Ida Levy, Isaac Marcus, Sylvia L. Samuels, Hyman David Segal, Manuel Selker, Edna M. Siegal, Goldie R. Siegel, Genevieve Stern, Nathaniel Stutz

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Saturday February 23: Joseph Abravanel, David Block, Louis Cohen, Esther S. Finkelhor, Mollie Friedman, Nisan Gilboa, Harry H. Green, Johanna Halle, Harold M. Harris, Martin A. Hepps, Ruth Kaplan, Rosia Kauffman, Rose Kertman, Edward Lewis, Shirley F. Little, Judith Moritz, Benjamin Rambach, Sam Rosenberg, Mayme Sukolsky

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

FEBRUARY 15, 2019 25

22 COMMUNITY 26

Community Shinshinim visit Temple David

p The shinshinim also visited with the younger students to talk about Israel. p Raz Levin and Hadar Maravent, the Israeli shinshinim, young Israeli emissaries sent to Diaspora communities by the Jewish Agency for Israel, led a discussion on the film “A Bottle In the Gaza Sea” with eighth- to 10thgraders at the Weiger School at Temple David.

Audrey Glickman speaks

p With the focus this year on learning about holidays, Dr. Salah Almoukamal visited the Weiger Religious School to teach about Muslim holidays and how they are celebrated.

Photos courtesy of Temple David

World Wide Wrap at J-JEP

p On Sunday, Feb. 3 students learn to wrap tefillin for World Wide Wrap at J-JEP, led by the Men’s Clubs of Beth Shalom and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha.

Photo courtesy of J-JEP

26 FEBRUARY 15, 2019

p Audrey Glickman gave a five-minute talk on Feb. 5 at the Black Political Empowerment Project’s interfaith service against violence at St. Mary of the Mount on Mt. Washington. Glickman was asked to talk about the Jewish perspective of violence. Speakers included Wasi Mohamed, Giovanna Gibson of Pittsburgh Allderdice’s Black Student Union, Rev. Brandon Humphrey and Deputy Police Chief Tom Stangrecki.

Photo by Suzi Neft

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Community Happenings at Community Day School In the aftermath of the synagogue attack of Oct. 27, City Reformed Presbyterian Church decided to take action by showing spiritual and material support for Community Day School. The congregation, which worshipped in the CDS building for several years, raised more than $10,000 through an online GoFundMe campaign to support the school’s ongoing security initiatives. During a Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday, Feb. 8, City Reformed Senior Pastor Matthew Koerber and Assistant Pastor Joseph Bianco presented CDS with this generous gift. In turn, the church leaders received “mensch cards,” which are awarded regularly to CDS students for “ready, respectful and responsible” behavior as part of a schoolwide positive behavioral support program. p From left: Matthew Koerber, CDS Head of School Avi Baran Munro and Joseph Bianco

Zimriah Festival Zimriah is Community Day School’s biennial Hebrew song and dance festival and a beloved school tradition, with more than 600 guests attending to watch students ages 3 to grade five performing Hebrew favorites on Thursday, Feb. 7. Each grade worked for several weeks to

learn the music and choreography of a Hebrew song, and then all students came together to perform a joyous medley for the show’s finale. As a highlight of the evening, the children received a video message directly from popular Israeli singer/songwriter Elai Botner when he learned they would be performing his song “Shavim” or “Equals” at the Zimriah.

p From left, front: Fourth-grade students Zev Adelson, Ezra Forrest, Rosalie Moltz and Sarah Levin-Decanini; Back: Sylvie Bails, Jessica Levin, Shira Levy and Barak Raz perform “Yachad,” or “Together.”

p From left: Fifth-graders Madeline Half, Sivon Feinberg, Mika Loberant, Sylvia Svoboda, Gabriella Kunzman and Angelina Kenney sing “Be’Yahad Im Kulam,” or “Together With Everyone.”

p From left: Third-graders Milo Fogel, Yaara Arberly and Zachary Gelman dance to “Ole, Ole.” Nava Kass and Alexander Friedman are in the back row.

p From left: Pre-K students Michal Perel, Reagan Richman, Morgan Guttman, Addison Snyder, Eitan Mezare and Gaia Glikson perform “Toda Raba.”

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Photos courtesy of Community Day School

FEBRUARY 15, 2019 27

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